Let us turn our Bibles to the Song
of Solomon again.
Chapter five, reading the section through, beginning at
verse nine.
What is thy beloved more than another beloved?
O thou fairest among women.
What is thy beloved more than another beloved,
that thou dost so charge us?
My beloved is white and ruddy, the cheapest
among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold.
His locks are bushy and black as a
raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves
by the rivers of waters washed with milk
and fig leafs.
His cheeks are as a bed of spices
as sweet flowers.
His lips like lilies dropping sweet-smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings set with
the burl.
His belly or his body is as bright
ivory overlaid with sapphires.
His legs are as pillars of marble set
upon pockets of fine gold.
His countenances as leavened, excellent as the cedars.
His mouth is most sweet, yea he is
altogether lovely.
This is my beloved, and this is my
friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
May God bless the reading of his word,
and may our hearts be greatly enriched to
see more of the beauties of our beloved,
the Lord Jesus Christ, in the context of
this portion.
It has been a deep joy to study
some of the features that are metaphorically presented
to us relating to the person of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the greatest subjects, and I believe
we should state it is the greatest subject,
to be found in the word of God
is the person of Christ.
Every doctrine, every teaching should lead the heart
of the people of God to the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For, after all, from the beginning to the
end of the book, he is the great
person whom God has revealed.
Today we go down to verse 14 in
our chapter, and consider his hands, and by
the grace and help of the Lord, his
body.
We have the right of saying, by divine
inspiration, his hands are as gold rings set
with the pearl.
There is a very old translation that has
rendered these words very fittingly.
His hands are full of gold rings and
precious stones.
May I repeat it, for I'm sure we
shall see the meaning of it as we
go into the study.
His hands are full of gold rings and
precious stones, for the hands of our beloved,
the Lord Jesus, they are distinguished from all
the hands of others, for there's no hand
like him.
We could say much about those hands, but
please note particularly the description of his hands
is linked with the gold rings and the
precious stones.
So, we would like to touch upon what
the Spirit of God may give to us
in relation to the expression, the gold rings
upon his hands.
The gold ring, in the word of God,
is the symbol of freedom, and it is
the symbol of sonship.
It was a custom in ancient days to
give the privilege to a slave of wearing
a black ring, an iron ring.
They were permitted to wear an iron ring,
but they could never wear a gold ring.
The gold ring was emblem of freedom, as
well as sonship, and if there is a
person who is entitled to wear the gold
ring that emblematically presents to us freedom and
sonship, it is the Lord Jesus himself.
And even though he took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of man, and even though they
sold him for the price of a slave,
there is no person above all humanity who
is worthy to bear and to wear the
gold ring of the emblem of freedom, as
well as sonship.
And as the Son, God's only beloved Son,
those whom he redeems, they become sons with
him.
What a joy to realize the one who
is entitled to wear the gold ring of
freedom and sonship, he takes the ring, the
iron ring of slavery, from those whom he
redeems, and he gives them the ring, the
gold ring of freedom and sonship to wear.
Now, let me prove it.
We have touched in the nightly messages concerning
the father and his family, and may I
repeat the words of John 1 verse 12,
but to as many as received him, to
them gave he the privilege, the right, the
authority to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name.
O beloved, you and I wore the iron
ring of slavery, the iron ring of sin
slavery.
Now our Lord Jesus came to us, and
he took that iron ring of slavery away.
He delivered us from its bondage and power,
and he made us his own sons in
the family of God, and he gave us
the freedom that we have.
His own words are so precious in John
8 verse 35, when the Lord Jesus said,
if the Son shall make you free, then
are ye free indeed.
You know, we sing that we live in
the land of the free, and some of
us are wondering whatever is free in it
in these insulations every day.
But, oh, when you look at the principle
of freedom, you do not find it in
earthly government, in its perfection in eternal blessing.
But, when we look at the Beloved, the
Lord Jesus, if the Son shall make you
free, then are ye free indeed.
Do you remember when the prodigal came home
to his father's house?
As he thus was embraced by the father's
arms, and caressed with the father's kiss, and
welcomed by the father's arms, the father said,
bring him the best robe, and put it
upon him, and shoes upon his feet, and
a ring upon his finger.
