Mortifying Sin

The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 2 Chron. vi. 1.

“God has said in shadow clouded
He will dwell,” all else apart,
From the dark by darkness shrouded,
And in such has lain my heart,
Yet thy glory’s pillar, blazing
Like the first Creation morn,
Shines within, my spirit raising:
“Let there be” the dead reborn.

When the Adversary’s temptrance
Lies in wait to lead astray,
Grant us easy, quick repentance
To regain thy narrow way,
Till our heart and soul and vigor
Join in glorified accord,
Freed from flesh-restraining rigor,
To enjoy thee as their Lord.

Gracious Spirit, our salvation
Keep till grace’s work is done;
Let us fear no condemnation
As we live within the Son;
Bid us seek the Father’s glory
Till to glory we draw nigh,
Where our endless, laudatory
Song will praise thee, Lord on high.

—To Nettleton (“Come, Thou Fount”).

Meditations: September 2025

The Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness,
And such is my heart:
The thick darkness in which he dwells.
His mercies are new every morning;
One morning, his mercies will not need to be new.
That day will never end.

(2 Chron 6:1; Lam 3:22-23; Rev 21:25)

That is actually the last, chronologically, of the meditations below, but it is a wonderful summary of my month.

Teach me, my Savior, how to set mine eyes
Above, nor aim at any earthly prize,
But on thy cross and throne my gaze be fix’d,
Ev’ry affection bent t’ward thee, unmix’d,
So I would set my steps to then be most
To workings of thy Spirit unoppos’d,
As love and joy and peace and patience be
With ev’ry other fruit matur’d in me,
Until thou liftest up this childish frame
Unto thy Father’s side and thine, thy name—
The threefold Name that yet resolves as one—
To praise, and too the vict’ry thou hast won
O’er sin and death and me. My being cries,
O teach me, Savior, how to set mine eyes.

—On Colossians 3:1-2. Completed 9/29/25.

Anxiety's Resolution

I do not know what I shall be
Within a day or month or year
But trust my Lord’s authority
O’er everything that meets me here.

I know too well what I would be
Hadst thou not freely saved my soul,
So I commit mine all to thee;
Until thou come, sir, keep it whole.

I’ve tasted, too, what I can be
When from thy providence I stray,
So give me grace to trust in thee
To straighten out mine every way.

I thank you, Lord, that I have been
An anxious fool, yet still may find
Forgiveness for this silly sin
And trade it for your peace of mind.

I cannot fathom what I’ll be,
O Savior, when at last by grace,
My faith ensightened, I can see
And mirror thy most holy face.

Anxiety's Confession

I do not know what I shall be
Within a year, or month, or day;
Thy will, my Lord, I cannot see;
I know not how to make my way.

I do not know what I shall be
But fear thy Spirit might not guide
Me out of my iniquity
Or to the goodness at thy side.

I do not know what I shall be
If more by faith than sight I move
But know that my anxiety
Doth not my Master fear nor love.

So teach me what I ought to be:
A creature, who cannot command
The rains or snows to fall, like thee,
But waits, my Father, for thy hand.

I do not know what I shall be,
O Savior, when at last by grace,
Mine eyes enlightened, I shall see
And mirror thy most holy face.

Meditations: August 2025

Three things sing to their maker;
Four lift their voice to heaven:
The songbird lauds at morning
When he wakes to your beauty;
The cicada chants antiphon all afternoon,
Calling to you for his mate;
The coyote cries at night
Till you satisfy him with food;
And the lips of your servants praise
As they wait for you.

(In the style of Prov 30.)

My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.
My Lord, remain here and watch over me,
Far better than I have waited for you.

(Matt 26:28)

Just across this wilderness,
Is my loving Master, who
Momentary, light distress
Bids me pass and join him through.
Though it is a burning waste,
I will limp to him in haste.

Just across this raging sea
Walks my Lord upon the main,
To his side commanding me,
Saving when I sink again.
When most sorely waves distress,
Then his hand is mightiest.

