Thou Poor, Afflicted, Tempted Soul

Today, I downloaded Red Mountain Music's rendition of the old hymn, "Thou Poor, Afflicted, Tempted Soul," by John Berridge.  I'd never heard it before today, but it really ministered to my weary soul.  So go download the song for free from NoiseTrade.com (actually, you can download the whole album!) and meditate on these words.

Thou poor, afflicted, tempted soul,
With fears, and doubts, and tempests tossed.
What if the billows rise and roll,
And dash thy ship, it is not lost;
The winds and waves and fiends may roar,
But Christ will bring thee safe on shore.
The winds and waves and fiends may roar,
But Christ will bring thee safe on shore.

What ails those eyes bedewed with tears?
Those laboring sighs that heave thy breast?
Those oft repeated, broken prayers?
Dost thou not long for Jesus' rest?
And can the Lord pass heedless by,
And see a mourning sinner die?
And can the Lord pass heedless by,
And see a sad and mourning sinner die?

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

Dane Ortlund recently wrote a short post on the story behind George Matheson's hymn, "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go." What a moving and truth-filled testimony!

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O Love that will 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 foll’west all my way
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be

Stabilizing lines, especially for those in darkness.

Do you know the story behind it?

At age 20 George Matheson (1842-1906) was engaged to be married but began going blind. When he broke the news to his fiancee, she decided she could not go through life with a blind husband. She left him. Before losing his sight he had written two books of theology and some feel that if he had retained his sight he could have been the greatest leader of the church of Scotland in his day.

A special providence was that George’s sister offered to care for him. With her help, George left the world of academia for pastoral ministry and wound up preaching to 1500 each week–blind.

The day came, however, in 1882, when his sister fell in love and prepared for marriage herself. The evening before the wedding, George’s whole family had left to get ready for the next day’s celebration. He was alone and facing the prospect of living the rest of his life without the one person who had come through for him. On top of this, he was doubtless reflecting on his own aborted wedding day twenty years earlier. It is not hard to imagine the fresh waves of grief washing over him that night.

In the darkness of that moment George Matheson wrote this hymn. He remarked afterward that it took him five minutes and that it was the only hymn he ever wrote that required no editing.

O love that will not let me go. Heartening hope for you and me.

Here’s the last stanza.

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

 Thanks to: Dane Ortlund via Justin Taylor's blog

Hymns II by Page CXVI

I'm a sucker for old hymns set to new music.  If you are too, check out Hymns II by Page CXVI.  As a part of their promotion, Page CXVI is giving away their first album (which, by the way, is awesome!) for free this whole week.  So at the very least, download their first album, rock out a little, and if you like it, buy their newest one.

How Sweet & Awful Is the Place

I recently bought the Together for the Gospel Live 2008 music CD last month and am loving it! I'm preparing myself to go to T4G 2010 and can hardly wait. By the way, if you're going, let me know. I'd love to see you there. Back to the CD...

One hymn in particular has been ministering to me: How Sweet & Awful Is the Place by Isaac Watts. It envisions the bride of Christ gathering around the heavenly table eating the feast of the Lamb and praising God. I keep coming back to this one stanza.

Why was I made to hear thy voice
And enter while there's room
When thousands make a wretched choice
And rather starve than come?

I will never understand why God has chosen to love a sinner such as me. There is nothing good in me that would cause God to love me. Nothing! I can only rely on Deuteronomy 7:7-8. He loves me because he loves me.

Hope you enjoy the song. The lyrics are below

How sweet and awful is the place
With Christ within the doors
While everlasting love displays
The choicest of her stores.

While all our hearts and all our songs
Join to admire the feast
Each of us cry with thankful tongues,
"Lord, why was I a guest?"

"Why was I made to hear thy voice
and enter while there's room,
When thousands make a wretched choice
And rather starve than come?"

'Twas the same love that spread the feast
that sweetly drew us in;
Else we had still refused to taste
and perished in our sin

Pity the nations, O our God,
Constrain the earth to come;
Send thy victorious Word abroad
and bring the strangers home.

We long to see thy churches full,
that all the chosen race
may with one voice and heart and soul
sing thy redeeming grace.

How Firm a Foundation

I hope this old hymn encourages you. There is no stronger foundation you can stand on than Jesus.