Fade, fade each earthly joy,
Leave room for heavenly vision,
That I may see my bridegroom’s face
Along the way to heaven.
Fade, fade conceited mirth,
Leave room for heavenly peace
Which reigns midst tempest’s gloomy hour
And bids my sorrow cease.
Fade, fade temptation strong,
Leave room for God’s good will,
That I may follow where He leads
And find His pleasure still.
Fade, fade now, pride of life,
Leave room to view the cross,
That I may glory in His Name
For whom all things are loss.
Shine forth heaven’s light of day,
Leave room for nothing less,
And draw me towards my heavenly goal
Of Christ’s eternal rest.
Christina Joy Hommes
The Prodigal
(Luke 15:11-32)
He ran with outstretched arms to meet me
A wretch once called His child;
He came and He embraced me
His voice was sweet and mild.
I came to be His servant
Unworthy of His Name,
And yet with ring and raiment
He clothed me when I came.
He threw a feast rejoicing
That I at last had come.
And still I love recalling –
He bid me welcome home!
Christina Joy Hommes
I live with no ‘what if’s,’
God’s hand is ever strong;
I trust He knows what’s best
Because He’s never wrong.
I live with no ‘what if’s,’
The past is in His hand,
He sees the reason for
What I can’t understand.
I live with no ‘what if’s’
And so I need not fear,
The future’s just as sure
To God as my last year.
I live with no ‘what if’s,’
God weaves life’s tapestry –
Though now I see bare threads,
He’ll show the top to me.
I live with no ‘what if’s,’
It’s such a place of peace,
For as I do and love
My doubts and fears can cease.
Christina Joy Hommes
Come up my soul, in Christ abide
Within the Rock of Ages hide.
He is Thy strength and Thine abode,
Thy refuge is almighty God.
Rise up, O soul, Thy sin confess
That thou in Jesus Christ may rest,
Put off the flesh and all its ways
And don Christ’s robes throughout thy days.
Be gone old man and flee away,
This day is God’s, to Him I pray;
His pow’r is greater than thine own
And I will live before His throne.
O Lord come down and meet with me
Thy presence and Thy strength I’d see,
Fix Thou my eyes on things above
And help me praise Thee for Thy love.
Christina Joy Hommes
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
Oh, love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure –
The saint’s and angels’ song.
– Attributed to Meir Ben Isaac Negoral, c. 1050
T his is one of my favorite verses of poetry. It so vividly exalts God. I love the way the author (and translator) used language to create a clear picture of the immensity and greatness of just one of God’s attributes.