Wednesday 31 July 2013

GRAVE

If in the Adam
The paths of glory
Lead but to the grave,
In the Christ
The paths to the grave
Lead to the glory.

Tuesday 30 July 2013

HOPE

I will hear His cry
Calling me away
I will rise
To the skies
Evermore to dwell on high -
Will it be today?

I will see His face
Filling me with bliss.
What delight
In the sight
Of the Man who came in grace:
Where is hope like this?

And I shall be changed
Suited to His love.
As is He
I shall be
As the grace of God arranged,
Home with Him above.

Monday 29 July 2013

THEIR GOD

After the death of Joseph, God’s dreamer,
Egypt haltered Israel,
Bowed under brick.
What did they need? God knew well
And, sovereignly philanthropic,
Came as Redeemer.

Shot of the Egyptian, their horse-dealer,
Fed by the Passover lamb,
Led through the Red Sea,
With tambours psalming their psalm:
Yet God perceived their need that He
Should be their Healer.

In the desert, watered by Moses’ rod,
Daily fed by manna, yet
Flesh-bridled to err,
Meandering with regret
They found God willing to be their
Tabernacle God.

Come to the land of honey, milk, cedar,
Store-corn, water-brooks, brave towns
And walled enemies:
As they wreaked justice on crowns,
Sword or wall in their victories
God was their Leader.

Such-loving-kindness! What an investor
Of love! What adaptation
To His people’s need!
Till, glad in His salvation,
In the house to which His plans led
God is a Rester.

Sunday 28 July 2013

LIFE

It is encouraging as we pursue
Our way through scenes of death to know
God has another world of life in view.

Mid this world’s hunger I have amplitude
Of sustenance as under God’s command
To go to Jesus for my seed and food.

There is defence from all that would defraud
God of response and me of joy and peace
Because my life is hid with Christ in God.

There is a flock and, in such company,
The Shepherd leads us to abundant life
Within the pastures of His liberty.

Lifted outwith this piteous world’s malaise
We know affection which surpasses thought
And lift to God a song of gladsome praise.

Saturday 27 July 2013

CENTRE

Reading the Gospels
I have found a Centre where
My mind reposes.

Friday 26 July 2013

HIS KINGDOM

His kingdom will not cease
To flourish and increase
In righteousness and peace.

Thursday 25 July 2013

THE ROCK

Free to be bound for where I willed
I tramped; by-ways, cross-paths, bent
My footsteps; what turned my campaign?
What stumbling-block hampered me;
What damped? No end appeared,
However long my feet stamped
Or my muscles struggled. With no lamp
To lead, nothing in which to confide,
What tampered with my will? Justice, that Rock,
Broke me, blocked me, drove me from my own way.

But where to hide? Where I ventured
Storms mock and shafts of lightning
Deride meagre strivings. That Sinai
Cannot provide a shelter. Yet truth
Is my only Rock and Refuge:
Oh grace and truth deploys
The cleft in which, safe, I abide;
Mercy was guide up to this haven.
Blood poured, a saving tide
From the stricken side of the Son of God.

After these ways and such protection
Rescued by mercy and by God's grace,
Saved, sustained and nobly elevated.
From being cock of my own dunghill,
Set among nobles, one stone
In its place; with a princely people.
These feet once grazed now prancing,
Hinds feet, firm on the Rock.
What power to convey a lofty degree:
Co-heirs with the pre-eminent Man!

From my new stance, seeking sweetness
For enhancement of fresh modes of love,
Joy to my countenance, power to make me
Dance, where should I go? The Rock,
Sublime answer to each circumstance,
Seemed to unlock - the honey poured.
No time or chance will now meet me
For which there is no solution: Christ -  
For me to gather, His undeviance,
His loveliness, my model, my way of advance.

So long deplored, the old structure
Lies shattered, not to be restored
Nor rebuilt. Where can I Build? The Rock
Rejected once, now adored, constitutes
The only Foundation. Here God has worked - 
This sure place. Knock and chisel
The stones till their curbed forms afford
Virtue of the bed-rock; ignore no fault
But relish quality, a good hoard
In each exploring consonances of Christ.

Fruits flourish; the tree sprouts
By the pure spring whose attributes derive
From its source, the struck Rock; psalms
Erupt from hearts; bruiting with joy
Clear compositions. The Spirit's flow
Contributes the music. By still waters
The bright flock, rested in safety,
Imbibes what distributes health,
Fresh responses. Through water free
From pollution or harm the purity wells.

