Whispers of His Power –  MARCH 4

Ps. 102.7:  I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.

The man who wrote that must have known sparrows well.

A sparrow alone would indeed be a lonely bird.  Who can read those words without seeing that solitariness of the soul which all of us by nature most dread?

Surely the Spirit guided the sequence of the Psalms, for the next, Psalm 103, opens a certain and glorious way of escape for that sparrow on the house top.  Fly into that air and there is instant deliverance from that which gives loneliness its power to crush and weaken.

There is a sense in which every soul that follows hard after its God must find itself alone.  ‘He who follows Him the nearest needs must walk alone.’  It is part of the discipline of life.  It is not explained.

Let us rest our hearts on our Lord’s words about the sparrows, not one of whom, not even the one on the house top, is unregarded.  Luke 12.6, 7: Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? … Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.  Let us find our way quickly into the life and liberty of Psalm 103.

oooOOOooo

These words are from ’Whispers of His Power’ a collection of writings that Amy Carmichael wrote for her ‘children’ and others associated with the Dohnavur Fellowship. and are Copyright © The Dohnavur Fellowship 1982

Unless otherwise stated, biblical quotations are from the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

The following abbreviations are used to refer to other versions and sources:

BCP:               Book of Common Prayer, the Great Bible of Coverdale

Conybeare:       W. J. Conybeare, The Epistles of Paul (a translation)

Delitzsch:        F. Delitzsch, Notes on Job and the Psalms

Kay:                W. Kay, The Psalms (a translation)

LXX:              The Septuagint

Moffatt:           J. Moffatt, The New Testament: a new translation

Rotherham:      J. B. Rotherham, The Emphasized Bible Revised Version

RV:                 Revised Version

Way:              A. Way, The Letters of St Paul (a translation)

Westcott:         F. Westcott, Notes on the Gospel of St John

Weymouth:      R. F. Weymouth, The New Testament in Modern Speech

Young:            R. Young, A Literal Translation of the Bible

Verses of poetry without quotation marks were written by Amy Carmichael.