HIS OWN

There was a Man, who came
To His own, desiring companionship:
But the holiness of His nature
And His people's fallen condition
Precluded it.  Though the Father was
With Him, among men He was alone.

But after the good seed was sown
Something sprouted; growth persevered in
The blade and, at least, the ear
Till, despite their falls and cavils,
He could disclose secrets, and enjoy
Companions He could call His own.

He suffered to atone - in the darkness
And solitude.  Never in the history
Of time and eternity had a man been
So utterly alone: No spark
From God.  A perfect work was done
And a perfect love shown.

Raised from the dead He is
The Living Stone.  To Him congregate
Ourselves also as living stones,
Formed, in the Spirit, with measures
From Him - that through such a house
His excellencies may be fully known.

There is a Man who comes
To His own - as they are gathered
To His Name, with true hearts
In a world still rejecting
The Lord Jesus.  They announce His death
Till the time when He takes His throne.

But the Lord will not come
Alone; though alone He will tread
The wine press of wrath.
His companion, forever bridal,
Shall be with Him: her shining
As a crystal-like jasper stone.

16 April 2012