But Meantime
Please take me from this world, Lord, where sadness descends like rain,
Where suffering and hardship, fills so many lives with pain.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where the powers of darkness dwell,
Where troubles daily plague us, and where evil breezes chill.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where death stalks and many claims,
Where iniquity is cherished, and where vice more converts gains.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where love’s cried, but less love’s shown,
Where peace, freedom and justice, many have never known.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where hypocrisy is rife,
Where prejudice is common, and there’s less regard for life.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where strong temptation beacons,
Where an unrighteous influence the resolve of many weakens.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where dishonesty abounds,
Where every form of evil earth’s inhabitants surrounds.
Please take me from this world, Lord, where lawlessness is rising,
Where the shameful and irreverent no longer are surprising.
But meantime, while on earth, Lord, help me faithful to You be,
Help me carry out Your will despite unpopularity.
Help me dare not compromise, nor exchange for unity,
Truth that You’ve entrusted to the Christian community.
Let ‘love and truth’, ‘faith and works’, ‘mercy and justice’, my life grace,
For each one of these six things, You’ve said has its rightful place.
All six are bound together, and separated should not be,
For when we separate them, we’re not in harmony with Thee.
Yes, love comes first and foremost, but faith without works is dead,
And justice minus mercy, shows a heart that’s made of lead.
Not girding ourselves with truth, is to likewise, You deny,
For Truth that You’ve ordained, Lord, You’ve said, always hold up high.
By Lance Landall