The Time and Task

"And who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14). "Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7).

For such a time as this,
Let us live to boldly tell
Of heaven's glorious bliss,
And deliverance from hell.

This is the time and task
That is given to us now.
Let us knock, and seek, and ask:
The Lord will show us how.

Higher Haven

"From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy" (Psalm 61:2,3).

My heart has found a Haven;
That is higher than the sky.
Its promise there is graven
In the higher Rock than I.

That Rock is Jesus Christ,
My Shelter and my Tower.
His grace till now sufficed;
So shall it every hour.

Seen in Secret

"Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:6).

We're seen in secret through the eyes
Of our heavenly Father wise.
A broken heart He'll not despise;
But will openly reward.

Every thought and every prayer,
Every sorrow, every care,
Every burden that we bear,
Is pondered by our Lord.

Mercy in the Morning

"But I will sing of Thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning: for Thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto Thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy" (Psalm 59:16,17). "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22,23).

Every morning let us bring
A heart prepared again to sing
Of mercies from our God and King,
For God is our defense.

Every morning they are new:
His mercies and compassions true.
Sing of His mercies all day through!
Now let the song commence!

Salt and Sight

"Ye are the salt of the earth.... Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13,14).

Unless we rightly understand,
Our purpose here as God has planned,
Our life is meaningless and bland:
May we as salt abide!

Lord, help us understand aright,
The darkness of this world's night,
That we may therein shine Your light,
So You'll be glorified.

Fixed to Fish

"My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and gave praise" (Psalm 57:7). "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left" (Proverbs 4:27). "And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19).

My heart is fixed upon my Savior;
I'll sing and give Him praise.
I'll let Him govern my behavior
Through my remaining days.

I'll follow Jesus where and when
He tells me I should go.
He's teaching me to fish for men,
That's all I need to know.

Trust or Tremble

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.... In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.... For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (Psalm 56:11).

In God I'll trust when I'm afraid.
I'll trust each promise He has made.
He rescued me when I had strayed,
And He has made me free.

When I trust Him I can't fear.
Who can harm me when He's near?
When I pray I know He'll hear,
And He'll deliver me.

For Want of Wings

"And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away, and be at rest.... As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.... Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee" (Psalm 55:6,16,22).

And what if God should grant this prayer
To fly from trouble through the air,
With wings that lift us as a dove
From our unrest, to hide above?

Could not our Lord have likewise fled,
Instead of dying in our stead?
Was this the path our Savior took?
Was there a task that He forsook?

No, that's not what Jesus did,
When trouble came, He was not hid.
And neither should we thus escape,
To hide from every cut or scrape.

So let's be mindful when we pray:
We cannot always fly away.
But if we cast on God our pain
His promise is: "He shall sustain."

The Propriety of Prosperity

"Turn you at My reproof: behold I will pour out My Spirit unto you; I will make known My words unto you.... For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil"(Proverbs 1:23,32,33).

May you prosper in this year
In every way that God holds dear.
Yet heed those words with godly fear,
That warn of our seduction.

Be careful of prosperity
Indifferent to eternity,
That leads astray humanity
Into its own destruction.

You cannot measure these with math:
The wealth we find upon God's path,
The price God paid to save from wrath,
And from our soul's corruption.

So may you prosper in God's sight
Throughout the year in all that's right,
And find in Christ the life and light,
That's found in His instruction.

The Call to Come

"And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.... Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:17,20).

There is a call to every land,
To whosoever will,
That bids the foolish understand,
And thirsty drink their fill.

The call extends, not just to some,
But to every living soul.
The Spirit and the bride say, Come,
And Christ will make you whole!

There is a call to Christ our Lord
To come to earth again.
That day comes we look toward!
Even so, Lord, come! Amen!

The Goodness of God

"The goodness of God endureth continually" (Psalm 52:1).

The goodness of God that brought our salvation,
Continues forever, never takes a vacation.
Though evil abounds and continues to climb,
The goodness of God prevails through time.

Yesterday, today, and thus evermore
His goodness surrounds us, behind and before.
His love cannot fail towards you and me;
It continues through time and eternity!

No Need

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.... And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof... there is no night there" (Revelation 21:4,22-25).

Heaven has no tears or death,
No more sighs with sorrow's breath.
No more crying, no more pain,
Ever need be feared again.

There is no temple seen above,
There is no need in heaven thereof;
For God Almighty and the Lamb
Are worshipped as the great "I Am."

