Vindicate Me, O God

Vindicate Me O God

Posted: 05 Sep 2011 04:00 AM PDT

By Erik Retallick

1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!

Psalm 43:1-5

---

A short while ago I wrote an article about Psalm 42 and mentioned that Psalm 43 follows on very closely with its thoughts and tone.

However, on taking a closer look, I think you will see a much brighter spirit emerging from the gloomy preoccupations of Psalm 42 with its small glimmers of hope here and there.

Those who have suffered depression or mental health disorders which have become so prevalent in our modern world know that it can sometimes seem like a long tunnel they are going through, and at first there appears to be no light at the other end.

After a few bends in the road and maybe some lighter moments, it is glorious to emerge once again into broad daylight, to feel God’s love, peace and joy returning as a reality in our daily experience.

God has been there all the time of course, but we’ve been looking in the wrong direction or become too preoccupied in a cycle of gloom and negativity.

The first thing the Psalmist asks for in this Psalm is vindication and defence, emanating from God. He knows that he has to constantly deal and cope with ungodly people, just as we have to in our contemporary world.

He requests deliverance from the unjust and ungodly man, something which many of us long for when dealing with the current ways of carrying out business.

Some would say it has ever been thus, but I have noticed a definite slippery slope as money becomes scarcer and business becomes harder to maintain. Honesty and integrity, certainly in the UK, seem to be very much lacking in so many areas of business, but especially in the worlds of finance and politics.

Isn’t it a comfort to know that we have a God in whom we can take refuge (verse 2), yet despite this it is still possible to feel that God has abandoned or rejected us.

When the Psalmist asks the question, “Why do I go about mourning because of of the oppression of the enemy?” I believe it is because He feels something of the way God must feel when people abandon His commandments and decide to do things their own way.

It makes us feel oppressed and as though we are swimming against the tide when we try to follow and keep to God’s laws in a society where they have been abandoned.

Verse 3 is a prayer which all those who know and love Jesus, desiring to follow Him, must want to echo. “Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling!

The nearer we draw to God, the nearer He will draw near to us (James 4:8). We will then reflect His light towards others and they will see that we have been with Jesus and the radical difference it makes to us as His chosen people.

The Psalmist is then led to go to the altar of God, the place where sacrifices are made and where thanksgiving and praises are said and sung.

Do you enjoy praising and thanking God, for who He is and what He has done by saving us from the world, the Devil, flesh and the last enemy, death itself ?

In Psalm 122, David begins this Psalm of ascent by saying “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!” You’ve probably heard the story about the husband who wakes up on a Sunday morning and says to his wife “Oh no, it’s Sunday again, I really don’t want to go to church,” to which his wife replies, “but you’ll have to go, my dear, because you’re the pastor and you’re taking the service!”

I don’t know whether it’s because of the (polite British) persecution we are experiencing here now, or people’s apathy to anything that is spiritual, but I always go to worship God together with His people with a sense of excitement and anticipation, because I know He is going to meet with us, to love and enjoy our praises and hearts being led out to Him in praise and worship.

We can bring the needs of our world, friends and brothers and sisters to Him and hear and put into practice what He has to say to us! To me it is party celebration time, and the way things are going, we don’t know for how much longer we will be free to have this privilege, which is a foretaste of Heaven, where we shall be able to praise and serve Him for ever!

Although Psalm 43 ends with the sad “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” refrain which we see several times in Psalm 42, we see an amazing positive outcome.” The Psalmist ends by saying that if he hopes in God, He will praise Him again and know His salvation.

Salvation, wholeness and healing are still available to all who put their faith and trust in Jesus, seek His forgiveness through confessing their sins (1 John 1:9) and choose to follow Him as their Saviour and Lord.

You can know God’s salvation today, maybe by inviting Him into your heart and life for the first time. In John 1:12 it says “To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."

