My Heart Overflows With A Pleasing Theme (New Song)

Michael E. Wood

May 22-27, 2013

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah; a love song. My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe. You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the peoples fall under you. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; Psalm 45: 1-7

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” 

Hebrews 1:8-12

The vocabulary of the English Standard Version of the Bible is better fitted for the way in which we think and understand words by definition at the time of this writing and is far more often than not actually translated more accurately than the King James Version of the Bible. Having been a staunch KJV only man for over thirty years one of the greatest benefits that I have found is the way that I am forced to study more intently to find the original meanings of words which at times seem to contradict each other. With the King James language so ingrained in my mind the difference in wording jumps out almost immediately and I have found those who have far better knowledge than myself concur with the ESV, even though they were not alive when this translation was written.

Some people hold to the tradition of using the KJV for its more poetic language, but on the occasion of writing this particular song, the first three lines of Psalm 45 struck me as very poetic and thus led in the rendering of this love song to our King which begins in Psalm 45 and culminates in Hebrews 1. The sound of the music which came to mind while writing is Celtic and would befit a marriage feast.

My heart overflows with a pleasing theme

I address my verses to the King.

My tongue like the pen of ready scribe

Will laud Your praise with every tribe.

Most handsome of the sons of men

Upon Your lips is poured the grace

Of God who’s blessed forevermore,

And I will ever seek Your face.

Oh gird on Your sword upon Your thigh

Oh mighty One who reigns on high

In all Your splendor and majesty

Ride out Oh Lord victoriously!

For truth and meekness, righteousness,

Go forth and teach by awesome deeds

With arrows sharp to pierce the hearts

Of all Your kingdoms enemies.

Forever and ever, Oh Christ, Your throne

Endures by righteousness You own,

For You have loved all that is right

And hate all wrong with all Your might

And therefore God, Your God with oil

Of gladness has anointed You

Beyond all those who follow close

And keep Your honor thus in view.

Oh, listen, Oh church and take then to heart

Those things of beauty He did impart.

Forget all your peoples and your lands,

Take up then your cross where glory stands.

By faith put on your royal robes

Which stand the test amidst the fire

With joyful shouts proceed till when

We are complete in Him entire!

The heavens and earth shall pass away

As we know them now, at end of day.

For they like a garment shall be changed

But You, our Lord God remain the same.

And then You will be surely found

To be in awesome majesty

So far beyond what we conceive

And shall be all eternity!

He Shines Forth Into Our Hearts

Michael E. Wood

May 9, 2013

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

We live in such a day that all kinds of motives are presented to profess faith in Christ. To say a prayer or to walk down an aisle, conforming to all the outward marks of a particular denomination or religious movement does not of necessity make one a Christian. "Your best life now" is proclaimed with promises pertaining to the enjoyment of this present world which runs in diametric opposition to the words of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." 

How that looks in relation to Christian liberties in the life of each child of God is revealed through the scriptures by the Holy Spirit and pressed upon our conscience to form resolutions rather than opinions which reflect the holiness of God from the inside out to the praise of His glory and grace. Godliness with contentment is great gain and as we grow in our understanding of what we were predestined for from the foundation of the world which is to reflect the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ we find encouragement to press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are you trusting in any merit of your own or in the opinions of others for the eternal security which comes as a free gift of the grace of God in the satisfaction of the atoning work of Christ alone?

Tis not by mans opinions that I am born again

But as the Holy Spirit through the blood of Christ began

The work of God predestined just as He Himself decreed

Before creation and determined by the promised Seed

Of Christ foreknown and spoken of by types and shadows when

God first began to manifest His mercy unto men.

For I in Adam was as guilty bound by sin and pride

And on the day of Adams death, I too then also died.

So thus when born into this world I also chose the path

Laden with iniquities abiding under wrath.

But God in mercy opened up my ears to hear His call

And gave the grace to see by faith that Jesus paid for all

My sins which are so many that I had no cause to hope

But God Himself showed me the cross which spanned so wide a scope

That all the remnant find in Him such wondrous, matchless love

That He shines forth into our hearts from heavens throne above.

His Excellence Declared

Michael E. Wood

May 7, 2013

Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 2 Corinthians 3:5

While in the process of sermon preparation I feel the weight of the responsibility of the task at hand and when confronted by the magnitude of the glory of God in the things of which He speaks through His Word I am reminded that our sufficiency comes from God. I am likewise reminded by the Holy Spirit of remaining sin and pride within myself which humbles me to think that I have been given such a privilege and through feeling my own weakness and inadequacies understand my need for dependence upon our Father to give that which is best to the praise of His glory through the person of His Son.

