Rejoice with Joy Inexpressible -- A Puritan Reading

You...rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.  1 Peter 1:8

As Christians, we should not enjoy just an ordinary level of cheerfulness; we should go way beyond those of the world both in quality and quantity. Our happiness should be sweeter, higher and more constant than any carnal man. Consider the transcendent objects of our thoughts above all men. Consider your justification and sanctification through Christ. Do not even let a part of a day pass without such wonderful contemplation. Your soul deserves to have her breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and desserts as well as your body. Your precious time will glide swiftly and easily away, like a boat with the full wind and tide. All of your days can be holidays. There is no envy of Felix's happiness, Festus' festivity, and Dives' bounty. Our life, as we enjoy spiritual blessings, is a kingly life. Yes, but does it not strip us of our joy when we stumble before our God? Certainly those who daily keep watch will not run their ship against any dangerous rock. If they do, it will not lay there long. Your faith will set you to work, weeping bitterly before the Lord to find peace of conscience. As for ordinary sins, your faith will seek daily pardon and washing, with even greater effort than a Pharisee in washing his hands. Each day we take the red lines of Christ's cross over the black lines of God's debt book. And if God looks upon the handwriting against us, he sees the bill cancelled with the precious blood of his Son. Such blood is all-sufficient to cover, nullify, abolish, and wholly take away our sins in such a way that he neither sees, will see, nor can see them as sins and debts against us. Though we cannot enter into the joys of heaven while yet on earth, we certainly do rejoice in gospel joys now. It is enough now for us to secretly enjoy all of the colours of the gospel. They are beloved above all other joys and states.

Samuel Ward, Sermons, pp. 27-30 as quoted in Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings, Edited by Richard Rushing, Banner of Truth Trust, 2011, Page37

A Hymn for this Friday -- I Am Not Skilled to Understand

I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
Stands One who is my Savior.

I take Him at His word indeed:
"Christ died for sinners"--this I read;
For in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Savior!

That He should leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I
Before I knew my Savior!

And, oh, that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring-
That He who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/miscellaneouslyrics/christianlyrics/iamnotskilledtounderstandlyrics.html

The Believer's Battle -- The Flesh

Over the past several weeks, I've been summarizing our Pastor's series on The Believer's Battle. This week is Part 3 – The Battle with the Flesh.

This week's study is based on several passages of Scripture. 1 John 2:16 tells us that all that is of the world is not of the Father. Included in this list is the “lust of the flesh”.

Pastor makes extensive use of passages in Romans 6:6-9, 7:18, 23-25; 8:7-8.

In this passage we find that our old man “was crucified with Him” so that we would no longer be slaves of sin. We also learn that nothing good dwells in my flesh and that it often wars against our minds in order to bring us into captivity to sin.

Pastor Rawsthorne's outline is as follows:

Defining the Flesh (more than just my body)

My humanness

My disposition to sin

My tendency to sin

My self nature

My old nature

Dealing with the Flesh – Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and one another in the church.

We need to deny ourselves – Luke 9:23

We need to discipline ourselves – I Corinthians 9:24, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; I Peter 3:13

We need to restrain ourselves – Galatians 5:13

We need to walk in the Spirit – Galatians 5:16, Romans 8:1

We need to mortify our flesh – Colossians 3:5

We need to remove certain things from our lives – Ephesians 4:22, 2 Cor 7:1

We need to reckon ourselves dead to sin – Romans 6:11

We need to resist – Romans 6:12

We need to yield ourselves to God – Romans 6:13

We need to establish obedience as a pattern – 1 Peter 3:14-15

In order to hear this message from Faith Baptist Church in Mattawan, Michigan, please click here.

