-
Christian Meditation: God, the Almighty King
In my previous post, I wrote about how God created the earth as a habitation for man. In this post, we will see how God lovingly rules over His creation as the Almighty King. When I was growing up, I think the descriptions of God I was most familiar with were of Him as a loving Father or a friend. I had heard and read about Him being the King, but I don’t know that I spent as much time thinking of Him that way. It is important to know that God is our Father and friend. But it is also very important to remember that He is the Almighty King because we must remember all of His attributes. Yes, He is gentle, loving, kind, holy, righteous, good, but He is also omnipotent, omniscient, and infinite. In Matthew Henry’s commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, he explains that God is our Father but that we must remember He is our Father in heaven. God is infinitely above us. And that is what we are supposed to be in awe of and rejoicing in. The great, Almighty God is our loving father and friend! We have a gentle, loving, merciful, righteous King! We can find great comfort in meditating on God’s almighty power because it gives us the assurance that He truly has the power to save our souls from hell. And we can say along with Paul in 2 Tim. 1:12, “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” The great God of the universe, who is Lord of all, has promised us eternal life with Him in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ, His Son. And we can trust in that promise.
In terms of meditation, try to take time to form imagery of these concepts in your mind. Envision God on His throne in heaven, lovingly ruling over His creation. You can read Revelation 4 and meditate on the imagery that is used there. Rev. 4:2-3 says, “2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.” The entire chapter contains imagery you can use.
As you are envisioning God on His throne, take time to contemplate that this great God, the Lord of heaven and earth, wants to be in covenant with you. God created earth as a habitation for man and God wants to be in a close relationship with us. He does not want to be at a distance from us. The covenant language of the Old Testament can be seen in Jeremiah 30:22 in which God says, “So you will be my people, and I will be your God. ” This is what God desires for us. He wants to be our God to guide and care for us. The covenant that is in the Old Testament is the same covenant that is in the New Testament. So, there is one covenant and two different administrations of the same covenant (which I hope to write a post about at another time). In the New Testament, 2 Cor. 6:18 echoes the covenant language of the Old Testament and shows the close relationship that God wants to have with His people: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
When you become a Christian, you are adopted by God as his child. You become a child of the King and an heir of His Kingdom. In John Gill’s book Doctrinal Divinity, he explains that there are verses in the book of Hebrews that show us that the word “testament” is used for the Old Testament and New Testament in the same way we use the words “will and testament” for a person who has an earthly estate. That person writes out a will or testament to tell their heirs what they will be inheriting from his estate. Gill says we should view the Bible in the same way because in it, God explains the terms of His covenant with us, declares that we are adopted as His children, and promises to us that we will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
As you are meditating, spend time envisioning God, the Almighty King, sitting on His throne in Heaven, lovingly ruling over His creation. Take time to rejoice that this gracious, loving, righteous King is also our Father – He has adopted us as His children and we are in a covenant relationship with Him. He will be our God, and we will be His people for all of eternity because He has given us as our inheritance a place in His heavenly kingdom. Here is a link to the hymn “Come, Thou Almighty King” by Anonymous author – Learning to Live by Faith. You can sing this to God as you are meditating and rejoicing that He is our King. After spending time in meditation, you will find that you mind stays more focused on God throughout the day and you will grow closer and closer in your walk with Him.
-
“Come, Thou Almighty King” by Anonymous author
Hymnal Page Scan: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God page 221 | Hymnary.org
Audio Recording:
1 Come, Thou Almighty King,
help us Thy name to sing;
help us to praise:
Father, all glorious,
o’er all victorious,
come, and reign over us,
Ancient of Days.2 Come, Thou Incarnate Word,
gird on Thy mighty sword,
our pray’r attend:
come, and Thy people bless,
and give Thy Word success:
Spirit of holiness,
on us descend.3 Come, Holy Comforter,
Thy sacred witness bear
in this glad hour:
Thou who almighty art,
now rule in every heart,
and ne’er from us depart,
Spirit of pow’r.4 To Thee, great One in Three,
eternal praises be
hence, evermore.
