Valuing His Vows

“Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee.  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 56:12,13).  “O LORD, my Strength, and my Fortress, and my Refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit” (Jeremiah 16:19). 

The Lord has made His solemn vows

To those trust Him for salvation.
The promised blessings He endows
Are greater than our estimation!

For He delivers souls from death

With promised joys on heaven’s shore. 
O praise the Lord with every breath
For endless blessings yet in store!

We see His vows for things ahead,  

But are there promises for now?
It’s time to value what He said
That we might trust His present vow.

He promised that His Holy Spirit

Would dwell forever in His own.
He’ll never leave:  we need not fear it!
Yes, these are present vows made known. 

Eternally He rescued us

And made Himself our Hiding Place!
His vows are truly glorious
Which now bestow His saving grace!

Yet those who will not trust the Lord

Are left with lies and vanity.
Despising truth which they ignored,
They hold on to insanity.

O Lord, our Strength and Fortress Sure,

Our Refuge when we are distressed,
Your vows forevermore endure,
And in this confidence we rest. 

Witness of His Word

“Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him” (Proverbs 30:5).  “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart… Therefore thus saith the LORD… If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth” (Jeremiah 15:16,19). “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater… These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:9-13).

The precious words of God are pure;

They stand as witnesses in court. 
When cross-examined, they endure
And verify their true report. 

We find the words of God are sweet

Which we have tasted with delight. 
Prophetic witness stands complete
Which satisfies our appetite.  

God’s witness differentiates

Between the precious and the vile,
Between those things He loves and hates,
And things that cleanse and that defile. 

And thus we are equipped to speak

Now by the witness of His Word
To prove the truth to all who seek
To validate what they have heard. 

It’s time for us to make our case

And leave no room for honest doubt!
The prophets spoke of saving grace: 
Our Savior came!  The word is out!

There is no witness in mankind

That can produce such evidence,
For to the future, they are blind:
And so they are without defense!

So every one of them shall fail,

For only God can see ahead,
And thus His witness shall prevail
To validate what He has said. 

Excuses now are thus made null,

And arguments are rendered vain,
But God will save each humble soul
Who trusts the witness He makes plain.

Lord, thank You for the Word You gave

With witnesses that prove Your claim
That Jesus Christ alone can save:
There is no other saving name.

Remember the Reason

“Our iniquities testify against us… Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander” (Jeremiah 14:7,10).   “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins… We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:10,19). 

Remember the reason Christ came from above;

Examine the days from adulthood to youth:
It certainly wasn’t that we showed Him love,
Except it was loving to wander from truth.

We see our iniquities standing to speak

As witnesses summoned to now testify
That, but for God’s grace, we would not even seek
The Lord who has loved us so much He would die.

So herein is love and its blow to our pride:

We didn’t love God, but He loved us to death.
Yes, this is the reason He suffered and died:
He loved us before we had drawn our first breath!

Praise God!  He has taught us to love Him as well,

As we look for refuge and find it in Christ!
Ah!  Here by His cross we are rescued from hell,
And here we consider His love that sufficed!

O Lord, we’ve considered the reason it’s true

That so many love You who once loved to wander:
We’re drawn to the love we’ve discovered in You,
A love that will take us forever to ponder!

Understanding the Unprofitable

“God looked… to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.  Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 53:2,3).  “They that seek the LORD understand all things” (Proverbs 28:5).  “Then I went… and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.  Then the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying… This evil people, which refuse to hear My words, which walk in the imagination of their heart… shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing” (Jeremiah 13:7-10). 

Unless we choose to seek the Lord,

We turn away from doing good.
There is no path to be restored,
Until we seek Him as we should.

It’s not as if the path is planned

By which we tend to go astray,
But seeking God goes hand in hand
With understanding of His way. 

The girdle Jeremiah hid,

Which once around his waist was worn,
Was ruined then by what he did,
And it became a thing of scorn.

By this the Lord gave His instruction

To show us what we need to do
That we might turn from the seduction
This world calls us to pursue. 

