September 25, 2012
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Hast thou not yet seen ... Ev'ry billow tenderly ordained by Me!
Psalm 42:7
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
In the billows,
Wakeful, restless
Travail on thy pillowIn the billows,
Tearful, ceaseless
Labor on thy pillowIn the billows,
Grasping, breathless
Wrestle on thy pillowSeek God's face in the sanctuary
Cry out importunatelyFear the LORD, my dear sister, to Him appeal
His friendship, this His secret, He will reveal:
"My child, hast thou not yet seen...
Ev'ry billow tenderly ordained by Me!"Colossians 1
15 Who [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,
for those who are called according to his purpose...Testing and trying
God's sanctifyingIn the furnace
For His own sake
Psalm 73:16-17a (ESV)
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God...Pant and thirst, dear one
To God pour out your soulBehold the Beloved will come
Come leaping to consoleThe poor man's prayer our God does not despise
Through the heavens the Comforter will flyTrust in the Lord at all times
He will be gracious at your criesVery gracious to the soul who waits
Hope will never put us to shameInto your heart, God's love will be shed
Oil of gladness will flow from our exalted HeadIn roaring waterspouts, through darkest night
Acquaint yourself with Providence's designsO! How inscrutable His judgments!
Who has taught Him? Who has known His mind?"My child, hast thou not yet seen...
Ev'ry billow tenderly ordained by Me!"
His every billow and His every wave
Our God has sovereignly ordainedTo prosper His adopted children, never to harm
Despise not our Father's discipline, His outstretched armThe just shall live, shall rejoice by faith
In sternest denial, seek His happy embraceThe flinty Rock will burst: sup of Christ's healing grace
God's kindness bestows strength sufficient for each dayHis covenant mercies –– how can they cease?
Keep silence, tremble at Jehovah's feetTo His divine decrees, bow and acquiesce
Has He ever been darkness or wilderness?Lamentations 3:31-33
For the Lord will not cast off for ever:
But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.Psalm 25:12-14
What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
(ESV)Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?~ by Joachim Neander (1680), trans. Catherine Winkworth (1863) ~
Hast thou not yet seen?
His every billow and His every wave
Our God has sovereignly ordainedTo wean us from the earthly, to seek His face
To be nourished with His glory and His graceTo manifest Christ's savor in every place
This is our heritage as God's chosen raceJeremiah 32:40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.
Jeremiah 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Psalm 73 (ESV)
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works.
* * *
Hast thou not yet seen?
Edward Griffin referred to his prayer on behalf of his daughter Ellen as a time of "travail on my wakeful pillow." (From "Memoir of the Rev. Edward D. Griffin, D.D., Compiled Chiefly from His Own Writings" by Edward D. Griffin & William Buell Sprague (New York: Taylor & Dodd, 1839), p. 157)Related posts:
- All things (even bad things) work together for good...
- Our Twisted View of God
- Embittered, pricked in heart? Go into the sanctuary of God (Psalm 73)
- year end reflections, # 2: rejoicing in "The Often Unwanted but Necessary Gift" | Letter 98 on joy
- The story of Job: bad luck, God's sovereign will or ?
- You speak as one of the foolish women would speak ~ Job 2:9-10
- As the Visible Disappoints
- Kingdom-Obsessed People don't keep looking in the rear view mirror at past hurts, # 5
- Lenten Reflections: When he broke all supply of bread (My breaking is for your blessing)
- Letter 16 on assurance and fighting for joy (our prayers, His wise denials and joy)
- Rejoicing here on the Potter's Wheel (Psalm 66) | Letter 96 on assurance & joy
- disappointment ~ appointment | letter 119 on assurance & fighting for joy
- Her Eyes Were Still Restrained ~ "When it looks like he is buried for good..."
Scripture quotations unless otherwise indicated are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Photo credits:
I edited the original work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Almofadas.png / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Public Domain
Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Firetora.jpg / Public Domain
"Waves" by my son Colin / CC BY-SA 3.0
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Comments (11)
Love this post! What medium did Colin use for the waves?