His sov’reign majesty
may we in glory see,
and to eternity
love and adore! -
Christian Meditation: The Beauty of Nature
Meditating on nature is one very powerful way to connect to God, and that’s because the earth is God’s creation. The creation reveals the mind and nature of its Creator. Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV) says,
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge. 3They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4Yet their voice b goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
How does the creation reveal God to us? How does it “proclaim the work of his hands?” Well, if you went into a museum and saw a beautiful painting, you would stop and admire it. You would want to know more about who painted it. And as you studied the painting, the qualities of it would reveal a lot about the character of the artist who painted it. So, in the same way that a painting is the work of an artist’s hands, the earth is the work of God’s hands. Therefore, “the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (v.1) and point us to the one who formed them.
I wish I had learned to see the earth this way when I was little. I don’t remember what I thought when I looked around, or if I ever took time to think of the earth this way. So, we will imagine we are seeing the earth for the first time. What do you see when you look around? Try to see it through the lens that God created the earth as a habitation for mankind, a place for us to live. He made light for us to see – the sun by day, and the moon and the stars by night. He separated the waters from the dry land. He caused the land to produce vegetation so that we would have food. And He filled the waters and the land with living creatures – fish, animals, and birds. So He got everything ready for man, prepared a place for him to live where he would have everything he needed for a pleasant life, and then he created man.
When we see the creation through this lens, it reveals God’s loving-kindness and tender regard for us. He is our Heavenly Father, and He created a beautiful habitation for us to live in. When we look around there is still much beauty in the world today, but it is important to remember that we never saw the world in the perfect condition it was in when Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden. We have only seen the creation in a fallen state in which it is subject to decay and death. In the Garden of Eden, everything was perfect. The grass did not wither, trees did not grow old, and flowers did not droop and die. Life was pleasant and free from any difficulties. When Adam and Eve sinned and fell, sin and death entered into the world (Rom. 5:12). After the Fall, life was attended with many hardships. It was harder to grow food and people’s bodies were vulnerable to illness and fatigue. So, plant life and animal life suffered because of the sin that was brought in as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
Let me take a minute to write about meditation so you can see the point I’m trying to make. In meditation, you take time to scan your body and the world around you and mindfully notice what is going on. You are answering the questions: where are you? how are you feeling? what do you see around you? As Christians, we answer those questions by saying that we are children of God, living in a world God created in which currently we are suffering under the weight of the effects of sin, and we are longing for the restoration that awaits us in heaven. That is how we approach meditation. We are taking time to contemplate who God is, who we are, where we are now on earth, and where we are going to be one day in heaven. We are trying to connect to a sense of God’s presence with us and especially His Holy Spirit who dwells within us. So when I am scanning my body in meditation, I take time to notice any symptoms I am having within the general context that my body is suffering the effects of sin in a fallen world. As Christians, the guilt of our own sins has been taken away, but we still live in bodies and in a world that suffers the corrupting, or decaying effects of sin. We will still go through an aging process, and we will still have to face death. But our hope lies in the fact that we have eternal life, and that at the end of our earthly life we will be fully restored and live in perfect peace and rest in heaven. The suffering we are experiencing now is temporary, but our restored state will be eternal. That is what Paul meant in 2 Cor. 4:18 when he said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” And in Romans 8:18-25, Paul says,
“18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
As you are meditating, take time to notice this groaning that is taking place both in people and in the entire creation. Then remember that we have hope of restoration and take time to connect to that longing feeling…the longing for life in heaven. So, connect to the groaning and then connect to that longing feeling…that feeling of waiting patiently for the future glory of heaven. You will find that taking 15 minutes to meditate on these things will help you have a greater awareness of God’s presence as you go throughout the day. You will start to see the world through a new lens…through the eyes of faith. And you will be able to connect more to that feeling of hope as we wait for the glory that is yet to be revealed – remembering that the beauty of God’s creation here on earth is only a glimpse of the beauty that awaits us in our eternal home.
-
Part 1 of Notes on Ezekiel Hopkins’ The Excellency of Heavenly Treasures
Matthew 6:19-23
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also!
