COMPANY

Christ will not ignore

A company of saints with

Affection for Him.

JESUS, ENTHRONED IN HEAVENLY GLORY

Jesus, enthroned in heavenly glory,
Once here on earth, the humbled One;
Our hearts have learned the beauteous story
Of all that Thou in love has done:
No love, so great, O Lord as Thine!
Its glories shall for ever shine.

This love shall be our theme unending,
When in yon courts of light we dwell;
From every lip Thy praise ascending,
Each with his tale of grace to tell.
E'en now, O Lord, 'tis joy to raise
Our feeble voices in Thy praise.

From "The Songs of the Lord", by T Willey

A FIDELITY VILLANELLE

When seeing Jesus in His dignity
Where His true faithfulness has been displayed
"Are not thine eyes upon fidelity"?

Feeling the buffets of adversity
What noble faithfulness Stephen displayed
When seeing Jesus in His dignity.

As you behold amid calamity
The Just One both forsaken and betrayed
Are not thine eyes upon fidelity?

See Stephen in his grace and purity
Face all man's hatred and be undismayed
When seeing Jesus in His dignity.

Seeing God's people's amiability
As walking in the path that Christ has made
"Are not thine eyes upon fidelity"?

Proclaim that grace that touched our  depravity
 And faithful saints need never be afraid
When seeing Jesus in His dignity.
Are not thine eyes upon fidelity?



See Jeremiah 5: 3: "Jehovah, are not thine eyes upon fidelity".  (JND Translation, which I usually use.)

PAUL

(2 Timothy 3 v 10)

i

The Romans

He taught

Christ as Mercy-seat and Deliverer:

The Spirit as power to walk with God.

The Corinthians

He taught

Jesus Christ and Him crucified,

And the order of the church, His body.

The Galatians

He taught

The Son of God, sonship,

And liberty by the Spirit.

The Ephesians

He taught

Their place in the purposes of God,

And the Man who, in God’s will, heads all.

The Philippians

He taught

The descending mind of Christ

And his own mind to pursue.

The Colossians

He taught

The glory of the Son of God’s love

And the virtue of the Head.

The Thessalonians

He taught

The hope of the believer

And how to live while waiting.

But Timotheus saw conduct that suited

The teaching: a man sensitive to the guide

Of the Spirit of Jesus, probing patiently

To ascertain God’s way – yet urgent

On a straight course once guided; humbly

Settling with praying women, joining

What God had begun; abiding where God

Opened a heart and door; yet ruthless

Against Satan’s pretences; joyful in prayer

And praise though severely beaten; ready,

As in the spirit of Jesus, to pour a blessing

On the man who had beaten him; and to join

In the joy of the house, fresh in baptism

At the jailor’s table; returning quickly to

The brethren to exhort them: triumph and disaster

Equal blasts to enliven his fire.

ii

I envisage Timothy

With an affectionate smile

As he read Paul’s guidance to

Be cutting in a straight line…

The man from the street called Straight

With his tenacious purpose

Had carried the Lord’s standard

Into many a province –

To espouse saints to one Man

As a chaste virgin to Christ;

Admonishing every man,

With the desire to present

Every man perfect in Christ;

And for himself to know Christ,

Power of His resurrection,

Fellowship of His sufferings.

Faith girded purpose:

He moved in his straight course since

He lived by faith of

The Son of God who loved him,

And who gave Himself for him.

The breastplate of faith

Protected his invasions

Of Satan’s kingdoms –

His way guided through Europe

Philippi was his beachhead.

His pathway ending

Strengthened by God he could say,

I have kept the faith,

I have completed the race,

And I have fought the good fight.

iii

What long-suffering God had shown

With him! As he kicked against

One goad God set another- although

Saints suffered and truth was blasphemed.

So as one to whom long-suffering

Had been shown he patiently knocked

On Jewish doors, as they shut them

In his face – even his turning to the nations

Was to provoke them to jealousy. And saints,

Saw too the long-suffering of the man

Whose hands worked for them; and if

Corinthians were recalcitrant, Galatians legal,

Or Colossians philosophical he worked quietly,

Not irked by the need to repeat his teachings,

Not complaining if compelled to travail again – by

His Lord’s methods seeking his Lord’s glory.

