Psalms of Ascent

Fifteen psalms in the Book of Psalms were designed for a special purpose- these were the songs sung by the children of Israel as they ascended to Mount Zion 3 times a year for a feast, and time of worshipping before the Lord. The Psalms of Ascent are: Psalms 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134.




On an equivalent level for the faith-children of God, these are the prepatory songs of worship, sung prior to the festive worship of the congregation. Imagine the festivities as God's children gathered in His holy place with worship offerings and gifts to the Holy One! Can you see the smiles on their faces and the pining in their hearts to dance before His throne of glory, and taste of the goodness of His Spirit? Even the children, whose hearts were still young and innocent, rejoiced in the worthy example of their parents jubilation. Young men and women came to consecrate themselves before the Lord in sincere praise for their day to day lives, as did the older ones of the community who had to be helped around the cities- now raising hoarse voices in a reverent praise with hands outstretched. What a beautiful picture of worship the Psalms of Ascent give us! And all this BEFORE the true worship feast!

This article's key word must be preparation, above all else. How much do you and I prepare ourselves before entering the time of worship before our Lord? Do we spend out time bickering and struggling to get up on Sunday morning itself, or do the late Saturday nights leave us tired and sleepy as we approach His throne of grace? Let us follow the example of the Israelites, who came in a spirit of consecration, looking forward with anticipation even in the pre-worship phase BEFORE the worship formally began. For us who live in the 21st Century- this could be simply reading the Psalms of Ascent before heading out the door, or coming home early on a Saturday night, or preparing one's heart for worship with reading of the Scripture, more prayer, extended quiet times, even just a prayer-chat with God. How are you prepared for worship?






If that were not enough, if we pause to consider the motivations for the Israelites and their reverence for God, we find nothing less than an overflowing gratefulness, a brimming heart of worship that was not obligated to do any of these things. They were driven with hearts of thanks, of gratefulness for what the Lord had done in their lives, both individually and as a nation. How much can we thank Him for His bountiful blessings, we who enjoy no lack of anything at all! 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, ". Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Give your worship out of a heart of gratefulness, nothing less, that He may delight in the gifts we bring- a fragrant offering rising up to heaven.

A Thirst For Glory

The writer in Psalms 27 talks about his deep desires to "dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." More than anything else, he longs for the intimacy of beholding the full beauty of God with his own eyes. In that moment of personally experiencing the reality of God, surely all the things of this world that we hold to be true will wilt in the brightness of His glory. The Sunday school song goes, "the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace". In the same way, may we long to have that taste of His person, of His presence and holiness.



Sometimes, when we are at out lowest, what we really desire is that taste of Him, that taste that reminds that He is who He claims to be- a God of power, righteousness, gentleness, comfort, and most importantly- one who loves us fiercely. That, is the experience of His glory. Peter, Isaiah, Paul/Saul, Zachariah and Ezekiel have all had the same experience of His glorious presence, to which their only response is to cower in fear and trembling in the dust at His feet and declare the truth of our unworthiness and sinfulness. Romans 3:23 says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". How true it is- that just as our God is absolutely holy, we are absolutely fallen and unworthy of His perfection. It is indeed in the presence of pure light that one realises how dark the shadows in the corner truly are, for His illumination allows us to understand our own sinfulness. That is why we need Him, our light and our salvation.





Therefore, let us thirst all the more for His grace undeserved, in dwelling with Man intimately through the person of Jesus- let us rejoice in His identity as Emmanuel- "God with Us", God's righteousness revealed in human flesh. And surely as those nails pierced His carpenter's hands on that coarse wooden beam, His blood poured forth as light, unbearably bright light that was a revelation of His glory, His glory.



Ezekiel 43 writes that Ezekiel "saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory" with his own two eyes, and that His temple described in the closing of portions of Ezekiel were to be marked with the description "The LORD is There" (Ezekiel 48).

Remember then, that the temple of the Lord is now in ours- as 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, "don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple, and that God's spirit lives in you?" Surely then, you and I are in the very homes and shrines of the living God. He lives in us, and the glory of His temple and His home is found in us. What a joy, that as we approach each other, we should do so with holiness and reverence, with awe and trembling and caution and gentleness and an attitude of worship! Let us together, as a body of His temples, as a congregation of His worship, thirst together for His glory, praying that His glorious presence may be manifested in our worship!

