Lord, How I Long to Live My Life
Acts 2:43- "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles."
(to the tune of St. Columbia- "How Sweet and Awful is the Place")
Lord, how I long to live my life
That all the world may see
The awesome power of Your might,
Your Spirit's work in me!
I have not heard the rushing wind
Or seen the tongues of flame;
I have not by You raised the dead
Or healed the blind and lame.
Yet these are not the greatest deeds
Performed by those You save:
We die to self and live to You
Who rose up from the grave!
We know Your Spirit’s wondrous work
Of overcoming sin
And through our trials know the calm
Of peace You give within.
To us, You open up the Word,
And we behold Your face.
You grant us strength in time of need
Before Your throne of grace.
Above all these, the Gospel borne
By Your strong Spirit’s might
Unites the hearts of all Your own
And makes the darkness light!
Ignite the zeal to love You more
And treasure You as dear!
Lord, wean our souls from this cold world
So all may stand in fear!
- Marie Peterson, 2008.
posted by MarieP @ 1:23 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Hi. This is great.
I would be interested in hearing you explicate the last stanza; I mean, the details of why you chose those words. I think it would be instructive to talk about how "standing in fear" can be a triumphant ending for this hymn.
"I think it would be instructive to talk about how 'standing in fear' can be a triumphant ending for this hymn."
You are right-- it would! This song was inspired by this sermon my pastor preached this past Lord's Day.
"Fear" means dread, terror, reverence, and awe. We often don't incorporate the "dread" and "terror" part into our thinking, but my pastor brought out some texts that show us why this is to our detriment:
Deut. 2:25 "This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you."
Deut. 11:25 "No man shall be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you."
Joshua 2:8-11 "Now before they lay down, [Rahab] came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: 'I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.'"
Jeremiah 33:8-9 "I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it."
This type of fear is known in the hearts of people when they (and we!) see the power of God working in us in such a way that defies human explanation, a way that demonstrates God is real and active in our world today!
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