POEMS FOR 1961
W HEN THE YEAR IS NEW
I cannot always see the path that leads To heights above; I sometimes quite forget He leads me on With hand of love; But yet I know the path must lead me to Immanuel's land. And when I reach life's summit I shall know And understand. I cannot always trace the onward course M y ship must take; But, looking backward, I behold afar Its shining wake Illumined with God's light of love, and so I onward go In perfect trust that He who holds the helm The course must know. I cannot always see the plan on which He builds my life. For oft the sound of hammers, blow on blow, The noise of strife Confuse me till I quite forget He knows And oversees. And that, in all details, with His good plan M y life agrees. I cannot always know and understand The Master's rule; I cannot always do the tasks He gives In life's hard school; But I am learning with His help to solve Them, one by one, And, when I cannot understand, to say “Thy will be done:" Now at the dawning of the year, 'Ere other feet the threshold press. Bring Thou Thy wisdom, strength and joy; Prosper our toil, our pleasure bless. Bring Thou Thy peace to fill our hearts; Our every door we open wide; Oh, come, Lord Jesus, guest beloved. For our New Year, enter Thou in, and here abide! PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR
by Ernest M. Wadsworth General Director / Great Commission Prayer League
W e l iv e i n times when souls are more exposed to danger than at any previous period of Church his tory. One needs to read only a few passages on the state of the Church at the end of this age to come to this conclusion. “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accus ers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1-5; see also verses 6-8, 13-17). Every thoughtful Christian knows definitely how difficult it is to bring the people of God to walk in “new ness of life” so that the power of Christ may rest upon them, and that out from them the Word of God in power may awaken, convict, and con vert multitudes. The enemy has come in “like a flood,” but the Lord will, upon the repentance and obedience of His people, “lift up a standard against him.” The times are difficult, but God is mightier than all the principalities and powers of Hell. Let us turn to God on this Watch Night, as did Wesley and Whitefield
and their brethren in the days of spiritual decadence, in the year 1739, when on the last night of that year, God began to revive His work in what is now known as “The Great Awakening.” He is the God of the present, as of the past. He will hear still and answer grandly, the prayers of right-living people. The Kind of Revival We Need It must be “a work of God,” ef fected by the Spirit, in keeping with the Word. And if it is such a work Of God, it will have its usual marks. Read Psalm 90:13-17. Preparation for Watch Night Let those who long for a spiritual awakening observe the counsel given in Proverbs 16:1 and in 1 Timothy 4:16. The following pertinent sugges tions may be of some value: 1. Enter into God’s presence with praise and thanksgiving. 2. Meditate on Scriptures appro priate to the need for revival. 3. Face up to the spiritual state of God’s people. 4. Consider the world situation. 5 Take a glimpse at the cause of God on mission fields. 6. Pray in the Spirit for the kind of revival He wants. 7. End grandly with a song of faith, hope, and love. 8. Expect God to give you a blessed new year.
JANUARY, 1961
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