Faith

These verses describe the miraculous cure of a sick man. A centurion, or officer in the Roman army, applies to our Lord on behalf of his servant, and obtains what he requests. A greater miracle of healing than this, is nowhere recorded in the Gospels. Without even seeing the sufferer, without touch of hand or look of eye, our Lord restores health to a dying man by a single word. He speaks, and the sick man is cured. He commands, and the disease departs. We read of no prophet or apostle, who wrought miracles in this manner. We see here the finger of God.

His mother, and the few of her circle who believed in “the child that was born,” made no proclamation of the heavenly wonder; they received all in silent happy faith, and pondered the things in their heart, leaving it to God to bring them forth in his own time and way. They did not get excited; it was too great a thing to excite, and they were too calm and child-like in their faith to be fluttered, or agitated, or elated. They allowed these great things that had happened in their family circle to take their course, assured of their truth and magnitude, and therefore confident that they would ere long grow till they could not be hidden, but must perforce make themselves known. Such is the confidence which faith has in the great things of God! A man who has got hold of something which is great and true, need not be afraid but that it will spread. Let him hold it fast.

For it is only they who are not disposed to admit his entire claims that can be troubled at the announcement of his advent,—either his first or his second. Take Him for what He is; take Him for what He contains and offers; take Him for what the Father testifies of Him,—take Him entire, and you have nothing to fear.

But Jerusalem has not heard of Him, and is amazed; nay, her king does not know where He is to be born till he has consulted the scribes. The visit and errand of these Eastern Gentiles take Israel by surprise. Nor are they roused to take any interest in the matter, save, as we shall see, that of being troubled. He was in the world, yet the world knew Him not; would not recognise Him when pointed out! He came unto his own, and his own received him not!

These wise men come with a tale, and a vision, and a miracle. They are not of Israel, though more ready of faith than Israel. They are not from Nazareth, or Bethlehem, or any part of Palestine. Their testimony is independent of Israel’s; it is a Gentile testimony; from the land of Israel’s enemies. They are recognised as “wise men,“—magi,—Chaldeans, perhaps; or men from the land of Balaam or Job. Men of the East, the seat of all human science; the wise and far-seeing East; the thoughtful and star-gazing East. They come, not with an uncertainty, or an opinion, or a fable, or a vision of the night, but with actual and personal eyesight,—“We have seen!” Yes, it is with “we have seen” that they come,—a word like that of John’s, “We beheld his glory,”—“That which our eyes have seen.” They come to Jerusalem! They come seeking Jerusalem’s King; as if Jerusalem were to them the centre of hope; as if there were nothing in their own land like what they expected to find in Jerusalem; no king worthy of the name, or to whom they could pay homage, but the King of Jerusalem! This is Gentile faith, fixing its eye upon the star of Jacob.

Verse 1

Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat
Where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly fall before His feet,
For none can perish there.

Verse 2

Thy promise is my only plea;
With this I venture nigh:
Thou callest burdened souls to Thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.

Verse 3

Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without, and fears within,
I come to Thee for rest.

Verse 4

Be Thou my Shield and Hiding-place,
That, sheltered near Thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him, Thou hast died.

Verse 5

O wondrous love! to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead Thy gracious Name!

Verse 1

Arm these Thy soldiers, mighty Lord,
With shield of faith and Spirit’s sword;
Forth to the battle may they go,
And boldly fight against the foe,
With banner of the cross unfurled,
And by it overcome the world;
And so at last receive from Thee
The palm and crown of victory.

Verse 2

Come, ever-blessed Spirit, come,
And make Thy servants’ hearts Thy home;
Thus consecrated, Lord, to Thee,
May each a living temple be:
Enrich that temple’s holy shrine
With sevenfold gifts of grace Divine;
With wisdom, light, and knowledge bless,
Strength, counsel, fear, and godliness.

Verse 3

O Trinity in Unity,
One only God, and Persons Three,
In whom, through whom, by whom we live,
To Thee we praise and glory give;
O grant us so to use Thy grace
That we may see Thy glorious face,
And ever with the heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Verse 1

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

Verse 2

O safe and happy shelter,
O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting-place where Heaven’s love
And Heaven’s justice meet!
As to the Holy Patriarch
That wondrous dream was given,
So seems my Saviour’s cross to me,
A ladder up to heaven.

Verse 3

There lies beneath its shadow,
But on the further side,
The darkness of an awful grave
That gapes both deep and wide;
And there between us stands the cross,
Two arms outstretched to save,
Like a watchman set to guard the way
From that eternal grave.

Verse 4

Upon that Cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me:
And from my smitten heart with tears
Two wonders I confess,—
The wonders of His glorious love
And my own worthlessness.

Verse 5

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

Verse 1

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

Verse 2

Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me:
And from my smitten heart with tears
Two wonders I confess,—
The wonders of His glorious love
And my own worthlessness.

Verse 3

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

Verse 1

Cast thy burden on the Lord,
Only lean upon his word;
Thou wilt soon have cause to bless
His eternal faithfulness.

