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I followed all Your footsteps
And I sacrificed everything.
I did Your bidding no matter
What You asked of me.
I trusted, I had faith, I endured
All the pain that was given me.
I kept my love burning like a flame
Until I came to see the reality:
It is not my love for Thee
but Yours for me
That is consuming me.
-
Cathryne
Allen
I have written about King
David extensively over the years but it seems I am not finished yet. I watched
an AI generated film about him yesterday and it was done so well that I don’t
know who I cried about more, the David who rose to the throne or the David who
fell from it.
The fact remains that
David’s accomplishments are astounding. His name comes from the ancient Hebrew
root word dod which translates to a beloved person, love, a friend….pronounced
Dah-veed in modern Hebrew. As a youth, he was said to be a man after the
Lord’s “own heart” and as a man, he spoke by the Spirit and had many
revelations (1 Samuel 13:14).
In his rising to the
throne he conquered his enemies by his supplication to God for help and
protection ‘not fearing what man can do to him’ (see Psalm 55:11). He was
fearless in his dedication to his people by his awe inspiring way he believed
in the cause in Israel when he, a mere
shepherd boy, slew Goliath, considering him of no regard, a mere ‘uncircumcised
Philistine, who dared to defy the armies of the living God’ to whom he stated
without fear: “I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel whom thou hast defied…...and I will smite thee and take thine
head from thee….that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” (1 Samuel
17:26,45,46). All the earth, indeed…..
The zeal with which he
lived his early years is absolutely mind blowing. What tears at my heart the
most are the psalms he wrote as a reflection of his incomparable love for the
God of Israel. His faith gave him a
prophetic voice to testify of Christ who would one day sit on his throne. Apostle
Peter testified of this fact in Acts 2:22-36. Psalms worthy of notice to this
end are:
·
Psalm 16 (thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption);
·
Psalm 22, which closely matches details of
the Crucifixion, including “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (v 1); “they pierced my hands and my feet” (v 16); “They
part my garments….and cast lots” (v 18);
·
Psalm 110, which Jesus and the apostles
use as messianic, including “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right
hand” (v 1); the prophecy of Christ as “a priest for ever after the order of
Melchizedek” (v 4);
·
Psalm 41, often connected with betrayal: “mine
own familiar friend…hath lifted up his heel against me” (v 9), which Jesus
quoted at the Last Supper (John 13:18);
·
Psalm 69, linked to the suffering of
Christ: “in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (v 21);
·
Psalm 118, used repeatedly in the New
Testament about Christ: “The stone which the builders refused is become the
head stone of the corner” (v 22) and “blessed be he that cometh in the name of
the Lord” (v 26).
David did three things for temporal Israel that typify what Christ will do for spiritual Israel:
Firstly, following Saul's death, Israel's
kingdom was divided in two for seven years. The tribe of Judah accepted David
as their king and the rest of the tribes of Israel were ruled by Ishbosheth,
one of the sons of Saul, whom Abner, Saul's commanding general set up as the
new king (2 Sam 2:8-9).
Despite being anointed as Israel's king, by Samuel, the prophet,
David refrained from taking action against Ishbosheth in honour of the covenant
he made with Jonathan not to retaliate against Saul's family when he came to
power. Following Ishbosheth's murder David showed great wisdom and judgment by
executing the two men responsible (see (2 Samuel 3). This brought him into
favour with the tribes under Ishbosheth and ultimately united all twelve tribes
into one nation under the ultimate leadership of God.
Secondly, David succeeded in winning the whole extent of the
promised land for the covenant people. For the first time the chosen people of
the Lord controlled the whole land promised to Abraham's posterity nearly a
thousand years earlier.
Thirdly, David established Zion or Jerusalem as the spiritual and
political center of Israel. Under David's reign Israel reached its golden age.
Never before had Israel achieved such heights of power nor did they ever again.
