Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/i/siffofmn.htm
Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
The Spirit’s course in me restrain?
Or, undismayed, in deed and word
Be a true witness for my Lord?
Awed by a mortal’s frown, shall I
Conceal the Word of God most high?
How then before Thee shall I dare
To stand, or how Thine anger bear?
Shall I, to soothe the unholy throng,
Soften Thy truths, and smooth my tongue,
To gain earth’s gilded toys, or flee
The cross, endured, my God, by Thee?
What then is he whose scorn I dread,
Whose wrath or hate makes me afraid?
A man! an heir of death! a slave
To sin! a bubble on the wave!
Yea, let men rage, since Thou wilt spread
Thy shadowing wings around my head;
Since in all pain Thy tender love
Will still my sure refreshment prove.
Savior of men, Thy searching eye
Doth all my inmost thoughts descry;
Doth aught on earth my wishes raise,
Or the world’s pleasures, or its praise?
The love of Christ doth me constrain
To seek the wandering souls of men;
With cries, entreaties, tears, to save,
To snatch them from the gaping grave.
For this let men revile my name.
No cross I shun, I fear no shame,
All hail, reproach, and welcome, pain!
Only Thy terrors, Lord, restrain.
My life, my blood, I here present,
If for Thy truth they may be spent,
Fulfill Thy sovereign counsel, Lord!
Thy will be done, Thy Name adored!
Give me Thy strength, O God of power;
Then let winds blow, or thunders roar,
Thy faithful witness will I be:
’Tis fixed; I can do all through Thee!
—John Wesley
Daily Light on the Daily Path
June 23
Morning
“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper . . . even the Spirit of truth.”
“It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.—You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”—The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.—Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
John 14:16, 17; John 16:7; Rom. 8:16; Rom. 8:15; Rom. 8:26; Rom. 15:13; Rom. 5:5; 1 John 4:13
LORD, I ask for comfort for those who mourn.
I ask for strength for those who are experiencing the depth of our utter helplessness without you.
Encourage us by your Word and Spirit and we will walk uprightly before you.
Help us to carry out our determination to obey you in all things.
Thank you for working your good pleasure in our lives and bringing us to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our LORD.
In His name we exult and rejoice and pray.
Amen.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/h/thouwalm.htm
Thou, whose almighty Word
Chaos and darkness heard,
And took their flight;
Hear us, we humbly pray,
And, where the Gospel’s day
Sheds not its glorious ray,
Let there be light!
Thou, who didst come to bring
On Thy redeeming wing
Healing and sight,
Health to the sick in mind,
Sight to the inly blind,
O now, to all mankind,
Let there be light!
Spirit of truth and love,
Life giving, holy Dove,
Speed forth Thy flight;
Move on the water’s face
Bearing the lamp of grace,
And, in earth’s darkest place,
Let there be light!
Blessèd and holy Three,
Glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, love, might!
Boundless as ocean’s tide,
Rolling in fullest pride,
Through the world far and wide,
Let there be light!
—John Mariott, 1813