Beneath the Cross of Jesus

by Elizabeth C. Clephane

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand
The shadow of a mighty Rock
Within a weary land;
A home within the wilderness,
A rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat
And the burden of the day.

Upon the cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me:
And from my stricken heart with tears
Two wonders I confess,
The wonders of redeeming love
And my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding place:
I ask no other sunshine
Than the sunshine of his face;
Content to let the world go by,
To know no gain nor loss;
My sinful self my only shame,
My glory all the cross.

God's Good Will

by Dr. James Montgomery Boice

[Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from the final address which Dr. James Montgomery Boice gave to his congregation, as he informed them he had inoperable liver cancer. He would die a month later.]

A relevant question, I guess, when you pray is, pray for what? Should you pray for a miracle? Well, you're free to do that, of course. My general impression is that the God who is able to do miracles—and he certainly can—is also able to keep you from getting the problem in the first place. So although miracles do happen, they're rare by definition. A miracle has to be an unusual thing.

Above all, I would say pray for the glory of God. If you think of God glorifying himself in history and you say, 'Where in all of history has God most glorified himself?' He did it at the cross of Jesus Christ, and it wasn't by delivering Jesus from the cross, though he could have. Jesus said, 'Don't you think I could call down from my Father ten legions of angels for my defense?' But he didn't do that. And yet that's where God is most glorified.

If I were to reflect on what goes on theologically here, there are two things I would stress. One is the sovereignty of God. That's not novel. We have talked about the sovereignty of God here forever. God is in charge. When things like this come into our lives, they are not accidental. It's not as if God somehow forgot what was going on, and something bad slipped by. God does everything according to his will. We've always said that.

But what I've been impressed with mostly is something in addition to that. It's possible, isn't it, to conceive of God as sovereign and yet indifferent? God's in charge, but he doesn't care. But it's not that. God is not only the one who is in charge; God is also good. Everything he does is good. And what Romans 12:1-2 says is that we have the opportunity by the renewal of our minds—that is, how we think about these things—actually to prove what God's will is. And then it says, 'His good, pleasing, and perfect will.' Is that good, pleasing, and perfect to God? Yes, of course, but the point of it is that it's good, pleasing, and perfect to us. If God does something in your life, would you change it? If you'd change it, you'd make it worse. It wouldn't be as good. So that's the way we want to accept it and move forward. And who knows what God will do?

'Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among the peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy is his dwelling place. Ascribe to the Lord, O family of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him and worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth!'

All Glory, Laud, and Honor

by Theodulph of Orléans
Trans. by John M. Neale

All glory, laud, and honor,
To Thee, Redeemer, King,
To Whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.

Thou art the King of Israel,
Thou David's royal Son,
Who in the Lord's Name comest,
The King and Blessèd One.

The company of angels
Are praising Thee on High,
And mortal men and all things
Created make reply.

The people of the Hebrews
With palms before Thee went;
Our prayer and praise and anthems
Before Thee we present.

To Thee, before Thy passion,
They sang their hymns of praise;
To Thee, now high exalted,
Our melody we raise.

Thou didst accept their praises;
Accept the prayers we bring,
Who in all good delightest,
Thou good and gracious King.

Waiting for My Real Life to Begin

by Colin Hay

Any minute now
My ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
I'll stand on the bow
Feel the waves come crashing
Come crashing down on me

And you say, 'Be still, my love
'Open up your heart
'Let the light shine in'
Don't you understand?
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today
Suddenly nothing happened
But in my dreams I slew the dragon
Down this beaten path
Up this cobbled lane
I'm walking in my old footsteps once again

And you say, 'Just be here now
'Forget about the past
'Your mask is wearing thin'
Let me throw one more dice
I know that I can win
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now
My ship is coming in
I'll keep checking the horizon
And I'll check my machine
There's sure to be that call
It's going to happen soon
It's just that times are lean

And you say, 'Be still, my love
'Open up your heart
'Let the light shine in'
Don't you understand?
I already have a plan
I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Backwards Down the Number Line

by Tom Marshall

Happy happy, oh my friend
Blow out candles once again
Leave the presents all inside
Take my hand and let's take a ride
Backwards down the number line
You were eight and I was nine
Do you know what happened then?
Do you know why we're still friends?

Laughing all these many years
We've pushed through hardships, tasted tears
We made a promise, one to keep
I can still recite it in my sleep
Every time a birthday comes
Call your friend and sing a song
Or whisper it into his ears
Or write it down; just don't miss a year

You decide what it contains
How long it goes, but this remains
The only rule is it begins
Happy happy, oh my friend
And all my friends come
Backwards down the number line

Box of Rain

by Robert Hunter

Look out of any window
any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
birds are winging or
rain is falling from a heavy sky—
What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
this is all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago

Walk out of any doorway
feel your way, feel your way
like the day before
Maybe you'll find direction
around some corner
where it's been waiting to meet you—
What do you want me to do,
to watch for you while you're sleeping?
Well please don't be surprised
when you find me dreaming too

Look into any eyes
you find by you, you can see
clear through to another day
I know it's been seen before
through other eyes on other days
while going home —
What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago

Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams
to another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear
What do you want me to do
to do for you to see you through?
A box of rain will ease the pain
and love will see you through

Just a box of rain
wind and water
believe it if you need it
if you don't just pass it on
Sun and shower, wind and rain
in and out the window
like a moth before a flame

It's just a box of rain
I don't know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
or leave it if you dare
But it's just a box of rain
or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long long time to be gone
and a short time to be there

Whistling in the Dark

by John Linnell

A woman came up to me and said
'I'd like to poison your mind
'With wrong ideas that appeal to you
'Though I am not unkind'
She looked at me
I looked at something written across her scalp
And these are the words that it faintly said
As I tried to call for help

There's only one thing that I know how to do well
And I've often been told
That you only can do what you know how to do well
And that's be you
Be what you're like
Be like yourself
And so I'm having a wonderful time
But I'd rather be whistling in the dark

A man came up to me and said
'I'd like to change your mind
'By hitting it with a rock,' he said
'Though I am not unkind'
We laughed at his little joke
And then I happily walked away
And hit my head on the wall of the jail
Where the two of us live today