And Can It Be

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

[Words by Charles Wesley, music by Thomas Campbell]

Christ Alone

"O GOD,
Thy main plan, and the end of thy will

is to make Christ glorious and beloved in heaven

where he is now ascended,
where one day all the elect will behold his glory
and love and glorify him for ever.

Though here I love him but little,

may this be my portion at last.

In this world thou hast given me a beginning,

one day it will be perfected in the realm above.

Thou hast helped me to see and know Christ, though obscurely,

to take him, receive him,
to possess him, love him,
to bless him in my heart, mouth, life.

Let me study and stand for discipline,

and all the ways of worship,

out of love for Christ;
and to show my thankfulness;

to seek and know his will from love,
to hold it in love,
and daily to care for and keep this state of heart.

thou hast led me to place all my nature and happiness

in oneness with Christ,
in having heart and mind centred only on him,
in being like him in communicating good to others;

This is my heaven on earth,
But I need the force, energy, impulses of thy Spirit

to carry me on the way to my Jerusalem.

Here, it is my duty

to be as Christ in this world,
to do what he would do,
to live as he would live,
to walk in love and meekness;
then would he be known,
then would I have peace in death."

[From the prayer Christ Alone pg. 23 in The Valley of Vision (Banner of Truth)]

A Prayer of Augustine

"My God, let me be thankful as I remember and acknowledge all your mercies. Let my whole self be steeped in love of you and all my being cry Lord, there is none like you! You have broken the chains that bound me; I will sacrifice in your honour. I shall tell how it was that you broke them and, when they hear what I have to tell, all who adore you will exclaim, ‘Blessed be the Lord in heaven and on earth Great and wonderful is his name.’"

Pine-Coffin, R.S. [Translator and Introduction] Saint Augustine Confessions. Penguin Books Ltd., London; 1961 Pp. 157 (Bk 8.1).

My Choice

I was listening to Mark Dever’s overview sermon on Ephesians today…and he read this poem [written by Bill McChesney around 1960 at the age of 25 in the World Evangelization Magazine], so I thought I’d share. The author was a missionary to the Congo in Africa and he was brutally murdered at age 28 along with hundreds of other missionaries. Blessings!

My Choice
By Bill McChesney

I want my breakfast served at eight
With ham and eggs upon the plate.
A well-broiled steak I'll eat at one
And dine again when day is done.

I want an ultramodern home
And in each room a telephone;
Soft carpets, too, upon the floors
And pretty drapes to grace the doors.
A cozy place of lovely things,
Like easy chairs with inner springs,

And then, I'll get a nice T.V.
- Of course, I'm careful what I see.

I want my wardrobe, too, to be
Of neatest, finest quality,
With latest style in suit and vest
Why should not Christians have the best?

But then the Master I can hear
In no uncertain voice, so clear:
"I bid you come and follow Me,
The lowly Man of Galilee."

"Birds of the air have made their nest
And foxes in their holes find rest,
But I can offer you no bed;
No place have I to lay my head."

In shame I hung my head and cried,
How could I spurn the Crucified?
Could I forget the way He went,
The sleepless nights in prayer He spent?

For forty days without a bite,
Alone He fasted day and night;
Despised, rejected - on He went,
and did not stop till veil He rent!

A man of sorrows and of grief
No earthly friend to bring relief;
"Smitten of God," the prophet said
Mocked, beaten, bruised, His blood ran red.
If He be God, and died for me,
No sacrifice too great can be
For me; a mortal man, to make;
I'll do it all for Jesus' sake.

Yes, I will tread the path He trod,
No other way will please my God,
So, henceforth, this my choice shall be,
My choice for all eternity.

"Till the God of Love Sees Fit"

"Plagues and deaths around me fly;

Till He bids, I cannot die;

Not a single shaft can hit,

Till the God of love sees fit."

(John Ryland from A.W. Pink's The Soveregnty of God pp. 145)

"If It Be His Sweet Will"

"Ill that He blesses is our good,

And unblest good is ill,

And all is right that seems most wrong,

If it be His sweet will."

(from A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God pp. 148)

"Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It"

[Another hymn on Atonement]

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child and forever I am.

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

I think of my blessèd Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long:
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

I know there’s a crown that is waiting,
In yonder bright mansion for me,
And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
At home with the Lord I shall be.

Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
His child and forever I am.

[Words: Fanny Crosby, in Songs of Redeeming Love, by John R. Sweney, C. C. McCabe, Tullius O’Kane, and William Kirkpatrick (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1882).]

"It Is Finished! Man of Sorrows"

[Another atonement centered hymn]

Words: Frederic H. Hedge, Hymns for the Church (Boston, Massachusetts: Crosby, Nichols & Co., 1853); these words come from a longer hymn, “’Twas the Day when God’s Anointed.”

Music: “Christi Mutter,” Corner’s Gesangbuch, 1625

“It is finished!” Man of Sorrows!
From Thy cross our frailty borrows
Strength to bear and conquer thus.

While extended there, we view Thee:
Mighty Suff’rer, draw us to Thee,
Sufferer victorious!

Not in vain for us uplifted:
Man of Sorrows, wonder gifted
May that sacred emblem be.

Lifted high amid the ages:
Guide of heroes, saints, and sages,
May it guide us still to Thee.

Still to Thee, whose love unbounded
Sorrow’s depth’s for us has sounded,
Perfected by conflicts sore.

Honored be Thy cross forever:
Star, that points our high endeavor,
Whither Thou hast gone before!

"There is a Green Hill Far Away"

Well I'm going to write my paper on Thomas Aquinas view on atonement. I wanted to pick a hymn as a theme for the paper and this one "There is a Green Hill Far Away" seems to be the best description that I saw of atonement [By Cecil Frances Alexander, 1848; Meditation: C. M. John H. Gower, 1890].

I'll probably use this hymn to wrap everything up, after I've summed up (1) a brief summary of atonement...development of doctrine of atonement through just before Aquinas; (2) Aquinas' view on atonement with commentary; (3) What this means to us today...some contemporary views...and application.

There is a green hill far away,
Outside a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell,
What pains He had to bear;
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

He died that we might be forgiven,
He died to make us good,
That we might go at last to heaven,
Saved by His precious blood.

There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of heaven, and let us in.

O dearly, dearly has He loved,
And we must love Him too,
And trust in His redeeming blood,
And try His works to do. A-Men

What's Done for Christ Will Last!

"Only one life twill soon be passed

Only what’s done for Christ will last."

How true that short little phrase is! Powerful!

Matthew 6:19-20 "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."

1 Corinthians 3:14-15 "If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire."

Revelation 8:7-8 "The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood."

Hebrews 13:14 "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come."

[HT: John Piper. If you click on the link the quote is about half way through the talk.]

"The Thorn"

I stood a mendicant* of God before His royal throne
And begged Him for a priceless gift, which I could call my own.

I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart
I cried, "But Lord, this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.

This is a strange, a hurtful gift that Thou hast given me.
He said, "My child, I give good gifts and give my best to thee."

I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore;
As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.

I learned He never gives a thorn without this added Grace.
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hids His face.

"The Thorn," by Martha Snell Nicholson

*["mendicant" = beggar]

[HT: Justin Taylor]

"Jesus of the Scars"

"Jesus of the Scars"

"If we have never sought, we seek thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-marks on thy brow,
We must have thee, O Jesus of the scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by thy scars we know thy grace.

If, when the doors are shut, thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of thine;
We know today what wounds are, have no fear;
Show us thy scars, we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak;
They rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but thou alone."

"Jesus of the Scars," by Edward Shillito inspired by the hope he found in the Lord during the horrors of World War II.