Gifts
It is my privilege as a church musician to receive blessings and fulfillment through my work. I heard a hymn festival this evening featuring the hymns of Carl Schalk, as Concordia University celebrates both his eighty years and his many contributions to church music. The following poem by Richard Baxter (1615-91) and its lovely setting by Schalk especially moved me:Lord, It Belongs Not to My Care
Lord, it belongs not to my care,
whether I die or live,
To love and serve thee is my share,
and this thy grace must give.
If life be long, I will be glad
that I may long obey:
If short, yet why should I be sad
to soar to endless day?
Christ leads us through no darker rooms
than he went through before,
He that unto God's kingdom comes
must enter by this door.
Come Lord, when grace has made me meet,
thy blessed face to see:
For if thy work on earth be sweet,
what will thy glory be!
My knowledge of that life is small,
the eye of faith is dim;
But 'tis enough that Christ knows all,
and I shall be with him.
posted by Stahlkes @ 9:38 PM
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