Still constant in a wondrous excellence"
(Borrowing these words out of context
from Shakespeare's Sonnet 105, to repurpose
them as a description of my Lord and God)
"Kind is my love to-day, to-morrow kind,
Still constant in a wondrous excellence" (Borrowing these words out of context from Shakespeare's Sonnet 105, to repurpose them as a description of my Lord and God)
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This is a slightly amended version of a post from August 2014. I went searching for it just now because it has become newly meaningful to me. ___________________________________________________________
I've been slowly grasping that Matthew 11:29 is at the very core of the Christian life. It's a variation on "abide in Me" (John 15:4). The yoke analogy goes further in one sense, revealing an intriguing truth: as we work through what's been placed before us, we're not working for God, nor is He working independently of us. We're yoked together as a team. Oxen are co-workers; their master trains and guides them. In the Matthew 11 metaphor, Jesus is our Master but also our Co-worker. He could force the yoke on us, but He doesn't. He waits until our love and reverence for Him compels us to learn His ways. Then He works alongside us, bearing a yoke that has no place on His own neck so that He can carry the heavier part of the load and at the same time let us learn the rhythm of His movements and steps. Some of us oxen take a very, very long time to train. There may be a giant storehouse somewhere containing all the yokes I've torn off or damaged in my rebellion and foolishness. But He isn't angry or dismayed. Only God is holy; the rest of us need a Redeemer.
I became particularly interested in learning this hymn recently, after hearing it sung to the Early American folk melody "Foundation." The lyrics were written by someone referred to simply as "K" in John Rippon's Selection of Hymns (1787). The Lord gave me this hymn to remind me of His unshakeable commitment, to me and to all of us who have leaned on Jesus for repose. At times the story we see unfolding before us may look like a tragedy, and at times it is. But behind the scenes, even by means of tragedy and trouble, He is writing the fuller story, one in which He is both the champion and the incomparable prize. I've posted the tune below as the second part of a fiddle medley; it begins about one minute in. All three tunes are lovely -- I hope you enjoy the video. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word! What more can He say than to you He hath said, To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? "Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand. "When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie, My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. "The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake." One morning a few weeks ago, I was serenaded awake with the refrain of a song I barely know. I must have heard it at church, but I couldn't tell you when; I sure didn't remember it well enough to know the words. Well, thankfully, the Lord had planted it in my memory; the refrain and tune aren't all that complicated. The song is called "Only Trust Him." It was written in 1874 by John H. Stockton (1813-1877). What a way to wake up. I love you: trust Me. Tonight, after a disappointing day (still sick with bronchitis after almost two weeks, getting more and more behind, and having to miss a special event tomorrow), I sat my grouchy self down in front of YouTube and, well, you can guess what happened. I was serenaded again. The Lord knows what matters; He has it all in hand. Only trust Him. "Only Trust Him" Performed on YouTube by Dr. Bill's Mountain Music - Appalachian Dulcimer Demo's Come, every soul by sin oppressed;
There’s mercy with the Lord, And He will surely give you rest By trusting in His Word. Refrain: Only trust Him, only trust Him, Only trust Him now; He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now. For Jesus shed His precious blood Rich blessings to bestow; Plunge now into the crimson flood That washes white as snow. (Refrain) Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way, That leads you into rest; Believe in Him without delay And you are fully blessed. (Refrain) Come, then, and join this holy band, And on to glory go To dwell in that celestial land Where joys immortal flow. (Refrain) O Jesus, blessèd Jesus, dear, I’m coming now to Thee; Since Thou hast made the way so clear And full salvation free. (Refrain) (Source of lyrics) Just now I was checking a detail on here and noticed this post from March of 2014. It gave me a little twinge, reading that the "treasure hunt" was brand new to me five years ago, and reading the delight I was having in discovering it. The Lord and I still meet this way, and He has shown me many rich and beautiful things. These days I am into noting new cross-references -- related passages that seem to have been overlooked by the publisher of my Bible -- but instead of being an academic distraction (as apparently I might have found it five years ago), this is now an adventure too. But how lovely to have just discovered that the Lord is El Shaddai! Our everything, all we will ever need. What's also remarkable here is the Lord's timing, since just a week or so ago I had the privilege of hearing Charles Price speak at some length on the first half of the book of Romans, addressing this very question of "How can we sin no more?" Last but not least, for the last while I've had the gift (yes, gift, apparently) of repeatedly, exasperatingly coming face to face with my own failure. Lord, You don't ask me to know the way; You are the Way. I know now that You love me. The journey seems long some days, but we are on it together. Your loveliness will sustain me.