My prayer for you is that you may know with certainty today that you are a blood-bought child of God through knowing that Jesus died to save you from sin and have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

If you already know Him my prayer is that you will walk ever closer with Him and draw others to Him. As St. Augustine said, “preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”

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Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

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Psalm 42

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul

by Erik Retallick

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah.

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
”Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves
have gone over me.
By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
and at night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I say to God, my rock:
”Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
”Where is your God?”

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.

Many people can probably identify with many of the anguished feelings the Psalmist expresses here, with all the turmoil going on in the world at large, the Middle East and African unrest and their own personal uncertain circumstances and relationships.

Do these things give us a thirst for God, as expressed here (verses 1-2)? Or do we become bitter and say, why should this be happening to me? As one of my mother’s Christian friends who is very ill, and has been for many years responds when people say, “Don’t you question why God lets all these things happen to you?” with the reply, “Why shouldn’t these things happen to me? Like Paul, she seems to count it a privilege to share in the sufferings of her Lord, to be counted worthy enough to suffer.

In between the overwhelming moments of feeling downcast and depressed, the writer of this Psalm expresses some wonderful thoughts, which we would do well to take to heart in these turbulent times.

1) In verse 2 he longs to come and appear before God, to be in His presence, to take delight in being with Him!

2) In verse 4 he recalls the days when he felt liberty in praising God, making his way with a crowd of God’s people singing with joy as they anticipated a forthcoming festival celebration. Do we feel like that on our way to worship the Lord with our brothers and sisters, or is it a case of sighing and thinking, “it’s that day of the week again, I suppose I ought to go.”

3) Verse 6 brings in the hope factor, that essential ingredient of our lives, that helps us to get up in the morning and motivates us to serve the Lord with gladness! He obviously had a real sense of God’s presence in the land of Yarden and the Peaks of Mount Hermon and the hill of Mizar. It does us good when we are downcast to recall those precious moments in our lives where God has touched us in a special way and reminded us how special He is to us and how important we are to Him; even the very hairs of our head are numbered.

4) In verse 9, even though the Psalmist questions why God has deserted him, he refers to God as his Rock, the one and only firm foundation in his life. Again, it does us good when we are going through overwhelming problems, to recall that God is our Rock, whose ways are perfect. Deuteronomy 32:4 says “The Rock! His work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A trustworthy God who does no wrong, he is righteous and straight.”

5) This amazing Psalm, which expresses so many depths of sorrow and anguish, ends with a reaffirmation of faith in our trustworthy God, our Rock. “Hope in God, since I will praise Him again for being my Savior and God.”

Without the walks through the dark valleys and the steep climbs up the rocky mountainsides, how would we ever get to appreciate the mountaintop experiences in our lives? Sometimes the mountaintop experiences may seem far and few between, but they are then all the more precious. Even when his friends and family questioned “Where is your God?” the writer of this Psalm knew deep in his heart that He was there all the time. Likewise, He has promised to “never leave or abandon us” (Hebrews 13:5)

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I'd Rather Have Jesus

"Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways." Proverbs 28:6 (ESV)

Billy Graham preaching the Gospel

George Beverly Shea in action!

I remember as a young 11 year old in 1966, Billy Graham came to London, capital of the UK, where he held a Crusade, I think it was for 10 days, in the great exhibition centre, Earls Court, the last night moving to Wembley Stadium, our largest football ground. Night after night, people came in their thousands to hear the Good News of Jesus preached simply and plainly, with an appeal at the end for people to come to the front of the hall to commit or recommit their lives to Jesus. Many people came to know Jesus as their Saviour as a result of that great event.

It was my privilege to be taken by my parents to hear this great American preacher. There was no reason for me to go forward after the appeal at the end. I had already committed my life to Jesus at the age of 8 and been baptized at the age of 10. What made a tremendous impact apart from the fact that the man who spoke seemed so normal even though he came from America and said a lot of things that seemed to relate to a young boy living on a tiny island thousands of miles away, was the music. There was a singer called George Beverly Shea who sang the following words with great feeling and an obvious 100% commitment to their message.