And the son who came back, desiring to
be made only a servant, could not be
made a servant, for the father must give
him the golden ring of freedom and sonship,
and celebrate his return.
Oh Beloved, when the father received you with
me through this son, we were brought into
the liberty and freedom of sons of God.
Blessed be his name, and what a joy
to realize the emblem of that gold ring,
the emblem of freedom, and the emblem of
relationship as sons.
But, that gold ring is also the emblem
of authority and of power.
In ancient times, if you didn't know your
Bibles, realize the truth of this statement.
In ancient times, marmots, they had golden rings,
and enclosed with a precious stone or a
signet, engraved upon that ring was perhaps their
name, and that signet ring was the emblem
of their authority and the emblem of their
power.
Let me prove it.
Pharaoh gave to Joseph, as he exalted him
to be the highest in the land underneath
himself, he gave in his own ring the
signet ring of authority and power, so that
all the Egyptians and all in Egypt had
to bow their knees to the authority of
Joseph.
For Joseph had, by prerogative authority from Pharaoh
himself, the power of Egypt in his own
hand, and the signet ring of the Pharaoh
himself to be used to prove his authority.
You remember the days of King Ahasuerus in
the book of Esther?
And now, in the eighth chapter of the
book of Esther, when Mordecai and Esther were
attending the release of the great judgment of
the death of all Jews that had been
placed upon the whole population of Israel from
one end of the kingdom of Ahasuerus to
the other.
And when they were given the authority to
proclaim a release, a liberty, and a freedom
to all Jews, the king gave to Esther,
as well as to Mordecai, his own ring
to sign the authority of their decree for
the freedom of their people with that signet
ring.
Yes, you remember Darius the King, when Daniel
was placed into the den of lions by
his wicked enemies?
It was the king's alliance to enforce the
laws of the Medes and the Persians that
could not be altered.
He must seal that den of lions as
the stone was rolled into place with his
own signet ring.
It was the symbol of the highest authority
of the realm.
And, oh beloved, what joy it is to
realize the gold ring belonging to the Christ
of God, our beloved, is the symbol of
his authority, and is the symbol of his
power.
For him has God the Father sealed.
Now, may I point out someday that beloved
will have a universal kingdom, and his authority
and his power will be over all the
earth, as well as the heavens above, and
it will be the symbol of his universal
authority and power in heaven, on earth, and
even under the earth.
But, then, may I point out something that's
precious for you and me?
That gold ring is also the emblem of
power for his bribe.
For he has entrusted to his bribe the
use of that signet ring that bears the
authority and the power of his name.
You remember, as the Lord Jesus went back
to the glory above, at the closing of
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28, at the very close
of that last chapter, the Lord Jesus said
to his disciples, all power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth.
And, he had trusted to his disciples, he
had trust to his own, the use of
that signet ring that bears his name, and
is the authority for his power.
Let me point out very carefully these precious
thoughts regarding the power of that emblematic ring,
the power of that ring that bears his
name.
First of all, the power of it reaches
upward to heaven.
The power of it reaches upward to heaven.
The Lord Jesus said in John 14, "'Hitherto
ye have asked nothing in my name.
Ask, and ye shall receive.
Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my
name, I will do.' And, my beloved believer,
my how I need the exhortation that to
you and to me has been entrusted the
use of this signet ring that bears the
authority and the power of his name.
And, in that name we can reach upward
to heaven with our requests.
Hallelujah!
What a joy to know we can go
to one so great and bring our supplications,
our prayers and intercessions.
Then also, the power of that name reaches
not only upward to heaven, it reaches downward
to even meet the forces of hell.
The power of hell.
You remember the Lord Jesus in Mark chapter
16 said to his disciples, "'In my name
shall ye cast out demons.
In my name shall ye cast out demons.
And, O me, I take to my heart,
and my conscience, and my soul.' The power
of that name to take the host of
evil that you and I take in this
worldwide system under Satan.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against powers, against principalities, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits
in high or heavenly places.
But, the power of that name, thank God,
has been entrusted for you and for me
to use.
And, he has given the use of that
signet ring, bearing his name, to resolve against
the powers of evil.
Praise his name!