As a sinner to whom

Mercy was shown

He loved the Saviour.

As a son, chosen

In the Beloved,

He loved the Father.

As a mother

Travailing in birth

He loved the Galatians.

As a nurse

With her own children

He loved the Thessalonians.

As a father

In the truth

He loved his children in faith.

As a brother,

Spent for them,

He loved the brethren.

As an apostle,

Selected by the Lord,

He loved the truth.

iv

Winds lamming the sapling,

Hail like slingshot,

The frost imposing its grasp on the soil,

Survivors flourish;

Tribulation works endurance.

Roots strengthened, trunk resilient,

The tree grows, drinking

Sun, air and water,

Fresh weathers and seasons;

Endurance works experience.

Greenness fringes the tree,

Blossoms pink or white out,

Life fruits and seeds;

Experience works hope.

v

Hard to disentangle persecutions and sufferings

In Paul’s account: in labours exceedingly

Abundant, in stripes to excess, in prisons

Exceedingly abundant, in deaths oft. From the Jews

Five times he received forty stripes, save one.

Thrice he was scourged, once stoned, three times

Have suffered shipwreck; a night and day

He passed in the deep: in journeyings often,

In perils of rivers, in perils of robbers,

In perils from the Jews, in perils from the nations,

In perils in the city, in perils in the desert,

In perils on the sea, in perils among false brethren;

In labour and toil, in watchings often,

In hunger and thirst, in fastings often,

In cold and nakedness. Thus he conquered

And more than conquer through Him that had

Loved him – who had first showed him

How much he must suffer for His name.

And in all things the Spirit of Christ beamed:

Railed at, he blessed; persecuted, he suffered it;

Every way afflicted, but not straitened;

Seeing no apparent issue, but his way not

Entirely shut up; conscious that if he was

Persecuted he was not abandoned; knowing

He was persecuted because of the cross of Christ.

For who desired like Paul to live piously

In Christ Jesus? Blessed they who are persecuted

For righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens!

But there was other suffering too – the mark,

Rather than fighting, of a good soldier. If he

Was in tribulation, it was for the encouragement

And salvation for the saints; rejoicing in sufferings

For them, filling up that which is behind of the tribulations

Of Christ in his flesh, for His body, which is the assembly;

Ready to again travail in birth for his children

Until Christ shall have been formed in them.

And for himself he learned, “And he said to me,

My grace suffices thee; for my power is perfected

In weakness”. While he reckoned that the sufferings

Of this present time are not worthy to be compared

With the coming glory to be revealed to us.

REJOICE IN THE LORD

Rejoice in the Lord who has brought us salvation:

He came from the glory to challenge our foes;

He came in His grace to have no reputation,

To serve as a bondman, to bear all our woes.

Rejoice in the Lord who was here for the Father

To show what God’s ideal in manhood would be,

To work out God’s purpose, to heal men, to gather,

To bring sons to glory, to set our souls free.

Rejoice in the Lord who is raised and ascended

And seated in glory at God’s own right hand:

He waits till God’s work in His people is ended

And all shine in glory as God’s heart has planned.

Rejoice in the Lord who has touched our affection,

Our Shepherd, our Master, our Shield and Reward;

The Man who has won us through charm and perfection:

O saints He has purchased - Rejoice in the Lord!

MARY

(John 20)

As He made Himself

Known to Mary, death could not

Come into her mind.

A GOODNESS VILLANELLE

True goodness has been seen - "fruit of the light" -
"Goodness and righteousness and truth" in men,
In persons Christ secured for God's delight.

The Spirit lit the lamp to quell our night:
His noble workings are apparent when
True goodness has been seen - "fruit of the light".

Goodness and righteousness and truth unite
In souls the Lord has brought to God again:
In persons Christ secured for God's delight.

God's word is pure: its goodness will indite
Things that exceed mere human acumen:
True goodness has been seen - "fruit of the light".

Those who do good are lovely in God's sight:
He loved the goodness seen in Christ, and then
In persons Christ secured for God's delight.

Proclaim true goodness in Christ's work; invite
Sinners to come: may God be praised!  Amen.
True goodness has been seen - "fruit of the light" -
In persons Christ secured for God's delight.

