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In the song, ‘I cannot tell’… the author, William Young Fullerton, wonders aloud about certain facts of our faith. To understand his wondering we need to step out of earthly thinking and try to glimpse some truths of Our Creator God…

— To do this we are going to try to dig deeper into each verse…

VERSE #1

Vs. 1a) I cannot tell why He, whom angels worship, Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why, as Shepherd, He should seek the wand’rers, To bring them back, they know not how or when.

— This speaks of trying to grasp why God should care about mankind.
— SEE Psalm 148:1-4 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
(Do this give us a picture of God’s glory?)

— And yet SEE John 10:11-12 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  (12)  He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. (Try to picture the good shepherd standing to face the snarling fierceness of the wolves. ~ Does this give us a glimpse of our Good Shepherd standing in the gap for us?)

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Vs. 1b) But this I know, that He was born of Mary, When Bethl’hem’s manger was His only home,
And that He lived at Nazareth and labored, And so the Savior, Savior of the world, is come.

— What basis of our faith is announced here? (What fact of OUR FAITH do we proclaim?)

— Why is this presented in response to vs.1a)? ~ “I cannot tell why He, whom angels worship, Should set His love upon the sons of men.” (Our faith is truly the only answer, and it must be enough.)

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VERSE #2

2a) I cannot tell how silently He suffered, As with His peace He graced this place of tears,
Or how His heart upon the Cross was broken, The crown of pain to three and thirty years.

— What span of Christ’s suffering is spoken of here? (Why the silence in those sufferings ?)

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2b) What basis of our faith is announced here? But this I know, He heals the broken-hearted, And stays our sin, and calms our lurking fear,
And lifts the burden from the heavy laden, For yet the Savior, Savior of the world, is here.

— What basis of our faith is announced here?

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VERSE #3

3a) I cannot tell how He will win the nations, How He will claim His earthly heritage,
How satisfy the needs and aspirations… of east and west, of sinner and of sage.

— What era (timespan) of Christ’s reign do you think is spoken of here?

— What phrase seems to speak to the time that Jesus will reign with a “rod of iron”?

SEE Revelations 20:1-5 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  (12)  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.  (13)  He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.  (14)  And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.  (15)  From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.  (16)  On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.  (17)  Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God,  (18)  to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”  (19)  And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.  (20)  And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.  (21)  And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

This continues in Revelations 20:1-5  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  (2)  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,  (3)  and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.  (4)  Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  (5)  The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

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3b) But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory, And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,
And some glad day His sun shall shine in splendor, When He the Savior, Savior of the world, is known.

— Does this agree with the timespan of this “Thousand-year reign”?

— When you think about this time of this earth’s destiny, does the idea of the Thousand-year reign of Jesus cause you confusion, or maybe even fear?

— What GREAT HAPPENING is revealed by the author here?

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VERSE #4

4a) I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship, When, at His bidding, every storm is stilled,
Or who can say how great the jubilation, When all the hearts of men with love are filled.

— Indeed who can comprehend what this earth will be like in the “Thousand-year reign of Christ”?

— What is it going to be like to have all mankind governed by a reign of enforced peace, as all (unsaved and saved) are instructed about God’s two greatest commandments?

…And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

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4b) But this I know, the skies will thrill with rapture, And myriad, myriad human voices sing,
And earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer: At last the Savior, Savior of the world, is King.

— Is this reign of Christ drawing closer today? (Look at what proceeds His coming…)

Revelations 13:15-17  And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.  (16)  Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,  (17)  so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

— For a very current observation… How does the fact of recent governmental economic sanctions regarding an international conflict, (replacing actual combat), show us a path that could eventually be used to allow the “antichrist” to restrict Christians from buying and selling? (In fact to suffer exclusion, persecution, and attempted starvation.)

— When did we in Canada experience this same government type of control? (It just shows how this is definitely the approach that future world governments will use to control populations.)

You must not let this discourage you, remember the rapture of God’s children is coming…

Revelations 7:9-17  After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,  (10)  and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  (11)  And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  (12)  saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”  (13)  Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”  (14)  I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  (15)  “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.  (16)  They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.  (17)  For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Closing with this encouragement so to enter our prayer time, let’s listen to this song…

‘I can only imagine’