Overrule Me

I am a wayward child at times

Presuming on your grace

I've committed oh so many crimes

Like resisting your embrace

Lord prevail over my ignorance

My arguments disallow

Take me to my knees till my spirit repents

Reverse my bad decisions somehow

Oh Jesus! overrule me

For your glory and my good

Though Satan tries to fool me

I'll surrender to you

I will render to you

My obedience just as I should

Make me a man under authority

Change my heart and change my mind

Over whelm my desires till your way I see

And your perfect will may I find

When I am contrary and act like a fool

Your discipline is what I need

So my stubborn stony heart overrule

Teach me to obey as you intercede

Wretched man that I am, who will rescue me

Who in the world will give me liberty

From this life that is dominated by sin?

Thank God for my deliverance in Him

The death sentence is overruled and I am free

Oh Jesus, overrule me

For your glory and my good

Though Satan tries to fool me

I'll surrender to you

I will render to you

My obedience just as I should

Jesus, overrule me

Jesus, overrule me

Jesus, overrule me

1 Cor. 14:15
Romans 7: 24-25
Anthony Foster
September 30, 2018

What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

Drink Deeply (Rejoice in the Lord)

Rejoice in the Lord always-For the Lord is glorified

When we pursue our joy in Him-And know our soul is satisfied.

Our joy in God will make our praise -An honor to our King

When in His glory we delight-We bring our finest offering.

Be glad in the glories of the Lord-Be filled and lift your voice

Immersed within unbounded grace-Drink deeply and rejoice!

Dawning on our understanding-He reveals Himself by grace

A treasure deep within our hearts-As we long to seek His face

So we pursue our deepest joy-Take pleasure in His light

And in that joy our God is pleased-We mirror His delight.

Be glad in the glories of the Lord-Be filled and lift your voice

Immersed within unbounded grace-Drink deeply and rejoice!

True worship yields our very heart and strength and mind and soul

We exalt God as our hearts exult-Then worship is made whole.

We apprehend His beauty-Awed by his power and might

We recognize and understand-When spirit and truth unite

Be glad in the glories of the Lord Be filled and lift your voice

Immersed within unbounded grace Drink deeply and rejoice!

So let Authentic praise abound-In true consummate pleasure

Extol the fame of His Great Name-As your most precious treasure

God manifests His worth to us, Gods glory and our good meet

The essence of true worship sees our joy made complete

Be glad in the glories of the Lord Be filled and lift your voice

Immersed within unbounded grace Drink deeply and rejoice!

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. (Philippians 3:1)

Reading Jonathan Edwards

September 29, 2018

Anthony Foster

Hunker Down

I'll hunker in my bunker

Safe there from the battleblast

The Lord will be my refuge

And He will hold me fast

I'll hunker in my hunker zone

Where I can be touched by God alone

For when I hunker down in Him

I have no real desire to sin.

So hunker down you soldiers

Hunker down and rest

Prepare now for the warfare

Go into battle blessed

Take up your royal armor

The shield, the belt, the sword

And you shall taste the victory

For the battle is the Lord's!

I'll hunker in my bunker

Safe there from the battleblast

The Lord will be my keeper

And he will hold me fast

I will go out when I must

When I fight and I then will trust

The deep place will restore my peace

Where fears subside and battles cease

Bridge:

The wings of God will be a shield and a strong defense

A refuge for the warrior, a true deliverance

This fortress never falters, his shelter never fails

And those who rest within it shall forevermore prevail

So hunker down you soldiers

Hunker down and rest

Prepare now for the warfare

Go into battle blessed

Take up your royal armor

The shield, the belt, the sword

And you shall taste the victory

For the battle is the Lord's!

Anthony Foster

September 28, 2018

Our Good Is His Glory

Our Good Is His Glory Gods glory is our good

This mysterious paradox- It must be understood

The Father deems to bless us With a most peculiar wealth

He gives us all things freely But more- He gives himself.

When blessings pour out on us, It pleased Him to provide

As we receive His grace-gifts Our souls are satisfied

His children cast upon him Their every care and need

It pleases Him to love us And our hungry hearts to feed

So as we live and as we move And find our being in Him we prove

That he is worthy of our trust Who fashions diamonds from our dust.

Of the Most High we partake This privilege for His name's sake

The Lord God is most glorified When in Him we're most satisfied!

He transforms us to glory The likeness of his Son

Till one day we will be like Him When every deed is done

But now as image bearers We seek to glorify

The One who works within us- He'll complete us bye and bye

God's will is working in us to will and do it all

As we learn to walk worthy of the calling to which were called

So We work out what He works in And conform and to obey

The purposes He's willed for us-Until that glorious day

Bridge:

Though He absolutely has no need it pleases Him our souls to feed

So as we live and as we move and find our being in Him we prove

That He is worthy of our trust Who fashions diamonds from our dust.

