Each year during Advent, my church teaches a series based on a popular Christmas hymn. Last year, I created graphics to go along with it. They liked them so much they asked me to do it again. This year's hymn…
Welcome to the last Advent art post! The fourth stanza of “As With Gladness, Men of Old” goes like this:
Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.
This verse made me wonder: If Jesus will be so bright a star is no longer needed, then how bright does He have to be? Of course, this automatically means research (go with it, I’m nerdy).
This art series is designed to let you pause during this busy holiday season. Each week during Advent, we’ve been focusing on one stanza from the hymn “As with Gladness, Men of Old.”
The entire third stanza of goes like this:
As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.
Whenever treasure and Christmas or Advent are associated, my mind jumps to the wise men’s gifts or elementary students monologing as The Little Drummer Boy (claymation, anyone?).
“As with Gladness, Men of Old” was written by William Chatterton Dix. This phrase comes from the second stanza. While there isn’t a ton of information about Mr. William, we do know the hymn was penned during the season of Epiphany.
This photo is part of a series I created for Advent. Advent is a time to pause. To slow down and look forward to future events
With wonder.
With Joy.
With hope.
And receive mercy.
Here is the full second stanza of “As with Gladness, Men of Old”:
I did a series of Advent artwork using the hymn “As with Gladness, Men of Old” for my church this year. My hope is that, while looking at the photo, you might enter a moment of peace among the busyness of the holidays.
Here is the rest of the first stanza: