I asked the Lord that I might grow

I asked the Lord that I might grow,
In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of His salvation know,

And seek more earnestly His face.

It was He who taught me thus to pray,
And He I trust has answered prayer.

But it has been in such a way,
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once He'd answer my request.
And by His love's constraining power,
Subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this, He made me feel,
The hidden evils of my heart.
And let the angry powers of hell,
Assault my soul in every part.

Yes, more with His own hand, He seemed,
Intent to aggravate my woe.
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.

"Lord, why is this?" I trembling cried.
Will You pursue Your worm to death?"
"This is the way" the Lord replied,
"I answer prayer for grace and strength."

"These inward trials I employ,
From self, and pride, to set you free;
And break your schemes of earthly joy,

That you may find thy all in Me."

—John Newton

Comments

The use of Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8

For Paul in Ephesians 4:8, clearly there are some changes from the text that Paul is supposedly citing which is Psalm 68:18. Comparing Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8, it is obvious there are differences. I believe Paul was actually using the LXX but has changed its words for the occasion in Ephesians 4. The LXX version of Psalm 68:18 and Ephesians 4:8 differs by a few words: Psalm 68:18 (it is actually Psalm 67:19 in the LXX): ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσας αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔλαβες δόματα ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ , Ephesians 4:8 ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν,* ⸆ ἔδωκεν δόματα ⸀ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Structurally you can see the LXX and Eph 4 is similar but for a few words changes. The first change is from 2nd person (LXX) to 3rd person (Eph 4) with regards to who is doing the ascending in the first line. So the English Bible rightly translates the phrase to "When he ascended on high" versus Psalm 68, " you ascended" ...

An Exposition of Genesis 2:24

An Exposition of Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Lots can be said about this wonderful verse. In it, we see the actions of God who created the wonderful gift of marriage. Thanks to God, we humans are capable of creating many things but to conceive of something as powerful as marriage is probably beyond us. Through His creative works, God has demonstrated his goodness and awesomeness. But if we stop there then we will never perceive God’s full goodness and awesomeness. God’s goodness and awesomeness is not restricted only to His creative works. This verse is ultimately a command, and like all commands we find in the Bible, the one who never fails at obeying them is Christ alone. In the first part of this verse we see that it is decreed that a man shall leave his father and mother . Of this Christ Jesus did perfectly and in doing so, he demonstrated his condescension to us thoug...

The Heinous Crime at the Temple

A recent reading of the accounts of "Jesus cleansing of the temple" brought some new insights with details that I have never observed before. In fact, looking at the picture above, I have come to realize the artist (Carl Bloch) who drew the above had noticed the aforementioned details and had been very careful in producing his painting. I will attempt to illumine with what has been shown to me. The accounts given to us in Matthew and Mark ( emphases mine ): And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons . He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21: 12-13) "And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats o...

The Gospel According to Yeeks

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