Right Reply

“God is greater than man.  Why dost thou strive against Him?... He is gracious… I have found a ransom.” (Job 33:12-24).  “O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people.  For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth forever. Praise ye the LORD” (Psalm 117:1,2).  “O man, who art thou that repliest against God?... What if God [was] willing to… make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy… not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?  As He saith also in Hosea, I will call them My people, which were not My people; and her beloved, which was not beloved” (Romans 9:20-25). 

Our God would bless humanity,

Yet man against the Lord will strive!

Is not this pure insanity  

In those whom God would save alive?

O praise the Lord!  How shall we not,

Who once were far from righteousness?

It was not us, but God who sought

To lift our curse so He may bless! 

Not only Jews, but Gentiles too: 

The Lord is calling every nation! 

His plan is merciful and true

That now extends to us salvation.

How is it, then, that man replies

Against the Lord who came to earth?

How can a man now thus despise

The ransom that his soul was worth?

The Lord has found a way to call

Both Jew and Gentile now His own

By breaking down the middle wall

Through Christ in whom His grace is shown.

We are the objects of His love!

So what then is the right reply

To Him who came down from above,

And for our ransom thus would die?

O Lord, the right reply is clear:  

We love You and we seek Your face,

We worship in You in holy fear,

And thank You for Your saving grace!

Light vs. Liars

“Great men are not always wise” (Job 32:9).  “I love the LORD, because He hath heard my voice... I said in my haste, All men are liars” (Psalm 116:1-11).  “Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding… The knowledge of the Holy is understanding” (Proverbs 9:6,10).  “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?... We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:31-37).

I said in my haste that all people are liars,

And therefore I thought I could not know the truth.

Recalling my thoughts and my deepest desires,

I came to despair in the days of my youth.

Since authors opposing each other debated,

Exclusively writing from their points of view,

They couldn’t be both right in what they had stated,

And so I decided that no one was true. 

Yet one thing was certain that none could refute:

I knew that the day of my death would arrive.

Each day it came closer, that great absolute: 

The promise that no one on earth would survive.

I looked all around, finding only despair: 

Since all men were liars, to whom could I speak?

At last I looked up, just in case God was there; 

I ran out of options!  Who else could I seek?

Praise God, who in darkness extended His light! 

The truth was not found in debates that were vain,

But rather in Christ who had entered our night

To grant us salvation and make His way plain! 

How could I have missed His great truth on display?

Christ came in fulfillment of what prophets said!

He suffered, He died, and upon the third day, 

Just as He had promised, He rose from the dead!

So what shall we say then in view of these things?

Since God is now for us, no foe can prevail!

We’ve come to the Savior, the King of all kings,

Whose counsel shall stand when all liars shall fail.

O Lord, we give thanks for the light of Your Word

Exposing the lies and revealing Your love.

Now help us declare this great truth we have heard:

The Gospel that shines with Your light from above.

Growing for His Glory

“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake… He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.  The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children.  Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:1-15).  “Those that seek Me early shall find Me… and I will fill their treasures… Blessed is the man that heareth Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.  For whoso findeth Me findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the LORD” (Proverbs 8:17-35). 

We seek to glorify the Lord

In our appointed time and place. 

That Jesus Christ may be adored,

We would reflect His truth and grace.

Though many would exalt their story

So they may magnify their fame,   

We would increase our Savior’s glory

And grow to glorify His name.

As God allows us to increase

In days enlarging us with power,

May we determine not to cease

To glorify Him every hour.

So let us likewise train our youth

To seek and glorify the Lord,

So they may early find the truth

And treasures in our Savior stored.

The Lord will bless the one who waits

To listen to His still small voice,

Who daily watches at His gates

And in His presence will rejoice.

For all who find Him find His life

And thereby shall obtain His favor,

For even in the midst of strife

We have the peace of Christ our Savior. 

Lord, not to us be glory  now,

But let the glory all be Yours

For grace and truth that You endow

By which You opened heaven’s doors!

O Lord, as You increase our days

And in Your wisdom we have grown,

May we be instruments of praise

That glorify You, Lord, alone.

Delightful Dominion

“When Israel went out of Egypt… Judah was His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion” (114:1,2).  “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof… but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:12-14). 

Though Israel had been enslaved

In Egypt for so many years, 

God heard their cry, and then He saved

His weary people from their fears.

The Lord was their dominion then

Who brought them forth with sons and daughters.

The desert surely saw this when

God turned the flint to flowing waters.

As Israel thus was liberated,

So we have likewise been set free,

And as God’s reign was demonstrated,

This too should now be plain to see. 

We are not governed by opinion 

Reflected in this world’s polls,

For sin no longer has dominion,

But rather Christ who saved our souls.

For we who trust in Christ are healed,

And He sustains us every hour.

To God alone we’re called to yield,

So sin may thus be stripped of power. 

We are not under law, but grace,

For by the law is condemnation.

In Christ we have our Hiding Place,

And He has clothed us with salvation. 

We thank You, Lord, for Your protection; 

As thus we triumph in the strife!

Now likened to Your resurrection,

We walk in new, abundant life.

Dust and the Dunghill

“Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth Himself  to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill” (Psalm 113:5-7).  “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly… God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us… When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:6-10). 

Who is like God so exalted on high,

Who raised us up out of the dust we were in,

Who humbled Himself and determined to die

For sinners once lost in the dunghill of sin?

How great is our Savior who came from above

Thus bridging the gulf of an infinite length,

Who humbled Himself with unspeakable love

When were so hopeless and yet without strength!

He humbles Himself to look down at the stars! 

Why would He have stooped to the death of the cross?  

He knew that the judgment He suffered was ours:

He bore it to save us from infinite loss!  

There’s no greater love in humanity’s case

Than willingly giving one’s life for a friend; 

But when we were sinners, Christ died in our place,

With love that is greater than we comprehend!

Indeed we were enemies, not reconciled,

The children of wrath from the day of our birth,

Still cleaving to dust, by our sin yet defiled,

Thus fit for the dunghill when Christ came to earth.

When we were consigned to the dust of our death,

He lifted us out of the dunghill of sorrow. 

It cost Him His life to His very His last breath 

To rescue our souls from a hopeless tomorrow.

O Lord, You have raised us up out of the dust

And lifted us out of the dunghill as well.

How great is Your grace which we gratefully trust

That seats us in heaven and saves us from hell!