The Christian hope. ( Revelation 9 v 11 - 17 )

Nobody likes being robbed, nobody,but there are many people in this world who are involved in robbing others.On the internet,on the phone,in many other ways,and it is sad, it goes without saying that it effects people, but those who rob don't care,  how it effects others.Now of course people rob others of their reputation,but what about robbing a person of hope, is that not serious?,of course it is. A  wonderful aspect of the Christian faith is hope,not an uncertain hope,but a sure and certain hope.Now Christianity has taught that if one puts their trust in Jesus then we have eternal life  ,we have a place in heaven.,not in hell,in Colossians 1 v 27 , which reads ,'Christ in you the hope of glory'..As a Christian I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3  v 20 ) being an alien and stranger on earth,I am looking for a better country, a heavenly one. ( Hebrews 11 v 13 / 16 ),and one day I will have a new heavenly body ( 1 Corinthians 15 v 49 ),and I will stand around the throne of God in heaven,with a great multitude that no one can count ( Revelation 7 v 9 ).And yet there are those so called Christians who want to destroy these truths,and destroy the Christians hope,such people  are thieves and robbers, of the worst type.

Reckless love. ( Romans 5 v 9 - 11 )

I was visiting a new church in which we sang a wonderful song,in fact the most popular song in 2018, it was written by Cory Asbury I want to share with you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me,                                                                                  You have been so, so good to me,                                                                                                              Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me,                                                                              You have been so,so kind to me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     When I was Your foe ,still Your love fought for me                                                                                  You have been so, so good to me                                                                                                              When I felt no worth,You paid it all for me                                                                                               You have been so, so kind to me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  There's no shadow,You won't light up,                                                                                                       Mountain You won't climb, Coming after me                                                                                           There's no wall ,You  won't kick down,                                                                                                     Lie you wont tear down,coming after me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Chorus                                                                                                                               Oh the overwhelming ,never ending ,reckless love of God,                                                                     Oh,it chases me down, fights' till  I'm found,leaves the ninety-nine,                                                         I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve  it,still you give yourself away,                                                       Oh, the overwhelming ,never ending , reckless love of God,Yeah.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          .                                                                             

Parenting ( Psalm 127 )

I have five sons, all grown up,and everyone of them is different,each have there strengths and weakness's,but I love everyone of them. God has millions of children, He loves everyone of  them,He has no favourites, He deals with everyone of them in a loving way,excludes none.God is the perfect father ,not like me,I have a  son in Christian ministry and a son who will be soon going into ministry,some people say you must be proud,but I am not,I was not the perfect father, but I prayed every day for them,and still do.I love them all.Having children is such a big responsibility,our own background may not have prepared us for parenthood, I did not only pray for them, but also for myself,and of course I had a godly wife and we did our best to support each other. There are very few experts in bringing up children, God knows,I am sure as we seek Him, and rely upon Him, he will help us with our precious children.                                                                                                                                                              Fathers , do not exasperate your children ;                                                                                                instead ,bring them up in the training and                                                                                                  instruction of the Lord.  ( Ephesians 6 v 4 )                                                                                              Train a child in the way he should go,and                                                                                                  when he is old he will not turn from it.                                                                                                     (Proverbs 22 v 6 )                                                                                          

Changed. ( Romans 8 v 29 )

If you are a Christian I wonder have you asked yourself , what is Gods ultimate goal or purpose for those who are His?.Well the answer is simple ,we read of it in Romans 8 v 29 ,''For  those God fore- knew ,he also predestined to be conformed to likeness of  his Son''. While here on earth we are being changed by the grace of God,it is a process called sanctification ,it is not instant,but it is ongoing. God uses many means to accomplish this,Job 23 v 10 ',which reads, 'But He knows the way I take; when he has tested me , I will come forth as gold'.When we reach heaven that process will be instantly completed,and we shall be like Christ,conformed to His image.Our minds and characters will reflect Christ,our personality will have no flaws, we will be holy,and wholly committed to our God and Saviour. It is hard to appreciate such a change but it will happen. A  man asked a sculpture  what could he possible see in an  old piece of marble he was working on?, he replied,''I see an angel ''.We sinners may ask the same question,what can God possible see in us,He sees the finished article, He sees us conformed to the image of His Son Jesus.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             We will be like Him.                                                                                                                                        ( 1 John 3 v 2 )