“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”Introduction
Ezekiel Hopkins begins by stating that every person – whether he has an abundance of possessions or few possessions – has something he counts precious as his soul’s treasure. In dangerous and difficult times, it is everyone’s first and chief care to make sure their treasure is safe from corruption and violence. They want to put their treasure somewhere safe. But what are we supposed to count as our treasure? And where do we store it in order for it to be safe?
In Matthew 6:19-23, Jesus shows us that there are 2 places a person can store his treasure, or 2 Common Treasuries: earth and heaven. Any treasure has to belong to one of these; you must deposit it in either earth or heaven. Hopkins explains next the difference between earthly treasure and heavenly treasure.
What is earthly treasure?
Jesus tells us what types of treasure are stored in Earth’s Treasury in 1 John 2:16, “For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.” So there are:
- The lust of the flesh: pleasures, suiting the evil propensities of the flesh
- The lust of the eye: riches, for the greediness of the eye; riches are considered to fulfill the lust of the eye because the enjoyment of its owners is the beholding of the riches with their eyes, and
- The pride of life: honor and dignity, that airy, good thing, that puffs up
Worldly pleasures, riches, and worldly honor and dignity are earthly treasures.
Hopkins explains that Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:19 that earthly treasures are not lasting and certain; moths and rust corrupt them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Jesus then tells them that there is another treasury in heaven, where you can store your treasure in “a sure and safe place, where no corruption infects, nor does any violence intrude: therefore, lay up your treasure there: lay up your treasure in Heaven.”
Hopkins will explain a little later in this chapter what heavenly treasure is. Right now, Hopkins explains that in these words of Jesus we are given a command, or exhortation: Lay up your treasure in heaven. And the enforcement of this command is from several considerations.
1) Because your treasure will be secure when it is laid up in Heaven.
There it is completely safe – nothing can destroy it and no one can steal it. It is out of reach of the corruptions of earth. For all threats to a person’s treasure proceed from either:
a. Inward principles of corruption.
Hopkins says, “Thus it is with all Earthly Treasures. They are, of themselves, fading and perishing. Riches perish with the using: they rot out and wear away, while we are using them. All earthly manna, the sweet and luscious things of this world, breed worms that eat upon and devour them. All the riches and treasures of the world have rust, that attends on them, and consumes both them and their beauty and substance.
But spiritual manna never turns into worms: treasure, laid up in Heaven, is never eaten with rust. No, says Christ, there rust does not corrupt: that is, they are free and safe from all inward decays and perishing, from their own inward principle and nature.”
Threats to a person’s treasure also proceed from
b. Outward accidents that might consume them. And this happens either
- “Insensibly, through a secret blasting curse of God, wasting them by little by little, and unperceived decays; so that, while we hold them in our hands and look upon them, then they perish!” And this is here compared to the way a moth eats something. A moth does not make a sudden tear in a garment; but slowly over time, by unseen degrees, the moth eats away at a garment until it is destroyed. And that’s how it often happens with earthly treasures – if they are not torn away from us, yet they are “moth-eaten” comforts; the moth gets into them and destroys them imperceivably. Or,
- By sudden violence. And this is here compared to thieves breaking in and stealing earthly treasure. Hopkins says, “An unexpected turn of providence does, at once, many times snatch away all that men here prize and set their hearts on: and then, where is their treasure?” Hopkins says, “But, treasures laid up in Heaven are secured, both from insensible decays, and also from sudden violence; secured, both from the corruption of the moth, and from the stealing of the thief. It is rich and sure treasure, that is laid up there.“
Hopkins says that now, during your life on earth, is the time to lay up your treasure in heaven. When you get to heaven, your heavenly treasure chest will be opened before your eyes and you will see that there is more treasure there than you could imagine. Hopkins says you will wonder and question with yourself, “Is this glory mine, and that glory mine? Is this throne and that brightness, this diamond and those stars, this robe and that sunbeam, all this precious and inconceivable treasure, are they mine? I cannot remember that ever I laid up so much and such precious treasure: my faith sometimes pried through a crevice into this treasure, and it told me that there were great and glorious things stored up, and it told me also that they belonged to me; but, O my dim-sighted eyes, that could not reveal to me the one half of that glory, wherein I am now lost and swallowed up!” Hopkins says that, “Thus a Christian will then admire how he came by so much treasure, when he comes to the possession and enjoyment of it …Though a Christian knows not how much he has, yet he shall lose none: it is safe, being laid up in Heaven: every star is as a seal set upon the treasure-door, that none may break in and violate it.”
