WITH

We, in baptism, have been buried with Him

And with Him too we have been raised in it;

God through His work is made free to forgive

And we with Him experience quickening;

If we have died with Christ how can we live

In ordinances and other earthly things?

If we are raised with Christ let our hearts lift

To heavenly things suited to where Christ sits;

Since we have died with Christ in God we’re hid -

Untouchable by any fear or sin;

When Christ is seen according to God’s will

We shall be with Him in His eternal bliss.

OF

The things of Jesus Christ impinged on Paul

To the extent he counted all things loss

To gain the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord;

That excellency meant he rated dross

What he might be by nature or by law

Because he knew all ended at the cross.

Bondman of Jesus Christ he loved that bond

That in Christ’s day he might have his reward

But more that Christ through him should win applause.

He had the Spirit of Christ on which to draw

And that supply sustained through bitter wars.

The grace of Jesus Christ he left to all.

IN

Outside of Christ, unfathomable dark;

In Christ the fulness of all God could impart

To demonstrate the grandeur of His heart:

Chosen in Him before the worlds began

We have redemption in Him as God has planned;

We, in Christ Jesus, no longer are afar

Nor segregated by law or ordinance

But in Himself formed into one new man

And, through the cross, no longer forced apart;

Now in the Christ indelibly we’re marked

Having the Spirit, pledge of inheritance

Which here in Him, God’s favourite, we have.

OF GOOD REPORT ...

"Of good report", "of virtue" and "of praise":

Shepherds and angels proclaimed the holy Babe;

Evangelists were fervent to dilate

The good report of God come down in grace;

While now the Spirit rejoices to acclaim

Jesus the Lord in His exalted place.

Come to the world which His own hand had made

His virtue flowed even to where men lay

Weaker than weakness huddled within the grave.

Now virtue flows from Christ in majesty

Causing enlightened souls to celebrate

The Man by whom all men shall be amazed.

AMIABLE

"Think on these things" - how amiable He was!

Seeing His grace how many souls were drawn:

Peter could say for Christ he had left all,

While Matthew hastened when answering His call;

The woman slighted the Pharisees' discord

That she might be near her beloved Lord;

And the brave women with the disciple John

Knowing His loveliness stood by the cross.

How amiable He is - the theme of song

Of myriads of souls whom He has bought;

But, more than this, eternity shall vaunt

How amiable Christ Jesus is to God.

PURE

"Think on these things" - who was as pure as He?

He was not only, amid defilement, clean

But His approach made all defilement flee.

The spotless Lamb His cleanness made Him meet

To undertake unutterable grief

Being made sin ensuring our release

And giving God fresh reason to be pleased.

Now God delights in songs of His redeemed,

Themselves now washed, who in Him are relieved;

They love to follow wherever He may lead

Out of this earth into His own demesne,

Pure grace above, pure mercy underneath.

JUST

"Think on these things" - I think of Christ, the Just,

Who for the unjust has undergone the curse

Amid the weight of man's opprobrium,

Securing thus His just imperium.

Christ faced a ruler whose actions were corrupt

And like a lamb, in His defence, was dumb.

He will return to where His peace was spurned

And by His power all evil will be curbed.

His will be justice which no one will rebut

And no appeal nor pleading will disturb

Since under impetus of perfect love

He will decerne as the conclusive Judge.

NOBLE

"Think on these things"   I think of Christ as noble:

Illustrious, in feeling and emotion

Within a world whose tenor was provoking;

Always refined, in action, thought and motive

Within a scene whose ambience was coarseness;

Within a scene whose atmosphere was boreal

His graciousness and tender warmth were copious.

Where human noise was dissonantly vocal

The Master's voice was dignified and cogent.

God found His life was a delightful odour

While now within a place that is harmonious

His stateliness conduces to devotion.

