Sunday Audio Service – Advent 3 – Holy Communion – 15/12/24
COME DOWN, O LOVE DIVINE,
Seek Thou this soul of mine
And visit it with Thine own ardour glowing.
O Comforter, draw near,
Within my heart appear,
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.
O let it freely burn,
Till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes, in its heat consuming.
And let Thy glorious light
Shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
Let holy charity
Mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing.
True lowliness of heart,
Which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
And so the yearning strong,
With which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the power of human telling.
For none can guess its grace,
Till he become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.
Richard F. Littledale
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WHEN WE WALK WITH THE LORD
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey!
Trust and obey!
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away.
Not a doubt nor a fear,
Not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey!
Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay.
Not a grief nor a loss,
Not a frown nor a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey!
But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay.
For the favour He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for those who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey!
John Henry Sammis.
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ALL I ONCE HELD DEAR, built my life upon,
All this world reveres, and wars to own,
All I once thought gain I have counted loss;
Spent and worthless now, compared to this.
Knowing You, Jesus,
Knowing You, there is no greater thing.
You’re my all, You’re the best,
You’re my joy, my righteousness,
And I love You, Lord.
Now my heart’s desire is to know You more,
To be found in You and known as Yours.
To possess by faith what I could not earn,
All-surpassing gift of righteousness.
Oh, to know the power of Your risen life,
And to know You in Your sufferings.
To become like You in Your death, my Lord,
So with You to live and never die.
Graham Kendrick
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IT CAME UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
‘Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heaven’s all gracious King!’
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled,
And still their heavenly music floats
O’er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o’er its Babel sounds
The blessèd angels sing.
Yet with woes of sin and strife
The world has suffered long,
Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
Two thousand years of wrong.
And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring:
O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
And hear the angels sing.
For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold.
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendours fling,
And all the world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.
E. H. Sears.