So the first consideration as to why we should store up our treasure in heaven is because it will only be safe there. The second consideration is
2) Because by laying up Treasure in Heaven, you lay up your Hearts in Heaven also: for, where your treasure is, says Christ, there will your hearts be also; and where your hearts are, there are you.
Hopkins asks, “Would you send all your thoughts and all your desires, as spies into the Land of Promise, to discover the riches, and beauty of it? Then lay up your treasure there.” By doing so, you will center all your thoughts and set all your affections on heaven; and, although now you are on earth and walk on earth, yet your heart and mind will be set on Heaven, if your treasure is there.
Hopkins says, “It is impossible that you and your treasure should be at a distance. If your treasure is on earth, your minds will be [on earth] also. But, if your treasure is laid up in Heaven, it will attract and draw up your hearts unto it; and make them heavenly hearts, as itself is a heavenly treasure.”
The third consideration is
3) You will be laying up treasure for yourself – “Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven.”
Hopkins says that while you can indeed store up treasures on earth, you can not be certain that you are storing them up for yourself. On earth, people sweat and toil to build estates, but they don’t know who will enjoy and possess them. He says, “[People] labor all their days to purchase a few uncertain riches; while, usually, by that time they purpose to reap the fruit of them, death comes and snatches away their souls; and the greatest use they can make of them is, only to bequeath them unto others.” Only the person who is rich towards God lays up treasure for himself. Hopkins says, “A Christian is his own heir; and, what he himself has gotten, he himself shall eternally enjoy and possess.”
So to summarize this beginning part of the book, every person has something they value as their treasure. There are 2 Treasuries that you can deposit your treasure in: earth and heaven. Jesus commands us to store up our treasures in heaven. Jesus gives 3 considerations as to why we should store up our treasure in heaven 1) Because your treasure will only be safe in heaven, 2) Because by laying up Treasure in Heaven, you lay up your Hearts in Heaven also, and 3) it is only in heaven that you can lay up treasure for yourself with certainty.
In the next part of the book, Hopkins explains what treasure is and what it means to lay it up in heaven. And he will explain the doctrine that states that Heavenly and spiritual things are, and ought to be, of the greatest value with every true Christian. We will pick up there in my next post.
Links: Hopkins Heavenly Treasures
-
“The Lord Our Shepherd” Part 2 of Chapter 4 Summary of God of All Comfort
This post will be Part 2 of the Chapter 4 summary. Here is a link to Part 1 in case you have not had a chance to read it yet: “The Lord Our Shepherd” Part 1 of Ch. 4 Summary of God of All Comfort – Learning to Live by Faith. We will pick up from where we left off last time.
In the next part of the chapter, Hannah Whitall Smith compares 2 flocks of sheep: one flock fat and strong and in good condition, and the other poor and lean and diseased. It is important to remember that when she is making these comparisons in this chapter between sheep and people, she is only referencing our spiritual condition not our physical condition.
There is a very powerful sermon series by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called Spiritual Depression. I started reading through it without really knowing what it was, and he was talking about how people in a sad condition do not bring glory to God. I have chronic health conditions, and it hit my ears wrong initially because I had thought the sermons were going to be about depression in the sense that we normally hear the word – like depression and anxiety – so I thought he was saying that someone with clinical depression did not glorify God. But the sermon series was highly recommended, so I kept reading and realized he was talking about something different. He was talking about being in a depressed state spiritually, where you are not finding joy in your walk with God. He was actually making the same point that Smith makes here, that if an unbeliever looks and sees that Christians are not enjoying following God, the unbeliever probably will not be drawn towards following God either. We must remember that we are ambassadors for Christ. We go into the world as His representatives. We are supposed to tell them the glorious good news of the gospel and then be living in such a way that others will be drawn to Jesus by seeing the kind of relationship we have with Him. But if we are in a sad spiritual condition, if we are not finding joy in following God, that does not make Him look like a good shepherd. Smith says that we are supposed to show the world that Jesus is a shepherd they can trust. But in order to do that, we must first trust Him ourselves. And so throughout this chapter she continues to show us reasons why we can trust Him.
