Thursday, March 30, 2017

Dear Saviour! make me wise to see

Dear Saviour! make me wise to see
My sin, and guilt, and remedy;
'Tis said, of all thy blood has brought,
'They shall of Israel's God be taught.'

Their plague of heart thy people know,
They know thy name, and trust thee too;
They know the gospel's blissful sound,
The path where endless joys abound.

They know the Father and the Son;—
Theirs is eternal life begun:
Unto salvation they are wise,—
Their grace shall into glory rise.

But—ignorance itself am I;
Born blind—estrang'd from thee I lie;
Lord! to thee I humbly own
I nothing know as should be known.

I scarce know God, or Christ, or sin,
My foes without, or plague within;
Know not my interest, Lord, in thee,
In pardon, peace, or liberty?

But help me to declare to-day,
If many things I cannot say,
'One thing I know,' all praise to thee,
'Though blind I was—yet now I see.'
                           Isaac Watts


     "I will give them a heart to know me." Jer. 24:7.  The knowledge of God is
the first excellency of the new heart.  As in the old, so in the new creation, as was
said before, the first word is, "Let there be light."  There is not so glorious a pre-eminence
of day above night, as of the knowledge above the ignorance of God.  As the firmament
without a sun, as the body without an eye, so is the soul without knowledge.  What this
knowledge of God here promised is, will appear, if we consider its object.....
     The object of this knowledge is God:  not only the nature or being of God, manifested
in his essential perfections, his glorious attributes, his infiniteness, eternity, omnipotence,
in his personal relations, the subsistences in the godhead; but God in Christ; God in covenant;
yea, the whole mind and will of God, all that which God hath revealed to us as our duty or
happiness.  God known in the heart, is the whole Bible opened:  the law opened, the gospel
opened; duties, comforts, privileges made manifest.  Christ opened in his sufferings, in his
satisfaction, in his Spirit, in all the riches of his glory:  the whole mystery of godliness
revealed.  The heart opened, man made known to himself, all the depths of the heart, all
the deceits of the heart, all the faculties and powers of the heart, with their motions,
operations, inclinations, the rectitude or obliquities of them.  Heaven opened, the crown,
the kingdom known; everlasting rest, glory, honor, immortality brought to light.  Hell
opened, sin known, the devil known, wrath, temptation, the curse, eternal fire known. 
All this, even all that God is, and all that he has revealed in his word and works, are the
object of this knowledge of God......
     Christian, know the Lord, but know and fear; know and serve, know and honor
thy God; know God, and know thyself, thy sin and thy misery, thy dangers and thy
temptations; know and mourn; know and be ashamed; know, and fear, and watch,
and fight, and overcome.  Know God, and know his will, thy duty and thy way, thy
privileges and opportunities, thy race and thy crown.  Know, and do, and run, and
suffer, and wait, and hope, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  Know God,
but God in Christ, God reconciled, pardoning, absolving, accepting through him. 
Know, and believe, accept, adventure upon, resign, commit thyself to him.  Know
thy God, and behold him; look upon thy God in his power, in his wisdom, in his holiness,
in his goodness, in his lovingkindness, in his mercy.  Behold him in his word, in his works,
in his providence, in his saints, in thy soul, in his Son; set him before thine eyes, look
upon thy God, and never leave looking till thou art changed into his image and satisfied
with his likeness.....
                                                                                                     Richard Alleine



Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Hark! 'tis the Shepherd's voice

Hark! 'tis the Shepherd's voice,
Who with his flock appears;
He bids the tender lambs rejoice,
And banish all their fears.

Though little here below,
You shall to glory rise:
"Fear not," your Father will bestow
A kingdom in the skies.

“Fear not ye little flock,"
Whom Jesus Christ redeems;
‘Tis your's to feed beside that Rock,
Which sends forth living streams.

"Fear not;" though lions roar,
Your Shepherd guards you well;
Soon you shall hear their noise no more
But in your kingdom dwell.

"Fear not;" believe his word;
You are to Jesus given;
'Tis "the good pleasure" of the Lord
To bring you safe to heaven.
                      Joseph Irons


Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.                          
                                                                  Luke 12:32

.....Fear not, little flock.  For the banishing of inordinate cares, it is necessary
that fears should be suppressed.  When we frighten ourselves with an apprehension
of evil to come, we put ourselves upon the stretch of care how to avoid it, when after
all perhaps it is but the creature of our own imagination.  Therefore fear not, little
flock, but hope to the end; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.  This comfortable word we had not in Matthew.  Note,
     1.  Christ's flock in this world is a little flock; his sheep are but few and feeble. 
The church is a vineyard, a garden, a small spot, compared with the wilderness of
this world; as Israel - 1 Kin. 20:27, who were like two little flocks of kids, when
the Syrians filled the country.
     2.  Though it be a little flock, quite over-numbered, and therefore in danger of
being overpowered, by its enemies, yet it is the will of Christ that they should not
be afraid:  "Fear not, little flock, but see yourselves safe under the protection and
conduct of the great and good Shepherd, and lie easy."
     3.  God has a kingdom in store for all that belong to Christ's little flock, a crown
of glory - 1 Pet. 5:4, a throne of power - Rev. 3:21, unsearchable riches, far exceeding
the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces.  The sheep on the right hand are called
to come and inherit the kingdom; it is theirs for ever; a kingdom for each.
     4.  The kingdom is given according to the good pleasure of the Father; it is your
Father's good pleasure; it is given not of debt, but of grace, free grace, sovereign
grace; even so, Father, because it seemed good unto thee.  The kingdom is his;
and may he not do what he will with his own?
     5.  The believing hopes and prospects of the kingdom should silence and suppress
the fears of Christ's little flock in this world.  "Fear no trouble; for, though it should
come, it shall not come between you and the kingdom, that is sure, it is near." 
(That is not an evil worth trembling at the thought of which cannot separate us
from the love of God.)  "Fear not the want of any thing that is good for you; for,
if it be your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, you need not question
but he will bear your charges thither."
                                                                                           Matthew Henry 

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Compar'd with Christ, in all besides

Compar'd with Christ, in all besides
No comeliness I see;
The one thing needful, dearest Lord,
Is to be one with thee.

The sense of thy expiring love
Into my soul convey:
Thyself bestow! for thee alone,
My All in all, I pray.

Less than thyself will not suffice
My comfort to restore:
More than thyself I cannot crave;
And thou canst give no more.

