Sonnets for my Savior 8

As Long As I Live

The pangs of Sheol laid hold on me

until I called on thee, until I called on thee.

The snares of death encompassed me

until I called on thee, until I called on thee.

The Lord is gracious and righteous;

He is holy and merciful.

His blessings are surely bounteous,

His love is amazing and beautiful.

I offer You my thanksgiving,

and I call on Your holy name.

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living,

for you delivered my soul from death and my heart from shame.

I pay my vows to You;

as long as I live, Lord, I call upon You!

 

---

 

Guard My Heart

We could wash our hands a million times and never be clean.

Please don’t let us worship You in vain.

It is not what we consume that makes us obscene,

but what comes out of us that leaves a stain.

Let our worship be from the heart

not from our lips.

Let your word be where we end and start;

Make us deaf to false teaching and help us avoid poisonous relationships.   

Grant us sight so we know who to follow,

let our footsteps not match those of the blind.

Help us break free of the pointless ceremony in which we wallow;

instead let our hearts and Your Spirit be intertwined.

Let us never break your commandment for the sake of our tradition;

But always look to you, with our highest love and most humble submission.

---

 

How Love is Shown

To show His love,

what did he do?

He came from above,

and faced every torture man could think to put him through.

He gave himself up

as a sacrifice to the Father.

He drank from his cup,

so that God’s wrath need not fall on another

If he was willing to die

at just the right time,

why can’t we just rely

on He who could pay for every crime?

He gave Himself up just to redeem our wickedness,

so we must offer ourselves as instruments of righteousness.

---

 

The Ransom

Our rightful king did not come to be served;

instead He came to serve.

The things He suffered were undeserved,

yet He bore them so our souls He might preserve.

He gave his life as a ransom for many;

his precious blood was spilled for our sake.

If we look in ourselves for righteousness, we won’t find any,

but His sacrifice covers our every mistake.

Adam’s disobedience cast us into sin,

but Christ’s obedience made us righteous.

If our hearts He resides within,

then the grace of God is given to us.

Through his love our spirits have been taken,

and from God’s hands, they can never be shaken.

---

 

The Glory

The glory, Lord, belongs to you,

for all good things come from you.

The gifts I use are given by you,

and the praise for all deeds belong only to you.

The goodness of life, Lord, comes from you,

for all things are done for good for those faithful to you.

Evil is altered for good by you,

and the strength gained through adversity is provided from you.

This universe was created by you,

so that all the creatures in it might glorify you.

Man and woman were created by you,

and we live our lives to please only you.

Praise and glory we offer to you!

All praise and all glory belong only to you!

---

 

Giving

Even I would not hand a stone

to my son who asks for bread.

What father would leave his child alone,

without a place to sleep or a roof over his head?

No father would give a serpent

to a son who asked for a fish.

Indeed, what father has not spent,

all he could to grant his child’s every wish?

If we know to give good things,

even in the state we are in,

how much more will our Father, who is in Heaven, bring

to his children who follow Christ and turn from sin?

To seek with praise and supplication is such a simple task,

and our Father, who is in Heaven, will always give good things to those who ask.

---

 

One Day

One day our Lord will return;

one day he will rule.

Woe to those who did spurn

the gift of Christ and did offer his followers ridicule.

One day Jesus Christ will sit on his glorious throne;

one day Jesus Christ will be the judge.

Woe to those who have evil sewn

and, against those who followed Christ, held a grudge. 

One Day the Son of God will come;

one day, the Son of God will appear.

Woe to those who did succumb

to the call of false Christs claiming, “He is here!”

One day the Son of Man will appear in the sky,

one day the Son of Man will return and rule from on high.