A. Saphir
On the testimony of the Lord Jesus and the apostles I receive the Scriptures as God’s word.
Not as a critic dare I approach this Book as if it were an ordinary book, which I may hope to master and fathom. It is above me, and I cannot exhaust its fullness; it knows me, even the hidden things of the heart; it judges me, bringing me into contact with the all-seeing God.
I enter with reverence into the temple of Scripture, which from the height of God’s eternal counsel, and out of the depths of God’s infinite love, beholds and comprehends all ages, and is sufficient for the guiding and perfecting of souls in all generations.
But while I thus stand in awe, beholding the grandeur and infinite depth of the Scripture as one organic spirit built temple, I am not paralyzed by the divine perfection and infinite depth of it. Instead I feel at home and as in a peaceful and fragrant garden, for such is the love, such the perfection of God that even a child may know the Scriptures, and be made by them wise unto salvation.
And while it may be given to me in some favored moment to take a comprehensive view, and to behold somewhat the breadth, and height, and depth, I know that every word of God is pure, every name which He has revealed, every promise which He has given is perfect, and it is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
Thus I possess the whole in a little fragment, and can say with Luther, “In Scripture every little daisy is a meadow.”
“A Little While.”
Words by Isabella Batchelor Music by L. A. Wescott
1. Only “a little while” the watch of sadness:
The dreary night. And then thebanquet
of immortal gladness: The morning bright
2. Only “a little while” the heavy burden: The troubled breast.
And then the coronet of starry radiance: The perfect rest.
3. Only “a little while” the battle dirges: The ocean’s roar.
And then the everlasting songs of victory: The stormless shore.
4. Only “a little while” the mournful partings: The wailing knells.
And then the meetings in the pearly mansions: The bridal bells.
5. Only “a little while” the icy winter: The lonely gloom.
And then the fragrance of eternal summer: The joy of home.
6. Only “a little while” the light affliction: The furnace fire.
And then the weight of glory bright exceeding: The golden lyre.
7. Only “a little while” the cruel woundings: The dangers rife.
And then the Savior’s blessed love enfoldings: The endless life.