Anniversary hymn
[sung to tune: "All Saints New"]
Our fathers, in the years grown dim, reared slowly, wall by wall
A holy dwelling-place for Him, that filleth all in all.
They wrought His house of faith and prayer, the rainbow round the Throne,
A precious temple builded fair on Christ the Cornerstone.
The Angel of the Golden Reed hath found the measure strait'
He hears the Great Foundation plead for ampler wall and gate.
The living pillars of the Truth grown on from morn to morn,
And still the heresy of youth is age's creed outworn.
But steadfast is their inner shrine wrought of the heart's fine gold,
Its hunger and its thirst divine, with jewels manifold,
Red sard of pain, hope's emerald gleam, white peace, no glory missed
Of righteous life and saintly dream, Jasper to amethyst.
Spirit of Truth, forbid that we who now God's temple are
And keep the faith with minds more free, our father's fabric mar.
Better than thoughts the stars that search is self still sacrificed,
For only Love can build the church whose corner-stone is Christ.
poem by Katharine Lee Bates
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
His True Church
I know many religious people, and one Church with no steeple,
A church that’s built with no walls, built on only believing souls,
Built upon an Eternal Foundation, that being our very Salvation,
Built upon The One Cornerstone, and that is Jesus Christ alone.
Many, who worship in a building, to Truth alone, are unyielding,
Building a church on tradition, God’s Truth, with man’s addition,
Added to the work finished by, Jesus Christ who reigns on high,
Ignoring His words “it is finished”, Grace by many is diminished.
Men making a way to Heaven, not by grace but religious leaven,
Building church in a human way, as they lead many souls astray,
As many souls weekly perch, in the pews of a manmade church,
Relying on their religious activity, to help them work into eternity.
“I will build my Church” He said, that was Christ, who is the Head,
Head of His True Church on earth, filled with souls, by New Birth,
All members being Born Again, into His Church, not one of men,
You’ll find, you no longer search, as a member of God’s Church.
Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life, as Head of the Church of Christ,
And each of us is a living stone, built through faith in Christ alone,
His Church He proceeds to build, to complete as His Father willed,
Leading the only True Church friend, as others shall see in the end.
The Doctrine of Christ
While abiding in the doctrine of Christ, we have hope of Eternal Life,
With The Truths Christ would impart, unto every true, believing heart,
Describing a sevenfold foundation, which, undergirds our Salvation,
A Salvation in which we can trust, all through our Lord, Christ Jesus.
First, God has just one true Body, One True Church for you and me,
A Body, where Christ is The Head, as others remain spiritually dead;
Then, there’s only one Spirit of God, for all believers on earth’s sod,
Christ’s Spirit that leads us each day, to live life on The Narrow Way.
We’ve but, One Hope in this world, our hope in Christ that we herald,
The Hope we have in Jesus Christ, Who shall take us all to Paradise;
As the Body has but One Lord, Jesus Christ, the one Savior adored,
By all, who truly belong to God, Who leads us all, with staff and rod.
Fifth, we all have but one Faith, that we’ve come to by God’s Grace,
But one Faith, held by all God’s own, our faith in Jesus Christ alone;
Then, there’s only one Baptism, standing apart from every other ism,
Our baptism through God’s Spirit, when believing Truth as we hear it.
There’s but One God for all of us, The Eternal Father of Christ Jesus,
Our Eternal Father and Creator, Who gave to us, our Blessed Savior;
All of these are found in our foundation, right from God’s Revelation,
Our foundation on which we stand, until we reach the Promised Land.
The Building
"Build me a house," said the Master,
"But not on the shifting sand,
Mid the wreck and roar of tempests,
A house that will firmly stand.
"I will bring thee windows of agates,
And gates of carbuncles bright,
And thy fairest courts and portals
Shall be filled with love and light.
"Thou shalt build with fadeless rubies,
All fashioned around the throne,
A house that shall last forever,
With Christ as the cornerstone.