Christ's Great Love for Us - A Puritan Reading

He was despised and rejected by men. Isaiah 53:3

Christ's love made him willing to suffer for us. He suffered all the misery that our sin deserved. He who caused the vast fabric of heaven and earth to start out of nothing, King of kings and Lord of lords, was content to take upon him the form of a servant. He was willing to be accounted as 'a worm, and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised of the people' (Psa 22:6-7). He who was the object of eternal praises was, out of love for us, reviled and slandered as a drunkard, a glutton, a blasphemer, a mad-man, and possessed with the devil. He in whose presence was fullness of joy, was for the love of us, willing to become 'a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief'. This love made God willing to be made a curse, to be sold as a slave, and the Lord of life to die a base, accursed, and cruel death. There was no sorrow like your sorrow, no love like your love. Was it not enough, dearest Saviour, that you were willing to pray, and sigh, and weep for us perishing wretches? Will you also bleed and die for us? Was it not enough that you were hated, slandered, blasphemed, buffeted, but you were also scourged, nailed, wounded, and crucified? Was it not enough to feel the cruelty of man? Would you also undergo the wrath of God? Was it not enough to die once, but to also taste the second death and suffer the pains of death in body and soul? O the transcendent love of Christ! Heaven and earth are astonished at it. What tongue can express it? What heart can conceive it? The tongues, the thoughts of men and angels are far below it. O the height and depth and breadth and length of the love of Christ! Our thoughts are swallowed up in this depth, and there we must be content till glory shall enable us to have no other employment but to praise, admire and adore this love of Christ.

David Clarkson, Works, III:12-14 as quoted in Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings, Edited by Richard Rushing, Banner of Truth Trust, 2011, Page36

What Did Jesus Teach? -- The Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This was the first of Jesus' statements that we refer to as the Beatitudes. As I mentioned last time, these are very counter-cultural in that they make statements about happiness that we would not naturally say.

In Psalm 34:18, the writer says that God is near to those with a broken heart and He saves those with a contrite heart. A contrite heart is one that feels regret and sorrow for sins and offenses.

In Psalm 51:17 he writes that “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” Isaiah tells us that God dwells with him who has a contrite and humble spirit.” (Isaiah 57:15)

And so we find that the first thing that Jesus wants us to know is that down is the way up. Being poor in spirit, recognizing ones spiritual bankruptcy and inability to bring anything to the table is God's first step in bringing us into his kingdom. We usually want to come to God with our list of accomplishments and perfections. We're hoping that when we show up at those “pearly gates” God is going to examine us to see if our good deeds outweigh the bad. That's not what Jesus or the Bible teaches. God wants us to come empty handed.

The promise associated with this Beatitude is that those who are poor in spirit will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a kingdom and there is a king. God is that king. Someday He will extend that kingdom beyond sort of the spiritual dimension to include the physical world and everyone and everything in it. Jesus is telling us here who that kingdom will belong to. It belongs to those who are poor in spirit.

Next Tuesday we'll look at Jesus' statement, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Memorization Monday - Romans 6:14

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Hymn of the Week - Day by Day

1. Day by day, and with each passing moment,
   Strength I find to meet my trials here;
   Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
   I've no cause for worry or for fear.
   He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
   Gives unto each day what He deems best,
   Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
   Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2. Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
   He whose name is Counsellor and Pow'r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   "As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
   This the pledge to me He made.
3. Help me then, in every tribulation,
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/713#ixzz1yMIouoNd

Characteristic of Christian Leadership

As I was reading the New Testament the other day, I came upon these verses: 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

I got to thinking about our role as faithful men in the church. Certainly we want to be actively involved in the ministry whether we are in pastoral ministry or as laymen doing what we can for the cause of Christ.

In this passage I noticed three things that Paul and his companions did as they ministered in the church in Thessalonica. First, he exhorted them. To exhort means to urge someone strongly and earnestly to do something. I think we are probably afraid of this kind of approach because it seems like it is too strong. What we need to realize is that every Christian is to exhort others in the faith and so as those who are leaders, we should be able to set the example. Living the Christian life is difficult and sometimes people get sluggish and we need to actively exhort others to move forward.

Second, he comforted. The word 'comfort' here means more of an admonishing and putting forward an incentive to accomplish something. So we too should admonish and push a little bit to help others grow in their walk with Christ.

And finally he uses the word 'charged' which also can mean 'implored'. This is a stronger word that almost sounds like begging someone to do something.

As we can see from these three words, the life of a Christian man within the church is not to be passive. We are to be actively involved in other people's lives exhorting, comforting and charging them. But what is the goal?  The goal as verse 12 states is that people would walk worthy of God. Our manner of life should be one that is credible and is becoming of God. In other words, it should be a godly life. God wants all of us to be growing so that we can be more and more godly in our walk and character. As Christian men, we should be actively helping and encouraging others in their progress toward that goal as well.