SURROUNDINGS

The Christ had come -

And shepherds, at the angel’s urging,

Rushed to encircle Him

With their acclamation.

Their Lord and Friend had come -

And the re-enlivened family

Surrounded Him

With love, service, and nard.

But His enemies

Crowded Him, hemmed Him, bound Him -

His grace

Allowed Him to be led.

What a circle of sadness

Gathered to convey

The body of the Lord Jesus

To the tomb.

A ring of joy

As the Risen One

Appeared among His own

Enjoying fresh relationships.

From their surroundings

The Lord ascended

To the place of glory -

Making a place for them.

“In the midst of the throne

And of the four living creatures

And in the midst of the elders”

John saw “A Lamb standing…”

THE GRACE OF GOD

Does God wish me, who wanders from His will

Following the inclinations of my pleasure

Within His presence? Does He wish to fill

His great eternal home with doubtful treasure

Such as I am? Can He find pleasure in

Unstable, weak, and self-regarding souls

Ensconced in lust and garrisoned by sin

Within whose life a selfish mind controls?

He, as a just and holy God, cannot

Tolerate sin - how can He wish for me,

The sinner? If, as sinful, I am brought

Before Him judgement must be His decree:

Yet such the grace of God that I am won

Into His presence, righteous in His Son.

PASSOVER

Outside is the blood

Smeared on the doorposts; inside

They feast on the lamb.

A KINDNESS VILLANELLE

Because God knows the burdens of mankind
True kindness and true love to man appeared:
Christ came to heal lame, leprous, dumb or blind.

With noble kindness David sought to find
And show God's kindness to one who had feared,
Because God knows the burdens of mankind

But if the righteous smite me it is kind:
Finding I need Him, Christ becomes endeared - 
Christ came to heal lame, leprous, dumb or blind.

Kindness and love from saints' pure heart and mind
Are God's support where sin has interfered
Because God knows the burdens of mankind.

How beautiful to God are saints aligned
To Christ in kindness, and God's heart is cheered:
Christ came to heal lame, leprous, dumb or blind.

Proclaim God's kindness to those sin would bind
Since through the work of Christ they may be cleared:
Because God knows the burdens of mankind
Christ came to heal lame, leprous, dumb or blind.

SNAKES AND LADDERS

Sometimes my Christian life seems

A game of snakes and ladders.

I edge forward and backward

With the top a long way away.

Snakes lurk - even

After I throw a six. Some long.

Glimpses of heaven - I sometimes

Climb where Jacob looked.

Sometimes the top of a ladder

Is close to a serpent’s mouth.

Holy Spirit, help me

To overleap the snakes.

Lord Jesus, help me

To reach and climb the ladders.

Father, help me to remember

The home prepared for me.

EBED-MELECH

I’ll tell you of a happening

When Zedekiah was the king:

God sent His prophet to condemn

The wicked in Jerusalem,

While just outside the city gate

They saw the Babylonians wait.

That army was God’s punishment

For sinners who would not repent

And disobeyed when called upon

To serve the king of Babylon

Which was what Jeremiah taught

When he explained Jehovah’s thought.

The wicked men who hated it

Put Jeremiah in a pit.

The prophet thought; “This place is dire -

I’m sinking down into the mire!”

But while he found his prospects dim

His God was looking after him.

Now Ebed-Melech was the man

Whom God selected for His plan.

He went to see the king and said,

“If he’s left there he’ll soon be dead!”

The king replied, “Without a doubt

You must pull Jeremiah out”.

The Ethiopian found some rope

And soon gave Jeremiah hope.

“Just put some rags beneath each arm

So that the ropes will do no harm.”

Then Ebed-Melech and his friends

All started pulling at the ends.

Soon he was rescued, safe and sound:

He gladly stood on solid ground.

Thus Ebed-Melech pleased the Lord

Who shielded him against the sword.

THE LORD

Once He died for me,

Now He lives for me, and soon

He will come for me.

HE GAVE HIS LIFE FOR ME

For me He gave His life:

No angel stayed the knife;

No other took His place:

He bore it all in grace;

Against Him was God’s judgment stroke;

On Him God’s storm of anger broke.

For me His life He gave -

Such His desire to save!

Such His desire to bless

Despite my worthlessness!

His grace and mercy made Him die

When I was far, to bring me nigh.