There is no need there of the sun,
Nor of the moon, their course to run.
The Lamb shines there with glorious light!
There is no need, nor is there night.

Order and Offer

"Offer unto God thanksgiving.... Whosoever offereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God" (Psalm 50:14,23).

Offer to God the praise He deserves
And you'll glorify Him everyday.
Order your life so it willingly serves
The purpose of God's perfect way.

Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord
And then He will lift you up.
Call on His name and He will reward
With grace that runs over your cup.

For God loved the world so much that He gave,
And offered Himself for the lost.
He ordered His life with a purpose to save
Poor sinners at so high a cost!

So offer to God a heart giving thanks
For all that our Savior has done.
No one would make it to heaven's banks,
Without Jesus Christ! No, not one!

P.S. 31 years ago today I discovered so gracious a Savior thus sought me and so great a salvation thus saved me. Hallelujah! What a Savior! What a salvation!

Forever Fearless

"Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?.... God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me. Selah" (Psalm 49:5,15). "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:12-15). "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

Rejoice! Rejoice! As Jesus said,
Your names in heaven's book are read!
The book of life contains each name
Of those who fled from wrath and shame;
And found eternal refuge in our Lord:
Now there is no fear to look toward!

That day is surely drawing near
Do you see joy, or is it fear,
When God Almighty on His throne,
Declares who are and aren't His own.
Come to Christ! It's not too late;
You surely can't afford to wait!

God and Guide

"This God is our God forever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death" (Psalm 48:14).

This God is our God forever.
He orders all things for our good.
He'll never forsake us; no never!
Though many by now surely would.

This God is our Guide forever.
He'll guide us each step of the way.
He'll counsel us in each endeavor,
With truth from His Word everyday.

Praises with Prudence

Christmas Day 2004

"Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding" (Psalm 47:6,7).

There are busy, subtle perils
In the seasonal routine:
We can sing the Christmas Carols
Not knowing what they mean.

"Hark! The herald angels sing!"
Have we listened to their song?
The prophetic message that they bring,
Have we understood it wrong?

"Veiled in flesh the Godhead see!"
Have we understood it thus?
That God came down for you and me,
As a Man to rescue us?

"God and sinners reconciled!"
Let's sing the song anew!
Hopeless sinners once defiled,
Are saved by grace! It's true!

Steadied in the Stillness

Christmas Eve, 2004

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore will not we fear.... Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:1-3, 10). "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20,21).

Amidst this world's noise and shame,
Our God commands: Be still.
It was in stillness angels came
With tidings of good will.

It was in stillness in the night,
While Joseph dreamed and thought,
An angel came with truth and light
To tell what God had wrought.

This world's confusion and its noise
Can never thereby know
Nor hear from God His still small voice,
He whispers soft and low.

Be still, therefore, that you may hear,
And think upon His name.
JESUS! Savior! Refuge near!
Forevermore the same!

The Joy in Jesus

"The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). "And there were in the same country shepherds.... And the angel said unto them... Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.... And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child" (Luke 2:8-17).

There's joy in Jesus and His love;
And in that joy, strength from above:
Strength to live and give God glory,
Strength to tell the Gospel story.

Joy that filled each shepherd's heart,
When those angels did depart,
With strength to make it known abroad,
That Christ was born, the Son of God!

Oh Lord of heaven, send us thus
With joy that likewise strengthens us,
To share Your message once again,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

The Boast of the Battle

"Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. Through Thee will we push down our enemies.... In God we boast all the day long, and praise Thy name forever. Selah" (Psalm 44:8).

In God alone we make our boast;
He is our conquering King.
Death and Satan, with his host,
Lament to hear us sing:

Oh grave, where is your victory?
Oh death, where is your sting?
You lost it back in history,
To Jesus Christ our King!

Let's boast in Jesus all day long,
And thus proclaim His worth!
And spread the message of our song
To every place on earth.

The Sign and the Song

"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous.... And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name?" (Revelation 15:1-4).

Who, indeed, Lord, shall not fear
When Your judgment is brought near?
This is the song that we shall hear,
In the coming tribulation.

Kings of saints! Oh God of might!
Your ways are just and true and right!
Grace and truth came down with light,
To every tribe and nation!

Lord, let your song be heard on earth!
And let us thus proclaim Your worth,
And why You came in humble birth:
To bring us Your salvation.