Hearts to Heaven and voices raise;
Sing to God a hymn of gladness
Sing to God a hymn of praise.
He, who on the Cross a Victim,
for the world's salvation bled,
JESUS CHRIST, the King of Glory,
Now is risen from the dead.
Alleluia, Christ is risen!
Death at last has met defeat.
See the ancient powers of evil
in confusion and retreat.
Once He died and once was buried;
now He lives forevermore
JESUS CHRIST, the world's Redeemer,
whom we worship and adore.
Christ is risen, Christ the firstfruits
of the holy harvest field,
which will all its full abundance
at his second coming yield.
Then the golden ears of harvest
will their heads before Him wave,
ripened by His glorious sunshine
from the furrows of the grave.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to GOD on high;
Alleluia! to the Saviour,
who has won the victory;
Alleluia! to the Spirit,
fount of love and sanctity:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
to the Triune Majesty.
I am city born and bred but there is something of the image and metaphor of the Harvest which captures my heart and mind. That Jesus is the first-fruits of The Resurrection, and therefore (to mix metaphors flagrantly) this anchors our hope in Him as The Resurrection and The Life. If we follow Him in life – we follow Him into death and out the other side. If we entrust our lives to Him then He lavishes His life upon us. If we look to Him in faith, He looks upon our faith and we are counted as without spot or blemish in His sight.
There are times when life seems 'unpicked': nasty, messy and unsolvable. It is at these times that I am most clearly reminded that my measure for how well things are going are not in me, not intrinsic to me, but rather are located somewhere else, in someone else. JESUS is my security in God, for eternity, without shade or hint of change and with the steadfast promise that He will do what He has promised to the glory of the Trinity!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,to the praise of his glory…" Ephesians 1:3-14
Death at last has met defeat.
See the ancient powers of evil
in confusion and retreat.
Once He died and once was buried;
now He lives forevermore
JESUS CHRIST, the world's Redeemer,
whom we worship and adore.
Christ is risen, Christ the firstfruits
of the holy harvest field,
which will all its full abundance
at his second coming yield.
Then the golden ears of harvest
will their heads before Him wave,
ripened by His glorious sunshine
from the furrows of the grave.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glory be to GOD on high;
Alleluia! to the Saviour,
who has won the victory;
Alleluia! to the Spirit,
fount of love and sanctity:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
to the Triune Majesty.
Christopher Wordsworth 1862
I am city born and bred but there is something of the image and metaphor of the Harvest which captures my heart and mind. That Jesus is the first-fruits of The Resurrection, and therefore (to mix metaphors flagrantly) this anchors our hope in Him as The Resurrection and The Life. If we follow Him in life – we follow Him into death and out the other side. If we entrust our lives to Him then He lavishes His life upon us. If we look to Him in faith, He looks upon our faith and we are counted as without spot or blemish in His sight.
There are times when life seems 'unpicked': nasty, messy and unsolvable. It is at these times that I am most clearly reminded that my measure for how well things are going are not in me, not intrinsic to me, but rather are located somewhere else, in someone else. JESUS is my security in God, for eternity, without shade or hint of change and with the steadfast promise that He will do what He has promised to the glory of the Trinity!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,to the praise of his glory…" Ephesians 1:3-14
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment