Sharing Simple Things

How Firm a Foundation 

I love the old hymns.  Many of the old hymns praise God with such majesty.  Songs like, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty”, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”,  and on and on we could go.

One of my favorite hymns of all time is “How Firm A Foundation”.  The words of this hymn are taken from Scripture.  It is such a comforting song.  The first verse encourages believers to find refuge and a firm foundation in God’s Word - His excellent Word.  

Why do we need a new message when like the songs says, “What more can He say than to you He hath said” in His Word?  Everything is in His Word that we need to direct us and encourage us in our spiritual life.

How Firm a Foundation 

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

Take a look at the second verse and then read Isaiah 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Then again the third verse almost quotes Isaiah 43:2a When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:

Again the fourth verse refers to the second half of that scripture, Isaiah 43:2b …when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

But oh the last verse!  He will never, never forsake us if we lean on Him.  The word repose means,

      To lay; to rest, as the mind, in confidence or trust (to have trust or confidence in a person's

      constant truthfulness ) and to rest in confidence. (I repose on the faith and honor of a friend.)

What a comfort in our times of testing and trials.  He will never forsake us.  He is closer than anyone else can ever be.  It may seem like He doesn’t hear us when we cry out to Him during the hard times, but He said He will not leave us and we can bank on it

Look at what Hebrews 13:5 says, …for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

I hears someone say something lately that has been a blessing to me, “The teacher is always silent during the test.”  Even when it seems that the heavens are brass and our prayers bounce back instead of going through, He hears and His grace is sufficient for our every need.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

How I love Him!  And I can trust Him!

My card for this week using Word Art Wednesday's verse Revelation 2:7.  The verse is hard to read since it is small.

Have a blessed week and remember that we can rely on Him in a world full of turmoil.

“How Firm a Foundation” was first published in 1787 in A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, which was edited by London pastor John Rippon. The melody is an early American tune, and the author of the text in Rippon’s volume is only marked as “K.” There are a number of potential authors, including John Keene, who was the music director at Rippon’s church.