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"I am a stranger with thee." - Psalm 39:12
Yes, O Lord, with thee, but not to thee. All my natural alienation from thee,
thy grace has effectually removed; and now, in fellowship with thyself, I walk
through this sinful world as a pilgrim in a foreign country. Thou art a stranger
in thine own world. Man forgets thee, dishonours thee, sets up new laws and
alien customs, and knows thee not. When thy dear Son came unto his own, his own
received him not. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the
world knew him not. Never was foreigner so speckled a bird among the denizens of
any land as thy beloved Son among his mother's brethren. It is no marvel, then,
if I who live the life of Jesus, should be unknown and a stranger here below.
Lord, I would not be a citizen where Jesus was an alien. His pierced hand has
loosened the cords which once bound my soul to earth, and now I find myself a
stranger in the land. My speech seems to these Babylonians among whom I dwell an
outlandish tongue, my manners are singular, and my actions are strange. A Tartar
would be more at home in Cheapside than I could ever be in the haunts of
sinners. But here is the sweetness of my lot: I am a stranger with thee. Thou
art my fellow-sufferer, my fellow-pilgrim. Oh, what joy to wander in such
blessed society! My heart burns within me by the way when thou dost speak to me,
and though I be a sojourner, I am far more blest than those who sit on thrones,
and far more at home than those who dwell in their ceiled houses.
"To me remains nor place, nor time: My country is in every clime; I can be calm
and free from care On any shore, since God is there.
While place we seek, or place we shun, The soul finds happiness in none: But
with a God to guide our way, 'Tis equal joy to go or stay."
See Also:
Daily Devotional: Today With Jesus
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