Sunday Meditation

I’ve been meditating on Psalm 84 for the last few days. There’s a lot in that short psalm so I’ve been taking it one verse at a time. It was appropriate that on a Sunday, I should come to verse 4, “Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.” As I was reading through some sources, I came across this thought. Be a dweller, not a visitor, in God’s house. To dwell is to live there. Most of us don’t live at our church. Some pastors and their families may live on the property, but I believe there is still a principle here. God’s house was ‘home’ for this psalmist. It’s where he longed to be. It made me wonder, is God’s house ‘home’ for me? Is it somewhere I long to be? 

Spurgeon says about this verse, “To come and go is refreshing, but to abide in the place of prayer must be heaven below. To be the guests of God, enjoying the hospitalities of heaven, set apart for holy work, screened from a noisy world, and familiar with sacred things—why this is surely the choicest heritage a son of man can possess.” The phrase that struck a chord with me here is to be screened from a noisy world. We are definitely living in a noisy world!!  For my part, I have been around so much sorrow lately, the sorrow of those I care about and some of my own. I know I need the fellowship of other believers to be refreshed.  We all do. Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens. Being an active part of a local church is one of the ways we can do this.

The second half of the verse says they will still be praising God. Spurgeon says, “So near to God, their very life must be adoration…Communion is the mother of adoration. They fail to praise the Lord who wander far from him, but those who dwell in him are always magnifying him.” When we dwell in God and in His house, we will be praising Him. We won’t be able to help ourselves!

This verse ends with that little word, Selah. Spurgeon says, “It is worthwhile to pause and meditate upon the prospect of dwelling with God and praising him throughout eternity.”

I will end with that thought. I hope you will join me in pausing and meditating upon the prospect of dwelling with God and praising Him forever! That thought alone should provide a screen from this noisy world!

photo: Lake Murray, SC

This is My Word

As the snow falls from heaven,
As it comes in swirling showers from the sky,
So is my Word.
As the rains bring the water to the earth that is thirsty and dry,
So is my Word.
And the Word of my mouth, it shall not return empty:
It will bless the earth wherever it is heard.
This is my Word.

As the rain brings renewal
And the tender buds begin to come alive,
So is my Word.
Giving seed to the sower,
And the bread to the hungry ’til they thrive,
So is my Word.
And the Word of my mouth, it shall not return empty;
It will bless the earth wherever it is heard.
This is my Word.

O Lord, when I am weary,
When I feel the days I’m living are in vain,
My God, help me be faithful to the Word You have given to proclaim.
Proclaim the Word, and you will go out in joy,
And be led forth in peace,
And the hills will break before you into song.
So be faithful, brave and true,
For I will go before you,
And when your earthly journey here is done.
I’ll say well done, well done!

As the snow falls from heaven,
And the rain comes in showers from the sky,
This is my Word.

Words and Music by Pepper Choplin

Bow the Knee

There are moments on our journey following the Lord
Where God illumines ev’ry step we take.
There are times when circumstances make perfect sense to us,
As we try to understand each move He makes
When the path grows dim and our questions have no answers, turn to Him.

Bow the knee;
Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.
Bow the knee;
Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.
And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan
In the presence of the King, bow the knee.

There are days when clouds surround us, and the rain begins to fall,
The cold and lonely winds won’t cease to blow.
And there seems to be no reason for the suffering we feel;
We are tempted to believe God does not know.
When the storms arise, don’t forget we live by faith and not by sight.

Bow the knee;
Trust the heart of your Father when the answer goes beyond what you can see.
Bow the knee;
Lift your eyes toward heaven and believe the One who holds eternity.
And when you don’t understand the purpose of His plan,
In the presence of the King, bow the knee.

~Chris Machen

The All-Seeing God

This poem is from The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts. It was referred to in a podcast that I listened to recently so I searched the web to find it. It opened up a whole treasure trove to me! The third stanza was a particular blessing to me. I hope that these words based on Psalm 139 will be something for you to meditate on this Lord’s day.

Lord, thou hast searched and seen me through,
Thine eye commands with piercing view
My rising and my resting hours,
My heart and flesh with all their powers.

My thoughts, before they are my own,
Are to my God distinctly known;
He knows the words I mean to speak
Ere from my op’ning lips they break.

Within thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.

Amazing knowledge, vast and great!
What large extent! what lofty height!
My soul, with all the powers I boast,
Is in the boundless prospect lost.

O may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where’er I rove, where’er I rest!
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there.

