Joseph Swain – death, Apr.16, 1796

O Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight,
On whom in affliction I call,
My comfort by day, and my song in the night,
My hope, my salvation, my all.

Where dost Thou at noontide resort with Thy sheep,
To feed on the pastures of love?
Say, why in the valley of death should I weep,
Or alone in the wilderness rove?

O, why should I wander an alien from Thee,
And cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,
And smile at the tears I have shed.

Ye daughters of Zion declare, have ye seen
The Star that on Israel shone?
Say, if in your tents my Belovèd has been,
And where, with His flocks, He is gone.

This is my Belovèd; His form is divine;
His vestments shed odors around:
The locks of His head are as grapes on the vine,
When autumn with plenty is crowned.

The roses of Sharon, the lilies that grow
In vales, on the banks of the streams:
On His cheeks, all the beauties of excellence glow,
And His eyes are as quivers of beams.

His voice, as the sound of the dulcimer sweet,
Is heard through the shadows of death;
The cedars of Lebanon bow at His feet,
The air is perfumed with His breath.

His lips as a fountain of righteousness flow,
That waters the garden of grace,
From which their salvation the Gentiles shall know,
And bask in the smiles of His face.

Love sits on His eye-lids, and scatters delight
Through all the bright mansions on high;
Their faces the cherubim veil in His sight,
And tremble with fullness of joy.

He looks, and ten thousands of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for His word;
He speaks, and eternity, filled with His voice,
Re-echoes the praise of her Lord.

Dear Shepherd, I hear and will follow Thy call;
I know the sweet sound of Thy voice.
Restore and defend me, for Thou art my All,
And in Thee I will ever rejoice.

Joseph Swain died this date, 4/16/1796, at Walworth, London.  He was once apprenticed to an engraver.  After his conversion to Christ he began expressing his poetic thoughts in hymns. Then 1791 became minister of a Baptist congregation in East Street, Walworth.  He is remembered today for “O Thou in Whose Presence My Soul Takes Delight.”

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Michael Faraday – birth, Sep. 22, 1791

I will simply express my strong belief, that that point of self-education which consists in teaching the mind to resist its desires and inclinations, until they are proved to be right, is the most important of all, not only in things of natural philosophy, but in every department of daily life.

            – Michael Faraday

                ‘Observations On Mental Education’, a lecture before the Prince Consort and the Royal Institution, May 6, 1854.          Experimental researches in chemistry and physics (1859), 477.

The world little knows how many of the thoughts and theories which have passed through the mind of a scientific investigator, have been crushed in silence and secrecy by his own severe criticism and adverse examination!

            – Michael Faraday

                ‘Observations On Mental Education’, a lecture before the Prince Consort and the Royal Institution, May 6, 1854.          Experimental researches in chemistry and physics (1859), 486.

 

What a delight it is to think that you are quietly and philosophically at work in the pursuit of science…rather than fighting amongst the crowd of black passions and motives that seem now a days to urge men every where into action.  What incredible scenes every where, what unworthy motives ruled for the moment, under high sounding phrases and at the last what disgusting revolutions.

            – Michael Faraday        Letter to C. Schrenbein, December 15, 1848.

 

Nothing is too wonderful to be true if it be consistent with the laws of nature.
            – Michael Faraday (exact source unknown)

The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success are

concentration,

discrimination,

organization,

innovation and

communication.                         – Michael Faraday (exact source unknown)

 

“His [Faraday’s] soul was above all littleness and proof to all egotism.”

            – John Tyndall                   Faraday as a Discoverer (1868), 104.

 

Michael Faraday was born this date 9/22/1791 at Newington, England (one mile south of London Bridge.)  He was one of ten children born to a poor  blacksmith; reportedly so poor a loaf of bread may have had to last all week.

 

At fourteen he apprenticed to a bookbinder learning much by reading (after work) the books being printed.  This led to him seeking (and at twenty-two gaining) a position with Sir Humphrey Davey.  Faraday traveled eighteen months with him obtaining a “university education” as his assistant.

 

Faraday went on to make great and well known discoveries in electro-magnetism and chemistry.  He was a true scientist – he pursued truth.

 

Many may not know that Faraday was a Christian (Presbyterian- Sandamanian),[1]  His was a deep faith which led him to make his confession at twenty-nine and later to become a minister in his church.  He died in 1867.

 

 

 

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[1] Convinced that churches are gatherings of true believers, rather than social clubs for anyone born in a parish.

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