Well, we have been preaching verse by verse through the book of Romans, and we have spent the past two weeks in chapter 6 thinking about what it means to be set free from sin.
! I have been attempting to help you see the tightrope we walk as Christians, knowing that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone and the personal work of Jesus Christ alone,
but also knowing that if we have been saved, set free from the power of sin, given a new nature, then our faith will be a faith that works in the pursuit of holiness.
I do not think that I have done a good job of helping the church see this careful tension over the past decade and a half.
It seems to me that I have overemphasized sanctification as evidence of justification.
Not an untruth, but perhaps a truth with too much emphasis.
I want you to know that this comes from a desire for you to persevere, but the imbalance comes from a reaction to the cheap grace preaching of our day.
Perhaps you remember me recently reading from John MacArthur's commentary.
There he wrote,
Perhaps the most common reason why Christians find it hard to believe they are freed from sin's tyranny while they are still on earth,
is that their continued battle with sin seems almost constantly to contradict that truth.
If they have a new holy disposition and sin's control has truly been broken,
they wonder, why are they still so strongly tempted, and why do they so often succumb?
So this morning, I want to step away from Romans 6 before we complete it, Lord willing, next week,
and I just want to encourage you.
The planned text for today, sufficient for the task.
Verses 15 through 23.
It can be accomplished there, but not the way I wrote it this week.
So I'd like to labor with it a bit more that we might get that balance correct in that text.
In Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 3, it is prophesied of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.
And I think that most people in our church are like me, are hard on themselves.
I am my own worst critic.
I don't think Satan has any concern with being an accuser to me,
because I take care of it all on my own.
I think perhaps because we're a church that takes the Bible seriously,
because we care about holiness,
perhaps because people can tend to be attracted to the preaching of someone who feels the way they feel.
We're kind of alike in this way.
So, this morning you may feel beaten down.
You may feel like the flame of your faith is just barely lit.
You are in good company.
I often feel this way.
Many of us do.
In fact, as I just searched,
kind of thinking towards the end of this week,
perhaps not the way I wrote Romans 6, 15 through 23.
This text that were coming to my mind,
things that we had preached on before,
I thought, oh, that's a good, encouraging text to this point.
And I would go and I would read those sermons and go,
whew, that was really hard on us in that particular passage.
And so I just want to be an encouragement to us today.
I want to prod at us,
help us to consider the completed work of Christ on our behalf.
And we're going to do that by looking at Hebrews chapter 2, verse 1.
Before I read it, let me remind you, beloved,
that this is God's word to us,
written for his glory and our good.
And so we would do well to listen to it
in order to believe its promises.
Let me emphasize that part of this thing I say when I preach.
Believe its promises and obey its commands.
Hebrews 2 and verse 1.
Therefore, we must pay much closer attention
to what we have heard,
lest we drift away from it.
There is one exhortation or encouragement in today's text,
and it is the ruling or overarching exhortation
of the entire letter to the Hebrew people.
The original audience for Hebrews
is a church of Hellenistic Jews,
think Greek-speaking Jews,
that had not seen Jesus,
but they had heard the gospel and believed.
Most likely a small church meeting on the outskirts of Rome.
They had endured much suffering to this point,
and the author is anticipating that they will suffer further.
So there exists among them the temptation
to forsake their faith in Jesus Christ
and return to Judaism.
Jews practicing Judaism
had long been accepted in the Roman Empire,
and this remained true
in the days that this letter was written.
So they're being tugged at.
Perhaps we can still worship God in that way,
this way that won't cost us
our possessions and our comfort and our lives.
And apostasy had already happened in the life of the church,
so there's lots of warning in this letter.
And we find that there's an accompany warning in this verse.
And we're not going to neglect it altogether,
but we're going to focus our energy together
on the exhortation from the letter.
Therefore, we must pay much closer attention
to what we have heard.
The exhortation begins with a therefore,
and as you may be thinking,
how is this text meant to encourage me this morning?
Well, here it is.
Everything contained within that therefore.
That is what is meant to be an encouragement to you today.
The therefore refers back to all that the author has said
of Jesus Christ in chapter 1.
Now, we don't have time this morning
to unpack all of chapter 1.
Perhaps we could fly over it,
but I think that would be unfair to you.
So we're just going to look at two verses from chapter 1.
Hebrews chapter 1, verse 2 and verse 3.
So let me read verse 1 just to get us into verse 2 and 3.
Long ago, at many times and in many ways,
God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.
But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son,
whom He appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also He created the world.
He is the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of His nature.
And He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
After making purification for sins,
He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Behold, in these two verses,
the supremacy and the finality of Jesus Christ.
Kent Hughes, a contemporary pastor,
in his commentary on this text, said,
the grand theme of these verses
is the supremacy of Christ as God's final word.
Christ is held up like a great jewel
to the sunlight of God's revelation.
And as the light courses through it,
seven facets flash with gleaming brilliance.
Christ's supremacy and His finality
is refracted for us to consider.
This is the encouragement this morning,
who Christ is and what He's accomplished.
So let's give these seven refractions,
titles, to help us in our study.
Christ is, so this is an outline if you care for it.
I'll repeat these.
But Christ is an inheritor,
a creator, a sustainer,
a radiator, a representer,
a purifier, and a ruler.
So first, Christ is an inheritor.
We see in verse 2,
whom He, God, appointed the heir of all things.
It follows that because Jesus is the Son of God,
then He is also the heir of God.
The writer of Hebrews identifies for us
Jesus Christ as the anointed and Son of Psalm 2
when He cites Psalm 2-7 in chapter 1 and verse 5.
You are my Son.
Today I have begotten you.
He's referring to Psalm 2.
In Psalm 2 and verse 8,
the psalmist writes,
Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your heritage
and the ends of the earth your possession.
Referring to this anointed one.
So Psalm 2 teaches us
that the inheritance of Jesus Christ
is the earth and its peoples.
But Colossians chapter 1 and verse 6
teaches us that all things,
so the very cosmos themselves,
were created for Him.
Him.
But not only that, beloved,
if you are in Christ Jesus,
then you,
specifically you,
are His inheritance.
You belong to Him.
Through the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ
on the cross,
He has purchased you
and He treasures you
as His inheritance.
In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 18,
Paul tells the Ephesian believers
that He always prays
that they may know
what are the riches
of His glorious inheritance
in the saints.
What an astounding truth.
But not only are we Christ's inheritance,
we are also His co-heirs.
Heirs.
In Romans 8 and verse 17,
Paul calls us heirs,
heirs of God
and fellow heirs
with Christ.
Christ is the heir of all things.
He is the heir of God,
but as followers of Christ,
we are found in Him,
so we are also heirs.
1 Corinthians chapter 3,
verse 21 and following says,
So let no one boast in men,
for all things are yours,
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas
or the world or life or death
or the present or the future,
all are yours,
and you are Christ's,
and Christ is God's.
We are heirs with Christ.
Secondly, Christ is creator.
Verse 2 says that God created the world
through Him.
Not only does Christ inherit all things,
but He also created all things.
The Greek word here,
translated world,
could be more literally translated ages.
And it is a wonderful word
because it includes all things.
Not only space,
but also time.
Brooke Westcott,
who was a 19th century British theologian,
defines this Greek word in this way.
The sum of the periods of time,
including all that is manifested
in and through them,
an order which exists through time,
developed in successive stages.
Everything,
all of it,
forever,
was created by Christ.
Our galaxy is an average-sized spiral galaxy.
Those of you who know me
know I like this kind of stuff.
It's over 100,000 light years across,
which is 600 trillion miles.
I dare you to comprehend a number like that.
600 trillion miles across our galaxy.
We can see with modern telescopes
about 100,000 million galaxies.
Each galaxy contains
100,000 million stars.
The average distance between these galaxies
is 3 million light years.
This is astounding.
The universe is absolutely astounded.
And it was created by and for Christ.
John 1 and verse 3,
All things were made through Him,
and without Him was not anything made
that was made.
1 Corinthians 8 and verse 6,
Yet for us there is one God,
the Father,
from whom are all things
and for whom we exist,
and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things
and through whom we exist.
Colossians chapter 1 and verse 16,
For by Him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities,
all things were created
through Him and for Him.
And Romans 11 and verse 36,
For from Him and through Him
and to Him are all things.
To Him be glory forever.
Amen.
The cosmos were created
that we might praise Christ.
And we are a new creation, beloved,
for the praise of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
Behold, it's passed away.
Behold, the new has come.
Christ is the creator of all things,
including us.
A powerful word has spoken all things
for the praise of God into existence.
Not only is Christ the creator,
He's also the sustainer.
Verse 3 tells us that He upholds the universe
by the word of His power.
Jesus Christ created all things.
And sustains them, keeps them going.
He actively sustains by the word of His power.
That means that Jesus says to the world,
move like this.
Behave like that.
Rain here, snow there,
and the world obeys.
This means that nothing will cease to do
exactly as it is told
until Jesus says to do otherwise.
I think that's very cool.
Jonathan Edwards,
one of the greatest minds
that this country has ever produced,
much less greatest theological minds,
he's often given credit for being
just one of the greatest minds,
believed in something that he called
continuous creation.
And that was to say that he thought
that the world was being created
moment by moment,
spoken into existence moment by moment.
And to be frank,
this makes my head explode
because I am no Jonathan Edwards,
in case you were unclear about that.
But just listen to what he says.
It's just fascinating.
So, quote,
It is plain,
nothing can exert itself or operate
when and where it is not existing
because what is past entirely ceases
when present existence begins.
It does no more coexist with it
than it does any other moment
that had ceased 20 years ago.
Here's my dumb summary of that.
The past does not have the power
to sustain that which is in the present
or in the future.
I believe that's what he just said.
But he goes on.
Here's the part I want to get you to.
Quote,
God's upholding created substance
or causing its existence
in each successive moment
is altogether equivalent
to an immediate production
out of nothing
at each moment
because its existence at this moment
is not merely in part from God
but wholly from him
and not in any part or degree
from its antecedent existence.
He's saying the past ceased to exist
in the past,
so the present must exist
by the power of God.
Now,
you could rewind this idea
of continuous creation
and hear that whatever he's saying
is that Christ,
by the word of his power,
holds us together.
Have you ever really considered
what it is that keeps us together?
Why is it that our atoms exist
the way our atoms exist
and that those atoms exist together?
There are scientific explanations for this.
I understand.
But I just want to posit to you
that if Christ would cease
holding us together
by the word of his power,
what makes us up
would just fly off into oblivion.
In a moment,
it would all be gone.
Christ is the sustainer.
If Jesus Christ has the power
to sustain the universe,
the cosmos,
then, beloved,
he has the power
to sustain our faith.
As feeble as it can be at times,
he can hold that together.
This is why Paul was able to say
with such confidence
to the Philippian believers
in Philippians 1-6,
I am sure of this,
that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion
at the day of Christ.
Christ is the sustainer.
Notice fourthly
that Christ is the radiator.
We see in verse 3,
he's the radiance of the glory of God.
Radiance here is a better translation
than the oft-used reflection.
Maybe your translation this morning
says reflection.
The moon reflects the light of the sun.
The sun, though, radiates that light.
Jesus does not merely reflect God's glory,
he is part and parcel of God's glory.
He is part of the source of that glory.
John writes in John 1 and verse 18,
no one has ever seen God,
the only God, referring to Jesus,
who is at the Father's side,
he has made him known.
The Nicene Creed,
325 A.D.,
an important confession,
states,
we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father
before all ages,
God from God,
light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten not made
of the same essence
as the Father.
And this is what
the biblical evidence bears out,
including Hebrews 1 and verse 3.
Jesus is God,
so when we see Jesus,
we see God.
And this is an astounding reality
for us living in the New Testament era.
Colossians chapter 1 and verse 15 says,
Jesus is the image
of the invisible God.
Christ is the radiator.
Christ is also the representer.
Verse 3 says,
he's the exact imprint
of God's nature,
of his nature.
Now this phrase balances out
the previous phrase.
Jesus as God's radiance
speaks to his oneness
with the Father.
Jesus as God's representer
or imprint
speaks to his distinctness
as the Son.
So the author of Hebrews
gives us a taste
of the mystery
that is the Trinitarian nature
of God.
Many people have attempted
to give some analogy for this
and they all fail miserably,
which is why I never try.
Beloved, this reality
of the triune nature of God
should move us
to odd speculation.
A God who is one
but three in one.
A mystery that I look forward
to having unraveled
in glory.
