Lord, to whom shall we go? - John 6:68

I bring my sins to thee, the sins I cannot count,
That all may cleansed be, in thy once open’d fount;
I bring them Saviour, all to thee, the burden is too great for me.

My heart to thee I bring, the heart I cannot read;
A faithless, wand’ring thing—an evil heart indeed;
I bring it, Saviour, now to thee, that fixed and faithful it may be.

I bring my grief to thee, the grief I cannot tell,
No words shall needed be,Thou knowest all so well;
I bring the sorrow laid on me, O suffering Saviour, all to thee.

My life I bring to thee, I would not be my own;
O Saviour, let me be Thine, ever thine alone:
My heart, my life, my all, I bring, to thee, my Saviour and my King.
To Thee, my Saviour, and my King!

Frances R. Havergal

Song of songs

The form of words in the title of the Song is a Hebrew way of expressing its superlative excellence. It is the Song of Songs. It is the best, the sweetest, the greatest of all songs. The same form of words is used in other places and always helps to exalt the Savior. In His deity He is "God of gods" (Dan 2:47). He is greater than the "Heaven of heavens," which cannot contain Him (2 Chron 2:6; 6:18). In wondrous grace He became a "Servant of servants" (Gen 9:25), the greatest of all Jehovah’s servants. Those who know Him and love Him have found Him to be the answer to earth’s "Vanity of vanities" (Eccl 1:2; 12:8). He is the grand antitype of that place of glory which we call the "Holy of Holies" (Exod 26:33). One day His true greatness will be universally recognized when He appears as "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Rev 19:16). It is a "Song of Songs" indeed, that sings of such a One as He! - Jim Flanigan, Truth and Tidings

It Shows in Your Face

You don't have to tell how you live each day;

You don't have to say if you work or you play;

A tried, true barometer serves in the place --

However you live, it will show in your face.

The false, the deceit that you bear in your heart,

Will not stay inside where it first got a start;

For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace --

What you wear in your heart, you wear in your face.

If your life is selfless, if for others you live,

For not what you get, but how much you can give;

If you live close to God in his infinite grace --

You don't have to tell it, it shows in your face.

Author unknown

More from Choice Gleanings

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. - Isaiah 1:18

The infinite LORD of Glory requests to communicate with sinful man. “Deity stoops to speak to dust.” Look again at Calvary and see our Saviour, bearing in our stead, the “consuming fire” of judgment that we deserved. Now the scarlet sins have been forgiven and God sees us as white as snow. Listen now to the Saviour, “Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matt. 9:2). —Milton Haack

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul,
When at the cross the Saviour made me whole;
My sins were washed away, and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. —John Peterson

Wait

God's delays are not denials,
He has heard your prayer,
He knows all about your trials,
Knows your every care.

God's delays are not denials,
Help is on the way,
He is watching o'er life's dials,
Bringing forth the day.

God's delays are not denials,
You will find Him true;
Working through the darkest trials
What is best for you.

Grace E. Troy

Borrowed from Choice Gleanings

Then shall the man bring...an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance. - Numbers 5:15
But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. - Hebrews 10:3
Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. - Hebrews 10:17

The memory of past failures can haunt us. It is good for us to remember that although we are failures because of Christ we can leave those sins at the cross—under the blood. May God give us grace to enjoy the fact that our sins are gone.—William H. Gustafson

Gone, gone, gone, gone, yes, my sins are gone.
Now my soul is free and in my heart’s a song.
Buried in the deepest sea, yes, that’s good enough for me;
I shall live eternally—praise God, my sins are G-O-N-E. —Helen Griggs

Savior! We love Thee!

Saviour! we love Thee, long for Thy return;
The night is dark, and oh, our spirits yearn
To hear the call out from the radiant sky,
The calling Home, the resurrection cry.

This thrilling word that ends this night of gloom,
That binds death’s power, and triumphs o’er the tomb;
When in a moment we shall mount above
And know the fullness of Thy heart of love.

Oh, wondrous call that bringeth to Thy side
In unmarred beauty Thy beloved Bride,
To know Thy love, its wonders to explore,
In rapture bow, and worship evermore.

Oh, wondrous love! to see Thy face divine,
To know the whispered joy of being Thine.
Oh, tell me not of glories I shall see,
This is the deepest—being near to Thee.

Lord Jesus, come! Thy Bride her Lord would see,
And know the joy of being like to Thee;
So worlds on worlds will see what grace has done,
As long as everlasting ages run.

