Milo

September 27

THE SANDS OF TIME ARE SINKING
Anne Ross Cousin, 1824–1906
And I—in righteousness I will see Your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness. (Psalm 17:15)
What beautiful pictures of Christ and our relationship to Him as His bride are portrayed for us in this lovely hymn text which was inspired by the dying words of a 17th century Scottish preacher. The colorful imagery enhances the truths of these very thoughtful lines.
“And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s Land” were the final triumphant words spoken by Samuel Rutherford, a forceful evangelical preacher who suffered much persecution in Scotland for his support of the non-conformist movement. His open opposition to the state church resulted in banishment from his pulpit and home. When his courageous loyalty to Christ continued throughout his life, Rutherford was eventually charged with high treason, which could mean being beheaded. Already on his death bed, however, he sent, back this message: “I behoove to answer my first summons, and ere your day for me arrive, I will be where few kings and great folks come.”
Two hundred years after the death of Rutherford in 1661, his victorious life, writings, and final words so impressed Anne Ross Cousin that she was moved to write this remarkable text. Mrs. Cousin describes vividly the glories of heaven. Her wonderful closing proclamation that “the Lamb is all the glory” is a fitting climax to the hymn’s vibrant exaltation of Christ and His eternal abode.
The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks; the summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes. Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but day-spring is at hand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
O Christ, He is the fountain, the deep, sweet well of love! The streams on earth I’ve tasted more deep I’ll drink above: There to an ocean fulness His mercy doth expand, and glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
O I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved’s mine! He brings a poor vile sinner into His “house of wine.” I stand upon His merit—I know no other stand, not e’en where glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
The Bride eyes not her garment but her dear Bridegroom’s face; I will not gaze at glory but on my King of grace, not at the crown He giveth but on His pierced hand: The Lamb is all the glory of Immanuel’s land.

    For Today: John 17:3; Romans 13:14; Ephesians 3:14–21; Hebrews 12:2

Learn to say—“My goal is Christ Himself, not joy, nor peace, not even heaven—but Himself, my Lord.” Even now, as we anticipate the joy of “Immanuel’s land” and the sight of our Savior’s face, let us look away from ourselves and the cares of life and focus on the author and finisher of our faith.

September 26

WHEN ALL THY MERCIES, O MY GOD
Joseph Addison, 1672–1719
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endureth forever. (1 Chronicles 16:11 KJV)
A reflection upon God’s blessings will always result in a response of worship and praise; a neglect of gratitude will eventually produce a lifestyle of self-centeredness.
Joseph Addison, the author of this hymn, wrote this introduction for his text:
If gratitude is due from man to man, how much more from man to his Maker. The Supreme being does not only confer upon us those bounties which proceed immediately from His hand, but even those benefits which are conveyed to us by others. Any blessing which we enjoy, by what means soever derived, is the gift of Him who is the great author of good and the Father of mercies.
Joseph Addison was recognized in his era as one of England’s literary greats. He was not only a writer and a moralist, but a man of affairs in his government. He was elected to Parliament and then appointed successively as Under Secretary, Secretary for Ireland, and finally Secretary of State.
These words are thought to have been written by Joseph Addison following his rescue from a shipwreck during a storm off the Coast of Genoa, Italy. The hymn originally had 13 stanzas. It was published on August 9, 1712, in a London daily paper, The Spectator, of which Addison served for a time as editor. The surviving four stanzas have since provided God’s people with a meaningful aid in expressing grateful worship to God for all of His enduring mercies:
When all Thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, transported with the view I’m lost in wonder, love and praise.
Unnumbered comforts to my soul Thy tender care bestowed before my infant heart conceived from whom those comforts flowed.
When worn with sickness, oft hast Thou with health renewed my face; and, when in sins and sorrows bowed, revived my soul with grace.
Thru ev’ry period of my life Thy goodness I’ll pursue, and after death, in distant worlds, the glorious theme renew.

    For Today: Psalm 63:1–5; 86:5–17; 89:1; 103:8–14; James 3:17

Reflect with this author upon God’s mercy of comfort, His mercy of physical and spiritual healing, His mercy of reviving grace—then, respond to Him with grateful expressions of worship and praise. Allow this hymn to help—

