If I Were A Butterfly

    Brian Howard

    If I were a butterfly,
    I'd thank You, Lord, for giving me wings.
    And if I were a robin in a tree,
    I'd thank You, Lord, that I could sing.
    And if I were a fish in the sea,
    I'd wiggle my tail and I'd giggle with glee;
    But I just thank You, Father,
    For making me 'me'.
    For You gave me a heart
    And You gave me a smile,
    You gave me Jesus
    And You made me Your child,
    And I just thank You, Father,
    For making me 'me'.

    If I were an elephant,
    I'd thank You, Lord, by raising my trunk.
    And if I were a kangaroo,
    You know I'd hop right up to You.
    And if I were an octopus,
    I'd thank You, Lord, for my fine looks;
    But I just thank You, Father,
    For making me 'me'.
    Refrain

    If I were a wiggily worm,
    I'd thank You, Lord, that I could squirm.
    And if I were a billy goat,
    I'd thank You, Lord, for my strong throat.
    And if I were a fuzzy-wuzzy bear,
    I'd thank You, Lord, for my fuzzy-wuzzy hair;
    But I just thank You, Father,
    For making me 'me'.

    Immaculate Mary! Our Hearts Are On Fire

    Immaculate Mary!
    Our hearts are on fire;
    that title so wondrous
    fills all our desire.
    Ave, ave, ave Maria!
    Ave, ave, ave Maria!

    We pray for God's glory,
    may his kingdom come!
    We pray for his vicar,
    our father, and Rome.
    Refrain

    We pray for our mother
    the Church upon earth,
    and bless, sweetest lady,
    the land of our birth.
    Refrain

    For poor, sick, afflicted
    thy mercy we crave;
    and comfort the dying,
    thou light of the grave.
    Refrain

    In grief and temptation,
    in joy or in pain,
    we'll ask thee, our mother,
    nor seek thee in vain.
    Refrain

    In death's solemn moment,
    our mother, be nigh;
    as children of Mary,
    O teach us to die.
    Refrain

    7And crown thy sweet mercy
    with this special grace,
    and worship in heaven
    God's ravishing face.
    Refrain

    8To God to all glory
    and worship for aye;
    to God's virgin mother
    an endless Ave.
    Refrain

    Immortal Love, Forever Full

    John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)

    Immortal Love, forever full,
    Forever flowing free,
    Forever shared, forever whole,
    A never-ebbing sea!

    Our outward lips confess the name
    All other names above;
    Love only knoweth whence it came,
    And comprehendeth love.

    We may not climb the heavenly steeps
    To bring the Lord Christ down:
    In vain we search the lowest deeps,
    For Him no depths can drown.

    But warm, sweet, tender, even yet
    A present help is He;
    And faith has still its Olivet,
    And love its Galilee.

    The healing of His seamless dress
    Is by our beds of pain;
    We touch Him in life's throng and press,
    And we are whole again.

    Alone, O Love ineffable!
    Thy saving name is given;
    To turn aside from Thee is hell,
    To walk with Thee is heaven!

    Immaculate Mary! Our Hearts Are On Fire

    Immaculate Mary!
    Our hearts are on fire;
    that title so wondrous
    fills all our desire.
    Ave, ave, ave Maria!
    Ave, ave, ave Maria!

    We pray for God's glory,
    may his kingdom come!
    We pray for his vicar,
    our father, and Rome.
    Refrain

    We pray for our mother
    the Church upon earth,
    and bless, sweetest lady,
    the land of our birth.
    Refrain

    For poor, sick, afflicted
    thy mercy we crave;
    and comfort the dying,
    thou light of the grave.
    Refrain

    In grief and temptation,
    in joy or in pain,
    we'll ask thee, our mother,
    nor seek thee in vain.
    Refrain

    In death's solemn moment,
    our mother, be nigh;
    as children of Mary,
    O teach us to die.
    Refrain

    7And crown thy sweet mercy
    with this special grace,
    and worship in heaven
    God's ravishing face.
    Refrain

    8To God to all glory
    and worship for aye;
    to God's virgin mother
    an endless Ave.
    Refrain

    Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

    Walter Chalmers Smith (1824 – 1908)

    Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
    in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
    most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
    almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

    Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
    nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
    thy justice like mountains high soaring above
    thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

    To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
    in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
    we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
    and wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

    Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
    thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
    all laud we would render: O help us to see
    ’tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

    In Christ alone my hope is found

    Stuart Townend & Keith Getty

    In Christ alone my hope is found,
    He is my light, my strength, my song;
    This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
    Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
    What heights of love, what depths of peace,
    When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
    My Comforter, my All in All,
    Here in the love of Christ I stand.

