VOICE

The voice from heaven

Breathed identification

With saints on the earth.

PRAYER

The finest commendation is the first:

That Jesus, as come into manhood, prayed;

Thus in a perfect Man a perfect thirst

For speaking to the Father was portrayed.

And since then generations of His saints

Sought for their Father or their Lord to tell

Their needs and thoughts - and even their complaints -,

Were listened to, and knew that all was well.

Since Jesus as a Man could understand

Our need for prayer He made it His command;

The Father has expressed His love to hear

The voices of His sons as they draw near;

So let us go, leaning on one another,

To confidently speak to Him, my brother.

NEW HYMN

We worship Thee, Lord Jesus,
The everlasting One;
He who had His existence
Before time had begun,
"Over all God", we gladly fall
Before Thee, Maker of us all.

We bow to Thee, Lord Jesus;
Thou art Emmanuel:
Come down to serve in manhood
And thus do all things well.
Thy glories as the Firstborn shine
With power and grace that are divine.

We praise Thy Name, Lord Jesus,
For all Thou has achieved;
Thou hast secured the blessings
Thy brethren have received;
How great this is - but, greater still,
Thou hast accomplished all God's will .

Lord Jesus, we adore Thee
For what Thou dost, and art,
Thou art the assembly's Object
To satisfy her heart.
Enraptured by Thy grace and charms
Thy bride is resting in Thine arms.




You'll find a tune for this here.

TRUST

The sinner who puts

His trust in God has Jesus

For His comforter.

GOD'S WORKS

Oh praise God for His mighty works

For He has made both sea and land;

He shaped and beautified the Earth

In might men cannot understand.

Oh praise God for His detailed works -

The webs of colour in the flower,

Glimpses of colour on a wing,

Or shades of rainbow in a shower.

And praise God for His tender works

As here in Christ to touch man’s need,

To heal, to comfort and to raise,

To bless, to bear, to calm, to feed.

But praise God for His mightiest work

In raising Jesus from the dead -

By power which works in strength towards

The church, for which Christ is the Head.

YEA, HE LOVETH THE PEOPLES

(Deut 33 v 3)

All his saints are in thy hand...

Coming through the wilderness,

Coming to the promised land:

How He loves to care and bless -

Yea, he loveth the peoples!

...And they sit down at thy feet...

Knowing thus the better part,

Since Thy teachings are so sweet

That they satisfy their heart:

Yea, he loveth the peoples!

...Each receiveth of thy words...

To supply their spirit’s needs

Naturally as the birds

Feed upon the ripened seeds:

Yea, he loveth the peoples!

THE LORD COMES IN

The Lord comes in to give His own

Fresh touches of His love,

Tastes of the favour they have known

With savours from above.

And He comes in that He may taste

The sweetness of the bride;

He comes to her in fervent haste

To bring her to His side.

And He comes in that He might bring

Saints to the Father’s sphere,

To share with Him, to hear Him sing,

To worship and revere.

LIFE

The Lord would rather

Give up His holy life than

God's favour for us.

CHRIST

Among the dust of Palestine

He, come within our human span,

Displayed a worth that was divine

While God was glorified in man.

Between heaven’s glory and earth’s sod

The Son of man was crucified,

And through Golgotha’s torments God,

Regarding sin, was glorified.

As faithful women reached Christ’s tomb

The rising Sun dispelled the night -

God’s glory dwelt on Christ through whom

Men are accepted in God’s sight.

A Man is now at God’s right hand -

A Man is on the Father’s throne!

And Christians gladly understand

God’s thoughts secured in Christ alone.

APPROACH

Eternally man

Will have an approach to God -

Only in the Son.

SUBJECTION

Eternally God P

Will have man in subjection -

Even in the Son.

JOHN 4

Asking for a drink

the Lord was content to be

beholden to her.

HEAVENLY FATHER

Our Heavenly Father

Measures blessing and chastening

With Fatherly care.

HOW MUCH I'M LOVED!

On me, God’s grace has beamed;

By blood, I am redeemed;

To me His kindnesses have streamed:

How much I’m loved!

For me, the Saviour died;

For me, was crucified;

And now, for me He’s glorified:

How much I’m loved!

Christ suffered to atone,

But now, upon the throne,

He cares for me, with all His own

How much I’m loved!

He has prepared the place

Before the Father’s face

Which we will share, through boundless grace:

How much I’m loved!

Though here the world outside

Should raise an evil tide

With me, He says, He will abide:

How much I’m loved!

And as His word may be

Abiding now in me

Increasingly He’ll make me see

How much I’m loved!

NEW TESTAMENT

What grace of the Father

To invest me

With the Best Robe -

The measure of Christ's worth.

