Light Shining Out Of Darkness

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning Providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

-William Cowper-

Watching Unto God in the Night Season

Sleep at last has fled these eyes,
Nor do I regret his flight;
More alert my spirits rise,
And my heart is free and light.

Nature silent all around,
Not a single witness near;
God as soon as sought is found,
And the flame of love burns clear.

Interruption, all the day long,
Checks the current of my joys;
Creatures press me with a throng,
And perplex me with their noise.

Undisturbed I muse all night
On the first Eternal Fair;
Nothing there obstructs delight,
Love renovated there.

Life, with its perpetual stir,
Proves a foe to Love and me;
Fresh entanglements occur, –
Comes the night, and sets me free.

Never more, sweet sleep, suspend
My enjoyments, always new:
Leave me to possess my friend;
Other eyes and hearts subdue.

Hush the world, that I may wake
To the taste of pure delights;
Oh the pleasures I partake, –
God the partner of my nights!

David, for the selfsame cause,
Night preferred to busy day:
Hearts whom heavenly beauty draws
Wish the glaring the sun away.

Sleep, self-lovers, is for you; –
Souls, that love celestial know,
Fairer scenes by night can view
Than the sun can ever show.

– William Cowper

Rejoice, and be Glad!

Serve the Lord with gladness.

– Psalm 100:2

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Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving Him at all; they bring the form of loyalty, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace His throne; He is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have His servants dressed in the uniform of joy. The angels of God serve Him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience that is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looks at the heart, and if He sees that we serve Him from force, and not because we love Him, He will reject our offering. Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God proves that obedience is his element; he can sing,

“Make me to walk in your commands,
It’s a delightful road.”

Reader, let us put this question – do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.

Morning and Evening (January 9th - Evening), C. H. Spurgeon

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Sometimes a light surprises
The Christian while He sings:
It is the Lord, who rises
With healing in His wings:
When comforts are declining,
He grants the soul again
A season of clear shining
To cheer it after rain.

In holy contemplation
We sweetly then pursue
The theme of God’s salvation,
And find it ever new:
Set free from present sorrow,
We cheerfully can say,
E’en let the unknown morrow
Bring with it what it may.

It can bring with it nothing
But He will bear us through;
Who gives the lilies clothing
Will clothe His people too;
Beneath the spreading heavens
No creature but is fed;
And He, who feeds the ravens,
Will give His children bread.

Though vine nor fig-tree neither
Their wonted fruit shall bear;
Though all the field should wither,
Nor flocks nor herds be there;
Yet, God the same abiding,
His praise shall tune my voice;
For, while in Him confiding,
I cannot but rejoice.

– William Cowper (1779)

The Entire Surrender

Peace has unveiled her smiling face,
And woos thy soul to her embrace,
Enjoyed with ease, if thou refrain
From earthly love, else sought in vain;
She dwells with all who Truth prefer,
But seeks not them who seek not her.

Yield to the Lord, with simple heart,
All that thou hast, and all thou art;
Renounce all strength but strength divine,
And peace shall be for ever thine:
Behold the path which I have trod,
My path, till I go home to God.

– William Cowper

A Divine Perspective

THE ACQUIESCENCE OF PURE LOVE.

I watch my hours and see them fleet away,
The time is long that I have languish’d here;
Yet all my thoughts thy purposes obey,
With no reluctance, cheerful and sincere.

To me ‘tis equal, whether love ordained,
My life or death, appoint me pain or ease;
My soul perceives no real ill pain,
In ease or health, no real good she sees.

One good she covets, and that good alone,
To choose thy will, from selfish bias free,
And to prefer a cottage to a throne,
And grief to comfort, if it pleases thee.

That we should bear the cross is thy command,
Die to the world, and live to self no more;
Suffer, unmoved, beneath the rudest hand,
As pleased when shipwrecked, as when safe on shore.

– William Cowper

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Ah! if you have a self-will in your hearts, pray to God to uproot it. Have you self-love? Beseech the Holy Spirit to turn it out; for if you will always will to do as God wills, you must be happy. I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little wafer, and lifting up her hands, she said, as a blessing, "What! all this, and Christ too?" It is "all this," compared with what we deserve. And I have read of some one dying, who was asked if he wished to live or die; and he said, "I have no wish at all about it." "But if you might wish, which would you choose?" "I would not choose at all." "But if God bade you choose?" "I would beg God to choose for me, for I should not know which to take." Happy state! happy state! to be perfectly acquiescent—

To lie passive in his hand,
And to know no will but his.

– “The Peculiar Sleep of the Beloved” - The New Park Street Pulpit Vol I pg. 89 (C.H. Spurgeon)

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O, beloved! That divinely cherished perspective of God’s perfect will - aye? Oh, how trustworthy, how good, how lovely is He?!

Not only do we receive His blessed providence - all the intricacies of His willed circumstances - whatever they may be; but we are graced with Himself: Love.

And so, what say you, beloved? What position will you hold? Will you carelessly balance your affections alongside an everchanging turbulence of time? Will you let your feelings ebb and flow while pros and cons press in?

O, my soul. Listen. Come now. We have been gifted a free will, have we not? We have something of which we take so very lightly, and yet, it is no insignificant matter.

We have a choice: we can govern our devotion, we can carefully weigh our lot; we can try and judge for ourselves, whether or not that which has been bestowed upon us is for our good.

Or, we can, with reckless abandon, realize our dim-witted nature, rest in His sovereign grace, and gladly, unreservedly, passionately, unrelentingly, submit ourselves to His tender lovingkindness.

Ah! That’s better.

Let us take our free will, perhaps the only thing we “own”; let us offer it up as our expression of love. Let us turn our affection towards Him, the only One truly worthy of our praise. And, let us, with the help of His Spirit, shape our perspective accordingly.

May His will be done, now and always.