We need to daily seek the face 

Of Jesus Christ our God and King.
We grow in distance or in grace;
We either stray from Him or cling.

Indeed, there is no middle ground; 

There is no third alternative. 
In Christ alone our hope is found;
Because He lives, we also live.

Lord, hasten now our understanding

So we won’t live our life for naught,  
So we may do as You’re commanding,
And give You glory as we ought.

Mischievous Men

“Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?   The goodness of God endureth continually” (Psalm 52:1).  “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth… My son, be wise, and make My heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth Me” (Proverbs 27:1,11).  “If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5).  “And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at his coming” (1 John 2:28).

The mighty who think they are clever

And boast in the mischief they do,
Shall not be in power forever
To boast of the things they pursue. 

The goodness of God never fails;

The Lord is unceasingly kind. 
His purpose forever prevails,
Which mischievous men cannot find.

We boast not ourselves of tomorrow,

Since we do not know what it brings,
But whether it’s joy or it’s sorrow,
We boast in our great King of kings. 

Let mischievous men carry on,

Yet God will restrain their intentions,
For soon we shall see they are gone,
And God shall destroy their inventions. 

Though mischievous men may be strong

As footmen who run in a race,
We look to the Lord all day long
Who strengthens His people with grace. 

We know that the Lord will appear,

Undaunted by mischievous men.
Beholding that day drawing near,
This prospect should guide us till then.

Lord, thank You for light that we treasure

Which mischievous men can’t put out.
So teach us to live for Your pleasure  
Until You descend with a shout.

Claiming our Cleansing

“Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin… Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:2,10).  “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7,9).

As we are looking through God’s lens

At what is wrong and what is right,

We see our need for Him to cleanse

Our sin exposed in holy light. 

How vainly we may seek to hide

The sin that God so clearly sees! 

As Abel’s blood once testified,

We cannot hide iniquities.

The blood of Christ now testifies,

Yet not about God’s condemnation,

But of our cleansing in His eyes

That washes us by His salvation.

How wonderful it is to claim

His washing from unrighteousness!

We call upon our Savior’s name

Who cleanses sin that we confess. 

O Lord, we thank You for Your cross

That You endured to pay the price

To purge away our sins as dross

By Your redeeming sacrifice!

We claim Your cleansing, Lord, as well,

As You have searched our inward part,

That You may thus be pleased to dwell

And have dominion in our heart!

Growing in Grace

“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: and call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:14,15).  “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever.  Amen” (2 Peter 3:18). 

The grace of our God is discovered in days

When trouble arrives and there’s nowhere to go;

Nowhere, that is, but the God of our praise,

To call upon Him for the grace He’ll bestow! 

The Lord knows we need both the trouble and calm

In order to grow in the grace that He gives.

Each day of our life, like a differing psalm,

Should manifest clearly that Christ in us lives.

We ought to give thanks every day with a vow

To live for the glory of Jesus our Savior.

We ought to give glory, not later, but NOW,

To God who delivers our souls by His favor.

We grow in the grace and the knowledge of Christ

By trusting Him always, in joy or in sorrow,

And thus we’ll discover His grace has sufficed,  

Assured He’ll be faithful today and tomorrow.

O Lord, we give thanks for Your marvelous grace 

By which we are saved and are kept in Your love.

O may there be growth in our life we can trace,

Displaying below that it comes from above.  

Riches in our Redeemer

“They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:  for the redemption of their soul is precious… But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for He shall receive me” (Psalm 49:6-8,15).  “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the… rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me” (Jeremiah 49:23,24). 

The soul has a value which God has esteemed

Surpassing the temporal riches of earth.  
How high was that ransom by which He redeemed
The souls He assigned such an infinite worth!

The Lord gave Himself to provide for this cost;

His justice demanded His great Sacrifice.
His love would compel Him to rescue the lost,
And not all the riches of earth would suffice.

We can’t bring our riches with us to the grave;

They’re all left behind on the day that we die,
But God will receive every soul He will save,
Redeemed with a ransom unspeakably high.

