Due Devotion

"Show forth His salvation from day to day… Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name: bring an offering… O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness" (Psalm 96:2,8,9).  "Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?  Who hath gathered the wind in His fists?  Who hath bound the waters in a garment?  Who hath established all the ends of the earth... if thou canst tell?" (Proverbs 30:4).  "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?  For we… are come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2). 

Give glory to our God of love,

And worship Him with due devotion,

Who spread the heavens out above

And bound the waters of the ocean. 

May Christ who rose up from the grave,  

Who then ascended to His throne,

Who lives forevermore to save,

Be glorified by all His own. 

The wise men traveled from the east

To worship Christ, the King of kings. 

Let His dominion be increased

With due devotion in all things. 

How rightly, Lord, we're called to give

Our due devotion and our praise

To You as long as we shall live

On earth and then through endless days! 

Hopelessly Hardened

"Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart" (Psalm 95:7,8).  "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy… If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest" (Proverbs 29:1,9).  "JESUS… shall save His people from their sins… and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Matthew 1:21-23).  "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). 

Today there is a solemn choice

To turn to God and thus be pardoned. 

When hearts refuse to heed His voice,

They hopelessly are thereby hardened.

Such hearts may often be reproved,

Yet turn away, still unimpressed. 

Their remedy shall be removed,

And hardened hearts shall find no rest. 

In Jesus Christ our hope is found,

Who came to save our souls from hell. 

Behold the blessings that abound  

From "God with us," Emmanuel!

Lord, since Your Gospel invitation

Extends to "whosoever will,"   

We preach the hope of Your salvation

And warn those who are hardened still.  

Frame the Freedom

"Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with Thee, which frameth mischief by a law?... The LORD our God shall cut them off" (Psalm 94:20-23).  "For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged… They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them… Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things" (Proverbs 28:2-5). 

How great is the iniquity  

Of those who frame immoral laws! 

How needful now it is to see  

Our land return to freedom's cause!   

They think that God has neither seen,

Nor heard, nor ever understood  

How they have blurred the lines between  

The evil that replaces good. 

When those who seek the Lord arise,   

He makes them understand His ways,

Who then contend with the unwise,

And thus prolong the nation's days. 

O Lord, how great is our disgrace

When mischief frames unrighteousness!

Let those arise who seek Your face  

To frame the freedom You will bless. 

Nullified Noise

"The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.  The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea" (Psalm 93:3,4).  "My son, be wise, and make My heart glad" (Proverbs 27:11 ).  "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying… Behold, I make all things new.  And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful" (Revelation 21:3,5). 

The Lord has nullified the noise

Of rising floods and crashing waves,

As we have turned and heard His voice

And seen His mighty hand that saves. 

The Lord commands, commotion dies,

And fears subside that we once had. 

We hear Him say, "My son, be wise,"  

And simply live to make Him glad. 

We hear the voice of God attest  

That He is making all things new. 

How confidently we can rest

In knowing that these things are true! 

O Lord, the noise is surely loud

Of voices boasting in their pride,

But You shall silence all the proud,

And thus their noise is nullified.  

Catastrophic Curse

"Those which ye let remain of them [the wicked inhabitants appointed for judgment]... shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell" (Numbers 33:55).  "A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.  When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed forever" (Psalm 92:6,7).  "The curse causeless shall not come" (Proverbs 26:2 ).   "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). 

The day approached by God's decree

For conquering the promised land

And purging its idolatry,

According to the Lord's command. 

The land they entered had been cursed

For all the wickedness therein,

And though God's Spirit warned them first,

They still continued in their sin. 

The causeless curse shall never come,

Since God removes it with salvation,

And by the Gospel there are some

Who wisely flee from condemnation. 

O Lord, the catastrophic curse

By brutish sinners still is scorned,

So help us often to rehearse

Your Gospel so they may be warned.