"It shall be a royal mansion,
A fair and beautiful thing,
It will be the presence-chamber
Of thy Saviour, Lord and King.
"Thy house shall he bound with pinions
To mansions of rest above,
But grace shall forge all the fetters
With the links and cords of love.
"Thou shalt he free in this mansion
From sorrow and pain of heart,
For the peace of God shall enter,
And never again depart."
poem by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Living Stones
As we taste and see God is good, we become in Christ a brotherhood,
One body of believers in The Word, through the Truth that we’ve heard,
We then become New Living Stones, in Christ, whose sacrifice atones,
Making atonement for all our sin, as God laid all our iniquity upon Him.
Upon The Rock God builds each stone, upon The Savior, Christ alone,
We’re being built into a dwelling for, The Spirit sent by Christ our Lord.
The Precious Stone is Jesus Christ, who gives all believers a New Life,
While Christ alone, is our foundation, the Cornerstone of our Salvation.
God called us out of our darkness, and fills us with His Righteousness.
Called out from the darkest of night, to be filled with His Glorious Light.
We come to Christ dead in our sin, but, made alive with a Hope in Him.
A Rock and Fortress is our God, a refuge to flee to on this earthly sod.
A chosen people, a Brotherhood; a Holy Nation and Royal Priesthood.
God’s Glory dwells within all of us, when in the Rock we place our trust.
A special people by God’s election, then given by God a new direction,
To point other sinners to eternity, to God’s praise, honor and His Glory.
As Living Stones, we proclaim, God’s Salvation, in the Rock of shame,
Shame for all nations who do reject, the One who saves all God’s elect.
And now a Precious Rock for those, who believed in the One who rose,
It is that Rock of Ages that we praise, as Stones living out earthly days.
(Copyright ©08/2008)
The Shrine
For them we have builded a temple
To stand as a visible sign.
For them we have builded a temple,
And set in its great heart a shrine.
Ere the dull years shall tarnish their story,
While the spirit bides close to us yet,
We have set up a shrine to their glory,
Lest men should forget.
We have raised upa visible temple,
Hewn from impermanent stone;
And the spirit shall dwell in the temple;
Yet not in the temple alone.
Lest the spirit of that great oblation,
Eternal, transcending all pride,
Dwell, too, in the heart of their nation,
In vain they have died.
For a holier place has enshrined them
From treacherous time's swift decay:
A temple more hallowed has held them
Inviolate unto today.
But the friends of their friends, too, shall perish,
The seed of their seed shall grow old,
While for ever the flame that these cherish
A nation must hold.
So soon do their feet grow aweary
Of treading where glory had birth,
So soon do their souls grow aweary
Of transient things of the earth.
And they go to the great consummating,
The goal of their pilgrimage won,
To triumphant battalions awaiting
They drift one by one.
When the last tired veteran totters
From this, fame's unstable abode;
When the last tired footfall has echoed
And died in the dust of the road;
Tho' they boast down the years of his story,
If the spirit he left us shall fail
No shrine may envision that glory
No temple avail.
We have builded a visible temple;
We have set us a tangible sign
For a symbol of that truer temple,
A mark of that holier shrine;
And nought of war's long tarnished story
Dwells there, not of pride nor of pain,
But all that remains of their glory
Who died not in vain.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Are They Really Brothers?
Can we call someone brother, who believes and follows another,
A different Gospel opposed to us, who believe, alone in Jesus?
Some lift up the image of man, while they follow a religious plan,
Portraying Christ on the cross, even after His victory for the lost.
Shouldn’t we help them to see, He’s no longer dying on Calvary?
But, Christ rose from the dead, and reigns on His Throne instead.
Shouldn’t we bring men to faith, through God’s unmerited Grace?
Trust in Christ’s work on the cross, without all that religious dross.
Some even believe in ritual prayer, to saints who aren’t even there,
At the place in which they intercede, for that believer’s every need.
Shouldn’t we help them understand, we are God’s Saints at hand?
That very moment we truly believe, and The Holy Spirit we receive.
