There are so many good hymns. As with most things we have a tendency to rush over them as if to extract the sweetness without savoring the deeper substance. So as time allows on occasion I try to assimilate a little more of the spiritual nutrients from these poems that we sing. In poetry I like completeness of thought with conciseness of language. Of course that is a challenge. The hymn “One Day” seems to be just such a hymn, surveying the incarnation, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and second coming of Christ. Emphasizing this idea of these events happening on a certain ‘one day’ each produces a unity of the verses and points to the historicity of the works of Christ. In each of the verses Christ and His work are exalted and personalized to the person singing the song. These are all wonderful elements, but I’m rarely quite satisfied, so I thought that it covers from Christ’s incarnation at Bethlehem to the beginning of eternity, shouldn’t it include eternity past forward to Bethlehem? I sat down and wrote two more verse to “complete” the thought of salvation history conveyed in the song. I was unable to bring in the element of personalizing the work of Christ to the singer and I’m confident that my poetry is not so good as the author, J. Wilbur Chapman, but I enjoyed the effort and contemplation anyway, and so may you.
One day the Godhead took counsel in heaven
One day the Christ was appointed to die
Jesus submitted in full to His Father
While He still sat on His throne up on high
One day Christ Jesus created first Adam
One day He walked in the garden with him
Then Adam sinned and all mankind was fallen
As second Adam He would rescue them
One day when Heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,
Dwelt among men, my example is He!
Refrain
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming—O glorious day!
One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree;
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected:
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He!
Refrain
One day they left Him alone in the garden,
One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o’er His tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He!
Refrain
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!
Refrain
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glories will shine;
Wonderful day, my belovèd ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!
Refrain
I noticed something after I wrote the first two verses. The refrain repeats and reviews the five themes of incarnation, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and the second coming of Christ presented one at a time in each of the five verses. I guess the hymn was wonderfully complete and filled out after all. Oh well, I reviewed all the more God’s wonderful grace in the process.
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CreatorWorship 
It Is a Moral Issue
Posted in Cultural commentary, General, Poem, tagged Cultural commentary, Poems on June 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »
The end of the school year is upon us. It is time for a little reflection and cultural commentary. Caution and disclaimer: This poem might make you mad, or conversely, you might shake your head sadly and say, ‘yes, it’s true’. If we do not take part in the last verse I fear we will not be tolerated very much longer. As one teacher said to me yesterday unprovoked, “We are not approaching crisis; we are in crisis.”
It is a moral issue
Lack of motivation
Rejecting what is true
Rules retaliation
Tolerance the only view
It is a moral issue
Say neither bad nor good
Be careful what you do
Even watch thoughts you should
Or we will certainly sue
It is a moral issue
Immodesty of dress
Crudeness of speech in lieu
Of more polite address
What I want to say and do
It is a moral issue
Lack of hygiene and care
Knowledge, no want or clue
All perversion laid bare
Gratification my due
It is a moral issue
Stealing what is not yours
Cheating and lying too
Coveting brings detours
Not earn what belongs to you
It is a moral issue
With rank and uniform
And age and gender too
Disrespect is the norm
Not even give God His due
It is a moral issue
Death is the focus now
Black the favorite hue
To dark stories they bow
Tattoos and piercings not few
It is a moral issue
Cry out to God, repent
Trust Christ the Savior Who
By grace from wraths relent
Our hope and nation renew
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