Father. ( John 3 v 1 - 7 )

When I was very young my mother left my father,in those days it was a challenging thing to do in many ways ,for there was very little financial support, given to single mothers.I had two older brothers and one older sister,I do not have any bad memories as regards my father,but none of us ever bothered with him.So I may as well not have had a father,it must have had an affect on me,but I remember as a young child,praying to God, and saying ,'your my Father'. I do not know if I had trusted Jesus as my Saviour.   I was not into theology then, it was a little child reaching out to God the father. Again early in life as a little boy I did trust Jesus,and then my relationship with God was put on a firm biblical bases. What is a firm biblical bases as regards knowing God as ones Father?.Well we turn to the gospel of  John 1 v  12 -13, 'To those who receive Him ( Jesus ) to those who believed in His name,He gave the right  to become children of God''.In other words if one has never received Christ as ones Saviour, then we have no right to call God our Father.As v 13 tells us that they,who are children of God, ''They are reborn , not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.''

The cross ( Galatians 6 v 12 - 16 )

Fanny .J, Grosby that blind hymn writer ,wrote  many  wonderful hymns,one of my favourites is ,'Jesus keep me the cross'.                                                                                                                                                                            Jesus keep me near the cross;                                                                                                                     There a precious fountain,                                                                                                                          Free to all - a healing stream-                                                                                                                    Flows from Calvary's mountain.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Near the cross,a trembling soul,                                                                                                                Love and mercy found me;                                                                                                                        There the bright and Morning Star                                                                                                            Shed its beams around me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Near the cross, O Lamb of God                                                                                                                 Bring its scenes before me;                                                                                                                       Help me walk from day to day                                                                                                                   With its shadow o'er me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Near the cross, I'll watch and wait,                                                                                                           Hoping, trusting ever,                                                                                                                                 Till I reach the golden strand                                                                                                                     Just beyond the river.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Chorus                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 In the cross, in the cross,                                                                                                                           Be my glory ever;                                                                                                                                       Till my raptured soul shall find                                                                                                                 Rest beyond the river.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Wine and Vinegar. (Ruth chapter one)

Raymond Brown on Moses said the following,''Israel's leader  must have faced many a day with a heavy heart. These Biblical characters did not belong to a make- believe world where , because they loved God, everything automatically went well for them. Their experience hardly supports the optimistic euphoria of the' prosperity theology' people,with their assurance of wealth and health. The Bible is more honest. When we have, as the Puritan Richard Baxter says,'wine and vinegar in the same cup'.Well many of us while not holding to the prosperity theology teaching,need to take to heart, what Richard Baxter said,my personal life experience as a Christian would agree .Yes it is hard when painful things happen in the Christians life, after all the Christian reads the Psalms, and the wonderful promises there,yet the man who wrote most of those Psalms experienced a great deal of trouble in his life.Right throughout  the Bible we read of godly people yes experiencing blessing.but I think of Naomi a godly lady,whose husband ,and two sons died,and who was left destitute,They  had  gone to the land of Moab,to escape a famine in their own country,but then she and her daughter -in-law returned to Israel.When she returned her neighbours said,''Can this be Naomi?'',Her reply was this ,''don't call me Naomi which means pleasant,call me Mara'', which means bitter. Yes Richard Baxter was so right in what he said,that the Christian life is a wine and vinegar experience.

