Let there be light
God said
And from that light
Genesis could begin.
Distinctions could be distinguished:
Day and night;
Earth and heaven;
Earth and sea;
Earth and plant.
Yet before animal
Could be animated, or man
Could be man
The particularity of the great light,
Manifested lordship,
Must be revealed.
The Light appeared
- The Light of the world -
But cottages, synagogues, villas
Were shuttered or blinded.
Yet, through mercy, a few
Shutters were rotted, blinds
Were frayed: glimmers
Pierced gloom.
Attracted
Householders peered at the glow,
Loosened curtain or wood.
Cautiously, tenderly
Some souls
Moved to the doors, slid
Quietly into
The full blaze of the Sun.
The next few (D.V.) I have called, "Reflections".
If a smirr moistens,
A storm scourges, or snow sheets,
Blessings percolate.
On my fiftieth birthday I was told to count my blessings - while I still could. So I counted a blessing for every day until my next birthday. I'll put some in for the next few days (if the Lord will!).
He loved, though I was sinful;
He loved, when I was lost;
He loved, when I was needy;
He loved, to His great cost;
He loved when left out, knocking,
He loved, when brought within;
He loved me by the wayside,
He loved me at the inn.
He loved me though I wandered;
He loved, as I returned;
He loved, when my love faded;
He loved, when my heart burned;
He loved, despite my weakness;
He loved, despite my will;
He loved, through joy and sorrow;
He loved - He loves me still!
He loves, though we are faithless;
He loves, although we fail;
He loves when times are easy;
He loves, when storms assail;
He loves us in the battle;
He loves us in God’s house;
He loves us as His brethren;
He loves us as His spouse.
He who is the Source of all;
He who is their End withal;
Triumphed over Adam’s fall:
Many sons are brought to glory!
Christ has suffered to atone;
Now He’s on the Father’s throne,
While God’s thought in love is known:
Many sons are brought to glory!
Through the work which Christ has done
God can clothe us in His Son;
Blessed in God’s Beloved One
Many sons are brought to glory!
Brought from darkness into light,
Sons of God, through grace and right,
In the Father’s Spirit’s might
Many sons are brought to glory!
On me, God’s grace has beamed;
By blood, I am redeemed;
To me His kindnesses have streamed:
How much I’m loved!
For me, the Saviour died;
For me, was crucified;
And now, for me He’s glorified:
How much I’m loved!
He suffered to atone,
But now, upon the throne,
He cares for me, with all His own
How much I’m loved!
He has prepared the place
Before the Father’s face
Which we will share, through boundless grace:
How much I’m loved!
Though here the world outside
Should raise an evil tide
With me, He says, He will abide:
How much I’m loved!
And as His word may be
Abiding now in me
Increasingly He’ll make me see
How much I’m loved!
He came from the heart of God
And perfectly here He trod,
With God as His sole resource,
A sinless and blameless course
Which honoured the Father’s name -
Yet led to the cross of shame.
And newly there runs since then
A way from that cross for men,
Blood-sprinkled and purified,
Who live since their Saviour died;
A way that is clear and broad
That leads to the heart of God.
"Had I an angel's raiment - fair
With heavenly gems unpriced,
That glorious garb I would not wear,
My robe is Christ."
Had I a worldly sovereign's food
All delicately spiced
I would not find its substance good,
My food is Christ.
Were a king's honours offered me
I would not be enticed;
Since He has died to set me free
My glory's Christ.
Had I the world and all its store
I would not be sufficed;
My empty heart would long for more,
My wealth is Christ.
Had I a monarch's lofty throne
With deckings rich and fine
That paltry place I would disown -
Christ's place is mine.
The first verse is from a poem originally in German by G Ter Steegen.
All the handwriting set out against me
Christ took up, on the cross, to efface;
He removed what was contrary to me:
I am saved through His wonderful grace!
I am waiting for Jesus to call me;
I am longing to gaze on His face:
I will sing in His presence for ever:
“I am saved through His wonderful grace!”
But while waiting for Jesus to take me
Do my garments display their blue lace?
Do I show in my walk and demeanour
I am saved through His wonderful grace?
Among the dust of Palestine
He, come within our human span,
Displayed a worth that was divine
While God was glorified in man.
Between heaven’s glory and earth’s sod
The Son of man was crucified,
And through Golgotha’s torments God,
Regarding sin, was glorified.
As faithful women reached Christ’s tomb
The rising Sun dispelled the night -
God’s glory dwelt on Christ through whom
Men are accepted in God’s sight.
A Man is now at God’s right hand -
A Man is on the Father’s throne!
And Christians gladly understand
God’s thoughts secured in Christ alone.
“When I was blind and poor
And only Christ could cure
He heard my anxious cry
And did not pass me by.”
“Wounded and torn by sin
Both outside and within
Without Him I would die -
He did not pass me by.”
“I climbed within my tree
To hide but still to see:
He saw me hidden high
And did not pass me by.”
“The night almost opaque,
We glimpsed upon the lake
A figure drawing nigh -
He did not pass us by.”
“So if you are in need
Christ listens when you plead;
His mercy will reply:
He will not pass you by.”
Blessing and love and mercy moved
In each touch of the Saviour’s hand;
God’s heart of grace towards men was proved
In ways that they could understand.
Each movement of the Saviour’s feet
Brought Him to men at God’s behest
That all God’s will should be complete
And all God’s people should be blest.
He showed such kindness in His face
To men for whom He had been sent:
That one who loved, and drew on grace,
Through one look hastened to repent.
His face was beaten with a rod;
His hands and feet were nailed to wood:
Perfection thrilled the heart of God;
Men saw the zenith of all good.
Risen He showed pierced feet and hands;
His blessing hands displayed His love;
Now all the glory worth demands
Shines in His face in heaven above.
