Enriched Affections

I love old hymns. I don't mean old as in 1985. I mean old as in written by candle light, authored by men and women who never knew how much their words would be loved by the church. As I was preparing our worship for this coming Sunday I was hunting through my Trinity Hymnal for a good hymn on prayer. There is a lot to choose from, but not a lot that was familiar. How many hymns on prayer do you know of? Many echo the Psalms or speak of relying on God's sovereign hand. But I was looking for something fresh, at least fresh to me. Finding a fresh old hymn isn't an oxymoron. Just because it's old doesn't mean it can't be new. It's like finding a vintage bottle of wine that's increased its flavor as it was waiting to be discovered on an empty shelf. That's how I felt when I read the words to an old John Newton (author of Amazing Grace) hymn called "Behold the Throne of Grace!". For some reason the words (written in 1779) struck me. However,