Lov'd of my God, for him again
With love intense I'd burn:
Chosen of thee ere time began,
I'd choose thee in return.

Whate'er consists not with thy love,
O teach me to resign;
I'm rich to all the intents of bliss,
If thou, O God, art mine.                                          
                                          Toplady


.....but Christ is all.....   Col 3:11

     If Christ be all, see here the Christian's inventory, how rich is he
that hath Christ!  He hath all that may make him completely happy.  Plutarch
reports that the wife of Phocion being asked where her jewels were, she answered,
"My husband, and his triumphs are my jewels!" so, if a Christian be asked, where
are his riches, he will say, "Christ is my riches."  A true saint cannot be poor; if you
look into his house, perhaps he hath scarce a bed to lie on, 1 Cor. 4:11, "Even to
this present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and have no certain
dwelling-place."  Come to many a child of God, and bid him make his will, he
saith as Peter, Acts 3:6, "Silver and gold have I none:" yet he can at the same
time make his triumph with the apostle, 2 Cor. 6:10, "As having nothing, yet
possessing all;" he hath Christ who is all.  When a believer can call nothing his,
he can say all is his.  The tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins, Exod. 25:5,
yet most of it was of gold:  so a saint may have a poor covering, ragged clothes,
but he is inlaid with gold, 'Christ is formed in his heart,' and so he is all glorious
within.
     How could a Christian sit down satisfied with Christ!  "Christ is all."  What
though he wants other things, is not Christ enough?  If a man hath sunshine, he
doth not complain he wants the light of a candle; hath he not enough who hath
"the unsearchable riches of Christ?"  I have read of a godly man, who being
blind, his friend asked him if he was not troubled for the want of his sight; he
confessed he was; "Why," saith his friend, "are you troubled because you want
that which flies have, when you have that which angels have?"  So I say to a
Christian, Why art thou troubled for wanting that which a reprobate has, when
thou hast that which the glorified saints have?  Thou hast Christ with all his
perquisites and royalties!  Suppose a father should deny his son furniture for
his house, but should settle all his land upon him, had he any cause to complain? 
If God denies thee a little furniture in the world, but in the mean time settles
his land upon thee, he gives thee the field wherein the pearl of price is hid,
hast thou any cause to repine? a Christian that wants necessaries, yet having
Christ, he hath the one thing needful, Col. 2:10, "Ye are complete in him." 
What! complete in Christ, and not content with Christ?.....let the Christian
take the harp and the viol, and bless God.                           
                                                                        Thomas Watson 

Monday, March 27, 2017

Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing

Rejoice, my heart, be glad and sing,
A cheerful trust maintain;
For God, the source of ev’rything,
Your portion shall remain.

He is your treasure, He your joy,
Your life and light and Lord,
Your Counselor when doubts annoy,
Your shield and great reward. 

Why spend the day in blank despair,
In restless thought the night?  
On your Creator cast your care;
He makes your burdens light.

Did not His love and truth and pow’r
Guard ev’ry childhood day?
And did He not in threat’ning hour
Turn dreaded ills away?

He only will with patience chide,
His rod falls gently down;
And all your sins He casts aside
In ocean depths to drown.

His wisdom never plans in vain,
Nor falters nor mistakes,
All that His counsels may ordain   
A blessed ending makes.

Upon your lips, then, lay your hand
And trust His guiding love;
Then like a rock thy peace shall stand
Here and in heav’n above.
              Paul Gerhardt


.....but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.                                                 
                                                         Psalms 73:26

     “And my portion.” It is a metaphor taken from the ancient custom among
the Jews, of dividing inheritances, whereby every one had his allotted portion; as
if he had said, God is not only my rock to defend me from those tempests which
assault me, and, thereby, my freedom from evil; but he is also my portion, to supply
my necessities, and to give me the fruition of all good.  Others, indeed, have their
parts on this side the land of promise, but the author of all portions is the matter
of my portion.  My portion doth not lie in the rubbish and lumber, as theirs doth
whose portion is in this life, be they never so large; but my portion containeth him
whom the heavens, and heaven of heavens, can never contain.  God is the strength
of my heart, and my portion “for ever;” not for a year, or an age, or a million of
ages, but for eternity.  Though others’ portions, like roses, the fuller they blow,
the sooner they shed; they are worsted often by their pride, and wasted through
their prodigality, so that at last they come to want and surely death always rends
their persons and portions asunder; yet my portion will be ever full, without
diminution.  Without alteration, this God will be my God for ever and ever, my
guide and aid unto death; nay, death, which dissolveth so many bonds, and untieth
such close knots, shall never part me and my portion, but give me a perfect and
everlasting possession of it.
                                                                                             George Swinnock

Sunday, March 26, 2017

"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter."

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and
put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.                                     
                                                                                 Mark 15:20

