It was 21 years ago that my blessed God stepped down into my
darkness and took away the veil that covered my heart, revealing His glory to
me in the face of Jesus Christ my saviour.
I look back and separate those 21 years into two periods.
The first 19 years I walked in despair, burdened down by the belief that I was
continually failing my precious Lord, unable to appropriate His grace, living
under a cloud of wretched condemnation. The last 2 years have been a walk of a
completely different kind….of a gradual unfolding of His grace, a growing
assurance in the faith, and wonder of all wonders, a lifting of my eyes to
behold His face revealed in all its glory.
I want to say today to any precious believers reading this
who are all too aware of their unworthiness before Him, who see all too clearly
their sinfulness, their wretchedness, their need of Him, who feel they can
never come forward to claim their full inheritance – He has made a great
promise that stands for all time that is true, and always will be true, for
they are His words and He does not lie:
Our God is a holy God, who is immortal, invisible, who
dwells in unapproachable light, who no man has seen or ever can see. And yet He
calls on us to seek after Him. He calls on us to behold His glory in the face
of Christ. He calls on us to seek after His face.
And when we do this, we will discover that as we turn
towards Him, He comes running towards us to welcome us with the warmth of His
embrace, with a kiss. He has a robe to clothe us with, the precious robe of the
righteousness of Christ. He has a ring to put on our finger, the ring that
symbolises our belonging to His family. Then He bids us enter, to come and eat
at His table, like one of the King’s sons.
And more than this, oh! so much more than all of this, He
bids us to look up into His face! And as we dare do this, we will discover the
most precious pearl. We will see eyes reflecting back to us how much we are
loved and delighted in, because we come in the Name of His most beloved Son.
I came across a hymn written by Frances Havergal just before
Christmas. I trust she won’t mind, I rewrote the last 3 verses, and giving it a
new tune was privileged to be able to lead our congregation in singing it this
morning. May these words bless you today. Is it for me, dear Saviour? Oh yes!
Yes, it is!
Is it for me, dear Saviour,
Your glory and Your rest,
For me, so weak and sinful?
O shall I be so blessed?
Chorus:
O Saviour, my Redeemer,
What can I but adore,
And magnify and praise You,
And love You evermore?
Is it for me, dear Saviour
The warmth of Your embrace?
A ring and robe You would give me?
Oh boundless, wondrous grace!
Is it for me, dear Saviour
Your gracious “Enter in”,
To come and eat at Your table,
A precious child of the King?
Is it for me, dear Saviour
This boldness in the faith?
That as I bow in Your presence
I look up into Your face?
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