Who else but God

Could nourish me with

Exotic cuisine:

The Bread of God?

Love in the Giver;

Love in the Gift -

Each, the Lord and the Spirit,

God personally.

OLD TESTAMENT

Jehovah Elohim

Condescended

To be a clothes-maker

To cover Man's nakedness.

The God of glory

Condescended to give

His recalcitrant prophet Elijah

Two breakfasts.

And the Rock - smitten once -

Was prepared to be

The nation of Israel's

Water-carrier.

IN MEMORIAM

We thought we knew the way the river went

Until well-laden waters reached the seas -

We thought we saw its fertile green extent

Broadening through fields and valleys, crops and trees.

God had another thought - it suddenly

Dropped seaward in a rushing cataract -

His vision and His wisdom rapidly

Brought it to His broad sea. This was His act.

Within love’s ocean she is now at rest,

Guarded by Him through whom she is asleep;

Since One she trusted and whom she confessed

Endured the anguish of the greatest deep.

And when He comes - her Lord and Lord of all -

She will spring forth in answer to His call.

(Written following the death in a boating accident of a young sister in Christ)

NOT ONLY...

He gave not only

The Best Robe but the setting

Where it will shine best.

We are not only

Placed in His house but given

Suitable clothing.

THE LORD IS GREAT

Let songs of praise and wonderment be raised

To Him who, having suffered to atone,

Is seated now upon the Father’s throne –

The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised!

Waiting until sin’s impact is erased

The whole creation has been caused to groan,

But even now a song comes from His own throne –

The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised!

And when we see Him we will be amazed

Because of His delightfulness and grace,

And we will sing, as we behold His face throne –

The Lord is great, and greatly to be praised!

LEAVES

The colours of autumn leaves

Are always there - awaiting

Display. On the tree my Saviour

Shone with beauties

That were always there.

Leaves do not fall from

A dead branch. His was a death

Which had life

Intrinsic in it.

Spring has fresh beauty -

Pullulant with life. A Sprout

For beauty and glory

Has sprung forth!

HAND

Lord, keep me underneath Thy hand

Secure from harm;

Without Thee I cannot withstand

Storm or alarm.

Lord, keep me underneath Thy hand

Guided by Thee

Finding as under Thy command

Thy path for me.

Lord, keep me underneath Thy hand

Both warmed and blessed

Where in Thy love I understand

The way that’s best.

BENEFITS

“God’s benefits are

Administered to us through

Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

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.

THOUGHTS ON JOHN (VII)

A man who follows

Jesus

Will continue till He comes.

A man who rests in

The bosom of Jesus

Will be maintained.

A man who leans on

His breast, Jesus

Will sustain.

And He will keep

Till His coming a man

Who enquires from Him.

This concludes my series of thoughts on John, written in 2009.

THOUGHTS ON JOHN (VI)

When there was a select few

You were among them.

With James your brother,

And Peter, the first, you observed

Christ, the resurrection and the life,

Awake Jairus's daughter.

You observed also

The Son of God glorified

On the mountain top.

And the sorrows of

The Son of the man at the press,

Gethsemane.

Andrew joined you three on the mount

Opposite Jerusalem

As the Prophet prophesied.

And with Peter, adjusted

By the man with the pitcher of water,

You went to prepare for what became

The Lord's supper.

With Peter you ran

To find a bare tomb

And you saw and believed.

And in that partnership

You stood by Peter's acclamation,

"In the name of Jesus Christ

The Nazareaen".

You barely mention

Any of these things.

THOUGHTS ON JOHN (V)

You usually think of John

As a contemplator: one whose mind

Had been moulded by dwelling on

The Word.

Why then was this the man

Who craved a high place

In the Lord's kingdom?

Why was this the man

Whose human zeal thought

To call fire from heaven?

Yet it was a mark

Of the Lord's approval

To call him and his brother

Boanerges.

And Christ accepts

No fleshly zeal.

THOUGHTS ON JOHN (IV)

Though the Saviour went to die,

First He gave His loved ones rest:

At the supper see John lie

In His bosom, on His breast.

Jesus answered the request

Of the one who drew so near

Where His love had cast out fear

In His bosom, on His breast.

One make then could take that place

But in times of faith and grace

You can be divinely blest

In His bosom, on His breast.

THOUGHTS ON JOHN (III)

By the cross of Jesus

Stood one who lay in

The bosom of Jesus.

In the tomb of Jesus

He who stood by the cross

Believed Christ was risen.

The man who had believed

That Jesus was risen

Could proclaim, "It is the Lord".

The one who has recognised

Jesus the Lord was seen

As following Jesus.

He who followed Jesus

Became in the Spirit,

Alone, on the Lord's day.

The one who became

In the Spirit could see

God's work in perfection.