Wednesday, December 20, 2006

"He will bring you down if he's going to use you."








I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow
By John Newton

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek, more earnestly, His face.

’Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer!
But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He’d answer my request;
And by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart;
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in every part.

Yea more, with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

"Lord, why is this," I trembling cried,
"Wilt thou pursue thy worm to death?"
“Tis in this way," the Lord replied,
"I answer prayer for grace and faith.

"These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free;
And break thy schemes of earthly joy,
That thou may’st find thy all in Me.”

3 comments:

GloryandGrace said...

Ironic that you posted the lyrics to this song (is anything in life REALLY ironic when it comes to the Lord's handiwork). I was humming through it this morning as I was getting ready for work, particularly,

These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set thee free...

I hope you and Gret have a wonderful Christmas! She mentioned that you guys are going to be here around the 2nd? I hope we can work something out to meet :)

The Tiffinian said...

Yeah, that's the part that gets me too. Tim Keller quoted the whole song at the Desiring God National Conference this fall. Click the title to go to that sermon.

Our Lord is bringing me full-circle in these last days in Illinois. I'm struggling right now to trust God with some people I really love, who I don't want to see stumble. It's almost the same scenario I faced about three years ago - the last time he really brought me down.

We'll be in L-ville on the 2nd and 3rd. Maybe we could meet up for breakfast or lunch one of those days. You might be able to clue us in on some things, like what bank we should use, which cellular provider has the best service there, etc.

Merry Christmas!

Gretchen said...

Josh,
Thanks for the great post. I love it that you really live the things the Lord teaches you. You are such an encouragement to me.

Are you doing well today? I am excited to have a Christmassy night with you tonight when I get home. Want to have some Latkes? I sure do! We can light the Menorah, too!