My thoughts I cannot form alone

But grace from You divine

Comes flowing like the sap of life;

Abiding in the Vine,

As from Your Word, You teach me

By Your Spirit now in fear

That I may draw the closer

By Your love which is so dear.

So help me learn to please You

By my thoughts and actions here

Which manifests Your glory

By Your smile with every tear

That’s shed when I yet view afresh

The condescending blows

Of wrath endured for all my sins

By Christ alone who knows

The magnitude of love You have

For every single child

You bring to birth to demonstrate

His worth as undefiled.

Oh help me now fresh courage take

That others may behold

The power of the cross of Christ

The proof of Him as told

From lips of weakness and of clay;

His excellence declared

By life and words while speaking forth

Your glory He has shared!

As He Is Now Above!

Michael E. Wood

April 22, 2013

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:1-2

The peace of God is not peace at any price, but peace secured by the blood of Christ. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah and warned of the false prophets in his day who spoke, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.”

Apart from the grace of God no one can know the peace which passes understanding which comes as a free gift from God the Father through faith alone in God the Son and His finished work of atonement on the cross of Calvary. But thanks be to God who determined by Himself and for His glory to secure a remnant of mankind of which He would call to be saints, secure by grace, and grant objective peace for all eternity.

The world proclaims a kind of peace

That seems to them surreal

But in fact there is no peace

Apart from God’s own will

Of which He has determined

By Himself to thus impart

And give the understanding

By His Son in every heart

Of which He has now opened

And shall open in His time

To receive the truth and hear

His voice say, “You are mine!”

For Christ alone, who is our peace

Has borne the crushing rod

Of wrath that’s due for all our sin

From our Almighty God!

And though at times through storms of life

We may not His peace feel,

His loyalty and love for us

Is firm to bring us still

Much closer than we were before

When clear we did not see,

He ruleth over every surge

To make us more to be

As children of our Father

Who has set apart in love

All saints to be in holiness

As He is now above!

The Fullness of Your Grace (New Song)

Michael E. Wood

April 26, 2013

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John 1:16

In the process of sermon preparation I was contemplating the grace that comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This brought to mind by the Spirit the passage from John 1 which speaks of the eternal Son of God who became flesh, full of grace and truth, and from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. We; that is, which are the elect of God from the foundation of the world, chosen to be conformed to the image of His Son in holiness. The words began to flow forth from the thoughts which came to mind.

Celeste Chen, of whom Dianna and I had met a few months ago with her husband whose name also happens to be Michael recently gave two concerts for us at the larger Assisted Living facilities at which we minister. Being a gifted vocalist, pianist, and composer, she had taken three of the songs of which I have been blessed to write and transcribed what I had recorded acapella into piano music to include in the repertoire. One of them she had taken the basic idea and made it her own, giving it a different sound from the original that had come to mind. While writing the words to this song, it was her new music for the stanzas that had come to mind with a slight variance which helped to frame the process of completing the lyrics.

Michael and Celeste plan to do some traveling through the second half of this year and Lord willing, then spend a two year term in Kenya. He will serve as a medical missionary and she will be seeking to serve in the realm of helping to rescue women from the sex-trafficking trade. Please join with us in prayer for them.

We hope to post some links in the near future so others may enjoy selections from this joint venture.

THE FULLNESS OF YOUR GRACE

Of the fullness of Your grace through faith You did impart to me

That like You in Your holiness for all eternity

I shall be in perfection, Holy Father by Your plan

Designed to show Your glory when Your Son became a man.

Oh, there’s none could have imagined nor have thought so high a thought

That You before creation in Your counsel would have brought

Such suffering to vindicate Your justice from the Fall

That through the blood of Jesus we could now on Your Name call.

But left unto ourselves we would not ever think to think

That such a wondrous fountain You supplied that we might drink

The fullness of forgiveness and the everlasting bliss

Prepared for all appointed by the Son whom You have kissed.

Oh, such wondrous condescension that You have for us supplied

That through the death of Jesus Christ we know that death has died,

With no more condemnation as He has removed the sting

That we may feel Your pleasure as Your praise alone we sing.

Holy Father by Your Spirit give discernment through the means

You have for us provided by Your Word which ever cleans

Each thought and motive as we learn ourselves to more deny

To magnify the sacrifice of Christ alone on high.

So then when this life is over and we stand before Your throne,

Then faultless, robed in garments by the Lamb who has atoned

For all our sins forgotten and were cast into the sea,

That for Your praise forever in His likeness we shall be.