    In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
    Fullness of God in helpless babe!
    This gift of love and righteousness,
    Scorned by the ones He came to save:
    Till on that cross as Jesus died,
    The wrath of God was satisfied -
    For every sin on Him was laid;
    Here in the death of Christ I live.

    There in the ground His body lay,
    Light of the world by darkness slain:
    Then bursting forth in glorious Day
    Up from the grave He rose again!
    And as He stands in victory
    Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
    For I am His and He is mine -
    Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

    No guilt in life, no fear in death,
    This is the power of Christ in me;
    From life's first cry to final breath,
    Jesus commands my destiny.
    No power of hell, no scheme of man,
    Can ever pluck me from His hand;
    Till He returns or calls me home,
    Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!

    In Heavenly Love Abiding

    Anna Laetitia Waring (1823 – 1910)

    In heavenly love abiding,
    no change my heart shall fear;
    and safe is such confiding,
    for nothing changes here.
    The storm may roar without me,
    my heart may low be laid;
    but God is round about me:
    And can I be dismayed?

    Wherever he may guide me,
    no want shall turn me back;
    my shepherd is beside me,
    and nothing can I lack.
    His wisdom ever waketh,
    His sight is never dim;
    He knows the way he taketh,
    and I will walk with him.

    Green pastures are before me,
    which yet I have not seen;
    bright skies will soon be o’er me,
    where the dark clouds have been.
    My hope I cannot measure,
    my path to life is free;
    my Saviour hath my treasure,
    and he will walk with me.

    In Our Dear Lord’s Garden

    Ella Sophia Armitage (1841-1931)

    In our dear Lord's garden,
    Planted here below,
    Many tiny flowerets
    In sweet beauty grow.

    Christ, the loving Gardener,
    Tends these blossoms small;
    Loves the little lilies
    As the cedars tall.

    Nothing is too little
    For His gentle care;
    Nothing is too lowly
    In His love to share.

    Jesus loves the children,
    Children such as we;
    Blessed them when their mothers
    Brought them to His knee.

    Jesus calls the children,
    Bids them come and stand
    In His pleasant garden,
    Watered by His hand.

    Lord, Thy call we answer;
    Take us in Thy care;
    Train us in Thy garden,
    In Thy work to share.

    In The Bleak Mid-Winter

    Christina G Rossetti (1830-1894)

    In the bleak mid-winter,
    Frosty wind made moan,
    Earth stood hard as iron,
    Water like a stone;
    Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
    Snow on snow,
    In the bleak mid-winter,
    Long ago.

    Our God, heaven cannot hold Him,
    Nor earth sustain;
    Heaven and earth shall flee away
    When He comes to reign:
    In the bleak mid-winter
    A stable-place sufficed
    The Lord God Almighty,
    Jesus Christ.

    Enough for him, whom cherubim
    Worship night and day,
    A breastful of milk
    And a mangerful of hay:
    Enough for him, whom angels
    Fall down before,
    The ox and ass and camel
    Which adore.

    Angels and archangels
    May have gathered there,
    Cherubim and seraphim
    Throngèd the air;
    But only his mother,
    In her maiden bliss,
    Worshipped the Beloved
    With a kiss.

    What can I give Him,
    Poor as I am?
    If I were a shepherd,
    I would bring a lamb;
    If I were a wise man,
    I would do my part;
    Yet what I can I give Him-
    Give my heart.

    In The Sweet By And By

    Francis Bottome (1823 – 1894)

    There's a land that is fairer than day,
    And by faith we can see it afar,
    For the Father waits over the way,
    To prepare us a dwelling place there.
    In the sweet by and by,
    We shall meet on that beautiful shore,
    In the sweet by and by,
    We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

    We shall sing on that beautiful shore,
    The melodious songs of the blest;
    And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
    Not a sigh for the blessing of rest
    Chorus

    To our bountiful Father above
    We will offer the tribute of praise,
    For the glorious gift of His love,
    And the blessing that hallows our days.
    Chorus

    It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

    Edmund Hamilton Sears (1810-1876)

    It came upon the midnight clear,
    that glorious song of old,
    from angels bending near the earth
    to touch their harps of gold:
    'Peace on the earth, good will to men
    from heaven's all-gracious King!'
    The world in solemn stillness lay
    to hear the angels sing.