Atonement. ( Psalm 103 )

I see in modern translations the word atonement is changed to reconciliation ,which is fair enough,for it has that meaning to it.We must realise that as we are born we have a fallen nature,which leads to sin,that makes us enemies to God,( Romans 5 v 10),this means everyone ,yes everyone.for everyone without exception has sinned and come short of the glory of God.  (Romans 3 v 23 ).God loves us all without exception ,but sin separates us from Him,so He worked it out,He would send Jesus who would die an atoning death that we may be reconciled ,to Him.( Romans 5 v 11). His death was an atoning death,through which the enmity could be removed,the result sin is forgiven. It is Raymond Brown who point out that the term atonement means to 'wipe off'.In other words when we embrace Christ as our Saviour,our sins are wiped off,R B,writes that the offence ,that is our sin, is decisively wiped away from the mind of God. There is no record of our sinned, in Jeremiah 31 v 34, we read,' For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin no more'.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Gone,gone,gone,gone,                                                                                                                               yes my sins are gone,                                                                                                                                 now my soul is free                                                                                                                                   and in my heart a song,                                                                                                                             buried in the deepest sea                                                                                                                           yes that's good enough                                                                                                                               for me,I shall live eternally                                                                                                                       praise God my sins are gone.

Sin. ( James 2 v 10 )

Yesterday we considered the sacrifice of Christ,and how  that one sacrifice effectively deals with sin, it is a strange thing that there are those who deny this. They believe that somehow Christ is sacrificed over and over again ,the book of Hebrews teaches clearly that this is not so, 'Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the  high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year........Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world ......so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the  sins of many people ( Hebrews 9 v 25 - 28 ).This one times sacrifice effectively deals with all sins, again let me say there are not two classes  of sin, called Mortal and Venial ,many people look at sin this way,mortal is more serious than  venial, people do not see any problem with so called white lies ,but see murder as very wrong which it is.The Westminster Shorter Catechism declares,''Sin is any lack of conformity unto,or transgression of the law of God''. Eating a forbidden fruit may appear to be a very trifling offence; yet the consequence were fatal, not only for Adam and Eve but for the entire human race''  (L. Boettner )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

No more sacrifice ( John 20 v 30 )

In Numbers 5 v 5 - 8, we have intentional sins mentioned, and in 15 v 22 ff we have those who sin unintentionally ,sin whither it is intentional or unintentional is sin.The law does not make exceptions,yes there are no exceptions to the rule,each country has laws ,take the law of speeding,even if I break the speed limit unintentionally,I have broke the law,the same applies to Gods law.Many people are doing things that society says is ok, but God says it is a sin,we have broke His Law, and will be held accountable, one day  judgement will be passed by Him who is the righteous Judge even Jesus ( John 5 v 22 ).In Numbers sacrifice of an animal had to be made,for both types of sin in order that the sin could be forgiven, the animal sacrifice pointed to a human sacrifice, to Jesus,who would pay the price for our sins.The animal sacrifice was temporary, it could not effectively deal with sin ,the fact that it was repeated again and again shows this.We read what God provided,He declared ,''Sacrifice and offerings you did not desire,but a body you prepared for me,with burnt offerings and sin offerings, you were not pleased.Then I said, Here I am - it is written about me ,in the scroll- I have come to do Thy will''.  ( Psalm 40 v  6 -8 / Hebrews 10 v 5 - 7 ) This is speaking of Jesus the one who would effectively deal with the sin of those who trust Him as their Saviour.

Peace be still. ( Mark 4 v 35 - 41 )

Let us return to v 10 of Psalm 46, 'Be still , and know that I am God',let us apply it in a broader way,these words from God are telling us to stop panicking, to be still,but not just be still to focus on God.We must be still as regards our actions and our words,that two is very hard .Many of us are like Martha full of action (Luke 10 v 40 - 41 )we are told she was distracted,she lost the plot,her mind focused on the negative,.The word of God of God tells us ,'you (God ) will keep in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast , because He trust in you.  ( Isaiah 26 v 3 )Steadfast means someone who is firm and determined, if we fix our mind on God,trust in God who is sovereign . All around us people may be panicking ,but we can know that perfect peace.We will be amazed how God will work for us,as we stand still, and trust in Him who is our refuge, strength, and helper.                                                                                        The wind and the waves shall obey my will,                                                                                             Peace be still.                                                                                                                                             Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,                                                                                               Or demons, or men ,or whatever it be,                                                                                                       No water can swallow the ship where lies,                                                                                               The Master of ocean , and earth, and skies,                                                                                               They all shall sweetly obey my will;                                                                                                         Peace be still,Peace be still.                                                                                                                            ( Words Mary A Baker )

