The Sufferings of Jesus (Poem)

John 11:35 – Jesus Wept

Tears of love! behold them flowing From the Elder Brother’s eye!
See Him as a mourner going
To the grave at Bethany!
He, who through its shadowy portal
Summoned back the freed immortal, He, whose all-commanding word Sheathed the gloomy victor’s sword- There, where buried friendship sleeps, He, our own Emmanuel, weeps.

Tears of pity! see them gushing From their pure and sacred fount! Angels! your hosannas hushing, Bend you from the holy mount. Stoop to read the wondrous story, How the “Father’s brightest glory” At a sinner’s grave can stand, Mourner ‘mid a mourning band, With the heart, the voice, the eye Of a perfect sympathy!
Tears of Jesus! while I ponder, Blessed comfort let me reap;

“That same Jesus” lives up yonder Who on earth was wont to weep. Though His brow the rainbow wears Yet my thorny crown He shares; Yet that loving heart Divine
Throbs responsively to mine Not a struggling sigh can rise, But it is echoed in the skies.
Blessed Jesus! in Your sorrow,
Friends and kindred passed You by; You alone could never borrow
The support of sympathy.

When Your human heart was bursting, When your parched lips were thirsting, When encompassed with the foe, Mocking at Your bitter woe,
You, who had a heart for all,
Drank alone Your cup of gall.

Now in glory, where You dwell,
All unknown is sorrow’s look,
Yet Your people’s tears You tell, “Are they not within Your book?” While my “night of weeping” lasts,
Before the morn its brightness casts, My blest portion may it be,
That You weepest, Lord, with me!
And one day, with heart and voice
In Your joy may I rejoice! by Ellen Willis.

Jesus has done ALL THINGS well

As I said in my previous post, reading through the book The Sympathy of Christ has been of much spiritual benefit to me.

 The emotions reveal in a wonderful way the feelings of the heart, and in this book, Octavius Winslow uses the emotions of Christ and his acts of kindness to show in a very unique way, how he felt for those he interacted with then, and very importantly how he feels for those whom he interacts with today. 

The second Chapter is titled “The sight of Christ” in this chapter he dwells on Mark 7:34 – “He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Be opened!”.

The whole chapter is worth a read and is available online HERE. However, the main purpose of this post is to share his closing quote of the chapter; after he shows how perfectly pure christ’s love and care for the person whom he healed was, and with that shows the absolute authority of Christ over not just the physical ears and mouth but also the spiritual. He very briefly fixes the heart on how perfectly Christ’s dealings are with his people, and reading this left me as I am sure it will you with one dominating thought,  that JESUS HAS DONE ALL THINGS WELL!

The Quote Follows

And in conclusion, let the sweet words uttered by the wondering spectators of this marvellous and touching display of our Lord’s sympathy with man, awaken a deep response within our hearts in all His dealings with us- “He has done all things well.” Yes, from first to last, from our cradle to our grave, from the earliest pang of sin’s conviction to the latest thrill of sin’s forgiveness, from earth to heaven, this will be our testimony in all the way the Lord our God has led us in the wilderness. In providence and in grace, in every truth of His Word, in every lesson of His love, in every stroke of His rod, in every sunbeam that has shone, and in every cloud that has shaded, in every element that has sweetened, and in every ingredient that has embittered, in all that has been mysterious, inscrutable, painful, and humiliating; in all that He gave, and in all that He took away, this testimony is His just due, and this our grateful acknowledgment through time and through eternity- “He has done all things well.” Take a survey of His conduct towards you from whatever standpoint, you may- and it is to His dealings with us in our individual history I alone refer, as illustrating and confirming this declaration- such must be our admiration, and such our testimony of Christ. Has He converted us through grace by a way we had thought the most improbable? Has He torn up all our earthly hopes by the roots? Has He thwarted our schemes, frustrated our plans, disappointed our expectations? Has He taught us in schools most trying, by a discipline most severe, and lessons most humbling to our nature? Has He withered our strength by sickness, reduced us to poverty by loss, crushed our heart by bereavement? And have we been tempted to exclaim, “All these things are against me?” Ah! no; faith will yet obtain the ascendency, and sweetly sing
                                  “I know in all things that befell,
                                      My Jesus has done all things well.”

Beloved, it must be so, for Jesus can do nothing wrong. Study the way of His providence and grace with the microscopic eye of faith, view them in every light, examine them in their minutest detail, as you would the petal of a flower, or the wing of an insect, and, oh, what wonders, what beauty, what marvellous adaptation would you observe in all the varied dealings with you of your glorious Lord! And when the next storm wave surged, and the next thunder cloud darkened, and the next dark mystery threw its veil around you, you would hopefully exclaim, “What new truth is He now teaching? what new glory is He now unveiling? what new wonder is He now working to arouse my admiration, to win my confidence, and to deepen my love?”

 

The Humility of Christ

I have been reading very slowly through a book called ” The Sympathy of Christ” by Octavius Winslow.  I have yielded much spiritual benefit from it, and have been by degree brought to a deepening understanding of the person of Christ our saviour, his humility, power and especially his love and sympathy towards the weak and helpless. This is a short excerpt that brings out the humility of Christ and reveals, and Just as a bright light shows the dirt in a dark corner, so when the we behold the glory of Christ, it shows our deep lack and need, and I hope also takes us again to his feet, where we can find mercy and help in time of need.

Never was He (Jesus)  known to betray a feeling of displeasure or uneasiness when men appealed to His compassion or solicited His help. Even when His disciples had been more honored than Himself, and a case which had first been brought to them, had been transferred to Him as incurable, He never uttered a word of upbraiding, but took the child and healed it. Ah, how many of us would have felt our self-esteem wounded that we had not been given the precedence! Blessed Jesus! we will learn of You, for You are meek and lowly in heart. No sigh ever breathed from Your lips the expression of an angered heart, or wounded pride, or disappointed ambition. – Octavius Winslow

Although it is rather short, but how full of meaning. May I be more meek and lowly like our precious saviour.

You can download the Sympathy of Christ from HERE.