Sing to the Lord a New Song
Welcome to a new series that seeks to take inspiration from the words of newer hymns and songs.
The Goodness of Jesus
Come you weary heart now to Jesus
Come you anxious soul now and see
There is perfect love and comfort in your tears
Rest here in His wondrous peace
Oh the goodness, the goodness of Jesus
Satisfied, He is all that I need
May it be, come what may, that I rest all my days
In the goodness of Jesus
Come find what this world cannot offer
Come and find your joy here complete
Taste the living water, never thirst again
Rest here in His wondrous peace
Oh the goodness, the goodness of Jesus
Satisfied, He is all that I need
May it be, come what may, that I rest all my days
In the goodness of Jesus
Come and find your hope now in Jesus
He is all He said He would be
Grace is overflowing from the Saviour’s heart
Rest here in His wondrous peace
Oh the goodness, the goodness of Jesus
Satisfied, He is all that I need
May it be, come what may, that I rest all my days
In the goodness of Jesus
Michael Farren / Rich Thompson / Jonny Robinson / Jaywan Maxwell / Harrison Druery / Flona Aghajanian © Farren Love And War Publishing, Integrity’s Alleluia! Music, Cityalight Music
Today is Mothering Sunday and all across the country, mothers will be celebrated and thanked. Some of the phrases in this hymn may well be in people’s minds and on their lips.
Hopefully, there has been ‘love and comfort’ in the relationships we have (or have had) with our mothers. Hopefully, ‘joy’ characterises our memories of them. Hopefully, when we have been ‘weary’ or ‘anxious’, our mothers have been there. That is the support that every child is better for knowing is there – however old we may get. Hopefully, we have received from them the ‘wondrous peace’ that comes from knowing someone is there by our side, ready to fight our battles and chase all the monsters away. Hopefully, we have experienced ‘overwhelming grace’ in our relationships with our mothers. What is grace? It can best be described as unconditional love and provision that is there when we deserve it and still there when we don’t deserve it.
You will notice that I’ve used the word ‘hopefully’ multiple times. That’s because we live in an imperfect world. Some of us will have wonderful memories of your mothers’ love and today will be a day when you can give thanks for all you have received; some of us will have mixed feelings and emotions; others still will recoil with horror as they think of their mothers.
And there are others who will want to avoid today because they never knew their mothers or never had the chance to become mothers themselves. This truly is a messy and imperfect world where pleasure and pain are inextricably mixed up together. It’s also the world into which Jesus was born. He knows its pains and pleasures; highs and lows.
The words of our hymn point us towards Jesus as being the one perfect constant in an imperfect world. He is a picture of what motherhood would be like were all mothers to be perfect. None of our mothers can live up to that, however, good they may have been but Jesus can.
My prayer, therefore, is that today we may be ‘satisfied he is all that we need’. If today we wish to celebrate motherhood then may we also be pointed to Jesus as we are pointed towards our own mothers. And if Mothering Sunday, for whatever reason, makes you want to run and hide, then may you find perfect love and comfort in his presence and all the strength that you need.