I just wanted to take a minute to clarify that in case anyone else with chronic health conditions is reading through this book. As Smith has said before, sometimes God works through afflictions and suffering. So if someone is suffering from a health problem that affects their physical condition, they can still bring great glory to God by continuing to follow Him and continuing to find joy in Him in the midst of their suffering. Smith is only talking about how a weakened spiritual condition does not bring honor to God.
In this next part of the chapter, Smith says, “I beg of you to answer this question honestly in your own soul. Have you had a comfortable religious life or an uncomfortable one? If [you have had an uncomfortable one], how can you reconcile it with the statement that the Lord is your Shepherd, and therefore you shall not want? You say He is your Shepherd, and yet you complain that you do want. Who has made the mistake? You or the Lord?” She says that sometimes people will answer, “Oh, no, I do not blame the Lord, but I am so weak and so foolish, and so ignorant, that I am not worthy of His care.” But Smith explains that the fact that sheep are weak and helpless is the very reason why they need a shepherd in the first place. So, in other words, it’s not a reason why they are not worthy of a shepherd but the reason why they need a shepherd.
So try to picture a sheep that is walking by itself looking over and seeing a tender, loving shepherd with plenty of food who is offering to take care of it. Would the sheep say, “Oh, no…I couldn’t follow you! I’m not worthy of your care!” or would the sheep be excited the shepherd had found it and then eagerly follow that shepherd? A sheep would eagerly follow. Smith uses the word “silly” in the sense of “lacking in judgment” and says, “Silly as sheep are, we know well no sheep could be so silly as to talk in this way [of saying they are unworthy of a shepherd]. And here comes the difference. We are so much wiser than sheep, in our own estimation, that we think the sort of trust sheep exercise will not do for us; and, in our superior intelligence, we presume to take matters into our own hands, and so shut ourselves out from the Shepherd’s care.”
One thing I have learned from reading the older commentaries that I reference in my posts is that we are supposed to rejoice that God is saving us out of this fallen world. We are born into this world in a sinful condition, totally unable to save ourselves. But God sent His own Son to be our Mediator. Jesus obeyed the law perfectly in our place, and He died on the cross in our place and bore the punishment for our sins. Through Him we are reconciled to God. And Jesus promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age, lovingly guiding us on our journey through this world until we reach our home in heaven. When we are saved, we are brought into the sheepfold of God. As our shepherd, Jesus watches over our souls and gives us our spiritual food and drink. He also cares for us in terms of earthly resources. And He has a loving plan for our lives…a pathway for us to follow Him in that leads all the way home to heaven.
In this chapter, Smith references the verses where Jesus says, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40 KJV) And again He said, “The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11) And still again: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
We are to see ourselves as a sheep, wandering through this world of darkness. We look up and see Jesus with His arms outstretched to us, longing to be a shepherd to us, longing to guide us through each step on our journey. We must not refuse His comfort and His help. We must go to Him for safety and care.
Smith says that one thing we can do to help us trust that Jesus truly is a good shepherd is to write out a list of all the qualities a good shepherd would have and then to spend time thinking about how Jesus does all of those things for us. If there are areas of your life that you are struggling to see how Jesus is helping you, spend time in prayer asking Him to help you feel His presence there with you. Smith says that we should “say the words over to [ourselves] with all the will power you can muster, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd. He is. He is. No matter what I feel, He says He is, and He is. I am going to believe it, come what may.’ Then repeat the words with a different emphasis each time:
The Lord is my Shepherd.
The Lord is my Shepherd.
The Lord is my Shepherd.
The Lord is my Shepherd.
Realize to yourself what your ideal Shepherd would be, all that you would require from anyone filling such a position of trust and of responsibility, and then know that an ideal far beyond yours, and a conception of the duties of such a position higher than any you ever dreamed of, were in the mind of our Lord when He said, ‘I am the good shepherd’.”
