He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul

Christ was nailed to the cross on Good Friday and crucified between two thieves. There He suffered and He died. (Matt. 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:32-49; John 19:16b-37) 
Christ was buried in a tomb by Joseph of Arimathea, who wrapped Christ's body in clean linen, placed Christ in the tomb, and rolled a stone over the entrance. The tomb was sealed, and guards were posted. (Matt. 27:57-66; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42)Christ remained in the tomb on Friday and Saturday. 
On the third day, Sunday, He arose, just as He said. (Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-9)

1 John 1New International Version (NIV)

The Incarnation of the Word of Life

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.

Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Footnotes:

1. 1 John 1:4 Some manuscripts your
2. 1 John 1:7 Or every

The Lily of the Valley | Charles W. Fry

1. I’ve found a friend in Jesus, He’s everything to me,
   He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
   The Lily of the Valley, in Him alone I see
   All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
   In sorrow He’s my comfort, in trouble He’s my stay;
   He tells me every care on Him to roll.
   • Refrain:
     He’s the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
     He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
2. He all my grief has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
   In temptation He’s my strong and mighty tow’r;
   I’ve all for Him forsaken, and all my idols torn
   From my heart and now He keeps me by His pow’r.
   Though all the world forsake me, and Satan tempt me sore,
   Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal.
3. He’ll never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here,
   While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
   A wall of fire about me, I’ve nothing now to fear,
   From His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
   Then sweeping up to glory to see His blessed face,
   Where rivers of delight shall ever roll.

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

Words: John­son Oat­man, Jr., in Songs for Young Peo­ple, by Ed­win Ex­cell (Chi­ca­go, Il­li­nois: 1897).
Music: Edwin O. Excell (MI­DI, score).
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Refrain

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Refrain

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain

Ephesians 1:3-6  (NKJV) Redemption in Christ

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, ⁵ having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
_______________________

HYMN HISTORY:   Rev. Johnson Oatman, Jr., was one of the important and prolific gospel song writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was born near Medford, New Jersey, on April 21, 1856. As a child he became acquainted with the hymns of the church through the singing talents of his father.
At the age of nineteen Oatman joined the Methodist Church and several years later was granted a license to preach in local Methodist congregations. Though he wrote over 5,000 hymn texts, Oatman was busily engaged throughout his life in a mercantile business and later as an administrator for a large insurance company in New Jersey. Other gospel favorites by Johnson Oatman include “Higher Ground, and “No, Not One!” (http://hishymnhistory.blogspot.com/2012/11/count-your-blessings.html)

End Times Spirit-filled hymns: Healing in His cleansing blood!

The hymns came on as he worshiped. They brought out the same theme for these last days of spiritual crossing from 2013 to 2014. The worship started with the majestic music for the King of kings, Lord of Lord, “Majesty”. The trumpets were not of this earth. The second hymn was “Blessed Assurance” and third was “Tis sweet to trust in Jesus”. Very familiar hymns but on this particular morning they were messages from heaven. The watchman received two keys: “Find”, and “Healing”. These two are end days crossing keys.
Blessed Assurance
Text: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915 Music: Phoebe P. Knapp, 1839-1908 Tune: ASSURANCE,  Meter: 9 10.9 9 with Refrain
1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
 Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)
3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
(Refrain)  Links for downloading: MIDI
background story: Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) is heralded as one of the world’s most prolific and talented hymn composers. Blind from shortly after birth, Fanny nonetheless wrote 8,000 hymns. One day Fanny overheard her friend and fellow musician Phoebe Knapp playing a new composition on the organ. Phoebe told Fanny the tune was called Assurance. Fanny replied: ‘Blessed Assurance! Jesus is mine!’ And so began the collaboration that was to become one of Christendom’s most beloved hymns. Blessed Assurance was published in 1873

‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus | Louisa M. R. Stead, 1882

Scripture:  Proverbs 30:5 Amplified Bible (AMP)

⁵ Every word of God is tried and purified; He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.
_________________Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Tis_So_Sweet_to_Trust_in_Jesus/midi/
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word; Just to rest upon His promise, And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Refrain: Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er; Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to trust His cleansing blood; And in simple faith to plunge me ’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus, Just from sin and self to cease; Just from Jesus simply taking Life and rest, and joy and peace.
I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; And I know that Thou art with me, Wilt be with me to the end.
___________Background story
According to the story: It was a beautiful sunny day. Louisa M. Stead, her husband, and her daughter Lily, decided to go for a picnic. They went picnicking on Long Island Sound. While having their picnic, the Steads heard a scream. It was from a young boy. Mr. Stead ran to the rescue. Louisa Stead and young Lily watched helplessly as Mr. Stead and the boy drowned. Their troubles were not over yet, however, and without her husband, Mrs. Stead became very poor and destitute. Yet God never left her. He provided for her always and she and her daughter made it through. Louisa learned to trust God, and thus the words to the song ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.’ Shortly after this incident, Louisa and her daughter Lily moved to South Africa where they became missionaries.
__________________________
The words of Stead’s poem were put to music by famed musician William J. Kirkpatrick, and subsequently published in several hymnals. The tragedy that prompted the lyrics of Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus has resulted in bringing comfort to many souls, for close to 130 years.