"Where Art Thou?" Part Two by D.L. Moody

A number of years ago, before any railway came into Chicago, they used to bring in the grain from
the Western prairies in wagons for hundreds of miles, so as to have it shipped off by the Lakes.
There was a father who had a large farm out there, and who used to preach the gospel as well as
attend to his farm. One day, when church business engaged him, he sent his son to Chicago with
grain. He waited and waited for his boy to return, but he did not come home. At last he could wait
no longer, so he saddled his horse and rode to the place where his son had sold the grain. He found
that he had been there and got the money for the grain; then he began to fear that his boy had been
murdered and robbed. At last, with the aid of a detective, they tracked him to a gambling den, where
they found that he had gambled away the whole of his money. In hopes of winning it back again, he
then had sold the team, and lost that money too. He had fallen among thieves, and like the man who
was going to Jericho, they stripped him, and then they cared no more about him. What could he do?
He was ashamed to go home to meet his father, and he fled. The father knew what it all meant. He
knew the boy thought he would be very angry with him. He was grieved to think that his boy should
have such feelings towards him. That is just exactly like the sinner. He thinks because he has sinned,
God will have nothing to do with him. But what did that father do? Did he say, “Let the boy go?”
No, he went after him. He arranged his business and started after the boy. That man went from town
to town, from city to city. He would get the ministers to let him preach, and at the close he would tell
his story. “I have got a boy who is a wanderer on the face of the earth somewhere.” He would
describe his boy and say, “If you ever hear of him or see him, will you not write to me?” At last he
found that he had gone to California, thousands of miles away. Did that father say “Let him go?” No;
off he went to the Pacific coast, seeking the boy. He went to San Francisco, and advertised in the
newspapers that he would preach at such a church on such a day. When he had preached he told his
story, in hopes that the boy might have seen the advertisement and come to the church. When he had
done, away under the gallery there was a young man who waited until the audience had gone out;
then he came towards the pulpit. The father looked, and saw it was that boy, and he ran to him, and
pressed him to his bosom. The boy wanted to confess what he had done, but not a word would the
father hear. He forgave him freely, and took him to his home once more.

Oh, prodigal, you may be wandering on the dark mountains of sin, but God wants you to come
home. The devil has been telling you lies about God; you think he will not receive you back. I tell
you, He will welcome you this minute if you will come. Say, “I will arise and go to my Father.” May
God incline you to take this step. There is not one whom Jesus has not sought far longer than that
father. There has not been a day since you left Him but he has followed you. I do not care what the
past has been, or how black your life, He will receive you back. Arise then, O backslider, and come
home once more to your Father’s house.

Not long ago, in Edinburgh, a lady who was an earnest Christian worker, found a young woman
whose feet had taken hold of hell, and who was pressing onwards to a harlot’s grave. The lady
begged her to go back to her home, but she said no, her parents would never receive her. This
Christian woman knew what a mother’s heart was; so she sat down and wrote a letter to the mother,
telling her how she had met her daughter, who was sorry, and wanted to return. The next post
brought an answer back, and on the envelope was written, “Immediately — immediately!” That was
a mother’s heart. They opened the letter. Yes, she was forgiven. They wanted her back, and they
sent money for her to come immediately. Sinner, that is the proclamation, “Come immediately”. That
is what the great and loving God is saying to every wandering sinner — immediately. Yes,
backslider, come home tonight. He will give you a warm welcome, and there will be joy in heaven
over your return. Come now, for everything is ready.




A friend of mine said to me some time ago, Did you ever notice what the prodigal lost by going into
that country? He lost his food. That is what every poor backslider loses. They get no manna from
heaven. The Bible is a closed book to them; they see no beauty in the Word of God.

Then the prodigal lost his work. He was a Jew, and they made him take care of swine; that was all
loss for a Jew. So every backslider loses his work. He cannot do anything for God; he cannot work
for eternity. He is a stumbling block to the world. My friend, do not let the world stumble over you
into hell.

The prodigal also lost his testimony. Who believed him? I can imagine some of these men came
along, natives of that country, and they saw this poor prodigal in his rags, barefooted and
bareheaded. There he stands among the swine and someone says to another, “Look at that poor
wretch.” “What,” he says, “do you call me a poor wretch? My father is a wealthy man; he has got
more clothes in his wardrobe than you ever saw in your life. My father is a man of great wealth and
position.” Do you suppose these men would believe him? “That poor wretch the son of a wealthy
man!” Not one of them would believe him. “If he had such a wealthy father he would go to him.” So
with the backsliders; the world does not believe that they are the sons of a King. They say, “Why
don’t they go to Him, if there is bread enough and to spare? Why don’t they go home?”

Then, another thing the prodigal lost was his home. He had no home in that foreign country. As long
as his money lasted, he was quite popular in the public house and among his acquaintances; he had
professed friends, but as soon as his money was gone, where were his friends? That is the condition
of every poor backslider in London.

But now I can imagine someone saying, “There would be little use of me attempting to come back.
In a few days I should just be where I was again. I should like very much to go to my Father’s home
again, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t stay there.” Well, just picture this scene. The poor prodigal has got
home, and the father has killed the fatted calf; and there they are, sitting at the table eating. I can
imagine that was about the sweetest morsel he ever got — perhaps the nicest dinner he ever had in
his life. His father sits opposite; he is full of joy, and his heart is leaping within him. All at once he
sees his boy weeping. “My son, what are you weeping for? Are you not glad to have got home?”
“Oh, yes, father; I never was so glad as I am today: but I am so afraid I will go back into that foreign
country!” Why, you cannot imagine such a thing! When you have got one meal in your Father’s
house, you will never be inclined to wander away again.

