New Mercies New Song
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth..
Psalm 96:1(NIV)
This
New
Year is different from all others. There are many worries I
have which many
of you might also have. I feel worries have escalated the highest from the time
I have taken over responsibilities of being a family man, of being a Vicar, of
being a Missionary, of being a son to my parents, of being a brother to my
sister and being a father. I was constantly in search of a bible
verse which
would motivate and encourage me to move on. Since Dec 30th
I have been trying to get a verse.
For
that I would open the bible, close my eyes and the first verse I see would be
the verse God has given me. On Dec 30th
I got Psalm 96:1. You
wont believe till yesterday I got the same verse even when I tried it with
different Bible (Mal,Hindi,Gujarati).
How
to sing a new song with all these worries. God made it clear yesterday on my
journey to Jammu. I was listening to a podcast by Timothy Keller and he shared
the story of religious poet and Hymn writer Frances Ridley Havergal.
Before the sermon a hymn ‘Another Year Is Dawning’
written by her was
sung. Appropriate for the day, but also, given the unknowns I faced, faintly
annoying. How could the author be so sure it would be “another year of
gladness...of quiet, happy rest”?
In
his sermon he mentioned Frances Havergal’s
life, and I quickly learned, it was far from placid. Frances was ill all her
life, never able to attend school, marry, have children. I worried about paying
bills and finding resource for the mission;
Frances’s father, an English clergyman, had scarcely started work in his first
parish when he was thrown from a carriage and incapacitated. Then when Frances
was eleven, her mother died. In her grief, the girl turned to writing hymns of
faith. Until her own death at age fifty-three, this frail woman never stopped
composing verses that have given strength to others ever since.
To
all the questions, worries and doubts now I have before me the example of a
woman who faced her own unknown future with a high heart.
I
am forced to sing with her Give me the songs again this year, Father, to make
it “another year with Thee.”
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let
it be
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee;
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.
In working or in waiting, another year with Thee;
Another year of progress, another year of praise,
Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and
grace,
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;
Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;
Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service, of witness for Thy
love,
Another year of training for holier work above;
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.
Another year of training for holier work above;
Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be
On earth, or else in Heaven, another year for Thee.
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