Great Need of Good News

“O give thanks unto the LORD… make known His deeds among the people… talk ye of all His wondrous works… Remember His marvelous works that He hath done” (Psalm 105:1-5).  “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country” (Proverbs 25:25).  “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee… And he continued… teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:9-11). 

Give thanks to the Lord for His deeds,

And talk of the works He has done. 

The greatest of all of our needs

Was met when He sent us His Son! 

We dwell in a land that is dry,

But there is good news for our thirst:

Our Lord came from heaven to die

In order to rescue the cursed!

How good are the tidings we tell

That come from the country we seek!

Our Savior has done all things well;

The Lord now commands us to speak! 

The Lord spoke to Paul in a vision

And told him to hold not His peace,

So boldly he made his decision

In Corinth to speak and not cease.

God promised to give Paul His aid

Where he was appointed to preach. 

The Lord told him “Be not afraid,”

So there he continued to teach. 

O Lord, You’ve commanded us, too,  

To speak in our time and our place,

That we might lead others to You

And show them the good news of grace! 

We thank You, O Lord, for good news

Contained in the Gospel You gave

To reach to the place that You choose

And preach of Your grace that will save!

 

Unveiling the Unknown

“They put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD” (Judges 10:16).  “O LORD my God, Thou art very great… My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD” (Psalm 104:1,34).  “I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD… The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent:  because He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:23-31). 

Creation clearly has unveiled

The greatness of Almighty God.

His promised blessing never failed,

And neither has His judgment rod. 

How strange it is that many choose

To disregard the evidence,

So blind to what they stand to lose

As they are left without defense!   

Our ignorance was on display

With all the strange gods of our shame.

Like sheep, we all had gone astray,

Yet to our rescue Jesus came! 

Behold His hands, His side, His feet

Which prophets said that men would pierce! 

Our Savior’s love for us was sweet;

The wrath He bore for us was fierce! 

How sweet now is this meditation

Upon the Lord, our God and Savior,

Who gave Himself for our salvation

And now extends to us His favor!

Yet still our Savior is unknown

And He is willfully ignored,

In spite of all that God has shown

To prove that He is truly Lord! 

But God now calls to every land;

To all the earth His Word is sent

That all may turn at His command

From ignorance as they repent. 

And thus salvation is assured

To all who put their faith in Christ. 

How faithfully He kept His Word

When He for us was sacrificed!  

And since our Lord, as promised, rose,

Our God has thereby given proof  

That Christ shall surely judge all those 

Who in rebellion stand aloof. 

So judgment is unveiled here

To all those who refuse His grace. 

The day of Christ is drawing near

When they shall stand before His face. 

O Lord, it seems incredible

That many choose to close their eyes

To evidence that is so full

And turn aside instead to lies! 

Lord, send us forth that we may show

The blessings of Your wondrous love

To thus unveil what we know

Of Your salvation from above. 

Wonder of His Ways

“He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel” (Psalm 103:7).  “My son, give Me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe My ways” (Proverbs 23:26).  “At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them” (Acts 16:25). 

To Moses God made known His ways;

To Israel He showed His acts. 

Thus Moses understood His praise,

But others simply gathered facts. 

The Lord is calling to our heart

Which He has called us to surrender. 

The knowledge that He will impart

Depends on if our heart is tender. 

We see this in the midnight prison

When Paul and Silas sang to God. 

Their praise revealed joyful vision,

Though some might think their joy was odd. 

Their hearts were focused on the Lord. 

Their praise ascended to His throne.

They saw what others had ignored: 

The wonder of His ways made known.   

The others in the prison heard  

The praise they offered to their Savior.

Their hearts were anchored in His Word,

And this was seen in their behavior. 

O Lord, we know Your ways are good;

We see this truth in all creation,

And this is much more understood

As we observe Your great salvation! 

Lord, let Your wondrous ways be seen

As I submit my heart to You.   

Create in me a heart that’s clean

To give You praise for all You do.  

Prisoners' Praise

“This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD… From heaven did the LORD behold the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death” (Psalm 102:18-20).  “That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee”  (Proverbs 22:19).  “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved...  And to this agree the words of the prophets… Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:11-18). 

Before our generation came,

Our God looked down from heaven’s throne:

He saw our load of sin and shame,

He heard us in our prison groan. 

Before we ever were created,

Our Lord foresaw us even then,

And as the prophets clearly stated,

The Christ would die for sinful men. 

Apart from Christ there is no Savior;

He is salvation’s only path.

We’re trusting in His saving favor

To free us from appointed wrath.

It’s only by the grace of Christ,

That we could ever be set free. 

For us our Lord was sacrificed;

To this the prophets all agree!

Before the universe began,

The works of God He then foreknew.   

The prophets thus foretold His plan

Unveiling what the Lord would do. 

O Lord, You saw us from above;

You knew our sinful inclination,

And yet you drew us by Your love

To set us free by Your salvation!

As prisoners You ransomed, Lord,

We praise You for Your wondrous grace

For mercies that we have explored,

Which we have just begun to trace!