....."He was led as a sheep to the slaughter."  Alas, that the Emancipator of
our race should be led forth as a captive to die!
     The direction in which he is led is outside the city.  He must not die in
Jerusalem, though multitudes of prophets had perished there.  Though the
temple was the central place of sacrifice, yet must not the Son of God be
offered there, for he was an offering of another kind, and must not lie upon
their altars.  Outside the city, because by the Jews he was treated as a flagrant
offender who must be executed at the Tyburn of the city, in the appointed place
of doom known as Calvary or Golgotha.  When Naboth was unjustly condemned
 for blasphemy, they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones
that he died; and afterwards Stephen,—when they cried out against him as a
blasphemer, they cast him out of the city, and there they stoned him.  Our
Saviour therefore must die in the ordinary place of execution, that in all respects
he might be numbered with the transgressors.  The rulers of the city so loathed
and detested their great Reprover that they rejected him, and would not suffer
him to die within their city walls.  Alas, poor Jerusalem, in casting out the
Son of David, thou didst cast out thy last hope:  now art thou bound over to
desolation.
     He was led outside of the city because from that time no acceptable
sacrifice could be offered there.  They might go on with their offering of daily
lambs, and they might sacrifice their bullocks, and burn the fat of fed beasts;
but from that day the substance of the sacrifice had gone away from them, and
Israel's offerings were vain oblations.  Because the true sacrifice is rejected of
 them the Lord leaves them nothing but a vain show.
     Still more forcible is the fact that our Lord must die outside the city because
he was to be consumed as a sin-offering.  It is written in the law, "And the
skin of the bullock, and all his flesh, with his head, and with his legs, and his
inwards, and his dung, even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the
camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the
wood with fire."  There were several sorts of offerings under the law:  the
sweet-savour offerings were presented upon the altar, and were accepted of God,
but sin-offerings were burnt without the camp or gate, because God can have no
fellowship with sin.  Once let sin be imputed to the sacrifice and it becomes abhorrent
to God, and must not be presented in the tabernacle or the temple, but burned outside
the circle wherein his people have their habitations.  And here let our hearts gratefully
contemplate how truly our Lord Jesus became a sin-offering for us, and how in every
point he followed out the type.  With his face turned away from his Father's house he
must go to die:  with his face turned away from what were once his Father's people
he must be led forth to be crucified.  Like a thing accursed, he is to be hung up
where felons suffer condign punishment.  Because we were sinners, and because
sin had turned our backs to God, and because sin had broken our communion
with God's accepted ones, therefore must he endure this banishment.  In that
sorrowful march of the cross-bearing Saviour my soul with sorrow sees herself
represented as deserving thus to be made to depart unto death; and yet joy mingles
with this emotion, for the glorious Sin-bearer hath thus taken away our sin, and we
return from our exile:  his substitution is infinitely effectual.  Well may those live for
whom Jesus died.  Well may those return in whose place the Son of God was
banished.  There is entrance into the holy city now, there is entrance into the
temple now, there is access unto God himself now, because the Lord hath put
away our sin through him who was led to be crucified outside the city gate.
     Nor do I think that even this exhausts the teaching.  Jesus dies outside
Jerusalem because he died, not for Jerusalem alone, nor for Israel alone. 
The effect of his atonement is not circumscribed by the walls of a city nor by
the bounds of a race.  In him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. 
Out in the open he must die, to show that he reconciled both Jews and
Gentiles unto God.  "For he is the propitiation for our sins,'' saith Paul,
who was himself a Jew, "and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the
whole world."  Had he been the Saviour of Jews only, seclusion in the place
of his offering would have been appropriate, but as he dies for all nations, he
is hung up without the city.
     And yet, once more, he suffered outside the gate that we might go forth
unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.  "Come ye out from among
them; be ye separate, touch not the unclean thing," henceforth becomes the
command of God to all his sons and daughters:  behold the Son of sons, his Only-
begotten, leads the way in nonconformity to this present evil world, being himself
officially severed from the old Jewish church, whose elders seek his life.  He dies
in sacred separation from the false and corrupt corporation which vaunted itself to
be the chosen of God.  He protested against all evil, and for this he died, so far
as his murderers were concerned.  Even so must his followers take up their
cross and follow him withersoever he goeth, even though it be to be despised
and rejected of men.....
                                                                                Charles H. Spurgeon   

Saturday, March 25, 2017

And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said,
Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that
hate thee flee before thee.    Numbers 10:35

.....As the Lord hath many enemies so he is pleased for a time to sleep
unto his enemies.  He sleepeth; therefore it is said here, "Arise;" arising is
opposed to sleeping.  Lord, why sleepest thou? Psalm 44:23.  But what is
that?  Not that we should understand it literally, for so the prophet derided
Baal's priests:  "Cry aloud, it may be your God sleepeth," 1 Kings 18:27;
but understand it metaphorically:  a man is said to be asleep when he is so
intense about one business that he doth not regard another; that business
which he doth not meddle with he is said to be asleep to:  so, now, when
God shall have many enemies, and they shall blaspheme his name, and
revile his people, and hinder his ordinances, and God shall be deaf to all
their blasphemies, revilings, and all their wickedness; when they shall persist
in evil, and bring their wicked devices to pass, and yet God shall be as it
were blind to all their dealings; then God sleepeth to the enmity of his enemies. 
Would you know the reasons?
     It may be the enemies are not yet great enough for God to contend with. 
The eagle doth not hunt after flies, and a lion doth not harness himself to battle
against a poor worm.  It may be the malice of the enemy is not yet great enough,
and so is not a fit object for the great indignation of the great God, and therefore
God suffereth them to go on that it might be a greater and a more full object to
bear his indignation.
     Again.  Therefore God suffereth this, and seemeth to sleep for a time, because
his people are not provoked enough against their enemies.  As it was with the
children of Israel that went against Benjamin, and fell before them twice, if Israel
had overcome them the first time, they would not have been so provoked against
them to have cut them all off as they were; but being beaten by them twice, thereby
they were provoked to their destruction.  So God suffereth his enemies to prevail,
and sleepeth to the case of his people for a time, because the hearts of his people
are not stirred enough against their enemies to cut them off fully; when that is done,
then God awaketh.
     Again, sometimes God sleepeth because his people sleep to him, and say, Arise,
 to something else.  They sleep to him.  It was the speech of an emperor when he
was in prison, "Oh," said he, "when I was in my palace, I hoped so much in men,
that I neglected trusting in God; but now I am in prison, I may hope less in men,
and trust more in God."  So it may be there is a time, when God's people do fall
asleep to God; hope too much in men, and not enough in God.  Now, saith the
prophet, "Woe to him that saith to the stone, Arise," Hab. 11:19.  Shall God arise
to his people, when they say to the stone, "Arise?"  Shall God arise for his people,
when they sit down and arise not up themselves?  Brethren, faith is prayer in the coals,
and prayer is faith in the flame; now it may be men's faith doth not burn out enough, it
burneth dark; they pray, but are not hot in prayer; they live, but they do not live out of
themselves in God enough.  Wherefore that God may awaken his people, he sleepeth
himself.  Sometimes it is for this end; because the pit of his enemies is not yet digged. 
Consider that Psalm 94:12-13, "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord,
and teachest him out of thy law; that thou mayest give him rest from the days of
adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.".....
     Hence we may see what the reason is many times, why there is so much evil in
the churches, and why the enemies prevail so much, so long.  God is the strength of
the churches, and our strength sleepeth sometimes upon all the afflictions of the churches. 
We are apt to be much discouraged, like the disciples, who whilst our Saviour was in the
storm asleep, they came running in all haste to him, saying, "Carest thou not that we
perish?"  So it is many times when a storm ariseth upon the church, God seemeth to
sleep, and we run in haste to God, and are apt to charge God, Lord, carest thou not
that we perish?  But, peace, peace, he sleepeth only, he will awake shortly, you shall
see it, and they shall feel it.....            
                                                                                           William Bridge 

Friday, March 24, 2017

Oh Thou that hear’st the prayer of faith

    Oh Thou that hear’st the prayer of faith,
    Wilt Thou not save a soul from death
    That casts itself on Thee?
    I have no refuge of my own,
    But fly to what my Lord hath done,
    And suffered once for me.