Smith says that when we look at the example of an actual sheep with a shepherd, we all understand what the responsibility is of the shepherd to the sheep – we see what their roles are. The shepherd cares for and tends to the sheep, and the sheep follows the shepherd. But Smith says that the moment we transfer the analogy of shepherd and sheep to our religion – to Jesus as the shepherd and us as the sheep – “we at once shift all the responsibility off the Shepherd’s shoulders, and lay it upon the sheep; and demand of the poor human sheep the wisdom, and care, and power to provide, that can only belong to the divine Shepherd and be met by Him; and of course the poor human sheep fail, and their religious lives become thoroughly uncomfortable, and even sometimes most miserable.”
The point she is making throughout the chapter is that we must not take things into our own hands and try to care for ourselves, and we also must not refuse the tender care of our good shepherd. We must learn to trust and rely on Jesus for everything. We must see that Jesus is reaching out to us, wanting to help us, and we must trust in His goodness and accept His kindness to us.
Smith says that, “There is absolutely only one thing that can hinder Him, and that is, if the sheep will not trust Him and refuse to let Him take care of them. If they stand off at a distance, and look at the food He has provided, and long for it, and cry for it, but refuse to eat it, He cannot satisfy their hunger. If they linger outside the shelter He has made, and are afraid to go in and enjoy it because they feel too distrustful or too unworthy, He cannot protect them. No sheep is so silly as to act in this way, but we human beings, who are so much wiser than sheep, do it continually. No sheep, could it talk, would say to the shepherd: “I long for the food you have provided, and for the shelter and peace of your fold, and I wish I might dare to enjoy them; but, alas! I feel too unworthy. I am too weak and foolish; I do not feel grateful enough; I am afraid I do not feel quite hungry enough, or enough in earnest about wanting it. I dare not presume to think you mean all these good things for me.”
She says to try seeing yourself how Jesus sees you. “Consider your condition as He considers it. See Him coming out to seek you in your far-off wandering. See His tender, yearning love, His unutterable longing to save you. Believe His own description of Himself, and take Him at His own sweet word.”
Then Smith quotes the hymn “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” by Frederick Faber:
If our faith were but more simple,
We would take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all gladness
In the sunshine of our Lord.Smith says, “Ah, yes, this is the trouble. Our faith is not simple enough to take Him at His word, but we must needs add all sorts of ‘buts’ and ‘ifs’ of our own; and obscure the sunshine of His love with clouds of our own imagining. If we but only knew the things which belong to our peace, how quickly we would throw aside every ‘if’ and ‘but’ of unbelief, and how rapturously we would plunge ourselves headlong into an unquestioning faith in all that He has told us of His almighty and never-failing love and care!”
Here is a link to an audio recording of “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” by Frederick Faber: “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” by Frederick Faber – Learning to Live by Faith. As you sing through this hymn, spend time meditating on God’s great love towards us as we learn to view Him as a tender, gentle shepherd rather than a stern judge. Verses 4 and 5 say:
For the love of God is broader
than the measure of our mind,
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.But we make his love too narrow
by false limits of our own;
and we magnify his strictness
with a zeal he would not own.We’ll pick up here in Part 3 of the Chapter 4 summary in my next post.
Links: Hannah Whitall Smith: God of All Comfort – Christian Classics Ethereal Library
-
“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” by Frederick Faber
Hymnal Page Scan: Our Great Redeemer’s Praise page 63 | Hymnary.org
Audio Recording:
1 There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
like the wideness of the sea;
there’s a kindness in his justice
which is more than liberty.
2 There is no place where earth’s sorrows
are more felt than up in heaven;
there is no place where earth’s failings
have such kindly judgement given.
3 There is welcome for the sinner,
and more graces for the good;
there is mercy with the Savior;
there is healing in His blood.
4 For the love of God is broader
than the measure of our mind,
and the heart of the Eternal
is most wonderfully kind.
5 But we make his love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify his strictness
With a zeal he would not own.
6 There is plentiful redemption
through the blood that has been shed;
there is joy for all the members
in the sorrows of the Head.
7 There is grace enough for thousands
of new worlds as great as this;
there is room for fresh creations
in that upper home of bliss.