TRUE

"Think on these things"   I think of Christ as True

In every sense in which the word is used;

The Lord was faithful however men traduced

His righteous Name, constant though He was bruised;

No unconformity can be adduced

From Bethany to the discordant troops;

The hand that struck the chord found all in tune:

In every word He manifested good

And every act was in itself a proof

Of Who was there from manger until tomb:

As He now is the majesty accrues

That Jesus Christ is, in Himself, the Truth.

I have taken a line from the magnificent passage of J N Darby:

In a word, then, His humanity was perfect, all subject to God, all in immediate answer to His will, and the expression of it, and so necessarily in harmony. The hand that struck the chord found all in tune: all answered to the mind of Him whose thoughts of grace and holiness, of goodness, yet of judgment of evil, whose fulness of blessing in goodness were sounds of sweetness to every weary ear, and found in Christ their only expression. Every element, every faculty in His humanity, responded to the impulse which the divine will gave to it, and then ceased in a tranquillity in which self had no place. Such was Christ in human nature. While firm where need demanded, meekness was what essentially characterised Him as to contrast with others, because He was in the presence of God, His God, and all that in the midst of evil, -- His voice was not heard in the street, -- for joy can break forth in louder strains when all shall echo, "Praise his name, his glory."  Darby; Synopsis Leviticus

 

"GOD BLESSED FOR EVER"

If as a Man He never will ignore

Those who repent nor spurn those who implore,

Not only as a perfect Man He bore

Sorrows and sins and all that men deplore;

Not only as a Man could He restore

And add to all that had been God’s before,

Deliver us to that celestial shore,

Or be for us Shepherd or Friend or Door;

Jesus is God - blessed for evermore!

- And has a glory which no man can explore

Since it transcends sublimest human lore:

What can we do but worship and adore!

AOI

THE MORNING STAR

O dark, dark, dark - irrecoverably dark:

Darkness that can be felt invests the land;

Darkness that can be felt encumbers man.

But we have light in which we are apart:

The Morning Star arising in our hearts!

The day is near - while we await its start

Jesus the Lord has this peculiar charm:

The Morning Star, brilliantly coruscant.

Among our pressures the Lord Himself imparts

To overcomers joys that are sure to last:

Imparts Himself so that, exuberant,

They praise Him as the Bright and Morning Star.

THE LAMB

Behold the Lamb of God, taker away

Of sin by which the world has been debased!

Behold the Lamb of God whose graceful gait

Attracts the souls who follow in the Way!

Worthy the tender Lamb who stands as slain

Since by His sacrifice He overcame

And thus acquired an ambience of grace

Where His redeemed, as kings and priests, shall reign;

And thus acquired His wife with whom to share

His heart of love and an eternal place.

Worthy the Lamb whose fineness will engage

His own through this and every coming age.

THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

Behold the Lion, that of the tribe of Judah,

The One in whom king David’s line is rooted,

Who overcame through warring resolutely

And has secured God’s glory in its fulness:

Towards His God His victory is fruitful;

Towards His own His victory is goodness;

Towards the devil His victory is ruthless.

Since none withstand the Lion’s stately footsteps

Throughout the universe let praise be bruited

To Him who made this glorious revolution:

Toward His Name let praises be effusive

Since He has brought God’s counsels to conclusion.

AMEN

You cannot trust what other men aver

Nor rest in what they strenuously assert,

But Jesus was the witness in Himself

Of everything He audibly expressed;

The Name of Jesus requires no epithet

Since in that Name God’s love is manifest

And in His life God’s heart is evident

Because obedience informed each step;

Where love grows cold and life becomes pretence

Faithful and true He patiently presents

His endless grace towards rekindling them:

He is the source and He is the Amen.

SOLOMON

Almighty God - give judgments to the King

And He will judge according to Thy will!

He will do justice to those whom sin afflicts:

By righteousness peace will flow from the hills;

He will descend as a delicious smirr

While grace and truth will both be flourishing;

Kings of the earth will render precious gifts

And all mankind will own His rulership.

Each day He shall be blessed: and He shall live

While corn shall pullulate from fertile tilth

Even upon the mountain’s loftiest ridge:

Seeing His glory let all the people sing!