Of the Most High we partake This privilege is for His name's sake

The Lord God is most glorified When in Him we're most satisfied!

Meditation on Piper's Desiring God

Romans 8:32, Psalm 103:5
Anthony Foster

September 28, 2018

Hymn (Christ Supreme)

Christ is the image of the invisible God, Of all creation- the firstborn

For in him all things in heaven and on the earth were formed

Things visible and invisible, whether dominions or thrones

Or rulers or powers, all things have been created through and for him alone.

He himself is before all things, In Him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the church forever and ever!

He's the alpha, the beginning; So that he might have first place

He became the firstborn from the dead, Preeminent in all of time and space

We declare there is no greater Name and no greater mystery

Which is Christ in you, so we proclaim: This is the hope of glory.

So we are reconciled to God: Holy, blameless in God's sight.

We cast ourselves on Gospel hope We receive the Gospel light!.

For in him all the fullness Of God was pleased to dwell,

And through him God was pleased To himself, all things to reconcile

Whether on earth or in heaven, Now peace with men He makes

Through the blood of his cross. This is our hope, for His name's sake.

We declare there is no other Name and no greater mystery

Which is Christ in you, this we proclaim: This is the hope of glory.

So we are reconciled to God: Holy, blameless in God's sight.

We cast ourselves on Gospel hope We receive the Gospel light!

Colossians 1:15-23, 27-28a
Anthony Foster

September 27, 2018

Pilgrimage

To the people in sin’s bondage

A call goes out to leave

The Lord offers redemption

Deliverance and reprieve

The Lord redeems His people

And each motive purifies

So embark now on your pilgrimage

Walk in the way of the wise.

For our God reigns

Your chains of bondage you can lose

Our God reigns

Become the bearers of good news!

Respond by faith to the call of God

On that pilgrim way,  the path Christ trod

To the holy city set on heaven’s hills

Into the presence of God’s promises fulfilled

Now set your sights on Zion

For the Holy city now depart

No unclean thing may enter

So God will cleanse your heart.

The way is narrow and the way is straight

So you must follow where Christ leads

A long obedience is how He guides

And upon the Rock He will set your feet

Bridge:

Hear the voice of your watchmen—As they lift up their voice;

for eye to eye they see the Lord in Zion.

Hear the voice of your watchmen—Together we rejoice;

for eye to eye we see the Lord in Zion.

For our God reigns

Your chains of bondage you can lose

Our God reigns

Become the bearers of good news

Respond by faith to the call of God

On that pilgrim way,  the path Christ trod

To the holy city set on heaven’s hills

Into the presence of God’s promises fulfilled

Psalm 47:8

Isaiah 57:7-10

Anthony Foster

September 26, 2018

Foretaste

There's a portent of the glory that lies ahead

A sampling of the grace yet to come

Assurance of the blessing that waits in the wings

We see in part till the numbers are summed.

On the day of accounting our longing will end

We reckon this fact as secure

We see through a glass darkly good things to come

Promises of blessings that endure

But we don't have to wait for that glorious day

When shadows become reality

Taste and see that the Lord is so good

Here and now, present tense, we can see...

I want a foretaste, a foretaste, a foretaste of your glory

I want a foretaste, a foretaste, a foretaste of your glory

A foretaste of the glory-Sure as the salvation has begun

He shall reign forever when the day is done.

He shall reign forever when the day is done.

He shall reign forever when the day is done.

On deliverance day we shall know as we're known

On what is seen, we won’t fix our eyes

What we see is temporary but the unseen shall last

And a glimpse of that beauty is here in disguise

Come soon the day when shadowlands fade

The inheritance they point to arrives

These are a shadow of the good things to come,

But the substance all belongs to Christ.

Somehow to perceive a glimpse of the future

A living hope that is guaranteed:

A lingering taste of full assurance faith brings-

That's what we hunger for, that's what we need!

I want a foretaste, a foretaste, a foretaste of your glory

I want a foretaste, a foretaste, a foretaste of your glory

A foretaste of the glory-Sure as the salvation has begun

He shall reign forever when the day is done.

He shall reign forever when the day is done.

He shall reign forever when the day is done.

Col 2:17

Hebrews 10:1

Hebrews 10:22

2 Cor 4:18

September 25, 2018

Anthony Foster

In His Hands

Look on the suffering savior

With the nails piercing His hands

He is full propitiation

He fulfills the law's demands

The sin bearer bore our penalty

When for His own He died

God His Father sees the woundings

And is fully satisfied.

