Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
2 Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
3 The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
4 Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.
5 When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.”
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.
Baptist Hymnal, 1991
Woke up with this song in my heart. Also The Benedictus. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel. Two things struck me as I spent some time in my early morning devotions reflecting on, and allowing the Spirit of God to guide my thoughts. One, the contrast between the first part of the verse and the second; except for the last verse:
Kingly crown and …no room for thy holy nativity.
Angels singing about his royal decree, and lowly birth.
Finding rest and shade, and lying on the earth…..the tuff dutty
The Living Word to set people free, and crucifixion
Finally there is a promise of when the heavens shall ring …at thy coming to victory……his voice shall call me home, where there shall be room at His side. Praise God.
What came to mind as I reflected is captured by words from St. Paul, which either make us uncomfortable or we ignore to our own spiritual peril, if we wish Jesus to come into our hearts, and send us out with the Good News that would set thy people, in Jamaica, in Haiti, in Gaza, in Israel, in Trump country, and in every strange land, to set thy people “ for God so loved the world “, free.
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”
Romans 8:17 NIV
Share in his suffering so that we share in his glory! You can’t have Jesus in your heart unless you are prepared and willing to suffer with and for him. So on our part “ if thy right hand offendeth thee, cut it off. And from God:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
1 Peter 1:3-7 NIV
Then the Spirit of the Living God placed this song in my heart. in context!
1 O Jesus, I have promised
to serve Thee to the end;
be Thou forever near me,
my Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
if Thou art by my side,
nor wander from the pathway
if Thou wilt be my Guide.
2 O let me feel Thee near me,
the world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me,
around me and within;
but, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
and shield my soul from sin.
3 O let me hear Thee speaking
in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion,
the murmurs of self-will;
O speak to reassure me,
to hasten or control!
O speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul!
4 O Jesus, Thou hast promised
to all who follow Thee
that where Thou art in glory
there shall Thy servant be;
and, Jesus, I have promised
to serve Thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow,
my Master and my Friend!
Two final thoughts as we promise not to fear the battle, nor wander from the pathway, the way of suffering. One that at the end of both hymns is the promise to be with Jesus in glory. And also that at the end of the hymn above is the prayer for grace to follow thee. So from start to finish of the Christian life is God. And He who began a good work in thee will complete it. What a joy, what a revelation, what peace and rest, that we don’t have to try so hard to do God’s will here on earth, nor seek to please Him in every way, but what we are required to do, is to “ trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey”.
And therein lies the challenge for the church of the Crucified and Risen and soon coming again to judge the living and the dead, God in Jesus Christ. For our battle is not against powers and principalities which now rule over Jamaica, and not our constitution. For we cannot manage to fight against those powers spread abroad in the USA, and in Haiti and in the Middle East and Africa and Eastern Europe and Asia. Only the Sovereign God. Put on the full armor. Our role is to learn to trust and obey Him, and He shall direct our paths. And contend with those who contend against us. For his glory which He shall not give to any man. Any Bishop. Any Pastor. Any child of God. Any church, however old.
O Jesus I have promised, O Jesus we in the church have promised to serve thee to the end; O for grace to follow you, so that the church may be renewed, and help to renew the nation(s), where people neither know you, nor have they decided to trust obey you, even when it was your Word, your Good News which led to their founding as now developed and developing nation. But led astray by evil forces. With devastating consequences. Because of “ hugging up Sin”, and to free us from which enslavement and perishing, Jesus died on Calvary. The Good News in every age.
In obedience in a strange land.
Shalom
LWJ. A redeemed sinner. Traveling with other redeemed sinners by grace.
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