Oil exudes; sucking from the Rock
Let us exploit what God provides
From It to employ our hearts in praise
As anointed servants; let light shine
From us who walk in the Spirit's power
To express God's goodness in voice
And ways. Employ priests lips,
Priest's members in all our days.
From our Rock towards our God loose
Rejoicing, admiration, adoration, love!

Wednesday 24 July 2013

WHAT ...

What a Friend the sinner has in Jesus
Who will take his burdens all away;
He endured the distance and the darkness
That we might be brought into the day.

What a Lord the Christian has in Jesus
Who is seated on the Father's throne;
From that place He gave the Holy Spirit
And gives grace which cherishes His own.

What a Son the Father has in Jesus
Who was always pleasing in His sight;
Through His worth and all He has accomplished
God eternally will have delight.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

MAN ACCORDING TO GOD

Man according to God
Is portrayed by the Son;
What a pathway He trod -
Man according to God!
He has spread grace abroad
Through the work He has done.
Man according to God
Is portrayed by the Son.

Monday 22 July 2013

COLOUR

Blue -
Thus He appeared to God:
The heavenly Man.

Purple -
Least imperious, but
Most imperial Man.

Scarlet -
God has distinguished
The most distinctive Man.

Byssus -
This was the Man who most displayed
Fineness and purity.

Sunday 21 July 2013

FATHER

He whose mercy would not shun
Us who were by sin undone
But who gave His only Son
Is the One we know as Father!

He whose love would bring us up
To His house that we might sup
Gave His Son the bitter cup
That we might be near the Father!

He who did not spare His Own
That God's mercy might be known
Seated Him upon the throne
That belongs to God the Father!

He who strengthens us with might
To make present to faith's sight
Breadth and length and depths and height
Is the Spirit of the Father!

At the end of all God's ways
And these changing years and days
Christ will yield, to God's own praise,
Rule to Him who is the Father!

Saturday 20 July 2013

LAMB

Sometimes the owner
Gives the shepherd a lamb
For himself.

And how that lamb is fêted,
Cherished and nourished,
With the acme of
The shepherd’s skill.

I am
The shepherd’s lamb,
Lord Jesus.

Friday 19 July 2013

MOTHER

    1
 
Week by week we saw
A daughter's duty and love
Enveloped "home" - until
Love and duty came to be needed
In daily care.
 
She had always cared
As a sister: the long
Journeys bore a sister's care
To where the need lay
In a sister and her children.
 
Two trees together may form
An arch - supporting each other,
Shading others.  One dies - the other
Still shades; but still leans. So
She was as wife; and as widow.
 
I cannot remember the first
Smile, but will never forget
Her last one to me.  Between
How many to us to make her
Mother of all mothers.
 
All the relationships of nature
God gave; and gave grace
To relish and work out
With cheerful patience till the day
God chose to rend them.
 
    2
 
But that grace depended
On the grace that had reached her:
So she received Jesus, He 
Who was rejected.  Born of God
She was, through the Father's love,
One of the children of God.
 
Through grace and the Spirit's power
That too was fulfilled and enjoyed,
Step by step with the Saviour,
Irradiated with divine love
Till, through grace her influence,
Made her "a mother in Israel".
 
Yet when the vessel was shattered
At the fountain these relationships
Broke also, their burden and gladness
Not to be resumed.  But the preciousness
Within, gathered in these relations,
God now has in His custody.

    3
 
But grace has brought a new song to her lips
Which shall be heard throughout eternity
For love in purpose gave relationships
To be enjoyed in perpetuity.
 
The Son of God has died and lives for her;
His Spirit in her heart shed love abroad;
The Father called: the Trinity concur
In placing her among the sons of God!
 
Christ gave Himself for her and she will shine
As a constituent of His glorious bride,
Whose glory and formation are divine,
Who is forever at her bridegroom's side.
 
Oh mercy, loving-kindness, grace and love
Which gave such blessings - and a home above.
 
8-16 July 2013
 
We experienced the Lord's help and support today in the meeting for ministry 
on the occasion of my mother's burial and at the grave side.  Thanks for prayers. 

Thursday 18 July 2013

PRESENT LOVE

If love had led Him to the grave
For those whom He desired to save
Love leads Him as a risen Man
To serve in every way He can.
If one is grieving, in distress,
He comes to comfort - and to bless;
If one denied the Lord before
He comes to cherish and restore;
If some turn from Jerusalem
He goes their way to shepherd them.
But more, through all that He has wrought,
He comes with secrets of God’s thought,
Comes to the circle of His own
That there He should be freshly known.


