O God of Love, the Fast You Choose
KINGSFOLD (8.6.8.6 D) ("Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples")
O God of love, the fast you choose Is not some great display.
It's everything we gladly do To serve you day by day.
It's not a moment set apart When we will mourn our sin;
For you require a change of heart — A change from what has been.
Lord, we confess we often sing That you are our delight,
Then we go shouting words that sting; We bicker and we fight.
Oppressing others for our gain, We put our interests first.
We overlook our neighbors' pain While praying here in church.
You teach us what it means to be A church that worships you:
In setting captive people free, We praise you as you choose.
In sharing bread with hungry folk, Bringing the homeless in,
And breaking every bitter yoke We worship you again.
God, bless us as we journey on To live in loving ways.
Then darkness will turn into dawn And gloom will turn to praise.
When justice is our offering, We also will be blest,
And we will know the fast we bring Will be our very best.
Biblical Reference: Isaiah 58:1-12
Tune: English Country Songs, 1893; arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906 ("Today We All Are Called to Be Disciples")
Text: Copyright © 2012 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: bcgillette@comcast.net
New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com/
Hymn Use Permission: This hymn is copyrighted
and is not covered by any organization (such as CCLI or OneLicense)
that gives churches permission to use church music.
If you would like to use this hymn,
please contact Carolyn and Bruce Gillette
(bcgillette@comcast.net)
for permission
and to get a copy of the hymn in MS Word format for bulletin use.
See also
A Dozen Ways to Support Carolyn's Hymn Writing.
The
Presbyterian Outlook magazine
commissioned this hymn and sells it ($9.95) with the hymn text and music
together as a downloadable bulletin insert.
You can buy a complete collection of hymns for Lent 2012 at a discount.
Your purchase helps support this excellent religious magazine.