He held me in His strong embrace
Displaying His unbounded grace -
How much the Father cares for me!
Although I had been so remiss
He welcomed me with many a kiss -
How much the Father cares for me!
He did not question me, or probe,
But clothed me in His finest robe -
How much the Father cares for me!
Love more than I can understand
Put a gold ring upon my hand -
How much the Father cares for me!
So that my comfort was complete
He gave me sandals for my feet -
How much the Father cares for me!
He did all this on my behalf:
And then He shared the fatted calf -
How much the Father cares for me!
No one else has set me free;
No one else secured my heart;
No one else draws me apart:
No one else has died for me.
Some may give a high degree,
Some provide profound advice,
Some give presents of great price:
No one else has died for me.
No one else will hear my plea;
No one else can meet my need;
No one else will balm or feed:
No one else has died for me.
No other name has the prestige,
And none could ever have the lustre,
Of His who is my Lord and Liege.
Above men’s pettiness and bluster
More than a snow-capped mountain peak:
These are some plaudits it can muster -
Splendid, all-conquering, unique,
Tender, attractive and sublime.
It is beyond what men can seek,
It cannot fade with death and time
But billows forward like a banner.
It tells of God’s great paradigm
Of what will last in grace and manner
Before the Father for His pleasure.
And as the Father is the planner
In realms that are beyond man’s measure
He is the One who has secured
His own as God’s eternal treasure;
And it is He who has endured
The cross with all its pain and shame,
And He by whom we are allured:
Jesus! there is no nobler Name!
Jesus! will have unending fame!
If Grace rowed to me
in my struck brig
I found that Grace
had watched for me before.
If Grace had set the light
to my distant ship
Grace set the fire
for my rescued self.
When I turned my back
on the sun
Next morning there it was
blazing in my face.
Before Grace nursed me
to good health
It was Grace whose scalpel
had wounded me.
As the heavens parted
The Father’s voice sounded
And the Spirit descended
God
Was distinguishing one Man.
As the cloud surrounded
And, from its shekinah,
The Father spoke
God was
Distinguishing one Man.
Even when the sun was darkened
And darkness covered the earth,
While the Father’s voice was absent,
God was distinguishing
One Man.
Then, when a cloud received Him,
When He was taken up
And sat at God’s right hand
God was distinguishing one
Man.
When they see the Son of Man sitting
At the right hand of power
And coming with the clouds of heaven
They shall acknowledge
God is distinguishing one Man.
Lord, Thou wast there before the worlds began
In realms of love beyond the mind of man;
The glory that subsisted before time,
Ineffable, eternal and sublime
Belongs to Thee.
Lord, Thou wast here, descended to fulfil,
In grace and patience, all the Father's will:
The glory of a well-beloved Son
By whom the Father's will was fully done
Belongs to Thee.
Lord, Thou didst die, the spotless Lamb of God,
An Offering whose savour spreads abroad:
The glory of a perfect Sacrifice
Whose precious blood God's heart will always prize
Belongs to Thee.
Lord, Thou art crowned upon the Father's throne
Imparting power and wisdom to Thine own:
The glory of the Firstborn from the dead
Who is the body's, the assembly's Head
Belongs to Thee.
Lord, Thou wilt come to reign upon the earth
Dispelling tumult, conflict, plague and dearth:
The glory of the Ruler of all things
Who is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings
Belongs to Thee.
Roman, take your gibbet
Most harsh task to my tools
Since I came from my father.
Joining the bars together
I nailed my hand.
Carving the earthward point,
I scarred my side.
Smoothing, my chisel dropped,
Piercing my feet.
Roman, ask no more crosses:
This will be enough.
1.Abundant mercy has answered my need;
Abundant grace has given me a home.
2.Blessing was in God’s heart for wilful me;
Blessing is in my heart, put there by God.
3.Come to the earth the Saviour showed mercy,
Mercy is free since He went into death.
4.Death was the dominant power against me;
Love has acted to break that dominion.
5.Every day pressure surround man’s pathway;
Saints are succoured by great loving-kindness.
6.Faith gives us access into God’s favour;
Love gives us favour in the Beloved.
7.Grace has given me a place in glory –
Glory will accrue to the God of grace.
8.Heaven is my home through the Lord’s goodness –
How can I count His manifold blessings?
9.I was going astray like a lost sheep:
His goodness has led me to repentance.
10.Just as I am He poured mercy on me;
Just as He is He brought me into grace.
11.Kindness of God wished to make me at home
As David wished to bless Mephibosheth.
12.Love never fails, love is patient and kind;
And Jesus Christ never fails to show love.
13.Many waters cannot quench love, Christ proved;
The love which triumphed is now free to bless.
14.No one can challenge God’s rights in mercy
Nor cavil at the actions of His grace.
15.Outstretched arms are towards us in blessing;
Underneath us are everlasting arms.
16.Perilous seas cannot overwhelm me
Since I am buoyed by god’s loving-kindness.
17.Quietness pervades the people of God
Who rest in the Lord’s goodness and favour.
18.Redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus
We glory in the grace that redeemed us.
19.Sustained daily by His loving-kindness
We wait for redemption of the body.
20.Travellers on crooked paths find straight roads
As accompanies and protects them.
21.Unworthy of life since we were sinners
We have received mercy through Jesus Christ.
22.Victory appertains to Him alone
But grace allows us to share it with Him.
23.Worthiness belongs to Jesus alone
But love allows us to share it with Him.
24.Xenophobic Jews and Greeks are made one
For love at the cross smashed the middle wall.
25.Youths and maidens faint and the old languish
But God in His kindness revives us all.
26.Zealously sing praise to God and the Lord
By whom we have blessing, favour and love.
