Category: Reflections
Christ Glorified
Christ glorified the Father. The Father glorified Christ.
John 17
To daffodils
Fair daffodils, we weep to see
You haste away so soon;
As yet the early-rising sun
Has not attained his noon.
Stay, stay,
Until the hasting day
Has run
But to the even-song;
And, having prayed together, we
Will go with you along.
We have short time to stay, as you;
We have as short a spring,
As quick a growth to meet decay,
As you, or anything.
We die
As your hours do, and dry
Away
Like to the summer’s rain,
Or as the pearls of morning’s dew,
Ne’er to be found again.Robert Herrick
False prophets
Matthew 7:15-21
Born of affliction
Many of the world’s best things have been born of affliction. The sweetest songs ever sung on earth have been called out by suffering. The richest blessings that we enjoy have come to us out of the fire. The good things we inherit from the past are the purchase of suffering and sacrifice. Our redemption comes from Gethsemane and Calvary. We get heaven through Christ’s tears and blood. Whatever is richest and most valuable in life anywhere has been in the fire.
J. R. MillerDeath, be not proud
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die.John Donne
Good enough for God
Luke 18:9-14
God walks the dark hills
When I was a child, my mother shared about her experience on a mission trip to Mexico. During that trip, years before I was born, she accompanied the pastor and a few others from her church. As they walked a steep hill, heading toward a distant village, they seemed to feel the burden of great spiritual oppression. The pastor enjoined them to sing “God walks the dark hills”.
My mother occasionally sang this song in the church we attended when I was a child. She was the song leader for many years. When I recall this memory, I can see her face and hear her voice. She sang as one with experience. She sang as one who knew God. She knew him imperfectly, but she recognized the appearance of his character in the Scriptures and in the lives of disciples of Christ.
A few days before she died, I told my mother how I cherished the memory of her telling me about singing in Mexico. She gave a weak smile. As we planned her funeral, she asked that we include this song. As the service began, the congregation heard the classic recording of Vestal Goodman singing “God walks the dark hills”.
Sometimes the hills are awfully dark. It especially seemed that way when my mother died: a great light was taken from my life. The pain of sin brings scars. The separation of death, the stench of decay, the sting of every failure: all these are signs of mankind’s waywardness from God. Yet, those who have been redeemed by the Lamb have hope beyond the toil of this life. We mourn not as those without hope. We rejoice that all shall be well in the kingdom of God.
God walks the dark hills. Christ shows us the way.
Adopted into suffering
Romans 8:12-18
Preaching
If Christ crucified has no his rightful place in your sermons, and sin is not exposed as it should be, and your people are not plainly told what they ought to believe, and be, and do, your preaching is of no use.
J.C. Ryle