September 25

FADE, FADE, EACH EARTHLY JOY
Jane C. Bonar, 1821–1884
Love the Lord, all His saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud He pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. (Psalm 31:23, 24)
Each of us was created for the purpose of enjoying the fellowship of Almighty God. Our souls were made for eternity, not for this brief earthly pilgrimage alone. The Christian life should be lived each day as though we were already enjoying the blessings of heaven. We deprive ourselves of one of life’s greatest treasures when we lose this perspective and become bogged down with the trivialities of earthly living.
An intimate fellowship with our Lord should produce at least three basic differences in our living:
• More humility—a greater realization of our finiteness and the need for dependence upon God.
• More happiness—a realization that this life has purpose and dignity as we represent God. And then a promised eternity in heaven with our Lord.
• More holiness—a greater desire to be a worthy representative for God and to live a life of absolute purity.
The author of this lovely devotional hymn text, Jane C. Bonar, was the wife of Dr. Horatius Bonar, generally regarded as the greatest of evangelical Scottish preachers and hymn writers. Jane, too, was a very gifted writer and Christian leader. For more than 40 years the Bonars shared life’s sorrows and joys together in a rich ministry for God. These devotional thoughts are still the sentiments of every spiritually mature follower of Christ:
Fade, fade, each earthly joy—Jesus is mine; break, ev’ry tender tie—Jesus is mine. Dark is the wilderness; earth has no resting place; Jesus alone can bless—Jesus is mine.
Tempt not my soul away—Jesus is mine; here would I ever stay—Jesus is mine. Perishing things of clay, born but for one brief day, pass from my heart away—Jesus is mine.
Farewell, ye dreams of night—Jesus is mine; lost in this dawning bright—Jesus is mine. All that my soul has tried left but a dismal void; Jesus has satisfied—Jesus is mine.
Farewell, mortality—Jesus is mine; welcome, eternity—Jesus is mine, welcome, O loved and blest, welcome, sweet scenes of rest; welcome, my Savior’s breast—Jesus is mine.

    For Today: Psalm 16:8, 11; 37:4, 23; 40:8; Proverbs 11:20; Colossians 3:2

Allow the awareness of God’s presence to produce in your life more HUMILITY, HAPPINESS, and HOLINESS as you seek to represent Him.

September 24

JESUS, I AM RESTING, RESTING
Jean Sophia Pigott, 1845–1882
In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)
John Wesley, the flaming evangelist of the 18th century, once stated that Christians must “learn to live with a slack rein.” If that were true then, it is even more necessary in the hectic pace lived today. We all need times of relaxation, rest, and renewal. Even Christian workers can experience “burn-out” while engaged in worthwhile activities for God.
Resting in Jesus is an important development in our Christian maturity. It is something we must learn to practice daily regardless of life’s pressures and circumstances. It must be in the present tense, not a nostalgic memory from the past. Although this principle is easier stated than practiced, we must consciously learn to relax and enjoy God’s presence; to allow God to absorb our inward worries and conflicts; to allow Him to energize us with His love and power.
The author of this thoughtful text, Jean Sophia Pigott, was born and lived in Ireland. She wrote this text in 1876. The composer, James Mountain, was an English Baptist minister, writer, and musician. He is best remembered today for several of his surviving hymn tunes.
The story is told of Hudson Taylor, missionary statesman to China, in the terrible days of the Boxer uprising there. As one report followed another of mission stations being destroyed and missionaries massacred, Taylor remained quietly at his desk, singing softly these words that he loved so dearly:
Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart. Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, and Thy beauty fills my soul, for by Thy transforming power Thou hast made me whole.
Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art, and Thy love, so pure, so changeless, satisfies my heart—Satisfies its deepest longings, meets, supplies its ev’ry need, compasseth me round with blessings. This is love indeed!
Ever lift Thy face upon me as I work and wait for Thee. Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth’s dark shadows flee. Brightness of my Father’s glory, sunshine of my Father’s face, keep me ever trusting, resting; fill me with Thy grace.

    For Today: Psalm 23:2; 32:17; Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4:9

Determine to spend some time each day in refreshment and renewal of your body, mind and spirit. Sing this musical truth as you go—

September 23

SUN OF MY SOUL
John Keble, 1792–1866
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You. (Psalm 84:11, 12)
Jesus taught that we can learn much from the lilies of the field. How do they grow? By struggling and seeking to display their beauty? No, they simply open themselves to the existing sun, and in their sun-centeredness, they grow and become objects of beauty for all to enjoy. Indeed the sun is one of the most important factors in nature’s growth.
We too need sun for our souls—the warmth of God’s love and presence in our lives. We were created for this in order to be complete persons. It was St. Augustine who realized this truth centuries ago: “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee.”
John Keble, a professor of poetry at Oxford University for 10 years and later an Anglican minister of the humble parish church in the village of Hursley, wrote this poem in 1820. Seven years later he published a collection of poems titled The Christian Year with all of the poems following the church calendar year. “Sun of My Soul” was one of the poems from that collection. The book was extremely successful, going through 109 editions before John Keble’s death in 1866.
The poem was originally named “Evening” and was based on the account in Luke 24:29, where Christ went in to dine with the two Emmaus disciples following His resurrection.
This prayer for the constant and unobscured sense of Christ’s unwavering presence and blessing, whether in life or death, and finally the full enjoyment of God’s love in “heav’n above,” is still a worthy goal for each believer.
Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear, it is not night if Thou be near; O may no earth-born cloud arise to hide Thee from Thy servant’s eyes!
When the soft dews of kindly sleep my weary eyelids gently steep, be my last thought; how sweet to rest forever on my Savior’s breast!
Abide with me from morn till eve, for without thee I cannot live; abide with me when night is nigh, for without Thee I dare not die.
Be near to bless me when I wake, ere thru the world my way I take; abide with me till in Thy love I lose myself in heav’n above.

    For Today: Psalm 4:6–8; Luke 1:77–79; 24:29; 2 Corinthians 4:4

Pray with John Keble that “no earth-born cloud” will obscure a sense of Christ’s presence and blessing in your life. Carry this musical message to help—