God Deserves the Thanks

As I was walking around the yard this morning watering the plants and looking at the beauty all around me, I was reminded of the fact that all we have and all we enjoy is a gift from God. We have a tendency to claim what we have as our own and take credit for having it and keeping it.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, stood on his palace balcony and admired the scene before him. Here is what he said as quoted in Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

Even though we're not the kings of great empires, don't we have this same tendency? We look at our possessions and think, "look at what I've accumulated," or "how smart I was to purchase this property."

God says that every good and perfect gift is from Him. (James 1:17)  When Paul was speaking before the Greek philosophers he said, "God made the world and everything in it....he gives to all life and breath and all things." (Acts 17:24-25) 

One of God's greatest complaints about us humans is that we are not thankful. (Romans 1:21)  He says that an unthankful attitude is connected to futile thinking that defies God and leads to vain philosophies and foolish thinking and ultimately to even greater rebellion against the God.

God, in His great love to us, has given us richly all things to enjoy. (1 Timothy 6:17)  But He deserves our thanksgiving and praise rather than our selfish claim that it is all of our doing.

The Believer's Battle - Part 2

This is a synopsis of a message given by Pastor Chuck Rawsthorne on 6/10/12.

One of the key enemies we are called to do battle with is the world. 1 John 2:15 tells us not to love the world or the things in the world. James 4:4 tells us that being a friend of the world makes us an enemy of God. Romans 12:2 lets us know that we should not let the world squeeze us into its mold.

So as we get started, it's important to define what we mean by the world since the term can be used for different things. It can be used to refer to the planet or it can be used to refer to the people in the world. For the purpose of this message, we define the world this way:

1.  The age in which we live
2. The system of fallenness ruled by Satan
3. Living without God; i.e.  apart from God, alienated from God and being against God

Sometimes after we define a term it is still necessary to describe it in a way that brings it more clearly to our minds as to what we are referring to.  The world consists of what the Bible calls Principalities and Powers. This is referring to spiritual powers such as Satan and his demons. So our battle is not so much with physical entities, but with the spiritual world that influences the desires and aspirations of the world system.

The world consists of passions and pursuits. It is the pleasures that this world dangles in front of us and lures us to lust for things and positions of pride and power.

The world has its own philosophies and perspectives. It has a worldview that is contrary to the worldview presented by Jesus Christ.

The world has its own practices and patterns. It has its way of doing things that is contrary to the way God would have us to approach life. There are habits and methods which go against the way God would want us to live and so we need to watch out for these trends.

And finally the world establishes priorities and principles that are totally opposed to what God is focused on for His glory.

The difficulty is knowing how we are to deal with the world. Since we live here and have to function within the system somehow, how are we to respond?  I think the Bible gives us several principles that we need to keep in mind.

First we are to live in the world but not be of the world. Jesus emphasized this in John 17. We are not to be overly entangled with the things of the world, because we belong to a heavenly country in a sense.

Second, we are not to love the world or the things in the world. He's not talking about people, but loving the system and all of the stuff it offers to provide for our satisfaction.

Third, we are not to be conformed to the world. We are to look and behave in a distinctively different way from the way the world looks and behaves.

Finally, we are to reach the world for Christ. In doing so, we should love people. We should want to see people come to Christ as Savior. As we live in the world and attempt to reach the world, we should enjoy the world in the sense that we enjoy all that God has given us that is right and good. Every good gift is from above and God has given us richly all things to enjoy. We should not go around looking like we are sad and frustrated all of the time.  Next, we should engage the world. In other words we should live in it and engage in conversation and commerce in the world so that we have contact with people.  In the process we should evangelize the world, giving them the good news that Jesus came to die for sinners, and let them know that if they would repent of sin and trust Christ He would save them for eternity.

If you would like to listen to a podcast of this sermon from Faith Baptist Church, you will find it here.