    Slain in the guilty sinner's stead,
    His spotless righteousness I plead,
    And His availing blood;
    That righteousness my robe shall be,
    That merit shall atone for me,
    And bring me near to God.

    Then save me from eternal death,
    The Spirit of adoption breathe,
    His consolations send;
    By Him some word of life impart,
    And sweetly whisper in my heart-
    “Thy Maker is thy Friend.”
                                                          A. M. Toplady


.....he bids you ask, and you shall have.  Let me give you this one
memento, Ask like one that hath to do with a rich king, who hates to do
anything below himself.  Remember it is he that delights to give like a God;
widen, therefore, thy desires as large as heaven; be bold, and speak a
great word, and I warrant thee thou shalt not be denied.  Tell God, that
seeing, in his infinite goodness and condescension, he has been pleased to
give thee leave to ask without restraint, thou dost humbly request his Son
for thy Lord and Husband, himself for thy Father, God, and Friend, his
kingdom for thy dowry, the righteousness of his Son for thy ornament,
clothing, and beauty, the comforts of his Spirit, and abundance of his grace
to bear thy charges handsomely, till thou comest to his house.  This is high
indeed! but thy great and noble Lord loves dearly to hear such covetous
petitioners, who will be put off with nothing but such great things.  When
do any of these go sad from his court?  When do any of the seed of Jacob
seek his face in vain?  This, this is the generation of thriving ones, who seek
for life, immortality, and glory; who seek thy face, God of Jacob.  And now
what do you say?  Will you believe all this?  Dare you take my word?  I am
persuaded none of you all think I dare tell you a lie, and do you any wrong;
but for all that, I do not desire you should take my word, nor the word of any
man living in a thing that concerns eternity; but take His word who cannot lie. 
"Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 
My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice
silver," Prov. 8:18-19.  The wise man tells us, that "wealth makes many friends,"
chap. 19:4; and that "many will entreat the favour of the prince; and that every
one is a friend to him that gives gifts," verse 6.  If this might be in spirituals,
I should not fear but that I should prevail with all my hearers to seek the
 friendship of God.....
                                                                              James Janeway

Thursday, March 23, 2017

'Twas by an order from the Lord

           'Twas by an order from the Lord,
           The ancient prophets spoke his word;
           His spirit did their tongues inspire,
           And warm'd their hearts with heavenly fire.

           The works and wonders which they wrought
           Confirm'd the messages they brought;
           The prophet's pen succeeds his breath
           To save the holy words from death.

           Great God, mine eyes with pleasure look
           On the dear volume of thy book;
           There my Redeemer's face I see,
           And read his name who died for me.

           Let the false raptures of the mind
           Be lost and vanish in the wind;
           Here I can fix my hopes secure,
           This is thy word, and must endure.
                                                       Isaac Watts

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

He that loves the word

....He that loves the word, and that is affected and taken with the
word as it is a holy word, he loves the whole word of God, and he is
affected and taken with one part of the word as well as another.  Every
law of God is a holy law, and every statute is a holy statute, and every
command is a holy command, and every promise is a holy promise, and
every threatening is a holy threatening, and every exhortation is a holy
exhortation; and, therefore, he that loves any part of the word as a holy
word, he cannot but love every part of the word, because every part of
the word is holy.  (As the wise philosopher delights in all Aristotle, and the
prudent physician in all Galen, and the grave orator in all Tully, and the
understanding lawyer in all Justinian so a holy man delights in all the Bible. 
The Jewish Rabbins were wont to say that upon every letter of the law
there hangs mountains of profitable matter.)  And indeed he loves no
part of the word as holy who loves not every part of the word as such. 
Every chapter in the book of God is a holy chapter, and every verse is a
holy verse, and every line in that book is a holy line, and every word in
every line is a holy word.  He that loves a chapter as it is a holy chapter,
he loves every verse in that chapter as a holy verse; and he that loves
every verse as a holy verse, he loves every line as a holy line; and he that
loves every line as a holy line, he loves every word in every line as a holy
word.  Upon easy commands he reads holiness, and upon difficult
commands he reads holiness; upon comfortable commands he reads
holiness, and upon costly commands he reads holiness, and upon dangerous
commands he reads holiness, and therefore he loves all, and closes with all,
and endeavours a conformity to all.  A holy heart dares neither to dispute
with that word, nor make light of that word, where he reads holiness
engraven upon it.  To a holy heart there is no command of God unjust or
unreasonable.  But now an unholy heart, though it may for some worldly
advantages court and cry up some parts of the word, yet it is ready, with
Judas, to betray and crucify other parts of the word.  The whole Scripture
is but one entire love letter, despatched from the Lord Christ to his beloved
spouse on earth; and this letter is written all in golden letters, and therefore a
holy heart cannot but be taken and affected with every line in this letter.  In
this love-letter there is so much to be read of the love of Christ, the heart of
Christ, the kindness of Christ, the grace of Christ, and the glory of Christ,
that a holy heart cannot but be affected and taken with it.  The whole word
of God is a field, and Christ is the treasure that is hid in that field; it is a ring of
gold, and Christ is the pearl in that ring, and therefore a holy heart cannot but
be taken with the whole word of God.  Luther was wont to say that he would
not take all the world for one leaf of the Bible.  And Rabbi Chija, in the Jerusalem
Talmud, says that in his account all the world is not of equal value with one word
out of the law.
.....A man that is affected and taken with the word as it is a holy word, he is
always affected and taken with it; he loves it and takes pleasure in it, as well in
adversity as in prosperity:  Ps. 119:59, 'Thy statutes have been my songs'-ay, but
where?—'in the house of my pilgrimage,' or 'pilgrimages,' as the Hebrew hath it. 
(The saints have commonly looked upon themselves as pilgrims and strangers in
this world, Gen. 47:9, 39; Ps. 12:19; Heb. 11:9-10, etc.)  When David was in his
banishments, by reason of Saul, Absalom, and others, now the word of God was
music to him, now it was matter of joy and rejoicing to him; his whole life was the
life of a pilgrim and stranger; now as a pilgrim he sojourns here, and anon as a
stranger he sojourns there.  No man could take more pleasure, joy, and contentment
in the rarest and choicest music than David did in the word of God, and that not only
when he was in his royal palace, but also when he was in the house of his pilgrimage. 
He that loves the word, and that delights in the word for its holiness and purity, he
will love it and delight in it in health and sickness, in strength and weakness, in
honour and disgrace, in wealth and want, in life and in death.  The holiness of the
word is a lasting holiness, and so will every man's affections be towards it who
affects it, and is taken with it for its holiness and pureness.....But now, though a
holy Christian is not at all times in the same degree and measure taken with the
word, yet take such a Christian when he is at worst, and you shall find two
things in him:  (1.) you shall find in him a holy love to the word; and (2.) you
shall find in him a real love to holy Christians.                                                                                                                                                                     Thomas Brooks

