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now I am no more in the
world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as
we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name:
those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of
perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that
they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I
have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I
pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou
shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John
17:11-16)
A
beautiful and powerful hymn sung to the tune of Regent Square –
the same tune of ‘Angels from the Realms of Glory.’ This tune was composed by
Henry T. Smart in 1867. The lyrics are by Alexander V. Griswold in 1835. I have
used the original lyrics that differ from those in the 1940 Hymnal.
Holy Father, Great Creator
Holy Father, great Creator,
Source of mercy, love and peace,
Deign to bless thy sinful creature,
Through the Saviour’s righteousness;
Heav’nly Father, heav’nly Father,
Through the Savior hear and bless!
Holy Jesus, Lord of glory,
Whom angelic hosts proclaim,
Be with us who, here before thee,
Meet and worship in Thy Name,
Dear Redeemer, dear Redeemer,
In our hearts Thy peace proclaim.
Holy Spirit, Sanctifier,
Come with unction from above,
Touch our hearts with sacred fire,
Fill them with the Savior’s love.
Source of comfort, source of comfort,
Cheer us with the Savior’s love.
God the Lord, through every nation
Let Thy wondrous mercies shine,
In the song of Thy salvation
Every tongue with rapture join.
Great Jehovah, great Jehovah,
Form our hearts and make them Thine.
Holy Father, great Creator, Source of mercy, love and peace, Deign
to bless thy sinful creature, Through
the Saviour’s righteousness; Heav’nly Father, heav’nly Father, Through the
Savior hear and bless! Until we discover that the Lord Jesus
Christ is the very Fountain of Living Waters and the Source of all Mercies, we
have not quite gotten on the Straight and Narrow Way to God. Moreover, we are
not weaned from the milk of tender youth until we come to know that our
righteousness is as filthy rags and that it is only by our Lord’s righteousness
that we can be justified. We have our communion through the Lord to the Father,
and by no other means. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Cor 5:21)
Holy
Jesus, Lord of glory, Whom angelic hosts proclaim, Be with us who, here before
thee, Meet and worship in Thy Name, Dear Redeemer, dear Redeemer, In our hearts
Thy peace proclaim. We
may not normally consider grace and mercy to be defined as bonds, but they most
certainly are – not bonds of captivity but of sheer freedom in the Kingdom of
God. They hold us fast and secure in the prevailing righteousness of the Lord.
The Lord is always with us in Holy Worship just as He has promised to be always
and forever. Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there I am
in the midst of them. (Matthew
18:20). If we are not worshipping in His Holy Name, we
are worshipping amiss. When we pray in His Name, we are not merely pronouncing
a collection of vowels and consonants joined together to form the SOUND of His
Name; but we are worshipping in the Spirit and Truth that He taught us. If
peace is proclaimed and reigns in our hearts, the outward evidence of peace
will likewise be manifested in the outward man.
Holy
Spirit, Sanctifier, Come with unction from above, Touch our hearts with sacred
fire, Fill them with the Savior’s love. Source of comfort, source of comfort,
Cheer us with the Savior’s love. Sanctification is an inner
cleansing of the soul. Washing cleanses the outside, but purging cleanses the
inward man. 19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But
in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of
wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If
a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour,
sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every
good work. (2 Tim 2:19-21) The Holy
Spirit sanctifies, but by what means? By the inner washing of the Word of God
and bringing the truth to our understanding. He is our Guide and Teacher. When
I was a child, I had six siblings. There were a great number of dirty dishes
after each meal. It often fell my lot to wash the dishes. My mother taught me
to wash the inside first, and then the outside. That is how the Holy Spirit
cleanses us. Purge me with hyssp (a herbal laxative), and I
shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7)
God the Lord, through every nation Let Thy wondrous mercies shine,
In the song of Thy salvation Every tongue with rapture join. Great Jehovah,
great Jehovah, Form our hearts and make them Thine. The mercies of the Lord
shines upon the whole world. He blesses all including the unsaved. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust. (Matt 5:45) It is
the Lord Himself who fashions the heart of the righteous whom He chooses and
elects from the inhabitants of the world. He chooses His clay with perfect
foreknowledge and molds them into vessels of honor for His Kingdom. He is the
Potter who mars the poorly formed vase, and remakes the clay into a splendid
specimen of service. Surely your turning of things upside down shall be
esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He
made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no
understanding? (Isaiah 29:16) He is also the Great Refiner of Spirits who sits by the Refiner’s
Fire and purifies the metal of our souls. But who may abide the day of his
coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a
refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as
gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
(Mal 3:2-3) When the dross of our souls is heated in trials and perplexities,
it rises to the top and is skimmed off by the Master and cast aside. Though we
may fail often, the Lord is right beside to pick us up and place our feet on
the sure path. For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up
again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. (Prov 24:16)
We
should strive to be as the righteous man who fails and says to himself, I MUST
get up; not as the wicked who fails and says, I cannot get up.