Just upon this wooden cross
Where my Savior hung for sin,
I will suffer every loss,
Only let me live with him.
Though my spirit waste away,
He will raise it day by day.

Just across eternity
Lies eternity beyond,
Passing all hyperbole
With the glory therein found.
Though my weeping spend the night,
Joy will dawn in boundless light.

—8/24/25

Meditations: July 2025

Lord, you are a good father:
To none who asks for bread do you give stones;
You do not give a serpent for fish.
Am I allowed to pray like I’m five?
In childish exactness, with absurd expectation?
Be pleased to answer ridiculous petitions;
Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.

(Matt 7:9-11; Luke 11:5-8; Luke 22:42)

Psalm 98

Sing to God a song anew;
He doth mighty marvels do;
He in holiness and might
Brings the nations to his light,
Working his salvation!

From the house of Israel,
God has sent Emmanuel;
Now the furthest nations praise,
“Glories in the highest” raise,
Lauding his salvation!

Psalmists, prophets, lift your lyre;
Saints in melody inspire;
Angels, with a heav’nly sound,
Blow your trumpet all around—
Harmonize salvation!

Rivers, seas, and hills resound:
In your midst your Maker’s found;
He will judge with equity
All upon the earth that be,
Righteous in salvation!

Come, Lord Jesus, even so,
To redeem the earth below;
Bring the lowly and the least
To enjoy thy marriage feast,
Joy of our salvation!

Meditations: June 2025

Lord, make me a tree planted by rivers of water,
Bearing fruit in my season, unwithered in leaf,
With my fruitful vine tangled around me
And all my olive shoots at my table.

(Ps 1:3; 128:3)

I have been trying to meditate more on Scripture, inspired by and with help from a chapter in Tim Keller’s book Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. The above and below have been my recurring meditations this month. Foremost on this list is Ps 123, which however I do not include because I have not altered it. I wait for you, O Lord. All else is excerpted from, remixed from, or (thunderhead) inspired by the text of Scripture as I seek to apply it to my life. I don’t remember every reference, but if you see a weird turn of phrase, you can probably search the ESV to find its origin.

Buried with Christ

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death. Rom 6:4

Buried with Christ, my soul is free!
From all the stench of sin and guilt
Formerly that surrounded me
Until the Savior’s blood was spilt,
Until they laid him in the tomb,
Until the dead was done away,
Until they sealed with heavy stone
The crypt where death’s corruption lay.
    (Rom 6:3; Matt 27:57-60;
    Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-53;
    John 19:38-42; Rom 6:6 NASB)

Buried with Christ, how can we rise
Again to dwell in sin’s domain?
The old man’s dead; he cannot prise
The grave apart, nor live again!
For Jesus gave his final breath
Atonement for our souls to win
And baptized us into his death
To free from slavery to sin.
    (Rom 6:1-4a, 6)

Buried with Christ, and dead to sin!
Behind his back it now is cast,
Ev’ry miasma once within
Dispersed, forgiven, blotted—past!
His sacrifice was once, for all
Our sins to plunge into the seas,
To lawless deeds no more recall
But cast them far as west from east.
    (Isa 38:17; 43:25; 44:22; Jer 31:34;
    Heb 9:26b; Mic 7:19; Heb 10:17-18;
    Ps 103:12)

Buried with Christ, I now press on
To make his resurrection mine;
Jesus has called me for his own
And bids me leave all else behind.
I do not fully here attain
To all that then I hope to be,
Yet still by faith I’ll upward strain
Until his glory raises me.
    (Phil 3:12-15)

—6/22/25

Forgive Us Our Debts

Ah, Lord, I hear my debtors knock
With hat in hand upon my mind,
Who’ve long since met my stony block
Of heart, and ceased my face to find.

And can I really fancy me
A better man than they have been
Because the first in repartee
Was theirs, against me first the sin?

For Lord, you know my rocky heart,
How furrows crooken on its plain;
You saw me take the meaner part
And curse my debtors for my pain.

Ah, friend of sinners, full of grace—
Assuming curses meant for me!—
Excruciated in my place,
E’en still, “forgive him” was thy plea.

O Lamb, you died as much for them
And their atonement as for me.
Forgive, restore, and comfort them;
Forgive, restore, and comfort me.

—6/17/25

Inscription on a Shard of Heart

If words were a kiss then I’ve kissed you
...
[I have heard that this fragment concerns a prolonged correspondence,
But the rest of the author is lost or was never at all.]
...
But once I wished to touch your cheek
Without a metaphor.

O bless the Lord, my soul, when praise
Is furthest from my lips,
For most thou needest then to raise
How great his wisdom is,
How strong his pow’r, how firm his will,
Unchanged, though change thou be,
How faithfully his love cleaves still
To cleave unfaith from thee.

O bless the Lord, my soul, when death
Bears down upon my heart;
Though he thee slay, thy final breath
Must not from hope depart.
I know that my Redeemer lives,
And at the last shall stand
Upon the earth, and comfort give
By his tear-wiping hand.
    (Job 13:15; 19:25; Isa 25:8;
    Rev 7:17; 21:4)

O bless the Lord, my soul, when sin
Most sorely fills my breast,
When all the vileness left within
Sours meat and curdles rest,
For God in Christ gives victory;
‘Twill fall before his grace!
Why should vestigial darkness, me,
Stint him of any praise?
    (Rom 7:21-25; 1 Cor 15:57)

O bless the Lord, my soul, in want,
Where need and longing meet,
For none more than the Savior pant
Nor greater wish entreat
Than for his kingdom to appear
And Jesus’ face to see
(And what, he says, remaineth dear
He will add unto thee).
    (Ps 42:1; Matt 6:31-33)

O bless the Lord, my soul, in all
And any circumstance;
Let my afflictions on him fall,
And every care advance
To him whose might, my soul, doth save,
Who o’er thee doth rejoice
With murmurs of his calming love
And songs of gladsome voice.
    (1 Pet 5:6-11; Zeph 3:17)

—For gritted teeth.

Acts 16:25-31

The Spirit that caused Paul to sing
In the Philippian jail
Shall praises from mine own lips bring
Whatever may assail.

When trial links its stoutest chains,
Then shall I sing most clear;
No doubt be left who me sustains
To them that, silent, hear.

Yea, though the earth’s foundations shake
Before the Lord on high,
“He’ll never leave me, nor forsake”
Will be my melody.

Though every door on earth be barred
By those that hate his name
Yet David’s key and David’s Lord
Can open just the same.

When throes of death my spirit grieve,
This truth yet quickens me:
“In Jesus Christ the Lord believe,
And thou shalt savèd be.”

—5/10/25

Jesus Freely Died for Me

Once I was a slave to sin,
Child of hell, and dead within,
But the Lord in kindness sought,
And his blood my pardon bought;
Once I dwelt in darkest night,
Blind but hating heaven’s light;
Now with eyes of faith I see:
Jesus freely died for me.

When the tempter doth entice
Back to ev’ry once-loved vice,
When th’ accuser sin recalls
Which should ban from heaven’s rolls,
I’ve an advocate above;
E’er he intercedes in love;
Ere the bar he bids me plea,
“Jesus freely died for me.”

When I find my cross to bear,
Then I trust my master’s care;
He has all-sufficient grace
For each trial I must face.
He that drained th’ afflicting cup
Bids me fill his suff’ring up,
Yet this balm shall comfort be:
“Jesus freely died for me.”

When at last my fight is done,
When at last my race is run,
When at last the thorny crown,
Changed to laurel, is mine own,
When I hear the blessed word:
“Faithful one, enjoy thy Lord,”
Free at last, my song shall be:
“Jesus died, and lives, for me.”

Isaiah 12

You will say in that day:

I will give thanks, O LORD, to thee,
For though thine anger fiercely burned,
Thou hast thy wrath in mercy turned,
That thou might’st turn to comfort me.

My God—O see!—salvation is;
Therefore I trust him fearlessly.
JESUS my strength and melody
And ever-active Savior is.