Now let me speak to the Third class. “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
and the sinner appear?” Sinner, what is to become of you? How shall you escape? “Where art
thou?” Is it true that you are living without God and without hope in the world? Did you ever stop to
think what would become of your soul if you should be taken away by a sudden stroke of illness —
where you would stand in eternity? I read that the sinner is without God, without hope, and without
excuse. If you are not saved, what excuse will you have to give? You cannot say that it is God’s
fault. He is only too anxious to save you. I want to tell you tonight that you can be saved if you will.
If you really want to pass from death to life, if you want to become an heir of eternal life, if you want
to become a child of God, make up your mind this night that you will seek the kingdom of God. I tell
you, upon the authority of this Word, that if you seek the kingdom of God you will find it. No man
ever sought Christ with a heart to find Him who did not find Him. I never knew a man make up his
mind to have the question settled, but it was settled soon. This last year there has been a solemn
feeling stealing over me. I am what they call in the middle of life, in the prime of life. I look upon life
as a man who has reached the top of a hill, and just begins to go down the other side. I have got to
the top of the hill, if I should live the full term of life — threescore years and ten — and am just on
the other side. I am speaking to many now who are also on the top of the hill, and I ask you, if you
are not Christians, just to pause a few minutes, and ask yourselves where you are. Let us look back
on the hill that we have been climbing. What do you see? Yonder is the cradle. It is not far away.
How short life is! It all seems but as yesterday. Look along up the hill, and yonder is a tombstone; it
marks the resting place of a loved mother. When that mother died, did you not promise God that
you would serve Him? Did you not say that your mother’s God should become your God? And did
you not take her hand in the stillness of the dying hour, and say, “Yes, mother, I will meet you in
heaven!” And have you kept that promise? Are you trying to keep it? Ten years have rolled away:
fifteen years — but are you any nearer God? Did the promise work any improvement in you? No,
your heart is getting harder: the night is getting darker; by and by death will be throwing its shadows
round you. My friend, Where art thou? Look again. A little further up the hill there is another
tombstone. It marks the resting place of a little child. It may have been a little lovely girl — perhaps
her name was Mary; or it may have been a boy — Charley; and when that child was taken from
you, did you not promise God, and did you not promise the child, that you would meet it in heaven?
Is the promise kept? Think! Are you still fighting against God? Are you still hardening your heart?
Sermons that would have moved you five years ago — do they touch you now?

Once more look down the hill. Yonder there is a grave; you cannot tell how many days, or weeks,
or years it is away, you are hastening towards that grave. Even should you live the life allotted to
man, many of you are near the end, you are getting very feeble, and your locks are turning gray. It
may be the coffin is already made that this body shall be laid in; it may be that the shroud is already
waiting. My friend, is it not the height of madness to put off salvation so long? Undoubtedly I am
speaking to some who will be in eternity a week from now. In a large audience like this, during the
next week death will surely come and snatch some away; it may be the speaker, or it may be
someone who is listening. Why put off the question another day? Why say to the Lord Jesus again
tonight, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for Thee?” Why not
let him come in tonight? Why not open your heart, and say, “King of Glory, come in?”

Will there ever be a better opportunity? Did not you promise ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty years ago that
you would serve God? Some of you said you would do it when you got married and settled down;
some of you said you would serve Him when you were your own master. Have you attended to it?

You know there are three steps to the lost world; let me give you their names. The first is Neglect.
All a man has to do is to neglect salvation, and that will take him to the lost world. Some people say,
“What have I done!” Why, if you merely neglect salvation, you will be lost. I am on a swift river, and
lying in the bottom of my little boat. Down yonder, ten miles below, is the great cataract. Everyone
that goes over it perishes. I need not row the boat down; I have only to pull in the oars, and fold my
arms and neglect. So all that a man has to do is to fold his arms in the current of life, and he will drift
onwards and be lost.

The second step is Refusal. If I met you at the door and pressed this question on you, you would
say, “Not tonight, Mr. Moody, not tonight;” and if I repeated, “I want you to press into the kingdom
of God,” you would politely refuse: “I will not become a Christian tonight, thank you; I know I ought,
but I won’t tonight.”

Then the last step is to Despise it. Some of you have already got on the lower round of the ladder.
You despise Christ. You hate Christ, you hate Christianity; you hate the best people on the earth and
the best friends you have got; and if I were to offer you the Bible, you would tear it up and put your
foot upon it. Oh, despisers! you will soon be in another world. Make haste and repent and turn to
God. Now, on which step are you, my friend; neglecting, or refusing, or despising? Bear in mind that
a great many are taken off from the first step; they die in neglect. And a great many are taken away
refusing. And a great many are on the last step, despising salvation.