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,

I'd rather be His than have riches untold;

I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands,

I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Than to be the king of a vast domain

And be held in sin's dread sway;

I'd rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

The simplicity of the tune was such that it didn't detract from the words being conveyed by a man in his mid 40's who was well dressed and obviously meant every word which he sang. It certainly made an impact on someone who came from a poor background in a small village where we lived a contented and care-free life playing outside without any fear and knowing that we were safe and loved by our parents and extended family.

I think something became ingrained in my thinking at that point, and that is that there are two very distinct sets of values, involving earthly treasures and wealth and heavenly treasures. During our life time on earth, which is short, we have to make a choice about which we are going to set our hearts on, because, as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21 (ESV).

So the choice we have to make in our life is to follow Jesus who took on Himself the form of a servant and owned nothing or to hanker after the things that are for this life only. We have been taught a salutary lesson about earthly investment in the last few years, and many of our bankers, financiers and wise investors are looking for alternative investments.

Those of us who follow Jesus as our Saviour and Lord have effectively chosen an alternative investment, one that involves laying up treasures in Heaven. The way in which this is contrasted with the world's way in the opening Proverb quoted is very stark, it is better to be poor and walk in integrity than rich and crooked in our ways. I have to challenge myself on a regular basis, with the last two lines of the verse in this hymn. Can I honestly say today, here and now, "I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today?" If we are involved in the King's work, serving Jesus and reaching out to others with our hearts and lives to share His love and compassion, then the King will provide for our needs according to His riches, and He owns everything.

"The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (ESV)

John the Baptist with Jesus in the River Jordan

John the Baptist preaching

John the Baptist was a cousin of our Lord Jesus and was sent to prepare the way for the coming of our Lord. He baptized people in the river Jordan and his baptism was a baptism of repentance. The word repentance simply defined is "to change your mind about something." I think a more satisfactory definition is to make a 180 degree turn around to face and move in the opposite direction. Certainly, when you become a Christian you find yourself moving in the opposite direction to most of the world around you. This baptism John offered, in water, was for the turning away from sin, the baptism Jesus offers, with the Holy Spirit (verse 33) is turning to Christ and being filled with His indwelling presence.

What an amazing declaration John makes here when he sees Jesus walking towards him. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" The word "Behold" is translated from the Hebrew word "hinneh" and the Greek word "idou" which means something like "Pay careful attention to what follows! This is important!" Although in some contexts this word could be replaced in modern English with the word "look!" "see!" or "listen", in many instances these modern equivalents do not carry sufficient weight or dignity. This is especially the case here, when referring to our Lord Jesus, who is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

Why does John refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God, when in other places we see Him referred to as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah." To understand this, we need to look in the Old Testament at Exodus 12, the Passover Feast, where a perfect spotless lamb had to be slain and its blood applied to the two doorposts and lintel of the door of each house in order to prevent the killing of the firstborn of each family, including flocks and herds as well as people. The lamb was eaten as part of the Passover feast the night before the plague, and the Israelites celebrated it at the ready with shoes on to escape from slavery in Egypt early the next day. This was all a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to take away our sin by having His blood spilt in order that we could be forgiven, delivered from slavery to sin and saved for eternity.

Have you beheld Jesus, the Lamb of God, confessed your sins to Him in order to receive forgiveness and eternal life with Him in Heaven? Earlier in John 1, in verse 12 we read, "to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." (ESV) Note that in the Passover it was only those who applied the blood to the doorposts and lintel who were saved. Likewise, it is only those who put their faith and trust in and receive Jesus who become children of God, heirs of salvation and citizens of Heaven. There is still time for you to behold Jesus, and once you do you will know His peace and joy in your heart and mind and His presence with you through the storms and trials of life. He will give you a whole new sense of purpose, direction and fulfilment and He will never leave you or forsake you.

At the beginning of a New Year, may I first of all wish everyone a Happy and joyful New Year, filled with God's presence and blessings.

