Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
By: Robert Robinson, 1735-90
Listen as you read. This version from In Reverence by David Tolk.
How true is that!! His kindness still or yet pursues me, though I regularly or routinely live as though I have no awareness of it. My mortal tongue, limited by the residue of my sinful nature, simply can not do a very good job of telling of God’s goodness to me.
But that does not give me an excuse not to try.
No Excuses
Even though I may not be very good at proclaim or declaring God’s goodness to me, I am determined to try just the same. And why wouldn’t I? After all, the Good Shepherd keeps coming after me, even though I routinely choose to ignore His voice and go my own way. I tend to be such a stupid sheep sometimes. Though I know Jesus has a much better plan than anything I could come up with, I am very good at wandering away from His.
Ultimately, I really can not even do a very good job of telling how faithful His pursuing love is, even when I try. There are limitations that are simply a part of this existence, but that is all going to change, One Day. As Robinson puts it, “till death shall loose me”, or rather release me from sin’s grip and resultant weakness.
One Day
I will be much better at it One Day. And how I long for that Day. Oh, don’t get me wrong, this life has many wonderful things, albeit shadows of what God has in store for us. This should have the effect of making us long for the day we finally see Him, our Shepherd, face-to-face. That in addition to the fact that for the first time we will have the full capacity to offer Him praise, coupled with an overwhelming desire to do so.
For these reasons, and so many more, I echo the words from Revelation 22:20, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
Good Shepherd, help me long for the day when I will be able to praise you with my lips and life as my soul wants to do today. My inability to offer You the worship You deserve reminds me of my need for You to continue to pursue my ever-wandering heart. Thank You Jesus for Your great love.
Does your heart long to sing better praise that you can these days? What thoughts come to mind as you consider how Jesus, pursued, and keeps pursuing you? Please share as others my be encouraged by the fact they are not alone in this tension created by praising poorly.
Video Log, Come Thou Fount – Episode 3
Sorry! This content is for Members only. Become a Free Member today by signing up here.
Oh how I long to adore our Lord, and worship Him accordingly. He is so worthy of our praises and our attention. I am overwhelmed with His Grace and His lovingkindness, but the residue of sin still exists. “But God….” He is a good good Father.
Yes, I like to refer to our flesh as the residue of our sinful nature, like the ring around a sink when we have finished a really greasy set of dishes. We are clean and are new creation in Christ Jesus, but that residue, our flesh, reminds us of our constant need for Him. I long for that day when I finally see Him face-to-face and will have, by His grace, overcome my sin, as the residue of it is gone and I am raised incorruptible!