Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A Hymn of Thanksgiving: For the Beauty of the Earth


THANK YOU, LORD!

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind's delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the martyrs' crown of light,
For Thy prophets' eagle eye,
For Thy bold confessors' might,
For the lips of infancy.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thy Virgin's robes of snow,
For Thy maiden mother mild,
For Thyself, with hearts aglow,
Jesu, Victim undefiled.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For Thyself, best Gift Divine,
To the world so freely given,
For that great, great love of Thine,
Peace on earth and joy in heaven.
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

Amen.


author: Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1835–1917

Not much is known about Folliott Sandford Pierpoint, the author of this hymn. He was born in the town of Bath, England. The inspiration for this hymn text is said to have come to the young author as he was strolling about his native town one day in the late spring, entranced by the beautiful countryside with the winding Avon River in the distance.

"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible

11 comments:

Barb said...

So unlike shouting "Allah Akbar!" --as one guns down people who have done him no wrong.

Jeanette said...

Maybe not completely off-topic:

Our youngest grandchild turned 8 years old today, but that’s not what I want to tell you about him.

He’s a very smart little boy and as he told me last night when I asked if he would help my husband install some new gates, “I’m not just a kid. I’m a kid with a mind and I use it for reading, doing math, playing my games, but I’m not good at putting things together. I even have trouble putting legos together.”

I noticed a little later on that he had a sticker on his shirt that he had received in school. It said, I’m thankful for and the children had to write in the things they were thankful for.

Unlike some of his classmates who said they were thankful for the parents, dogs, ice cream etc., my grandson wrote on his that he is thankful for “God, Heaven and Jesus”. Seems he has his eye on the prize and not the little things of the world.

He often talks to me about spiritual things and last week I told him he was almost 8 years old and in ten years he’d be 18 years old and a man. I said I hoped he still came to visit us and help us to go places we might not be able to navigate then. His response was that he thought by the time he was 18 we’d be dead! I told him I hoped not, but it shows the depth of his thoughts.

He’s definitely his grandfather’s boy and worships my husband. The feeling is reciprocated. My husband calls him “my boy” and he has me wrapped around his finger so tightly I find it hard to tell him no to things such as spending an extra night here.

I’m as close to his sister and she to me as my husband and grandson are with each other.

Lest you think we are playing favorites we stay in touch with our son’s children in Texas and give them advice when they ask or just praise them for their accomplishments with a little bribe for getting good grades.

If I had known how wonderful grandchildren are I would have had them first. I know that’s impossible, but the joys of being a grandparent surpass anything I have known other than falling in love, getting married, seeing my own children for the first time, and being proud of their accomplishments.

It seems we have more time, patience and a softer heart with these four children and they will always be my little babies as long as I live.

Happy birthday, Ry-Ry! You said it feels really, really good to be 8. I know whatever you do in life you will never disappoint us.

We love you all, Patrick, Kelsey, Ashley and Ryan.

Barb said...

You have "count(ed) your blessings, named them one by one."

Barb said...

BTW --I copied my author bio at a website where I found the lyrics --no author, as I recall.

mud_rake said...

"I know whatever you do in life you will never disappoint us."

What if, god forbid, he is gay? Then, surely the wrath of god will descend upon him, for the bible says...

I can just imagine the reaction of oh-so righteous Barb if that, in fact, would become known!

You two would revert back to the 'good old days' when you hated each other, gossiped nastily about each other and acted in quite the non-Jesus way towards one another! It was quite the Revelation for us, the non-religious, to witness.

Barb would be calling on Jeanette to send the boy off to a Jesus Camp to Pray the Gay out of the poor lad!

Jeanette, reaching deep into her bag of ugliness, would curse Barbara like a wharf fishmonger's wife!

It would light up this otherwise stale and dull blog into a real donnybrook affair!!

"I know whatever you do in life you will never disappoint us."

Really?

And why does your grandson have to please you, Jeanette? His existence on earth and his personal happiness is not predicated on pleasing his grandparents or his parents. Or, did I miss that line in Leviticus?

Just think, Barb and Jeanette, of all of those grandmothers out there who have gay or lesbian grandchildren who will sit at the Thanksgiving table this afternoon. Do THEY know that whatever they do in life will never disappoint them, even though there are righteous bitches like the two of you sitting in judgement of their way of life and working hard to deny them their natural rights?

