The last sentence of the Apostles’ Creed in verse

“I believe in the Holy Ghost…”
The great Spirit of God, the Helper, the Dove,
would descend when the Christ sent Him and ascended above,
to do greater works through His strong power and might,
and cause the glory of Jesus to be clear in our sight.

“…the holy catholic church…”
Diverse peoples as one- gospel unity-
was how the Triune God planned the purposed mystery
of the Church so the wisdom and glory of He
would be made known to all powers and authorities.

“…the forgiveness of sins…”
Forgiven, found favored and counted as free,
the full payment for debts owed was cancelled for me.
Not cheaply but at cost to God’s own precious Son,
the full payment for sin in His suffering was done.

“…the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting…”
Even when my flesh is sown, spent and sore,
from this husk He will raise me to so much more.
The resurrection hope, eternity of breath;
the empty tomb crushes, reverses death

“…Amen.”
Let it be, even so, let is be as we say
for our loud “Amens” in the way that we pray
through the mediating work of our faithful High Priest,
for whose sake the Almighty will hear the littlest and least.

Ephesians 1-3 in verse

Thou bidst me to come and seek of Thine hand
The good gifts Thou givest to woman and man
For all who dare knocking, and seeking, and asking
Thou promised to give, by thy Word everlasting.

In this world full of struggle, of hardship and strife,
We groan knowing we were not meant for this life
With the haunting of Eden whispering through creation
We know that this world bears Thine condemnation.

But the work of Thy matchless, incomparable Son
On the Cross of His anguish, was completed and done
He has broken the shackles of sin, death and Hell
And in His broken body made creation’s Fall well.

To all who call on His all-rescuing name
Regardless of standing, or race, all the same
He stands as the one holy Savior of men
He stooped as the lowliest sinner’s own friend.

Now the promise that God, who makes promises true
Has purposed in Jesus to make all things new
Through His people, the church, His elect before time
He hath planned our mission in His purpose divine.

That the church should blameless and holy before Christ
Washed clean in His blood as a young virgin bride
He hath worked out all things so that in through the church
He would show His great wisdom beyond all mortal search.

Our call to be the full body of Jesus
Is the mission that we pray will take hold and seize us
Thus equipped with every spiritual blessing in heav’n
We know that the church made in Jesus is one whole new man.

For if by grace we were saved then no boast can we offer
For Christ’s expense in His gift would make sinners prosper
Thus by faith we will trust in His true gospel word
The word that will save us if we believed when we heard.

So I ask of the Giver, of the good gifts He owns
As I come asking boldly before His gracious throne
Give me a heart to love, unrestrained and free
Make me less like me Lord, and more like Thee.

More than watchmen for the morning

Refrain:
More than watchmen waiting
For the coming dawn
I am trusting, ever longing
For the coming of my Lord.
Like the lightning flashing o’er heav’n
From east until the west,
Is the coming of the Son of Man
To bring everlasting rest.

On that day all eyes behold Him
Coming from the clouds
With the radiance of a rainbow
And myriad angels all about
The Judge of all the earth descending
As each rebel’s tongue is stilled
Every faithful slave rewarded
Every longing heart is filled

From His mouth a mighty sword emerge
Speaking justice o’er mankind
As Omniscience there presideth
Sins in action or in mind
For before a God who sees all things
There can be no pretense
And unless one hides in Jesus Christ
No man can make defense.

The books of life were thrown open
Great books with many names
And as the angels called for them
The elect before God came.
The Lamb of God said, “these are mine,
For them I shed my blood.
For them I bore the fiercesome wrath,
I bore their wrath of God.”

Now as you hear these things to come
What say you in your soul?
Say you, “This will not come true
These things that I was told.”
Come heed the pleas we beggars bring
To show you where there’s bread
In Jesus Christ, there’s room for you
New life found in His death.

Whitney Houston and Seck Leong

Two people who couldn’t be more different, but who both have gone to meet their Maker: Whitney Houstin is a pop sensation, a culture icon, a musical megastar who has left the world a legacy of beautiful music and power ballads that will go down in history, as well as a hauntingly gorgeous voice that grips and captivates. After a superstar career in the music world, she died at the age of 48, after a life of confusion, addiction, musical success, and paparazzi notoriety. Seck Leong was a simple man, the father of 3, a Singaporean bookkeeper whose only claim to fame perhaps was that he fathered the former CFO of the Singapore Stock Exchange. According to reports, he was a farmer, a storeman, a sailor, and a bookkeeper, amongst other things. From what little I know of him, he sat quietly in the church canteen in his old age, and never bothered anyone. What do these two people both have in common? Both, despite the gulf of difference that stands between them, were sinners in need of the grace of Jesus Christ. 

