The Good Husbandman May Pluck His Rose

It Is The Lord's Kindness That He Will Take The Scum Off Us In The Fire. Who Know How Needful Winnowing Is To Us And What Dross We Have Before We Enter The Kingdom Of God? So Narrow Is The Entry To Heaven That Our Knots, Lumps Of Pride, Self-love, Idol-love, And World-love Must Be Hammered Off Us, That We May Stoop Low And Creep Through Into That Narrow Entry.

I Perceive We Postpone All Our Joys Of Christ, Till He And We Be In Our Own House Above, Thinking That There Is Nothing Of It Here To Be Sought Or Found, But Only Hope And Fair Promises; And That Christ Will Give Us Nothing Here But Tears, Sadness, Crosses; And That We Shall Never Feel The Smell Of The Flowers Of That High Garden Of Paradise Above, Till We Come There. Nay, But I Find It Possible To Find Young Glory, And A Young Green Paradise Of Joy Even Here. We Dream Of Hunger In Christ's House, While We Are Here, Although He Alloweth Feasts To All The Bairns Within God's Household.

You Shall By Faith Sustain Yourself And Comfort Yourself In Your Lord, And Be Strong In His Power; For You Are In The Beaten And Common Way To Heaven, When You Are Under Our Lord's Crosses. You Have Reason To Rejoice In It, More Than In A Crown Of Gold; And Rejoice And Be Glad To Bear The Reproaches Of Christ.

I Know You Are In Grief And Heaviness; And If It Were Not So, You Might Be Afraid, Because Then Your Way Would Not Be So Like The Way That Our Lord Saith Leadeth To The New Jerusalem. Sure I Am, If You Knew What Were Before You, Or If You Saw Some Glances Of It, You Would, With Gladness, Swim Through The Present Floods Of Sorrow, Spreading Forth Your Arms Out Of Desire To Be At Land.

They Lose Nothing Who Gain Christ.