Whispers of His Power – JUNE 30

Song of Sol. 5.16:  He is altogether lovely.  This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend.

What is thy Beloved more than another beloved? (v. 9) That was the question asked of one who was so unworthy of her Beloved that she had grieved Him until He had to withdraw Himself from her.  She sought Him but she could not find Him.  She called Him, but He gave her no answer.  It could not be otherwise, for her thoughts were moving round herself so that there was no room for Him.

But now she forgets herself in thinking of Him and showing Him to others.  She cannot find words beautiful enough to show Him worthily.  He is altogether lovely, she says.  THIS is my Beloved, and THIS is my Friend.  And instantly she is with Him in spirit. She knows where He is.  There is no more separation.

There is nothing that can surprise our Lord in our unworthiness;  He knows us through and through.  But it must surprise Him sometimes that we ever stay even for one minute in the dark and cold, when we have such a Beloved and such a Friend that we have only to think of Him (instead of ourselves) to find ourselves with Him, embraced by His warm love on every side.

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.