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Bride of the Lamb, awake, awake


        Bride of the Lamb, awake, awake!
        Why sleep for sorrow now?
        The hope of glory, Christ, is thine,
        A child of glory thou.

        Thy spirit, through the lonely night,
        From earthly joy apart,
        Hath sighed for One that’s far away—
        The Bridegroom of thy heart.

        But see! the night is waning fast,
        The breaking morn is near;
        And Jesus comes, with voice of love,
        Thy drooping heart to cheer.

        He comes—for oh, His yearning heart
        No more can bear delay—
        To scenes of full unmingled joy
        To call His bride away.

        Then weep no more; ’tis all thine own
        His crown, His joy divine;
        And, sweeter far than all beside,
        He, He Himself is thine!
                                                           Edward Denny

Monday, March 20, 2017

How long, O Lord, our Savior

           How long, O Lord, our Savior,
           Wilt Thou remain away?
           The careless world is mocking
           At Thy so long delay.
           Oh, when shall come the moment,
           When, brighter far than morn,
           The sunshine of Thy glory
           Shall on Thy people dawn?

           How long, O gracious Master,
           Wilt Thou Thy household leave?
           So long Thou now hast tarried,
           Few Thy return believe:
           Immersed in sloth and folly,
           Thy servants, Lord, we see;
           And few of us stand ready
           With joy to welcome Thee.

           How long, O Heav’nly Bridegroom!
           How long wilt Thou delay?
           And yet how few are grieving
           That Thou dost absent stay:
           Thy very Bride her portion
           And calling hath forgot,
           And seeks for ease and glory
           Where Thou, her Lord, art not.

           Oh, wake the slumb’ring virgins,
           To heed the solemn cry;
           Let all Thy saints repeat it-
           “The Bridegroom draweth nigh!”
           May all our lamps be burning,
           Our loins well girded be;
           Each longing heart preparing
           With joy Thy face to see.
                                                   James George Deck

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Jesus, the heavenly Lover, gave

      Jesus, the heavenly Lover, gave
      His life my wretched soul to save:
      Resolv'd to make his mercy known,
      He kindly claims me for his own.

      Rebellious, I against him strove,
      Till melted and constrain'd by love;
      With sin and self I freely part,
      The heavenly Bridegroom wins my heart.

      My guilt, my wretchedness he knows,
      Yet takes and owns me for his spouse:
      My debts he pays, and sets me free,
      And makes his riches o'er to me.

      My filthy rags are laid aside,
      He clothes me as becomes his bride;
      Himself bestows my wedding-dress,—
      The robe of perfect righteousness.

      Lost in astonishment, I see,
      Jesus! thy boundless love to me:
      With angels I thy grace adore,
      And long to love and praise thee more.

      Since thou wilt take me for thy bride,
      O Saviour, keep me near thy side!
      I fain would give thee all my heart,
      Nor ever from my Lord depart.
                                                                   Fawcett

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Come, every pious heart

Come, every pious heart
That loves the Saviour's name,
Your noblest powers exert
To celebrate his fame;
Tell all above, and all below,
The debt of love to him you owe.

Such was his zeal for God
And such his love for you,
He nobly undertook
What Gabriel could not do:
His every deed of love and grace
All words exceed, and thoughts surpass.

He left his starry crown,
And laid his robes aside:
On wings of love came down,
And wept, and bled, and died;
What he endur'd, O who can tell,
To save our souls from death and hell!

From the dark grave he rose,
The mansion of the dead;
And thence his mighty foes
In glorious triumph led:
Up through the sky the Conqueror rode,
And reigns on high, the Saviour God.

From thence he'll quickly come,
His chariot will not stay,
And bear our spirits home,
To realms of endless day:
There shall we see his lovely face,
And ever be in his embrace.

Jesus, we ne'er can pay
The debt we owe thy love;
Yet tell us how we may
Our gratitude approve;
Our hearts, our all, to thee we give;
The gift, though small, thou wilt receive.
                                                 Dr. S. Stennett


.....happy were the day that ever thou heardst of a Christ, of
acquaintance with God, and reconciliation with thy Maker.  Oh then,
how glorious shouldst thou be for ever!  I rejoice to see the day of thy
marriage coming; when thy Lord and Husband shall bring thee home in
the greatest state, and in infinite glory, to his own house, where thou shalt
sit like a queen for ever and ever.  Behold his harbingers are coming! 
Behold how many messengers the Lord hath sent to prepare his way! 
Awake, O Zion, and put on thy beautiful garments!  Rise up, O royal bride,
and put on thy princely robes!  Clothe thee with the sun, and put the moon
under thy feet.  Go out and meet the King, thy Husband.  Behold, O Jacob,
the wagons of Joseph are coming!  Behold, O daughter of Zion, the chariots,
the chariots of thy King and Husband are coming!  They are coming!  Oh
why doth not thy heart leap within thee?  Oh why do not thy spirits even faint
for gladness?  Why dost thou not say, It is enough, I will go out and meet my
Lord before I die?  When will the sun be up?  When will the day break? 
When, oh when will the shadows fly away?  I will get me up to the mountains
of myrrh, to the hills of frankincense.  I am travelling for Zion, my face is
towards Jerusalem.  Who will ascend the holy hill with me?  Who will bear me
company to my Husband's house?  Let us go up to the Lord's house.  Come
away, the sun is risen, the shadows are flying away; thousands are gone
already.....Come from the highways and hedges, come with your wedding-
garments; come quickly, and he will make you welcome.  The King hath sent
to invite us to a feast.....Come, for the table is spread, all things are ready, and
his servants stay for us.  And will God entertain such creatures as we are? 
And will the Lord open his doors to such loathsome beggars?  Will the
Father receive such prodigals?  Return then unto thy rest, O my soul, for the
Lord will deal bountifully with thee.  Who is he that I see coming in the field? 
Who is this that comes from the wilderness? that comes to meet us?  Hark!
me thinks I hear the trumpet sounding!  Hark!  What's the matter?  How do
the mountains echo!  How doth the air ring again!  What noise is that which
I hear?  What glorious train is that which I see?  Whence do they come,
and whither do they go?  It is my Master's Son, dear soul, thy Lord and
Husband, with his royal attendants.  Behold he comes!  He comes apace!
leaping upon the hills, skipping upon the mountains.  He is coming!  He is
coming!  He is even at the door!  Erelong thou shalt see the mountains
covered with chariots and horses of fire; the earth will tremble and shake;
the  heavens and the earth will be all on a flaming fire; the King of Glory
will come, riding upon the wings of the wind, accompanied with millions of
his saints and angels.  He is coming, he is at the door!  Go, veil thy face;
alight and meet thy Husband.  He will bring thee into his Father's palace,
and thou shalt be his wife, and he will love thee for ever; and thou shalt
remember thy widow-hood no more.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus; come
quickly.  Amen.  Amen.                  
                                                                             James Janeway