I wish we used it more, but the
power of that name not only reaches upward,
not only reaches downward, but it reaches outward.
For, when the Lord Jesus said in Matthew
28, "'All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth,' it was with that
great permission, "'go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel.' And, beloved, in the
power of that name, the believers, the blind,
can go out with the message, saying, "'Neither
is there salvation in any other, for there
is none of the name unto heaven, given
among men, whereby we must be saved.'" And,
in the power of that name, as Peter
said in Acts chapter four, verse twelve, he
presents his salvation.
Blessed be God!
Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter ten,
verse thirteen, "'Whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved.'" Oh, beloved,
would that you and I realized the power
of that name outward!
But, then you have in First Corinthians chapter
six, and in the verse that the Lord,
that the Apostle writes to his beloved Corinthians,
I think it's the eleventh verse, but in
First Corinthians chapter six, after describing what they
had been in their preceding condition on faith,
and all other category of evil names belong
to them, but he said, "'Ye are washed,
ye are sanctified, and ye are justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus.' For, the
power of that name reaches inward to the
conscious, and the power of that name justifies
the guilty, but the believing sinner before God
inwardly, and the joy of realizing the precious
blood of the Savior, the power of that
name reaches the inward condition of the soul.
Blessed be God!"
Oh, my beloved, may I say, may you
and I realize that there has been entrusted
to us the use of that signet ring.
As Pharaoh gave to Joseph his signet ring,
the symbol of his authority and of his
power, our Lord Jesus has given to his
bride the signet ring of his own glorious
name to be used for his honor and
glory, and our blessing.
But, I want you to think of it
in another way, and going back to the
old quotation of the translation that is quite
old, his hands are full of gold rings
and precious stones.
For, in this expression, the believer's safety is
seen in those gold rings.
His hands are full of gold rings.
I believe that, literally, as far as the
description, it would indicate his hands are full
of rings.
Gold rings, and every ring set with a
precious stone, and resting within that hand are
precious stones belonging to him, and they are
in his view, where his eyes can always
look upon the precious jewels that his hand
retains.
There is a verse, I think Moses declared
it, that says, All his saints are all
thy saints, all his saints are in his
hands.
Do you know that's a mighty big hand?
Mighty big hand!
Realize John 10 28 through 30.
Why, she'd hear my voice, and I know
them, and they follow me, and I give
unto them eternal life.
They shall never perish, neither shall any part
come out of my hand.
My father which gave to me is greater
than all, neither shall any part come out
of my father's hand.
I and my father are one.
An emblematic of the safety of the believer,
that jewel which every believer is to the
heart of the Lord, that jewel rests safely,
secure, in the palm of his hand.
He, remember Isaiah wrote, as God spoke to
him concerning Israel, I have graven thee upon
the palm of my hand.
So, my beloved one, it's all you did.
To see there's nothing more firmly grasped by
the hand, and in the hand, than a
ring, and the jewel in the palm of
the hand, in bed and in the ring,
where it is always before the eyes of
its owner.
When there is a ring upon the hand,
and the jewel within the hand, there's only
one way that the jewel can never be
taken from the owner.
The hand must be shattered.
The hand that holds it must be broken.
The hand that contains it must be overpowered.
My beloved, do I need to ask you,
is there any power that can overcome that
hand that holds his own in its eternal
grasp?
None whatsoever.
You know, earth and hell combined together to
destroy the beloved.
They took away his life when he laid
it down for you and for me, and
they drove through his hands the nail when
they embedded him upon Calvary's tree.
But, in the palm of his hand, you
and I were engraved, and you and I
who believe upon him, we died within there.
You and I who believe upon him were
buried with him as the scripture teaches.
But, he who died, through whose hands they
drove the nails, and he was buried, he
not only died and was buried, he rose
again.
And, you and I rose with him, and
when he arose, you and I were still
in the palm of his hand.
And, he said, I ascend unto my father,
and I ascend unto your father.
I wonder if you've ever noticed, sometimes read
that crucifixion chapter, the 22nd Psalm, so vividly
describing the softness of the Lord Jesus, physically,
excuse me, as well as spiritually.
But, in that 22nd Psalm, and in the
20th verse, there's a prayer on the cross
that he made when he cried, deliver my
soul from the sword, my darling from the
power of the dove.
