Ring the Bells of Heaven

Project 365 – #085

Ring the bells of Heaven! There is joy today,
For a soul, returning from the wild!
See, the Father meets him out upon the way,
Welcoming His weary, wandering child.

Ring the bells of Heaven! There is joy today,
For the wanderer now is reconciled;
Yes, a soul is rescued from his sinful way,
And is born anew a ransomed child.

Ring the bells of Heaven! Spread the feast today!
Angels, swell the glad triumphant strain!
Tell the joyful tidings, bear it far away!
For a precious soul is born again.

Glory! Glory! How the angels sing:
Glory! Glory! How the loud harps ring!
‘Tis the ransomed army, like a mighty sea,
Pealing forth the anthem of the free.

~William Orcutt Cushing, 1823-1902~

Last Sunday afternoon, we headed over to the Old Territorial Prison for a birthday party.  It was a beautiful, yet windy day.  It was apparent that the kids thought it was pretty cool to have a birthday party at the prison.  Our host family even hired a gun fight show which was more of a comedy than an old west gun showdown.  After the party concluded, we walked around the prison.  Munchkin went with her friends while D and I walked together.  It’s hard to believe that she’s old enough to walk around with her friends (in a controlled environment).

Several of the pictures that I have posted this week were from our time touring the prison.  Every time I see the above bell, I think of the song featured above.  We use to sing it in church when I was younger.  It’s not being sung nearly as often now – at least, not in the churches that we’ve attended over the years.  I miss some of those older hymns and choruses.  While I very much enjoy contemporary Christian music, there is something deep in the hymns of days gone by.