Love the Lord with All Your Heart - A Puritan Reading

Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Deuteronomy 6:5

We who profess and hold the precious faith of Christ in truth, do we also make him our all in all?  By our tongue he may be heard, but in our lives and deeds, is he to be found? As Saviour many will own him, but as Lord few do know him. Almost anything shall come before him. Too many desire a hound, or flower in the garden, a new suit or fashionable clothes, and such other trifles as their all in all. Great is the power that mammon has in the world. In the hours of sickness let Nabal call and cry unto it, and see if it can deliver him in distress of conscience. Let Judas see what comfort his money will afford him in the day of death and judgment. Does not experience teach us to cry out 'all is vanity'? Let Christ be in all our desires and wishes, and all the haberdash-stuff the whole world has is not worthy to be valued with this jewel. Few have even some faint and languid wish: "O that Christ were mine!'; but he will not be found by such that seek him but lazily and coldly, and yet desire all the world besides. He that desires anything above him, equally with him, or without him, shall never obtain him. He will be won only when you seek him with all your soul and strength or he will not be won at all. Embrace him with both your arms of love. All of your rivers of desire together should not form a current as strong as your love for him. He suffered all for you; he should be your all in all without any rival for affection. O what a difficult virtue is this when it comes to actually practicing it, to neglect all the glistering lures and temptations of the flesh and let him be in all your joys! The whole of our duty as men is to give ourselves wholly to Christ--soul, spirit, and body, and all that is within us--dedicating and devoting ourselves to his service all the days of our lives.

Taken from Samuel Ward, Sermons, pp. 6-11 as published in Voices of the Past, Edited by Richard Rushing, Banner of Truth Trust, 2009, page 32.

What Did Jesus Teach? -- Intro

I've been doing a series on the Sermon on the Mount in the Sunday School class I teach. For a long time I've been wanting to go back and think through more deeply the things that Jesus actually taught. The Sermon on the Mount is a good place to start because of its depth and core principles of life that Jesus wanted His hearers to know and do.

In this series of blog posts, then, I will try to unpack in hopefully a helpful way, the things that I have learned from this study.

Jesus begins His sermon with what we call the Beatitudes. These can be found in Matthew 5:1-12. He had called His disciples up to hear Him, but the multitude of people were also present and overheard what He had said. At the end of the sermon, the multitudes were astonished because He taught them as one who had authority. (Matthew 7:28-29)

Each of the Beatitudes begins with the word “Blessed” which means happy or fortunate. Jesus is describing a real, internal, satisfying happiness that is far different from what the world means by that term. When you read these statements you realize that they are counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. For example He begins with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” and “Blessed are those that mourn.” These don't sound like encouraging statements for most people today.

God has given us what He calls “great and precious promises” so that we might share in the divine nature. (2 Peter 1:4) That's an astounding statement. I mention that here because I think at the core of having the kind of happiness that Jesus promises us is to share in God's nature by being born again. Jesus told a Jewish leader that “unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) Jesus' whole message here at the beginning of His ministry is to give people the good news about the Kingdom of God. And so when someone is born again, He becomes a sharer in the divine nature and will therefore have the attributes that promote true happiness that Jesus outlines for us here.

Come back to the Faithful Men Blog next Tuesday for the next installment. I'll try to have these thoughts posted each Tuesday.

Memorization Monday - Romans 6:13

Romans 6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

Hymn of the Week -- I will Sing of My Redeemer

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me,
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant pow'r I'll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav'nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.

The Believer's Battle

Our Pastor, Chuck Rawsthorne, recently started a series on The Believer's Battle. I thought this was an important enough series that I am going to excerpt key points from it here on the Faithful Men Blog. If you would like to hear the entire sermon, you will find a link at the bottom of this post.

Key Passages:  Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 22:31-32, 41-44; Romans 7:18-25; 8:18; 2 Corinthians 10:3-7; Galatians 5:17; Ephesians 6:10-13

1. This is a real battle and it started a long time ago. It is primarily a battle between Satan and God. Satan decided at some point to usurp God's position of glory and since then he has been using every means possible to get back at God. This includes using us if necessary to undermine what God is doing.  This means the battle is primarily spiritual and not physical. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. This battle will continue until we are completely delivered and glorified. In the mean time the battle can be difficult, but is not impossible. Our responsibility is to be persistent and not quit.

2. As we begin to think about this battle we need to recognize that it involves basically four adversaries: the world, the flesh, the devil and sin.

