8/12/2019 1990 Issue 10 - Ordained Praise, Part 3 - Counsel of Chalcedon

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ORDAINED

PRAISE

y Judy Rogers

Anne Fuller Anderson:

Her

Candle

o

Faith

Her

Song

o

Praise

"How

fiT l

a foundation,

ye

saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith

in

His excellent word.

What more can He say

than to you He hath said

to you who for refuge

to Jesus have fled."

These words are one of the earliest memories

of

my

childhood. From the time I was a very little girl my

precious grandmother, Anne Fuller Anderson,

would sing this and other of the great old hymns.

The melody would drift throughout the rooms ofher

small house along with the delightful aroma of the

country breakfast she was preparing.

My

senses

were awakened: the smell aroused my body--the

sound of the song stirred my young soul.

Psalm 71 gives us vivid examples of godly praise,

"My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your

splendor all day long " "My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you," ... My tongue will tell

of your righteous acts. all day long " Gran_ny

followed this example fatthfully, and though I realize

it now more than then, her praise had a trememdous

impact on

my

budding spiritual life.

I thank God that both my father's parents, Marion

Calvin and U

na

Belcher,

and

my mother's parents,

Elihu and Anne Anderson were Christians. I

wonder if grandparents have any idea how much

they influence their grandchildren, whether they

make a concious effort to do so or not

Granny Anne was a hymn singer. (or w h s t l ~ r ) and

she ministered to me and others m our fam1ly even

though, I imagine, she never really knew we w ~ r e

listening. One thing that strikes me about her :pra.tse

in song is that even after many sorrows and tr1als, a

song

of

praise would always return. Her beloved 2

year old son, Tom, was killed in a shO?ting accident

in the Air Force, but she lived to smg a song of

praise again. o ~ could

~ h i s

be?

e c ~ u s e

her

praise was rooted m her fatth m a sovere1gn

God

who continually kept her through His power and

love.

In Psalm 71 there is a prayer for long l ife--not for

selfish pursuits

but

for this godly goal: "Even when

I am old and gray, do not forsake me, 0 God, till I

declare your power to the

next

generation, your

might to all who are to come '' Granny was able to

do this. She lived to age 86 and was blessed to see

her children's children

How would you fill in this blank: "

My

mouth is

filled with . I was struck

one

day with all

the complaining, fretting, gossiping, arguing, and

boasting that proceed

from

our mouths.

_f we

praised and prayed

half

as much as we goss1p _and

grumble, we . would P ~ < ; > b a b l y see

g r ~ a t

thmgs

accomplished m our farmhes and for the kmgdom

of

God Psalm 71:8 fills in that blank with the proper

word: My mouth is filled with your praise,

declaring your splendor all day long " C o ~ l d our

lack of praise

be

due to a lack of love for this great

God? Could our lack of love be due to our small

vision

of

such an awesome Lord? God loves to hear

the praises of His people. Are our children and

grandchildren learning this from our example?

I will close with a song that I wrote for

my

children

to encourage them to keep t ~ e "candle of

~ a i t h "

burning throughout the generations,

for

there will

be

no praise where there is no living faith in the praise

worthy God. Only

He

can light. that candle

of

a i ~ ;

but

inasmuch as we

are

responsible to pass

our

fatth

down through our example, our teaching and our

praise,

we

must do so with the hope that His Spirit

will cause

it

to take root in the hearts and lives ofour

children.

Maybe it's time to take the gr:eat old hymns home

with us. Sing them

from

the kitchen, the shower,

or

on walks.

Let

us leave our children a legacy of

praise

Candle of Faith

I had a grandmother loving and kind

a hardworking, God fearing lady;

And He lit a candle o faith in her heart,

And

we

saw

it

burning inside her.

The Counsel of Cbalcedon December 1990 Page 23

8/12/2019 1990 Issue 10 - Ordained Praise, Part 3 - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Candle

of

Faith

Though through many sorrows

t

flickered and faded

He kept it burning so brightly;

And she passed the candle to

her

children sayblg,

"Never let

it

die--hold

i t

tightly."

In her daughter, my mother, He was the bright

light,

Shining by night and by day.

And when we were lost

or

wandering in

darknt $5

Her candle lighted the way.

And through many sorroWs it flickered and faded ,

But He kept it burning so brightly

And she passed the candle to her children praying,

"Never let it die-hold it

tightly."

Chorus

He a ~ n d l e of faith in their heSrts,

And with His glory their darkness was rilled

Lord, make it shine through the coming

generation

Like a

city

that's set on a hill.

Down through the years I have guarded the candle,

Though often the flame has grown dim.

And I know . hat my light

will

only be radiant

By faithfully trusting in Him.

Now I pass the candle to my children praying

That in them His love will remain

~ may they hold fast to the faith or their

fathers

"Keep the candle burning--never break the Chain "

Psalm 71 recorded In song on Pllgrm'a Pr Judy

Roaen

1991 n

The Counsel or Chalcedon December 1990 Page 24

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