See Psalm 72, "For Solomon"

'Smirr' fine misty rain (Scots) 

DAVID

If in his face and figure he was charming

While he was famed for deftness as a harpist

Both strong in soul and vigorous in action,

Before Goliath indomitably valiant

Feebly in this David portrayed the Master.

Christ has both charm of form and charm of manner;

In antitype He is the sweeter Psalmist

While our vile foe who brought us to disaster

Is now defeated and stripped of all his armour.

David secured an empire through his battles

But Christ secured God’s glory and our pardon:

He is a king whose crown is amaranthine!

Footnote to "unfading", "Or 'amaranthine,' the amaranth plant being an image of that which does not fade or wither. The sense is the same."

JOSEPH

Who should in truth be named Zaphnath-paaneah,

Who is not only the Saviour from all evil,

By whom the power of sin has been defeated,

As crucified where, spiritually, is Egypt

To bring His own into eternal freedom,

Not only He who has sustained His people

- His very flesh the food that has been eaten -

To keep them in another modus of being

But He who, come from God, is the Revealer

Of God’s great love and His abundant secrets

Which, till He came, were in profound concealment?

None could sustain this splendid name but Jesus.

ISAAC

As God’s provision, the true Jehovah-jireh,

No angel’s voice could interrupt His dying,

No mitigation could ease His sacrificing:

He had to bear God’s judgment in its direness

And enter death to conquer it entirely.

So God secured for Him, the greater Isaac,

A heavenly bride appropriately highborn,

Agile for Him for so God was desirous,

Led by the Spirit and consequently lively.

Christ has a Bride, companion and admirer

In the broad place won safely from man’s violence

Where constantly she loves and magnifies Him.

SHEPHERD

Being no hireling He did not run away

And by His love, because He kept the faith

The mauling wolf was finally outfaced;

What was the cost? The Shepherd has been slain:

The sword of God against Him was awake.

Risen He works, showing the young His care,

Healing the sick, pursuing those who stray,

Leading the healthy where they may safely graze.

Lord, help me, as Thy sheep, discriminate

Thy Shepherd voice from voices that are strange;

Guide my thrawn feet far from iniquity

Into the flock of those enjoying grace.

'Thrawn' is Scots for 'twisted ... perverse ...'.  Often used for someone who seems to be deliberately awkward. 

HELP

Jehovah helped His old repentant people

And by His thunder the Philistines were beaten:

They raised to God the rock of Eben-ezer;

Upon the sea, loving but doubting Peter

Exclaimed “Lord, help me” and was sustained by Jesus.

But this is not confined to history merely:

The Lord is near and gives His help to me now

As I can tell because of my experience -

I have Thy help in overcoming evil,

I have Thy help for shepherding and healing,

I have Thy help exploring heavenly regions

And for these things - how much Thy help is needed!

Eben-Ezer: "stone of help", 1 Samuel 7: 11.

PROVIDER

What I required as thrall to sin and grief -

That one should be ransom for my release -

Thou, Lord, provided, giving Thy life for me;

What I required that I might have relief

By precious blood with which to be redeemed

Thou, Lord, provided, bringing me into peace;

What I required on which to drink and feed -

Thy blood to drink, Thy body as my meat -

Thou, Lord, provided, so that I am replete;

What I required - to quicken and to lead

Thou, Lord, provided, the Holy Paraclete:

Whatever I require I have from Thee.

FRIEND

Whilst wandering this bitter wilderness,

Whose sand abrades and by whose rock I bled,

Among dry thorns and evidence of death

I come to Thee because I need Thy help

To turn my feet from their disordered trends

Down Egypt’s way to pungent tastes and smells

My soul still craves when guided by my flesh,

Down subtle tracks forged to avoid the dearth

Whose termini would vitiate my health,

Or up the track that Hormah represents -

Fleshly essays at heavenly ascents -

Since I am lost without Thee as my Friend.

THE BRIDEGROOM

The Bride proclaims with joy: “Behold He cometh!”