3. We need to remember several things related to this battle. God has provided a Pardon, because none of us is perfect at this. He has provided armor and weapons for the struggle. God offers us His protection, power, presence, and many, many promises to support and encourage us as we carry on this daily battle for His glory.

If you would like to hear the audio of this message, you can listen to it here: http://tinyurl.com/7nlf29y

Excerpts used by permission, Pastor Chuck Rawsthorne, Faith Baptist Church, Mattawan, MI

Verse of the Week -- Romans 6:12

Romans 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Hymn of the Week -- Love Divine all Loves Excelling

"Love Divine, All Love Excelling"
by Charles Wesley, 1707-1791
1. Love Divine, all love excelling,
Joy of heaven, to earth come down,
Fix in us Thy humble dwelling,
All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation,
Enter every trembling heart.

2. Breathe, oh, breathe Thy loving Spirit
Into every troubled breast;
Let us all in Thee inherit,
Let us find the promised rest.
Take away the love of sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith as its beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

3. Come, Almighty, to deliver;
Let us all Thy life receive.
Suddenly return and never,
Nevermore, Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessings,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

4. Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee,
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

A Writing from Puritan David Clarkson

Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.  John 16:23

The love of Christ daily loads us with benefits. He gives us nothing but what is good. He blesses our curses, temptations, afflictions, sin and death, and they all prove good to us. Even all his ways prove good to us; and not only all the ways of God, who loves us in Christ, but all the ways of those who hate us, whether reprobates or devils (Romans 8:28). This is the great privilege of those whom Christ loves; nothing shall befall them, but what shall prove good for them. They may conclude, in whatever condition they are in, it is the best for them, and if it had not been so, they would never have been brought into it; and whenever it shall cease to be so, they shall be removed out of it. This is the sweetest privilege, yet the most difficult to believe at all times, since there is often great opposition to it by our sense and reason, yet it is most true. Christ's love gives us whatever is good; 'No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly' (psalm 84:11). 'The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing (Psalm 34:10). Take a survey of heaven and earth, and all things therein, and whatever upon sure grounds appears good, ask for it confidently from Christ, for his love will not deny it. If it were good for you that there was no sin, no devil,no affliction, no destruction, the love of Christ would instantly abolish these, Nay, if the possession of all the kingdoms of the world were absolutely good for any saint, the love of Christ would instantly crown him the monarch over them. Christ's love will give you whatever you can desire. For what reasonable man can desire that which is not good? All that is good the promises of God have already assured you. (Psalm 37:4)

From David Clarkson, Works, iii:8-9 as printed in Voices From the Past, Edited by Richard Rushing, Banner of Truth, page 29.

Counting My Blessings

Last week I chose the song, Count Your Blessings, as the hymn of the week. Sometimes when we get feeling down we need to just take a few minutes and actually do what this song suggests. I did that recently, writing in my journal as many blessings and things to be thankful that I could think of in a short amount of time. Here's some of what I wrote. Maybe this could get you started on the same exercise.

Spiritual blessings: salvation, forgiveness, God's love, presence, protection, guidance; the Scriptures with their message of salvation, hope, promises, assurance; Holy Spirit; prayer; singing; God's creation in general; His creation of me with particular strengths and weaknesses, gifts and lack of gifts.

Family: loving wife; her good cooking, support and encouragement, love and attention; her care of our home and our children; her thriftiness and planning;  children; their spouses; grandchildren; good relationship with them all; sister and brother; a mother who is still going strong at 90.

Church: godly pastor; Christian friends; opportunity to serve

Creation: sun sets; pine trees; blue birds; flowers; green grass; rain; sunshine; snow;

Misc: running water; flush toilets; hot showers; soap; good health; refrigeration; electricity; heat in winter; roof over my head; phone; email; skype; US mail; good food; spices; car; auto mechanics to fix car; abundant fresh produce; pizza; radio; tv; Internet; dentists; doctors; medicine; MRI; lawn mower; snow blower; good music

And the list could go on. As you read this you probably thought, "Why didn't he mention ....? "  Obviously the list isn't complete yet. You can use the things you thought of to start your own list. Let's be thankful for what we have and not complain about the things we don't have. God has been gracious in giving us all things richly to enjoy.

Memorization Monday - Romans 6:11

Romans 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hymn of the Week -- Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
 

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Refrain

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

Refrain

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Refrain