(Old Testament Student Manual, Book 1 p 291)
David was anointed to sit on the throne of Israel and to establish the royal family line that would produce the King of Kings who would one day sit ‘on the throne of his father David’ (Luke 1:32-33). My question is this: was David chosen to be an example of the good King who was to come or was he chosen to show that no king can be as good as the King that was to come????? The answer is obvious, no king can be as good as the King that is yet to come because that King would never and will NEVER fall. I often think our present day governments will with their weakness and corruption accentuate the blessing that the King of Kings will be when He comes to govern the world.
“Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Revelation
22:20).
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
I
heard You in my heart today
And
all You tried so hard to say.
My
soul split open and I could see
What
You suffered in Gethsemane.
My
tears spilled and climbed that hill
Where
Your suffering increased yet still.
My
sorrow spilt, I saw my guilt
As
You absolved me on that cross of Calvary
When
one day soon again we meet
I
will sorrow at Your feet.
My
hands raw from clutching still
That
gruesome cross of Calvary.
You
have my heart,
You
have my soul,
My
purchased self is Yours to own.
In
my memory, Your blood runs still
On
that ruthless hill of Calvary.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
Your love, O
Your love!
Like a
soothing balm
From gilded
courts on high;
It flows, and
it calms,
It seeks and
it finds the troubled mind.
It gathers and
it lifts the sorrowing,
the lame, the
weak;
Ever and ever
Your mercy divine
Looks for
those who achingly weep.
-
CATHRYNE ALLEN
“If there is
an imagery upon which I would focus, it is two scriptures from the Book of
Mormon. The one in which we are reminded that Jesus himself is the gate keeper
and that ‘he employeth no servant there’ (2 Nephi 9:41).
“I will tell
you….out of the conviction of my soul….what I think the major reason is (why he
‘employeth no servant there’), as contained in another Book of Mormon scripture
which says He waits for you ‘with open arms’ (Mormon 6:17). That’s why He’s there!
“He waits for
you with open arms. That imagery is too powerful to brush aside….It is imagery
that should work itself into the very center core of one’s mind – a rendezvous
impending, a moment in time and space, the likes of which there is none other.
And that rendezvous is a reality. I certify that to you. He does wait for us
with open arms, because His love for us is perfect.”
-
Neal A. Maxwell, But A Few Days, p
7
I have no life but this,
To know the scope of You.
I have no wish but this,
To feel that You want this too.
I have no life but this,
To know Thy approving glance;
To kneel at Thy feet,
To know there is a chance.
I have no life but this
To follow the path to Thy throne
To be greeted with a holy kiss,
And know the reality of such bliss.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
I find You deep within my heart.
You cradle me in Your loving arms
And offer me Your godly cup.
With eager haste I drink my fill,
I will scatter the seeds of Your love
Along humanity’s path
To feed the hungry souls
For many years;
Until each cared for soul
Will pave the trail of my happy tears.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: You Are Loved by Alex Kovych)
O Israel!!!
You are the
apple of my eye (Deut 32:9,10; Zech 2:8; Psalm 17:8)
I will not forget
you…I have graven you upon the palms of my hands… (Isaiah 49:15,16)
As the
Father hath loved me, so I have loved you (John 15:9)
Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends….you
are my friends (John 15:13)
I am your God
and you are my people and your sins I will remember no more (Hebrews 8:10,12)
I have
redeemed you…you are mine….when you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burnt…. you are precious in my
sight and I have loved you…..fear not, for I am with you (Isaiah 43:1-4)
Be not
dismayed, for I am your God….. (Isaiah 41:10)
Be faithful
and keep my commandments and I will encircle you in the arms of my love
(D&C 6:20)
If I dwell
in your heart, you will comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth and
height of my love for you which passes all knowledge (Ephesians 3:17-19)
If you keep
my commandments, you shall abide in my love (John 15:10)
You are
bought with a price for all things are for your
sakes, even the eternal weight of glory...... (1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Cor
4:15,17))..........
I
love You to the deepest depth of my delicate heart,
I
cherish You beyond the reason of my living.
Gather
me softly into Your arms;
Show
me Your love that will never change;
Hold
me steady and keep me protected
In
the shelter of Your eternal flame.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Artist Unknown)
“The greater definition of ‘the pure love of Christ is not
what we as Christians try but largely fail to demonstrate toward others but
rather what Christ totally succeeded in demonstrating toward us. TRUE charity
has been known only once. It is shown perfectly and purely In Christ’s
unfailing, ultimate, and atoning love for us.
