THE LORD DECLARED AND THE LORD WILL PERFORM!

THE LORD DECLARED AND HE WILL PERFORM

The Lord hath declared and the Lord will perform:

“Behold! I am near to deliver,

A Refuge and Fortress, a covert in storm.”

He keepeth His promise for ever!.

Chorus: For ever! For ever! Oh, not for a day!

He keepeth His promise for ever!

To all who believe, to all who obey.

He keepeth His promise for ever!

Who seek Him shall find Him, shall find Him today.

The Word is to all, “whosoever”

No soul that entreateth He turneth away;

He keepeth His promise for ever!

Though often my toil seems but labour in vain,

I leave with the Lord my endeavour,

I patiently wait for the sunshine and rain,

He keepeth His promise for ever!

The bonds that unite us in earth’s dearest ties,

The rude hand of Time will dissever

But we shall renew them again in the skies;

He keepeth His promise for ever!

S.C. Kirk

On Friday evening at the prayer meeting we sang this hymn No.489 and every time we sing it I am blest. Then on Saturday morning I awoke with this
song and so I took the hymn book out and read the verses again. As I
read them the Holy Spirit began to minister to me.

What He declared, He will perform “Behold I am near to deliver;

A Refuge & Fortress, a covert in storm.”

These promises are for ever!

Today we know that He is not only near us but He is IN us – what confidence!

1 John 4: 4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is IN you, than he that is in the world.”

When we are afraid due to trials/persecutions and do not know where to go – remember the Lord hath declared His is our Refuge & Fortress, a covert in storm! Turn to
Psalm 46: l “God is our Refuge and strength, a very present help in
trouble.”

Psalm 18: 2 “The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer: my God, my Strength in Whom I will trust; my Buckler and the Horn of my salvation, and my High Tower.”

These promises are for ever!

The Chorus emphasizes the word forever and says it is not for a day but for ever! And it also tells us to whom these promises are made – to those who believe and those who
obey!

The only link we have with God is faith in His Word and it is His communication to us! God cannot lie nor fail. God never puts His people to shame who put their trust in Him! His Word is forever settled
in Heaven – Ps.119: 89

Num. 23: 19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken and shall He not make it
good?”

Mathew 24: 35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.”

These promises are for ever!

2nd Verse of the Hymn - Who seek Him shall find Him today, and believers have been singing and proving this to be true for many years. His Word
is always NOW and is relevant to anyone who will seek.

The Word is to “whosoever” for God is no Respector of persons, rich or poor, black or while, king or beggar.

Romans 10: 11-13 “For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name
of the Lord shall be saved.”

No soul that entreateth or calls on Him will be turned away, like He promised

John 6: 37 “All that the Father giveth me shall come to Me: and him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out.”

These promises are for ever!

3rd Verse of the hymn – I think all believers who labour in His Vineyard have this experience when their labour does not seem to bring forth
fruit. Our witness seems to fall on deaf ears and we seem to give up,
let us remember that sowing and reaping is an eternal law. What you sow
you will reap. Between the time of sowing and the time you reap, there
is a period of waiting for the seed to germinate. This is the time to
trust the Lord

for only He could give Life and we have sown good seed and therefore we will bear good fruit. Our faith and confidence should be in the Word of God for He has declared and He will
perform.

His Word is forever! Wherever you sow in His big Vineyard the same principals apply and He is the Lord of the Harvest and He will cause us to reap in His time. To everything God has appointed a season:
a time to sow and a time to reap!

While waiting for His time, let us keep praising Him for He will not fail for He keeps His Word forever!

Here are some more promises –

Galatians 6: 7- “Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption: but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing for in due
season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Isaiah 55: 11 “So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please: and it shall prosper
in the thing whereunto I sent it.”

These promises are for ever!

4th Verse of the hymn – the bonds that unite us in earth dearest ties, the rude hand of Time will disserver.

This refers to husbands/wives, fathers/mothers and children, brothers/sisters, uncles/aunts, cousins/friends. All these relationships
that unite us here will disserver during this period called “Time” for
this has been appointed by God –

Though physical death separates for it is the only way to get to eternity, the Lord has declared that we shall be reunited in His glory land where there will be no more sorrows
nor tears and nothing to separate us any more! Believers only, have
this hope and this promise! All the disobedient ones will be condemned
forever.

Here are some promises -

Hebrews 9: 27 “And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Rev. 20: 11-15 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it: and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire.”

Rev. 21: 4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for
the former things are passed away.”

Death and hell are real and Jesus Christ is the only one Who could speak of these realities and He has told us about them. Knowing the horror of being eternally
separated from God He came as a Man born without sin to die as

the sinless Lamb of God to take away sin and redeem man from the penalty of sin.

Here are some of God’s promises –

John: 3: 16-21 “For God so loved the world (you and me) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting
life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is
not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he
hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God. And this
is the condemnation, light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one
that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his
deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light,
that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God.”

1 John 3: 8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was
manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

These promises are for ever!

The Chorus reminds us that HE KEEPETH HIS PROMISE FOR EVER!

What He has declared, He will perform! Hallelulyah!

Have you promises you are holding on to that have yet to be fulfilled? Your God Who made the promise will perform His Word! Keep praising Him for He is Faithful!

God bless you every one

Margaret Wright