    Still through the cloven skies they come,
    with peaceful wings unfurled;
    and still their heavenly music floats
    o'er all the weary world:
    above its sad and lowly plains
    they bend on hovering wing;
    and ever o'er its Babel-sounds
    the blessed angels sing.

    Yet with the woes of sin and strife
    the world has suffered long;
    beneath the angel-strain have rolled
    two thousand years of wrong;
    and man, at war with man, hears not
    the love-song which they bring:
    O hush the noise, ye men of strife,
    and hear the angels sing.

    And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
    whose forms are bending low,
    who toil along the climbing way
    with painful steps and slow,
    look, now! for glad and golden hours
    come swiflty on the wing;
    O rest beside the weary road,
    and hear the angels sing.

    For lo, the days are hastening on,
    by prophet-bards foretold,
    when, with the ever-circling years,
    comes round the age of gold;
    when peace shall over all the earth
    its ancient splendours fling,
    and the whole world give back the song
    which now the angels sing.

    It Is A Thing Most Wonderful

    William Walsham How (1823-1897)

    It is a thing most wonderful,
    Almost too wonderful to be,
    That God's own Son should come from heaven,
    And die to save a child like me.

    And yet I know that it is true;
    He chose a poor and humble lot,
    And wept and toiled and mourned and died,
    For love of those who loved him not.

    I sometimes think about the cross,
    And shut my eyes, and try to see
    The cruel nails and crown of thorns,
    And Jesus crucified for me.

    But even could I see him die,
    I could but see a little part
    Of that great love which, like a fire,
    Is always burning in his heart.

    I cannot tell how he could love
    A child so weak and full of sin;
    His love must be most wonderful,
    If he could die my love to win.

    It is most wonderful to know
    His love for me so strong and sure;
    But 'tis more wonderful to see
    My love for him so faint and poor.

    7And yet I want to love thee, Lord;
    O light the flame within my heart,
    And I will love thee more and more,
    Until I see thee as thou art.

    It Passeth Knowledge, That Dear Love Of Thine

    Mary Shekleton (1827-1883)

    It passeth knowledge, that dear love of Thine,
    My Saviour, Jesus! yet this soul of mine
    Would of Thy love, in all its breadth and length,
    Its height and depth, its everlasting strength,
    Know more and more.

    It passeth telling, that dear love of Thine,
    My Saviour, Jesus! yet these lips of mine
    Would fain proclaim, to sinners, far and near,
    A love which can remove all guilty fear,
    And love beget.

    It passeth praises, that dear love of Thine,
    My Saviour Jesus! yet this heart of mine
    Would sing that love, so full, so rich, so free,
    Which brings a rebel sinner, such as me,
    Nigh unto God.

    O fill me, Jesus, Saviour, with Thy love;
    Lead, lead me to the living fount above;
    Thither may I, in simple faith, draw nigh,
    And never to another fountain fly,
    But unto Thee.

    And when my Jesus face to face I see,
    When at His lofty throne I bow the knee,
    Then of His love, in all its breadth and length,
    Its height, and depth, its everlasting strength,
    My soul shall sing.

    Jerusalem The Golden

    Bernard of Cluny (fl c 1140), John Mason Neale (1818-66), Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861), Stopford Augustus Brooke (1832-1916)

    Jerusalem the golden,
    with milk and honey blest,
    beneath thy contemplation
    sink heart and voice opprest.
    I know not, O I know not
    what joys await us there,
    what radiancy of glory,
    what bliss beyond compare.

    They stand, those halls of Sion,
    all jubilant with song,
    and bright with many an angel
    and all the martyr throng;
    the Prince is ever with them,
    the daylight is serene,
    the pastures of the blessèd
    are decked in glorious sheen.

    There is the throne of David;
    and there, from care released,
    the song of them that triumph,
    the shout of them that feast;
    and they, who with their Leader
    have conquered in the fight,
    for ever and for ever
    are clad in robes of white.

    O sweet and blessèd country,
    the home of God's elect!
    O sweet and blessèd country
    that eager hearts expect!
    Jesus in mercy bring us
    to that dear land of rest;
    who art, with God the Father
    and Spirit, ever blest.

    Jesu, Lover Of My Soul

    Viola Grafstrom

    Jesu, lover of my soul,
    let me to thy bosom fly,
    while the nearer water roll,
    while the tempest still is high:
    Hide me, O my saviour, hide,
    till the storm of life be past;
    safe into the haven guide,
    O receive my soul at last.

    Other refuge have I none,
    hangs my helpless soul on thee;
    leave, ah, leave me not alone,
    still support and comfort me;
    all my trust on thee is stayed:
    All my help from thee I bring:
    Cover my defenceless head
    with the shadow of thy wing.

