I Am His, and He Is Mine

Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know;
Gracious Spirit from above, Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace! O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.

Heav’n above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed on the loving breast.
O to lie forever here, doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His; Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav’n and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.
But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.

Also known as “Loved with Everlasting Love,” I was unfamiliar with this particular hymn.  I recently heard one of the lines from the song in a sermon by Alistair Begg.  It was written in 1876 by George Robinson, one year before his death.  He died at the age of 39.  I couldn’t find much about Mr. Robinson’s life or death, nor any particular story behind this song.  I don’t know if he died suddenly in a tragic accident, or if he died after an extended battle with illness.  What I do know is that his words reflect a confidence in God.  I really appreciate the confidence that Mr. Robinson speaks of when he talks about whom he belonged to.  His words communicate to me that he was a man who knew where he was going.  I pray that I can echo that kind of confidence to people in this world that, often times, have no idea where they are going to spend eternity.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Christless eyes have never seen” – Do you see the world differently than unbelievers?  Is the sky bluer, or the grass greener because you are a Christian?  I don’t believe that was exactly what the author was talking about in Verse 2 of this song.  I do believe, however, that there is a difference in perception and vision for those that follow Christ.  We should look for, and find, God’s mercy in difficult times.  We should look for, and find, blessings in the darkest of hours.  We should see the trials and tribulations of this world with through different colored lenses since we no longer have “Christless” eyes.  Our eyes have been opened.  Grace has been lavished upon us.  We are now sons and daughters of God.  That truth should change how we see God’s creation, and how we see the experiences that we go through.

• “Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed on the loving breast” – I get the mental image of an infant sleeping in the arms of his father.  Totally at peace.   Totally at rest.  The arms and the chest of the father providing the greatest comfort that baby could ever have.  Because of the comfort found in the father’s arms, there are no worries.  The baby can sleep will full assurance of the father’s love.  Isn’t that how our Father in heaven is?  His arms pull us close during difficult times.  The Comforter comes to give that peace and rest that only He can give.  The love of the Father for His children is so great, that we can rest in the assurance that He will take good care of us.  What a wonderful picture!

I was recently touched by a couple’s testimony during an extremely difficult time in their life.  This young couple experienced a deep loss.  Their son was born 4 months premature in late December, and went home to be with the Lord on January 2nd.  On their blog, they posted several comments about this difficult time.  Here are a couple of the excerpts from their blog:

“After holding him for a while longer, we did footprints, handprints, a foot and hand mold, and bathed him with “Aunt” Kerry. Those are some precious memories. It was fun to get to bathe him and dress him and we were all joyful during that time. I was finally able to touch him without fear of hurting him or messing something up. He looked really good after we cleaned him and dressed him in a blue knit outfit.”

“I don’t know why this happened or why it happened to us, and I don’t expect to know why, but I do know that as much as it hurts, I am glad it happened. Sam gave me the greatest gift and allowed me to be a mommy for nine glorious days. He was such a sweet, cute baby and he brought so much joy to my life.”

To me, these quotes are examples of people with “Christ-full eyes” that have been changed by the power of God.  Eyes that can see blessings in the midst of great tragedy.  Eyes that find hope in the midst of great pain.  Eyes that see “hues” that the world knows nothing about.  I pray that you will lift this family up in your prayers, and I pray that they know in their hearts that the Lord is saying about their son – “He is mine.”