This is based on Luke 24, the Lord's activity as a risen Man.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

BLESSING

She taught me God’s word,
Prayed for me, and showed to me
Courage in all things.

Written 09/08/04 in the year of counting my blessings.

Tuesday 16 July 2013

JESUS

My mother read of Jesus
In our black Bible book;
I heard of His compassions,
And sympathetic look.

My father read of Jesus
Who came to clear men's sin
Once in the course of ages
To make us clear within.

The preachers told of Jesus,
Descended from above,
Who came to deal with sorrows
In His descending love.

His people spoke of Jesus
Upon the Father's throne;
They praised and sang and worshipped
Because they were His own.

At length I came to know Him -
Compassion was for me;
For me He came from glory,
For me endured the tree.

For me He has ascended
To sit at God's right hand;
For me He sent the Spirit
That I might understand.

For me he has provided
A company of saints;
For me His ear is open -
He listens to my plaints.

The stories about Jesus
Are wonderful and true,
But do you know His sorrows
Were undergone for you?

The glorious love of Jesus
Is always fresh and new;
It warms the hearts of many -
But is it known by you?

We know God gave to Jesus
The place that is His due
But now He seeks the first place
Within your heart, from you.

The Lord is coming for me,
And all who are His own,
To take us to be with Him
And with Him share His throne.

Will you be one who answers
His great assembling cry?
Will you be waiting, ready
To live with Him on high?

Monday 15 July 2013

CARE

Because the Father knows my need
And He is always good
He gives the body to the seed
To be my daily food.

All that is needed He will know
Before I ask or think;
He furnishes the rain and snow
To be my daily drink.

At the first moment I could see,
Although yet unaware,
My heavenly Father cradled me
Within a mother’s care.

It is His pleasure to impart
Each instant's needed breath;
He moves the pumping of my heart
And shelters me from death.

Yet if I die His Christ will keep
My body in His sight
Until He wakens me from sleep
To lead me into light.

I thank Thee, Father, for Thy care
Which guards me in Thy love
Until eternally I share
My place with Christ above.

Sunday 14 July 2013

MAN

We have sinned, and the pain of this
Cross is just. How can
We make any claim? But this Man
Has done nothing amiss.

We have sinned - whether beginner,
Runner, finisher, our race
Has been perverse, contrary to grace:
Yet, this Man receives sinners.

We have sinned - and sins release
Turmoil: outwith, against God, or men;
Within untwisting, twisting again,
But, this Man shall be peace.

Saturday 13 July 2013

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 - but come to mind in the present time.

Friday 12 July 2013

MOTHER

When my father died my mother -
According to the family style -
Kept going; that he died
Speaking of his Lord to a sick friend
As a saint being saintly,
Comforted. Yet later she admitted
That that day her song-bird
Died in her too.

When her brother Tom died
That was more bitter:
Instantly, in a bookies,
As a sinner being sinful
With no known regard
For grace and faith. Had he,
For eternity,
Backed the wrong horse?

Her brother Bobby’s death
Came to her in an envelope
From an Australian social worker.
If he was a wanderer wandering
She took comfort from two words,
“His Lord”.

Now, day by day, doors close;
A bus is a step too high,
Shops a step too far, “home” -
Her birthplace, a road too long.
In faith and grace, and mild humour,
She keeps going, patient for
Whatever translation
Her Lord has in mind for her.


My mother is now with the Lord; she fell asleep through Jesus very peacefully in the early hours of this morning.  The poem above was written several years ago.  Her time of keeping going is now over.

"We are confident, I say, and pleased rather to be absent from the body and present with the Lord", 2 Corinthians 5: 8.

Thursday 11 July 2013

HEART

When a broken heart
Meets the heart of God, God's heart
Meets a broken heart.

7/7/13

Wednesday 10 July 2013

NEAR

The word is near
That in the gospel we can preach,
Which cast out fear:
Jesus is Lord and, by His breach
Through death, salvation is in reach.

The Lord is near
His own in testimonial days
With words of cheer
Sustaining them through desert ways
And waking their delighted praise.

The time is near
When Christ the Lord will take His throne;
He will appear
With myriad saints who are His own -
His through His work and worth alone.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

THOUGHT

To see Jesus’ face
Is the most exciting thing
That I can think of.

Monday 8 July 2013

HE LOVED ME

When God in Christ came near to man
According to His glorious plan
He loved me.

When Jesus suffered on the tree
To bear my sins and set me free
He loved me.