I often joke,
you may know,
that I feel like
there's going to be
a frequently asked questions
video when we arrive
in that day.
They're just going to be like,
hey, wait, wait, wait,
hold the questions.
An old VHS will be popped in
to help us understand
these types of glorious truths.
But I don't know
that we're going to fully comprehend
this one ever.
It's possible
that we may explore
the glory of this God
one but three in one
forever.
We might constantly be becoming
new revelation,
awe and wonder
and worship
for eternity.
Now, exact imprint
refers to the image
on a coin made by a die.
So a stamp,
an exact imprint.
Once again,
when we see Jesus,
we see God.
We know how He thinks.
We know how He speaks.
We know how He feels.
We know how He relates
to mankind broadly.
We know how He relates
to us as His people.
God has spoken to us
in His Son.
And listen to what Jesus says.
There's one thing
from Matthew chapter 11,
verse 28 and 29.
Come to Me,
all who labor
and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me,
for I am gentle
and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest
for your souls.
So Jesus,
as the
representer of God,
we do have the confidence
that when He speaks,
He speaks to us
from Him,
and that we can find
rest for our souls
in Christ,
the representer.
Sixth,
Christ is
the purifier.
Once again,
verse 3
says,
after making
purification
for sins,
Jesus Christ
is the supreme
priest.
He was the agent
of the purification
for our sins
and the sacrifice
necessary
for that
purification.
He is the supreme
priest
and
the final
priest.
We no longer
have a need
for sacrifice,
and we no longer
have a need
for a priest
to offer that
sacrifice
on our
behalf.
That's why
in this church,
you will never
hear an altar
call,
because we do
not have
altars
in a New Testament
church.
Christ died
once for all.
The sacrifice
has been made.
Maybe someone
will ask you
to come
to the stage,
but there is
no altar here,
and there is
no priest
except
for the Lord
Jesus Christ.
The author
of Hebrews
will go on
to expand
on both
of these
realities,
that he
is the
sacrifice,
and he
is the
great
high priest.
In his
letter in
Hebrews
chapter 10,
listen to
verse 11
and following.
There he
writes,
and every
priest stands
daily at
his service,
offering
repeatedly
the same
sacrifices,
which can
never
take away
sins.
They're
always meant
to point
us to a
greater
sacrifice
than is
Christ.
Verse 12,
but when
Christ
had offered
for all
time
a single
sacrifice
for sins,
he sat
down
at the
right hand
of God.
Sat down,
so significant,
waiting from
that time
until his
enemies
should be
made a
footstool
for his
feet.
For by
a single
offering,
he has
perfected
for all
time
those
who are
being
sanctified.
By that
single
offering,
he guaranteed
the purchase
of his
church
and their
perfection
through time.
He guaranteed
the thing
would be
accomplished
that is
now
being
accomplished.
John
chapter 19
and verse
30,
Christ said,
it is
finished.
And he
bowed his
head and
he gave
up his
spirit.
Romans
chapter 6
and verse
10,
for the
death he
died,
he died
to sin
once
for all.
But the
life he
lives,
he lives
to God.
He has
completed it.
He is the
purifier.
It is an
accomplished
work.
And
seventh,
Christ is
the ruler.
He sat
down,
verse 3
says,
at the
right hand
of the
majesty
on high.
Jesus
Christ does
not have to
work as
the Levitical
priests
work.
They
never
sat.
The
temple,
the
tabernacle
preceding
it,
had lots
of furniture
in it,
with lots
of purposes,
not a
single place
to sit
down.
They
never,
they were
always,
when they
were on
their shift,
continually
making
sacrifice
for the
sins
of Israel.
Meant to
teach us
something,
there is a
greater
sacrifice,
one who
will
come.
The
writer of
Hebrews'
words are
astonishing
here.
Don't
let this
be lost
on you.
The
original
hearers of
this letter
would have
taken such
courage
from this
phrase,
he sat
down at
the right
hand of
the majesty
on high.
They would
have remembered
that Jesus'
sacrificial
work is
finished,
completed.
Romans chapter
three,
verse 21 and
22,
but now the
righteousness of
God has
been manifested
apart from
the law.
Although the
law and the
prophets bear
witness to
it, the
righteousness of
God through
faith in
Jesus Christ
for all
who believed.