Let me repeat the word, deliver my soul
from the sword, my darling from the power
of the dove.
I believe there's a two-fold request in
that prayer, one for himself, the other for
his bride, my darling, and, O beloved, thanks
be to his name, the safety of his
bride is in the eternal hands of our
beloved Lord.
And, though heaven and earth, hell and earth
combined, to put it in, and nail those
hands to the gibbet of shame, he came
out of the grave a victim, holding within
those hands every one of his own.
Blessed be his name, and what a joy
his hands are full of gold rings with
precious stones.
Be a wonderful day when he gets all
the jewels home to glory, won't it?
They shall be mine in that day when
I make up my special treasure in that
glorious day.
But, let's go on further.
Not only the beauty of his hands do
we learn, but the beauty of his body.
Know what she says in this 14th verse?
His body is as bright ivory overlaid with
sapphire.
In the physical description that she gives, the
outward garment may add, less visible, the breast,
and the arms, and the hands for the
bride to see.
And, she describes the whiteness of his body
as being as bright ivory, with a robe
possibly that was filled with many precious jewels,
the sapphires.
But, she says, his body is as bright
ivory, and here is the glory of my
beloved body.
We tread on real sacred ground when we
think of the body of our Lord, the
Beloved.
May I quote the words that the Savior
spoke in chapter 10, recorded in the 10th
chapter of Hebrews, and verse 5, where, in
conversation with his Father, preceding his coming to
the earth, he declares, a body hast thou
prepared me?
My beloved, may I suggest to you the
incarnation of that Blessed One who was the
Eternal Word?
The preparation of that body was divine?
May I repeat that?
One of the greatest truths concerning our Christian
testimony is the fact these days, and that
is the incarnation of the Son of God,
that He who was the Eternal Word became
flesh.
Great is the mystery of godliness!
God was manifest in the flesh, and that
holy thing that was born of the Virgin
Mary, that body was prepared by the Father
in the power of the Holy Spirit.
A body hast thou prepared me?
And, as we have noted in our first
message of the evening this week, the precious
truth, the Word was manifested in the flesh,
and we beheld his glory, the glory of
the only begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth.
My beloved, I wish with all earnestness that
we appreciated more the body of the Lord
Jesus in that incarnation.
She describes it as a blessed body, a
body of blessed glory, white ivory.
If I may suggest, that body of ivory
was the ivory palace in which the Lord
of Glory tabernacled when he was here, as
she describes his body as white ivory.
When Jesus was on the earth in John
chapter 2, he said to the Pharisees and
those around him in the temple, destroy this
temple, and in three days I will build
it again.
And they thought he spoke of the beautiful
white marble temple, but you remember John adds
that he spake of the temple which was
his body, and he likened his body to
the white marble of that illustrious temple of
which the Jews were significantly proud.
And, though that body of the Lord Jesus
was the ivory palace in which the Lord
and the King of Glory inhabited when he
was here on the earth, what a body!
I worship, I adore him as I recognize
the whiteness of that body.
May I point out the two things about
ivory?
Very significant.
White ivory, first, is significantly smooth, and then
it's also significant for its whiteness.
Smooth?
Yes, indeed smooth.
Ivory is able, and easily able, to receive
a very fine polish.
It polishes without wrinkle.
It shows no defect, and is constantly seen
in all the smoothness of any material that
can be thus brought in being polished to
such smoothness as it presents.
And, oh my beloved, when you and I
look at the pot, say, suppose I look
around at you and look at your wrinkles,
and you come up here and look at
some of mine, if you wish.
Oh my beloved, not on him.
Oh, the perfection of that human body, without
wrinkle, without blemish.
Oh, how precious!
I'm so glad that God had one man
on the earth with a perfect body.
Praise his name!
Then, the ivory is not only noted for
the smoothness of its polish, but for the
whiteness of its color.
The whiteness, the rich whiteness that it presents.
And, I'm sure you recognize that this also
denotes the spotlessness of that blessed one, Jesus
our Lord, for he had a body without
blemish and without spot.
Praise his holy name!
Now, that brings us to the amazing thought.
It was that body that was given as
a sacrifice for sin.