    Thou. O Christ, art all I want;
    more than all in thee I find;
    raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
    heal the sick, and lead the blind.
    Just and holy is thy name,
    I am all unrighteousness;
    False and full of sin I am,
    Thou art full of truth and grace.

    Plenteous grace with thee is found,
    grace to cover all my sin;
    let the healing streams abound,
    make and keep me pure within:
    Thou of life the fountain art,
    freely let me take of thee:
    Spring thou up within my heart,
    rise to all eternity.

    Jesus bids us shine

    Susan B Warner (1819-1885)

    Jesus bids us shine
    With a pure, clear light,
    Like a little candle
    Burning in the night.
    In this world is darkness;
    So let us shine,
    You in your small corner,
    And I in mine.

    Jesus bids us shine,
    First of all for Him;
    Well He sees and knows it,
    If our light grows dim.
    He looks down from heaven
    To see us shine,
    You in your small corner,
    And I in mine.

    Jesus bids us shine,
    Then, for all around;
    Many kinds of darkness
    In the world are found -
    Sin, and want, and sorrow;
    So we must shine,
    You in your small corner,
    And I in mine.

    Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

    Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia.
    our triumphant holy day, Alleluia.
    who did once, upon the cross, Alleluia.
    suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia.

    Hymns of praise then let us sing
    unto Christ, our heavenly King,
    who endured the Cross and grave,
    sinners to redeem and save.

    But the pains that he endured
    our salvation have procured;
    now above the sky he's King,
    where the angels ever sing.

    Sing we to our God above
    praise eternal as his love;
    praise him all the heavenly host,
    Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

    Jesus, Friend Of Little Children

    Walter J. Mathams (1853-1931)

    Jesus, friend of little children,
    Be a friend to me;
    Take my hand, and ever keep me
    Close to thee.

    Show me what my love should cherish,
    What, too, it should shun;
    Lest my feet for poison-flowers
    Swift should run.

    Teach me how to grow in goodness,
    Daily as I grow:
    Thou hast been a child, and surely
    Thou dost know.

    Fill me with thy gentle meekness,
    Make my heart like thine;
    Like an altar-lamp then let me
    Burn and shine.

    Step by step, O lead me onward,
    Upward into youth;
    Wiser, stronger, still becoming
    In thy truth.

    Never leave me, nor forsake me;
    Ever be my friend;
    For I need thee, from life's dawning
    To its end.

    Jesus is Lord! Creation’s voice proclaims it

    David J Mansell (born 1936)

    Jesus is Lord! Creation's voice proclaims it,
    for by his power each tree and flower was planned and made.
    Jesus is Lord! The universe declares it.
    Sun, moon and stars in heaven cry Jesus is Lord!
    Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord!
    Praise him with alleluias for Jesus is Lord!

    Jesus is Lord! Yet from his throne eternal
    in flesh he came to die in pain on Calvary's tree.
    Jesus is Lord! From him all life proceeding,
    yet gave his life a ransom thus setting us free.
    Chorus

    Jesus is Lord! O'er sin the mighty conqueror,
    from death he rose and all his foes shall own his name.
    Jesus is Lord! God sends his Holy Spirit
    to show by works of power that Jesus is Lord.
    Chorus

    Jesus, I Am Resting

    Jean S Pigott (1845-1882)

    Jesus, I am resting, resting
    In the joy of what Thou art;
    I am finding out the greatness
    Of Thy loving heart.
    Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
    And Thy beauty fills my soul,
    For by Thy transforming power
    Thou hast made me whole.
    Jesus, I am resting, resting
    In the joy of what Thou art;
    I am finding out the greatness
    Of Thy loving heart.

    O how great Thy lovingkindness,
    Vaster, broader than the sea!
    O how marvellous Thy goodness,
    Lavished all on me!
    Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,
    Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
    Know Thy certainty of promise,
    And have made it mine.
    Chorus

    Simply trust Thee, Lord Jesus,
    I behold Thee as Thou art,
    And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
    Satisfies my heart;
    Satisfies its deepest longings,
    Meets, supplies its every need,
    Compasseth me round with blessings;
    Thine is love indeed!
    Chorus

    Ever lift Thy face upon me,
    As I work and wait for Thee;
    Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
    Earth's dark shadows flee.
    Brightness of my Father's glory,
    Sunshine of my Father's face,
    Keep me ever trusting, resting;
    Fill me with Thy grace.
    Chorus

With Grace