Thinking of D.H. Lawrence
Have you built your ship of faith, O have you?
O build your ship of faith, for you will need it.
Now the fruits of life, are upon display, in the great harvest,
where the angel reapers, come rejoicing, for the saved.
The grim end is at hand, when the earth will fall away
from your fading vision, your reaching to nowhere,
for you have sang a worldly song, that is not returned.
You have placed your hope in wood and stone,
and in humankind, who could not love you, in the end.
And the demons of your sacred places, now moving ever closer,
to claim you. They wait, chaotic, they tremble,
in malicious anticipation, with that strong stench of sulphur.
Ah! Can't you smell it? They smell your death.
They await their trophy, for your last sigh, in the flesh.
And in the worn out body, the belligerent soul,
finds itself shrinking, wincing, from their ancient hold,
that blows upon it, through the firey orifices,
from whenst, their deadly, worldly, invasion began.
Build then, the ship of faith, for you must take
the inescapable journey, to oblivion, if you don't.
Already our bodies are decaying, fallen fruit, from sin.
Already our faithless souls, are slipping through the hands,
of the One, who called us to Him. But did we listen?
Did we accept His gift of love? Did we love him,
who overcame the world, who died for all of us?
He, who held the bruised reed, unto his tender heart?
O will you praise, the lamb of God, where we found our rest,
who gives us life and whose pure love is endless?
Already the dark and tormenting abyss of God's firey wrath,
is washing in, through the breaches of our sins.
Already the justice and holiness of Him, is upon our secrets
and all our trangressions. Will you reject Him?
Hearts of vain imaginings, in your final earthly hours,
will you turn from Him, even now? Hearts of darkness!
The prince of truth, has come into the world,
Will you turn from him? Will you receive him not?
Will you forget Him in the end? O will you?
For you, who are in Christ, are free! So build your ship of faith
and furnish it, with humility and grace, with gratitude
and love, surrendering to Him, in whom we have placed our trust,
for it is His good pleasure, to give us the kingdom,
as we sail this treacherous ocean, towards his final shore of peace
and the storms, that lash upon our deck, turn into tears of worship.
Our Father, we are coming, we are coming to you,
for you are our God, and we are your people and
although your slay us in the flesh, yet do we trust you.
You have upheld us, in the perishing territory, of the adversary.
You have completed a good work in us, faithful and true.
You have built our ship of faith within us, to your specifications,
so as to carry the cargo, of our fragile spirits, towards you.
All we can do, is to love you and to build the ship
of faith and to know, that your will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven. Your glory cannot be hidden.
It is your ocean of eternal light, that our spirit sails upon.
Now launch the sure ship of faith, now as your body dies
and life departs, launch out, the expectant spirit, sails away
from the shoreline, of coming wrath, the covenant promise
and God's law in our hearts and His Word on our lips, launch out,
upon the world's black waste of suffering,
upon the sewerage of accursed corruption,
upon the sea of death and sin, where we will endure ...
We were born to go on, singing His praises, for God is love
and all things work towards good, for those who love Him.
Wait, He has built us a mansion, in His perfect kingdom,
a place to dock our ships, a port to call home.
Wait, wait! Upon His light, that burns brighter than the sun,
our path is steady, our direction is sure, our hearts are pure,
with Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, steering us, forevermore ...
And we are like children, flocking madly towards Him,
lifting our sails, like little wings, we fly, we fly,
into the love and protection, of He who delivers us.
We live! We live with Him. Death has passed away.
The ocean of darkness is no more. We live!
And we are washed clean and forgiven in Christ Jesus
alone, who loved us. And eveything is, as it should be.
The keys of Hell and Death, are in His possession.
We are entirely His. Sing! Sing! Holy! Holy! Holy!
We live in victory, in servitude, to the returning king,
for He is worthy and we are finally, endlessly His.
Ah, Mr. Lawrence, so did you build your ship of faith?
O did you? Did you? ... did you?
But wait, the world of sin and flesh and death, is gone for good.
Ah wait, wait!, it is the beginning. We are of the kingdom!
O have you built your ship of faith? O have you?
In this present darkness, you must build it, on a promise.
Build your ship of faith, for you will need it.
Now, build your ship of faith, oh build it! Build it!
Join us, in the saviour's holy city of joy and peace!
Jesus Christ is ours, now and forever and ever ...
The kingdom of heaven awaits, all those who abide in Him.
