~SPRING HAS SPRUNG

While happily thinking about how today is the first day of spring, the hymn, "For the Beauty of the Earth," came to mind.  I was introduced to it in high school chorus when we sang the arrangement by John Rutter, which is my version of choice--so pretty.  The Christian music trio BarlowGirl sings the Dix arrangement on one of their CD's.  In addition, the Dix version is on the Little Women motion picture soundtrack.

As it turns out, Folliot Pierpoint took a walk in the English countryside one spring day, and the beauty he saw around him inspired him to pen the lyrics to this hymn.

For The Beauty Of The Earth

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 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 grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,

Brother, sister, parent, child,

Friends on earth, and friends above,

For all gentle thoughts and mild,

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our grateful hymn of praise.

For Thy Church, that 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 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 grateful hymn of praise.

For Thy virgins’ 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 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.

~ ~ ~

Here is a scenic video featuring the John Rutter arrangement, sung by a boys' choir:

And here is the Dix version, sung by BarlowGirl:

~ ~ ~

~THE FINAL CURTAIN

The musical Les Miserables, which is based on the book by Victor Hugo, contains elements of grace, forgiveness, mercy, honor, compassion, and courage.  The story it tells is beautiful, and the music is equally so.  Since this play has always been a favorite in my family, I was very touched when I read an anecdote in a magazine concerning it, which was adapted from a book by Nancy Ortberg entitled, Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey Through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns.

One evening, Nancy and her husband went to see Les Mis.  In the play's finale, a song is sung by its protagonist, Jean Valjean, which contains the following lyric: "To love another person is to see the face of God."  With tears streaming down her face, Nancy turned to her husband and said, "That's one of the truest and most beautiful phrases I've ever heard.  Why didn't God make that a verse in the Bible?"

Several weeks later, Nancy's husband told her he wanted to show her something, and he opened his Bible to Genesis 33:10:

"For to see your face is like seeing the face of God."

For me, this is a lovely anecdote because it reminds me that God really has thought of everything, and that even though there are a plethora of very talented writers in this world who tell very affecting stories, they will never be able to compare to the Author of it all.

The lyrics referred to above can be found at
minute 6:50 of this video:

*Another very affecting part of the play occurs when Jean Valjean (who is an ex-convict who has broken his parole and created a new identity for himself) reaches a crux of faith: he can allow an innocent man who has been mistaken for himself to go to prison in his place, or he can do the honest thing and turn himself in...

*Javert is the police inspector who has made it his life's work to find and capture Jean Valjean.  In this song, he declares that it's his duty to God to do so.



The original Broadway cast recording
is worth every penny!


*Let me caution, parts of this score contain quite a bit of vulgarity.  That's theater for ya' (I guess)  :/

~ ~ ~

~A CUSTOM-MADE CROSS

The everlasting God has in His wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost Heart.  This cross He now sends to you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His Divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.  He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace, perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you, and alms of the allmerciful love of God.

~Saint Francis de Sales~  

~ ~ ~

Jesus had faced the forces of hell and fought them to a standstill.  It was not just the outcome of one day's incredible work, but the culmination of thirty-three years of life on earth; thirty as carpenter and three of public teaching, healing, and continual confrontations with the religious leaders of His day.  And the cross lay just ahead. 

Someone pointed out that Jesus did not feed all the hungry, heal all the sick, cure all the cripples, or raise all the dead.  Yet when He came to the end of His life's work just before His crucifixion, He said, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:4).

How often in my life I have said, "It's enough!"
(1 Kings 19:4)

But we each have our "Plimsoll mark" (that line around ocean tankers to indicate when the load has reached its maximum capacity).  He who made us knows just how much we can take.  He never overloads us.  But "neither has He promised strength for uncommanded tasks."

I want Him to so order my life that when the end comes I can say, "I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

I do not want to feel compelled to say, "It is enough" before I can honestly say, with His help, "It is finished."

~Ruth Bell Graham~

~ ~ ~

~QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The sun shines and warms and lights us, and we have no curiosity to know why this is so; but we ask the reason of all evil, of pain, and hunger, and mosquitoes and silly people."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

~ ~ ~

 "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good."

~Genesis 1:3-4a~

"The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun."
~Psalm 74:16 (NKJV)~

"Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, who does not change like their shifting shadows."
~James 1:17 (NCV)~

~ ~ ~