The Long View

 

"If I knew tomorrow were the end of the world,

I'd plant an apple tree today." 

(attributed to Martin Luther; 16th century German)  

O God, Our Help in Ages Past*

 

1. O God, our help in ages past,
   Our hope for years to come,
   Our shelter from the stormy blast,
   And our eternal home.
2. Under the shadow of Thy throne
   Thy saints have dwelt secure;
   Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
   And our defense is sure.
3. Before the hills in order stood,
   Or earth received her frame,
   From everlasting Thou art God,
   To endless years the same.

   

   Colorado Rocky Mountains

4. Thy Word commands our flesh to dust,
   “Return, ye sons of men”:
   All nations rose from earth at first,
   And turn to earth again.
5. A thousand ages in Thy sight
   Are like an evening gone;
   Short as the watch that ends the night
   Before the rising sun.  

   

   Sierra Prieta Mountains, Arizona

6. The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
   With all their lives and cares,
   Are carried downwards by the flood,
   And lost in foll’wing years.
7. Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
   Bears all its sons away;
   They fly, forgotten, as a dream
   Dies at the op’ning day.
8. Like flow’ry fields the nations stand
   Pleased with the morning light;
   The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand
   Lie with’ring ere ’tis night.
9. O God, our help in ages past,
   Our hope for years to come,
   Be Thou our guard while troubles last,
   And our eternal home.  --Isaac Watts, 1708 (pub. 1719)

*A hymnodic version of Psalm 90.  (This Psalm and hymn are often used in liturgical churches on New Year's Eve, due to the discussion of "time.")

The Bright Morning Star

 This month, I'm making a departure to post something by David C. Brown, a "blog acquaintance" from the U.K.  He first posted it in July, 2016.  The link to his blog is below.

Thou art the Star of the morning;
Thou art the Bright Morning Star;*
Saints, in the midst of man's scorning
Welcome Thy light from afar:

Star of the morning,
O what a source of delight!
Soon Thou wilt have Thine assembly
Shining with heavenly light.  

Thou art the Star of the morning;
Thou art the Bright Morning Star;
Shining with heaven's adorning
Into the night where we are.
 
Star of the morning,
O what a source of delight!
Soon Thou wilt have Thine assembly
Shining with heavenly light. --David C. Brown, 2016

Sing it to  the hymn "Showers of Blessing"

*Christ as the Morning Star from the Book of Revelation.  (For more on this matter, see my posting, "Little Star, Might Star" from last month.)

The Bright Morning Star-- Grace Notes Blog

Signs of Change

 

In Romans 8:18-23, St. Paul wrote about how all creation was subjected to futility, to frustration, not because it did anything wrong, but because God decreed it.  (See Genesis chapter 3 where the very ground was cursed because of humanity's sin. Sinful humanity could not be allowed to live on in an otherwise perfect creation.)  Paul talks of creation groaning as if in labor pains, waiting to be set free.

Over the past 2 years, I have finally gotten my favorite flower, black-eyed Susans, to grow here, though outside of its range.  This year, however, one of the plants is putting out some freakish flowers with multi fused heads.  Below are photos of one with three fused heads developing.  

open with some "normal" heads

These links will provide you other black-eyed Susan photos and a poem I wrote about black-eyed Susans a couple years ago.  

Black-Eyed Susan (poem)

"The Desert Shall Blossom"

 In Isaiah 35:1, the Bible says:

"The wilderness and parched land will be glad:

And the desert-plain will rejoice and blossom."

    These passages originally spoke of a spiritual blossoming with Messiah's coming.  Secondarily, they hint at the perfection of the natural world in the recreation to come in heaven.

    We are seeing a somewhat more literal version of this in our own backyard this spring.  This is a mixture of area wildflowers and cultivars from elsewhere.  Enjoy! 

Common Poppy

Shirley Poppy?

Larkspur & California Poppy

 

 

 

 

 

 

African Daisies

Phlox & Wood Sorrel (one of many things called "shamrock")

Snap Dragons

Globe Mallow & Saltbrush

 

Prickly Pear

Drought Resistant Pine (Canary Island Pine?)

  

Black eye Susan with Bachelor's Button

 

 

Black-eye Susans are my favorite flower.  They are native to the Midwestern US.  After many years of trying, I got them (with God's help!) to come up here last year. The above photo was about to open when I first posted. Now it has, with more to come.  Below is a link to a poem I wrote about Black-eye Susans.

Black-Eyed Susan (poem) 

Posh Hopkins

   

Here is Prince Charles reading Gerard Manley Hopkins' second most famous poem, "God's Grandeur."

"God's Grandeur" Prince Charles 2021 Easter Message

Here is the text for this poem, with explanatory notes, from an earlier post in this blog:

"God's Grandeur"

This is not a strong "resurrection poem"; Hopkins did write some Easter specific poems.  If you click the "Easter" link, you will pull some up.  But at least it does mention "the Holy Ghost."  At one time, Charles seemed to be drifting away from Christian-specific matters, but that does not seem to be the case anymore.

I imagine Charles chose this, partly, because of the environmental theme.  I also wonder if, as Prince of Wales, he did it for the Welsh connection.  Hopkins was an English Jesuit priest, but his most favorite place of serving was Wales.  He learned some Welsh.  (For a poetry day event several years ago, the Prince of Wales read a poem by the Welsh poet, Dylan Thomas.) 

Prince Charles at his investiture as Prince of Wales, 1969

Just for "fun", here is a poem I wrote as a "riff" off of a line in "God's Grandeur."

"Nature is Never Spent" 

Easter Week

 

See the land, her Easter keeping,
Rises as her Maker rose.
Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping,
Burst at last from winter snows.
Earth with heaven above rejoices;
Fields and gardens hail the spring;
Shaughs* and woodlands ring with voices,
While the wild birds build and sing.

You, to whom your Maker granted
Powers to those sweet birds unknown,
Use the craft by God implanted;
Use the reason not your own.
Here, while heaven and earth rejoices,
Each his Easter tribute bring-
Work of fingers, chant of voices,
Like the birds who build and sing.

--Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

*archaic term for small woods, thicket