Hello OCBC family!  Let me share a passage with you.  “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26 – ESV).

You are familiar with the hymn “Come, Thou Almighty King” but maybe you never realized that it is by an unknown author.  The first time that the lyrics of this hymn appeared was in George Whitefield’s Hymn Book, published in 1757.  Normally it is attributed to Charles Wesley, but this is not certain.  People believe that he wrote this hymn on the same year that the English national anthem was written, “God Save the King.” This new national anthem became very popular throughout England, and Charles Wesley maybe wrote this hymn to keep priorities straight.

There is a story that, during the American Revolution, some British soldiers surprised an American congregation on Long Island and ordered them to sing “God Save the King.” The Americans responded by singing the correct tune, but the words of “Come, Thou Almighty King.”

Whether the author was trying to remind us that it is an almighty king greater than any ruler in this world, or maybe he wrote just wonderful lyrics to sing during Trinity Sunday, this is a grand and noble hymn that praises our sovereign Lord, the Triune God.

Come, thou almighty King,
help us thy name to sing;
help us to praise.
Father, all glorious,
o'er all victorious,
come, and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.

Come, thou incarnate Word,
gird on thy mighty sword;
scatter thy foes.
Let thine almighty aid
our sure defense be made,
our souls on thee be stayed;
thy wonders show.

Come, holy Comforter,
thy sacred witness bear
in this glad hour.
Thou who almighty art,
now rule in every heart,
and ne'er from us depart,
Spirit of power.

To thee, great One in Three,
eternal praises be
hence evermore!
Thy sovereign majesty
may we in glory see,
and to eternity
love and adore.

In His service,
Israel

Hello OCBC family!

Tomorrow will be the anniversary when William Williams was born.  You may ask, who is William Williams?  This man was a Welsh evangelist who was born on February 11th, 1717.  His original desire was to be a doctor, but while he was in college his life was impacted by of the ministry of Welsh evangelist, Howell Harris, an eighteenth century contemporary of John and Charles Wesley.  He left the medicine school and started his preparation for ministry.  Also, at this time there were not too many hymns in Welsh and William started to write hymns to be used in Welsh liturgy.  For forty-three years he preached and sang throughout Wales.  “He sang Wales into piety,” said one writer.  Because of his influence through singing, soon all of Wales was singing their way to the coal mines and soccer matches; they loved to sing.  William’s famous hymn is “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” which is a picture of Christians going as pilgrims like the Israelites in the wilderness.  An author said about this hymn, “We may not know the route by which God is leading us, but we humbly count on His guidance.”

Enjoy the lyrics of “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.”

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand.
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more;
feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through.
Strong deliverer, strong deliverer,
be thou still my strength and shield;
be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
death of death and hell's destruction,
land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee;
I will ever give to thee.

In His service,
Israel

Hello OCBC family!  Philippians 1:20-21 said, “As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (ESV).

Tomorrow will be the anniversary when the loved hymn “Take My Life” was written; the author, Frances R. Havergal.  She was born on December 14th, 1836, and was the daughter of Rev. W. H. Havergal, from Astley, Worcestershire.  She was a very intelligent young lady; she spoke several modern languages and Hebrew and Greek.  A wonderful pianist with a wonderful voice, she sang in several places and people loved to hear her sing.  When she was 4 years old, she started to memorize the Bible, and she was able to recite the Psalms, Proverbs, and the whole New Testament.

We know several of her hymns like, "I Gave My Life for Thee," "Like a River Glorious," and "Who Is on the Lord's Side?"

Frances shared how she wrote “Take My Life”.  "I went for a little visit of five days.  There were ten persons in the house; some were unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. [God] gave me the prayer, 'Lord, give me all in this house.' And He just did. Before I left the house, everyone had got a blessing. The last night of my visit I was too happy to sleep and passed most of the night in renewal of my consecration, and those little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart one after another till they finished with "ever only, ALL FOR THEE!"

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Enjoy the lyrics and use them as a prayer.

In His service,
Israel