Therefore ( Psalm 46 )

Having declared that God is our refuge,strength,and helper,he further writes, ' Therefore'.the therefore is important, he is saying ,in light of God being our refuge,strength,and helper,we need not fear , no matter what trials we are facing,even if the the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. The power of nature can be very destructive, be it tsunamis, earthquakes,hurricanes,well writes the Psalmist, let nature do its worse,because is our refuge ,strength,and helper, let us not be afraid.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Under His wings I am safely abiding;                                                                                                       Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,                                                                                     Still I can trust Him- I know He will keep me;                                                                                         He has redeemed me ,and I am His child.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow,                                                                                               How the heart yearningly returns to its rest,                                                                                             Often when earth has no balm for my healing,                                                                                         There I find comfort,and there I am blest.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Under His wings, oh, what precious enjoyment,                                                                                       There I will hide till life's trials are o'er,                                                                                                       Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;                                                                                               Resting in Jesus I'm safe evermore.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Under His wings, under His wings,                                                                                                           Who from His love can sever?.                                                                                                                 Under His wings shall abide,                                                                                                                     Safely abide for ever.                                                                                                                                       ( Words by Stephen  Manders)

God will help us. ( 2 Timothy 4 v 17 b - 18 )

'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble',we have looked at God as our refuge, and our strength ,yes He is all that and more. Now consider ,that He is a very present help when we are in trouble,God is with us, always,that cannot be said of anyone else,as to human help ,there may be at times no one available.The apostle Paul in his trials writes,'no one came near me,but everyone deserted me',so there he was in difficulties,everyone had deserted him,it can happen to anyone of us.Thankfully Paul does not stop at that point,no he goes unto write,'But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength'.( 2 Timothy v 16 - 17 )as with Paul, God will stand by us in our times of trouble.Not only will He stand by us He will help us,what ever help we need,be it financial ,as W Plumer writes, 'He will send timely supplies'.but whatever help we need, God is able and willing to provide.                                                                                                                                                                                                 No help that God cannot provide,                                                                                                           

God is . ( Psalm 46 v 1 )

Psalm 46 v 1, declares that God is not only our refuge, but He is our strength, one of the important lessons we need to learn in life in our walk with Christ,that  we are not strong,we are at best weak and fragile beings ,we are but dust ( Psalm 103 v 14 )When many of Gods children received their call to service, they proclaimed their weakness, Moses said,'Who am I  that I should go' ,'I am slow of speech',( Exodus 3 v 11/  4 v 10 ).Gideon said , 'I am the least in my family ( Judges 6 v 15), Jeremiah said,' I am only a boy,( Jeremiah 1 v 7 ) They were not exaggerating ,they were but earthen vessels, the Christian life  brings challenges that are to say the least difficult,but whatever the challenges are,, it is then we need to remember God is our strength. Like Paul we may have prayed and prayed, and prayed, to God telling Him we cant cope,it is to much to ask of any man,let me remind you and myself what He said to Paul,and what He is saying to us,'My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in weakness. (  2 Corinthians 12 v 9 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               ' I can do all things through  Christ                                                                                                             who strengthens me.'                                                                                                                                     ( Philippians 4 v 13 )

God is . ( Psalm 46 v 1 )

Psalm 46 has so much encouragement in it for Gods children,it opens with these lovely words,'God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble'.So often Israel, and David faced tremendous difficulties, enemies there were in plenty.Here the Psalmist reminds them and that God is a refuge,a refuge is a place safety,we have women's refuges,where they are kept safe from violent partners ,husbands.This was Martin Luther's favourite Psalm, in the darkest times he used to say ,''Come , let us sing the 46th Psalm , and let them do their worst''. Whatever dangers we are facing now,or in the future,God is and will be our refuge,our safety  not in a place,possessions,or whatever, but in the person of our sovereign God. He well able to keep us safe.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                'Plagues and deaths around me fly;                                                                                                             Till He bids, I cannot die;                                                                                                                           Not a single shaft can hit,                                                                                                                           Till the God of love sees fit'                                                                                                                                ( John Ryland )

Go tell. ( Acts 1 v 8 )

I have a little scriptural text in my bathroom,which reads 'Be still and know that I am God'',( Psalm 46 v 10) in context God is telling us that He will be glorified in all earth.And of course He is being glorified as people of all the earth embrace the gospel of our Lord  Jesus Christ, in spite  of all the opposition,in spite of the indifference of people in this country. We are seeing the reality of our Saviours words that He will build His church ( Matthew 16 v 18 ).How? by the power of the Spirit of God,and by men and women filled by that power, proclaiming the message that Jesus saves. Before Jesus left this world and returned to heaven  He said,' Go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing  them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  ( Matthew 28 v 19 - 20 )                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            'Here am I, send me.'                                                                                                                                      ( Isaiah 6 v 8 )

Lust ( John 4 v 13 v 14 )

Raymond Brown writes the following,'A lustful appetite can never be satisfied,'and that lusting for be it material,sex,money' far from quenching our thirst,only intensifies the desire more'.There is one most meaningful passages in the Bible on this , found in  John 4,it is about a woman whom Jesus spoke to,it all took place beside an ancient well.Jesus was tired and sat down by the well.Now as He sat there  a woman came to draw some water from the well,as she was drawing water from the well Jesus asked for a drink,He was a Jew she was a Samaritan,Jews had no dealings with Samaritan,and so she raised that issue ,Jesus did not address that issue ,but said that He if she asked Him she could receive living water from Him.Jesus went on to say,everyone who drinks this water would thirst again,but whoever drinks of the water He would give,would never thirst again'.What Jesus meant was that only He alone can satisfy our greatest need.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             O Christ, in Thee my soul hath found,                                                                                                       And found in Thee alone,                                                                                                                           The peace, the joy I sought so long,                                                                                                            The bliss till now unknown.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I sighed for rest and happiness,                                                                                                                  I yearned for them ,not Thee,                                                                                                                    By while I passed my Saviour by,                                                                                                              His love laid hold on me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Now none but Christ can satisfy,                                                                                                                None other name for me,                                                                                                                             There's love and life and lasting joy,                                                                                                         Lord Jesus found in Thee.                                                                                                                             

A new year( Psalm 23 )

Yes we have as you know, entered into a new year,how do you feel about that?,fearful,confused ,not another one,how am I going to cope?.I could say one day at a time,yes that's good advice,but for me its not enough,I need more,and you need more,there is an old gospel hymn, with the words ,'I must have the Saviour with me'. He is that sure and certain hope in the midst of hopelessness ,He is the one who will safely guide us through all that lies ahead .He will provide all our needs,He will give strength to each of us no matter  what that day will bring forth,in the midst of our fears, he will whisper ,be not afraid for I am with you.He reaches out to all of us and says trust me,and let Me lead you through another year one day at a time.

Children ( Matthew 19 v 13 - 15 )

Renewed Hope Children's Village, is a work among vulnerable children in Zambia,its motto would be.'Education for life and eternity'.The problem with  social work in the secular west, it is not holistic, they omit the spiritual,but the children's work in Zambia does not.The result is children are helped spiritually and in many other ways..The children there have a favourite song that they sing here it is.                                                                                                                                                                                                           'Yahweh ,you have brought me from afar,                                                                                                  that I can't comprehend;                                                                                                                            I was left for dead,                                                                                                                                      despised, rejected,insulted, and abused;                                                                                                    but you raised me up,                                                                                                                                bathed, cleansed and clothed me,                                                                                                              Hallelujah.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Jesus rescues,free's,cares,and bless'es all who turn to Him                                                                      even children.

Don't let the grass grow under you feet. ( Luke 18 v 1 )

During the last century's East African revival,  Christians living in narrowly confined homes made their way each day to their own small clearing in the surrounding bush, gradually wearing a path to the place where they met with God. If anyone neglected this daily meeting, it would soon become evident,a fellow believer would lovingly say, 'There is grass on your path, my brother'.