What if they haven’t truly believed, then leave this earth deceived?
There’s no place called Purgatory, to suffer before going to Glory.
Apart from Christ, they will not see, that Glory of Heaven eternally,
So we must move them in love, toward the only Truth from above.
Christ Himself will say to many, even all, who knew religion plenty,
“Depart from me”, for He never knew, any whose faith wasn’t True,
Man’s religion thoroughly equips, men for profession with the lips,
But, without true faith in one’s heart, one will not enter, only depart.
(Copyright ©08/2009)
Today... 'The Cornerstone
Rejected of men for being too good
we crucified you on a cross of wood
But Your Father had other plans for You
for the temple was to be built anew
A building not made of rock or of stone
but one made up of Christians alone
Built of people saved by the grace of God
the Cornerstone is Jesus Christ the Lord
A great temple not built by human skill
but made up of those who follow God's will
The living temple of Your body Lord
because its' builder and maker is God
To build it the old temple had to go
through death so that You could raise it up so.
This is marvellous in our sight O Lord
One in Christ we are the temple of God.
(see also the additional information in the Poet's notes box below)
Love's Treasure House
I went to Love's old treasure house last night,
Alone, when all the world was still -- asleep,
And saw the miser Memory, grown gray
With years of jealous counting of his gems,
There seated. Keen was his eye, his hand
Firm as when first his hoarding he began
Of precious things of Love, long years ago.
"And this," he said, "is gold from out her hair,
And this the moonlight that she wandered in,
With here a rose, enamelled by her breath,
That bloomed in glory 'tween her breasts, and here
The brimming sun-cup that she quaffed at noon,
And here the star that cheered her in the night;
In this great chest, see curiously wrought,
Are purest of Love's gems." A ruby key,
Enclasped upon a golden ring, he took,
With care, from out some secret hiding-place,
And delicately touched the lock, whereat
I staggered, blinded by the light of things
More luminous than stars, and questioned thus --
"What are these treasures, miser Memory?"
And slowly bending his gray head, he spoke:
"These are the multitudes of kisses sweet
Love gave so gladly, and I treasure here."
poem by David MacDonald Ross
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Body Is A Temple
They say your body is a temple, and I found
This to be true, for in my temple I found you.
I felt your soul surround me like a mist
On a foggy day, and right then I knew
That in my heart forever you would stay.
My body is a temple and
You are the foundation
you control my heart
And every sensation.
Now this temple had become a temple of two
For it belonged to me and you.
We built this temple for all the world to see
That thru love this is the way it should be.
When you’ve shared the most precious
Moments that GOD did provide
When not on all topics did we see eye to eye
When in sickness you was the comforting stone
And you know that you’re not alone.
When that temple seems to be falling apart
And you‘ve lost all hope in your heart.
When it seems like you have no other place to go
And your thoughts are moving slow
That is when you turn to the lord above
To show you how to rekindle that love.
The body is a temple and in it I found you
And with your strength I know what I have to do.
I will rebuild this temple with the love of my life
For you are my partner, my lover, my wife.
poem by Louis Rams
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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We Are Saints
I’ve been sanctified, set apart, for God’s service from the start,
The very moment that I believed, when Christ’s Spirit I received,
I was indeed, set apart by God, while still upon this earthly sod,
Sealed by the Spirit of Christ, for God’s purpose within this life.
All believers are God’s holy ones, truly set apart, by God’s Son,
Becoming saints while on earth, through the power of New Birth,
Indeed, not by the choice of men, but when we were Born Again,
We’re true saints of The Living God, led on earth by Christ’s rod.
Saints, according to God’s Grace, for His purpose on this place,
To have an impact, in this world, as His Truth we fervently herald,
Truth that states we are saints, regardless of what religion paints,
Saints, chosen by Christ The Lord, truth, that by many is ignored.
We are saints, as God has willed, with His purpose to be fulfilled,
Not simply saints for another time, but on earth by God’s Design,
Separated from this world’s plan, to be used by The Son of Man,
In spreading the Gospel of Christ, while in this present earthly life.
We’re not saints for just above, but here by God for sharing love,
The love of His Saving Gospel, as this for believers is God’s will,
To fill with saints the Church of God, those upon this earthly sod,
Then we can spend Eternal Life, saints together with Jesus Christ.
(Copyright ©01/2012)
Love, Faith and Hope
Love is one identifying mark that sets Believers and others apart.
Men will know us from others when we have love one for another.
Love covers a multitude of sin, when you have Christ’s love within.
It was Christ’s love on the cross that covered the sins of the lost.
No greater love to comprehend than giving one’s life for a friend.
In His love, God did condescend, saving sinners like us, my friend.
We display the love of Christ, when we become a living sacrifice.
It’s a reasonable service to Him; As His Love washed away our sin.
If in your life you give God His place, He will then fill you with faith.
This Faith centers upon Him; as Christ turns you from a life of sin.
Faith becomes your foundation, the moment you receive Salvation.
Friend in your newly found Faith, you will be led by God’s Grace.
And friend your Faith is assured, as you put your Hope in The Lord,
Not in your life or other men but Hope in the One who God did send.
For Christ is The Hope of all men, He is The Beginning and The End,
As Christ is The Hope of certainty, that goes on well into Eternity.
My friend, Faith, Hope and Love, they are all gifts from God up above,
And if you glean from up above, you will see that the greatest is Love.
God’s Love produces in us a Faith that helps us point to God’s Grace.
Grace appeared to all then, and Christ remains The Hope of all men.
(Copyright ©12/2004)
Relying On The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is enough for me, as I’ve been sealed for eternity,
Sealed, by The Spirit of Christ, with His guarantee of Eternal Life;
The Spirit, the only teacher I need, as Truth, He helps me to heed,
Guiding me through all my days, for Christ’s Glory and His Praise.
For The Spirit opened my eyes, to discern Truth from Satan’s lies,
Teaching me the Ways of God, while led by Christ’s staff and rod,
Growing in His Truth and Love, assisted by His Spirit, from above,
Teaching me God’s Truth day to day, as I travel life’s Narrow Way.
It’s the work of God’s Holy Spirit, to shed light on Truth as I hear it,
Revealing Truths, that I never heard, from God’s Holy, Living Word.
From The Truth, revealed to men, by God’s Spirit, I am Born Again,
Believing in Christ and Him alone, I became one of God’s very own.
As God’s Spirit led me to believe, The Truth of God I would receive,
Believing the Saving Truth of Christ, I received in the Spirit New Life,
And at that very time and place, my life was changed, by His Grace,
Never again would it be the same; all by the power of Christ’s Name.
It is in Christ, that I now abide, through The Spirit, Who dwells inside,
And in God’s Spirit, I fully rely, in the same power from God on high,
Sent to comfort Children of God, while they journey this earthly sod,
Who will also, soon snatch us away, to Heaven on that Glorious day.
(Copyright ©06/2010)
Old St David's at Radnor
What an image of peace and rest
Is this little church among its graves!
All is so quiet; the troubled breast,
The wounded spirit, the heart oppressed,
Here may find the repose it craves.
See, how the ivy climbs and expands
Over this humble hermitage,
And seems to caress with its little hands
The rough, gray stones, as a child that stands
Caressing the wrinkled cheeks of age!
You cross the threshold; and dim and small
Is the space that serves for the Shepherd's Fold;
The narrow aisle, the bare, white wall,
The pews, and the pulpit quaint and tall,
Whisper and say: "Alas! we are old."
Herbert's chapel at Bemerton
Hardly more spacious is than this;
But Poet and Pastor, blent in one,
Clothed with a splendor, as of the sun,
That lowly and holy edifice.
It is not the wall of stone without
That makes the building small or great
But the soul's light shining round about,
And the faith that overcometh doubt,
And the love that stronger is than hate.
Were I a pilgrim in search of peace,
Were I a pastor of Holy Church,
More than a Bishop's diocese
Should I prize this place of rest, and release
From farther longing and farther search.
Here would I stay, and let the world
With its distant thunder roar and roll;
Storms do not rend the sail that is furled;
Nor like a dead leaf, tossed and whirled
In an eddy of wind, is the anchored soul.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Foundational Truth
The foundation for Grace was laid, when by Christ the price was paid,
Paid with His Blood on a cross, where Christ had died for sinners lost.
With the precious blood of Jesus Christ, He bought for all Eternal Life,
As life is in the blood my friend, and in Jesus Christ that life won’t end.
He is the Church’s one foundation, the Lord and God of our Salvation,
And He is the Chief Cornerstone, as salvation is found in Christ alone.
Christ, who died for all men on earth, offers to every man a New Birth,
The moment you believe is when, in Jesus Christ, you are born-again.
This is the foundation of New Life, life that’s found only in Jesus Christ,
Christ can give you a new start, transforming both your mind and heart.
Jesus will turn you from your sin, when you begin a daily walk with Him,
The Lord will make your life brand new, as He walks and talks with you.
Foundational Truth God does impart, with The Spirit to an open heart,
Where in your heart He will reside, helping believers to in Christ abide.
The Spirit guides us from all sin, as we begin to yield and grow within,
As God’s Spirit helps us to discern, the Truths that we read and learn.
The Word of God is foundational, to change your life and do God’s will.
Sharper than a two-edged sword, is the Living Word of Christ our Lord,
This for the renewing of our mind, as God purifies us leaving sin behind,
So we can live in newness of life, honoring The One who paid the price.
(Copyright ©09/2006)
Psalm 122
I will worship you in Spirit and Truth
My delight is to come to this place
The place where you dwell in your sanctuary
Where we lift up our eyes to thy Face
And together with my brothers and sisters
I shall come before thy throne
You're the bright morning star, the Son of God
You're the Christ, the chief cornerstone
This place that I find you is Spirit and Truth
It dwells in the heart of men
The New Jerusalem, the heart of God
Of its glory I shall write with my pen
And the house of David lives on forever
And we dwell in the holy of holies
We dwell in the midst of your burning heart
In this place our spirits are free
poem by Frank McEleny
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Living Water
For all men who hunger and thirst, let Jesus, in your life be first,
He will from a fountain higher, come fill our heart’s every desire.
The Lord will cause living water, to flow from within you forever,
When you truly come to know, Jesus Christ, eternal waters flow.
Through the Holy Spirit my friend, His living water will never end.
In everyone who Christ redeems, from inside flow living streams,
When you thirst for righteousness, Christ will fill your emptiness.
Not with a trickle or just a drop, but with streams that won’t stop.
All who thirst, Christ has willed, from His fountain shall be filled.
Filled through The Spirit above, sent to men through God’s love.
The well which feeds the spring, is regulated by the Eternal King,
And the well will never run dry, for its source is The Lord on High.
Rivers of water shall fill the life, of all who come to Jesus Christ.
They’ll hunger and thirst no more, when they know Christ as Lord.
God fills all our remaining days, with ever flowing joy and praise.
Being His example to all around, as the Love of Christ abounds,
A love from Christ that has its start, in every truly believing heart.
It comes only as you believe, and the Spirit of Truth you receive,
This living water He gives you, Christ wants to give to others too,
Using the living water of your life, to draw others to Jesus Christ.
The Temple - What Makes It Of Worth
You may delve down to rock for your foundation piers,
You may go with your steel to the sky
You may purchase the best of the thought of the years,
And the finest of workmanship buy.
You may line with the rarest of marble each hall,
And with gold you may tint it; but then
It is only a building if it, after all,
Isn't filled with the spirit of men.
You may put up a structure of brick and of stone,
Such as never was put up before;
Place there the costliest woods that are grown,
And carve every pillar and door.
