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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Jehovah our righteousness

JEHOVAH our righteousness.
Jer 23:6

My God, how perfect are Thy ways!
But mine polluted are;
Sin twines itself about my praise,
And slides into my prayer.

When I would speak what Thou hast done
To save me from my sin,
I cannot make Thy mercies known,
But self-applause creeps in.

Divine desire, that holy flame
Thy grace creates in me;
Alas! impatience is its name,
When it returns to Thee.

This heart, a fountain of vile thoughts.
How does it overflow,
While self upon the surface floats,
Still bubbling from below.

Let others in the gaudy dress
Of fancied merit shine;
The Lord shall be my righteousness,
The Lord forever mine.


William Cowper (1731-1800)
Olney Hymns, 1779

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The flesh of man shall remain polluted, while our Lord is perfect forever more. When did man become a sinner? Before he ever knew what sin was. For to be completely free of sin would make the flesh something otherwise.

Shall we deny that man is good and worthy of the accolades he desperately strives to achieve? Our example should be the one and only Jehovah. The example to show how these creatures of flesh were in need of a Saviour and redemption. For without a Saviour, man could not even hope to climb the rocky path toward the mountaintop of this life. Even in this, it is still God who allows man the priviledge to be on the journey of life.

May we continue in prayer to be able to see His righteousness, while also seeing our helplesness while on the journey.