Saturday, November 30, 2013

41. Hymn of Thanksgiving and Stewardship

song of thanks to God we raise,
Whose mercies span uncounted days,
For being One in unity,
Yet, all unchanging, being Three:
Who gets, is gotten, and proceeds,
Gives and is given for our needs,
Receives and is our paschal Lamb,
Hates sin yet, loath our race to damn,
Is born and dwells with sinful men
And draws man's heart to Him again—
Such is the God we praise!

He made all things, and still He works:
Protects and guides where danger lurks,
Sustains our soul and body's wants,
Gives flesh to beasts and fruit to plants,
Health, weather, parent, child, and spouse,
Shoes, clothing, body, mind, and house,
Peace, government, and work to do,
Our skills, our times, our sabbaths too:
All these are His, for which we must
Thank Him who gives us all in trust—
Such is the God we praise!

In Christ, He made our flesh His home,
His throne a while—the Virgin's womb.
Such dignity befell our race—
We may with God blood-kinship trace!
And so, as Kinsman, He redeemed
The house whose foreign bondage seemed
Beyond recall. Our jubilee
He bought with cost upon the Tree,
So that in Him mankind may be
Retrieved from hell eternally—
Such is the God we praise!

Now Mary's son, our flesh and bone,
Is seated on God's cosmic throne,
Whence He'll return one glorious day.
Yet though He seems so far away,
He knows how to be always near:
Food in your mouth, breath in your ear.
His body, blood, forgiving pledge,
Deflect the enemy's keen edge.
Baptized into one body, we
Rise daily with Him, cleansed and free—
Such is the God we praise!

For giving all we need and more,
What do we owe Him, owe the poor?
For shielding us from every ill—
Shall we not shield those weaker still?
For giving us of what is His—
Ask we not what our purpose is?
He who is All gave all—Himself—
So we return not merely wealth,
But all we have and are and do;
If we are His, He does them too.
Such is the God we praise!

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