An Ode to the Lord

An Ode to the Lord

The Lord looks down from heaven upon the souls of men—
He takes pleasure in the faithful who labour daily in their priesthood,
But his indignation is against them without a priesthood,
And His wrath is ignited by the vain imaginations of them that set their face against Him,
and take counsel together to dismantle His anointed.

God's blessing is upon His children who show forth their love through faith and charity,
But His fury is being stored up for them that do evil and bring their abominations and injustice
into His house.

The Lord is glorified through the lips and sacrifices of them that love and fear Him,
But those that hold the banner of the moral code above the righteousness of His Christ,
Offend God with their presumptuous aspirations.

The Lord honors and receives that which is equal to Himself only...
all things sanctified by the blood of Christ,
which carry His own pure reflection of light.
But the Lord hates pride, which hinders and deceives faith,
whereas sinners resist grace and honor their own reflection,
trampling underfoot the blood of Christ, which sanctifies faith.

The Lord gives power from on high to them that walk by faith:
to abide in Him by keeping His commandments,
to worship and serve Him in true holiness,
to remain joined to Christ and tethered to His light,
to put on the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
and overcome themselves, the world, and the devil.

But grace resisters receive no such power from the Lord, to clothe their nakedness,
and remove their shame,
to open their blind eyes to behold Him, nor to overcome their wretchedness,
misery and frustrations,
which God assigns against them that deny His name and embrace a false gospel,
and falsely justify their transgressions of the law of the Spirit.

The Lord counsels all who trust in His name,
And He issues grace to nurture and keep them at the table and altar of Christ,
til He comes again.
But those who shut up their ears to truth and receive not the counsel of God's anointed stewardship,
cast away God's gift of salvation, giving place to pride
to remain on the throne of their evil, unbelieving hearts.

The Lord is just in all His ways. And His judgments are irrefutable;
For He judges on the basis of faith measured to the standard of His Son....
whereas those who walk by the rhythm of nature and pursue the prosperity of this world
shall be judged by the law of sin and death, without excuse, and without hope in this world.

God sees the hearts of all men,
whether they be full of darkness, yet carrying the fallen nature of Adam,
Or whether they be full of light, carrying the reflection of His brightness,
by conformity to the Word of the Lord.

God speaks to the soul of man by the gentle voice of grace
Inviting men everywhere to join Him in covenant, where He will oversee and officiate over their souls; Inviting men everywhere to know Him in covenant, and to walk with Him in reverent harmony,
and to build His kingdom in the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace and charity;
For the powers of His virtues are the tokens of His love, which promise perpetual increase
by the value of Christ.
But those who love darkness, run from the light and hide behind their own virtues,
which God abhors,
And build their own kingdoms according to what the flesh values,
which things are destined to perish with this world.

For the Lord, our God, is going to bring a new heaven and earth.
And the old shall pass away.
And only those who have faithfully sown grace and peace and life,
increasing His house by charity, stone by stone in faith and patience,
shall inherit His kingdom, being heirs and true sons of God, and joint heirs with Christ.

And He shall seat these on thrones with Him,
And they shall rule with Christ for 1000 years in His millennial reign on earth.
And to these He shall also assign dominions in eternity.....
And they shall prosper and increase with the increase of God, for ever and ever,
Amen!

October 1, 2011
Apostle Diane Swarthout
Second 8th Week Ministries