I would like to share a few thoughts with you about encouragement. It's a word we use a great deal in Christian circles but what significance does it have to God's people or anyone else, and what exactly does it mean and involve?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there are three different senses in which we can use the word "encourage" as a transitive verb, (encouragement being the noun).

1) a. means to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope as in the phrase, "she was encouraged to continue by her early success.

Here it would mean that we hearten (lift up the heart in someone) when we give encouragement.

b. means to attempt to persuade, as in the phrase, "they encouraged him to go back to school."

In this sense it means to urge someone onwards in the wonderful and positive actions they are engaged in, when we encourage them.

2) Another definition is "to spur on" as used in the phrase, "warm weather encourages plant growth. In this sense, encouragement implies stumulation to someone else, an energizing and motivating force.

3) Another sense in which the word "encourage" is used is "to give help or patronage to someone or a cause." The government grants designed to encourage conservation" is a phrase which uses it in this way.

In this way it is like fostering someone or something.

None of us would be the people we are currently unless we had received some form of encouragement in at least one of these meanings of the word, especially through our parent(s) and education, however basic either our up-bringing or education may have been.

Very often in our lives and even in our walk with God we need to encourage ourselves or get through by encouragement we have received in the past. It's rather like a car needing fuel to run, it has to be tanked up regularly or it grinds to a halt!

In his first letter to the Thessalonian church Paul says, "Encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV). In other words, it was a work that was already going on and he encourages (urges) them to keep on encouraging (heartening and stimulating) one another. In verse 14 he goes on to say, "And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." (ESV)

Paul's letters in the New Testament were written mainly for the encouragement of Christians who were going through all kinds of difficulties, temptation, persecution, suffering, materialism and over-indulgence, false teaching to name some of their problems. In other words, they were human, just like you and me and we are no strangers to the same things 2000 years later. Technology may advance, the spread of information and travel are faster and more widespread, but human nature and the effects of sin unfortunately remain the same.

If you want to have a go at a bit of "Do-it-yourself" Bible study and you are a good mathematician, it would be interesting to see how many references to the word encouragement are made in the letters Paul wrote to the early churches. Then add to this total the number of times he encourages them to do good works and encourage one another.

I want to pinpoint one particular exhortation, which can be found in Hebrews 10:24-25. " Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." The day he refers to is obviously the return of our Lord Jesus and he underlines the need for us to draw closer together by gathering for fellowship in church services and smaller groups, rather than become more isolated as Christians. In today's world there is always the excuse that we can watch a Christian TV broadcast, listen to internet radio or a podcast. However, we may be depriving ourselves of the opportunity to give and receive fellowship and have meaningful human interaction.

I wish you every encouragement for 2011, and you can take this to mean being "heartened", "spurred on" in your walk with God and service to Him and "given help" by others and by our great Lord Himself who equips us to carry out the service He has called us to do.

Jesus came to earth to live with us

This is the time of year when everyone goes on a mad spending spree in the UK and embarks on a season of festivities and celebrations which seem to last from just before 25th. December until well into the New Year. The following link will give you a snapshot of the sad situation we find ourselves in here, and my guess is that many European and other nations around the world are in a similar position.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8170637/Lord-Carey-Christianity-being-airbrushed-from-society-as-Christmas-is-rebranded.html

I don't know what it is like in the country where you live, but Christmas is always the time of year which is completely different from any other time in the yearly calendar. Why is this? Has it real significance and how do react to it, celebrate it or think about it?

To me the significance of Christmas is the fact that we are celebrating the Incarnation of Christ, that is, God sending His only son into the world to be born as a man. By God becoming a man in the form of our Lord Jesus, He was able to experience temptation, suffering, strained relationships and all the brokenness of a fallen Creation brought about by the rebellion of man against God, which is called sin or wrongdoing. Paul puts the wonder of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus most succinctly in the following passage in a letter he wrote to the church at Philippi in about 60AD, which was situated in an urban city which was then a colony of the Roman Empire.

Pictures of Philippi today Amphitheatre at Philippi

Many of you reading this probably live and/or work in urban communities and may also worship regularly in an urban church fellowship. Whether or not that is the case these words are as relevant to us today as they were then, being a part of the eternal truth of the Bible.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5:11 (ESV)

In this passage we note first of all that we are called to have the mind of Christ. We then see that Jesus as a man didn't seek to be equal to God but took the form of a servant. He could have taken the form of a superman type hero, strong man or an angelic appearance, but in Isaiah 53:2 it says "He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should look at Him." I don't believe this means He was ugly looking but if you or I were to walk past Him in the streets of London, New York or Djakarta He would have looked like any ordinary man of His time and location.

However, if He had stopped, smiled and greeted you, He would have known your need and the right words to say to you, He would have sought to meet you at your point of need. Why? Because He was a servant of His Heavenly Father! As followers of Him we are called to have the same mind and attitude in our lives. In our natural human condition this is impossible, but when we come to know Him as our Saviour and Lord, He comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit who gives us the gifts and ripens spiritual fruits within us to enable us to become more and more like Him as we walk day by day with our Lord.

Not only did Jesus humble Himself by leaving the heights of glory in Heaven to come to a world full of conflict, war and sin, but there was no room for Him to be born in. The only place found was the corner of a stable at the back of a hotel for Him to be born. In the same way many people have no place for Jesus in their lives today or just find a small corner in their lives, maybe an hour in church on a Sunday from time to time.

We then read that after three years of serving others, meeting their needs, healing them and teaching them about His Father, and being misunderstood a lot of the time, Jesus the Lord of glory was subjected to a trial (where the judge, Pilate, could find no fault in Him) and extreme torture before being nailed and hung on a cross to die. This willing sacrifice of the servant King, as He is described in a Graham Kendrick song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBd3ThCResI was accepted by His Father as the ransom price for our sins, if we put our faith and trust in Him and His finished or completed work.

While He was on the cross, our Lord Jesus said "It is finished," this was not referring to His own life, which is what some may have thought, who heard Him say it, but it meant that no further animal sacrifices were required for the forgiveness of sin, as practised under the Jewish temple requirements (sometimes known as the Old Covenant). Jesus had covered them by offering Himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin.

We know with hindsight that this was not the end of the story, because three days later Jesus rose from the dead after being placed in a sealed and guarded tomb. He had conquered death, sometimes referred to as the last enemy, as well as sin, the world and Satan.

As a result of His humility and service, which we are called to follow, it says, "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name that is above every name." This occurred after Jesus ascended to Heaven where He is forever interceding for us at the right hand of God. In 1 Peter 5:6 we are urged to "humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you." We are called to humbly serve God; when we serve with one another we are therefore serving with the greatest, humblest and most perfect servant there has ever been.

What a wonderful Lord we have, who put in place a plan to save us and enable us to serve Him despite our own shortcomings, troubled lives, sad upbringings and sufferings. When we look at what He suffered as the perfect example of humility in service to His Heavenly Father, nothing that we can offer can be compared, He has given us everything.

Christmas is the time when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. We spend a lot of time choosing and giving one another presents and He gives us His presence. What are we going to give Him as a present this Christmas time?

I Thank Thee, Lord

I have just been given a collection of my late father's writings which include poetry, sermon outlines, Bible study notes and many other items, some of which were used in his preaching, teaching and pastoral ministry, others of which were written expressions of his personal reflections and thoughts.

I have been given complete freedom by my mother to use this material in the way God leads me by His Holy Spirit and am seeking the best way forward in what may be quite an absorbing adventure in my walk with the Lord.

My father, known as Allan Retallick or R.E.A. Retallick may have been known to some of you who read this article. I would love to hear from you if you want to share any memories or accounts of your meetings with him or experiences of his ministry. To me he was not only a wonderful father seeking to live a Christ-like life serving his Heavenly Father, having first preached at the age of 17, (I waited until I was 22), but a polymath, good at history, painting, composing and playing music (self-taught), writing poetry and fluent in a host of European languages, being able to preach in Dutch and French as well as his native English (of course). In the Netherlands many thought he was Dutch, but it was my mother who came from there, she was born near the banks of the Rhine not far from Leiden, in what was a village, but is now a large town called Alphen aan de Rijn.