So let not the rich man now glory in wealth,

But rather rejoice in the riches God gives.
The Lord is our Treasure of riches and health,
For He has redeemed us, and He ever lives. 

O Lord, we give thanks for our riches in You!

In this we will glory:  that we know Your love!
There’s no other standard of wealth that is true
In all of this earth or in heaven above.

Explaining our Expectation

“This God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our Guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:14).  “For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:18).  “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty… We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:16-19). 

The God of the Scriptures has promised to be

Our God and our Guide; we are never forsaken. 
How great is His guidance in things we can see
Foretold by our Lord who is never mistaken.

We know there’s an end of our days here on earth,

But what does the future hold after we’re dead?
The great expectation of those with new birth
Is joy everlasting in heaven ahead!

It shouldn’t surprise us if people will ask

How we can be certain when others are not. 
We ought to be ready and up to the task
Of clearly explaining what Scripture has taught. 

The prophecies given by God in the past

Provide us a record of things He foretold.
He said from the start what would happen at last: 
How great is this proof in His Word that we hold! 

How clearly the prophecies written came true,

Like Micah foretelling where Christ would be born.  
Isaiah declared what our Lord would go through:
“Despised and rejected of men” full of scorn.

King David declared that His hands and His feet

Would surely be pierced as they all watched Him die. 
With hundreds of Scriptures like these so complete,
We ought to be ready to thus testify. 

Our Savior declared He would rise in three days,

And soldiers were stationed there, guarding His grave.
The Lord now is risen!  His triumph displays
The proof that He lives and is able to save!

Praise God!  In the darkness His light has now shined,  

As prophecy proves we can trust in God’s Word,
Yet still we will see that the blind leads the blind,
In spite of this proof that makes doubt so absurd!

Since heaven and hell are now clearly in view,

We ought to be earnest in making the case:   
With no other destinies seen but these two,
We point souls to heaven through Christ by His grace.

O Lord, we give thanks for the sure expectation

Confirmed by the proof You’ve provided so well,
That we may persuade those who need Your salvation,
Explaining the Gospel that saves us from hell.

Lord vs. Lion

“The shields of the earth belong unto God: He is greatly exalted” (Psalm 47:9).  “The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets… 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 22:13,20,21).  “Truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth” (Jeremiah 7:28).  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

We lift up our eyes to the fields,

For this is our Savior’s command. 
To Him belong all of the shields
By which we are able to stand.

We know that the devil is lurking,

And he, as a lion, has roared.
But God now against him is working,
And Satan still flees from our Lord! 

Has not our Lord written such things

That we may be ready to speak
To each precious soul the Lord brings
To show them the truth that they seek?

Behold now the souls God has cherished

Which we, by His Gospel, may win:
The truth in their darkness has perished,
But God is reproving their sin.

The lion is found in the street,

And roars against those he devours.
Now this no time to retreat
Or hide with the slothful who cowers! 

O Lord, send us forth with Your Word

To speak to the hearts You prepare.
A lion is loose, we have heard.
Ah!  That’s why You’re sending us there!

Knowing and Kneeling

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).  “Safety is of the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31).  “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16).  “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer… Commit the keeping of their souls to Him… as unto a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:7,19).

There’s many things we cannot know,

Yet other things we surely can
Because our God is pleased to show
Within His Word salvation’s plan. 

The words of men are often flawed

With ignorance and false opinion.
How precious is the Word of God
Revealing His supreme dominion!

Be still, now, every other voice;

Let every other sound be halted: 
We hear His promise and rejoice
That Christ on earth shall be exalted!

We stand now in the ancient ways

And ask for God’s revealed path
Where His prophetic Word displays
A Refuge from His coming wrath. 

We may escape His judgment sword:

In Christ there is a Hiding Place!
There’s safety ONLY in the Lord;
He is our Refuge by His grace! 

O Lord, our Savior and Creator,

It is our joy to kneel now,
Assured the day is coming later
When every knee to You shall bow.

As heaven now Your name extols,

Lord, help us take a bolder stand
To make salvation plain to souls:
The end of all things is at hand.