The waters of the SPIRIT burst
Living, from out the throne of God
And ever deep’ning flow abroad;
With joy I draw, no more to thirst.

I sound the joyous, clarion call:
JEHOVAH thank and call upon!
His deeds must be more widely known!
His name exalted over all!

With songs of glory celebrate,
In all the earth make known his grace,
Rejoice, and sing, ye dwelling place,
For YAHWEH in your midst is great.

Small Group Prayers

In poverty, be riches,
In hunger, living food,
In dry and barren deserts,
The fount of every good;
In nakedness and sickness,
Be robes of righteous white
And health upon the sojourn
To New Jerusalem’s light.

In sorrow, be our helper;
In grief, be ever near;
In trial, be our patience;
When tempted, egress clear.
O teach us in the valley,
Though death’s deep shade be there,
To follow without fearing
And trust your perfect care.

Our many friends and family
Who yet contend with thee,
Have mercy and compassion
Upon them; let them see
That you alone can save them
From every grief and pride,
That every good they grope for
Is only at your side.

Let us be ever grateful
For every gift you send;
Both spiritual and earthly,
We get them from your hand.
Assured that all successes
Your providence doth raise,
As sacrifice we offer
Our grateful lips in praise.

As we your word do open,
Upon us now bestow
To hear and understand it
And application know,
But most of all enlighten
Those eyes within our heart,
To raise us up to glory
And see thee as thou art.

O Father in the highest,
O Son who intercedes,
And thou, O Holy Spirit
Who helps us in our need,
We now yet feebly praise thee—
Give pow’r to thee adore!—
To thee be all the glory
Now and forevermore.

—To “All Sufficient Merit,” 4/3/25

Righteousness Applied

Thy righteousness, O God, extendeth
Far o’er the loftiest mountain height,
Ev’ry bright star beyond ascendeth,
Finding its zenith in thy light,
Where all thy servants praise thy judgments,
Blessing thy ways as all aright.

Mine own iniquity was sinking
Deeper than any ocean trench,
Still I had dug my grave, unthinking
Justice was waiting me to wrench
Into Gehenna’s terrors finally:
There worm undying, flame unquenched.

Thy lovingkindness, Jesus, sought me
Past heights of heav’n to deepest hell,
With thine atoning blood hast bought me,
Bondage to sin in me to quell,
Fitted in holy, righteous linen
That I may ‘neath thy glory dwell.

In thy great power, Savior, keep me
Till thy redeeming work is done;
Sanctify with thy grace completely;
Give thine endurance, race to run
Unto thee, Jesus, source, perfecter,
Unto thee, Father, Spirit, Son.

—To “Fragrance.” Finished 3/29/25.

Alive in Christ:
Spin me around like one of those tops,
The cheapy plastic ones,
The ones that never stop.
Let all the sin fly off
Like when you lean too far off a merry-go-round;
The gravity of joy overcome me
Like when you lean far enough in
And find yourself in the center of a star,
Massive, crushing—alive!
Spin me around, O life-giving Christ;
Whirl me with your righteous love and power,
That I may never stop.
—3/13/25

When golden rays my bleary eyelids bless,
When nature’s cheerful waking waketh me,
I meditate on all thy faithfulness
And raise anew extolling melody,
For as thy mercies rise again each morn,
I will praise the Lord who breaks the dawn.

When trial presses in upon my soul,
When guilt unto despair me doth entice,
When all thy calling deeps above me roll,
When most I feel a living sacrifice—
Although the storm be filled with nought but pain,
I will praise the Lord who sends the rain.

From youth thy word hath guarded all my ways;
Thou’st saved me from each folly I have loved,
Blessed with thy lovingkindness all my days,
My rocky cleft, my hiding place hath proved,
So as the shadows grow and dims the light,
I will praise the Lord until the night.

When from corruption’s bondage I am free
And pass from fruit to infiniter gain,
When mortal puts on immortality
And sown in dust, I rise the stuff of heav’n,
When crown of life I gain to throneward cast,
I will praise thee perfectly at last.

—2/9/25