Both lived lives of rebellion against their Maker, shaking the proverbial fist in the sky, determined to rule their own lives, and plunder His world, to be masters of their own destiny. Both enjoyed the blessing of life, and existence in His world, and both squandered it in lives of self-centeredness, as the Scripture says in Rom 1, “they exchanged the glory of God for a lie, and worshipped the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever praised. Amen”. Because of this, the wrath of God was rightly upon both of them, irrespective of age, history, gender, race, or accomplishment.

Well, while we don’t know Whitney Houston well enough to know if she truly ever trusted in the good news of Jesus Christ, we do know that Seck Leong did trust that God had provided a good and reliable way for sinners to escape that wrath. By trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ, who earned through His obedience, the full righteousness of a sinless life, he received the imputed righteousness of Christ Jesus through faith in the word of His promise. He found in Jesus Christ the wrath-absorbing work of the Lamb slain in his place, so that he would not suffer the condemnation of his life of sinful rebellion, but instead, the promise of blessing and peace that should have been Christ’s. We pray that Whitney Houston too, knew and believed this gospel, which the Apostle Paul says, has the power of God for salvation unto all who will believe. 

And so, tonight I witnessed the church of Jesus Christ, broken and flawed in all of its sin, hypocrisy and fallenness, stand and sing about the forgiveness that the work of Christ Jesus offers, regardless of race, age, history, or social standing. And we sang these precious words, that I take into the new week ahead:

“Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul! 

My sin, O, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin - not in part - but the whole,
Is nailed to the Cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O my soul!” 

And in response, this is my prayer:

“The hope that the gospel provides for my soul
Is all that this weak sinner knows
For wrath is appeased, and my debt cancelled clean
Glory be unto Christ, for my soul!

And now, standing firm, on the promises of God
Through rapturous joys, or in woe
In loud, ringing anthem, declaring aloud
‘It is well, it is well, with my soul!’ “

"Quietly faithful, unnoticed but true
Help me dear Jesus, to hold fast to You.
Discharging my duties, fulfilling my charge
Gifts of grace multiply, heav’nly visions enlarge."

"I plan
And expend
The efforts of men
I plan and I plan and I plan.
I scheme
And I dream
Till what will be has been
I scheme and I scheme and I scheme.
I plot
Quite a lot
And I plot till I’ve got
What I plot and I plot and I plot.
So I plot and I scheme
And I plan and I dream
And I hope and I pine
And I work and I whine
And I pray and I fall
Till the end of it all
Means I’ll fall and I’ll fall and I’ll fall."

"A debtor to mercy, a debtor to grace
That I, of the lowly, should have such a place
Crowned with kings, with Christ up on high-
How could you, O Lord, love one such as I?"

Poem I wrote in 2003 (at least)

I dug this up today, and was quite moved by it:

I said, “Let me walk in the field,”
He said, “No, walk in the town.”
I said, “There are no flowers here!”
He said, “No flowers, but a crown.”

I said, “But the skies are black,
There is nothing but noise and din!”
And He wept as He sent me back
“There is more,” He said, “There is sin.”

I said, “But the air is thick!
And fog is veiling the sun!”
He answered, “Yet souls are sick,
And souls in the dark undone.”

I said, “I shall miss the light,
And friends will miss me, they say.”
He answered, “Choose tonight
If I am to miss you, or they.”

I pleaded for time to be given
He said, “Is it hard to decide?
It will not seem hard in heaven
To have followed the steps of your Guide.”

I cast one look at the fields
Then set my face to the town
He said, “My child, do you yield
Will you leave the flowers for the crown?”

Then His strength came to mine
And into my heart came He
And I walked in a light divine
The path I had feared to see.

