God's Minute 3/5

God forbid that I should sin in ceasing to pray.--1 Samuel 12:23

FATHER in Heaven, we turn to Thee in the morning of this new day, in loving gratitude for Thy care over us through the past night. We thank Thee today for home and food and clothing, for service to which Thou hast called us, and for a measure of health and strength to serve Thee, for friends to love and serve, and above all, for the revelation of Thyself through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

We pray Thee to bless our home today; guard every one of us in the hour of temptation; keep our feet from the paths of sin; keep us from using selfishly any of the blessings that Thou hast bestowed upon us. Fill our lives with the joy and peace and satisfaction that comes from living in obedience to Thee.

Cleanse and purify Thy Church, and strengthen it for the service for which Thou hast redeemed it, empowering all those who preach and teach Thy blessed Word in our land and in distant lands. Fill Thy Church with a passion to finish the task Thou hast given it to do.

Grant to every one we love Thy richest and fullest blessing for this day. We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

W.B. Anderson, D.D.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dürer Plants

Violets

Pine 1495-97

The Large Turf or Tall Grass 1503

Iris 1503

God's Minute 3/4

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.--2 Corinthians 5:1

OUR Father Who art in Heaven, we thank Thee for the mercies of the past day and night; for food and clothing, for sleep and shelter; for the companionship of our fellow men, and for daily opportunities for usefulness. By our receiving these mercies may we also recognize the duties whch they imply. May our love to Thee and our love to our fellow men ever grow stronger by their daily exercise.

Give us grace to face the future with eqanimity. We profoundly believe in the future life, and that Thou hast not created the wonderful minds of the past and the present--minds so fruitful in searching out the secrets of nature and of the human mind and body, and in devising the many means and methods by which man's comfort, intelligence, and general welfare are so wonderfully promoted--only to vanish into oblivion at the death of the body, which is mortal. We believe that Thou hast given to each of us an immortal soul, capable of dwelling with Thee in everlasting bliss. May we so order our lives in this, our temporary home, as to be fitted by Thy grace to inhabit our eternal home. Help us by precept and example to influence our fellow men to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, and to enjoy this same faith in the future life. All of this we ask in the Name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

William W. Keen, M.D., LL.D.,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dürer Portraits

His Mother 1490

His Father 1490

The portraits of his parents were done shortly after he left his training in the shop of Michael Wolgemut. The pictures were originally framed together as a diptych. They are both holding rosaries and reflect similar postures.

Elector Fredrick the Wise of Saxony 1496

His Father at 70 1497

The Emperor Charlemange 1512

Master Michael Wolgemut 1516 (in whose shop Dürer studied in Nuremburg)

Emperor Maximilian I 1519

Albrecht Dürer

The title page from his book on Human Proportion, 1528.

Albrecht Dürer's signature. It is as famous as his best known works.

Study of an Apostle's Hands (Praying Hands)

Speaking of best known works. . .how many of you have this drawing in your home or displayed in your church?

Hand Study with Bible

This one is less familiar but it draws me in. I find myself wondering what passage has been bookmarked.