Could I so false, so faithless prove,
To quit thy service and thy love,
Where, Lord, could I thy presence shun.
Or from thy dreadful glory run?

If up to heav’n I take my flight,
‘Tis there thou dwell’st enthroned in light
Or dive to hell, there vengeance reigns,
And Satan groans beneath thy chains.

If, mounted on a morning ray,
I fly beyond the western sea,
Thy swifter hand would first arrive,
And there arrest thy fugitive.

Or should I try to shun thy sight
Beneath the spreading veil of night,
One glance of thine, one piercing ray,
Would kindle darkness into day.

O may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where’er I rove, where’er I rest!
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there.

The veil of night is no disguise,
No screen from thy all-searching eyes;
Thy hand can seize thy foes as soon
Through midnight shades as blazing noon.

Midnight and noon in this agree,
Great God, they’re both alike to thee;
Not death can hide what God will spy,
And hell lies naked to his eye.

O may these thoughts possess my breast,
Where’er I rove, where’er I rest!
Nor let my weaker passions dare
Consent to sin, for God is there.

*Emphasis is mine.

Sitting at the Feet of Jesus

Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
Oh, what words I hear Him say!
Happy place! so near, so precious!
May it find me there each day;
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
I would look upon the past;
For His love has been so gracious,
It has won my heart at last.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
Where can mortal be more blest?
There I lay my sins and sorrows,
And, when weary, find sweet rest;
Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
There I love to weep and pray;
While I from His fullness gather
Grace and comfort every day.

 Bless me, O my Savior, bless me,
As I sit low at Thy feet; 
Oh, look down in love upon me,
Let me see Thy face so sweet;
Give me, Lord, the mind of Jesus,
Keep me holy as He is;
May I prove I’ve been with Jesus,
Who is all my righteousness.

~J. Lincoln Hall

Making a Way

When the children of Israel were trapped and afraid
‘twix forbidding tides and Pharaoh’s tirade,
Jehovah commanded, and Moses obeyed.
As pitiful prayers filled an impossible place,
as Moses gazed into Jehovah’s dread face,
as the people of God needed infinite grace,
the mighty winds howled; violent waves dashed.
The seawaters quivered and the lightnings flashed.
The thunders boomed and the breakers crashed.
And when the sun arose on that terrible day
the children of Israel, through the misty spray, 
discovered their God had made them a way.
And many a Christian in the years that have passed
Though troubled by fears, though tired and harassed,
Have found the same God strong, sure, and steadfast.

—Robert J. Morgan

in The Red Sea Rules, pg. 85.

*photo from Moody Press/freebibleimages.org

Little is Much

January 10, 2011 in South Carolina

In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling
To the harvest calling you.

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child, well done!” 

Little is much when God is in it,
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

~Kittie L. Suffield

A Sunday Meditation

The cross, it standeth fast,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Defying every blast,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The winds of hell have blown,
The world its hate hath shown,
Yet it is not overthrown,
Hallelujah for the cross!

-Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

A Sunday Meditation

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.”
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

~E. S. Elliot

*****

Please pray for my dear daughter over these next few weeks.  I have made a trip back to the states to be with her. This is part of my reason for being MIA here at the blog. She will be having back surgery December 14th.  Prayers for my husband would be appreciated as well.  This is our busy season in Japan and we will be apart for the holidays. I am glad that he has family there.

A Sunday Meditation

Oh, how sweet the glorious message simple faith may claim:
Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same;
Still He loves to save the sinful, heal the sick and lame,
Cheer the mourner, still the tempest glory to His name!

He who was the friend of sinners seeks the lost one now:
Sinner, come, and at His footstool penitently bow;
He who said, “I’ll not condemn thee, go and sin no more,”
Speaks to thee that word of pardon as in days of yore.

Oft on earth He healed the suff’rer by His mighty hand:
Still our sicknesses and sorrows go at His command;
He who gave His healing virtue to a woman’s touch
To the faith that claims His fullness still will give as much.

As He walked once to Emmaus, with them to abide,
So thro’ all life’s way He walketh ever near our side;
Soon again we shall behold Him hasten, Lord, the day
But ’twill still be this same Jesus as He went away.

Refrain:
Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same,
All may change, but Jesus never glory to His name!
Glory to His name! Glory to His name!
All may change, but Jesus never glory to His name!

~Albert B. Smith 

*The photo is from another morning walk in our lovely park.  They are dredging the lake this winter.  It is needed, but I will miss these views.