Truth Matters

Christ Be All

2006-03-31T15:25:00.000-05:00

Christ be all I want or treasure, earthly things have passed away
Fame and wealth, esteem and pleasure, all have left me in dismay
Sin has promised true contentment, only death it brought to me:
Sorrow, pain, and condemnation, all I own apart from thee

Christ be all I know or claim, all my righteousness to plead
Holiness I have disdained, mercy is my greatest need
All thy laws I have defied, thinking I thy wrath may flee
Humbly I reject my pride, and confess my need of thee

Christ be all wherein I glory, nothing have I to entreat
Shame and guilt have been my story, I have mocked thy judgment seat
Overtaken by my deeds, burdened by thy law's demands
Righteousness my spirit needs, empty are my clenched hands

Christ be all I own for comfort, when thy law its terror shows
Duty I have long forsaken, guilt no end my conscience knows
I beyond a sinner's limit have transgressed by thought or deed
Only thou can cleanse this spirit, only thou can bring relief

Christ be all I speak or boast of, in thy cross alone I stand
Thy death mine, I freely reckon, thou hast met thy law's demands
Through thy cross all grace was giv'n, I to thee am reconciled
Thou to death and raised to heav'n, I in thee am now thy child

Psalm 23

2006-03-27T12:23:00.000-05:00

The Lord my guide and Shepard is
Never shall I be in want
Sufficient, I will follow Him
For His mercies fail me not

The Lord my feet He brings to rest
In places of contentment green
He takes me to the water's crest
And restores my soul again

For His name He leads me on
Gently in the perfect path,
Sometimes through a land forlorn,
Always by His rod and staff

I, no evil, will yet fear
For my God has been my stead
He, my help, is ever near
And sustains my weary head

Surely will His tender love
Never fail nor be withdrawn
He who spake the heav'ns above
Is the great redeeming God

Surely He is with me now
And forever more shall be
He will bring me to His house
There to dwell eternally

Christ, my Shepard and my King,
He, the Lord of great and small
I, His goodness know and sing
I, of man, the least of all

To Our God

2006-03-20T17:19:00.000-05:00

To our God belongs salvation, His mighty hand alone can save
No human deed, desire, or effort Can rescue men up from the grave
O rest unknown to know this truth, That Christ alone my soul redeems
From eternal depths of sorrow To eternal life and peace

When I in youth sought earthly pleasure To fulfill an endless thirst
The lusts of men were my treasure And their praise my heart's delight
Then a light shone all around me Showing dark the path I walked
I hid in fear of exposure Of my deeds, intents, and thoughts

T'was more to life than I had noticed Now to me a law was felt
Demanding right and then condemning All that I had loved and known
Then Christ appeared, a perfect man, One in whom this law was kept
He looked at me and spread his hands And breathed a final dying breath

In earnst I tried his deeds to do, In hopes that I like him might live
And have for God a commendation All to prove my worthiness
Yet more fear was felt in me, Despite the good I seemed to do
All my false sincerity Had pierced my heart completely through

Then like a beam of sunlit ray Came a voice of grace and truth
"I have power over the grave For me its depths could not hold"
I looked and saw this perfect man, The one whom I was sure had died
Risen now in radiant splendor, No longer dead or crucified

He spoke my name and bid me rise, On my feet I ran to him
He now was my sacrifice, The ransom paid for all my sin
No longer I consumed by fear Did toil by law my God to please
In Christ I found my greatest treasures, His life, His hope, His rest, His peace