You may fill it with splendors of quarry and mine,
With the glories of brush and of pen —
But it's only a building, though ever so fine,
If it hasn't the spirit of men.
You may build such structure that lightning can't harm,
Or one that an earthquake can't raze;
You may build it of granite, and boast that its charm
Shall last to the end of all days.
But you might as well never have builded at all,
Never cleared off the bog and the fen,
If, after it's finished, its sheltering wall
Doesn't stand for the spirit of men.
For it isn't the marble, nor is it the stone
Nor is it the columns of steel,
By which is the worth of an edifice known;
But it's something that's living and real.
poem by Edgar Albert Guest
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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As The Saints Enter In
Will the Saints go marching in, or humbly greet God, who died for sin?
Will they march in as if deserving, or enter humbled hearts for serving?
How will they enter God’s Gate above, open only, through God’s love?
The love and mercy poured on us, when by Grace we embraced Jesus.
All knowing we would return to dust, without that humble heart of Trust,
Knowing that we’d return to the earth, apart from Christ’s Spiritual Birth,
For it’s nothing that we have done, but all the work of God’s Only Son,
Christ’s finished work on the Cross, for we bring only, our sinful dross.
Undeserving, Grace allows us to see, it is not of us, but, God’s Mercy,
As Christ received all we deserve, when His Father, He chose to serve,
Becoming for us God’s Sacrifice, so that we could enter into Paradise,
The finished work, of Christ alone, makes way for us to be God’s Own.
What God did, truly humbles men, when in Christ, they are Born Again,
Through God’s Spirit from above, men are humbled by Amazing Love,
And through faith, alone in Christ, by God, we are granted Eternal Life,
Beginning with New Life we receive, when God’s Truth, we truly believe.
It truly is the Lord’s Gift of Grace, that we shall enter God’s Holy Place,
As men born in sin, with feet of clay, only God could provide The Way,
So it is God Who will be Glorified, as all the Saints humbly step inside,
The Holy, Dwelling Place of The Lord, to serve with Christ forevermore.
(Copyright ©10/2009)
Faith Alive
True faith awakens through The Word
It quickens chosen sheep
But only those who’ve truly heard
The rest remain asleep
It needs to reach man’s heart and soul
Make dormant spirit’s rise
Its then God’s Lamb can make us whole
And open wide our eyes
It opens God’s eternal door
Makes free from death and pain
Upon The Wind we truly soar
Where nothing can restrain
It’s not for fools to play about
It’s not to use for fun
It’s not a gift to those who doubt
Who still refuse God’s Son
For living faith can die as well
Can find itself in jail
Not few have walked the road to hell
Who’ve thought they’d never fail
True faith’s a fruit of Holy Seed
That God through Christ has sown
It needs to drink on truth to feed
Until it’s fully grown
The smallest measure will survive
Will bring more fruit to bear
When in God’s Vine it’s kept alive
Through love and tender care
Developed, faith becomes so strong
Becomes in Christ divine
Through which we’ll sing the victory song
And drink Salvation’s wine…
poem by Michael P. Johnson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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To the Temple I Repair
To Thy temple I repair;
Lord, I love to worship there
When within the veil I meet
Christ before the mercy seat.
I through Him am reconciled,
I through Him become Thy child.
Abba, Father, give me grace
In Thy courts to seek Thy face.
While Thy glorious praise is sung,
Touch my lips, unloose my tongue,
That my joyful soul may bless
Christ the Lord, my Righteousness.
While the prayers of saints ascend,
God of Love, to mine attend.
Hear me, for Thy Spirit pleads;
Hear, for Jesus intercedes.
While I hearken to Thy law,
Fill my soul with humble awe
Till Thy Gospel bring to me
Life and immortality.
While Thy ministers proclaim
Peace and pardon in Thy Name,
Through their voice, by faith, may I
Hear Thee speaking from the sky.
From Thy house when I return,
May my heart within me burn,
And at evening let me say,
“I have walked with God today."
poem by James Montgomery
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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