Why the Woe?

"Why art thou cast down, O my soul?  And why art thou disquieted in me?  Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance" (Psalm 42:5).  "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).  "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32). 

My soul at times may be cast down,

But God will never leave me there. 

He comes to take away my frown

And bids me cast on Him my care. 

I view again the sign He gave:

Behold, a virgin bore God's Son!

Immanuel came forth to save

My sinful soul which was undone. 

"Immanuel" still signifies

That Jesus Christ is "God with us." 

How rightly, then, my heart relies

On Him whose love is marvelous! 

I do not hope for circumstances

That may or may not come about,   

Nor do I trust uncertain "chances"

Which only lead to woe and doubt. 

I trust the Lord, who for us all

Did not hold back the greatest Price: 

To rescue sinners from the fall

God's Son became our Sacrifice! 

O Lord, in view of what You said

And what the prophets said of You,

I'll trade my woe for joy instead,

Since all Your promises are true! 

Lord, send me forth, as I rejoice,

To show the cause for confidence,

For why should woe subdue my voice

When You are still my strong Defense? 

Transforming Triumph

"By this I know that Thou favorest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me" (Psalm 41:11).  "Every word of God is pure: He is a Shield unto them that put their trust in Him" (Proverbs 30:5).  "Then said I, Woe is me!  For I am undone... Then flew one of the seraphims unto me... and said... thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged" (Isaiah 6:5-7).  "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24,25). 

The Lord has favored me, I know,

Because He shields me within

And does not let my ardent foe

(My sinful nature in me) win. 

Isaiah saw the majesty

Of God Almighty on His throne,

But then he saw the infamy

Of his own wretchedness made known. 

We see the prophet in distress

As he beheld himself so flawed,

In contrast to the holiness

And splendor of Almighty God. 

We heed Isaiah's lamentation:

"I am undone!" we hear him say.

How sweet then was the transformation

When God had purged his sin away.

We hear it from the heart of Paul

Who knew his "wretched man" inside. 

The Lord records it for us all

That we might cast away our pride. 

Lord, who can rescue us at last

From all our sinful tendency? 

We thank You for Your love so vast

And for Your truth that makes us free! 

O Lord, we triumph in Your love

As You transform us by Your grace

Till we are gathered all above

To praise and thank You face to face.  

Fullest Favor

"Sacrifice and offering Thou didst not desire... Then  said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me; I delight to do Thy will" (Psalm 40:6-8).  "Whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe" (Proverbs 29:25).  "What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it?" (Isaiah 5:4).  "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). 

The fullest favor God could show

(Foreseen in offerings sacrificed)

And greatest Gift He could bestow

Was seen in our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no other place to hide

But in the Refuge of our Savior   

Who was for sinners crucified

Extending heaven's fullest favor. 

What more, at last, could God have done? 

What greater price could He have paid

Than giving His beloved Son

For sinners who like sheep had strayed? 

When death was looming as our wages,

Our Savior came to pay that cost.   

As was foretold in Scripture's pages,

He laid His life down for the lost. 

O Lord, Your favor is so full

Which we discover in Your grace! 

You gave Your life to save the soul

That finds in You a Hiding Place! 

There was no more that You could do

To save our souls from endless loss.

Your fullest favor was in view,

O Lamb of God, upon Your cross!

Receive our praise forever, Lord,

For fullest favor in salvation

Because Your life has been outpoured

To save our souls from condemnation. 

What We Were

"My hope is in Thee" (Psalm 39:7).  "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13).  "When we were yet without strength... while we were yet sinners... when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Romans 5:6-10). 

Our hope is in the Lord alone;

Apart from Christ there is no Savior. 

For all our sins to God are known,

Yet He extends His saving favor. 

Though some will seek to cover sins,

They rob themselves when thus mistaken,

For mercy from the Lord begins

When sins confessed are then forsaken. 

When we examine what we were

Apart from Christ and His salvation,

Deception cannot long endure,

For we were fit for condemnation.

Once helpless and by sin defiled,

We then were enemies of Christ,   

But by His death we're reconciled,

Since He for us was sacrificed. 

O Lord, we find it marvelous,

In view of what we were and are,

That You would give Your life for us

To draw us near who were so far. 

Receive our thanks and praise, O Lord: 

For what we were, no more shall be!   

Forever You shall be adored

For time and all eternity.  

Desiring His Delight

"Lord, all my desire is before Thee" (Psalms 38:9).  "My son, be wise, and make My heart glad" (Proverbs 27:11).  "The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people" (Isaiah 3:13).  "He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God... giving glory to God... For us also... Jesus... was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:10-25).

The Lord has placed a burning fire

Within the hearts of those He saved

To love Him with a true desire

Above all else that we have craved. 

We hear Him speak as to His child

To tell us what delights His heart:   

"My son, be wise!" Reproof so mild  

Exhorts us never to depart.

The Lord is standing now to plead

With those He ransomed as His own

To follow Him where He will lead

And thereby make His glory known. 

We see this faith in Abraham,

Who trusted God and gave Him glory.

He saw the beauty of God's Lamb

Foretelling heaven's great love story. 

Our Lord and Savior died for us

To pay the price for our offence,

And then He rose victorious

To stand up now in our defense! 

Our hearts are rightly set aflame

With love for Christ who loved us first! 

We long to glorify His name

Who died to bless us who were cursed. 

Lord, fan the flame that You have started

To live for You with all our might,

And melt us when we are hardhearted 

With love, desiring Your delight.