Today we introduce you to another devotional writer appearing here for the first time. Marilyn Daniels writes at Marilyn’s Meditations. Clicking the title which follows below will take you to where this appeared first, and from there you can check out other topics.
Prone to Wander
Lamentations 3
There is some good theology written into many hymn lyrics. One particular favourite links our human struggles with those of the writer of “Come Thou Fount of Ev’ry Blessing”. In May 1758, when he was only 22 years old, Robert Robinson penned “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” for his sermon on Pentecost Sunday. In the following year of 1759, the lyrics of this powerful hymn were included in a small hymnal entitled A Collection of Hymns used by the Church of Christ.
His loudest praise is for “streams of mercy that never cease”. Surely he had been reading Lamentations 3:22-23. “The Lord’s compassions never fail”, Jeremiah was inspired to record. In fact God’s blessings are new every morning, because He is a faithful and loving God! “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed”. What a glorious truth!
Young Robinson recognized that his salvation was fixed upon the “mount of Thy [God’s] redeeming love”. Although Jeremiah calls himself “the man who has seen affliction” (3”1) he relies on the fact that “the Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him” (3:25). After all, Robinson’s testimony went like this: “Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand’ring from the fold of God”. Amazing how he worked that truth into poetic form to be sung in ages to come by many believers for whom Jesus had “interposed His precious blood”.
He knew his Bible. It was to “grace” that he was indebted. It was God who daily bound his wand’ring heart to Himself. Jesus Himself assures us “No one can snatch them [His sheep – His followers] out of My hand….no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28).
Yet the struggles of each human heart are very real. Reading through the Bible there is no one who has not wrestled with temptation, no one who has not wandered, Abraham, Moses, David, to name a few. Yet they trusted in the God who “Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love” (Lamentations 3:32). The prophet then prescribes a remedy: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord” (3:40), lest today we find ourselves unforgiven because we did not repent. The prophet feared he had been cut off (3:54), but in the end “You heard my plea,…… You came near” and “You redeemed my life” (3:56-58).
We are only saved by the goodness of God who “binds my wand’ring heart” to Himself. In fact our salvation is sealed for what purpose? – to worship God in His courts above (Revelation 7:9-10). Our worship rises up as a sweet smelling sacrifice, spreading everywhere “the fragrance of the knowledge of Him [Christ]…”…and blessing God because “we are to God the aroma of Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14-15).
Reflection:
Through His Holy Word God reassures us that, though we are prone to wander, He is ever faithful to those who call upon His name for their salvation. We trust Him to exemplify the kindness to which He calls us, as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ here on earth. He gives meaning and purpose to each of His children and through the power of His Holy forgiveness enables us to pass on to others all that we have received from Him – grace, mercy, peace, joy and love. Praise the Lord! (1 John 1:8-10)
Christianity 201 
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