QUIETUDE

Quietude, which some men cannot abide because it reveals their inward poverty, is as a palace of cedar to the wise, for along its hallowed courts the King in His beauty deigns to walk. ---- Charles H. Spurgeon

 

Trust in the LORD and do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him.... (Psalm 37:3-5a).

 

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You (Isaiah 26:3).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Peace, Perfect Peace, Edward H. Bickersteth, 1875.

HARVEST

Thanksgiving. Here a little child I stand,

Heaving up my either hand;

Cold as paddocks though they be,

Here I lift them up to Thee,

For a benison to fall

On our meat, and on us all.

   --- Robert Herrick (1591 - 1674)

 

Blessed be the LORD, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation (Psalm 68:19)

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Sing To the Lord of Harvest, John S. B. Monsell, 1866.

WHOLLY

WHOLLY THE LORD'S

 

My whole though broken heart, O Lord

   From henceforth shall be Thine;

And here I do my vow record ---

   This hand, these words are mine;

All that I have, without reserve,

   I offer here to Thee;

Thy will and honor all shall serve

   That Thou bestow'st on me.

 

All that I save I lose;

   All that I lose I save;

The treasures of Thy love I choose,

   And Thou art all I crave.

My God, Thou hast my heart and hand;

   I all to Thee resign;

I'll ever to this covenant stand,

   Though flesh hereat repine.

 

I know that Thou wast willing first,

   And then drew my consent;

Having thus loved me at the worst

   Thou wilt not now repent.

Now I have quit all self-pretense,

   Take care of what's Thine own;

My life, my health, and my defense,

   Now lie on Thee alone. ---- Richard Baxter.

 

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

 

Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8). 

 

A Hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Christ of All My Hopes the Ground, Ralph Wardlaw, 1817.

GOSPEL

The gospel. "The gospel" does not mean my being born again or experiencing conversion, making a decision or being transformed within. Rather, the gospel is that "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (Romans 4:25). The good news is about what happened to Christ because of my failures to believe enough, to obey enough, to serve enough, and to love enough. -- Michael Horton.

[Abraham] ....gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was "counted to him as righteousness. Bu the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (Romans 4:21-25).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: Tell Me the Old, Old Story. Katherine Hankey, 1866.

GENTLENESS

Our loving Lord. The depths of our misery can never fall below the depths of [God's] mercy. -- Richard Sibbes

 

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: How Gentle God's Commands. Phil Doddridge, 1755.

TRUSTING

Trusting a Sovereign God. Once you walk through the door of love into the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28 everything changes. There come into your life stability and depth and freedom. You simply can't be blown over any more. The confidence that a sovereign God governs for your good all the pain and all the pleasure that you will ever experience is an incomparable refuge and security and hope and power in your life. When God's people really live by the future grace of Romans 8:28 --- from measles to the mortuary --- they are the freest and strongest and most generous people in the world. ---- John Piper

 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to HIs purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Romans 8:26-30. See also Ephesians 3:14-21.)

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: O Rejoice in he Lord.  

IMMANENCE

What varous hindrances we meet

   In coming to the mercy seat;

Yet who, that knows the

   worth of prayer,

But wishes to be often there?

                        -- William Cowper

 

Seek the LORD and His strength,

   seek His presence continually!

Remember the wondrous works that

   He has done.

Save us, O God of our salvation,

   and gather and deliver us from

among the nations,

   that we may give thanks to Your holy name,

and glory in Your praise. (I Chronicles 16:11, 35)

SELF-DENIAL

 

If you find yourself loving any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than the house of God, any table better than the Lord's table, any person better than Christ, any indulgence better than the hope of heaven -- take alarm! ---- Thomas Guthrie.

 

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he was looking to the reward (Hebrews 11:24-26)

 

But whatever gain I had, I counted a loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.... (Philippians 3:7-16).

DARKNESS

Satan, the great adversary, directs all his energy to prevent men becoming the subject of that illumination of which the gospel, as the revelation of the glory of Christ, is the source.----Charles Hodge.

 

In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (II Corinthians 4:4).

FOCUS

You may not be the best judge of the distance you have travelled, but you ought to have a good idea of the direction in which you are travelling. ---- Anonymous

 

Not that I...am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12, 13-14).  

ILLUMINATION

Unless God's Word illumine the way, the whole life of men is wrapped in darkness and mist, so that they cannot but miserably stray. ---- John Calvin

 

But the LORD's portion is His people, Jacob His allotted heritage. He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for Him, He kept him as the apple of His eye....the LORD alone guided him, no foreign god was with him(Deuteronomy 32: 10, 12.)

 

For You are my lamp, O LORD: and You, the LORD will lighten my darkness (II Samuel 22:39).

 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you shall go; I will guide you with my eye (Psalm 32:8).

SOVEREIGNTY

God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never skips, and acts with a hand that never fails.  Anonymous.

 

He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He (Deuteronomy 32:4).

 

This God --  His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true (Psalm 18:30).

 

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

 

According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith...  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuiness of your faith -- more precious than gold...though it is tested by fire -- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ(I Peter 1:4-7).

