a Hymn Devotion for 13 August 2024 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Isaiah 40:8
This hymn, composed by Laura E. Newel of Manhattan, Kansas, in 1881, reminds us of the brevity of our lives on earth and the importance of caring for the most important aspect of our life – salvation in Christ. Mrs. Newel was orphaned as a child and lived with her aunt, who was a teacher, and who encouraged her in her writing. This reminds us of the importance of “Training up a child in the way that he (or she) should go.” (See Proverbs 22:6) Mrs Newel liven from 1854 to 1916, and wrote hundreds of hymns.
Click here to listen to this beautiful hymn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fqy3fPc7l8
AS THE LIFE OF A FLOWER
1 As the life of a flow’r,
As a breath or a sigh,
So the years that we live
As a dream hasten by;
True, today we are here,
But tomorrow may see
Just a grave in the vale,
And a mem’ry of me.
Chorus:
As the life of a flow’r,
As a breath, or a sigh,
So the years glide away,
And alas, we must die.
2 As the life of a flow’r,
Be our lives pure and sweet,
May we brighten the way
For the friends that we greet;
And sweet incense arise,
From our hearts as we life
Close to Him who doth teach
Us to love and forgive. [Chorus]
3 While we tarry below
Let us trust and adore
Him who leads us each day
Tow’rd the radiant shore
Where the sun never sets,
And the flow’rs never fade,
Where no sorrow or death
May its borders invade. [Chorus]
1 As the life of a flow’r, As a breath or a sigh, So the years that we live As a dream hasten by; True, today we are here, But tomorrow may see Just a grave in the vale, And a mem’ry of me. That memory of us may be remembered for a brief spell, but soon the sands of time cover every trace of our having lived – at least in the annals of the human record- but not the Book of Life which records the name of all elect in Christ. We do leave footprints in the sands of time that, although blown away in due season, leave a testimony to all who follow of the direction our lives took during our brief stay on this globe.
2 As the life of a flow’r, Be our lives pure and sweet, May we brighten the way For the friends that we greet; And sweet incense arise, From our hearts as we live Close to Him who doth teach Us to love and forgive. A flower is a beautiful creation of God. The natural flowers of the field emit a pleasant fragrance, and so should the lives of the Christian possess a fragrance appealing to those around them. The Lily of the Valleys (Song 2:1) is a flower that grows without cultivation, but it adds light and beauty along the rocky hillsides and lonely valleys. In fact, ‘Lily of the Valleys is another name of our Lord Jesus Christ – not just the Valley as the old gospel song goes, but of EVERY VALLEY! Just as the High Priest before the Holy of Holies lifted up the prayers of the people to God of which the rising fragrance of the incense symbolized, so our only High Priest (Jesus Christ) hears our prayers and intercedes for us. Living close to Christ is not sufficient – we must live IN Him and He in us. He will never take us into unholy places.
3 While we tarry below Let us trust and adore Him who leads us each day Tow’rd the radiant shore Where the sun never sets, And the flow’rs never fade, Where no sorrow or death May its borders invade. ‘He Leadeth O Blessed Thought’ so goes the words of an old hymn, and that hymn does justice to its purpose as all true hymns should do, in reflecting the beauty of biblical truth. The day brightens ever more glorious each day in the life of the devoted Christian. We follow that Bright and Morning Star until that Eternal Day dawns in the Rising of the Sun of Righteousness.“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:14-17) Rejoice in Christ alone and not in any merit you wrongfully ascribe to yourselves.
Chorus:
As the life of a flow’r, As a breath, or a sigh, So the years glide away, And alas, we must die. Though it is true that our old, worn-out bodies must die and return to the dust of the earth, it is not true that the spirit and soul of the elect dies. Let us cling to the Word of our Faithful Redeemer: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (Gospel of St. John 11:25-26)
Do you believe?