It is of
great significance
that Jesus is
at the right
hand of the
majesty on
high.
Having
completed that
work, the
right hand
historically was
the place of
highest honor
power and
power.
Second only to
the king was
the one that
sat at the
right hand
of the king.
Ephesians 4,
verse 10,
he who
descended,
being Christ,
is the one who
also ascended
far above all
the heavens
that he might
fill all
things.
Where Jesus
is now,
bodily,
is in what
is called his
session, his
reign over
all things.
Paul tells us
this session
means something
for us.
He's doing
something specific
for those who
believe in
him.
He's carrying
out a specific
task.
Romans chapter
8, verse 31
and following,
just after a
grand explanation
of God's
elective purpose,
calling together
a people for
his possession,
says,
what then
shall we say
to these
things?
If God is
for us,
who can be
against us?
He who
did not
spare his
own son,
but gave
him up for
us all,
how will
he not
also with
him graciously
give us
all things?
Who shall
bring any
charge against
God's elect?
God.
It is God
who justifies.
Who is to
condemn?
Christ Jesus
is the one
who died.
More than
that,
who was
raised,
who was at
the right
hand of
God,
who indeed
is interceding
for us.
He's making
a case for
us to God.
He sees
you in
him and
he says
mine to
God.
He belongs
to me.
She belongs
to me.
Regardless of
their performance,
but because of
mine,
they are
ours.
So Christ
is the
inheritor,
the creator,
the sustainer,
the radiator,
the representer,
the purifier,
and the
ruler.
And that's
what's contained,
at least that
is what's
contained in
the word
therefore
in Hebrews
2
and verse
1.
But let's
look at the
rest of the
verse.
Because of
Jesus'
supremacy
and finality,
we must
pay much
closer attention
to what
we have
heard.
The author
of Hebrews
is referring
to all
they knew
of Jesus,
his person,
and his
work,
which he's
referring back
to in this
therefore of
verse 2
and 1.
and then
he refers
forward to
it in
chapter 2
and verse
3 as
such a
great
salvation.
We're
to pay
much
closer
attention.
The Hebrew
verb
pay attention
is in the
present
tense,
which means
that the
author does
not have
in mind
the completion
of the
task in
any given
amount
of time.
This suggests
that one
can pay
attention,
but that we
must all
continue
paying
attention.
The work
of paying
much closer
attention
is not
a work
that will
be
completed.
We're to
pay much
closer
attention
and pay
much
closer
attention
and pay
much
closer
attention.
But note
with me
the emphasis.
Not pay
much closer
attention
to
yourself.
your successes
or your
failures.
Our faith
cannot be
sustained
if the
focus of
it
is on
ourselves.
Our faith
is sustained
by focusing
on what
we
have
heard.
Saving
and sustaining
faith must
find its
focus
on
Christ.
Just
pay attention
to what the
author of Hebrews
is saying
here.
Remember
a people
who are being
tempted
to apostatize,
to walk
away
from
the
faith.
Different
than we
may be
feeling
beat
down,
but they
were
feeling
beat
down
by being
followers
of
Christ.
And he
says to
them,
therefore
we must
pay much
closer
attention
to what
we have
heard
lest
we drift
away
from it.
Turn
your
focus
on
Christ
so
that
you
will
not
drift.
And we
don't
want to
ignore
that
warning.
We're
just
going
to
minimize
it
a bit
this
morning.
But there
is a
warning
there
that
accompanies
this
exhortation
lest
we
drift
away
from
it.
The
picture
the
author
is
painting
here
is of
a
ship
safe
at
harbor
not
having
its
anchor
properly
set,
slowly
moving
out
toward
the
danger
of
the
sea,
imperceptibly
being
drug
in
that
direction.
Now
the
ship
was a
common
early
symbol
of the
church.
You
can
see
some
examples
of
this.
1
Peter
chapter
3
Peter
makes
a
connection
between
Noah
and
his
family
being
carried
safely
through
the
flood
and
the
church
being
in
Jesus
Christ.
Mark
chapter
4
Jesus
calms
a
storm,
a
little
tossed
ship
on a
troubled
sea.
When
the symbol
of the
cross
had to
be
hidden,
it
could
be
easily
disguised
in the
mast
of a
ship.
