HYMNS FROM HOME: FAIREST LORD JESUS W/AS THE DEER

PRAY
Lord, you are fairer than anything this world has seen.  You are Ruler of all!.  Our souls long for you for you are as necessary as food and water; make yourself the desire of our hearts.

LYRICS

Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, 
ruler of all nature, 
O thou of God and man the Son, 
Thee will I cherish, 
Thee will I honor, 
thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows, 
fairer still the woodlands, 
robed in the blooming garb of spring: 
Jesus is fairer, 
Jesus is purer 
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, 
fairer still the moonlight, 
and all the twinkling starry host: 
Jesus shines brighter, 
Jesus shines purer 
than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Savior! 
Lord of all the nations! 
Son of God and Son of Man! 
Glory and honor, 
praise, adoration, 
now and forevermore be thine.

As The Deer

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship Thee
​
You're my friend
And You are my brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything

SCRIPTURE
Psalm 27:4  & Psalm 42

​BACKGROUND

Although the origins of the text of "Fairest Lord Jesus" are unknown, everyone seems to agree that it was original a German tune from the 17th century.  The hymn-tune "Crusaders' Hymn" or "SAINT ELIZABETH."  The origins of this tune are also a bit convoluted - it dates back to the 12th century crusades - but composer Franz Liszt used it as the march of the crusaders in his oratorio "The Legend of Saint Elizabeth in 1862 and so thus the hymn names were born.  
​"As The Deer" was both written and composed by Marty Nystrom a contemporary composer, worship leader, music director and presenter.
​

PERSONAL

I'm not sure what stage of quarantine grief I'm on at this point but I feel like I've ridden all the emotions from "thankful for this pause and time with my family" to "I need to get out of this house and get a break from my family" to "the world is coming to an end" and "I trust that the Lord has this..." and everything in-between.  And trust me, there are lots of things in-between.
I miss hugging my friends when I see them down the sidewalk on one of my many necessary "Sanity walks."

So when I was thinking about hymns for tonight I knew I needed something peaceful, because that's what MY heart needs to hear tonight.  And what is more peaceful than meditating on the beauty of the Lord?  How fair and good He is.  And the pastoral image of a deer silently lapping water from a stream makes me feel like I'm on some grand adventure in a National park which is quite frankly where I'd like to be right now.

I hope that this tune brings your heart peace and calm and stillness tonight.  That's what this whole project is about, afterall.