A few years ago they neglected, then they got to refuse; and now they despise Christianity and
Christ. They hate the sound of the church bell; they hate the Bible and the Christian; they curse the
very ground that we walk on. But one more step and they are gone. Oh ye despisers, I set before
you life and death; which will you choose? When Pilate had Christ on his hands, he said, “What shall
I do with him?” and the multitude cried out, “Away with Him! crucify Him!” Young men, is that your
language tonight? Do you say, “Away with this gospel! Away with Christianity! Away with your
prayers, your sermons, your gospel sounds! I do not want Christ?” Or will you be wise and say,
“Lord Jesus, I want Thee, I need Thee, I will have Thee?” Oh, may God bring you to that decision!

"Where Art Thou?" Part One by D.L. Moody

THE very first thing that happened after the news reached heaven of the fall of man, was that God
came straight down to seek out the lost one. As He walks through the garden in the cool of the day,
you can hear Him calling “Adam! Adam! Where art thou?” It was the voice of grace, of mercy, and
of love. Adam ought to have taken the seeker’s place, for he was the transgressor. He had fallen,
and he ought to have gone up and down Eden crying, “My God! my God! where art Thou?” But
God left heaven to seek through the dark world for the rebel who had fallen — not to hurl him from
the face of the earth, but to plan him an escape from the misery of his sin. And he finds him —
where? Hiding from his Creator among the bushes of the garden.

The moment a man is out of communion with God, even the professed child of God, he wants to
hide away from Him. When God left Adam in the garden, he was in communion with his Creator,
and God talked with him; but now that he has fallen, he has no desire to see his Creator, he has lost
communion with his God. He cannot bear to see Him, even to think of Him, and he runs to hide from
God. But to his hiding place his Maker follows him. “Where art thou, Adam? Where art thou?”





Six thousand years have passed away, and this text has come rolling down the ages. I doubt whether
there has been anyone of Adam’s sons who has not heard it at some period or other of his life —
sometimes in the midnight hour stealing over him — “Where am I? Who am I? Where am I going?
and what is going to be the end of this?” I think it is well for a man to pause and ask himself that
question. I would have you ask it, little boy; and you, little girl; and you, old man with locks turning
gray, and eyes growing dim, and natural force abating, you who will soon be in another world. I do
not ask you where you are in the sight of your neighbors; I do not ask you where you are in the sight
of your friends; I do not ask you where you are in the sight of the community in which you live. It is
of very little account where we are in the sight of one another, it is of very little account what men
think of us; but it is of vast importance what God thinks of us — it is of vast importance to know
where men are in the sight of God; and that is the question now. Am I in communion with my
Creator, or out of communion? If I am out of communion, there is no peace, no joy, no happiness.
No man on the face of the earth, who was out of communion with his Creator, ever knew what
peace, and joy, and happiness, and true comfort are. He is a foreigner to it. But when we are in
communion with God, there is light all around our path. So ask yourselves this question. Do not think
I am preaching to your neighbors, but remember I am trying to speak to you, to everyone of you as
if you were alone. It was the first question put to man after his fall, and it was a very small audience
that God had — Adam and his wife. But God was the preacher; and although they tned to hide, the
words came home to them. Let them come home to you now. You may think that your life is hid,
that God does not know anything about you. But he knows our lives a great deal better than we do;
and His eye has been bent upon us from our earliest childhood until now.

“Where art thou?” I should like to divide my audience into three classes — the professed Christians,
the Backsliders, and the Ungodly.

First, I would like to ask the professors this question, or rather let God ask it — Where art thou?
What is my position in the church, and among my circle of acquaintance? Do my friends know me to
be, out and out, on the Lord’s side? You may have been a professing Christian for twenty years,
perhaps thirty, perhaps forty years. Well, where are you tonight? Are you making progress towards
heaven? And can you give a reason for the hope that is within you? Suppose I were to ask those
who were really Christians here to rise, would you be ashamed to stand up? Suppose I should ask
every professed child of God here, “If you should be cut down by the hand of death, have you good
reason to believe you would be saved?” Would you be willing to stand up before God and man, and
say that you have good reason to believe you are passed from death unto life? Or would you be
ashamed? Run your mind back over the past years: would it be consistent for you to say, “I am a
Christian;” and would your life correspond with your profession? It is not what we say so much as
how we live. Actions speak louder than words. Do your shopmates know that you are a Christian?
Do your family know? Do they know you to be out and out on the Lord’s side? Let every professed
Christian ask, Where am I in the sight of God? Is my heart loyal to the King of heaven? Is my life
here as it should be in the community I live in? Am I a light in this dark world? Christ says, “Ye are
My witnesses.” Christ was the Light of the world, and the world would not have the true Light; the
world rose up and put out the Light, and now Christ says, “I leave you down here to testify of Me; I
leave you down here as My witnesses.” That is what the apostle meant when he said that Christians
are to be living epistles, known and read of all men. Then, am I standing up for Jesus as I should in
this dark world? If a man is for God, let him say so. If a man is for God, let him come out and be on
God’s side; and if he is for the world, let him be in the world. This serving God and the world at the
same time — this being on both sides at the same time — is just the curse of Christianity at the
present time. It retards the progress of Christianity more than any other thing. “If any man will come
after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

