The wilderness is past, and Canaan’s land
Lies bright before the Israelites of old;
Their eyes, familiar long with desert sand,
Anticipate its glories to enfold.
Its fruits had been described so long ago —
A land of barley, fig trees, vines and wheat;
While Eschol’s grapes (the spies had borne, to show)
Displayed the lavish bounty they might seek.
But Jordan must be crossed before the day
That Canaan and its fruits could be enjoyed;
Reproach of Egypt must be rolled away,
And circumcision once again employed.
Conflict ahead, for Satan has his ploy —
The sons of Anak always will oppose
Those wishing Canaan’s richness to enjoy,
And in that land of God to find repose.
So we of heavenly birth, if we would taste
Of heavenly glories here on earth below,
Must too, in type, o’er that wide Jordan haste,
And see our sinful flesh beneath its flow.
Christ died for us, and we have died with Him,
And now in Canaan, we must ever view
Ourselves as dead, but with new life in Him —
In readiness the conflict to renew.
Our title to those heav’nly joys is sure,
For God, in Christ, in grace has placed us there;
That fruit is ours, so luscious and so pure,
Though Satan seeks to thwart, with wile and snare.
But with Christ Jesus — Captain in His might —
And armor girded on, we may withstand
And apprehend, in length and depth and height —
Be filled with all His fullness, from His hand.
W. J. P.