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.

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