Welcome to the final Top 5 list for 2015. This one includes the most visited and liked poems on GraceSyllables this year.
Thank you for visiting, reading, and commenting this year and may you have a grace-filled 2016.
Hypocrite!
What splinters in my eyes?
I am fine, all is right,
But I see the sin in others,
And I can’t believe it.
There’s nothing wrong with me,
No reason to repent,
I cannot be blind in both eyes,
No, I won’t believe it.
Hypocrite! Hypocrite!
Why do I not see my sin?
Lord, remove the logs from my eyes,
Rescue me from the night.
And give me gentle grace,
More mercy in this fight,
Teach me to speak the truth in love,
So others believe it.
Hypocrite! Hypocrite!
Why do I not see my sin?
Lord, remove the log from one eye,
Restore me with some sight.
Behind the lines
Matthew 7:5, Luke 6:42. and Proverbs 11:19
Luke 6:42 ESV: How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
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In Between
Reading makes me write,
Writing won’t let me read,
But when I’m stuck in between,
Nothing is achieved.
Dying will not live,
Living will never die,
But while I’m here in between,
One must say goodbye.
Sleeping knows no time,
Timing can never sleep,
But when I fall in between,
An alarm I must keep.
Working longs for rest,
Resting resists work,
But when I go in between,
The back and forth sure hurts.
Adding more makes sense,
Sensing no more to add,
But if you’re caught in between,
You may, like me, be mad.
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The LORD Will Provide
John Newton (1725-1807) wrote the below and it’s listed as Hymn 7 in the Olney Hymns Collection. He wrote it in 10,10,11,11 meter, and it’s a great reminder and encouragement for us to trust the Great Provider.
Jehovah Jireh – The LORD Will Provide.
Though troubles assail and dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail and foes all unite;
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,
The scripture assures us, the Lord will provide.
The birds without barn or storehouse are fed,
From them let us learn to trust for our bread:
His saints, what is fitting, shall ne’er be denied,
So long as ’tis written, the Lord will provide.
We may, like the ships, by tempest be tossed,
On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost.
Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide,
The promise engages, the Lord will provide.
His call we obey like Abram of old,
Not knowing our way, but faith makes us bold;
For though we are strangers we have a good Guide,
And trust in all dangers, the Lord will provide.
When Satan appears to stop up our path,
And fill us with fears, we triumph by faith;
He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,
This heart–cheering promise, the Lord will provide.
He tells us we’re weak, our hope is in vain,
The good that we seek we ne’er shall obtain,
But when such suggestions our spirits have plied,
This answers all questions, the Lord will provide.
No strength of our own, or goodness we claim,
Yet since we have known the Savior’s great name;
In this our strong tower for safety we hide,
The Lord is our power, the Lord will provide.
When life sinks apace and death is in view,
This word of his grace shall comfort us through:
No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting, the Lord will provide.
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The Sin Problem
The vast problem of sin,
Is not solved through the law,
If works are the answer,
It means death for us all.
But there’s grace upon grace,
Multiplied by great love,
The sum of redemption,
Is the product of God.
Indivisible Three,
Holy, Righteous and Just,
The Merciful Sovereign,
Equals death on a cross.
Cross-multiplication,
With Christ’s power to raise,
Has left our sin canceled,
And His math now embraced.
The formula of grace,
Substitutes the fallen,
With Christ as the Answer,
To the giant sin problem.
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Ye Holy Angels Bright
Richard Baxter (1615-1691) wrote this hymn incorporating the theme of all who praise the Lord: angels, saints in heaven, saints on earth, and his own soul. He uses an interesting meter and rhyme scheme of 6.6.6.6 (syllables), rhyming ABAB, and then moves to an energetic 4.4.4.4 while rhyming CDDC.
As Baxter suggests in different lines below, “Let all (our) days”, “through good or ill”, “whate’er He send”, “be filled with praise.”
Ye holy angels bright,
Who wait at God’s right hand,
Or through the realms of light
Fly at your Lord’s command,
Assist our song,
Or else the theme,
Too high doth seem,
For mortal tongue.
Ye blessèd souls at rest,
Who ran this earthly race
And now, from sin released,
Behold your Savior’s face,
God’s praises sound,
As in His light,
With sweet delight,
Ye do abound.
Ye saints, who toil below,
Adore your heavenly King,
And onward as ye go
Some joyful anthem sing;
Take what He gives,
And praise Him still,
Through good or ill,
Who ever lives.
My soul, bear thou thy part,
Triumph in God above,
And with a well-tuned heart
Sing thou the songs of love;
Let all thy days,
Till life shall end,
Whate’er He send,
Be filled with praise.
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Through the Old Window
Through the old window,
I look and see,
Dying pink roses,
Cows dotting a field,
And the breeze moving leaves on trees.
Through the old window,
I look and see,
Dirty panes once cleaned,
Weathered by use and years,
Protected by peeling paint and screens.
Through the old window,
I see long days,
Of work and summer fun,
Where hay was cut, trucks picked up,
And a boy climbed fences to play.
Through the old window,
I look anew,
Wondering who stopped here,
To gaze into their past,
Did they see with a different view?
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Slow Summer Rain
___________
Leaves like piano keys
bend in the rain
Strange notes are arranged
to relax as they play
Drops dance and gently pop
in pools on the ground
Violent waves grow silent
in streams they have found
Washing and massaging
my ears along their way
A soothing symphony
on a sleepy Saturday.
____________
_____
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Bell’s Store
Candy and dope,
Yes, that means Coke,
Tools and feed,
Tobacco and seed,
Crackers and snacks,
And fill her up with gas.
Coolers and scales,
Rows of old shelves,
Vegetables and cans,
For dinner plans,
Fruit and cheese,
Anything you need.
A shirt and tie,
Slept in all night,
Scribbled math, short notes,
Everywhere, in his coat,
Cash or credit,
He’d let you have it.
A Bailey or Doc,
Might make a stop,
A Greene or Beavers,
And maybe a Weaver,
A man and his store,
Would serve them once more.
Behind the lines
My grandfather’s store (circa 1935) will be torn down in July (2014) to make way for a new convenience store.
