Praise!

 "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: 

      for his mercy endureth for ever"

Psalm 107:1

PRAISE

A life filled with praise to our Saviour always,

What true joy and blessing that we,

Can be constantly giving while here we are living,

Thanks to Him Who from sin set us free.

In His Word we confide as we walk by His side,

Provision for all our deep needs;

Each day, yes each hour, kept by His power,

By mercies surrounded

Though through Satan’s wiles, we know many trials

And our flesh so much grief doth us bring,

Upheld through each testing, on God's promise resting,

Sweet peace fills our hearts as we sing,

Giving thanks for the love which brought Christ from above,

To suffer on Calvary’s tree;

“Dear Lord we adore Thy blessed name evermore,

May our lives bring true glory to Thee”

O Lord, thou art my God;

I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name;

for thou hast done wonderful things;

thy counsels of old

are faithfulness and truth.

Isaiah 25:1

An Elderly Pilgrim's Thoughts & Prayers

Dear friends we are traveling through strange and difficult times, and no matter what our age it's easy to become discouraged, and  these poems were written at times when the author now aged 84, was really finding life really tough, but God's children cannot remain despondent for long, because His mercies are new every morning, great is His faithfulness  Lamentations 3:22-23  

       "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge"

    Psalm 46:11

    You will be blessed and encouraged by this beautiful song, do share it with others.

      

                         An Elderly Pilgrim’s Prayer

                                                “Dear Lord I’m tired and weary,

                                                Passing through trials and distress.

                                               A very weak and fainting pilgrim

                                              Trudging through earth’s wilderness

                                                Yet in the distance growing brighter

                                              By faith, my eyes can clearly see

                                             A glimpse of Heaven, my homeland

                                                 Where by Thy grace I soon shall be.

                                                 There my Saviour will receive me

                                                When these traveling days are done.

                                                Jesus Who always loves and keeps me,

                                               My heart’s true joy, my shining sun.

                                               May I be at all times steadfast,

                                               And these my autumn days be blessed

                                               With faithfulness in Christian witness

                                                Crowned with abundant fruitfulness"

                                              I must never be discouraged

                                                 For Thy Word daily speaks to me,

                                                Do not fear, what e’er befalls thee

                                                 As thy days thy strength shall be”

                                                  "I will not leave thee nor forsake thee"

                                                 What words of comfort sweet,

                                             Jesus will uphold and quide me.

                                              Soon I'll worship at His feet.

                                                   S Hirst  

                                                     

“And even to your old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs 

will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; 

even I will carry, and will  deliver you.”

Isaiah 46:4

"as thy days, so shall they strength be"

Deut.33:25

 "Be strong and of a good courage...

 for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; 

he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Deuteronomy 31:6

 

Anticipation

Life in this dark weary world is not easy

I long for the end of it’s trials,

All around me sadness and trouble

As I travel the long weary miles.

Yet joyful am I and so happy

As I think of Christ’s glory and grace.

By faith with great joy looking upward

For a glimpse of His dear shining face.

In His hands and His feet see the

Nail marks inflicted on Calvary’s tree,

Where the dear Lamb of God suffered

To save lost guilty sinners like me.

No wonder I’m homesick for heaven,

And the home He’s preparing for me,

Where there’ll be no more separation,

But forever, together we’ll be.

S Hirst

”absent from the body...present with the Lord”

2 Corinthians 5:8

"Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, 

and afterward receive me to glory"

Psalm 73:24

“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:

 I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” 

Psalm 17:15

The Web

 

The Web

Into a disused spider’s web

There flew a little bee,

And sadly could not manage

From this trap itself to free!

Increasingly it struggled,

But the tangles tighter grew

Till wound up in the cobweb

There was nothing it could do!

Just then a lady passing by

Saw the plight of the captured bee,

And at once determined

To try and set it free.

She knew she must be careful

For the insect was so small,

Spider’s webs are very strong,

No easy task at all.

She held her finger by the insect

As she pulled the web away

Strand by strand, ‘till all was gone

Without too much delay.