I have heard of a great many people who think if they are united to the church, and have made one
profession, that will do for all the rest of their days. But there is a cross for everyone of us daily. Oh,
child of God, where are you? If God should appear to you tonight in your bedroom and put the
question, what would be your answer? Could you say, “Lord, I am serving Thee with my whole
heart and strength; I am improving my talents and preparing for the kingdom to come?” When I was
in England in 1867, there was a merchant who came over from Dublin, and was talking with a
business man in London; and as I happened to look in, he introduced me to the man from Dublin.
Alluding to me, the latter said to the former, “Is this young man all O O?” Said the London man,
“What do you mean by O O?” Replied the Dublin man, “Is he Out-and-Out for Christ?” I tell you it
burned down into my soul. It means a good deal to be O O for Christ; but that is what all Christians
ought to be, and their influence would be felt on the world very soon, if men who are on the Lord’s
side would come out and take their stand, and lift up their voices in season and out of season. As I
have said, there are a great many in the church who make one profession, and that is about all you
hear of them; and when they come to die you have to go and hunt up some musty old church records
to know whether they were Christians or not. God won’t do that. I have an idea that when Daniel
died, all the men in Babylon knew whom he served. There was no need for them to hunt up old
books. His life told his story. What we want is men with a little courage to stand up for Christ. When
Christianity wakes up, and every child that belongs to the Lord is willing to speak for Him, is willing
to work for Him, and, if need be, willing to die for Him, then Christianity will advance, and we shall
see the work of the Lord prosper. There is one thing which I fear more than anything else, and that is
the dead cold formalism of the Church of God. Talk about the isms! Put them all together, and I do
not fear them so much as dead, cold formalism. Talk about the false isms! There is none so
dangerous as this dead, cold formalism, which has come right into the heart of the Church. There are
so many of us just sleeping and slumbering while souls all around are perishing. I believe honestly that
we professed Christians are all half asleep. Some of us are beginning to rub our eyes and to get them
half-opened, but as a whole we are asleep.

There was a little story going the round of the American press that made a great impression upon me
as a father. A father took his little child out into the field one Sabbath, and, it being a hot day, he lay
down under a beautiful shady tree. The little child ran about gathering wild flowers and little blades of
grass, and coming to its father and saying, “Pretty! pretty!” At last the father fell asleep, and while he
was sleeping the little child wandered away. When he awoke, his first thought was, “Where is my
child?” He looked all around, but he could not see him. He shouted at the top of his voice, but all he
heard was the echo of his own voice. Running to a little hill, he looked around and shouted again. No
response! Then going to a precipice at some distance, he looked down, and there upon the rocks
and briars, he saw the mangled form of his loved child. He rushed to the spot, took up the lifeless
corpse and hugged it to his bosom, and accused himself of being the murderer of his child. While he
was sleeping his child had wandered over the precipice. I thought as I heard that, what a picture of
the church of God!

How many fathers and mothers, how many Christian men, are sleeping now while their children
wander over the terrible precipice right into the bottomless pit of hell. Father, where is your boy
tonight? It may be just out there in some public house; it may be reeling through the streets; it may be
pressing onwards to a drunkard’s grave. Mother, where is your son? Is he in the house of the
publican drinking away his soul — everything that is dear and sacred to him? Do you know where
your boy is? Father, you have been a professed Christian for forty years; where are your children
tonight? Have you lived so godly, and so Christ-like, that you can say, Follow me as I followed
Christ? Are those children walking in wisdom; are they on their way to glory; have they been
gathered into the fold of Christ; are their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? How many
fathers and mothers today would be able to answer? Did you ever stop to think that you were to
blame; that you had not been faithful to your children? Depend upon it, as long as the church is living
so much like the world, we cannot expect our children to be brought into the fold. Come, O Lord,
and wake up every mother, and may everyone of us who are parents feel the worth of the souls of
the children that God has given us. May they never bring our gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, but
may they become a blessing to the church and to the world. Not long ago the only daughter of a
wealthy friend of mine sickened and died. The father and mother stood by her dying bed. He had
spent all his time in accumulating wealth for her; she had been introduced into gay and fashionable
society; but she had been taught nothing of Christ. As she came to the brink of the river of death, she
said, “Won’t you help me; it is very dark, and the stream is bitter cold.” They wrung their hands in
grief, but could do nothing for her; and the poor girl died in darkness and despair. What was their
wealth to them? And yet, you mothers and fathers are doing the same thing in London today, by
ignoring the work God has given you to do. I beseech you, then, each one of you, begin to labor
now for the souls of your children!




