The Promised Land

"A land flowing with milk and honey." 

Exodus 3:8

Land Of Milk And Honey

Barb Suttie

I fled from Egypt's bondage,

I heard that help was near;

I cast my care on Jesus,

And He dispersed my fear:

I passed between the billows;

Walled up every hand,

I trusted to my Captain,

And sought the promised land.

(Refrain)

I am over, yes over

On Canaan's shore I stand;

I am over, yes, over,

In the promised land.

I sang a song of triumph

I shouted o'er and o'er;

And then pursued my journey,

For Canaan's happy shore:

The Approach To Mount Sinai

David Roberts

(1839)

I came to Sinai's mountain,

I trod the desert sand,

I drank at Horeb's fountain,

Seeking the promised land.

The spies brought back their message,

Some wept, some said, "We can";

The land was all 'twas promised,

But who would lead the van?

At last, my heart despairing,

Of entering with this band,

I cried aloud to Jesus,

To show the promised land.

The Ark Passes Over The Jordan

Jacques Joseph Tissot

(1896-1902)

Then, after weary marches,

And many a longing sigh,

I found the river crossing,

And saw the land was nigh:

The Lord looked down in mercy,

By faith I touched His hand,

I followed close beside Him,

And found the promised land.

And now my song of gladness

I'm singing day by day,

For fellowship with Jesus

Makes calm and bright my way;

I fear not for the morrow,

For His almighty hand

I know shall lead and keep me

In this, the promised land.

"The Promised Land"

Words by Joshua Gill

(1889)

Music by William J. Kirkpatrick

The Blood Upon The Door: Pesach/Passover 5778 - Good Friday 2018

"On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight

is the Lord's Passover."
Leviticus 23:5

And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt
Arthur Hacker
(1898)

When the Lord passed over Egypt,

There was weeping everywhere,

For the angel smote the firstborn

Of each family dwelling there;

But some houses He passed over;

As His word had said before,

And death entered not the portals

Where the blood was on the door.

(Refrain)

Precious blood upon the door,

Saving blood upon the door;

O, my soul there is no danger,

When the blood is on the door.

We are in a land of danger;

And death lurks on every hand;

But that soul has perfect safety

Who obeys the Lord's command;

For secure in God's pavilion,

He can watch life's breakers roar;

For God's angels guard that dwelling

Where the blood is on the door.

(Refrain)

Not the blood of lambs or cattle,

Sprinkled over any part,

But the blood of Christ the Savior,

Can redeem a human heart;

Then when death those ties shall sever;

And we walk on earth no more,

We may live with Christ forever

If His blood is on the door.

(Refrain)

Jesus, King of Kings
Yongsung Kim

"It is common at this time of the year for Jewish

believers in Jesus to host special church events with

titles like, "Messiah in the Passover Seder"

During these presentations, which can draw many

hundreds of people, the teaching will point to 

Jesus/Yeshua, the Lamb of God, as the

centerpiece of the Passover.

He is the One who paved the way for a

deliverance even greater than the Exodus from Egypt.

He is the One whose blood redeems us from God's judgement.

He is the Passover Lamb!

So, during the meal, the participants look back to Exodus,

they look back to the Cross, and they celebrate

the Jewish roots of their faith."
-Michael L. Brown


"Not to us, O Lord, not to us but
to Your name give glory, for Your mercy
and loving-kindness and for the sake of
Your truth and faithfulness!"
Psalm 115:1



"The Blood Upon The Door"
Words by Johnson Oatman Jr.
Music by George C. Hugg

The Last Blue Moon...Till 2020

This week's full moon, the second this month, is

known as the Full Sap Moon.  This will be the last

"blue moon" or the event of two full moon

  cycles in the same month until the year 2020.

In the language of my ancestors, the Cherokee Indians, the moon

in March is called, Anvyi, or the Windy Moon,  which traditionally 

 marked the beginning of the spring planting season.

Each spring the Cherokee planted enough crops to

provide food for two years.  They grew corn, squash,

melons, pumpkins, sunflower seeds, and many other vegetables.

Other names for this month's moon include the Crow Moon, 

 the Crust Moon,  the Sugar Moon, and  the Chaste Moon.

In Old English/Anglo Saxon this month's moon

 was known as the Lenten Moon.

All Praise To Thee, My God, This Night

"And God made the two great lights-

the greater light, the sun, to rule the day

and the lesser light, the moon, to rule the night."

Genesis 1:16

The second full moon of the month will occur on March 31st.

All praise to Thee, my God, this night,

For all the blessings of the light!

Keep me, O keep me, King of kings,

Beneath Thine own almighty wings.

O may my soul on Thee repose,

And with sweet sleep mine eyelids close,

Sleep that may me more vigorous make

To serve my God when I awake.

"All Praise To Thee, My God, This Night"

Words by Thomas Ken

(1674)

Music by Thomas Tallis

Give Me, O Lord, A Heart Of Grace

Give me, O lord, a heart of grace,

A voice of joy, a shining face,

That I may show, where'er I turn,

Thy love within my soul doth burn.

Though life be sweet and joy be dear;

Be in my mind a quiet fear,

A patient strength in pain and care,

An enmity to dark despair.

A tenderness for all that stray,

With strength to help them on the way,

A cheerfulness, a heav'nly mirth

Brightening my steps along the earth.

"Give Me, O Lord, A Heart Of Grace"

Words by Rosa Mulholland

(1886)

Music by Thomas B. Southgate

(1855)

Illustrations by Eloise Wilkin

Gethsemane

My Jesus, I would ne'er forget,

That hour I spent with Thee;

When there I saw Thy bloody sweat

In dark Gethsemane.

