NUMBERED

 The Lord of glory

was numbered with the dead

so that you should

be numbered with the living.

18/10/2026

HEBREWS 2

What is man? – that old Adam,

Fushionless as tiller and guard –

And the son of man...? – One

Who has sown and reaped; One

Who is securer and protector:

The true Adam.

But we see Jesus – faith grasping

More than a true report – and the splendour

Of the accompaniments of royalty,

Because the Lord His God delighted

In Him, – crowned with glory

And honour: the true Solomon.

Once the warrior led God's people

To an earthly inheritance, having

Suffered along with them: One now,

The leader of our salvation, leads

The “many sons to glory” -

The true Joshua.

Now the One who makes reconciliation,

And the Head of the priestly family,

Glad of our association with Him,

Having taken His place with them,

Merciful and faithful High Priest

Is the true Aaron.

A prophet that He would be like

Shepherded His people from bondage,

Having declared Jehovah's name:

Now He declares the fuller light

– The Father's name – to His brethren

As the true Moses.

If someone who had known the shadow

Of death, and the brightness of regality,

Was the sweet psalmist of Israel,

Who but Christ, who invaded death,

And dwells now in God's light, could sing

As the true David?

The father of all who believe traversed

The land where his seed would dwell. The Lord,

Expressing, “I will trust in him”, journeyed

That the children God gave Him should be

Wonders too, dwelling in faith's demesne,

Is the true Abraham.

30/12/2012

For "fushionless" see Fushionless

On the Aberdeenshire coast

 

Coullie Stays, Auchenblae, Aberdeenshire

Having worked out that I need to convert .heic files to .jpeg ones I thought I'd just post photos today.  These are the views from the windows of a cottage we stayed in for a few days last summer.

Handy for the sea and the eastern Scottish highlands, but fine in itself. The area is called the Mearns. 

 

In the mid-forest's mirk

In the mid-forest's mirk I grope

For the straight way; gloom enhances

Proneness to mope; how may I

Cope? The Morning Star arises:

Christ Jesus our Hope.

Futile words soft-soap; ignes

Fatui distract; no mere dope

Beguiles senses; not toping

On human religion, behold

Christ Jesus our Hope. 

Antelope on my high bluff,

I may lope elegantly

On the King's highway; soon

I shall elope skyward:

Christ Jesus our Hope.

(28/08/2026: on the Newcastle to Edinburgh train!)

Begins with a little reference to Dante:

Midway in the journey of our life

I came to myself in a dark wood,

for the straight way was lost.

Old photos of the Scottish Highlands: I still can't upload new ones.

THE TRUTH OF THE ASSEMBLY

 

We will not leave the truth of the assembly

Because it is Christ's body here below,

Formed by the Holy Spirit which we know,

And joined to Christ from whom its actions flow.

Because she is the subject of Christ's care

We will not leave the truth of the assembly:

For the ascended Man delights to share

His thoughts with one He thinks of as all fair.

Because the holy city shall descend

In bridal glory when this age shall end

We will not leave the truth of the assembly

Through power from God on which we may depend.

Depending on the Holy Spirit's power;

Depending on the Lord in every hour;

Depending, as the Father's blessings shower,

We will not leave the truth of the assembly.

The rolling refrain is a quotation from A John E Welch of London; "the assembly" is the word used in the Darby translation for what is often translated as church.

Did I invent the rolling refrain?

   

OUR PEACE, OUR LIFE AND OUR HOPE

      He is our peace

      Amid a world of strife:

His blood secured our righteousness;

His cross assured God’s right to bless;

      He is our peace.

 

He is our life

Without whose light we grope:

The Christian’s path cannot be dim

Because our life is hid in Him;

He is our life.

 

He is our hope,

Not only for release:

How much His brethren will rejoice

To see His face and hear His voice:

     He is our hope. 

Try the tunes at https://goodteaching.org/hymn/?hymn_no=274&keywords=&author=&language=&category_id=ALL&meter_id=ALL&hymn_search=Search

Blogger won't let me upload photos these days; has anyone else had this problem?

THOUGHTS ON MICAH 1

(Micah 1: 2-3)

Micah said, "Hear, ye peoples, all of you; 

Hearken, O earth, and all that is therein";

So let us give God's word the attention due,

And heed when He alerts us to our sin.

Listen "and let the Lord Jehovah be

Witness against you" for it is "the Lord from

His holy temple" who can set you free:

He is the One that you may have reward from.

Now is the time of His outshining grace

"Jehovah cometh forth out of his place".

Yet He will come in pestilence and dearth

And tread on "the high places of the earth"

If we resist His grace without confession,

And meet our Judge still robed in our transgression.

OFF TO INDIA

 

For your prayers, I'm off to India tomorrow, if the Lord will, to see believers on the Lord Jesus there!