HIS SAINTS

 

They have enrolled in that grand company

"The dead in Christ": the saints who gave God pleasure

From Abel onward; who served faithfully,

Spoke often of Him, and became His treasure.

They laboured for the Lord and for His own

As He Himself delighted to record

Till in His love and wisdom they have known

The blessedness of dying "in the Lord".

Jesus they loved and spoke with day by day

Since He had laid His life down for His sheep:

Enduring death, He took death's sting away:

He touched them, and through Him they are asleep.

Behold He comes! They will arise to meet

With all His own at that exalted tryst

And in transformed, immortal bodies greet

Our glorious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Written years ago when the Lord took a few ages saints within a short period.

EDDY AND KITTY

Oh you should have seen Eddy and Kitty dance

With an elegant turn and a sally;

With a twirl and a whirl you could see them prance

At the Ritz, the Rotunda or Palais.

But the Saviour has touched them with love and grace,

By His word He has drawn them apart;

He has given a home in a better place

And has given a dance in their heart.

Do you think they have danced not to dance again

Long ago in nineteen forty-seven?

Do you not all await that occasion when

They will dance with the ransomed in heaven?

Local brethren both now asleep through Jesus; I wrote this for an anniversary.

Views from the Tower of London

GOD'S PEOPLE

"Lo,

It is a people that shall dwell alone";            Numbers 23: 9

So,

The taint of sin or grief shall not be known.

"Ho,

Every one that thirsts, come to the waters":    Isaiah 55; 1

Go,

"Outside the camp", to be God's sons and daughters;

No,

Purpose of God is ever overthrown!

One of the parts of having a poetic bent of mind is seeing iambic pentameters, the English heroic line, where the authors never intended one! When my computer tells me, 'Hang on a moment while we sign you out' a wee exclamation mark flashes above my brain because its an iambic pentameter line, even if not worthy of inclusion in some verse. So I notice the line in Numbers when reading the portion last Saturday.  

Around the Tower of London; the Beefeater guide, and one of the resident ravens.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME

 

Men climb and fall. Each in his day

Rises on mounting waves of fame

Till the waves break in froth and spray

But Jesus Christ remains the Same.

From riches which words cannot say,

Because of His great love He came

Into the deepest poverty,

Yet Jesus Christ remained the Same.

From past eternity's sublime

Relations to an infant's frame

Within the range of death and time

He moved, but always was the Same.

Jesus could utter words of grace

Or in His Father's house declaim

Against polluters of that place

And still in all things be the Same.

Seen on the mountain clothed in white

Or in the scarlet robe of shame

He caused His Father's heart delight

Since every scene proved Him the Same.

Though He heard Peter own Him Son

Or in the High Priest's house disclaim

All knowledge of Him He was one

In mercy and in love, the Same.

In love He reached the depths for men

And in His body bore the blame

For those who trust in Him   but then

In death or life He was the Same.

But His arising power displayed

The justness of His splendid claim

That altogether what He said

He was, He was indeed, the Same.

Peter and John, in faith, could call

Upon Him to restore the lame

Showing that though ascended all

His power and grace remained the Same.

Throughout the dispensation’s length,

Attacked by persecution's flame,

His own received the needed strength

In knowing Jesus Christ the Same.

They did not fear as dreadful power

Of those who merely kill or maim

But found the grace in every hour

That comes alone from Christ, the Same.

The Lord knows those who own His sway

And every one who names His Name

Departing from iniquity

Proves succour since He is the Same.

Soon we will greet the glorious day

To which our longing spirits aim

When He will come to catch away

His own to find Him still the Same.

Then in the time of setting right

His power will make the nations tame

Till all will find in Him their light

And own that Christ remains the Same.

Throughout eternity His own

For whom he suffered will proclaim

No man but Jesus Christ alone

Is, was, and is to come, the Same.

This was written shortly after the Lord took my father in late 1980; his last words were, "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and to the ages to come".

London!

JESUS CHRIST

Peace is preached by Jesus Christ
(He is Lord of all things)
For His sacrifice sufficed
For both great and small things;
Jesus Christ remains the Same,
Then, and now, and always;
We have blessing in His Name
In both great and small ways.

Jesus Christ the Righteous One
Is propitiation;
Jesus Christ, God's only Son,
Brought our souls salvation;
Jesus Christ the crucified
Saved us by His dying:
Once for all our Saviour died,
For our sanctifying.

In this world where sin and pain
Makes things seem disjointed,
Jesus Christ will come to reign
As the Man Anointed:
Good and vile with one accord
Will pronounce the story:
Jesus Christ alone is Lord
To the Father's glory.

(You can sing this to the tune of Good King Wenceslas.)

Around Findhorn, run by the Findhorn Foundation: https://www.findhorn.org/

LORD JESUS, COME

Lord Jesus, come,  amid Thy holy myriads
Bringing Thy sunshine  where everything is wintry,
Bringing Thy sweetness  where everything is bitter.
Blessing will flow  without an intermission
And all the earth  will flourish in Thy kingdom:
Gone will be pain,  disease, distress and sickness;
None will be hungry,  dissatisfied or thirsty
While bliss will penetrate  each ecosystem
And agriculture  will pullulate with richness
Even upon  the highest of the hilltops.
What metamorphoses  mankind will witness
When Thou art come  to actuate God’s vision!

Around Buckie Harbour

Pictish Stone, Known as Sueno's Stone at Forres; thought to date before 900 AD.

HIS MOUTH IS MOST SWEET - SONG

We hear His mouth speak in comfort and grace:

In all His expressions His grace is replete.

We ponder His teachings and lovingly trace

The words of His love, for His mouth is most sweet.

If Lazarus heard His voice in the grave

His sister had learned as she sat at His feet;

We long for His coming, triumphant to save,

And long for His shout, for His mouth is most sweet.

The Man who once died will sit on His throne,

Admired by His bride when His work is complete;

She'll be by His side through the love He has shown

And gladly acclaim that His mouth is most sweet.

10 March 2026    Try singing to the tune for O praise ye the Lord.

The Journey Home from Berwick

Near home

HIS MOUTH IS MOST SWEET

 Song of Songs 5: 16

Since grace is poured into                        Psalm 45: 2

His lips, words of grace

Out of His mouth cause wonder:               Luke 4: 22

His mouth is most sweet.

To the sinner, weeping 

At His feet, the words came:

"Thy sins are forgiven":                           Luke 7: 48

His mouth is most sweet.

And to the Father, listening,

"I praise Thee, Father,

Lord of the heaven and of the earth":        Luke 10: 21

His mouth is most sweet.

Hear the expression of

The Crucified Man: "Father,                       Luke 23: 34

Forgive them":

His mouth is most sweet.

A time without words.

Then the words of the Risen One:

"Woman, why dost thou weep?":               John 20: 15

His mouth is most sweet.

Hear the words of an ascended

And glorified Person:

"I am Jesus":                                           Acts 9: 5

His mouth is most sweet.

Another speaking - "The Spirit         Revelation 22: 17

And the bride say, Come";

"Yea, I come quickly":                     Revelation 22: 20

His mouth is most sweet.

By the River Tweed at Berwick; Berwick used to be Scottish but has been in England for many years.  Upriver the Tweed is the border between Scotland and England.