Samuel Trevor Francis, 1834-1925

More gems from my reading

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. - Genesis 3:4-5

Scripture tells us that we "...are not ignorant of satan's devices." In this passage we see...the enemy's great tactics. Incredibly, they work to this very day...He flat out denies that God's word is true. God told Adam that in the day that he would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die. Here, while speaking to Eve, satan tells her, "... ye shall not surely die." Jesus told the Pharisees that the devil was a liar from the beginning. Here is the lie; whereas God said Adam would surely die, satan says he would NOT surely die. There certainly is a big difference.

The reason that this worked is that God often speaks of matters from His own perspective, and always tells the truth. Satan, perhaps knowing God's perspective, tells only enough of the truth to make us think he is right. For, it is true that in the day that Adam and Eve ate from the tree they did not collapse to the ground, and breath their last. But the more important perspective in this matter, the thing about which God was speaking, was spiritual death. From that day forward Adam and Eve ran from God: spiritually dead, not desiring Him or His ways. This desire to run from God and ignore His ways has been passed on to all of their descendants, the whole human race. Physical death is the result of spiritual death. Had Adam and Eve remained spiritually alive, they would also have remained physically alive.

Herm Klingenberger

Blessed are those who give without remembering and receive without forgetting.

Gift by grace

Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD. - Ezekiel 14:14

Noah was said to be a just man and perfect in his generation (Genesis 6:9). When the rulers desired to find fault with Daniel concerning the kingdom, they could find none occasion nor fault for he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him (Daniel 6:4). Job is described as perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil (Job 1:1). These were spiritual giants of their time. But all their righteousness could only deliver but their own souls when faced with God's righteous wrath upon the sin of the people. For the Lord says elsewhere that all our righteousness are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

There is yet one Person who stands out above all. Paul says to the Romans that by the righteousness of this Person, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. By the obedience of this Person, shall many be made righteous (Romans 5:18-19). Noah, Daniel and Job could barely save themselves by their own righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ saves ALL by His righteousness. If only I would accept that free gift!

Come unto Him

David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. - 1 Sam 22:1-2

David reminds me of the Lord Jesus in this account.

So many of us would be able to relate to the one in distress. Our hearts rage a war as the good that we want to do, we do not, but the evil that we do not want to do, we keep on doing. All of us should be able to relate to the one in debt. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death and since we're all sinful then we owe the payment for our sin. We'll need to clear the debt of death that we owe. Again many of us could relate to the one that was discontented or, more accurately, bitter in soul. Bitter and callous from the harsh environment of this world. Sore and wounded from the treatment of the people of this world. These verses call out to all.

Note the action! They gathered themselves unto him. The Lord Jesus calls us to come unto Him...and He will give us rest. Whether in distress, or in debt, or even in bitterness, we are to gather ourselves unto Christ. We look to Him for comfort and victory from distress, for redemption from our debt and for sweetness to our souls.

Now note the reaction! It was an all gracious response. All these gathered themselves unto David in their present condition no matter how bad it was. He doesn't turn them away nor refuse their gathering unto him. The Lord Jesus receives wretched, sinful, unworthy men and women. Oh what grace! He does not reject us as we come to Him. We are accepted in Him who is the Beloved.

Now note the result! He became a captain over them. As we understand the grace that the Lord has bestowed upon us then there can be no lower response than Him becoming Lord over us all!

Is it because...?

Is it because the sea is calm that waves are uninspired reaching shore?
Is it because the wind is hushed that the whistling is dulled to a bore?
Is it because the path is smooth that rocks stimulate no more?
Is it because the storm is stilled that rain falls as if a chore?

Nay, it cannot be!
For the sea billows still restlessly roll,
the wind still piercingly howls,
the path with jaggedness strewn,
the storm with ease doth take it's toll.

Unworthy

Unworthy was I,
His love I denied.
Yet "Father forgive,"
Were the words that He cried,
As He hung in my place;
And bore all the pain;
For my sins He suffered,
For me He was slain.

Unworthy was I,
Yet he stooped so low;
Yes, for me He came
To this world below,
From the throne of a King
At the Father's right hand
To the Cross of a felon,
His life in demand.

His brow cruelly beaten,
A spear pierced His side,
In love he extended His arms
When He died.
And in that embrace
My comfort shall be,
For God looked at Him
And then pardoned me!

Still unworthy am I
As I live day by day,
Unconcerned by His claims,
Of His will for my way.
But although I am weak,
And my faith is oft dim,
Unworthy through self,
I'm found worthy through Him.

Beth Peppler