Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Reposting: Words of Wisdom, circa 1880 ( #faithpast)

Here's another in my series that seeks to draw inspiration for these difficult times from the writings and memories of people of faith who are no longer with us. I'm calling the series "Faith Past." 

This post originally appeared in 2014.       #faithpast

Words of Wisdom

At a recent estate sale, I bought a box containing a lot of 1950s Christmas cards.  In with all the images of Santas, puppies, kittens and trees, I found a single page of lined paper that was obviously a lot older than the cards.

The very top of the page had been cut off, but you can still read the lines below.

Someone -- someone with very good penmanship -- had copied (or composed?) poems.

I tried looking the poems up online.  Apparently at least some of them are not original to this author; all the citations I found, date them at least to the 1880s.  I found one other hand-written document on similar lined paper from the same estate, dated September 1, 1880, so my guess is that this sheet of poetry is about the same age.


Here are the poems:

There is not a grand, inspiring thought,
There is not a truth by wisdom taught,
There is not a feeling pure, and high
That may not be read in a mother's eye.

There are teachings of earth and sky and air
The heavens, the glory of God declare
But louder than voice, beneath, above
He is heard to speak through a mother's love.

We may write our names in albums
We may trace them on the sand,
We may chisel them in marble
With a firm and skillful hand. 
But, my friend, there is an album
Full of leaves of snowy white
Where no name is ever tarnished
But forever pure and bright.
In the book of Life, "God's Album"
May your name be traced with care,
And may you, my dearest friend,
Write your name forever there.


...And remember when you're tired and weary
And long to be at home,
That God in all his goodness
Knows what is best for you and me;
And who on earth do heavy crosses bear,
In heaven all bright with beauty
The brightest crown shall wear.

Choose not your friends from outward show,
The feather floats, but the pearl lies low.

Life is a sea, where storms must rise;
'Tis folly talks of cloudless skies;
He who contracts his swelling sail
Eludes the fury of the gale.

Friendship, like an evergreen
Will brave the inclement blast,
And still retain the bloom of spring
When summer days are past;
And though the wintry sky may lower,
And dim the cheerful day,
She still perceives a vital power,
Unconscious of decay.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Reposting: Abide With Me ( #faithpast)



During difficult times, it can be helpful to look back and see how people of faith, who came before us, handled challenges in their own lives. I'm going to start a new series on The Estate Sale Chronicles called "Faith Past" to share some of their stories. I'll start with this post I wrote in 2014.  (For ease of sharing on social media, I will use the hashtag #faithpast .)


Abide With Me

At the end of some estate sales, the sellers will tell the buyers to "fill up a box or a bag" with items and give them a low, fixed price on the lot, usually five or ten dollars.  That's how I ended up with this little book last weekend.  Several members of this family had been involved in serving other people through their churches.




"Abide With Me" is a classic Christian hymn.  The lyrics were written in 1847 by Scottish Anglican Henry Lyte, who died of tuberculosis three weeks after he penned the words.  The publishers, Cupples & Leon, printed this illustrated version of the lyrics in about 1900.  They were known for producing nice-looking books at a reasonable price.  They also produced similar small volumes based on other favorite hymns, including "Lead Kindly Light,"  Psalm 23, "Rock of Ages" and others. 

In "Abide With Me," no credit is given to the artist(s) who did the artwork and the gilt calligraphy. It's too bad, because the work is also inspiring.



Here are Lyte's original words; the singer is speaking to God.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.



Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.




I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.




I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?

 I triumph still, if Thou abide with me. 


Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.





When he wrote "Abide With Me," Henry Lyte must have known that his time on earth was coming to a close.  He was looking ahead to the time when the light would shine through the gloom.



Here's a link to the chorus of King's College, Cambridge, England, singing Lyte's words to the tune written by William H. Monk in 1861.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deJDkU6qiGE

You can listen to a basic rendition of the score, and read the other verses of the hymn, on the Cyberhymnal website:  http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/b/abidewme.htm