When my father went to be with the Lord in June, 2002, we had a tomb stone put over the grave with an abridged version of his favourite text, in the King James Version, his favourite and mostly used Bible translation: "The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me." ~ Galatians 3:20.

My father was my spiritual mentor with whom I often led church services before he preached, or I would provide the musical accompaniment on organ and perhaps sing a solo accompanying myself on the guitar. I can remember occasions when I was younger, on which he would play the organ, lead the service and preach as well!

I mentioned the King James Version earlier partly because you will see from the following poem he wrote that it permeated his style of writing and he was most particular to ensure that the scanning of lines, accented words and poetic metre were correct. To him I owe elements of perfectionism in my character, but they don't extend to poetic details like iambic pentameters or trochaic whatevers!

In a few recent videos I spoke a little about worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth, and one very important ingredient of this is thanksgiving to God, for all that He has done in creation and redemption and his tender care for our ongoing daily needs in His world. He has placed us here as witnesses to His love and grace and to reach out to hurting people with the Good News that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!

I Thank Thee, Lord.

I thank Thee, Lord, for all that Thou hast given,

For every token of Thy changeless love,

For earthly joys, ambassadors of heaven,

To teach the greater worth of things above;

For all the lavish bounty of the sun,

For dawn, for day, for floods of golden light,

For evening shadows and for duty done,

For healing rest, for soft caress of night;

For treasures yet in undiscovered mines,

For riches to be found in flower and tree,

For shafts of sunlight 'twixt the scented pines,

For cloud shades floating on a summer sea;

For crimson apples at a cottage gate,

For harvest glory, with its wealth untold,

Its nodding ears so full they scarce can wait

The coming of the blade that claims their gold;

For woodland glade, whose ever-changing hues

To man a parable must always be,

Its peace, for all who have a heart to muse,

Its beauty, there for all with eyes to see;

For vale and hill, for river broad and clear,

For drowsing cattle on its grassy brink,

For little things, from bank and hedgerow near,

That, shy, yet unmolested, come to drink;

For autumn colours in the sunset's gleam,

For lovely things aloof from haunts of men,

The purple heather by an upland stream,

A curlew's call across a misty fen;

For flowers that bud, and bloom, and bud again,

For shells, immaculate, on cavern's floor,

For sweet refreshment of the summer rain,

For waves that break upon a rocky shore;

For earth and sea and sky, for breath of morn,

For songs of birds, for lark upon the wing,

Sun, moon, and stars, and blessings yet unborn,

For life and love and home--for everything.

And yet for mercies on a higher plane

I fain would bring my thanks, O Lord, to Thee,

For all the sorrows and the bitter pain

That Thou didst bear so willingly for me;

The cross, the grave, that moment when for me

Thy dying vanquished all the hordes of sin,

For gates flung wide, for welcome back for Thee,

For shout of joy when Thou didst enter in;

For all the good Thy work has wrought for me,

For everlasting life, the gift of heaven,

For reconciliation made by Thee,

For peace with God and trespasses forgiven;

For all Thine understanding of my needs,

For Thy dear presence as I tread life's road,

For all the gracious words and tender deeds

That help me upward to the throne of God;

For faith that leaps all barriers in a breath,

And grasps the Power that guides the farthest star,

For hope that looks beyond the vale of death,

And sees the glory in the land afar;

For that triumphant moment when these eyes

Shall see Thee come to meet me on the way,

When loved ones, watching for me in the skies,

Shall greet me at the dawning of the day;

For long, eternal ages in the light,

Where Thou alone for ever art adored,

For voice to sing, for heart to praise aright,

For everything I owe--I THANK THEE, LORD!

Worship Songs Piano recital from Erik Retallick on Vimeo.