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A Hymn for the New Year
O CHRIST THE SAME, THROUGH ALL OUR STORY'S PAGES O Christ the same through all our story's pages, our loves and hopes, our failures and our fears; eternal Lord, the King of all the ages, unchanging still, amid the passing years: O living Word, the source of all creation, who spread the skies, and set the stars ablaze, O Christ the same, who wrought our whole salvation, we bring our thanks for all our yesterdays. O Christ the same, the friend of sinners, sharing our inmost thoughts, the secrets none can hide, still as of old upon your body bearing the marks of love, in triumph glorified: O Son of Man, who stooped for us from heaven, O Prince of life, in all your saving power, O Christ the same, to whom our hearts are given, we bring our thanks for this the present hour. O Christ the same, secure within whose keeping our lives and loves, our days and years remain, Our work and rest, our waking and our sleeping, our calm and storm, our pleasure and our pain: O Lord of love, for all our joys and sorrows, for all our hopes, when earth shall fade and flee, O Christ the same, beyond our brief tomorrows, we bring our thanks for all that is to be. —Timothy Dudley-Smith, from A HOUSE OF PRAISE: COLLECTED HYMNS, 1961-2001, © 2003 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188, ISBN 0-916642-74-7. All rights reserved. Used by permission. For permission to copy or use this hymn, please contact: Hope Publishing Company, 380 S. Main Place, Carol Stream, IL 60188 1-800-323-1049, Fax: (630) 665-3200 Email: permission@hopepublishing.com www.hopepublishing.com [This volume is complete with the author's thorough notes about each of the hymn texts. Concerning this poem, he writes, "The titles given to Christ in this hymn are drawn directly, or by implication, from Scripture as follows: eternal Lord, from Deuteronomy 32:27 (eternal God) and 1 Timothy 1:17 (King eternal); King of ages (cf. Ephesians 3:21; Psalm 145:13); living Word (John 1:14); friend of sinners (Matthew 11:19); Son of Man (e.g. Matthew 8:20 and throughout the four Gospels); Prince of life (Acts 3:15); Lord of love (cf. Ephesians 5:2).] Blessings to you all for a year filled with a keen awareness of the grace and mercy of our wonderful Savior. He doesn't change! Hallelujah! Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.wqotw.org www.sbts.edu/icw =========================== WORSHIP QUOTE OF THE WEEK: To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view a complete index of worship quotes, please visit http://www.wqotw.org =========================== |