Category: Personal Hymns & Poetry

Some of my dearest friends are going through times of grief and pain. They have recently lost loved ones through painful chronic diseases, unexpected illnesses, miscarriage, and tragic accidents. Some have been betrayed by those closest to them. They have experienced pain and uncertainty and confusion and rejection. We all know that this has been a dark time for many people, and their losses have touched me more deeply than ever before. 

Yesterday I was reading in one of my favorite books, The Valley of Vision, and updated the wording of the introductory prayer for myself, my friends who are experiencing such loss, and all who yearn to see God display his glory in and through our lives. 

The Valley of Vision*

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, you have brought me to the valley of vision, 
            The place where I live now, in the depths, but see you in the heights. 
Here I am hemmed in by mountains of suffering,
            Caused by sin or loss or pain or bereavement or confusion,
And yet here – when I look up -  I see your glory. 

Let me learn by the “upside down” ways of your kingdom
 
            That the way down is the way up,
            That to be low is to be high,
            That the broken heart is the healed heart,
            That the humbled spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
            That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
            That to have nothing is to possess all,
            That to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
            That to give is to receive,
            That the valley,
                        In spite of and because of all our suffering,
            Is the place of vision. 

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, 
            And the deeper the wells, the brighter your stars shine. 

Let me find your light in my darkness. 
            Let me find your life in my death. 
                        Let me find your joy in my sorrow.
Let me find your grace in my sin.
            Let me find your riches in my poverty.
                        Let me find your glory in my valley. 

* The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. 2003. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, p. xxiv-xxv.

Hymns of trusting God for all that is ahead

(Revised in contemporary language, to be prayed instead of sung, since the meter has been changed)

I Need Thee Every Hour    Original words by Annie S. Hawks

I need You every hour, my gracious Lord; 
There is no voice like Yours 
        that so tenderly brings peace to me. 
 
I need You every hour, please stay near me;
Temptations lose their power when You are near.
 
I need You every hour, in joy or in pain,
Let me feel Your presence 
        or else life seems empty.
 
I need You every hour, every minute of each day,
Make me entirely Yours, Most Holy One.
 
I need You! How I need You! Every hour I need You!
I kneel before You now, 
         waiting to be blessed by Your presence.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace             Words from scripture

Lord, you will give perfect peace 
        to those whose minds are focused on you.
Don’t be surprised when I tell you 
        that you have to be born again to experience His peace.
Even if sin has dirtied and stained your garments, 
        they will be washed as white as snow.
If Jesus makes you free, you will be free indeed 
        and know His deepest peace.

Adapted and revised in contemporary English, 12/28/2020, from The Valley of Vision*

O Father of Jesus,
 
Help me to approach You with deepest reverence,
            not with arrogance, not with timid fear, but with holy boldness. 
You are beyond the grasp of my understanding,
            but not beyond the grasp of my love.
You know I long to love You supremely,
            for You are supremely glorious, good, and perfect. 

My heart melts at Your love, Jesus,
            my brother, bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh,
            married to me, dead for me, risen for me;
You are mine and I am Yours,
            You have been given to me as well as for me;
I am never so much mine as when I am Yours,
            or so much lost to myself until lost in You;
            then I find my true created self.

But my love is frost and cold, ice and snow;
            Your love warms me, lightens my burden, becomes my heaven;
May Your love be revealed to me in all its aspects,
            that my love to You may be more passionate and glowing;
Let the mighty tide of Your everlasting love
            cover the rocks of my sin and worry;
Then let my spirit float above those things
            which otherwise would have wrecked my life.

Make me fruitful by living out that love,
            my character becoming more beautiful every day.
If traces of Your love–artistry are upon me,
            may You work on with Your divine brush
            until the complete image is finished
            and I become a perfect copy of You, my Master.
 
Oh Lord Jesus, come to me,
Oh Divine Spirit, rest upon me,
Oh Holy Father, look on me in mercy
            For the sake of Christ and His kingdom.
 

*The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett. 2003. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, p. 44-45.

Not to be sung, since the meter has been changed, but to be a conversation with god, expressing my thoughts and prayers

Speak, Lord, In the Stillness Original words by E. May Grimes

Speak, Lord, In the stillness, while I wait with You,
 My heart is hushed to listen in expectancy.
 Holy Master, speak in this quiet hour.
 Let me see your face Lord, feel your touch of power,
 For the words you speak are life indeed.
 Feed my spirit with your living bread from heaven.
 I have yielded everything to you, I am not my own.
 In joyful, glad surrender I am yours alone.
 Speak and I will hear you, do not be silent, Lord,
 My soul waits on you for the life-giving word.
 Fill me with the knowledge of your glorious will, 
 Fulfill in me all your own good pleasure.

If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee Original words by Georg Neumark, Catherine Winkworth, Tr.

If you allow God to guide you and depend on Him in each need,
 He’ll give you strength, whatever happens to you, and carry you through the evil days.
 The one who trusts in God’s unchanging love builds on the rock that nothing can move.
 
 My restless heart, obey by being still and wait in cheerful hope,
 Be content to receive whatever His gracious will and discerning love has sent.
 Don’t for a minute doubt that our inmost wants are known to Him who chose us 
for His own.
 
 Sing, pray, and never leave His ways, but do your part faithfully.
 Trust His rich promises of grace and you will see them fulfilled in you.
 God has never abandoned anyone in need who trusted in Him.
 

Recently I have been revisiting some of the older gospel songs and hymns that were especially meaningful to me during my teenage and college years. They powerfully described my spiritual experience and expressed the praise and gratitude I wished to communicate to God. As beautiful and poetic as some of these old hymns are, I have found that translating the lyrics into my contemporary heart language (e.g. changing “thee” to “you” and updating terms that are generally unfamiliar) made them even more useful as prayers and conversations with God. In their revised form they express my current thoughts and feelings more accurately than the “old” language did. I realize that in many cases updating the words reduces their eloquence, but the revised language reflects my own voice and heart. I share my efforts with you with the wish that your heart may find in these songs an expression that you wish to pray or sing to God. 

He Leadeth Me   Original words by Joseph H. Gilmore

(Not to be sung, since the updates change the meter, but to be a conversation with God.)

You lead me: what a wonderful thought! Those words bring me heavenly comfort.
Whatever I do, wherever I am, it is still your hand that leads me.

Sometimes in the middle of deepest sadness and darkness,
Sometimes in joyful places of lush and lovely gardens, 
Calmly next to still waters, or tossed by treacherous waves,
Still it’s God’s hand that leads me.

Lord I want to place my hand in yours, not murmuring or complaining; 
I want to be content whatever my circumstances, since you are the one who leads me.

When my task on earth is done, and your grace has successfully brought me through,
I will not run from death’s cold wave, since that will only be God leading me across Jordan.

He leads me, he leads me, by his own hand he leads me
I want to be his faithful follower, because he continually leads me
by his strong and loving hand.

“O for a thousand tongues”    Original words by Charles Wesley

I wish I had a thousand voices to sing Jesus’s praise,
To sing the glories of my God and King and His powerful loving grace.
My gracious master and my God, help me proclaim the honors of your name to all the nations of the earth.

Jesus! Your name calms our fears, stops our sorrows, is music to our ears, 
and brings life and health and peace.
You break the power that forgiven sin has over us. You set us free from sin and shame.
Your death can make even the worst sinner clean, as you did for me.
The deaf can hear you, those who cannot speak can praise you, the blind can see you come to them, and those who could not walk can now jump for joy.