And this
constantly
happened.
They put
crosses
in those
masts
of the
ship.
Brothers
and sisters,
this picture
of drifting
is meant
to elicit
imagery
of subtle
movement,
of movement
toward danger
made by
degrees
and increments
at a
time.
And so,
we must pay
much closer
attention and
continue
doing it
lest we
drift
from it.
later in
Hebrews,
the author
writes in
chapter 6
and verse 19
and following,
we have
this as
a sure
and steady
anchor
of the
soul,
a hope
that enters
into the
inner place
behind the
curtain
where Jesus
has gone
as a
forerunner
on our
behalf.
So notice
again that
language.
He's trying
to draw
us to
this careful
consideration,
this closer
attention
to Christ
himself,
his person
and his
work.
Him
being
the
anchor
because we
don't want
to drift
from him.
In Hebrews
6,
verse 7
and following,
having just
spoken of the
apostate,
the author
of Hebrews
uses a
different
metaphor.
Here he
says,
for land
that has
drunk of
the rain
that often
falls on
it and
produces
a crop
useful to
those who
forsake it
as cultivated
receives a
blessing
from God.
But if it
bears thorns
and thistles,
it is worthless
and near to
being cursed
and its
end is
to be
burned.
There's the
drifting
taking place
there.
Let us be
careful lest
we drift.
Paul speaks
of the same
concern in his
first letter
to Timothy.
Chapter 1
and verse 19,
Paul makes
mention of
Hymenaeus
and Alexander
who made
shipwreck
of their
faith by
rejecting
faith and
a good
conscience.
And then
in 1 Timothy
chapter 6
verse 20
and 21
he says,
O Timothy,
guard the
deposit
entrusted
to you.
Avoid
the irreverent
babble
and contradictions
of what is
falsely
called
knowledge.
For by
professing
it,
some have
swerved
from the
faith.
Back to
Hebrews 6
verse 9,
though we
speak in
this way
of this
good
cultivated
soil
and this
thorn
producing
soil,
he says
there,
yet in
your
case,
beloved,
we feel
sure of
better things,
things that
belong to
salvation.
So how do
we ensure
that we are
not drifters?
Therefore,
we must pay
much closer
attention to
what we have
heard lest
we drift
away from
it.
Love the
person and
work of
Jesus
Christ.
You
will
serve
what you
love.
Set your
gaze on
him.
Recognize
that all
the promises
of God
are confirmed
in his
completed
work.
Consider it
and consider
it and
consider it
and surround
yourself with
people who
are doing
the same
and will
help you
do this.
People who
will speak
the truth
to you
when you
most desperately
need to
hear it.
Christ is
the inheritor,
the creator,
the sustainer,
the radiator,
the purifier,
and the
ruler.
In
closing,
I would
like to
read to
you a
prayer from
the Valley
of Vision,
which is a
collection of
Puritan
prayers.
And I
want you
just to
note the
great
humility and
self-awareness
and recognition
of frailty
of this
author.
The
attitude of
his heart,
which I
will assume
led him to
pay much
closer.
attention.
This is
the prayer.
You are
the blessed
God,
happy in
yourself,
source of
happiness in
your creatures,
my maker,
benefactor,
proprietor,
upholder.
You have
produced and
sustained me,
supported and
indulged me,
saved and
kept me.
you are in
every situation
able to
meet my
needs and
miseries.
May I
live by
you,
live for
you,
never be
satisfied with
my Christian
progress,
but as I
resemble Christ
and may
conformity to
his principles,
temper and
conduct grow
hourly in
my life.
Let your
unexampled
love constrain
me into
holy obedience
and render
my duty,
my delight.
If others
deem my
faith folly,
my meekness
infirmity,
my zeal
madness,
my hope
delusion,
my actions
hypocrisy,
may I
rejoice to
suffer for
your name.
Keep me
walking
steadfastly
towards the
country of
everlasting
delights,
that paradise
land which
is my true
inheritance.
Support me
by the
strength of
heaven that
I may never
turn back
or desire
false pleasures
that will
disappear
into nothing.
As I
pursue my
heavenly journey
by your
grace,
let me be
known as
a man with
no aim but
that of a
burning desire
for you and
the good and
salvation of
my fellow men.
Let's close
in prayer.