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ERE they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. 16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. (Jer 6:15-16)
This is hymn of spiritual commemoration composed by Canon George Wallace Briggs in 1920 while serving as rector of Loughborough and dean of the Loughborough Grammar School (founded in 1496). His intention, which he satisfies admirably, was to remind the students of the old paths in church tradition and service that were biblical and unchanging; and not only of those tried and proven traditions, but also those great men and women of God who both taught and led us in the right way of old. The tune, rightfully entitled, COMMEMORATION, is an older German tune of Gesius’ Christliche Haus-und Tischmusica (1605) with harmonization by Johan Sebastian Bach.
Our Father, by Whose Servants
Our Father, by whose servants
our house was built of old,
whose hand hath crowned her children
with blessing manifold,
for thine unfailing mercies
far-strewn along our way,
with all who passed before us,
we praise thy Name today.
The changeful years unresting
their silent course have sped,
new comrades ever bringing
in comrades' steps to tread;
and some are long forgotten,
long spent their hopes and fears;
safe rest they in thy keeping,
who changest not with years.
They reap not where they labored;
we reap what they have sown;
our harvest may be garnered
by ages yet unknown.
The days of old have dowered us
with gifts beyond all praise;
our Father, make us faithful
to serve the coming days.
Before us and beside us,
still holden in thine hand
a cloud unseen of witness,
our elder comrades stand:
one family unbroken,
we join, with one acclaim,
one heart, one voice uplifting
to glorify thy Name.
Our Father, by whose servants our house was built of old, whose hand hath crowned her children with blessing manifold, for thine unfailing mercies far-strewn along our way, with all who passed before us, we praise thy Name today.We all would trust an old friend whose character we know and whose judgment we value over that of a total stranger. New histories, new politics, new education concepts and new theologies are suspect to the wise thinker. Today, there is a movement afoot to tear down the old institutions regardless the witness of centuries of useful service to humanity. Such a war on our past experiences is generally conceived by those who would enslave us by removing our institutional memories and replacing them with unseen burdens of serfdom. If the foundations of a people in history and political freedom can be undermined and destroyed, the people will follow any ideology or even moral evil that seems able to fill the void. That is the purpose behind the pulling down of historical monuments and markers of great men who were instrumental in the development of our national and political ideals. Once the foundations are destroyed, what can the people do? If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)The same attack is being waged against our Holy Bible. It was restored to us by the great Reformers from the Received Text of that period. The new, sterile bibles being produced today such as the NIV and ESV undermine the divinity of our Lord in subtle ways. Let us restore the veneration of our Founding Fathers and other great men and women of history, and adhere to the Bible that has brought Light out of darkness on Seven continents – the King James Bible, the Geneva Bible, and all other of the Reformation Bibles which do not dilute the Word and certainly do not delete entire passages.
The changeful years unresting their silent course have sped, new comrades ever bringing in comrades' steps to tread; and some are long forgotten, long spent their hopes and fears; safe rest they in thy keeping, who changest not with years.There are some things that never change. Truth itself is unchanging because the Maker of Truth is unchanging. (see John 14:6)God is the same today as He was ere the worlds were cast by His finger into their orbits in the dawn of time. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Heb 13:8)The Word of God follows up on the unchangeableness of God with the next verse: Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. (Heb 13:9)The modern ideology of the Globalist is strange and divers if any ever were. But Christ keeps getting in the way, and so do His servants. The Globalist have decided that these must be dispensed with by whatever means. It is simpler in Communist countries where churches are torn down, burned and desecrated; and their leaders imprisoned, tortured, or executed. However, the Globalist in America cannot exact that measure yet, so they silence the Christian voice by demanding conformity to acceptance of ungodly sins. If not, they will make it nearly impossible for them to live. We must remember our histories, remember our ancient Bible (not the new flung imposters), and remember the men and women who died in defense of God’s Word in centuries past and in present days. Science makes great strides in medicine, and improvements in living are wonderful, but those can always change and improve, but truth and duty never change.
They reap not where they labored; we reap what they have sown; our harvest may be garnered by ages yet unknown. The days of old have dowered us with gifts beyond all praise; our Father, make us faithful to serve the coming days.We live in a day in which we demand instant gratification in all things. We desire fast foods, fast satisfaction of all physical desires, fast construction of homes, fast travel, etc. If we fail of instant gratification, then we may turn to drugs and alcohol. We cannot abide the time required for strong foundations. There are few things the modern man is willing to die for. This contrasts with the greater generations of real men and women who preceded us. There is a globalist pope in office now that rejects the wisdom of the past and ops to embrace Islam as a valid religion though they rape, pillage and murder without mercy. Remember in days of old when our Reformers were burned alive at the stake for refusing to follow that old Deceiver? Do you believe that so-called Vicar of Christ (read antichrist) has changed one iota since those days? Welfarism and the elimination of national borders have suddenly become the center core of the Papacy. Our Bible tells us that He who will not work, neither shall he eat. If national borders are eliminated, and Islam comes to the pope for counsel, what power will then be the greatest on earth? I am sure the pope is hoping to appropriate that power to the Papacy. Faith is required of us to serve in the coming days without compromise, friends.
Before us and beside us, still holden in thine hand a cloud unseen of witness, our elder comrades stand: one family unbroken, we join, with one acclaim, one heart, one voice uplifting to glorify thy Name. Are we indeed ONE family? If we are not, we are not of Christ. Love is indivisible, and God is LOVE. Those spiritual giants who preceded us are still our kin beyond the Gates of Splendor. And so are those innocents who refused to deny Christ and were cruelly raped and beheaded by ISIS – the pure expression of Islam. If we are ONE in Christ, as He has counselled us to be, there will be no militant struggles against one another in churches. If we live by His Word, how can we squabble over those non-essentials? We must speak with one voice – the voice of Christ as revealed in the Gospels; and we must deny the enemy the opportunity to move the Ancient Landmark of God’s Word. Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. (Prov 22:28)There are a great number of charlatans of our day who are attempting to move that Ancient Landmark that defines the lines of truth and love. They have defamed marriage and substituted a perversion; they have indoctrinated our children to believe a lie and not the truth of purity; they have threatened Christian men, women, and organizations with lawsuits if they exercise their discretion in faith; and they are censoring speech that advocates morality and righteousness. Remember the words of the prophet: Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)Thankfully, those who do so have their reward. What will your reward be, friend?