@quest4god@revelife - What medium? Computer graphics.
I had asked Colin make up the image for a post I wrote five years ago this month, not long after we'd left our last congregation: http://naphtali-deer.xanga.com/615712941/naphtali-news-to-everything-there-is-a-season-or/.
This current post was part of a reflection I'd been writing on my time since that time (particularly provoked by the hymn "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty..." which we'd sung at worship this past Sunday), and God's faithfulness through it all and His faithfulness to all His children in His billows. However, that post had gotten quite long and extended, and at that point I didn't (and still don't) have the opportunity to rewrite/edit all of that as I'd like, but I did feel led to pull out this portion. I am hoping to be able to post more on that some time in the future.
@naphtali_deer - You have written a great deal that could be reposted and would be just as relevant now as when it first appeared....actually it could be a book, if it were arranged in chapters. Hmmm?
I should have realized that Colin's artistic ability coupled with his knowledge of the computer would make such a wonderful, effective piece of art. I would probably try doing something of that sort with charcoal - in fact I have done a sky after a storm with it.
Good post. I esp like the poem as a lot of my speaking to Abba is done at night while others sleep.
Why was this written for his daughter?
@quest4god@revelife - "just as relevant now as when it first appeared" - That's the real test, and that's my sincerest hope and prayer. I was rereading Psalm 45 over the past few days, and yesterday the last verse was impressed on me:
"I will make Your name to be remembered to all generations; Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever."
In spite of my fleshly motives that continue to creep in and entangle me and distract me from that, that's why I'm doing what I'm doing here as I write, as well as when I speak with people, and why I'm praying as I am: that the people might praise our Lord forever and ever!
Some of my earlier writing was a bit loose theologically, and there are some things I've written that I cringe at, and today I wouldn't write them the way I did and/or I wouldn't necessarily recommend all the sources I cited at the time, but I'm leaving it as is, hoping and praying people will follow the journey God has had me on, and that He might be magnified through it all.
I love that picture Colin made, and I hope you noticed the little dove in the right hand corner... reminiscent of Genesis 1:2.
The Spirit of God continues to hover over His people... Where can we go from His Spirit? ...
@stephensmustang - Being able to commune with the living God in the quiet and dark night is a precious time, and even more precious is when we can commune with Him in those times when the daylight seems dark to us, and yet His face graciously shines down upon us to enlighten and brighten our downcast souls ~ Psalm 34:4-8, Psalms 42 & 43.
Re: your question – I wrote it to Abba's daughter because we are Christ's bride, and His sister ~ I was thinking in particular of Song of Solomon 5:1: "I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse," plus, as I alluded to @quest4god@revelife, I've also been reading Psalm 45 where the Church is likened to the King's daughter.
@naphtali_deer - I'd forgotten about that Psalm. I will reread it. Thanks.
@naphtali_deer - I should have mentioned the dove....as you say, the Spirit of God hovered over all of His creation (Genesis 1).
Be sure to thank Colin for me for his spirit-filled work!
Good Afternoon,
Thanks for another very thoughtful post. I am about finished with reading the Bible this year and it has been fun. I love reading it. I sure liked reading Zachariah the past few days--One day Jesus will be King of the Earth.
I am not a deep person, so it helps me to read your post and pick up part of that.
Hope you have a very nice week,
frank
@ANVRSADDAY - Hi Frank, I've particularly loved reading and rereading Zechariah over the past year or so. "One day Jesus will be King of the Earth." ~ Amen! And He has been and will always be King over all the billows... "Even the wind & sea obey Him."
Job 38
8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
Re: your comment: I am not a deep person... Remember that though each and every one of us is a babe (Matthew 11:25-27), yet all who are Christ's have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, so we might know the deep things of God (I Cor. 1:18-2:16).
@naphtali_deer - Thanks for your encouragement. I just finished my annual reading of the Bible yesterday. Malachi must have had the same personality of James in the N.T. lol Neither one were fun guys to be around.
I have not read the NASB in a long time, so I started Genesis today. Eve just never seems to learn about that lousy tree. Bummer.
frank