Under His shadow her gracefulness will flourish

Helped by His sweetness from which she will be nourished.

She is His helpmate in this requiring nothing

But what the Spirit in grace has wisely furnished;

He is the Bridegroom and He is the Beloved.

Jesus is more than one who carries burdens

But One she knows as, in each aspect, worthy.

She knows His face, that it is white and ruddy;

She knows His voice, affectionately urgent;

She knows His heart since He revealed its wonders:

And she acclaims Him as “Altogether lovely!”

PRIEST

His priestly order, that of Melchisedec,

Is intransmissible, and has no end,

Triumphant over the tentacles of death.

In priestly garb “Holinesse on the Head”,

Light and perfection cherished within the breast,

“Harmonious bells below, raising the dead”

To bear and lead them to lasting life and rest,

In heavenly blue - thus our true Aaron’s drest.

He has approached as perfect offerer,

His offering perfection of Himself:

In power of blood which He Himself had shed

He made the way into the holiest.

This refers to the poem by George Herbert 

THE KING

God has secured an everlasting kingdom

And introduced another kind of kingship

By one who proved His every act was king-like

And demonstrated His expertise in kingcraft.

Jesus is King, true as no other king is

Because His blood establishes the King’s peace;

Grace is the salient principle of His kinghood

Through righteousness in which His rule is kingly.

And with Him rule the ones who are His kindred

Who know the Lord as their Redeemer-Kinsman -

Not merely His as simply fleshly kinsfolk

But made His own in an eternal kinship.

THE CHRIST

For we who are the members of the body

All things are ours - and who do we belong to?

We are the Christ’s, we happily acknowledge.

In love we will grow up to Him in all things

Who is the Head, the Christ, from whom the body

Builds itself up, increasingly responsive.

God gave the Christ to be Head over all things

For benefit, of His own church, the body

Which is the fulness of Him who will fill all things.

That He might have the primal place in all things

Christ is the Head of His own church, the body

For in Him dwelt the fulness of the Godhead.

MARY OF MAGDALA

From where had been the Saviour's head and feet

The angels asked, "Woman, why dost thou weep?"

Without her Lord what was her life but grief?

The Risen One asked her, "Whom dost thou seek?"

And her response was proof her love was deep.

Then He said, "Mary" - ineffable relief,

Unending joy, and homage were released.

Secrets of love the Saviour now revealed:

That He had brethren - and Jesus had no need

To teach her who incorporated these;

That His own Father and His own God would be

Their God and Father through what He had achieved.





I had a brainstorm yesterday - this is out of sequence and posted already not long ago!

THE SON

When God desired to promulgate His word

He, with a language to demonstrate His love,

Has spoken in the Person of the Son,

The Heir of all, through whom all things had birth,

The One by whom His glory is effulged

While of His substance the Son is the efflux.

Still all He was in all He has become,

A new relationship has now begun,

So that the Firstborn as brought into the world

Proved a fresh cause for angels to exult;

His place of glory exceeds them by so much

As His Name has a more exceeding worth.

THE SON OF GOD

Healed, but cast out, seeing, but sorely scorned

The man once blind was glad, but yet forlorn,

Till Jesus found him and it was his reward

To have revealed to him the Son of God

And homage was his instant true response.

On God’s behalf and come from God, Christ walked

Until His power displayed, while on the cross,

The Son of God to the centurion.

The time has come when all may hear His call:

Morally dead and spiritually lost

May wake to God raised and believing on

The Son of God, each moral problem solved.

THE SON OF MAN

As come from God but here on Man’s behalf

Christ usually called Himself  “the Son of Man”.

Throughout the days He walked His pilgrim path

He was approachable to every class

And undeterred by nation, race or caste:

Syrophoenician or loathed Samaritan

Were beneficiaries of virtuous acts.

This is the One who has been seen to stand

Ready to act again from God’s right hand.

The Son of Man will soon be in command;

Coming in clouds of power He will take charge:

Men will enjoy His perfect governance.