When Jesus lay within the tomb
Enduring its oppressive gloom
He loved me.

When He had risen from the grave
Having acquired the right to save
He loved me.

When from the place of power and love
He gave his Spirit from above
He loved me.

And through eternity I'll still
Remember with a deathless thrill
He loved me!

Please continue to pray for my mother who is very weak.

Sunday 7 July 2013

CROSS

Every moment of
Three dark hours of suffering
He suffered for me.

Saturday 6 July 2013

FATHER THOU LOVEST

(A Roundel)

Father, Thou lovest and how well
That love was shown when Jesus came
Here, among men of earth, to dwell.
Father, Thou lovest!

And here He has made known Thy Name
To those whom grace and love compel
To come to Him and own His claim.

He, by the Spirit, would compel
Our fervent voices to proclaim,
As with delight our spirits swell -
"Father, Thou lovest!"

Friday 5 July 2013

THE TRUE SOLOMON

In the subversion of man,
Satan and death;
In the promotion of another
Manhood, Lord,
We see wisdom.

In the assembly,
An administration of blessing,
Where Thou hast a dwelling
We see
The house that Thou hast built.


The food of Thy table!
What variety we have in Thee:
An oblation, a passover,
Peace-offering,
Fresh ears, baked loaves -
All to our taste.

Persons of another marque
From worldlings, in dignity,
Act as children of wisdom
Portraying
The deportment of Thy servants.

We can appreciate
As the angels can
The all-various wisdom of God
In the order of service of Thy servants
Which the Chief Musician ordered.

In their needs - Christ
For coats of skin;
In their testimony - Christ
For armour;
In their privileges - Christ,
The Best Robe:
What apparel for Thy servants!

Men who have had
A vine before them,
Who have admired its growth,
Relished the lush grapes,
And their wine for God,
Are Thy cupbearers.

But what an acme
Of grandeur, a zenith
Of accomplishment, what
An ascent: Lord,
Thou art He who brought
Many sons to glory!

Thursday 4 July 2013

WONDERFUL ...

We know He has done wondrously
And has acquired the right to rule
In righteousness and equity -
We know that He is Wonderful.

He gives us wisdom from above
And all the help we ask Him for
Because of His abundant love
Through which He is our Counsellor.

All things He made in mighty power -
From craggy peak to grassy clod,
From lofty tree to tiny flower:
We bow to Him as Mighty God.

Millenially His fatherhood
Will warm earth tenderly to assuage
Sin's legacy, and bring in good
As He is Father of the Age.

He makes sin's turmoil in the soul
Of every one who trusts Him cease,
And all the nations, as made whole,
Will own Him soon as Prince of Peace.



My mother continues in weakness, bright and waiting for the Lord to take her.  Thank you for your prayers..

Wednesday 3 July 2013

LOVE

A Saviour’s love has reached for me
When I was swamped by sin;
He plucked me from the sweeping sea
And made me warm within.

A Shepherd’s love has shouldered me,
Guided when ways were rough,
Herded me on the mountain’s lee
And over-filled my trough.

A Father’s love has brought me up
And given me its best,
Through Christ I live, on Him I sup
And in Him I am blest.

The Spirit’s love works in my heart
That God’s love may be spread.
By Him Christ chooses to impart
His impetus as Head.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

LOVE

God loves those
On whom, in His sovereign purpose,
He has set His heart.

Christ loves those
Who are given to Him
By the Father.

The Father loves those
Who have affection
For the Son.

The Spirit loves those
In whom His activities
Have formed Christ.

The saints love those
Who are associated with
The heavenly Man.

Monday 1 July 2013

ASK FOR A SIGN

"Ask for a sign" the prophet told the king;
"Ask for it in the deep or in the height."
King Ahaz sneered "I will do no such thing".

How great the sign of Jonah to incite
Wonder at God's unfathomable ways,
Bringing one man through darkness into light!

How great the sign of Solomon's great days,
His splendour and the wisdom which God gave
To rule His people and to bring Him praise!

There is a greater sign now in the grave,
Its depths and darkness entered for His own
By Christ that to the utmost He may save.

There is a greater sign now in the throne
Where Jesus sits, acclaimed at God's right hand,
Whence all the power of heaven may be known.

If you touch depths you cannot understand
Remember what your Lord endured for you
That heavenly power might be at your command.

If you reach heights, with Jesus in your view,
And know relationships in which to bask,
Remember all the depths which He went through.

"Ask for a sign" - God longs for you to task
His willingness and nature - knock! seek! ask!