Now Playing: Are we yearning for closeness with our Saviour
Topic: Poetry
In the bright days that marked the beginning of the testimony of "brethren gathered to the Lord's name", a young widow of nobility opened her castle for meetings which proved to be a tremendous blessing in exercising the heart of JND and otherservants of the Lord as to the heavenly calling of the Church and eventually led to these saints being gathered outside the organizations of Christendom.
That young widow was Lady Theodosia Powerscourt, a woman of rare devotion to the Lord and discernment. For a while JND and she contemplated marriage, but he felt married life would hinder the service to Christ for which he is so well-known and respected. His biographer, Max Wurmchuk, suggests JND left Lady Powerscourt with a broken heart.
Below we give a poem of Lady Powerscourt's which gives a sense of her unusual devotion to Christ.
`Lord, all my desire is before thee' - Psalm 38:9
By Lady T A Powerscourt
Lord, let my heart still turn to Thee,
In all my hours of waking thought!
Nor let this heart e'er wish to flee,
To think, or feel, where Thou art not!
In every hour of pain or woe,
When nought on earth this heart can cheer,
When sighs will burst, and tears will flow,
Lord, hush the sigh, and chase the tear!
In every dream of earthly bliss,
Do Thou, dear Saviour, present be!
Nor let me dream of happiness
On earth, without the thought of Thee!
To my last lingering thought at night,
Do Thou, Lord Jesus, still be near,
And ere the dawn of opening light,
In still small accents wake mine ear!
Whene'er I read Thy sacred word,
Bright on the page in glory shine!
And let me say, `This precious Lord
In all His full salvation's mine.'
And when before the throne I kneel,
Hear from that throne of grace my prayer;
And let each hope of heaven I feel,
Burn with the thought to meet Thee there
Thus teach me, Lord, to look to Thee,
In ev'ry hour of waking thought,
Nor let me ever wish to be,
To think or feel where Thou are not! Amen.
T. A. P.
Posted by dondegr8
at 12:22 PM EDT