Who, without blemish and without spot, offered himself
up by the eternal Spirit to God.
Thank God for the unblemished character, person of
the Son of God in his perfect humanity,
thus to be the sacrifice for our sin.
One of the reasons for the incarnation, not
the only reason, but one of the greatest
reasons for the incarnation, was that the Son
of God might have a body, a human
body, that was properly qualified to be the
sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Hallelujah, what a body!
And, as Isaiah would say, all we like
sheep have gone astray.
We've turned everyone to his own way, and
Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
I marvel with wonder and worship with adoration
when I realize that the sheep of humanity
which has strayed in every direction away from
God, here comes the beloved.
He goes to Calvary and that body is
nailed to the gibbet of the cross.
And, from all the wandering sheep, divine wisdom
and power gathers together all the sins and
the iniquities of those sheep, and causes them
to meet upon one person and upon one
body, and that body, the body of Jesus,
the Son of God.
Tremendous!
All thy sins were laid on Jesus.
Jesus bore them on the tree.
God who knew them laid them on him,
and believing thou art free.
Blessed be his name.
Now, beloved, let me give you one more
thought concerning that precious body, and its rest.
The Lord suffered when he took the bread
the night of his institution, and as he
gave thanks and broke it, and gave it
to his disciples, he said, take ye, this
is my body.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11 that we
should so worthily partake of that supper, that
we might discern the Lord's body.
And, one of my blessings that I receive,
and privileges that I enjoy at the supper
of the Lord, when I take that bread,
is to remember he said, this is my
body, and to cherish with affection, devotion, and
in worship, acknowledge the glorious body of my
Lord.
Praise his holy name.
You know, I get a lot more joy
out of his body than this one I've
gotten.
Praise his holy name.
And, if you want to get along well
with the one you have to put up
with, enjoy his body.
Now, I think it'll be a lot easier.
Oh, the joy of seeing the glory of
his body!
But then, overlaying that body was the sapphire
robe, the glory of those sapphires.
Will you go with me, please, to a
scripture in the book of Exodus?
I'd like you to realize that sapphires are
an indication denoting the heavenly character of the
Lord Jesus, the ivory, the humanity, and the
perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus.
But, in Exodus chapter 24, please, where the
sapphires can definitely be proved to represent the
heavenly character of the beloved Son of God.
Chapter 24.
A most amazing thing.
Verse nine and ten, please.
Now, please don't ask me to explain this
in its complete revelation, whatever it may be.
There's something mystical about it, but no.
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, and Nadab,
and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of
Israel, and they saw the God of Israel,
and there was under his feet, as it
were, a paying work of a sapphire stone,
and as it were, the body of heaven
in his clearness.
Someday, I'm certainly going to get older, Moses,
and maybe the rest of those elders that
went along with him, and the priests.
But, I'm sure that in the glory of
that day when perfect understanding shall be yours
and mine, we shall have a clearer knowledge,
and a perfect knowledge of what transpired.
But, one thing is evident.
There was the manifestation of the heavenly character
of God's presence by the sapphire stone upon
which they thus were able to gain, and
the clearness of heaven was given them to
look upon.
Well, I may I say, if you'll only
look, and if I will only look upon
the beloved, you'll see the clearness of heaven.
The sapphire stone here is represented the heavenly
character of the man of sorrows.
The ivory presents the purest of earth's production,
but the sapphire is employed to represent heaven,
and with all the lowly beauty of his
manhood, he is still, you remember his words
in John 3.14, he is still, John
3.13 rather, he is still the son
of man which is in heaven.
For about his body are the sapphires, the
stones of heavenly glory radiating his heavenly character.
You remember, as we have noticed through the
week in the nightly messages, he is still
the son who is in the bosom of
the Father.
I remember reading something very precious about the
testimony of a dear brother in the old
country of England many years ago by the
name of Moneypenny.
He was evidently a godly, pious, radiant Christian.
One day he was walking down the street
of the city where he dwelt, in company
with one of the bishops, a man who
was dressed in clerical garb, and both of
them were walking together down the street.
As they came along, there was a beggar
who was watching for an opportunity to beg
for any gift, and he saw the two
men coming towards him, and he saw one
dressed in clerical garb and the other not.
