In the billows,
Wakeful, restless
Travail on thy pillow
In the billows,
Tearful, ceaseless
Labor on thy pillow
In the billows,
Grasping, breathless
Wrestle on thy pillow
Seek God's face in the sanctuary
Cry out importunately
Fear 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 sanctifying
In 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 soul
Behold the Beloved will come
Come leaping to console
The poor man's prayer our God does not despise
Through the heavens the Comforter will fly
Trust in the Lord at all times
He will be gracious at your cries
Very gracious to the soul who waits
Hope will never put us to shame
Into your heart, God's love will be shed
Oil of gladness will flow from our exalted Head
In roaring waterspouts, through darkest night
Acquaint yourself with Providence's designs
O! 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 ordained
To prosper His adopted children, never to harm
Despise not our Father's discipline, His outstretched arm
The just shall live, shall rejoice by faith
In sternest denial, seek His happy embrace
The flinty Rock will burst: sup of Christ's healing grace
God's kindness bestows strength sufficient for each day
His covenant mercies –– how can they cease?
Keep silence, tremble at Jehovah's feet
To 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.
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 ordained
To wean us from the earthly, to seek His face
To be nourished with His glory and His grace
To manifest Christ's savor in every place
This is our heritage as God's chosen race
Jeremiah 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?
RSS feed
Recent Comments