I wonder why?. ( Luke 22 v 39 - 46 )

I know a Christian couple ,the man prays a lot,always  has,to him it seemed the most important thing to .He said to me,' prayer is not a competition' ,its not about who prays the most ,in fact our Saviour stressed that it is private thing.But of course there is collective pray, when one meets with others,again in those occasions it is not to impress man or God.We may impress man but we can never impress God,nor should we try.That man who prayed a lot asked his wife ,did she pray for him?the way she answered it appeared she didn't .The fact is, people who pray ,even a  lot,need our prayers also,the great apostle Paul  surely a man who prayed a lot,had this simple request ,''Pray also for me''. remember we are in this as Christians  together. It was sad that that mans wife does not appear to pray for him, I wonder why?

Stick together. ( 1 John 1 v 7 )

I met someone I know who suffers from mental illness, he attends once a week a garden group run by a local charity. He said how he enjoyed it,and that they were all in the same boat. There's a saying that birds of a feather flock together,for good reason they are all in the same boat,they have a mutual understanding,and that's important. especially if one is suffering from mental illness.It is said that Christianity  is not just about the individual ,but of belonging to a family,the church is one place where Christians should be  supported.Looking back on my Christian I thank God for the fellowship and friendship of my fellow Christians .The fact is we need each other,yes to mutually encourage each other,and be upheld by prayer,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Hebrews 10 v 25.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Let us not give up meeting together, as some                                                                                            are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage                                                                                          one another- and all the more as you see the                                                                                              Day approaching.

Done. ( John 11 v 40)

One of the first  Christian books I read was the early life of Hudson Taylor,he was a doctor and was the founder of what was known as the 'China Inland Mission'.Most of the missions work in those days was  carried out in the coast line,not many missionaries had ventured into the itinerary of China,but God gave Hudson the call to go were others had not gone. He spent 51 years in China died 1905, he accomplished a great deal,God used him wonderfully. He was a man of faith,he once said this to his missionary colleagues that the Christians response to daunting situations was best  expressed in a terse phrase;'Impossible ? Difficult, Done'Often the Christian is faced with difficulties ,whatever they be,it is then we must pray and believe , that although what we are facing is difficult ,our God is all powerful,and is able to do exceeding abundantly more that we can ask or think. (Ephesians 3 v 20 )

Peace ( Philippians 4 v 7 )

'The Lord turn His face towards you,and give you peace'( Num 6 v 26 ),the opposite of turning  His face towards us  would be turning His face away from us,denoting his displeasure with us.So here we have a prayer that God would look kindly on us,and give us His peace.He will not look on us if we are sinning, being disobedient,but.If we confess our sins then He will forgive, and the way will be open for Him to bless us.And bless us with that most precious of gifts His peace, the word for peace is' Salom',which means wholeness, a totality of well being.Many have material benefits, financial security,but they lack 'Salom'. Peace with God through Christ is wonderful,and to know the peace of God is one of the great blessing that can be ours .                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 We bless Thee for Thy peace,O God                                                                                                           Deep as the unfathomed sea,                                                                                                                     Which fall's like sunshine on the road                                                                                                       Of  those who trust in Thee.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           We ask not,Father , for repose                                                                                                                   Which comes from outward rest,                                                                                                               If we may have through all life's woes                                                                                                       Thy peace within our  breast.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         That peace that suffers and is strong,                                                                                                         Trusts where it cannot see                                                                                                                         Deems not the trial way too long,                                                                                                             But leaves the end with Thee                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        That peace that flows serene and deep,                                                                                                      A river in the soul.                                                                                                                                      Whose  banks a living verdure keep,                                                                                                        God's sunshine o'er the whole.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      O Father, give  our hearts this peace,                                                                                                        Whate'er the outward be,                                                                                                                            Till all life's discipline shall cease,                                                                                                            As we go home to thee.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   ( Christian Melodies )