8 If our faith were but more simple,
we should take him at his word;
and our lives would be all gladness
in the joy of Christ our Lord. -
“Jesus Only” by Harriet M. Conrey
Hymnal Page Scan: Redemption Songs: a choice collection of 1000 hymns and choruses for evangelistic meetings, solo singers, choirs and the home page 682 | Hymnary.org
Audio Recording:
1 What tho’ clouds are hov’ring o’er me,
And I seem to walk alone,
Longing ‘mid my cares and crosses,
For the joys that now are flown,
If I’ve Jesus, “Jesus only,”
Then my sky will have a gem;
He’s a Sun of brightest splendor,
And the Star of Bethlehem.2 What tho’ all my earthly journey
Bringeth naught but weary hours,
And, in grasping for life’s roses,
Thorns I find instead of flow’rs,
If I’ve Jesus, “Jesus only,”
I possess a cluster rare;
He’s the “Lily of the Valley,”
And the “Rose of Sharon” fair.3 What tho’ all my heart is yearning
For the lov’d of long ago,
Bitter lessons sadly learning
From the shadowy page of woe,
If I’ve Jesus, “Jesus only,”
He’ll be with me to the end;
And, unseen by mortal vision,
Angel bands will o’er me bend.4 When I soar to realms of glory,
And an entrance I await,
If I’ve followed “Jesus only!”
Wide will ope the pearly gate;
When I join the heav’nly chorus,
And the angel hosts I see,
Precious Jesus, “Jesus only,”
Will my theme of rapture be. -
“We Shall Walk the Realms of Glory” by Emma Pitt
Audio Recording:
1 We shall walk the realms of glory,
Where eternal beauty reigns,
There with seraph hosts unnumbered
Join the grand, immortal strains.Refrain:
We shall walk the realms of glory,
With the loved ones gone before,
We shall sing the sweet, old story,
Over on the other shore.2 We shall walk the realms of glory,
With the blood-washed, mighty throng,
We shall join the angel harpers
In their everlasting song. [Refrain]3 We shall walk the realms of glory,
And by Jesus’ side sit down;
Clad no more in robes of sorrow,
We shall wear a fadeless crown. [Refrain]4 We shall walk the realms of glory,
Where no tears can ever come,
Where the sunlight is not needed,
In that sweet eternal home. [Refrain] -
“I Shall Have Stars in My Crown” by Gladys Clark
Hymnal Page Scan: I Shall Have Stars in My Crown
Audio Recording:
1 When my day’s work is ended,
Oft I view the setting sun,
And I think of the beauties that await
For my vision in glory
When my heav’nly crown is won,
And I pass to my home within that gate.Refrain:
I shall have stars in my crown over there,
I shall have stars
When my crown there is won,
If I’m faithful to Him,
In my bright diadem,
I shall have stars, glittering stars in my crown.2 When the night cometh on and I am weary for a rest,
Thus reminded when lain my armor down;
And in glory eternal,
There upon my Saviour’s breast,
He shall give me a bright and glorious crown. [Refrain]3 When I wake in that morning,
And shall mount the glowing skies,
While enraptured behold the saints around;
Those awake changed to immortal,
While the dead in Christ shall rise,
And in glory forever shall be crowned. [Refrain] -
“The Lord Our Shepherd” Part 1 of Ch. 4 Summary of God of All Comfort
Chapter 4 of God of All Comfort is entitled, “The Lord Our Shepherd.” King David tells us in Psalm 23 that the Lord is our shepherd. And Jesus Himself tells us in John 10 that He is not only our shepherd, but He is the good shepherd. Hannah Whitall Smith asks, “Can we conceive of anything more comforting?” She says, “Perhaps no aspect in which the Lord reveals Himself to us is fuller of genuine comfort” than the aspect revealed in these passages of Jesus as our good shepherd.