He gave His life for me

So that I might be free;

So that I might rejoice

To listen to His voice;

So that I might be sanctified

And all of one with Him who died.

WONDERFUL

In the majesty of His Person

He is wonderful;

In the perfection of His manhood

He is wonderful.

In the dignity of His actions

He is wonderful;

In the grandeur of His victories

He is wonderful.

In the mercy which looked out for us

He is wonderful;

In the grace which has looked after us

He is wonderful.

In the view of God the Father

He is wonderful;

In the mind of His saints and brethren

He is wonderful.

In the love which is His nature

He is wonderful;

In the light which has beamed upon us

He is wonderful.

A LONGSUFFERING VILLANELLE

The God of grace in whom true blessings start,
Desiring the salvation of us all,
Showed through longsuffering His loving hear.

Whence was the work, far nobler than man's art
Displayed in the longsufferings of Paul?
The God of grace in whom true blessings start.

The apostle, formed by God and set apart,
Made righteous through Christ's answer to the fall,
Showed through longsuffering his loving heart.

What has secured that virgin counterpart
To Christ's longsuffering till she hears His call?

The God of grace in whom true blessings start.

Lovely to God, shielded from Satan's dart,
The saint who has, though sin's attacks appall,
Showed through longsuffering his loving heart.

Let saints in testimony here impart
This message of God's ways to great and small:

The God of grace in whom true blessings start
Showed through longsuffering His loving heart.

LIGHT

“Let there be light!” - thus

God began - and finished with

A shining city.

BEFORE CHRIST JESUS EVERY ONE SHALL FALL

Before Christ Jesus every one shall fall

Of heavenly, earthly, and infernal things

Acknowledging that He is Lord of all.

When He, whose humble birth was in a stall,

Appears as Lord of Lord and King of kings

Before Christ Jesus every one shall fall.

Since He has known the wormwood and the gall

We love Him for the sweetness which He brings

Acknowledging that He is Lord of all.

He was before all things, and He could call

On winds and storms to cease their buffetings:

Before Christ Jesus every one shall fall.

And God has been delighted to install

Him on His throne, while each redeemed one sings

Acknowledging that He is Lord of all.

He has a glory which will never pall

While in His praise the court of heaven rings;

Before Christ Jesus every one shall fall

Acknowledging that He is Lord of all.

PASSOVER

(Exodus 12: 9)

What of His head? It was as finest gold,

Concordant with the glory of God’s throne.

But men bestowed upon Him many a blow:

His was the head they spat upon and smote.

But God who saw men smite Him here below

Rejoiced in Him as He rejoiced to know.

God by whose will He suffered pain and woe

Crowned Him because of all the grief He bore,

Glorified Jesus for all the grace He showed

And showered Him with wealth of heaven’s resource.

What of His legs? They are as marble pillars;

They bore Him on His gracious holy mission

Which brought God’s thoughts of blessing to their fulfilment.

Men led the Lord towards the cross to kill Him

But Stephen saw Christ glorified and risen

Standing to bless though Israel had been wilful.

Stately in bearing the Lord, once dead, but living

Comes to His own, a people who are willing.

What of His inwards? In tenderness He wept

Seeing a world impacted on by death;

But He rejoiced in simple pious men

Who were God’s gift to One whom He had sent.

And as He came towards Golgotha’s depths

His soul recoiled in perfect holiness!

And His great cry as One who was bereft -

No words can tell what its profoundness meant.

And still His inwards are towards those on earth

Whom He secured at infinite expense.

GLAD TIDINGS

Upon the shameful tree

Christ suffered to atone;

He bore the judgment due to me

And made my sins His own.

When all was dark and grim

- The sun as black as night -

God’s righteous judgment fell on Him

In concentrated might.

The penalty of sin,

The prison-house of death,

For me the Saviour came within

When yielding up His breath.

His precious blood was shed,

In grace no words can tell,

By Jesus, as He hung there dead:

He has done all things well!

They laid Him in the grave -

But in God’s timing He

Rose omnicompetent to save;

All this He did for me.

All this He did for me

And now upon the throne

He blesses me, He sets me free

And makes His place my own.

Praise for what He has done

In working out God’s ways;

Grace crowns what mercy has begun:

Praise without ceasing, praise.