“It is that charity – his pure love for us – without which
we would be nothing, hopeless, of all men and women most miserable. Truly,
those found possessed of the blessings of His love at the last day – the
Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise – surely it shall be
well with them….Life has its share of fears and failures…but one thing in time
or eternity does not fail us – the pure love of Christ.”
-
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Christ and the New
Covenant” [1997], 336-37
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38,39)
As the stars in heaven
That burn with everlasting light
So is my love that burns for Thee
On the altar of my godly heart.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: God of Wonders by Yongsung Kim)
There is a word in Hebrew which is difficult to
render in English. It is usually translated as ‘steadfast love’. The Hebrew
word is HESED. It is a covenant word that refers to the faithfulness or loyal
love that binds two people together in covenant.
This love is motivated by an inner loyalty
which arises out of the relationship itself and not by legal obligation. Such
covenant love has the quality of constancy, firmness and steadfastness. It is a
love you have for another that you would never break because of deep loyalty
you feel towards them.
I am feeling today the responsibility of my covenant
that I made with the Saviour in my pre-mortal life. Perhaps because I am
struggling presently with my mortality and feeling very inadequate. My patriarchal
blessing says I made promises in pre-earth life but I feel deep down it was a
covenant and not just a flighty promise that I made to stay faithful to Him and
the cause of salvation.
It has always fascinated me that the Saviour presents
His relationship to His Church in a marital setting (2 Corinthians 11:2;
Revelation 19:7-8; 21:2,9). At times I have thought it strange that He will be
the bridegroom and the Church His bride at the Second Coming….until I came to
understand that this is about love. That those who truly and undeniably love
Him will be like a bride coming to the wedding with love unfeigned. She will be
bound to the bridegroom by HESED.
Hosea speaks of Israel of the Old Testament as
a fickle woman that lacks steadfastness and trustworthiness of true covenant
love. He describes Ephraim as ‘a silly dove without heart’ (Hosea 7:11). In
Hosea’s ‘vivid figure, Israel’s HESED was like a transient morning cloud, or
like the morning dew that evaporates quickly (Hosea 6:4)’ (Old Testament Student Manual comments for
Hosea 6:6).
The only way to understand HESED is to
understand God’s love for the House of Israel. The scriptures are replete with message
of love from the Saviour toward us: we are chosen to be a special people above
all people upon the face of the earth (Det 7:6); He would sacrifice others for
Israel (Isaiah 43:1-7); He has redeemed us because we are His (Isaiah 43:1-3); Israel
is ‘the apple of His eye’ (Det 32:9,10; Zechariah 2:8; Psalm 17:8). Does this
not make you feel special?
And this is the pinnacle of His love: Even
though we often wander and break our covenant with Him, the Saviour will NEVER
break His covenant with us, His people (Deuteronomy 4:31; Leviticus 26:44,46;
Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23). And this is why: “I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands….” (Isaiah 49:16).
This is HESED.
Such love as Yours
Burning bright in my heart,
I will forever know.
Through highs and lows,
Through depths unknown,
Its flame I will carry with me
Wherever I go.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: Your Faith Has Saved You by Randy Riemel)
"Some years ago, it was my privilege to visit the country of Morocco as part of an official United States government delegation. As part of that visit, we were invited to travel some distance into the desert to visit some ruins. Five large black limousines moved across the beautiful Moroccan countryside at considerable speed. I was riding in the third limousine, which had lagged some distance behind the second. As we topped the brow of a hill, we noticed that the limousine in front of us had pulled off to the side of the road. As we drew nearer, I sensed that an accident had occurred and suggested to my driver that we stop. The scene before us has remained with me for these many years.
An old shepherd, in the long, flowing robes of the Saviour’s day, was standing near the limousine in conversation with the driver. Nearby, I noted a small flock of sheep numbering not more than fifteen or twenty. An accident had occurred. The king’s vehicle had struck and injured one of the sheep belonging to the old shepherd. The driver of the vehicle was explaining to him the law of the land. Because the king’s vehicle had injured one of the sheep belonging to the old shepherd, he was now entitled to one hundred times its value at maturity. However, under the same law, the injured sheep must be slain and the meat divided among the people. My interpreter hastily added, “But the old shepherd will not accept the money. They never do.”
Startled, I asked him why. And he added, “Because of the love he has for each of his sheep.” It was then that I noticed the old shepherd reach down, lift the injured lamb in his arms, and place it in a large pouch on the front of his robe. He kept stroking its head, repeating the same word over and over again. When I asked the meaning of the word, I was informed, “Oh, he is calling it by name. All of his sheep have a name, for he is their shepherd, and the good shepherds know each one of their sheep by name.”
It was as my driver predicted. The money was refused, and the old shepherd with his small flock of sheep, with the injured one tucked safely in the pouch of his robe, disappeared into the beautiful deserts of Morocco.
As we continued our journey toward the ruins, my interpreter shared with me more of the traditions and practices of the shepherds of that land. Each evening at sundown, for example, the shepherds bring their small flocks of sheep to a common enclosure where they are secured against the wolves that roam the deserts of Morocco. A single shepherd then is employed to guard the gate until morning. Then the shepherds come to the enclosure one by one, enter therein, and call forth their sheep – by name. The sheep will not hearken unto the voice of a stranger but will leave the enclosure only in the care of their true shepherd, confident and secure because the shepherd knows their names and they know his voice.
- (Elder
John R. Lasater, “Shepherds of Israel”, Ensign, May 1988, p 74)
How dear to the heart of the Shepherd
Is the flock of His sheep;
With tenderness and love
He watches over those in His keep.
How much do they love their Shepherd!
How closely they stay by His side!
With every footstep they follow,
To forever with Him abide,
All eternity wide.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: AI Generated)
THE INEVITABLE PRICE
Very often we get lost in our admiration of Paul the apostle and we miss the most important lesson we can learn from him, and that lesson is this: all our actions have consequences that cannot be escaped because what we send into the lives of others, comes back into our own.
Alma the Younger gave his son Corianton some interesting advice that we can relate to Paul. He admonished him to be merciful to his brethren and he shall have mercy; to deal justly and he shall have justice; to judge righteously and he shall be righteously judged and to do good continually and he shall have good rewarded to him…..and then he said summed it up beautifully: ‘for that which ye do send out shall return unto you again….’ (Alma 41:14,15).
When the Lord said of Paul, ‘For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake’, He wasn’t kidding (Acts 9:16). Paul suffered five scourgings, three beatings with a rod, one stoning, one shipwreck, lengthy imprisonment, and endurance of peril, hunger, painfulness and weariness wherever he went but most of all, if you read the book of Acts, constant persecution by the Jews (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). And so you see, Paul the persecutor became Paul the persecuted…..
No wicked act committed against another will go unnoticed. Those who do not repent of unjust behaviour toward others will have to confront that accountability on that day ‘when the Lord shall come to ‘recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man’ (D&C 1:10). We mostly focus on Saviour’s mercy these days because we want to believe that we will be forgiven for anything and we overlook the fact that He will also come to execute justice for those whose lives and spirits were crushed and damaged by others.
There is another great lesson here. We cannot eternally live with the God of love if we do not love one another. We cannot live with the Saviour if we are not like Him. Love is central to His character. His love transcends our weaknesses, our flaws and even our sins. Paul learnt this lesson well. In extolling the high status of charity to the Corinthians he said: even if I speak with the tongue of angels and have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and knowledge and have faith to move mountains, and bestow all my goods to the poor and give my body to be burned and have not charity toward others, I am nothing…..(1 Corinthians 13:1-8).
I kept my love close to my heart
Until it became too heavy to bear.
It overflowed my weakened arms
And scattered along humanity’s path.
Like crumbs from the table it fed a few,
The lonely, the weak and the weary
And gladdened my giving heart.
I spread my arms wide
And fed a throng for many years
Until each cared for soul
Paved the trail of my happy tears.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: As I Have Loved You by Greg Olsen)
