Pray For One Another

Then pray for one another in His will,
   He called us out to be His holy Bride
   And He will never rest nor stop until
   He sees His image then in us applied.
   So pray for all the saints at ev'ry side
   It's for our good and Father's glory too!
   Pray that the church and Lord be glorified;
   Pray that the Word be preached, proclaimed as true.
Then persevere in holiness with truth imbued.

- D. Benning

I Heard an Eagle Cry Today

I heard an eagle cry today,
   high, haunting and insistent.
I looked and there above me,
   nestled amidst the cradle of sky and sun,
   a solitary form glided overhead.

I stared and strained to follow his path,
   Bright shimmering sun dogs and tree tops obscuring my sight.
Again he cried; again I spied and followed his course on wimpled wing.
   Again he turned; again he spurned and rebuffed the wind with pinion, talon and call;
   majestically graced and poised and balanced
   above the ground-bound, sodden-encumbered cares of earth.

I glanced around and saw the sunlight shadow-playing on the grass,
   the sessile inhabitants of lunch-time-egress lay and lay in turgid stupor
   or catatonic relaxation, unmoved by Day Sky’s rider or his call.

I heard the eagle cry today,
   high, haunting and insistent;
   yet not so insistent, for I turned.
Turned and retreated back into my office,
   my lair, my care, my shell,
   for the pressing insistences of the immediate and the urgent called me too.
Yet in hiding my soul stirred
   —ah, patience! my captive heart!
   For soon with obedience and discipline shall come forth
   the mastery and the reward so that you shall go not,
   like quarry-slave at night,
   but brought with honor into your Father’s home!

- D. Benning

By Faith

By faith the saints of old beheld You; through sorrow and joy You gently led.

By faith they reckoned You as faithful, and they clung to ev’ry word You said.

O, help me then with eyes that see far with them look to that promise free.

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

O Lord, my Rock, my God and Savior, my Joy, my life, my all and crown,

Around me are the noise and clamors of the word that seeks to pull me down.

My eyes here long to see Your favor, and in this world a glimpse I see.

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

Your eyes are on Your people always, on those who will obey and fear You,

On those whose hope is in salvation and Your great unfailing Love so true.

You will deliver them from judgment and bring their blinded eyes to see.

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

O Lord, we wait in hope for Your help; You are our Rock, our Shield and fortress.

In You our hearts rejoice with singing even though by trials we are oppressed.

Say to our souls ‘I’m your salvation; My face in heaven you shall see.’

   ‘Against all hope, in hope believe’—You spoke and so it then shall be.

   ‘In hope believe’ and thus receive this life with You eternally!

This hymn is set to music and can be found here: 

http://www.scoreexchange.com/scores/59479.html