Defense Defined

"O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me... Because of his strength will I wait upon Thee: for God is my Defense" (Psalm 59:1 ,9).  "Depart not from the words of My mouth... lest thou give... thy years unto the cruel" (Proverbs 5:7,9).  "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine Help" (Hosea 13:9).  "They... found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind" (Luke 8:35). 

Unless the Lord was my Defense,

I surely would have been destroyed. 

I have no other confidence

Or other strategy employed. 

I surely would have played the fool

Without my Savior's clear instruction

And would have given to the cruel

My fleeting years by vain seduction. 

My soul's defense is in My Savior

Who died to save me by His grace.  

He sheltered me with loving favor

When He became my Hiding Place. 

Lord, like that man in his right mind

Whom you delivered from perdition,

You are my soul's Defense defined;

I need no other definition.  

Choicest of Charmers

"The wicked are... like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely" (Psalm 58:3-5).  "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble" (Proverbs 4:19).  "I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets" (Hosea 12:10).  "We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept" (Luke 7:32). 

How great are the means of persuasion,

Unveiled by God through the ages,

Announcing the way of salvation

Foretold throughout prophecy's pages. 

How sadly the wicked refuse

Salvation that God would provide

Because they so stubbornly choose

To turn from the Lord in their pride. 

As serpents who will not be charmed

And people who walk in the dark,

They're like those who were not alarmed

When Noah had entered the ark. 

O Lord, in this world so jaded,

The choicest of charmers won't do,

But still, by Your Spirit persuaded,  

We pray we may draw some to You. 

Firmly Fixed

"O God... my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast... My heart is fixed" (Psalm 57:1,7).  "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart... and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5,6).  "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love" (Hosea 11:4).  "Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them... is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock" (Luke 6:47,48). 

There is a place to fix my heart,

Amid the storms that trouble brings,    

Where there is peace God will impart

Beneath the shadow of His wings.

There is a path that God makes plain,

As I am trusting Him to lead,

Where life is Christ, where death is gain,

And where He meets my every need. 

There is reason I am drawn

To fix my heart on things above: 

My eyes are firmly fixed upon

My great Redeemer and His love! 

Lord, thank You for the sure foundation

So firmly fixed upon the place

Which is not moved by tribulation,

Since You have drawn me by Your grace.  

Seek the Sick

"This I know... God is for me... For Thou hast delivered my soul from death" (Psalm 56:9,13).  "If thou criest after knowledge, and... if thou seekest... then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God" (Proverbs 2:3-5).  "It is time to seek the LORD" (Hosea 10:12).  "They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31,32). 

It is so wonderful to know

That Christ now stands in our defense! 

His hands, His feet, and side yet show

His wounds of love He still presents.   

The time has come to seek the Lord

And understand with godly fear:

The sin-sick soul cannot afford

To turn away while Christ is near. 

Our Savior came to make us whole,

For all have sinned upon the earth.

He came with healing for the soul

By heaven's cure, the second birth. 

O Lord, You are the great Physician;

For such a time as this we're sent

To seek the sick by Your commission

As You still call them to repent.  

Timely Tidings

"As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me... Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice... Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee" (Psalm 55:16-22).  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me... to preach the gospel to the poor... to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18,19). 

There is a time acceptable

To call upon the Savior's name,

Receiving Him who saves our soul

And takes away our sin and shame.

At evening, morning, or at noon

Our Lord will hear the sinner pray,

But let that cry be lifted soon,

For there is danger in delay!

The Lord's accessibility

Is yet before we reach the grave. 

It is too late eternally

To wait till death for God to save.

In due time, Lord, You came to reach

And save us from our lost estate.  

With timely tidings now we preach,

Persuading sinners not to wait.