But though they tore this temple down

He raised it in three days

In the carpenter's mighty hand

True power He displays

In meekness He laid down his life

But in Glory He arose

Now regard the nail-scars in His hands

From which love and mercy flows

Look upon the revelation

Of the Sovereign glorified

With a voice-cry like trumpet

Flowing hair and glowing eyes

In the midst of seven lamp stands

Seven stars in his right hand

He is holding His beloved

Who have followed His command

He has the whole world in His hands

The sovereign wields the word

He raises high his holy stars

He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Look upon the living one

The first and the last authority

The alpha and omega

He is holding Davids key 

As He holds the keys to life and death

Heaven's Kingdom he will plant

He will rule the New Jerusalem,

For He fulfills the covenant

He has the whole world in His hands

The sovereign wields the word

He is the door who holds the keys,

He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Look now upon the warrior

Who is wielding Judgments sword

He is clothed in bloodstained garments

The agent of Gods wrath outpoured

This lamb slain from the worlds foundation

Here is the worthy one revealed

He alone has the authority

To break open Judgments seals

He has the whole world in His hands

The sovereign wields the word

He raises high his two edged blade

He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Revelation 1:16-18; 3:7

Anthony Foster

September 24, 2018

Tremble

Enter now into the throne room

Of your great Creator King

With a holy fear approach him

Feel your heart begin to sing

Let His wonder make you tremble

Let His promise make you bold

As you come into His temple
As His glory you behold

Filled with awe, filled with amazement

At this access, full and free

When you greet him as your Father

You  will meet your destiny

The One who spoke creation

Who reigns in light above

Is the One who laid His life down

So that you might know His love

Tremble with joy-The closer you draw

Tremble with wonder-Tremble with awe

Tremble in sober reverence-As in Majesty you stand

He will shake your soul with glory-As He holds you in His hand.

The mighty Majesty on high

Laid down on a cruel cross

Became a servant and a reject

Suffered sin's heartbreaking cost

His atoning blood was offered

As a final sacrifice-

To cover our obscenities

Death was the purchase price

All the sin that separates you

From the Father he has borne

He who knows s as he knows himself

Took on a crown of thorns

So that he might reign in glory

Be exalted to the throne

Interceding for His beloved

Till he harvests what He's sown

Tremble with joy-The closer you draw

Tremble with wonder-Tremble with awe

Tremble in sober reverence-As in Majesty you stand

He will shake your soul with glory-As He holds you in His hand.

On a hillside called Golgotha

The serpent's skull was crushed

Christ has left this broken angel

Ruined and writhing in the dust

He ransacks the devil's prisons

He has set the prisoners free

He has broken his dominion
At His name see Satan flee

Turning mourning into dancing

Bringing triumph over death

Changing agony to comfort

As we breathe His Spirits breath

He'll not leave you or forsake you

In your suffering and strife

So take courage as He guides you

Through the battlefield of life

Tremble with joy-The closer you draw
Tremble with wonder-Tremble with awe

Tremble in sober reverence-As in Majesty you stand

He will shake your soul with glory-As He holds you in His hand.

September 24, 2018

Anthony Foster

Down a Rat Hole

"Devoting a life to material comforts and security and thrills is like throwing money down a rat hole."- John Piper

This hit me and prompted me to write this little ditty:

Down a Rat Hole

You can be generous or you can be greedy

But its tragic if mammon you trust

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy

Or reserve them for  moths and for rust
Flee from those objects of lust

Quit being satisfied with the 2% yields

Of pleasures and all that you please

Invest in the blue-chip, eternal, high-yield,

Divinely insured se-cu-ri-ties.

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.

Choose ease, comfort, and pleasure or heavenly treasure

You can be generous or you can be greedy

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.

If material comforts are your main goal

Security and this week's thrills

That's like throwing money down a rat hole.
Gluttony never fulfills

Life's more than just paying your bills.

To live in luxury satisfies-- never

It is much more blessed to love

More blessed now, and more blessed forever.

So set your mind on -things -a-bove.

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.

Choose ease, comfort, and pleasure or heavenly treasure

You can be generous or you can be greedy

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.

By storing up treasures here and not above

It's everlasting rewards that you spend

But investing a life in the labor of love

Yields joy unsurpassed without end:
An eternal dividend!

Buckets of blessings that never grow old

Returning rewards without measure

So will you be content with your silver and gold

Or will you seek e-ter-nal trea-sure?

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.

Choose ease, comfort, and pleasure or heavenly treasure

You can be generous or you can be greedy

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.

“Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. [And thus] provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail”

Luke 12:33, Matthew 6:19–20

Anthony Foster

September 20, 2018

Promises of God

Praise to the goodness of the Lord,

Who rules his people by his Word,

And there, to those who in Him live

His kindest promises He gives

Each promise, empowered by that Word

All creation heeds as it is heard

Much stronger than any other force

It makes all nature takes its course

Chorus: On the promises of God we stand

We know his Grace and understand

He cannot break His Word or lie

He fulfills every promise bye and bye.

Praise, everlasting praise, be paid

To him that earth's foundation laid;

Praise to the God whose strong decrees

Sway the creation as he may please..

The promise of the Lord is sure

This Word that forever endures

His Word is our security

Though life fades fast and friends may flee.

Chorus: ­On the promises of God we stand

We know his Grace and understand

He cannot break His Word or lie

He fulfills every promise bye and bye.

Then should the earth's old pillars shake,

And all the wheels of nature break,

Our steady souls should never fear

The times and trials that draw near.

Our everlasting hopes arise

To the world where the soul never dies

Where the eternal Maker reigns,

And His own courts his promise sustains.

Chorus: On the promises of God we stand

We know his Grace and understand

He cannot break His Word or lie

He fulfills every promise bye and bye.

After Isaac Watts

Anthony Foster

September 19, 2018

You are I AM

You are the God who is love and light

You owe nothing to any one

You never change, you are always right

You are the Father the Spirit, the Son

Infinite in power, unrivaled in might

All creation must conform to you alone

All life in the universe in the depths and heights

Flow through You and to You and from Your throne

You are I AM, your glory we declare

You are I AM, your majesty is beyond compare

Oh the unspeakable privilege to taste and to see

And to know the God of Eternity!

You hide us in the cleft of the Rock

The pierced, exalted Son

You declare your Name and we are struck

Devastated and undone.

You are the triune Three in One

Holy and Righteous, Gracious and Just

Your person and power is beholding to none

Your manifold mercies are true to our trust

You are I AM, your glory we declare

You are I AM, your majesty is beyond compare

Oh the unspeakable privilege to taste and to see

And to know the God of Eternity!

By Your own power were all things made;

By You supported all things stand;

You are the whole creation's head,

Its foundation laid by your right hand.

Your wonders work in heaven and earth

To declare your glory to the nations

Praise to the God whose matchless worth

Is revealed In all creation

You are I AM, your glory we declare

You are I AM, your majesty is beyond compare

Oh the unspeakable privilege to taste and to see

And to know the God of Eternity!

Psalm 9:10

Anthony Foster

September 19, 2018

Maranatha Morning

In the glorious light of your return

Our spirits long to see your face

Hearts that ever seek Him yearn

For God to shed his richest grace.

When trumpet sound shall tear the skies,

And mountains fall into the sea

Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes,

There a new heaven and earth will be

Maranatha morning, rend the skies,

Bring that delightful, dreadful day;

Cut short the hours, thrill our eyes;

Maranatha, Lord we pray.

The lightning of your sharpened sword

Will cleave the skies as you appear

They will see the pierced, risen Lord

And this dark world trembles in fear

Haste, then, upon the wings of love,

Rouse all this anxious sleeping dust,

That we may join in heav'nly joys,

And sing the triumph of the God we trust.

Maranatha morning, rend the skies,

Bring that delightful, dreadful day;

Cut short the hours, thrill our eyes;

Maranatha, Lord we pray.

Some words after Isaace Watts

Anthony Foster

September 17, 2018

Zechariah 2:12

Luke 17:24

“For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” (Luke 17:24)

The Soul's Final Feast

Oh how we long for perfection

Lord how we long for your touch

We long to have you draw us to your side

Sure is our hope in election

Of your promises Lord we make much

We long for your throne-room, there to abide.

We are hungry for the bread of life

We are thirsty for salvation's cup

To taste and see and know the prize

Eternal praise we will lift up

As we partake of the soul's final feast

To dine with our perfect high priest

When you come for your bride

And we're taken inside

And celebration shall never decrease!

v2

Oh how we long for your presence

There where our faith becomes sight

When we forever gaze on your beauty

There we will bask in your essence

With pleasure, with joy, and delight

Your glory manifest fully to see

We are hungry for the bread of life

We are thirsty for salvation's cup

To taste and see and know the prize

Eternal praise we will lift up

There our hungry hearts will be filled

There our thirsty souls will be drenched

There your glory we will behold

As we dine our desires are all quenched

As we partake of the soul's final feast

From the limits of flesh we're released

At the feast of the lamb

From eternity planned

And forever our joy will increase.

As we partake of the soul's final feast

To dine with our perfect high priest

When you come for your bride

And we're taken inside

At your banquet that never shall cease.

Meditation on a reading from Desiring God by John Piper
Psalm 37:4, Psalm 16:11, Psalm 27:4

September 16, 2018

Anthony Foster