HYMN FOR PENTECOST 19 Jesus I Long for your blessed communion

Text: Peder Hygom (1692-1764) Tune: Folk tune from Ryfylke 1. Jesus, I long for your blessed communion, Yearning possesses my heart and my mind. Break down all barriers that hinder my union. Draw me to you, O Redeemer most kind! Show me now clearly my need that is crying. Show me the pain of the wrongs that I do. That unto sin I may daily be dying, And in the Spirit live only to you. 2. Quicken my soul thro’ your blood and your merit. Send me your Spirit and help me to prove I am your captive in soul and in spirit. Lead me and draw me to you with your love. Come, let my heart from all idols be severed; So that you only can dwell in my soul. Grant me your peace that continues forever, Peace beyond all I can fathom or know. 3. Jesus, when shall I find rest in your haven? Take up my burden, Lord, lift it from me! When shall I see you, my Savior, in heaven? Waken and quiet the wild, troubled sea. O loving Jesus, come help me, be speedy; Hide not your face from me, always be near. You are the wealth of the inwardly needy. Come, fill my heart with your mercy and cheer. 4. Jesus, let not my love go unrequited: See my poor soul growing weary, O Lord, Let us, Immanuel, now be united, When you are with me, my soul is restored. Once you did say, “They will hunger and perish, If I permit them to go on their way! ”Love everlasting! Refuse not to nourish Souls that are hungering for crumbs for today. 5. Merciful Jesus, I pray, hear my pleading. Do not forget what you said in your word: “Ask and receive; you will find when you seek me This you have said and your people have heard. I, like the woman at Cana, keep pleading, Crying to you till my longing is stilled. And you have spoken with grace to my needing, “Amen, yes, Amen; be done as you will.” Tr. Carl Døving; Georg Rygh; REFLECTIONS The importunate widow is much the same as the Caananite woman whom this hymn refers to in Stanza 5. In both accounts, Jesus is recommending prayer that is insistent and constant. It indicates what kind of relationship these two women had to the Lord and what he recommends to us. When he says pray without ceasing, he does not mean sit in your prayer chamber all day and night in prayer. He means keep in touch all the time while going about your daily chores and pleasures. And never to give up asking. As the hymn points out, Jesus has said, ask and you will receive, so, the author of the hymn says to Jesus, keep your promise. That is a feature of the psalms and great sermons. Psalm 42 in particular has the psalmist remembering the past when God seemed present and active, and asks that he be so again. One of the great hymn writers of Iceland in his Hymns of the Passion in telling the story of Christ’s passion, always includes stanzas in which the singer reminds God and the believer that if God could forgive Peter’s denial, he can forgive any of your sins. Every person we hear about in Scripture should edify us by teaching us that truth: If Christ could forgive a sinner who did this, like Mary Magdalene, he can forgive you. So the importunate widow keeps coming back and coming back. Finally the judge wearies of her and grants her request. If that is what happens in the parable, it is also a lesson for us. Except in our case, God will not weary of us and our infinite number of requests. He wants us to, Jesus advises us to: always be asking and even wrestling with God. Any good and honest relationship does that and so should our relationship with Christ. I can see my mother sitting in her chair at morning devotions with a Bible on her lap, listening and talking with God. Sometimes she would argue with, even wrestle with him and shout, why oh why? That was not a sign of her losing faith, but of her deepening faith. God already knew everything about her and her life, she might as well tell him and see what he would do about it. That is one of the mysteries of the Christian life, to put your problems before the Lord and see what he does. S he often describe faith and waiting for those surprises and trusting they were always more than she had asked. HYMN INFO Hans Nielsen Hauge A German hymn by J.L.C. Allendorf, this translation by Peder J. Hygom (1692-1764) of Denmark came to Norway through the 1740 hymnal of Erik Pontoppidan (1698-1764), Dano-Norwegian bishop. The second stanza of the hymn is what Hans Nielsen Hauge (1771-1824), the lay evangelist, was singing when he had his spiritual experience. On April 5, 1796, he was out plowing in the fields near Fredrikstad, singing, and was struck down by a light from heaven, which made him insensate. When he awoke everything had changed for him and he wanted to spread the Gospel and serve his neighbor with all his heart. He began publishing books, walking through Norway meeting with entire communities in farmhouses along the way, speaking and writing letters to his followers. Norway was utterly changed by his work. Some historians call him the first modern Norwegian. I added a stanza four above. LINKS Sissel https://youtu.be/jMFKIHbnCmk Knut Nystedt choral arrangement https://youtu.be/IMAJUIkxLU8 Sondre Bratland—He is Norway’s expert in using quarter tones common in folk tunes https://youtu.be/FAxDbNjv5JY NB: For those thinking of Christmas gifts, you might consider the book Jesus the Harmony . It has a poem for every day of the year and Bible references for each poem that put Jesus in what has been called "the red thread of salvation." Many have been using it for daily devotions; others in group Bible studies. Click here to check it out. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Harmony-Gospel-Sonnets-Days-ebook/dp/B08L9S4Z1T/ref=sr_1_3_nodl?dchild=1&keywords=Grindal&qid=16145