Hymns and Scripture Readings for January 31
Words have been reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #607034.
Voices United #333 "Love Divine; All Loves Excelling"
1. Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven to earth come down,
fix is us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.
2. Come, almighty to deliver; let us all thy grace receive;
suddenly return, and never, never-more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, serve thee as they hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love.
3. Finish, then, thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee,
changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crown before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.
More Voices #10 "Come and Seek the Ways of Wisdom"
1. Come and seek the ways of Wisdom, she who danced when earth was new.
Follow closely what she teaches, for her words are right and true.
Wisdom clears the path to justice, showing us what love must do.
2. Listen to the voice of Wisdom, crying in the market-place.
Hear the Word mad flesh among us, full of glory, truth, and grace.
When the word takes root and ripens, peace and righteousness embrace.
3. Sister Wisdom, come, assist us; nurture all who see rebirth.
Spirit-guide and close companion, bring to light our sacred worth.
Free us to become your people, holy friends of God and earth.
Voices United #376 "Spirit of the Living God"
1. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.
2. Spirit of the living God, move among us all; make us one in heart and mind, make us one in love:
humble, caring, selfless, sharing. Spirit of the living God, fill our lives with love!
Psalm 111
Alleluia! I will thank you, God, with all my heart in the meeting of the just and their assembly. Great are your works, to be pondered by all who love them. Majestic and glorious are your works, and your justice stands firm forever. You make us remember your wonders -- you are compassion and love. You give food to those who revere you, keeping your Covenant ever in mind. You reveal to your people the power of your actions by giving them the lands of the nations as their inheritance. The works of your hands are truth and justice, and all your precepts are sure, standing firm forever and ever, and carried out uprightly and faithfully. You have sent deliverance to your people and established your Covenant forever. Your Name is holy and awe-inspiring! Reverence for God is the beginning of wisdom -- and those who have it prove themselves wise. Your praise will last forever!
John 17: 17-26
Jesus said, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so they also may be sanctified in truth.
"I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
"Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."