Like a River Glorious
Do you trust God fully? Isaiah 26:3: "You [God] will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."
1 Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth fuller every day;
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.[1]
Chorus:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest -
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.[2]
[1] visualize: God’s peace being like a river, that flows perfectly in its depth, and width, and grows sweeter every day.
[2] hearts that are stayed upon Jehovah are fully blessed, because they find that as God promised, perfect peace and rest. Frequently, peace and trusting in God’s promises go hand in hand, which is one of the reasons to seek out and memorize the promises of God.
2 Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand;
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry - touch the Spirit there.[3] [Chorus]
[3] stanza theme: the security we have in Christ. Spiritually speaking, we are protected, safe from the enemy, God is the perfect parent; no one can snatch us from God’s hand (John 10). No matter what life throws at someone in terms of worries, anxiety, concerns, they don’t rattle one’s soul when he/she trusts in God.
3 Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.[4] [Chorus]
[4] the author of this song was a special lady. She was gifted as a singer, pianist, songwriter, and knew several languages including Greek and Hebrew. But, her health was often frail; on one particular occasion, she faced true potential death due to the typhoid fever that was going around. She said “sometimes I could not quite see God’s Face, yet there was His promise, ‘I will never leave you.’ I knew He said it and that He was there.” It’s a great example of faith by the promises we have in the Bible, rather than by emphasizing feelings that ebb and flow.
Author: Frances R. Havergal
Composer: James Mountain
Meter: 6.5.6.5 D with refrain
Tune name: WYE VALLEY