In Times of Trial: For Jonathan

This hymn is for Jonathan.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

When in the hour of trial The devil pushes hard,
And hope meets with denial, And sin seeks its reward,
Then turn, you poor in spirit To Jesus' word of grace;
Alone you cannot bear it; but soon would meet disgrace.

Blind reason cannot measure The Spirit's word of power,
But passes by this treasure In search of something more,
But what can I discover With my weak will and mind,
What has my strength to offer That I won't leave behind?

So sing, you poor and lonely, Who feel your weight of sin,
And from the Scriptures only Your song to God begin,
For earth and sky will perish, Men's hopes and dreams can't stay;
The Gospel that you cherish Will never pass away.

And here my heart is resting, While still my sin I feel,
I wait throughout the testing For Jesus to reveal
The light that frees my conscience From darkness and despair,
That fixes my reliance Upon the words I hear:

"Your sin has all been punished In Me who bore your guilt;
Your labor has been finished Because My blood was spilt
To free you from the burden Of serving Satan's will,
To freely give you pardon, God's pleasure to fulfill."

And if my God has spoken Who can accuse me now?
The Scripture can't be broken, Nor will my Lord allow
The  devil's doubts to hurt me, Or make me fail the test,
For He cannot desert me While in His wounds I rest.

In every hour of trial Christ's promise still is near;
Our hope meets no denial No matter what we fear;
Baptized we have assurance Outside of what we do
That Christ will give endurance Because His Word is true.