O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
2Cor 4:1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
I was reading this verse this morning, thinking about what the "therefore" was there for and my thoughts were led towards this song. For we have our ministry not by dint of effort, nor by reason of having kept laws ourselves, but by the grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now there, my dear brothers and sister, is the reason for hope. It is a hope not grounded in ourselves, in what we have done or will do, but in the certain facts and promises of what God has done and will do. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He will never leave us nor forsake even unto the end of the age.
[Notice - no applause afterwards. I like that very much]
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
Lyrics by George Mattheson
I was reading this verse this morning, thinking about what the "therefore" was there for and my thoughts were led towards this song. For we have our ministry not by dint of effort, nor by reason of having kept laws ourselves, but by the grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now there, my dear brothers and sister, is the reason for hope. It is a hope not grounded in ourselves, in what we have done or will do, but in the certain facts and promises of what God has done and will do. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He will never leave us nor forsake even unto the end of the age.
[Notice - no applause afterwards. I like that very much]
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.
Lyrics by George Mattheson
posted by agonizomai at 12:01 am
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4 Comments:
Tony,
This song is wonderful. It's one of those songs that confronts us with right, Gospel-centered thinking - but gently and poetically. Somewhat disarming, it's not just flowery poetry. It's a spiritual nuke wrapped in tissue paper.
Good word!
Derek
Derek,
Kinda just like the whole blog eh?
Blessings,
Tony
Actually, yes, kinda like the whole blog.
I find I enjoy reading theological material, such as debates about the atonement (currently there's a good one going on at Frank Turk's Debate Blog, by the way). I enjoy reading philosophical arguments for or against various theological positions. And I even enjoy reading random entries from theological dictionaries (my dear wife wrinkles her pretty forehead and calls this, "weird"). But none of these subjects directly confront me. They're great for building the knowledge that can easily be twisted into that which "puffeth up," but they lack the spiritual oomph that pushes past the mere intellectual argument and attacks the heart with truth-bearing missiles. So, for a real challenge, I read Agonizomai! Part commentary, part devotional, part thermo-nuclear exposition.
Derek,
Things have come to a pretty pass when I can't even be "flip" about myself in my own combox without being set straight.
Love the phrase "thermo-nuclear exposition". You should patent that one before the emerg*** boys get a hold of it! You know how they like to coin new words and expressions.
Blessings,
Tony
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