Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus.
Oh, For Grace To Trust Him More!

“Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus” celebrates the blessing that it is to believe and trust in the Lord’s promises in our lives. The first verse gives us a very simple and profound definition of faith:

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know “Thus saith the Lord”

I know in my own life all too often I don’t want to just “take Him at His word.” Like a little rebellious kid I’d much rather push the limits of what I can get away with until I start suffering the consequences of my actions. I think most of us are like that. We question the Word of God; “did God really mean it when He said…?” so we run our own way and stub our toes (or worse) and then come running back.

In those times I thank God for his mercy towards me that there is a “healing, cleansing flood” and that I can “rest upon His promise” that He will not despise my broken and contrite heart. (Ps 51:17)

If you’ve been running your own way lately take some time now to come back to Him. “Just from sin and self to cease” and go about your day today “Just from Jesus simply taking life and rest, and joy and peace.”

Father God, Thank you for your mercy and please give us grace and faith to trust you more! Thank you that you have called us your friends and promised to be with us to the end.

Lyrics:

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
Just to know “Thus saith the Lord”

Chorus:
Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to trust His cleansing blood;
Just in simple faith to plunge me
‘Neath the healing, cleansing flood!

Chorus:

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just from sin and self to cease;
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace.

Chorus:

I’m so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, saviour, friend;
And I know that He is with me,
Will be with me to the end.

Chorus:

© Public Domain

Standing on the promises of God
is one way to honor God!

Did you know that standing on the promises of God is one way to honor God’s Word? Did you know that God wants you to hold Him to His promises? He does!

Imagine the following:
You call up an old friend and chat for a while. During the conversation you invite your friend to dinner with you at the best restaurant in town. You tell your friend to meet you at 7:00 the next night at such and such restaurant and that the meal is already paid for, you can’t get your money back and all they have to do is show up and enjoy the meal. The big night comes and your friend doesn’t show up. You wait until 9:00 before finally leaving disappointed. You call your friend the next morning to make sure that everything is alright and he tells you that he is fine, he didn’t show up at the restaurant because he didn’t think you were serious about your offer.

How would that make you feel? Frustrated that your friend did not believe you? Angry that the meal was paid for and all your friend had to do was demonstrate some faith in your word by showing up but he couldn’t even do that much? Wouldn’t your friend have been showing you honor by arriving at the restaurant expecting you to keep your promises?

God wants us to hold Him to His promises! Nehemiah reminded God of His promises and expected Him to keep them. In the book of Nehemiah chapter 1 when he found out that the people living in Jerusalem were living in fear because the walls were broken down and the gates were burned with fire he fasted for several days and then prayed:

Lord God of heaven, you are great and fearsome. And you faithfully keep your promises to everyone who loves you and obeys your commands. I am your servant, so please have mercy on me and answer the prayer that I make day and night for these people of Israel who serve you. I, my family, and the rest of your people have sinned by choosing to disobey you and the laws and teachings you gave to your servant Moses.

Please remember the promise you made to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have chosen to be worshiped.

Our Lord, I am praying for your servants—those you rescued by your great strength and mighty power. Please answer my prayer and the prayer of your other servants who gladly honor your name. When I serve the king his wine today, make him pleased with me and have him do what I ask.
(CEV Ne 1:5-11)

The promises of God for you are already paid for. They were paid for 2000 years ago by the blood of Jesus on the cross.

For it is he who is the “Yes” to all God’s promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our “Amen” is said to the glory of God.
(GNT 2 Co 1:20)

Are you saying “Amen” to (standing on, living out and walking in) the promises of God? It glorifies Him when you do!

Father God, please help me stand on the promises you have made to me in your Word and help me walk in them today and every day. Amen

Lyrics:

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus:
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus

© Public Domain

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee!

“Rock of Ages” is a classic hymn with a powerful message. The song recognizes that our only hope for salvation is to depend fully on the grace of God poured out through the cross. We have no excuses, nothing we have done or could ever do can erase our sin and gain us entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.

There are a lot of people in this world who call themselves Christians and appear to be “very good people” who don’t really understand this song. Too many of us, even those who attend church regularly, believe that the way to salvation is to “be a good person” or “don’t kill anybody” or (here’s my favorite) “do more good than bad so that the good will outweigh the bad on judgement day and God will have to let you into Heaven”

All of these beliefs have one thing in common which dooms their believers to destruction: The thing that they are based on is pride. It is pride that says “I don’t need God for salvation, I can do it myself.” It is pride that says “I can pull myself up by my own bootstraps” It is pride that keeps us looking at ourselves and what we can do rather than what God has done for us.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

When it’s all said and done, I believe pride is the ultimate sin. It is pride that keeps us from recognizing our total dependence on God for everything we have and for everything we do and for the salvation that the Blood of Christ purchased for us on the cross.

Lyrics:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law’s commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.
let me hide myself in thee.

 

© Public Domain

O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
My Great Redeemer’s Praise!

