When hopes deceive, fears annoy

In the Cross of Christ I Glory, written by John Bowring in 1825, is generally considered to be one of the finest hymns on the subject of the Cross. Englishman Bowring, also considered one of the greatest linguists who ever lived, is said to have been able to converse in over 100 different languages before his death!

"The tune for this hymn was composed 24 years after Bowring’s text by an American organist and choir leader of the Central Baptist Church of Norwich, Connecticut," explains on online summary. "The composer, Ithamar Conkey, was sorely disappointed at one Sunday morning service when only one choir member appeared, a faithful soprano by the name of Mrs. Beriah Rathbun. Before the evening service, Conkey composed a new tune for this text and named it after his one faithful choir member."

 1. In the cross of Christ I glory,

Towering o'er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.

2. When the woes of life o'ertake me,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,
Never shall the cross forsake me;
Lo! it glows with peace and joy.

3. When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon my way,
From the cross the radiance streaming
Adds more luster to the day.

4. Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;
Peace is there that knows no measure,
Joys that through all time abide.

******

Acts 9: [3] And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
[4] And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
[5] And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.’

“That had to have been the most startling encounter; there’s literally this light of God’s countenance that shines on him," explains Richard Jordan. "He hears the voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul.’ And you see what he says immediately? I love that: ‘Who art thou, Lord?’

“He knew it was God. It was the first time in his whole life that he had ever really encountered God. He’d had all of this religion but it never got him to God. Now God showed up and Paul says, ‘Who are you?!’

“He didn’t say, ‘What new regulation do I need to follow?’ He said, ‘Who art thou, Lord?’ You know what Paul wanted? He wanted to KNOW the Lord. He wanted to know who He was. He had a desire to know Him.

“You can study music theory and composing music, learn about the theory and the science of music . . . you can master the theory and never sit at a keyboard and play a song--never learn to play for yourself. You can learn to compose music and teach others how to compose music and never learn to play yourself.

“You can get all the mechanics of the faith, learn all the technical stuff, and all the doctrines, and never really come to know Him. And that’s why Paul says there in Philippians 3:10: ‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.’ ”

(I came down with a cold Sunday night and now it's gone full-blown with all the symptoms, including red, itchy eyes, itching inside my ears, headache, congestion, coughing, sneezing, overt tiredness, inability to really concentrate. So, I will have a new post tomorrow as I expect the cold medicine I just took to make me sleep real sound in an hour or so.)