A young man, some time ago, lay dying, and his mother thought he was a Christian. One day,
passing his room door she heard him say, “Lost! lost! lost!” The mother ran into the room and cried,
“My boy, is it possible you have lost your hope in Christ, now you are dying?” “No, mother, it is not
that; I have a hope beyond the grave, but I have lost my life. I have lived twenty-four years, and
done nothing for the Son of God, and now I am dying. My life has been spent for myself; I have
lived for this world, and now, while I am dying, I have given myself to Christ; but my life is lost.”
Would it not be said of many of us, if we should be cut down, that our lives have been almost a
failure — perhaps entirely a failure as far as leading anyone else to Christ is concerned? Young lady!
are you working for the Son of God? Are you trying to win some soul to Christ? Have you tried to
get some friend or companion to have her name written in the book of life? Or would you say, “Lost,
lost! long years have rolled away since I became a child of God, and I have never had the privilege
of leading one soul to Christ?” If there is one professed child of God who never had the joy of
leading even one soul into the kingdom of God, oh! let him begin at once. There is no greater
privilege on earth. And I believe, my friends, there has never been a time, in our day, at least, when
work for Christ was more needed than at present. I do not believe there ever was in your day or
mine a time when the Spirit of God was more poured out upon the world. There is not a part of
Christendom where the work is not being carried on; and it looks very much as if the glad tidings
were just going to take, as it were, a fresh start, and go round the globe. Is it not time that the
Church of God should wake up and come to the help of the Lord as one man, and strive to beat
back those dark waves of death that roll through our streets, bearing upon their bosom the noblest
and the best we have? Oh, may God wake up the Church! And let us trim our lights, and go forth
and work for the kingdom of His Son.

Now, Secondly, let me talk a little while to those who have gone back into the world — to the
Backslider. It may be you came to some great city a few years ago a professed Christian. You were
member of a church once, and a teacher in the Sabbath school, perhaps; but when you came among
strangers you thought you would just wait a little — perhaps take a class by and by. So you gave up
teaching in the Sunday school; you gave up all work for Christ. Then in your new church you did not
receive the attention or the warm welcome that you expected. and you got into the habit of staying
away. You have gone so far now, that you are found in the theater, perhaps, and the companion of
blasphemers and drunkards. Perhaps I am speaking now to someone who has been away from his
father’s house for many years. Come, now, backslider, tell me, are you happy? Have you had one
happy hour since you left Christ? Does the world satisfy you, or those husks that you have got in the
far country? I have traveled a good deal, but I never found a happy backslider in my life. I never
knew a man who was really born of God that ever could find the world satisfy him afterwards. Do
you think the Prodigal Son was satisfied in that foreign country? Ask the prodigals in this city if they
are truly happy. You know they are not. “There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked.” There is
no joy for the man in rebellion against his Creator. Supposing he has tasted the heavenly gift, and
been in communion with God, and had sweet fellowship with the King of Heaven, and had pleasant
hours of service for the Master, but has backslidden, is it possible that he can be happy? If he is, it is
good evidence he was never really converted. If a man has been born again, and has received the
heavenly nature, this world can never satisfy the cravings of his nature. Oh, backslider, I pity you!
But I want to tell you that the Lord Jesus pities you a good deal more than anyone else can. He
knows how bitter your life is; He knows how dark your life is; He wants you to come home. Oh,
backslider, come home tonight! I have a loving message from your Father. The Lord wants you, and
calls you back tonight Come home, oh wanderer, this night; return from the dark mountains of sin.”
Return, and your Father will give you a warm welcome. I know that the devil has told you that God
won’t have anything to do with you, because you have wandered away. If that is true, there would
be very few men in heaven. David backslid; Abraham and Jacob turned away from God; I do not
believe there is a saint in heaven but at some time of his life with his heart has backslidden from God.
Perhaps not in his life, but in his heart. The prodigal’s heart got into the far country before his body
got there. Backslider! tonight come home. Your Father does not want you to stay away. Think you
the prodigal’s father was not anxious for him to come home all those long years he was there? Every
year the father was looking and longing for him to return home. So God wants you to come home. I
do not care how far you have wandered away; the great Shepherd will receive you back into the
fold tonight. Did you ever hear of a backslider coming home, and God not willing to receive him? I
have heard of earthly fathers and mothers not being willing to receive back their sons; but I defy any
man to say he ever knew a really honest backslider want to get home, but God was willing to take
him in.

Good Friday II

Step upon step inching nearer still,
The shoulder's weight, mounting;
Rising dust in sunlight danced
As mocking voices of the air did bid you halt.




The guard's shouts whip you on, yet
The strain, too immense for your mangled flesh-
(The flagellum's work had done its course)
The Cyrene, an unwilling aide to your royal ascent.

The women's tears mourned you
As flourished palm leaves were traded for stones
Hosannas for the spittle of contempt.
I pulled back my window curtains for a clearer view-

Across my loft, the shining roman watched
With hands still damp of red-tinged clearwater.
His eyes darting amongst the crowd for trace
Of truth- he did not know what it was.

