THE BELOVED

I am redeemed

In the Beloved;

The Father has been declared

By the Beloved;

I am to hear

The Beloved;

I am taken into favour

In the Beloved.

NO ONE ELSE

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.

LOVE

The greatness of God’s love

Is that of an ocean

Not a river - grace is

A river sourced in His love.

PARABLE

“My pain is great, my wounds are sore,

My life bleeds to its end.”

“I’ve come to care for you, to pour

Oil on your wounds, my friend.”

“I faint, I feel my spirit pine:

My soul is reft by strife.”

“My friend, I’ve come to pour you wine

To stimulate your life.”

“I have no shelter, can’t begin

The journey to my home.”

“I’ll bring you safely to the inn -

There is no need to roam.”

“I lie within a world of harm

And cannot be released.”

“My friend, I’ll bear you on my arm

To set you on my beast.”

“My money and my goods are lost;

I cannot pay a fee.”

“Do not despair, my friend - the cost

Has all been borne by me.”

“Out of this inn what shall I do?

When I am gone - what then?”

“The innkeeper will care for you

Until I come again.”

“My Friend - how I shall miss your face!

Why must you go away?”

“I’m going to prepare the place

Where, with me, you shall stay.”

THE MAN

The Man who opened the ears

Of the man who could not hear

Was history’s greatest Listener.

The man who anointed the blind man

And brought light into his life

Was the greatest Seer among men.

And of the Man who raised

Dead from the dead it was written

“In Him was life”.

CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGES

Chosen in Christ before the world began,

Redeemed through the munificence of grace,

Associated with the heavenly Man.

Given the Earnest of a settled place,

Clothed in the worth of One raised from the dead,

Enregistered in an undying race,

United by the Spirit to the Head,

Forming a part of the illustrious bride,

In this dry wilderness refreshed and fed,

Rejoicing in the food which will abide,

Waiting to share Christ’s glory by His side.

SWEETNESS

Among computers or washing,

Pens, basins, or branches

There is a Man who will

Bring sweetness.

Among catheters and scalpels,

Even graves and coffins

There is a Man who will

Bring sweetness.

Among saints and angels,

And the splendours of heaven

There is a Man who will

Bring sweetness.

PATIENCE

Because I lock
The door He has to knock;

He has to wait

Because I bar the gate;

Because I wall

Him out He has to call.

Although I mock,

In patience, He will knock;

And He will wait

If my reply is late;

His love will call

When my response is small.

Lord, I unlock

My heart, break down the wall,

Unhinge my gate;

Thou shalt no longer wait

Or knock, or call:

Lord, lead me to Thy flock.

ABILITY

The Man who loves me

Is the Man with the greatest

Love ability.

LIGHT

If life around seems grim

With all-embracing dark;

If Christians’ light grows dim

And gutters to a spark

Lift up your eyes and see afar

The shining of the Morning Star.

And mid His faithful saints

The love of Christ gives light

Excluding Satan’s feints

To lead them into night;

Within the heart of every one

Shines gloriously the risen Sun.

His sweetness does not cloy

But makes our spirits full;

He makes our souls enjoy

The principle of rule;

His warmth surrounds with its embrace

Suffusing all our hearts with grace.

And His assembly shines

With God’s own glory’s rays:

The Spirit’s wise designs

Will soon appear in day

But in the night she rules for Him

Whose light towards her is never dim.

Where Light which has no taints

Has once, in beauty, been

Now all Christ’s chosen saints

Are lights in a dark scene:

While patiently His people wait

With variant lights they scintillate.

JACOB

More than a mother's love,
A divine secret,
Moved Rebecca to discern
Jacob was loveable.

"What was torn I have not
Brought to thee", Jacob attested,
The words of a man
Who did justly.

Renamed, after his wrestling,
And his maiming
He, Israel, could walk as one
Of God's nobility.

To approach God's house
- "Put away the strange gods ...
And cleanse yourselves" -
Demanded purity.

After the byways, 
Skewed routes, now
Leaning on his staff,
A true worshipper.

Edinburgh & Anand 11-12/13
Testing the history of Jacob by Phil 4: 8.

STANDING

The Son of God, who did God’s will,

The Son of Man, who came to die,

The Son of David, Christ, stood still

In answer to a beggar’s cry.

The Man who is the Lord of all,

Who soon will reign in equity,

Stood prisoner in the judgment hall

Of one steeped in iniquity.

He stood as the Victorious One

Within the circle of His own

Bringing His peace since all was done

By which the Father might be known.

Soon He will come to claim His right

And stand upon the sea and land;

All shall be set for His delight

And all shall prosper in His hand.

LUKE 15

What the shepherd looked for

Was one who would recognise

His voice, one who would follow

His feet, one to enjoy

His pastures, one who was suitable

To be brought to the house.

What the woman sought

Was one who would shimmer to

Her lamp, one who would show

The Master’s face, one to enhance

Value within the house.

And what the father looked out for

Was one who could wear

The best robe with dignity, act

According to the gold ring, dance

Like a son in the sandals. One

With whom, in his house, he could share.