Endure the sun

Crushing weights are pressing down
The piercing, biting sharpened crown
The memory of a broken heart
Strewn fragments, each a hundred parts
I see smiles that used to shine
I see memories that aren’t quite mine.
The beams that weigh a thousand tons
Press hard on me, in scorching sun
I am looking ahead, past this load
To the promised, precious, shining gold.
But it is that one true hope that cuts
Into the soul that seems to put
Each day into a wrestling fighting bout
And still I find faith in each doubt.
Until I see what was not to be
I see what it all meant to me
And throwing self upon other Selves
I laugh and resound the ringing bells.
I pray and ask for faith and grace
I ask that He remove that taste.
But no, twas not the prayer to grant
And so, I will still continue to pant
And wait for that which may never come
And pray for faith to endure the sun. 

Prayer for faith and trust on the eve of projects

Some days you throw your hands up high
You kick your heels up and face the sky
And while everything is rolling on
You question if you did things wrong.
And usually I find in this a test
To say that since I did my best
I release into Thy hands all my plans
For I am not God, I am man - 
I cannot rule or reign like Thou
You alone must show me how 
And what to do, and when to do
The things and plans that Thou will choose.
So as I face this challenge head on still
Whether from it floweth good or ill
Success or failure, are in Thine hand
Help me trust Thee, and in faith stand.

Prayer for a peaceful farewell

Merton or Bodine,
Spires and halls
What God watched me then,
Is He that watches all.
The same God of my past
Is the God of your future
So with the gospel your mast
Make His Word your life’s anchor.
Bow your knees at His throne
Every day, every night
Keep on in what you’ve learnt
Use it well in your fight.
Crucify youthful passions
Flee all appearance of wrong
Drink deep from grace’s fountain
Sing to Him a new song.
As I reflect on God’s goodness
Even to me in my day
I know The Guide is faithful
And will lead you in His way.
I know that your journey
Is within His wide vision
And I believe that His Spirit
Is revealing your mission.
So as you go, go in peace
Knowing shalom is our surety
Since Jesus’ passion and torment
Buys us rest for eternity. 

Man, like the grass

Into the woods and o’er the hills
The path rolls on and ever still
Flanked thus by shrubs and gentle flow’rs
I walked and walked and walked for hours.

I recalled the Book says man, like grass
Is here today, but will not last
Beyond three score years and ten
Before man is one with grass again.

So walking on the wide, green earth
Considering man’s little worth
I asked the Maker, God of all
To show mercy on those who from the Fall

Lost immortality, and life eternal
When the first gardeners, paternal
Adam and maternal Eve
Sinned in sin, and brought in grief.

So through these woods and o’er these hills
We dwell in petty, temporal thrills
For threescore years and but ten more
Knocking relentless on Eden’s door.

What hope have we who dwell in time?
What hope is there then that is mine?
Until Redemption comes to make things new
And promises made are promises true.

Could it be that God has made
Hope for the disconsolate and afraid?
In the life of His only Son
He hides the death of Many in One.

Yes, on a cross of wood, and upon a hill
The limpless body of a dead man, still,
Flanked by thieves and wicked men of wrong
Was where the Righteous One did not belong.

But because they took Him out of the camp
And hung Him on a molding plank
God ushers us into courts of gold
And seats us there with the Kings of old.

You see, sustained by vinegar, wretched taste
He drained wrath’s cup for now and always
Pierced by a spear, and scourged to shreds
The Prince of life joined with the dead.

Because the sinless Savior died
God’s peace treaty was ratified
His wounds - God signs His name in blood
His tears - God pours forth Mercy’s flood.

So now when I pass through wood and hill
And remember that this life is still
A short, frail threescore years and ten
I see the Cross, and remember my friend

Whose blood bought life beyond this life
Whose agony freed me from strife
In Christ I have a hope so pure
It sustains me from year to year.

And so I walk from year to year
And facing all my fears and tears
In life, threescore years and ten
With my life in Christ, and my hope in heav’n.

Turn of the year

Darkened visage, shards of longing
Burdens’ weight, the sighs and mourning-
These that cumber, load and press
These mem’ries that steal the hope of rest-
No more follow, no more stay!
I leave you in the year before.
And turning faceward to tomorrow
The sun’s warmth melts passing sorrow
The road ahead is winding, and
In each path and creeking bend
Adventure springs! And wondrous things
Await! The bright, glad tidings sing!
I’ll see you soon, when I pass that way
I will not look back anymore.