Smith explains that in her study of the Bible, she has found that “the highest and grandest truths of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ are so often shut up in the simplest and commonest texts in the Bible.” She was taught the 23rd Psalm in nursery school and had memorized it. But Smith explains that passages that we have learned and read repeatedly from such a young age can “sound so old and familiar to [us], that [we] cannot see what meaning they can convey. But in truth they tell us the whole story of our religion in words of such wondrous depth of meaning that I very much doubt whether it has ever yet entered into the heart of any mortal man to conceive of the things they reveal.” She says that we must look again at the verses we learned as children. We need to read them with the intelligence of our grown-up years in order to see new insights, and then we need to believe them with all our old childhood faith.
Repeat the words of Psalm 23 to yourself: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Who is your shepherd? The Lord!
Smith says, “Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord God of Heaven and earth, the Almighty Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it were a very little thing, He is your Shepherd, and has charged Himself with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and keeping of his sheep.”
Smith explains that as she was thinking about Jesus being her shepherd, she searched through the pages of the Bible with eagerness to see “whether it could possibly be true that such untold treasures of comfort were really and actually [hers].’’ Smith says, “I did what I have often found great profit in doing, I built up a pyramid of declarations and promises concerning the Lord being our Shepherd that, once built, presented an immovable and indestructible front to all the winds and storms of doubt or trial that could assail it. And I became convinced, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the Lord really was my Shepherd, and that in giving Himself this name He assumed the duties belonging to the name, and really would be, what He declares Himself to be, a “good shepherd who giveth his life for his sheep.”
What makes a shepherd good or bad? Jesus Himself draws the contrast between a good shepherd and a bad shepherd. In John 10:11 (NIV), the verse Smith just quoted, Jesus declares, “I am the good shepherd,” and explains that, “The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” So, the good shepherd is willing to die in order to save the lives of his sheep – as Jesus did on the cross. But in verses 12-13, Jesus explains that the bad shepherd does not have the same regard for the lives of the sheep. He says, “The hired hand,” the bad shepherd, “is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” Smith explains that in the books of the prophets, God condemns the bad shepherds.
Then Smith says, “Surely one would think that no Christian could ever accuse our divine Shepherd of being as faithless and unkind as [the bad shepherds] He thus condemns. And yet, if the secrets of some Christian hearts should be revealed, I fear that it would be found that, although they do not put it into words, and perhaps hardly know themselves that such are their feelings about Him, yet at the bottom they do really look upon Him as a faithless Shepherd. What else can it mean when Christians complain that the Lord has forsaken them; that they cry to Him for spiritual food and He does not hear; that they are beset by enemies on every side and He does not deliver them; that when their souls find themselves in dark places He does not come to their rescue; that when they are weak He does not strengthen them; and when they are spiritually sick He does not heal them? What are all these doubts and discouragements but secret accusations against our good Shepherd of the very things which He Himself so scathingly condemns?”
Smith tells the story of a Christian who had just discovered he had not really understood what it meant for Jesus to be called the good shepherd. The Christian says, “I believe I read the Twenty-third Psalm as though it was written, ‘The Lord is the sheep, and I am the shepherd, and, if I do not keep a tight hold on Him, He will run away.’ When dark days came I never for a moment thought that He would stick by me, and when my soul was starving and cried out for food, I never dreamed He would feed me. I see now that I never looked upon Him as a faithful Shepherd at all. But now all is different. I myself am not one bit better or stronger, but I have discovered that I have a good Shepherd, and that is all I need. I see now that it really is true that the Lord is my Shepherd, and that I shall not want.”
Smith says it is important for us to reflect and ask ourselves if we truly see Jesus as a good, tender shepherd. Are we able to feel safe and carefree like a sheep under the guidance of a shepherd who is thinking of our well being and lovingly guiding us? Do we trust Him to stay with us when the path grows dark? Do we trust He is guiding us the right way? Or do we question His goodness and His plan for our lives and often feel like He has abandoned us on our journey and run away like the bad shepherd? As we are learning who Jesus is and how to trust Him, God will give us clearer vision to see that Jesus is always next to us, lovingly guiding us on the pathway home to heaven and that those dark places on the pathway are part of His plan for us, too – remembering how in the last chapter Smith explained that sometimes God works through afflictions.
We’ll pick up here in Part 2 of the Chapter 4 summary in my next post.
Hannah Whitall Smith: God of All Comfort – Christian Classics Ethereal Library
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Learning to Live by Faith 