PROVIDENCE

God's providence. A firm faith in the universal providence of God is the solution of all earthly problems. It is almost equally true that a clear and full apprehension of the universal providence of God is the solution of most theological problems. -- Benjamin B. Warfield

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand are power and might, and in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank You, our God, and praise Your glorious name (I Chronicles 29:11-13).

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word (II Thessalonians 2:16).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Children of the Heavenly Father, Carolina V. S. Berg, 1856. 

PEACE

The peace of God. Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of God. -- Anonymous.

 

Great peace have those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble (Psalm 119:165).

 

When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet(Proverbs 3:24).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Now the Day Is Over (Sabine Baring Gould, 1865).

FAITHFULNESS

God's covenant faithfulness. The mighty grace of God has prevailed even as the waters of the flood prevailed over the earth: breaking over all bounds, it has flowed towards all portions of the multiplied race of man. In Christ Jesus, God has shown mercy mixed with kindness, and that to the very highest degree.

 

He has kept His covenant promise that in the seed of Abraham should all nations of the earth be blessed, and He will eternally keep every single promise of that covenant to all those who put their trust in Him ---- Charles Spurgeon

 

Praise the LORD all nations! Extol Him, all peoples! For great is His steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 117).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: From All That Dwell Below the Skies, Isaac Watts, 1719.  

Sufficiency

 

The sufficiency of Christ. They lose nothing who gain Christ. J. C. Ryle

 

I eagerly expect...that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:20-21).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Christ, of All My Hopes the Ground, Ralph Wardlaw, 1817.

Truth or Error

Those who preach liberal theology are robbers; they rob God of his sovereignty, Jesus of his divinity, the Holy Spirit of his ministry, the miracles of their credibility, Mary of her virginity, the apostles of their authority, the church of its history and the new birth of its necessity. ---- John Blanchard

 

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign of a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, "Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your souls. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him(Deuteronomy 13:1-4). 

 

Beware of the prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits (Matthew 7:7:15-16a).

 

Now I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve (Romans 16:17-18).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of the God of truth:

 Break Thou the Bread of Life. Mary A. Lathbury, 1877.  

Hospitality

Hospitality is threefold: for one's family, this is of necessity; for strangers, this of courtesy; for the poor, this is charity. Thomas Fuller

 

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.... (I Peter 4:9).

 

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey  in a manner worthy of God (III John 3:5-6a).

 

Then the King will say to those on His right, come you who are blessed by my Father...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. As you did it to one of the least o these my brothers, you did it unto me.'  (Matthew 25:34-36, 40).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum or whistle, to the glory of God: What Kind of Man Can Live in the World. Jonathan Barnes, 1973.

Grace

God's grace. The stream of grace and righteousness is deeper than and broader than the stream of guilt. ---- Matthew Henry

 

But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:20-21).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: 

LORD, WITH GLOWING HEART I'D PRAISE THEE. 

Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise thee for the bliss thy love bestows, for the pard'ning grace that saves me, and the peace that from it flows. ---- Francis Scott Key, 1817. (Mr. Key also composed THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER.)

Christ and the Law

Christ and the Law. Jesus Christ is both the most absolute grace and the most perfect law; so that to believe in Him is to embrace at once both law and grace. ---- Alexander Vinet

 

If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).

 

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him (John 14:-21).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:  Most Perfect Is the Will of God. "Most perfect is the law of God, restoring those that stray; his testimony is most sure, proclaiming wisdom's way.  The precepts of the Lord are right; with joy they fill the heart, the Lord's commandments all are pure, and clearest light impart. O how love I thy law! O how love I they law! it is my meditation all the day." ---- The Psalter, 1912.

Evangelism

When telling thy salvation free, Let all absorbing thoughts of thee My heart and soul engross. And when all hearts are bowed and stirred Beneath the influence of thy Word Hide me behind thy cross. ---- Anonymous

 

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet... (Isaiah 62:1).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: 

We Have Heard the Joyful Sound: 

We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves! Jesus saves! Spread the tidings all around: Jesus saves! Jesus! saves! Bear the news to ev-'ry land, climb the steeps and cross the waves; onward! 'tis our Lord's command; Jesus saves! Jesus saves! (Priscilla J. Owens, 1868)

Providence

There are three stages in the work of God: impossible, difficult, done. ---- J. Hudson Taylor

 

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them (Isaiah 42:16).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Great Is Thy Faithfulness. 

"Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with thee; thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; as thou hast been thou forever wilt be" (Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923).

Grace and Peace

God's grace and peace. The stream of grace and righteousness is deeper and broader than the stream of guilt (Matthew Henry).

 

I will set my tabernacle among you; and my soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you, and will be your God (Leviticus 26:11, 12).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: Lord, with Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee. 

"Lord, with glowing heart I'd praise thee for the bliss thy love bestows, for the pard'ning grace that saves me, and the peace that from it flows." Francis Scott Key, 1817 (Mr. Key also composed The Star Spangled Banner).