Friday, March 17, 2017

My life flows on in endless song

My life flows on in endless song;
Above earth's lamentation
I catch the sweet though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comfort die!
The Lord, my Saviour, liveth;
What though the darkness gather round!
Songs in the night He giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,    
How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;
I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smooths,
Since first I learned to love it.

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing;
All things are mine, since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?
                                           R. Lowry


But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in
the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.   
                                                   Psalms 73:28

     I remember attending a meeting after the Civil War had been going
on for about six months.  The army of the North had been defeated at
Bull Run:  in fact we had nothing but defeat, and it looked as though the
Republic was going to pieces.  We were much cast down and discouraged. 
At this meeting it seemed as if every speaker had hung his harp upon the willow,
and it was one of the gloomiest meetings I ever attended.  Finally an old man
with beautiful white hair arose to speak, and his face literally shone.
     "Young men," he said, "you do not talk like sons of the King.  Though it is
dark just here, remember it is light somewhere else."  Then he went on to say
that if it were dark all over the world, it was light up around the throne.
     He told us he had come from the east, where he had been up on a mountain
to spend the night and see the sun rise.  As the party was climbing up the
mountain, and before it had reached the summit, a storm came on. 
     He said to the guide, "I will give this up; take me back." 
     The guide smiled and replied, "I think we shall get above the storm soon."
     On they went; and they soon reached a place where it was as calm as any
summer evening.  Down in the valley a terrible storm raged; they could hear
the thunder roll, and see the lightning's flash; but all was serene on the mountain
top.
     "And so, my young friends," continued the old man, "though all is dark around
you, come a little higher up and the darkness will flee away."
     Often when I have been inclined to get discouraged, I have thought of what he
said.  Now, if you are down in the valley amidst the fog and the darkness, get a
little higher up, get nearer to Christ, and know more of Him.
                                                                      D. L. Moody   


Thursday, March 16, 2017

It is the Lord our Saviour's hand

It is the Lord our Saviour's hand
Weakens our strength amidst the race;
Disease and death, at his command,
Arrest us, and cut short our days.

Spare us, O Lord, aloud we pray,
Nor let our sun go down at noon:
Thy years are one eternal day,
And must thy children die so soon?

Yet in the midst of death and grief
This thought our sorrow shall assuage,
Our Father and our Saviour live;
Christ is the same through every age.

'Twas he this earth's foundation laid;
Heaven is the building of his hand:
This earth grows old, these heavens shall fade,
And all be chang'd at his command.

The starry curtains of the sky
Like garments shall be laid aside;
But still thy throne stands firm and high;
Thy church for ever must abide.

Before thy face thy church shall live,
And on thy throne thy children reign:
This dying world shall they survive,
And the dead saints be rais'd again.
                     Isaac Watts


And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the
earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:  They shall
perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a
garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall
be changed:  but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
                                                 Hebrews 1:10-12

.....here the mutability of this world is brought in to illustrate the immutability
of Christ.  Observe,
     1.  This world is mutable, all created nature is so; this world has passed
through many changes, and shall pass through more; all these changes are
by the permission and under the direction of Christ, who made the world
(v. 11-12):  They shall perish, they shall all wax old as doth a garment; 
as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.  This
our visible world (both the earth and visible heavens) is growing old.  Not
only men and beasts and trees grow old, but this world itself grows old, and is
hastening to its dissolution; it changes like a garment, has lost much of its
beauty and strength; it grew old betimes on the first apostasy, and it has been
waxing older and growing weaker ever since; it bears the symptoms of a dying
world.  But then its dissolution will not be its utter destruction, but its change.
Christ will fold up this world as a garment not to be abused any longer, not to be
any longer so used as it has been.  Let us not then set our hearts upon that
which is not what we take it to be, and will not be what it now is.  Sin has
made a great change in the world for the worse, and Christ will make a great
change in it for the better.  We look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein 
dwelleth righteousness.  Let the consideration of this wean us from the present
world, and make us watchful, diligent, and desirous of that better world.....
     2.  Christ is immutable.  Thus the Father testifies of him, Thou remainest, 
thy years shall not fail.  Christ is the same in himself, the same yesterday, and
to-day, and for ever, and the same to his people in all the changes of time.
This may well support all who have an interest in Christ under all the changes
they meet with in the world, and under all they feel in themselves.  Christ is
immutable and immortal:  his years shall not fail.  This may comfort us under
all decays of nature that we may observe in ourselves or in our friends, though
our flesh and heart fail and our days are hastening to an end.  Christ lives to
take care of us while we live, and of ours when we are gone, and this should
quicken us all to make our interest in him clear and sure, that our spiritual and
eternal life may be hid with Christ in God.   
                                                                           Matthew Henry   



Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Thou hidden Source of calm repose

Thou hidden Source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient Love divine,
My help and refuge from my foes,
Secure I am while thou art mine;
And lo! from sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Jesus, in thy name.

Thy mighty name salvation is,
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and power, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love:
To me, with thy great name, are given
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven.