Still to that finger clung the bee

For all its strength was gone

And the human finger offered

Firm support to rest upon.

Thus it was quickly carried

To some lovely garden flowers

Where it could rest, feed and recover

Throughout the coming hours.

Here ends this little story,

And I’m very pleased to say

The lady found next morning

That the bee had flown away!

She said “Now this reminds me of

What happened once to me,

When I was a sinner lost,

And Jesus set me free!

He came to lose the captives,

Paid their debt at Calvary

How I love my precious Saviour

Whose blood has ransomed me!”

S.Hirst

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, 

Because He has anointed Me 

To preach the gospel to the poor; 

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

 To proclaim liberty to the captives 

And recovery of sight to the blind, 

To set at liberty those who are oppressed"

Luke 4:18

Wandering Sheep

 

“All we like sheep have gone astray; 

we have turned every one to his own way; 

and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:5

 WANDERING SHEEP

Here and there and over yonder 

Little lambs just love to wander!

Sheep always will by nature stray 

Quickly into danger's way;

Foolish ignorance they show, 

As to destruction onward go;

Far from safety, far from home,

 Unafraid they freely roam.

Wilful, wayward, wandering sheep, 

Who can this flock in safety keep?

Like them we too a Shepherd need, 

To watch and keep, to guide and feed.

To bear weak lambs on His strong arm, 

To keep the sheep from every harm.

Christ Jesus is that Shepherd dear,

 Whose voice His own sheep gladly hear.

They will not with a stranger go,

 But flee from those they do not know.

Christ for His sheep a ransom gave,

 That they no more need fear the grave.

He died that they might ever live, 

And to Him praise and honour give,

 How blessed within this flock to be,

 Safe from danger, truly free!

S Hirst

"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, 

and am known of mine"

John 10:11-18

PSALM 23 

Nore.. The picture of the sheep walking along a path all on its own was taken

one sunny day at Seven Sisters Country Park East Sussex

At once the photographer thought of Isaiah 53:5!

The Daisy and the Sunflower

The Daisy and the Sunflower

Cried the daisy to the sunflower

“I would really like to know

Why daisies are so very small,

But sunflowers grow and grow!

So very stately, straight and tall,

They see over the garden wall,

While we poor daisies have to face

life down here in a lowly place!

If only I could grow up high

Towards the lovely sunlit sky,

Then passers by would look at ME,

How really splendid that would be!”

The sunflower bent it's golden head

And to the mournful daisy said

“How truly sad your time is spent

Filled with distress and discontent!

God created sunflowers that is true,

But remember He made daisies too!

Daisies brighten day by day

The grass where little children play.

Daisies cannot fail to please,

Providing nectar for the bees.

If every flower grew very tall

That just would not be good at all!”

Each child of God must blossom too

In the appointed appointed place,

And we can bloom right where we are

By His amazing grace.

Plants of wondrous beauty flower,

Where no human eye can see,

But it pleases Him that they

Should in such places be.

No matter where we’re planted

Let's bloom for Him and say

“Dear Lord make me a blessing

Just where I am today!”

S Hirst

God Reigns

“Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

Revelation 19.6

God Reigns

God reigns, sweet words, a pillow for the Christian’s weary head:

Through this uncertain changing world, he shall be safely led.

God reigns, the raging waves must all His mighty voice obey.

The troubled nations never cease to be beneath His sway.

God reigns, He sets up whom He will upon the throne.

He watches o’er His Church His eye is always on His own.

God reigns, a sparrow falls, but the Creator knows.

A Christian suffers, but the Lord brings good from all his woes.

God reigns, events on earth but further His eternal plans,

Though hard times come, we’re safe within His loving hands.

Our Heavenly Father reigns, O blessed thought, that He

Binds up the broken hearted, sets the prisoners free.

Our Dearest Saviour reigns, and soon one day we’ll be

Beyond earth's trials and troubles, lost in praise eternally.

So let us now take courage, knowing truly all is well,

And to many others the glad Gospel tidings tell.

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,

the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen”

1 Timothy 1:17