Come, Let Us Anew, Hymns #217

January 2nd 

Lyrics

1. "Come, let us anew our journey pursue, roll round with the year, and never stand still till the Master appear"

The new year is a time to anew our commitment to follow the Lord and live his commandment, a commitment to keep working on the errand of the Lord preparing for his Second Coming. It is a commitment to keep going forward.

"His adorable will let us gladly fulfill, and our talents improve by the patience of hope and the labor of love".

His will is adorable, is great, is what we must look forward to fulfill, and each year we can renew that desire of being sensitive to the Holy Ghost to know how to accomplish the Lord's will and not our mere desires.
It is also a time to improve our talents, to recognize those gifts he gave us and to commit to improve them.

How to fulfill his will and improve our talents?

By patience of hope and labor of love, according to this hymn.

We might not know exactly why the will of God is what it is. We must fulfill it with faith, not knowing how or why, but having that hope, patiently hoping that things will work out because we are doing it in the Lord's way. Because we love God, we will put that love for him into work, laboring with our all to fulfill his will. Loving God and trusting him with hope, patiently, is essential to give us a better vision and desire to fulfill his will.

And improving our talents, who haven't try it. Learning a new instrument, a new language, a new skill... doesn't it take a lot of time to learn, practice and develop the talent? It would be really hard to improve our talents if we do not have patience of hope, if we are so desperate to get it that we end up giving up because we're not as perfect as we wish to be. We must hope to improve those talents with patience, knowing that it is little by little that we will be able to accomplish it. And love... have you ever try to accomplish something just to show others how good you are at versus accomplish something because you love someone and want to give your best to bless that person? I've tried both, and love makes all the difference. When we want to improve our talents in order to bless others, because we love them, whether someone close to us or people that we love because they're our brothers and sisters even if we don't know them personnaly, the results are much better. It is easier for me to improve a talent because I want to bless someone else than to get it only for myself. It is not fun to cook if we are the only ones to eat. It is not fun to play the piano if we are the only ones to listen. It is not fun to learn a new language if it's to speak only with our reflection on a mirro. When see people satisfied with the food we share with them, when we are able to play the piano in a meeting or activity and that people feel that warm joy that beautiful music brings, or when we are able to show our interest to someone from another culture because we know their language, the joy of being able to use our talents is more satisfactory. As an example, I am learning Tongan because I fell in love with the Tongan culture and I would love to visit that island and to get to know the people there. That love motivates me to learn the language more than if it was only to know more language without even using them. It gives me purpose, so it helps me improve my talents.

So if you're trying to find ways to commit to fulfill God's will and to improve our talents, you now were to begin... ;)

2- "Our life is a dream, our time as a stream glide swifly away, and the fugitive moment refuses to stay; for the arrow is flown and the moments are gone.
The millenial year presses on to our view, and eternity's here."

Basically this means that our time is short! Time flies and we're be standing before God... So we must use our time meaningfully that we may not regret all the time gone.

3- "Oh, that each in the day of His coming may say, 

"I have fought my way thru; I have finished the work thou didst give me to do."

Oh that each from his Lord may receive the glad word:

"Well and faithfully done;

Enter into my joy and sit down on my throne."

When all that time is gone, which side will we be? Would we respond with gladness, confidence and joy, knowing that we have done what we have to do and that we are ready to receive our reward, or will we want to hide under the rocks so that we may not face God and respond of all the time of our lives that we have waste.

Will we receive those words from the Lord "Well and faithfully done"? It is how we use our time and talents now that will determine where we will be. Where do we want to be? It is our time to take that decision, as says 2 Nephi 2:27, to choose captivity and death or liberty and eternal life. It's up to us.

Scriptures:
2 Timothy 4:7-8

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

God will reward all those who love him and who fight his fight. Are we fighting for him?

Matthew 25:21

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

If we are fiathful, we will be able to rest with our Lord for ever. Is this what we are working for?
This hymn is all about learning to use our time well and to work for the Lord, that we may receive his blessings at the end. We must choose to serve him well if we want to be with him.


Author

Charles Wesley

Words were written by Charles Wesley. It was first published in the penny tract Hymns for New Years Day, 1750

Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement, most widely known for writing more than 6,000 hymns.

Wesley was born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, the son of Anglican cleric and poet Samuel Wesley and his wife Susanna. He was a younger brother of Methodist founder John Wesley and Anglican cleric Samuel Wesley the Younger, and he became the father of musician Samuel Wesley and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley.

Wesley was educated at Oxford where his brothers had also studied, and he formed the "Holy Club" among his fellow students in 1729. John Wesley later joined this group, as did George Whitefield. Charles followed his father and brother into the church in 1735, and he travelled with John to Georgia in America, returning a year later. In 1749, he married Sarah Gwynne, daughter of a Welsh gentleman who had been converted to Methodism by Howell Harris. She accompanied the brothers on their evangelisticjourneys throughout Britain until Charles ceased to travel in 1765.

Despite their closeness, Charles and John did not always agree on questions relating to their beliefs. In particular, Charles was strongly opposed to the idea of a breach with the Church of England into which they had been ordained.^[1]