“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job 13:15 KJV
Though Thou slay me, yet will I trust in Thee Thou holdest my fragile world in Thy hand, The tides and seasons turn at Thy command — Speck of dust am I in eternity, Bestowed a moment’s breath on earth to be — The wildest joys came I to comprehend, Life’s strange conundrums yet to understand, Someday revealed in immortality.
I have no stake in my own life but Thine, Possessing nothing in this world but Thee Thou sittest in the altar of my heart The ever purest love I know is mine Through hail and thunderstorms I have one plea That from Thy house I never will depart.
Upon the sand will I not build my house for when rains descend and floods overflow, the winds will howl and beat upon its walls and it will crumble, great will be its fall
I need no chandeliers, nor porcelain china, hand-painted with silver and gold, no dinner dainties with a fattened ox, content am I to dine on herbs with love.
I seek a shelter strong with warmth and light where rains and winds and floods can’t topple down and love burns bright in apple wood hearth fires and nightingale songs fill the evening air —-
Upon solid rock will I build my house, there will I find emeralds and rubies.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; He leadeth me beside the still waters ; He restoreth my soul .” . Ps. xxiii. 2 , 3.
~ a synopsis and modern translation of George Matheson’s writing
Would it be an easy thing for a person to confess the Lord to be their Shepherd when brought to green pastures beside still waters? Who would not rejoice in the peace and contentment, surrounded by such a peaceful surrounding? In truth, one must sound the depths of one’s soul because no one can lie down in peace until one has received a restored soul.
It is as equally difficult for an unrestored soul to lie down in green pastures as to wallow in barren wastelands. Do you think that an unrestful heart will have more rest in prosperity than in adversity? No, an unrestul heart will carry itself into everything. Prosperity is not found in the greenness of the pastures — adversity lies not in the barrenness of the wastelands; they both lie within.
The joyous heart will make all things joyful, its pastures will always be green, its waters will all be quiet. The restless heart will make all things unrestful: the calmness of the outward scene will be its source of pain.
We cannot fly from ourselves by changing our circumstances: we can only change our own circumstances by fleeing from ourselves. The sweetness and bitterness of life are alike within us, and we shall receive from the world just what we bring to it.
Oh my soul, if you would have green pastures, if you desire quiet waters, if you should seek for a place where you can lie down and rest, then you must first be restored. You must set aside your own self before you can find a scenery of repose.
Then when you are at rest, all things can be yours — the world, life, death, angels, principalities, powers — you can claim them as your servants. You can extract joy out of sorrow, sleep in the ship of life when the storm is raging around you. You shall spread your table in the presence of your enemies.
Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life when your soul shall have been restored.
*** Reference: George Matheson, “The Secret of Peace”, Moments on the Mount, London: James Nisbet & Co.1884, pp. 67-69
lilies, sparrows and grass 
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