The Sands of Time are Sinking

I thought I’d TRY to say a little about each of the hymns on my Thursday Thirteen list and I hope I can keep this up. I figured that doing this on a Saturday evening would be a good exercise to get me ready for worship the next day. Thinking about it further, I realized that if I posted something each Saturday, it will take me three months to get through them all. At first, I was put off by that, but then decided to give it a try. Who cares if I miss a week here and there (you know how busy Saturdays can be) and who cares if it takes me SIX months to get through them? Hopefully, these posts will be as unto the Lord and I’ll do them as I can and when I can.

So, first on the list: “The Sands of Time are Sinking.” How I love to hear either of my daughters play this on the piano! How the words minister to my pilgrimage wearied heart when we sing it as the people of God! Imagine it: “Glory, glory, dwelleth in Emmanuel’s land.” I don’t know too much about the circumstances of this hymn, written by Anne Ross Cousin, but I do understand that its words were inspired by letters written by Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish pastor. Originally, the poem that makes up this hymn contained nineteen stanzas. Our hymnal contains four, but I’m posting just one of them (my favorite) as a prelude to worship tomorrow. Whenever you can, go to The Cyber Hymnal and sing the beloved words that many of us know so well.

O Christ, he is the fountain,
The deep sweet well of love!
The streams on earth I’ve tasted
More deep I’ll drink above:
There to an ocean fullness
His mercy doth expand,
And glory, glory dwelleth
In Emmanuel’s land.

~ Anne R. Cousin, 1857