(Refrain)

I'll ne'er forget, I'll ne'er forget,

I'll ne'er forgetful be,

When there I saw Thy bloody sweat

In dark Gethsemane.

'Twas in that olive grove I felt

That Thou hadst died for me;

Alas, how great I saw my guilt

While in Gethsemane.

(Refrain)

Christ In Gethsemane

Hermann Clementz

I thought of how Thy heart did throb,

While "all" Thine own did flee,

And left Thee with the cruel mob,

In sad Gethsemane.

(Refrain)

'Twas there I felt my grief and shame

In oft forsaking Thee,

How precious was Thy very name

In dear Gethsemane.

(Refrain)

Should e'er our love to Thee grow cold,

And we forgetful be,

We'll call to mind Thy love untold

While in Gethsemane.

(Refrain)

Garden of Gethsemane

Jerusalem, Israel

"Gethsemane"

A song inspired by a visit to Gethsemane

Written by Edward P. Hammand

(1866)

Music by Asa Hall

(1869)

Mysterious Presence Source Of All

"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

Amen and Amen."

Psalm 41:13

Mysterious presence, source of all-

The world without, the soul within,

Fountain of life, O hear our call,

And pour Thy living waters in!

Blue Lake

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Thou breathest in the rushing wind;

Thy Spirit stirs in leaf and flower;

Nor wilt Thou from the willing mind

Withhold Thy light and love and power.

Thy hand unseen to accents clear

Awoke the psalmist's trembling lyre,

And touched the lip of holy seer

With flame from Thine own altar fire.

That touch divine, still Lord, impart;

Still give the prophet's burning sword;

And, vocal in each waiting heart,

Let living psalms of praise be heard.

Ogalalla Wildflowers

Indian Peaks, Colorado

"Mysterious Presence Source Of All"

Words by Seth C. Beach

(1866)

Music by Herbert S, Oakeley

Fourth Sunday Meditation: Messiah! At Thy Glad Approach

"Lamb of God"
Tom Dubois

Messiah! at Thy glad approach

The howling winds are still;

Thy praises fill the lonely waste,

And breathe from every hill.

The incense of the spring ascends

Upon the morning gale;

Red o'er the hill the roses bloom,

The lilies in the vale.

Renewed, the earth a robe of light,

A robe of beauty wears;

And in new heav'ns a brighter Sun

Leads on the promised years.

Let Israel to the Prince of Peace

The loud hosanna sing;

With hallelujahs, and with hymns,

O Zion,  hail thy King.

Messiah! At Thy Glad Approach!

Words by Michael Bruce

(1764)

First published by Joshua Logan

in his "Poems"

(1781)

Music by Henry Ward Beecher

for "Plymouth Collection Of Hymns And Tunes"

(1855)

The Song Of The Speedwell Fairy

Clear blue are the skies;

My petals are blue;

And beautiful too,

As the bluest of eyes.

There are many kinds of Speedwell;

this is the "Germander".

The heavens are high:

By the field-path I grow

Where wayfarers go,

And "Good speed" say I;

"See, here is a prize

Of wonderful worth:

A weed of the earth,

As blue as the skies!"

In America, an old-fashioned,  long-leafed variation of

Speedwell called Veronica is found in many heirloom gardens.

 Grown as a dependable border plant, these perennial flowers

with their lovely lilac spikes are a favorite of bees, 

butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Veronica Flowers

"The Song of the Speedwell Fairy"

Poem and Illustration by

Cecily Mary Barker

The Song Of The Lords-And-Ladies Fairy

Here's the song of the Lords-and-Ladies

(in the damp and shade he grows):

I have neither bells nor petals,

like the foxglove or the rose.

Through the length and breadth of England,

many flowers you may see-

Petals, bells, and cups in plenty-

but there's no one else like me.

In the hot-house dwells my kinsman,

Arum-lily, white and fine;

I am not so tall and stately,

but the quaintest hood is mine;

And my glossy leaves are handsome;

I've a spike to make you stare;

And my berries are a glory in September,

(BUT BEWARE!)

Also known as Wild Arum and Jack-In-The-Pulpit,

and a visual delight to discover in the springtime woods,

all parts of the Lords-and-Ladies plant are considered

to be extremely poisonous to people and animals.

"The Song of the Lords-and-Ladies Fairy"

Poem and illustration by

Cecily Mary Barker

The Woman's Hymn

"You do not need to twist arms once you have had

 a personal encounter with the Christ of Galilee.

Ministry is not then a maybe-it's a must."

-Jill Briscoe

Beauty blooms in Beer Sheva

Israel

Come women, wide proclaim

Life through your Savior slain;

Sing evermore.

Christ, God's effulgence bright,

Christ, Who arose in might,

Christ, Who crowns you with light,

Praise and adore.

Come, clasping children's hands

Sisters from many lands,

Teach to adore.

For the sin sick and worn,

The weak and overborne,

All who in darkness mourn,

Pray, work, yet more.

Work with your courage high,

Sing of the daybreak nigh,

Your love outpour.

Stars shall your brow adorn,

Your heart leap with the morn,

And, by His Love upborne,

Hope and adore.

Then when the garnered field

Shall to our Master yield

A bounteous store,

Christ, hope of all the meek,

Christ, whom all the earth shall seek,

Christ your reward shall speak,

Joy evermore.

Springtime Wildflowers in the Galilee region of Israel

A Women's Hymn

(1913)

Fanny E. Heck

(1862-1915)