http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/y/myhopeis.htm



The Whirlwind and the Sieve
by David Hood

THIS IS OUR FOUNDATION
ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK WE STAND
ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND







Whilst in a telephone conversation with my Christian friend, the following images and reminders were given.



I saw a tornado, not a dark, deep or dense one, but one powerful enough to take up objects from the ground and cause destruction and damage. I could see that the whirls of winds and cloud were containing debris from that which it took off from the land.



I saw many different things taken away. Then I saw a tree that had been in the whirlwinds path, though it was a bit rattled, it wasn’t taken away. It remained. Still in its place, still in the soil where it was planted. Psalm 1 came to mind. Psalm 1 as that which had its roots in the Lord, were strengthened to know that they remained. The roots that went down into Him, anchored them into Himself and the ground. The things that were not were blown away.



I felt these were evergreen trees and that their remaining presence in the midst of turmoil, was a witness and a testimony to the Lords keeping.



Also that I was at this time reminded of a picture I had been given previously. I saw a huge hurricane. I found myself with others in its eye. Somehow some began to wander towards the inner walls of the eye. As a result they were being dragged into the hurricanes walls, away from the safety of the centre of the eye.



Be planted, be set and focused. Get to Him, remain in Him. Don’t wander. Don’t think the grass is greener on the other side. Don’t be encouraged to panic. Be still and know that He is God. Sink your faith roots down into Him. As all the nutrients gained and drawn from the word of God and the Beauty of His Presence, will bring much reward in these times. You will see the fruit of your labours and the fruit of your rest.



Also in the same conversation, I was given a picture of a sieve. A large metallic sieve. Stock was being made in preparation for its use in a meal... The ingredients that were boiled and then simmered down into the stock seemingly had already been passed through the sieve once at least. But this was another and seemingly final sieving. For as the stock poured through the sieve to be caught in a pan below, little bits of ingredients were caught there, not going through to spoil the consistency of the stock. There was only enough perhaps to fill a couple of tablespoons, if that!

I believe all that is not built on the true foundation of the word, will be blown away, in some way. The learning to rest in Him and His word, will secure us in the eye of any hurricane, but if we wander, we will get caught up into the winds at the inner walls of the hurricane, which in fact are extremely high. All that is not grown of God may well be uprooted. All that God does not want to remain, to go through into what it is He is preparing will be removed. Lord, please take from me and your church and even the world that which is not to go through into your mix. Please remove from all of us untruths, errors, falsehoods, misunderstandings and mistakes. We want to be where you are and if you are not where we are move us and from us the things that pull us back.



Lord we need to be rooted and grounded in love, rooted and grounded in your word, in your Son and in Your Self. Help us sink our faith roots down into you, so that your word will anchor us by the power of its Spirit. Please blow away, take with you the carefully designed fables, myths and stories and help us be a people of truth as well as hearers, but also doers.



Help us Lord not to strive in the turmoil and the shaking, in the sieving and the sifting…pray lord that our (faith in You) faith will not fail. Your word is like silver, it is refined several times. To you is the Glory lord, both now and forever more. In Jesus name amen.

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One morn­ing it came into my mind as I went to la­bour, to write an hymn on the ‘Gra­cious Ex­per­i­ence of a Christ­ian.’ As I went up Hol­born I had the chor­us,

‘On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.’

In the day I had four first vers­es com­plete, and wrote them off. On the Sab­bath fol­low­ing I met bro­ther King as I came out of Lisle Street Meet­ing…who in­formed me that his wife was ve­ry ill, and asked me to call and see her. I had an ear­ly tea, and called af­ter­wards. He said that it was his usu­al custom to sing a hymn, read a por­tion, and en­gage in pray­er, be­fore he went to meet­ing. He looked for his hymn-book but could find it no­where. I said, ‘I have some vers­es in my pock­et; if he liked, we would sing them.’ We did, and his wife en­joyed them so much, that af­ter ser­vice he asked me, as a fa­vour, to leave a co­py of them for his wife. I went home, and by the fire­side com­posed the last two vers­es, wrote the whole off, and took them to sis­ter King…As these vers­es so met the dy­ing wo­man’s case, my at­ten­tion to them was the more ar­rest­ed, and I had a thou­sand print­ed for dis­tr­ibu­tion. I sent one to the Spir­it­u­al Mag­a­zine, with­out my ini­tials, which ap­peared some time af­ter this. Bro­ther Rees, of Crown Street, So­ho, brought out an edi­tion of hymns [1836], and this hymn was in it. Da­vid Den­ham in­tro­duced it [1837] with Rees’ name, and others af­ter…Your in­sert­ing this brief out­line may in fu­ture shield me from the charge of stealth, and be a vin­di­ca­tion of truth­ful­ness in my con­nect­ion with the Church of God.

Edward Mote
Let­ter to the Gos­pel Her­ald


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My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain