Seeking God

The hymn “Seeking God” was written by Thomas Benson Pollock (1839-1896) and is one of two hymns he contributed to the 1889 Supplemental Hymns to Hymns Ancient & Modern. In this book it appears matched with Westbourne. The meter is 8s., 6 lines. Above the text appears the statement, “I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; O seek Thy servant,” based on Psalm 119:176. It is often paired with the tune St. Chrysostom by Joseph Barnby.

1. We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.

2. We have not feared Thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath Thine awful eye;
Nor guarded deed, and word, and thought
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know Thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

3. We have not loved Thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by thee;
They presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed Thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart,
To feel and own the love Thou art.

4. We have not served Thee as we ought,

Alas! The duties left undone—

The work with little fervour wrought—

The battles lost, or scarcely won!

Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,

For Thee to toil, for Thee to fight.

5. When shall we know Thee as we ought,

And fear, and love, and serve aright.

When shall we out of trial brought

Be perfect in the land of light.

Lord, may we day by day prepare

To see Thy face, and serve Thee there.

Jesus Wept

John 11:35.

1. Who is this in silence bending
O’er a dark sepulchral cave?
Sympathetic sorrow blending
With the tears around that grave?
Christ the Lord is standing by,
At the tomb of Bethany.

2. Jesus wept! those tears are over,
But His heart is still the same;
Kinsman, friend, and elder brother,
Is His everlasting name.
Savior, who can love like Thee,
Gracious one of Bethany?

3. When the pangs of trial seize us,
When the waves of sorrow roll,
I will lay my head on Jesus,
Refuge of the troubled soul.
Surely, none can feel like Thee,
Weeping one of Bethany!

4. Jesus wept! and still in glory
He can mark each mourner’s tear;
Loving to retrace the story
Of the hearts He solaced here;
Lord, when I am called to die,
Let me think of Bethany.

5.Jesus wept! that tear of sorrow
Is a legacy of love;
Yesterday, today, tomorrow,
He the same doth ever prove.
Thou art all in all to me,
Living one of Bethany.

John Ross Macduff (1818-1895)

On the Day My Baby Died

Please take the time to read this post:

On the Day My Baby Died -- "While I only knew my child in the womb for a few weeks, the Lord had already firmly planted him or her in my heart. I prayed for that child. I loved that child."

God, the source of all comfort

Romans 12:15 ...weep with them that weep.

Matthew 2:16-18 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted , because they are not.

II Corinthians 1:4   Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

God, Satan and Job

Job 1:21-22 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
Job 2:3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Did Satan initiate the troubles of Job? What was God's part in it? Can God be credited with work that Satan did? In Job 1:11 Satan says, "But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." And then in verse 21 of all his loss Job says, "the LORD hath taken away," and the Bible says in this "Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." When we get to chapter two, of all this God says Satan "movedst me against him."

When Satan went "forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job," Job's wife told him to "curse God, and die." Rather Job replied, "What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Again the Bible says in this "did not Job sin with his lips."

Speaking of his trials, Job says, "But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him." (Job 23:13)

Anyone care to explain how they see these verses?