I've been listening to a lot of psalms from the old psalters lately. Many of my favourites are from the 16th and 17th century Scottish psalters; I suppose this is partly the appeal to my Scottish roots, which are much more recent than the 17th century, and which have been on my mind quite a lot since a year ago. That was when I learned to my delight that my Glaswegian paternal great-grandparents (and possibly others in that family) were true believers. To some this may not sound like a particularly remarkable thing to discover, but in my family line this is distinctly noteworthy. The music I've linked to below is of a psalter passage that may seem at first glance to be a slightly unusual reflection for worship. (Here is the full psalm in more modern wording.) "Testify against" here seems to have the sense of admonish or exhort, since in this passage God is not chastising but reminding; in the subsequent passage (verses 16-22), in words that sound very much like Jesus speaking to the scribes and Pharisees, He will send a stern warning to those who pose as His but whose actions say that they are not. Why does this passage sung here from the psalter speak to me? Because it reminds me not just that my God is God, and is mine, but that what He asks of me is not performance, but relationship. Not ritual, or striving, but gratitude. Psalm 50: 7-15 from The Scottish Psalter performed on SoundCloud by Niall Maclennan (Niallags) Text from The Scottish Psalter of 1650:
My people Isr'el hear, speak will I from on high, Against thee I will testify; God, ev'n thy God, am I. I for thy sacrifice no blame will on thee lay, Nor for burnt-off 'rings, which to Me thou offer'dst ev'ry day. I'll take no calf nor goats from house or fold of thine: For beasts of forests, cattle all on thousand hills, are Mine. The fowls on mountains high are all to Me well known; Wild beasts which in the fields do lie, ev'n they are all Mine own. Then, if I hungry were, I would not tell it thee; Because the world, and fullness all thereof, belongs to Me. Will I eat flesh of bulls? or goats' blood drink will I? Thanks offer thou to God, and pay thy vows to the most High. And call upon Me when in trouble thou shalt be; I will deliver thee, and thou My name shalt glorify. (Capitalization added to pronouns that refer to God) Taking a break from some work, I came here just now to read whatever the Lord might have for me to see. Many times He's used past lessons to speak into the present moment. I clicked on the link July 2013 and found this post. It was written on a very hot day, most unlike this very chilly late November afternoon. Interestingly, though, I am having a repair done this week on the very same car I spoke about in this post. The car is now certifiably elderly, in car years even older than I am. Tomorrow it will be getting a repair that I assume is even more costly than the one I mentioned here five and a half years ago. The fact that I am still repairing this old tool of mine is a bad news/good news story. Bad because, well, "normal" people just go buy a new car; but good because this is a tool the Lord has somehow helped me keep going. Also because there have been many times when this repair would have been impossible. Right now it's simply one of several large obstacles, which is a very different thing. Lord, I love You.
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Every truth of
Scripture leads to Christ. Charles Price .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
About me "Hephzibah" (Isaiah 62) A yet unfinished story of the Lord's perfect restoration work I live in southwestern Ontario, Canada. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| |||
2 Chronicles 7:16 בָּחַר קָדַשׁ ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| ||| [T]o our
wounds only God’s wounds can speak. from “Jesus of the Scars” by Edward Shillito (1872-1948) Blog archives
August 2022
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...The eyes of the
Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9a (KJ21) |