Have you ever felt like your heart would explode because you couldn’t sing loud enough or long enough or praise God intensely enough to express the feelings inside? I think Charles Wesley felt like that when he wrote “O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing”. He seems to be crying out to God for the ability to praise Him a thousand times more than his physical body allowed.

O for a thousand tongues to sing
my Great Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!

Not only is he asking for more power to praise God, He is also asking for help in proclaiming the gospel to the Earth.

My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim
and spread through all the earth abroad
the honors of thy Name.

He goes on to describe some of the wonderful qualities of Our Great Redeemer that make him want to sing such praises.

The bible says that sometimes even creation feels this urge to worship! At Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday the Pharisees were rebuking Jesus trying to get him to silence the praises of his followers. Jesus told the Pharisees that if his followers were silent even the rocks would cry out.

Do you remember the last time you felt like you would burst with praise? Our God deserves our highest praise and so much more! Take a few minutes to read through the verses of this hymn and worship God and let your heart burst with praise! Then do your best to take that attitude with you today.

Lyrics:

O for a thousand tongues to sing
my Great Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!

My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim
and spread through all the earth abroad
the honors of thy Name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears
and bids our sorrows cease;
’tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’tis life and health and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and listening to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful broken hearts rejoice,
the humble poor believe.

Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
your loosened tongues employ;
ye blind, behold, your Savior come;
and leap, ye lame, for joy!

Glory to God and praise and love
be now and ever given
by saints below and saints above
the Church in earth and heaven.

 

© Public Domain

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul!

“It Is Well With My Soul” is one of those hymns who’s meaning is made so much richer when we know the story behind the lyrics. The author, Horatio G. Spafford, was a devout christian and a wealthy attorney who lived in Chicago with his wife Anna and their four daughters in the 1860s and ’70s.

Although he was wealthy he was no stranger to suffering and tragedy. The kind of tragedy which could easily make someone lose their faith.

In the 1860s a lot of his wealth was in real estate holdings located in downtown Chicago. All of this was lost in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

While still rebuilding and recovering from the fire, the Spaffords were invited to Europe in 1873 by their long-time friend, evangelist D. L. Moody, who was on an evangelistic trip in Europe. The Spaffords decided to join him there for a family holiday. Horatio, however, was detained by business but his wife and four daughters went on without him. Little did he know he was never to see his daughters on this earth again.

On November 2nd 1873, the ship that Anna and her daughters were on, the ‘Ville de Havre’, collided with an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people including those of Horatio’s four daughters. Anna Spafford was rescued and, when she finally reached Europe, she sent her husband a telegram with the simple message: “saved alone.” Horatio immediately headed to join his wife in Europe and, a few days later, was over the exact spot in the ocean where his precious daughters had lost their lives.

The story goes that, on hearing from the captain of the ship he was on that they were at the place where his daughters had died, he retired to his cabin and penned the words to this great hymn.

After these tragedies, the Spaffords also suffered the loss of a three year old son to malaria but their faith remained strong till the end of their lives. Later in life they moved to Israel and set up medical facilities, orphanages, soup kitchens, schools, and a pediatric hospital.

What tragedies have you experienced in life? Whatever they are, better or worse than those experienced by the Spaffords, you can trust in the grace and power of our God to see you through.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear,though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
Psa 46:1-3 KJV

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
those thoughts are fixed on you!
Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
Isa 26:3-4 NLT

Lyrics:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Chorus:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Chorus

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Chorus

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Chorus

 

© Public Domain

Crown Him With Many Crowns!
The Lamb upon His throne!

“Crown Him With Many Crowns”, the classic hymn by Matthew Bridges, never fails to leave me awestruck by the power and majesty and the humility of our God. What impacts me the most is the first verse and especially the very first line. “Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne.” This phrase reminds me of the upside-down nature of God’s economy.

Most of us don’t really know how docile a lamb is but in Jesus’ day just about everyone knew that a lamb is gentle and mostly quiet and almost completely defenseless. That the savior of the world, the Son of God, the Lord of Life, the Lord or Heaven, the Lord of Lords, the Lord of Years, would offer himself up as the sacrificed lamb of God to pay for my sins is beyond my understanding.

Paul wrote in Phillipians:

Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.
(NLT Phil 2:5-8)

But here’s where the upside-down nature of God’s economy kicks in. Paul goes on in verses 9-11:

Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(NLT Phil 2:9-11)

So:

“Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”
(NLT Mk 9:35)

And:

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it”
(NIV Mt 16:25)

So the Lamb of God becomes to be the ruler of all and those who cling to their own lives and demand their own rights will lose them.

Humble yourself before God today and serve the people you know and love just as Christ humbled himself to serve you.

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and he will lift you up.
(NKJV Jas 4:10)

Father God, give me the gift of humility and show me someone I can serve today with your love.

Lyrics:

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Son of God, before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod, crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, that all in Him may rest.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed over the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, Who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

Crown Him the Lord of lords, who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, for ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me;
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.

 

© Public Domain