Joy in the Presence of Jesus

How tedious and tasteless the hours
When Jesus no longer I see!
Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers,
Have all lost their sweetness to me;

The midsummer sun shines but dim,
The fields strive in vain to look gay;
But when I am happy in Him,
December’s as pleasant as May.

His Name yields the richest perfume,
And sweeter than music His voice;
His presence disperses my gloom,
And makes all within me rejoice;

I should, were He always thus nigh,
Have nothing to wish or to fear;
No mortal so happy as I,
My summer would last all the year.

Content with beholding His face,
My all to His pleasure resign’d,
No changes of season err place
Would make any change in my mind:

While blest with a sense of His love,
A palace a toy would appear;
And prisons would palaces prove,
If Jesus would dwell with me there.

My Lord, if indeed I am Thine,
If Thou art my sun and my song,
Say, why do I languish and pine?
And why are my winters so long?

O drive these dark clouds from my sky;
Thy soul-cheering presence restore;
Or take me to Thee up on high,
Where winter and clouds are no more.

JOHN NEWTON (1725-1807)

My Heart Is Resting, O My God

My heart is resting, O my God,
I will give thanks and sing;
My heart is at the secret source
Of every precious thing.
Now the frail vessel
Thou hast made No hand but
Thine shall fill;
For the waters of the earth have failed,
And I am thirsty still.

I thirst for springs of heavenly life,
And here all day they rise;
I seek the treasure of Thy love,
And close at hand it lies.
And a new song is in my mouth
To long-loved music set:
Glory to Thee for all the grace
I have not tasted yet;

Glory to Thee for strength withheld,
For want and weakness known;
And the fear that sends me to Thy breast
For what is most my own
I have a heritage of joy
That yet I must not see;
But the hand that bled to make it mine
Is keeping it for me

My heart is resting, O my God,
My heart is in Thy care;
I hear the voice of joy and health
Resounding everywhere.
Thou are my portion, saith my soul,
Ten thousand voices say,
And the music of their glad Amen
Will never die away.

ANNA WARING (1820-1910)

The Promise of Eternal Life

And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

1 John 2:25

One of the greatest things that Christians have is the hope of eternal life promised by God. It is awesome to know that there is life after death. That the earth is but fleeting. We pass through this transient state on earth to reach eternity. And the amount of time spent here on earth is incomparable to the infinite number of years that is eternity. If there is something God did promise us that should get us excited, it is the promise of eternal life. It is not just an eternity that has some semblance to what we experience on earth but utopia. Yes, the eternal life God promises is utopic, it has everything that makes life meaningful and abundant and joyous. And it is devoid of pain and suffering and evil which is what makes the present life difficult.

This life is like a bridge which we must cross. This bridge is not ideal, it is filled with all sorts of obstacles and obstructions. A walk on it is not smooth, therefore courage and steadfastness is required. Sometimes we stumble amidst the many huddles. But we remember that the righteous person may fall several times, though they fall, they will rise again and keep going. And that is the winning mentality that we all need to have while walking this bridge. There is no going back on this journey, we choose to either fall and then rise and keep walking or we can crawl or sit and watch others go through it. The courageous souls walk through it without fear but with confidence knowing that he who made all things had given us a guide-map on how to navigate the bridge. The bible is that guide, it provides hope and reassurance when things get tough. As we are walking through this bridge, we set our minds on the end goal – eternal life and the joys that awaits us. Consider this:

I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his children.  For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth. But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God’s gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and set our whole being free. For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Rom 8:18-25

We all hope for eternity as we walk this bridge and when we get to the end of the bridge, we arrive at eternity where our master eagerly awaits to openly welcome us to himself and say well done good and faithful servant. Oh how wonderful that day will be, a day in which we shall all behold him in his full glory. A day where the pain of birth shall culminate in the joy of delivery. A day where we will all heave a sigh of relieve and say, it was worth it.

May God grant us the grace to trust and obey him as we walk in righteousness in anticipation of that which he has promised us – eternal life through his son Jesus Christ. Amen!

The Man Divine

In the Paradise of glory

Is the Man Divine;

There my heart, O God, is tasting

Fellowship with Thine.

Called to share Thy joy unmeasured,

Now is heaven begun;

I rejoice with Thee, O Father,

In Thy glorious Son.

Where the heart of God is resting,

I have found my rest;

Christ who found me in the desert,

Laid me on His breast.

There in deep unhindered fulness

Doth my joy flow free

On through everlasting ages,

Lord, beholding Thee.

Round me is creation groaning,

Death, and sin, and care;

But there is a rest remaining,

And my Lord is there.

There I find a blessed stillness

In His courts of love;

All below but strife and darkness,

Cloudless peace above.

’Tis a solitary pathway

To that fair retreat

Where in deep and sweet communion

Sit I at His feet.

In that glorious isolation,

Loneliness how blest,

From the windy storm and tempest

Have I found my rest.

Learning from Thy lips for ever

All the Father’s heart,

Thou hast, in that joy eternal,

Chosen me my part.

There, where Jesus, Jesus only,

Fills each heart and tongue,

Where Himself is all the radiance

And Himself the song.

Here, who follows Him the nearest,

Needs must walk alone;

There like many seas the chorus,

Praise surrounds the throne.

Here a dark and silent pathway;

In those courts so fair Countless hosts, yet each beholding

Jesus only, there.

T. P.

The Source of Calm Repose

Thou hidden Source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient Love Divine,
My help and refuge from my foes,
Secure I am, if Thou art mine;
And lo! from sin, and grief, and shame,
I hide me, Jesus, in Thy Name.

Thy mighty Name salvation is,
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and power, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love;
To me, with Thy dear Name, are given
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven.

Jesus, my all in all Thou art;
My rest in toil, my ease in pain,
The medicine of my broken heart;
In war my peace, in loss my gain,
My smile beneath the tyrants frown,
In shame my glory and my crown:

In want my plentiful supply,
In weakness my almighty power;
In bonds my perfect liberty,
My light in Satan’s darkest hour;
My joy in grief, my shield in strife,
In death my everlasting life.

CHARLES WESLEY, 1707-1788

The Pain of Love

Jesus! why dost Thou love me so?
What hast Thou seen in me
To make my happiness so great,
So dear a joy to Thee?

Wert Thou not God, I then might think
Thou hadst no eye to read
The badness of that selfish heart,
For which Thine own did bleed.

But Thou art God, and knowest all;
Dear Lord! Thou knowest me;
And yet Thy knowledge hinders not
Thy love’s sweet liberty.

Ah, how Thy grace hath wooed my soul
With persevering wiles!
Now give me tears to weep; for tears
Are deeper joy than smiles.

Each proof renewed of Thy great love
Humbles me more and more,
And brings to light forgotten sins,
And lays them at my door.

The more I love Thee, Lord! the more
I hate my own cold heart;
The more Thou woundest me with love,
The more I feel the smart.

What shall I do, then, dearest Lord!
Say, shall I fly from Thee,
And hide my poor unloving self
Where Thou canst never see?

Or shall I pray that Thy dear love
To me might not be given?
Ah, no! love must be pain on earth,
If it be bliss in heaven.

FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER,
1814-1863

Within the Holy Place

His priest am I, before Him day and night,
Within His Holy Place;
And death, and life, and all things dark and bright,
I spread before His Face.
Rejoicing with His joy, yet ever still,
For silence is my song;
My work to bend beneath His blessed will,
All day, and all night long—
For ever holding with Him converse sweet,
Yet speechless, for my gladness is complete.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN, 1697-1769