Whispers of His Power –  MARCH 28

Ps. 80 Title (RV margin):  Set to Lilies, a testimony.

Ps. 80.3,7,19:  Cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

Isn’t the Bible amazing?  Continually things that differ are bound together as by golden chains.  The altar of God… God my exceeding joy (Ps 43.4). When the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also (2 Chron. 29.27). The soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head… Thou settest a crown of fine gold on His head (John 19.2 and Ps. 21.3).  And so it continues from Genesis to Revelation.

Perhaps the title to Psalm 80 explains it. Set to lilies, a testimony.  The lily breaks through hard ground after rain.  Psalm 80 is hard ground. It is full of the hardness of suffering with others or for others; sin is the cause of that suffering.

But look at the lilies.  Three times they break through the hardness of that pain with a sudden hope and joy.  Cause Thy face to shine and we shall be saved.  There is no selfishness here, it is not I, but we shall be saved.

Whatever form our hard ground may take at the moment, let us rejoice in our lilies and listen to their testimony.  There is an end set to pain – to sin.  The day will come, and we shall see it, when the word will be, Neither shall there be any more pain (Rev. 21.4).

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.