Grace for those Groaning

“And where is now my hope?  As for my hope, who shall see it?” (Job 17:15).  “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto Thee.  Hide not Thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble… By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin… The LORD… hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to death” (Psalm 102:1-20).  “The curse causeless shall not come” (Proverbs 26:2).  “Thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard” (Acts 22:15).

The Lord hears the voice of the prisoner groaning.

He sees the affliction much deeper than skin.

God’s Law had been broken; we needed atoning. 

The curse was not causeless; it came for our sin.

With what shall we measure the length and the breadth,

The height, and the depth of our Savior’s great love

That caused to Him ransom such sinners from death

Whose groaning He heard and beheld from above?

He hid not His face when we cried in our sorrow

He heard when we groaned and we lifted our prayer!   

When all we could see was a hopeless tomorrow,

Our Savior then lifted our souls from despair!  

The curse, nonetheless, which iniquity brought,

Without His atonement could not be denied.

Our Lord laid His life down, and if He had not,

We all would have perished; the curse would abide.

O Lord, as we ponder how hopeless we were

And as we consider the cost of Your grace,

Our hearts are amazed that Your love could endure

The death of the cross as You groaned in our place!

O Lord, we give thanks for this costly salvation

You purchased to open the doors of our prison!

You purged all our sins!  You removed condemnation!  

Our hearts leap with gladness because You are risen!

We thank You, O Lord, for the groaning You stirred

That caused us to seek You (though You sought us first).

Now send us wherever You will with Your Word

Declaring Your Gospel that blesses the cursed!

Walls of His Will

“I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt Thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.  I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me” (Psalm 101:2,3).  “Take away the wicked from before the King, and His throne shall be established in righteousness.  Put not forth thyself in the presence of the King… He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and WITHOUT WALLS” (Proverbs 25:5,6,28).  “The WILL of the Lord be done” (Acts 21:14).

There’s only one way I may truly be wise:  

Submit to the rule of my God and my Savior!

Let wicked distractions depart from my eyes

As God rules my heart and controls my behavior.

I’d put not myself in the place of my King,

Or think there are times I should rule on the throne.

Let Christ have His way and control everything,

So His saving health in my life may be shown.

There’s no other rule that has ever sufficed  

To lead me in triumph where His Spirit calls.

If I am not ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ,

I am like a city with broken down walls.

Let this be the rule in my spirit and soul: 

Let Christ now increase His dominion in me,  

Enlarging my heart with His gracious control,

Unveiling His truth that is making me free!

O Lord, rule my heart!  All Your pleasure fulfill!

How great is Your mercy extending Your reign!

My life finds its purpose in doing Your will,

And life that is otherwise spent is in vain.

Creation vs. Corruption

“Know ye that the LORD He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.  For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations” (Psalm 100:3-5).  “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock… For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock… speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:28-30).

We once declared “self-evident”

The principle of God’s creation.

“In God we trust” was our intent

And earnest motto as a nation.

We found our compass in the truth

That God assigned to us our worth,   

And thus our nation in her youth

Became a beacon in the earth.

We knew then that the Lord was God;

True science flourished in that knowledge,

But science “falsely called” and flawed

Has since corrupted mainstream college.

With evolution taught in schools,

It shouldn’t take us by surprise

That we are graduating fools,

Though they profess that they are wise.

“Spontaneous” and “Generation”

Are concepts that have never mixed.   

The sole alternative:  Creation!

This is a principle that’s fixed! 

But there is more than meets the eye:

This isn’t just about creation,

For by corruption we defy

The God and Author of salvation!

We are His sheep or we are not,

For this is based upon a choice.

Corruption thus invades our thought

As we deny the Savior’s voice.

We dare not treat this problem lightly;

Eternal consequences wait!

We need to teach the Gospel rightly;

There is a time when it’s too late.

God’s great salvation shall extend

To all who yet will trust the Lord.

His truth and mercy never end

With saving grace, His great reward.

O Lord, we thank You as we enter

Your courts where no corruption stays!

You are the Savior and the Center

Of all our gladness and our praise! 

Speaking vs. Spurning

“Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words” (Proverbs 23:9).  “And he [Paul] went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.  But when diverse were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.  And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:8-10). 

At times we discover at last we must turn

From those who are mocking God’s Word.

Speak not in the ears of a fool who will spurn

The Gospel they clearly have heard.

We see this when Paul with the Jews had disputed,

Then sadly from them he departed.

With Scripture and reason their way was refuted,

But still they became more hard hearted. 

He spoke very boldly to them day by day,

Until it became very clear

That they had determined to turn souls away,

By spurning the truth they would hear. 

The Lord gave to Paul the conviction to go

And teach with a clear separation,

So those who were honest and humble could know

That truth has a solid foundation.

And thus for two years there was fruit in that school,

The school of Tyrannus, so named,

Discerning the truth then despised by the fool,

So Christ would be boldly proclaimed.  

Both Jews and the Greeks in the lands which were Asian

Thus heard the pure Word of our Savior.

Disciples thus trained in the Gospel’s persuasion

Were speaking as God gave them favor.

Lord, grant us Your wisdom in all of our speaking

To daily become more discerning,

Proclaiming the Gospel to those who are seeking,

And praying for those who are spurning.

Eloquence of Evidence

“The LORD… hath done marvelous things: His right hand, and His holy arm, hath gotten Him the victory.  The LORD hath made known His salvation:  His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen… all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Psalm 89:1-3).  “Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?” (Proverbs 22:20,21).  “An eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures… mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ” (Acts 18:24-28). 

How mighty is the eloquence

That speaks with God’s authority

As we present the evidence

That manifests His victory.

The Lord has made salvation known,

Which all the earth may now inspect.

His righteousness has clearly shown

That all the Scriptures are correct.

The certainty of truth is written

In prophecies that Christ fulfilled.

The Lamb of God for us was smitten,

As prophets said He would be killed.   

Our Savior rose for us as well;

He left an empty tomb behind.

Now let this evidence dispel

The doubts of every honest mind!

So may we now be eloquent,

And mighty in the Scriptures too,

To show why Jesus Christ was sent

And why we know His words are true.

O Lord, how well You’ve met our need

With evidence for faith’s foundation

In all the Scriptures that we read

Which have foretold Your great salvation!

We thank You, Lord, as we rejoice

That in the Scriptures we can hear

The eloquence of Your own voice

With evidence that You are near.