But, he looked keenly at their faces, and
he noticed the faith and the heavenly radiance
that was on the face of this brother,
Mr Moneypenny.
And, he was so impressed with the heavenly
radiance of Christ, being from this vast continent,
he went directly to him and said, oh
man with heaven in your face, would you
give me a penny?
Well, he sure knew where to go, didn't
he?
And, you couldn't blame him.
You might look at the other fellow, he
might have looked like a tight-fisted old
stone, I don't know.
But, here's the thought, beloved, you see the
Lord Jesus, our beloved, and though we see
it in all the loneliness, as well as
the tragedy of the man of sorrows, and
even his visage marred more than the sons
of men, we see the character of heavenly
glory in his face.
Blessed be his name!
How precious!
Still, one more thought.
These sapphires, they not only suggest his heavenly
glory, but they suggest his infinite riches.
His infinite riches for overlaying the body, as
she described it, the bride's recognizance, the sapphires
of that glorious robe that he wore, were
also significant of the riches that he possessed.
And, what shall we say of our Lord
Jesus?
The treasures of heaven belong to him!
Praise his name!
You know, there's one thing I'm grateful for.
It's not the treasures of earth.
The poet wrote, the treasures of earth are
not mine.
I hold not its silver nor gold, but
a treasure far greater is mine.
I have riches of value untold, for the
depth of the riches of love, the riches
of love in Christ Jesus, far better than
gold and wealth untold of the riches of
love in Christ Jesus.
May I illustrate what it means for you
and me?
You remember in John chapter 13, when the
Lord was with his own for the last
occasion before Gethsemane in Calvary?
As they were in that upper room, he
laid aside his outer garment.
He took upon him the girdle of a
towel.
He girded himself with a towel, and he
stooped, and he washed with the basin of
water that he sighed close feet.
They didn't know what he was doing.
And, to Peter, we have to say, thou
knowest not what I do now, but thou
shalt know hereafter.
But, may I give you the suggestion?
He disrobed himself of his glory in heaven
that was his, and he came down to
redeem you with me, and exchange that robe
of glory for the girdle of our humanity
to save you with me.
But, in so doing, he hath placed upon
us the robe of his sapphire glory, the
heavenly treasures.
Let me prove it.
2nd Corinthians, verse 9.
For ye know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for your sake he became poor, that ye
through his poverty might be rich.
Bless your heart!
I wonder how rich you feel.
Now, don't put your head in your pocket,
that won't tell you.
But, look at the man in the glory.
Look at your beloved, and see the sapphire
of heavenly glory, and the treasures of heavenly
glory, that through endless ages will necessitate the
endless ages to come to reveal, and to
display, and to make known the treasures that
belong to him.
How beloved!
I feel far richer than John D Rockefeller
ever felt, even though he did give a
dime away once more.
But, what a joy to realize these are
the treasures of heaven that belong to you
and me.
His body, as bright ivory, has overlaid with
sapphire.
Oh, thank you, Lord, to realize that he
would make you and me rich.
I don't understand it, but I sure do
thank him for it.
This is my beloved!
This is my friend!
You ask me, what is he more than
another beloved?
Well, bless your heart!
Listen to what he is, as we see
the description and the beauty of this one
who's altogether lovely.
Shall we pray?
Oh, blessed Father, we thank thee for the
illuminating power of the Holy Spirit, who can
take the words of divine inspiration, and out
from these words bring out the treasures, the
hidden glories of our beloved Savior.
Oh, how we thank thee for our adorable
and lovely boy, and how we pray we
shall see more of his beauty moment by
moment as we go through this scene, until
at last we shall see his full beauty
when face to face in that coming day.
Until then, we would say in closing our
prayer, let the beauty of Jesus be seen
in me, all of his passion and purity,
all my spirit divine, all my being refined,
till the beauty of Jesus be seen in
me.
Lord, keep us looking upon thyself, not around
us, nor within us, but to thyself, Lord
Jesus, ever before us.
I accept the Lord ever before me, because
he is at my right hand, I shall
never be moved.
Rope this on me.
Lord Jesus, please keep thyself before our hearts
through the day, in thy precious and worthy
name.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus be
upon us all.
Amen.