Barb said...

Mudly, as you know, I'm of the opinion that people don't become gay in a vacuum--and they aren't born gay. Or rather, they DO became gay in a vacuum --in a family that is unaware of their responsibility to cultivate heterosexual normalcy, normal gender identity, positive sexual self-image in their children.

First of all, if this fellow has a good dad and mom in a good marriage --and we hear HERE of his doting grandfather, his hero. And if he grows up with Biblical faith and knowledge of right and wrong -- and we know His Grandfather is not Chester, the Molester, so the chances of this boy being gay are probably NIL if he maintains these good relationships with loving Christian men in his life who incline him to faith in the God and morals of the Bible --who incline him to know what it is to be fully male --and that HE is fully male because of the body God gave Him--regardless of what interests he may have in the arts --or lack in sports --no matter what peers say --and so on. All boys and their parents need to be wary of predator potential, also. And if a boy IS artistic, this is to be cultivated by the straight MEN in the family rather than belittled as sissy interests.

It's a fact that molesters entice with the normal male interest in feminine porn --get them stimulated --and then move in with their gay moves. And a bisexual sex addict CAN be born this way.

Thanks for bringing it up again, Mudly.

Jeanette said...

You have crossed a line I would never cross, Denis: You have criticized a member of my family who is only a child. An innocent child who has never done anything to you and doesn't even know you exist.

I would say, though, that he has a kinder heart and more sense than you.

Otherwise you are not worth any more of a response than I just gave you.

Barb said...

Actually, Jeanette, he didn't insult your grandson --just you and me!

To him, it is no insult to be gay. We should consider possibilities that any child can grow up confused.

And to you and me, it is a preventable tragedy --at least I think it is preventable. And heal-able.

Jeanette said...

Mudrake,

My grandchildren are under no obligation to "please me" in their lives, but because they have Christian parents, Christian grandparents and attend church I am not afraid of how they will turn out.

Homosexuality is not inherited or there would be no parents to give birth to homosexuals.

Ryan and Patrick are both 100% all boy, with loving and Christian parents and they attend church and take it seriously.

When an 8 year old boy writes he is thankful, not for toys, ice cream, pets or even parents, but for God, Heaven and Jesus, I would say he's on a very good track.

He's a very loving young man who is patient (he got that from his maternal grandfather), is very slow to anger and is a joy to be around to the extend even his teachers write that and tell his parents and us that whenever we see them.

Worry about your own grandson because I have no worries about mine or my granddaughters.

Jeanette said...

Mudrake or Denis suffers from white guilt. His latest post on his rag of a blog is that white people will be gluttons for Thanksgiving.

I'm on a diet and did not overindulge, nor did I eat any starchy foods except for a small, tablespoon sized helping of stuffing.

There is an African-American woman I met at the beauty shop a couple of months ago. She had lost her job and is a single mom, though she does get child support.

Instead of whining about her plight in life she went into the business of cooking hot lunches for people at various places of work and supports herself and her family with the proceeds.

We buy from her several times a week and give her a generous tip.

She calls me "Mom" because I remind her of her mom when we talk. She calls my husband "Pops" because her own father doesn't show her the interest we show her.

We have invited her to join us for a Christmas dessert theater play at our church at our expense. She and her daughters are invited. We have also invited her to attend our Christmas Eve candlelight services.

She is a wonderful Christian woman who has a wonderful personality, confides in me the problems of raising two teens and we love to see each other and talk on the phone.

She told me she testified to an 18 year old boy on a Monday but he said he was too young to live for the Lord.

By the end of that week he was shot in the head and killed in a drive-by shooting. Almost persuaded, but not quite. He sealed his fate on that Monday.

Is that you? Are you absolutely certain there is no hell? Has anyone ever come back to tell you there isn't? Jesus came back to tell us there is a heaven and a hell. Give me one witness who died and came back to prove there is no hell and then maybe we can discuss that.

You claim not to worship God, but it appears your God is Darwin from the way you celebrate his death, birth etc.

Yes, beside yourself, you have other false gods. Instead of a stink bomb try to think of something nice to say so we can actually converse. I have offered you the olive branch many times and Barb has too, only to be met by the hateful intolerance and name-calling you wish we would sling back at you.

I have become more patient and less quick to anger. You, on the other hand...

Barb said...

Whoa! why did my thanksgiving picture disappear???