Lover of souls, Thee have I heard,

  Thee will I sing, for sing I must,

Thy good and comfortable word

  Hath raised my spirit from the dust.

In dusty ways my feet had strayed,

  And foolish fears laid hold on me,

Until what time I was afraid,

  I suddenly remembered Thee.

Remembering Thee, I straight forgot,

  What otherwhile had troubled me;

It was as if it all were not,

  I only was aware of Thee.

Of Thee, of Thee alone, aware,

  I rested me, I held me still,

The blessed thought of Thee, most Fair,

  Dispelled the brooding sense of ill.

And quietness about me fell,

  And Thou didst speak: my spirit heard;

I worshipped and rejoiced; for well

  I knew Thy comfortable word.

Whoso hath known that comforting,

  The inward touch that maketh whole,

How can he ever choose but sing

  To Thee, O Lover of his soul.

~~

Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India in the 1800s.  Her main ministry was rescuing children from immoral duties in the Hindu temples, and then raising them in the Christian faith at Dohnavur Fellowship.  The children often sang songs of praise to God throughout the day – this was a key part of their upbringing!   Amy did not have an easy life.  After a painful injury, she spent her latter decades as an invalid.  These experiences enabled her to write straight from the heart of God to comfort those who faced trials and difficulties, and to challenge them to rise up to the call of God on their lives no matter what.

I had already planned to use this poem for this issue of the Hope Chest, but one recent morning I was feeling very low and anxious.  I remembered “Thy Comfortable Word” and sent Rachel to my bedroom to get Amy Carmichael’s little book, Toward Jerusalem, off my shelf.  I read it the poem to myself a few times, and felt much better as “I rested me” and “held me still” and then headed to the Word for even more comfort:

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.”  Psalm 30:11-12

“Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.  I stay close to you; your right hand upholds me.”  Psalm 63:7-8

Talk About It: Do you ever make a conscious choice to sing when you are NOT feeling particularly cheerful?  How can you encourage someone else in the Word?  Have you ever written a poem about your spiritual life?