Jesus, my all in all thou art;
My rest in toil, my ease in pain;
The medicine of my broken heart;
In war, my peace; in loss, my gain;
My smile beneath the tyrant’s frown;
In shame, my glory and my crown:

In want, my plentiful supply;
In weakness, my almighty power;
In bonds, my perfect liberty;
My light, in Satan’s darkest hour;
In grief, my joy unspeakable;
My life in death, my all in all.
             Charles Wesley


Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us   
                                                        Eph 3:20

....There is nothing here, nothing in worldly pursuits, nothing in worldly
possessions or pleasures, that can of itself nourish or strengthen the spiritual
life.  If it is maintained, it must be maintained by God, through His own Divine
provision and gracious care.  The world in itself has no food for spiritual life. 
Yea, here that life meets with hinderances, entanglements, oppositions, and
depression which would crush it, were it not for "the power that worketh in us.'' 
To see the life of piety exist and flourish in such a region amidst such hostile
influences, is a noble testimony to its divinity.  And surely the power which
can foster, cherish, and maintain this life, and which can secure its growth,
in the face even of untoward influences from earth, and malignant antagonisms
from hell, is able to do above all that we can ask.  The power that can keep
the lamp of truth and the fire of holy love alive within us here, will do more
than meet our need.
     And it is a power to cheer and solace.  The way is often dark and stormy;
the path is often rugged and dreary; the world is a scene of sorrows and a vale
of tears; where is the power, in the face of all its storms and in the midst of all its
trials, that can brighten the pathway and cheer the heart?  It is only the power
of the Spirit that "worketh in us.''  Every other power, such as human wealth
or wisdom can bring to our aid, may disappear before some form of trial or
some load of grief.  But the power that worketh in the Christian is equal to
all his need—is his joy in sorrow, his light in darkness, his hope in obscurity
and sadness, a consolation to him which the world cannot give, and which it
cannot take away.  It abides with the soul amidst the deepest earthly distress,
under the severest earthly deprivation, and enables it to joy in the God of its
salvation.  And the power that can do this, that is daily doing this, in a world
of disappointment and tears—what may it not do? what may not be expected
from it?    
     Such is the power that worketh in the Christian —that energises in his
soul.....It is not a latent, inactive, inefficacious influence, but a mighty, present,
potent energy, thus bringing life, liberty, and joy, and maintaining them in the
face of all hostile influences from earth or hell.                           
                                                                         James Spence, D.D.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Father of mercies! in thy word

Father of mercies! in thy word
What endless glory shines!
For ever be thy name ador'd
For these celestial lines.

Here, may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find;
Riches above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.

Here, the fair tree of knowledge grows,
And yields a free repast;
Sublimer sweets than nature knows
Invite the longing taste.

Here, the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys,
Attend the blissful sound.

O may these heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may I see,
And still increasing light!

Divine Instructer, gracious Lord!
Be thou for ever near;
Teach me to love thy sacred word,
And view my Saviour there!
             Anne Steele


.....Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God.   Matthew 4:4

.....If the miser's folly is great, who starves amid his chests of treasure,
—if the sailor's folly would be great, who tried to steer without chart or
compass,—if the farmer's folly would be great, who left his fields unsown,—
how much greater must your folly be, who make no use of the charts and
compass God has given you to guide you through the shoals of this world,
who let your minds lie fallow of holiness, and who, with the food of angels
on your shelves, starve your souls to death.  Remember, man does not live
by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 
God's word is a portion of the food he has given to man to live by.  It is the
spiritual sustenance he has provided to support the spiritual part of us, the soul. 
For the soul, as well as the body, requires its fitting food.  Both must be
supported and nourished, if we would have them thrive.  Were a man to feed
nothing but the spiritual part of him, were he to do nothing but read and think
and pray, we all know he would die of hunger.  His body would pine away for
want of bodily sustenance.  And think you, if a man feeds nothing but his body,
that his soul does not in like manner fall away and grow weaker and weaker for
want of that spiritual food, which is its proper nourishment?  I tell you, at last it
would become so feeble, were it to go without all spiritual food, that a mere straw
of a temptation would be strong enough to overthrow its strongest resolution. 
The truth however is, that a man's soul is never left quite without all spiritual
nourishment, so long as he comes to church, and attends to what goes on there. 
But church comes only once a week: and if the soul gets no spiritual food,
beyond what it may pick up there, I leave you to judge whether it is likely to
shoot up into a strong and healthy growth of godliness.
     Wonder not that I speak to you of spiritual food.  Does not all nature cry,
from every part of the creation, that everything earthly must be fed?  Fire must
be fed: water must be fed: even the earth itself, which feeds all things, must be
fed: else it will crumble into dust, or harden into a rock.  So is it with the soul. 
That too, as well as the body, must be fed with food suited to its nature.....We
have been taught that man does not live by bread alone:  we have been exhorted
by Christ himself not to labour only for the meat that perisheth, but rather for
that good meat which endureth to everlasting life.  Thus we have not been left
to find out of ourselves, that our souls need support:  we have this truth declared
to us; and a command has been given us to feed them.  Moreover the food is
set before us.  Those who have Bibles or New Testaments have it on their shelves:
they have only to take and eat.....
     For the Bible is not a charm, that keeping it on our shelves, or locking it up
in a closet, can do us any good.  Nor is it a story-book to read for amusement. 
It is sent to teach us our duty to God and man, to show us from what a height
we are fallen by sin, and to what a far more glorious height we may soar, if we
will put on the wings of faith and love.  This is the use of the Bible; and this use
we ought to make of it.
                                                                  Augustus W. Hare

Monday, March 13, 2017

In vain we lavish out our lives

In vain we lavish out our lives 
To gather empty wind,
The choicest blessings earth can yield
Will starve a hungry mind.

Come, and the Lord shall feed our souls
With more substantial meat,
With such as saints in glory love,
With such as angels eat.

Our God will every want supply,
And fill our hearts with peace;
He gives by covenant and by oath
The riches of his grace.

Come, and he'll cleanse our spotted souls,
And wash away our stains,
In the dear fountain that his Son
Pour'd from his dying veins.

[Our guilt shall vanish all away,
Though black as hell before;
Our sins shall sink beneath the sea,
And shall be found no more.

And lest pollution should o'erspread
Our inward powers again,
His Spirit shall bedew our souls
Like purifying rain.]

Our heart, that flinty stubborn thing,
That terrors cannot move,
That fears no threatenings of his wrath,
Shall be dissolv'd by love.

Or he can take the flint away
That would not be refin'd,
And from the treasures of his grace
Bestow a softer mind.

There shall his sacred Spirit dwell,
And deep engrave his law,
And every motion of our souls
To swift obedience draw.

Thus will he pour salvation down,
And we shall render praise;
We the dear people of his love,
And He our God of grace.
                     Isaac Watts


     "I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you a heart of flesh." Ezek. 36:26.  The old heart is a
stone, cold as a stone, dead as a stone, hard as a stone; but I will
take away the stone, and give a heart of flesh.
     A heart of flesh is a soft and tender heart; flesh can feel; any
thing that is contrary to it puts it to pain.  Sin makes it smart; it cannot
kick but it is against the pricks; by its rebellion and resistance against
the Lord, it receives a wound; it cannot hit but it hurts itself.  A soft
hand gets nothing by striking a hedge of thorns.  A soft heart, when it hath
been meddling with sin, is sure to smart for it.  It can neither escape the
pain, nor yet endure it; and what it cannot bear, it will take warning to avoid.
     Flesh will bleed.  A soft heart will mourn and, melt and grieve when hard
hearts are moved at nothing.  Flesh will yield.  It is apt to receive impressions. 
The power of God will awe it; his justice alarm it; his mercy melt it; his holiness
humble it, and leave his stamp and image upon it.  And as the attributes, so the
word and works of God will make sign upon it.  Who sets a seal upon a stone;
or what print will it receive? upon the wax, the print will abide.  God speaks
once and twice, but man, hardened man will not regard it.  Neither his word nor
his rod, neither his speaking nor his smiting will make any impression on such hearts. 
It is the heart of flesh that hears and yields.  And with such hearts the Lord delights
to be dealing.  "The heart of this people is waxed gross," Acts 28:27; they will not
hear, they will not understand; and the next word is, Away to the Gentiles, they
will hear.  He will no more write his law on tables of stone:  he will write in flesh;
there the impression will take, and go the deeper and therefore, wherever he
intends to write, he prepares his tablet—makes this stone flesh, and then
engraves upon it.....
                                                                Richard Alleine





Sunday, March 12, 2017

He will rest in his love. Zephaniah 3:17

He will rest in his love.  Zephaniah 3:17

Sometimes love makes a man silent.  If you hear anything
said against one you love, and you are asked, "Is it not so?"
you say, "Well, I am not compelled to bear witness against one
that I love, and I will not."  You know our law does not demand
of a wife that she shall give evidence against her husband; and
certainly the Lord Jesus Christ will never give any evidence against
his spouse.  Never—"he will be silent in his love."  If he were
called upon to say, "Has thy spouse sinned?" his declaration would
be, "I am the sin-offering."  "Has she sinned?  I am her security. 
I have been punished in her stead.  I can say, thou art all fair, my
love, there is not a spot in thee."  There will not be a word of
accusation from him.  She says, "I am all black."  He will not deny
it, but he will not own it.  He says, there is no spot, and he goes on
to say, she is all fair in his sight.  Oh, glorious silence—he will be
silent in his love.  So am I inclined to believe it will be at the last great
day, when the books shall be unfolded he will read the sins of the
wicked against them, but as for the sins of his people, he will be
silent in his love.  I sometimes think it will be so, though I cannot
speak with authority.  "No," he will say, "upon you be the curse
who lived and died without re-pairing to my blood as the fountain
opened for sin and for uncleanness; but these my people, they
had their sins blotted out and I will not read what is blotted out; I
will be silent in my love."
                                                       Charles H. Spurgeon

‘Tis now in part I know his grace


       ‘Tis now in part I know his grace;
       I catch sweet glimpses of his face,
       But in that better world of his
       I shall behold him as he is.

       ‘Tis now in part I know his love;
       Bright sunbeams shine from skies above;
       But glories more exceeding far
       Shall rise beyond life’s evening star.

       ‘Tis now in part I understand
       The leadings of my Father’s hand;
       But I shall own his ways were right,
       When welcomed to his home of light.

       ‘Tis now in part, but O how sweet
       To rest by faith at his dear feet;
       Though now we see as through a glass,
       The veil will lift, the shadows pass.

       Chorus:
       Then shall I know as I am known,
       And sing his praise before the throne;
       Then shall I know as I am known,
       And sing his praise before the throne.
                                                              E. E. Hewitt


********************

        
        Let me be with Thee where Thou art,
        My Saviour, my eternal Rest;
        Then only will this longing heart
        Be fully and for ever blest.

        Let me be with Thee where Thou art,
        Thy unveiled glory to behold;
        Then only will this wandering heart
        Cease to be treacherous, faithless, cold.

        Let me be with Thee where Thou art,
        Where spotless saints Thy name adore;
        Then only will this sinful heart
        Be evil and denied no more.

        Let me be with Thee where Thou art,
        Where none can die, where none remove;
        There neither death nor life will part
        Me from Thy presence and Thy love.
                                                         C. Elliott


To Mrs. P---.   LETTER III.  August —, 1775.

My Dear Madam,

.....But all beneath the moon (like the moon itself) is subject to incessant change.  
Alterations and separations are graciously appointed of the Lord, to remind us that 
this is not our rest, and to prepare our thoughts for that change which shall fix us 
for ever in an unchangeable state.  O Madam! what shall we poor worms render 
to him who has brought life and immortality to life by the gospel, taken away the 
sting of death, revealed a glorious prospect beyond the grave, and given us eyes 
to see it?  Now the reflection, that we must ere long take a final farewell of what is 
most capable of pleasing us upon earth, is not only tolerable, but pleasant.  For we
know we cannot fully possess our best friend, our chief treasure, till we have 
done with all below;  nay, we cannot till then properly see each other.  We are 
cased up in vehicles of clay, and converse together as if we were in different coaches,
with the blinds close drawn round.  We see the carriage, and the voice tells us that we 
have a friend within; but we shall know each other better, when death shall open the 
coach doors, and hand out the company successively, and lead them into the glorious 
apartments which the Lord has appointed to be the common residence of them that love 
him.  What an assembly will there be!  What a constellation of glory, when each 
individual shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father!  No sins, sorrows, 
temptations; no vails, clouds, or prejudices, shall interrupt us then.  All names of idle 
distinction (the fruits of present remaining darkness, the channels of bigotry, and the 
stumbling-block of the world) will be at an end.
                                        I am, etc. 
                                        John Newton