Upon the skull your bloodied form trickled
Upwards, defying weight and gravity of suffering
As you collapse. Your body spent,
They flip you over like a steak.

Your stripes so red, so deep, so shredded-
It was hard to see you as a man.
Pikes of rusted metal did draw your screams-
They confirmed your mortality.

Two through the palm, and one through the ankle.
Sniggers and jokes sound the call to hoist you skyward,
A banner of insolence, of blasphemy and triumph.
Prayers of redemption fell yet from your lips

The hours grew long as you hung there fullview,
A criminal's death for the gentle carpenter's son.
The shell of your body broken, precious blood like nard all poured out
To the backdrop of gentle thunder, rolling dice, muffled tears.

"It is finished", you say; your work is done.
The sky darkens, the tent of the rainclouds breaks
The earth bellows angrily whilst the angels sing their silent praises---
Perfect Love has cast out all fear, both now and evermore.

Good Friday I

Isaiah 53

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression [a] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken. [b]

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life [d] and be satisfied [e] ;
by his knowledge [f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

the crucible

hello everyone! now that leb has finally added me (heh jk)...

i usually post on my own blog, but i'll make an effort to include anything i feel is relevant over here. i'm extremely grateful for our little community and while saturday afternoons are not always possible owing to the 'exigencies of service' (yes, i've come across this phrase in some directive), this blog is an excellent complement in our day and age. the best is yet to be!

***

1 corinthians 10:13, niv writes, 'no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. and God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it'.

ns is a crucible of race, language and religion, where citizens of contrasting cultures, classes and creeds combine (ok, i shall stop speaking like the masked vigilante). more importantly, it is also a crucible in the sense that one's character is forged by fire and brimstone during the 2 years or so. it stands to reason that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger; at least that's what nietzsche said. this coming from an avowed atheist may somewhat prejudice our reading of it, but i think it captures the point that challenges are an immense opportunity for personal growth. which is why everyone should experience sispec (haha).

that aside, infusing nietzsche's amoral philosophy with our christian worldview adds a whole lot of meaning to the concept of temptation, or suffering. i think this came up during a conversation with howard, then i went back and thought about it some more. i can't even begin to keep track of the occasions on which God has made a way, where there seems to be no way. truly - and i am quoting from another favourite verse here - we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (romans 8:28, niv). it is not for us to question His sovereignty, but rather to seek His divine guidance in all things.

now i shall just use this space to post the details of my easter sunday baptism:

10am, sunday 16 april 2005
kay poh road baptist church
7 kay poh road (off river valley road)

do drop by if u happen to be around!

Close To Thee

Close to thee, close to thee
hold me closer more to thee
ne'er let me fall away
close to thee Lord let me stay

Close to thee, close to thee
'tis my prayer till endless days
Lord, closer more to thee
Lord, Close to thee

Does Your Woman Match Up?

More contributions by Uncle Kim Meng and Auntie Beow Kheng- aka, my mom and dad. Imagine...
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To the woman:

When I created the heavens and the earth, I spoke them into being. When created man, I formed him and breathed life into his nostrils. But you, woman, I fashioned after I breathed the breath of life into man because your nostrils are too delicate. I allowed a deep sleep to come over him so I could patiently and perfectly fashioned you.

Man was put to sleep so that he could not interfere with the creativity. From one bone I fashioned you. I chose the bone that protects man's life. I chose the rib, which protects his heart and lungs and supports him, as you are meant to do. Around this one bone I shaped you. I modeled you. I created you perfectly and beautifully.



Your characteristics are as the rib, strong yet delicate and fragile. You provide protection for the most delicate organ in man, his heart. His heart is the center of his being; his lungs hold the breath of life. The rib cage will allow itself to be broken before it will allow damage to the heart.



Support man as the rib cage supports the body. You were not taken from his feet, to be under him, nor were you taken from his head, to be above him. You were taken from his side, to stand beside him and be held close to his side.

You are my perfect angel. You are my beautiful little girl. You have grown to be a splendid woman of excellence, and my eyes fill when I see the virtues in your heart. Your eyes - don't change them. Your lips - how lovely when they part in prayer. Your nose, so perfect in form, your hands so gentle to touch. I've caressed your face in your deepest sleep; I've held your heart close to mine.

Of all that lives and breathes, you are the most like me. Adam walked with me in the cool of the day and yet he was lonely. He could not see me or touch me. He could only feel me. So everything I wanted Adam to share and experience with me, I fashioned in you: my holiness, my strength, my purity, my love, my protection and support. You are special because you are the extension of me. Man represents my image - woman, my emotions.



Together, you represent the totality of God. So man - treat woman well. Love her, respect her, for she is fragile. In hurting her, you hurt me. What you do to her, you do to me.

In crushing her, you only damage your own heart, the heart of your Father, and the heart of her Father. Woman, support man. In humility, show him the power of emotion I have given you. In gentle quietness show your strength. In love, show him that you are the rib that protects his inner self.

