My only hope is the Lord

NS397
 
My only hope is the Lord;
Everything depends on Him.
Lord, I’ve loved You before,
But I know that love is unstable.
Set me as a seal on Your heart,
Set me as a seal on Your arm.
My trust is not in my holding power
But in Your love and strength.
In this close, sweet union,
I lean on You, my Beloved.
Fill my being to express You, Lord,
Until You come, my Love.
31
Precious Grace Catindig

Philippines

Lord, I’ve loved You before, But I know that love is unstable.

That's is why we really don't want to trust in our own holding power. What we need is the Lord's love and strength. We love because He first loved us.

Verse 6 says, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." When she recalls her original condition, she cannot help but be filled with humility. She cannot help but consider her emptiness, the vanity of her experience, the undependability of her mind, and the futility of her pursuit. Her only hope is the Lord. She realizes that whether she can endure to the end does not depend on her own endurance, but on the Lord's preservation. No spiritual perfection can sustain a person until the Lord's return. Everything depends on God and His preserving power. When she realizes this, she cannot help but exclaim, "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm." The heart is the place of love, while the arm is the place of strength. "Set me as permanently as a seal upon Your heart, and as indelibly as a seal upon Your arm. Just as the priests bore the Israelites upon their breasts and their shoulders, remember me constantly in Your heart and sustain me with Your arm. I know that I am weak and empty, and I am conscious of my powerlessness. Lord, I am a helpless person. If I try to preserve myself until Your coming, it will only bring shame to Your name and loss to myself. All my hopes are in Your love and power. I loved You before. But I know the undependability of that love. Now I look only to the love You have toward me. I held You once, and it seemed to be a powerful grip. But now I realize that even my strongest grip is just weakness. My trust is not in my holding power, but in Your holding power. I dare not speak of my love to You any longer. I dare not speak of my grasping of You any longer. From this point on, everything depends on Your strength and Your love.

CWWN, Set 2, vol. 23, The Song of Songs, Section Six.