A new hymn written to the tune Blaenwern, one of the tunes most often used for Love Divine. Scott named it this morning as one he wanted new words for, so this is what came in the late afternoon.
I’ve been preparing for Sunday’s reflection on Into the Woods, the first film I’ve ever picked for the Academy Award series that didn’t make it. But then, musicals usually don’t so I wasn’t all that surprised. Still, breaking my perfect record was humbling. And that’s what this song is about – the humbling realities that undermine our perceptions. I hope you have opportunity to use it.
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p style=”text-align: center;”>Nothing Once, for All
Tune: Blaenwern
Traditional Song: Love Divine; God Is Here
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p style=”text-align: center;”>Love is like the purest water
rinsing clean the deepest stain.
Still, a pool will freeze to hardness;
boiling, water scars with pain.
Every day, new understandings
fill the gaps where love has waned.
Nothing shares but of love’s freedoms,
nothing once, for all, sustains.
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p style=”text-align: center;”>Hope is like a bright horizon,
promise of a brand new day.
Still, the trek is never ending,
all our progress seems in vain.
Every day, though charted courses
press us onward, lead the way,
nothing guarantees hope’s promise,
nothing once, for all, ordained.
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p style=”text-align: center;”>Peace is like the evening stillness,
lending earth its quiet glow.
Still, the world has many places
peace has yet the strength to go.
Every day, we face the future
knowing more than we have known.
Nothing peace has built came quickly,
never once, on all, bestowed.
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p style=”text-align: center;”>Truth is like the brightest sunshine
filling all our world with light.
Yet the day moves into darkness
as the shadows welcome night.
Every day, new understandings
set aside our old insights.
Nothing holds truth’s purest meaning,
nothing once, for all, is right.
© 2015 gretta vosper