Choosing Sides

Dear Brothers- just wanted to share from a devotion I gave in college a while back in 2005. Just came across it the other day, and I pray it'll be a blessing to you.
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"good morning college... my name is caleb, and i just graduated from acjc last year from the class of 2ah and i’ll be sharing with you, in brief, some thoughts for this morning’s devotions. let me begin by telling a story.

when i was in secondary four in a certain school across the street, the prefects in my school put up this gorgeous banner to encourage us, the graduating batch whilst we took our o levels. the banner was this huge blue banner that stretched on and on, and on the banner were the words, boldly painted in gold letters, “with god on our side, who shall we fear?” obviously, the banner was put up to encourage us, and remind us of god’s constant presence in our lives.
yet as i reflected upon the banner as i was discussing with a friend, an interesting thought hit us one day. it was the time of the rugby season, a very important school season indeed, and this thought we had really gave us a headache.
what would happen if at a rugby match, two schools put up the exact same banner, invoking the support or blessing of the same god? i can fully imagine two schools with the same christian roots, possibly Methodist, claiming the favour of the same god. who would god side? the holier school? or the the school with the better team? what a thought.



i decided that there was something very wrong with what we all assume about our god. none of us, pastor, student, teacher, alumni or otherwise, can boast that we have god on our side. after all, if i were to rob a bank today, i’m very sure god would not be on my side. the responsibility of being free of fear or trapped and bound by it lies with us, who are variables and fickle.

the bible states that “god is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. does he speak and then not act? does he promise and not fulfill?” numbers 23:19. and the old sunday school song goes, “yesterday today forever, jesus is the same, all may change but jesus never, glory to His name.” in that case, god doesn’t switch sides. he’s constant, immutable and always, the same. by logical deduction, it must be us who make that choice then. how then can we be unfearful of tomorrow, or whatever lies ahead? by placing ourselves on god’s side, the side of righteousness, of moral conscience, of all that is pleasing to a perfect god.

and how can we know this side? again, the bible says in john 14:21, “whoever hears my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. he who loves me will be loved by my father, and i too will love him and show myself to him.” and in joshua 1:8 “do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night, that you may careful to do everything written in it. then you will be prosperous and successful.” the description of god’s side is clear, and is found no further than in his word.

perhaps one day, someone should tell the school across the street that the banner we put up all those years ago was wrong. maybe it shouldn’t have read “with god on our side, who shall we fear?” rather, we should have written it as, “when we are on god’s side, who shall we fear?” the choice to wallow in sin and remain away from god is ours, as is the choice to turn to Him and make serious and sometimes, painful decisions to follow him and be on His side is ALSO ours. in the words of my friend the Christian math enthusiast, “we are the variables, he is the constant.”

dear friends, whether or not we are in our first year or second year, teacher or otherwise, the choice and responsibility of our relationship with the most beautiful, righteous, holy and pleasurable being in the universe lies with us and us alone. and today, whether it is promos, prelims, or some other fear that grips us, god offers us his peace and his love that conquers all fear, if only we will choose to be on his side. and i pray that his side is where i will see you.

there is an old hymn, forgotten by our generation, by harriet b stowe, which reads
When winds are raging o’er the upper ocean,
And billows wild contend with angry roar,
’Tis said, far down, below the wild commotion,
That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore.

Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth,
And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully,
And no rude storm, how fierce so e’er it flieth,
Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord, in Thee.
shall we pray.

dearest lord,
thank you for being our friend.
and even now as we come as a college before you, we are mindful of you and how much you love us here in acjc. we know that this college has a special place in your heart, and that you know each one of us, each teacher and student, both past and present, by name.
lord, you called us into a relationship, a friendship with you that we do not deserve, and in your wisdom, you know our needs and deepest fears, even before a word is on our lips. dear jesus, we want to stand on your side in the decisions that we make each day, whether they be big or small. help us to live according to your word, and by doing so, make you smile when you look down at us from heaven. we know that when we are your side, we have nothing to fear. thank you lord, for giving us your word, and we pray for perseverance in our discovery of how you want us to live.
lord, i pray even now for the college and the many teachers who work so hard for their students. i pray that you give them your strength and passion, that they may be lifted up when they are weary. for the jcones and twos, i ask for your peace, and that you give them comfort when they freak out and get stressed, whether it be facing the promos or the prelims. in particular, lord, for the jctwos. the prelims are nearing, and they are worried. remind them lord, that you are mindful of their every need, both great and small, and that you love them so very much. all these things we pray in jesus’ name. amen."

Welcome, Welcome!

Gentlemen, a warm round of applause for...Luke!

Welcome Luke to the blogging community, and we look forward to hearing from our own Luke- may he be as prolific a writer as the the good doctor Luke aka the Gospel-writer: a keen hand and a quick eye with a knack for clinically sharp detail, tempered caution and sterile accuracy.

Write on.