Verse 2

He sustains thee by his hand,
He enables thee to stand;
Those whom Jesus once hath loved,
From his grace are never moved.

Verse 3

Heaven and earth may pass away,
God’s free grace shall not decay;
He hath promised to fulfill
All the pleasure of his will.

Verse 4

Jesus! Guardian of thy flock,
Be thyself our constant Rock;
Make us, by thy powerful hand,
Strong as Zion’s mountain stand.

Verse 1

Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal!

Verse 2

Joy of the desolate, light of the straying,
Hope when all others die, fadeless and pure--
Here speaks the Comforter, in God’s name saying,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.

Verse 3

Here see the bread of life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, boundless in love;
Come to the feast prepared, come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.

Verse 1

Down in the valley with my Savior I would go,
Where the flowers are blooming and the sweet waters flow;
Ev’rywhere he leads me I would follow, follow on,
Walking in his footsteps till the crown be won.

Refrain

Follow! follow! I would follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere I would follow on!
Follow! follow! I would follow Jesus!
Ev’rywhere he leads me I will follow on!

Verse 2

Down in the valley with my Savior I would go,
Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow;
With his hand to lead me I will never, never fear,
Dangers cannot frighten me if my Lord is near.

Verse 3

Down in the valley, or upon the mountain steep,
Close beside my Savior would my soul ever keep;
He will lead me safely, in the path that he has trod,
Up to where they gather on the hills of God.

Verse 1

Faith is a living pow’r from heaven
Which grasps the promise God has given;
Securely fixed on Christ alone,
A trust that cannot be o’erthrown.

Verse 2

Faith finds in Christ whate’er we need
To save and strengthen, guide and feed;
Strong in his grace, it joys to share
His cross, in hope his crown to wear.

Verse 3

Faith to the conscience whispers peace,
And bids the mourner’s sighing cease;
By faith the children’s right we claim,
And call upon our Father’s name.

Verse 4

Such faith in us, O God, implant,
And to our prayers thy favor grant;
In Jesus Christ, thy saving Son,
Who is our fount of health alone.

O Lord our God, we pray that we may not be of those who think they see and are blinded by the light. Help us all to fix our faith and our hope on that Son of God, and to be His in very deed and truth, not only in word but in our inmost lives, in the depths of our hearts, in the foundations of our thinking, and in all the energies of our activity. We come to Thee with humble thanksgiving that Thou dost permit us thus to gather ourselves together, and together to receive from Thee, as we trust, some impulses that may help us on our journey. Thou knowest each of us here before Thee, and all our present want; and we pray that every one of us may wish for, and may get from God, the things that we most require. Thou hast often seen our foolish desires; some of them Thou hast granted, and some of them Thou hast withheld. We thank Thee that there are desires which are sure to be granted, and we pray that we may increasingly long for the things which Thou dost long to give, and confine our seeking to those gifts which we shall be sure to find. We thank Thee that there is one region in which Thou canst do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think, and will do it. O Lord, help us to wish most for what is best, and to influence desire and hope, as well as faith and trust, and submission, and obedience, that Thou hast Thyself manifested and brought to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.

O Lord, whether we know it or not, and we often do not know it, our heart and our flesh crieth out for the living God. We beseech Thee that we may turn these cries into prayers, and that they may be the prayers of faith, and that they may be seconded and backed up by our daily lives, and that so we may receive that without which we shall continue always to be miserable and poor and blind and naked, and all the while conceiting ourselves to have need of nothing. O Lord! teach us our great wants, and then give us Thy great gifts, and fill us with the power and the peace of Thine own life bestowed through Jesus Christ Who is our Life. And help us, day by day, to live the lives that we live in the flesh by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Remember, too, that it is in Bethlehem of Juda that Jesus is born; and be very careful lest you fail to be found there, lest He fail to be received by you. Bethlehem is the house of bread; Juda signifies confession or praise. If, then, you replenish your soul with the food of the Divine Word, the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and devoutly receive the Bread which came down from heaven, and which giveth life to the world; if the vessel of your body is made strong and able to hold the new wine by being refreshed and strengthened with His new and glorified flesh; if, moreover, you live by faith, and have no need to weep because you have forgotten to eat your bread, then, indeed, you are become a Bethlehem fitted to receive our Lord.

There are two things from which our weak human nature shrinks—pain and shame. Christ came to take both from us, and this He did by accepting both in His own person—when, for instance, not to mention other occasions, He was condemned to death, and to a most shameful death, by wicked men… Behold here an Infant without stain! Behold the Lamb without spot, the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sins of the world! Who could better take them away than He Who knew no sin? He, indeed, can cleanse me, who has never Himself been defiled. His touch can remove the clay from my eyes, for His hand is free from the lightest dust. He can take the mote from out my eye Who has no beam in His own; or, rather, He Who has no smallest grain of dust in His own eye can take the beam from mine.