The greatest tragedy in the world today is that God has made man in His image and made him...to play the harp of worship before the face of God day and night, but he has failed God and dropped his harp. It lies voiceless at man's feet. Tozer
"Adam, Where Are You?"
September 28, 2008
Like the translated patriarch of old;--
Though gladdened millions on His footstool trod,
Yet none with him did such sweet converse hold;
I heard the wind in low complaint go by
That none his melodies like him could hear;
Day unto day spoke wisdom from on high,
Yet none like David turned a willing ear;
God walked alone unhonored through the earth;
For Him no heart-built temple open stood,
The soul forgetful of her nobler birth
Had hewn him lofty shrines of stone and wood,
And left unfinished and in ruins still
The only temple he delights to fill.
ENOCH Jones Very (1813-1880)
From Henry Vaughn (1621-1695), reflecting on his conversion…..
Often enough have you attempted, I confess, to capture me without wounding me. Your speechless voice has tried unceasingly to bring me to my senses.
Your divine breath has striven to win me over by its gentle motion, warning me in vain with sacred murmuring. I was deaf and dumb; a flint. So you consent (how great is your care for your dear ones!) to reform me in another way: you change your method completely and now, provoked, you declare that love cannot succeed: you plan to conquer force by force.
Speaking of conquering by force....
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Acts 9:1-6
Continuing with Henry Vaughn....
You launch your attack and shatter that boulder, my stony heart. What was stone becomes flesh. Look at it, broken in pieces! Look, its fragments are flashing at last to heaven and to you, and my cheeks are wet with tears wrung from flint.
In the same way, ever provident for your people, you once commanded dry rocks to overflow and crags to gush with water. How marvelous you hand is! By dying I have gained new life: amidst the wreckage of my worldly fortunes, I am now richer than ever.