10,10,11,11

Jesus, our Life, in whom we live and move, His Spirit within us, in time will prove; For the church is His body, to it gives life, As the man is the head of the dear wife.

Performs her righteousness,and there works, Though her flesh is not moved, where old sin lurks. At all times He loves her, 'Twas for her He died, But that grace within her, must surely be tried.

For the flesh is dead, as lifeless dry bones; But still serves it's place, as the bees their drones; The righteousness of our flesh is still unclean, This knowledge makes us, toward the Savior lean.

The prophet wrote, All our works are as rags, Filthy, polluted, though often flesh brags; Himself, he included, Though then born of God, Knew that all of his works stemmed from this old sod.

All of our best works are as filthy rags, When we depend upon them, our hope sags; And find that our flesh can do nothing good, Against sin to resist, striving unto blood.

For trust in our merit, or our works too, Must from our right hand, be hidden from view; That all of the merit in Jesus be found, When we're made to know this, our doctrine is sound.

The best things we've done, we cannot present, For all of these things, Himself to us leant; For His glory, And show the depths of our fall; That His Spirit within us, must be all in all.

It was Christ in us, His works to perform, Christ gives the movement, though we are lukewarm; When apathy is found to be our downfall, -We're grown complacent, He still is all in all.

Our fallen nature in death yet does lie, For to seek life from the flesh is to die; But to all the chosen, found in the great call, They'll rest in the knowledge, of Christ all in all.

This filth is the fruit of the old bad tree, Which cannot bring forth, good fruit, now you see; Which permeates all flesh, upon this old ball, -Wars with the Spirit, Till Christ is all in all.

So when by His faith, we live within Him, As the trunk of a tree, and the fixed limb; And branches extend from the vine on the wall, Draw our Life from Him - He must be all in all.

So then it is God that worketh in us, His good pleasure to fulfill, in Jesus; Forever, in those, embraced in the great Fall, Both to will and to do, for He's all in all.

*Copyright 1999

O. Allen Bailey