How Long, O Lord, How Long?

How Long, O Lord, How Long? (Psalm 13) 

 Sovereign Grace Music

VERSE 1

O Lord, our God, to You we come

Will You still hide Your face?

We cry before You and on our knees we pray

How long, O Lord, how long?

 

VERSE 2

Our sorrows leave us weak and worn

Surrounded by our fears

We look to heaven through feeble faith and tears

How long, O Lord, how long?

 

CHORUS

Till Your glory fills our eyes

And our faith is turned to sight

Till our thirsty souls are satisfied

How long, O Lord, how long?

 

VERSE 3

Our foes and enemies rejoice

Injustice seems to reign

Lord, we are shaken and we are losing strength

How long, O Lord, how long?

 

VERSE 4

But we will trust Your steadfast love

Your grace will be our song

You bring new mercies with ev’ry rising sun

How long, O Lord, how long?

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints...

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

    and give thanks to his holy name.

For his anger is but for a moment,

    and his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

    but joy comes with the morning.

     -Psalm 30:4-5

Pray without ceasing...

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

I have quitted all forms of devotion and set prayers but those to which my state obliges me. And I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence, wherein I keep myself by a simple attention, and a general fond regard to God, which I may call an actual presence of God; or, to speak better, an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God, which often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly, so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to others.  -Brother Lawrence

We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus...

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  -Hebrews 10:19-22

Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience. It is more than a doctrine to be held, it is a life to be enjoyed every moment of every day.   -A.W. Tozer

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might...

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

-Ephesians 6:10-12

The Christian is engaged in a warfare. There is a fight before him, hence armour is urgently needed. It is impossible for us to stand against the wiles of the Devil unless we avail ourselves of the provision which God has made for enabling us to stand.   -A.W. Pink Image

But seek first the kingdom of God...

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. -Matthew 6:33

I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess. -Martin Luther

Draw near to God...

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  -James 4:8

Lift up your heart to Him, sometimes even at your meals, and when you are in company; the least little remembrance will always be acceptable to Him. You need not cry very loud; he is nearer to us than we are aware of.   -Brother Lawrence

Good Shepherd of My Soul

 

Good Shepherd of My Soul 

Keith and Kristyn Getty

 Good Shepherd of my soul

Come dwell within me.

Take all I am and mould

Your likeness in me.

Before the cross of Christ

This is my sacrifice:

A life laid down

And ready to follow.

The troubled find their peace

In true surrender.

The prisoners their release

From chains of anger.

In springs of living grace

I find a resting place

To rise refreshed,

Determined to follow.

I'll walk this narrow road

With Christ before me

Where thorns and thistles grow

And cords ensnare me.

Though doubted and denied

He never leaves my side

But lifts my head

And calls me to follow.

And when my days are gone

My strength is failing

He'll carry me along

Through death's unveiling

Earth's struggles overcome

Heav'n's journey just begun

To search Christ's depths

And ever to follow.

I am the good shepherd...

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. -John 10:11-15

Jesus! where’er thy people meet,

There they behold thy mercy-seat;

Where’er they seek thee, thou art found,

And every place is hallow’d ground.

 

Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few!

Thy former mercies here renew;

Here to our waiting hearts proclaim

The sweetness of thy saving name.

-William Cowper

My steadfast love shall not depart from you...

For the mountains may depart

    and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

-Isaiah 54:10

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people...

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”  -Jeremiah 31:33-34

The sacred page is not meant to be the end, but only the means toward the end, which is knowing God himself.   

-A.W. Tozer

Keeping Him always before us...

But when we are faithful in keeping ourselves in his holy presence, keeping him always before us, this not only prevents our offending him or doing something displeasing in his sight (at least willfully), but it also brings to us a holy freedom, and if I may say so, a familiarity with God wherein we may ask and receive the graces we are so desperately in need of. 

-Brother Lawrence