My very extra special singing group at church performed Dan Forrest’s arrangement of “How Firm a Foundation.” While the arrangement is incredible throughout, one of my favorite features is that it keeps circling back to the question, “What more can He say?” It’s a legitimate question.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

Seriously, what more is there for God to say? What more can He promise that has been promised in His Word? What more can He give? What further guidance can He offer? If God chose to be silent from this moment on He would have said enough.

But here’s the amazing thing. He knows us. We aren’t good at silence. We need constant contact. So God keeps talking.He gave us the Holy Spirit to keep chattering away at us (rebuking, encouraging, teaching), and he wrote himself into the very fabric of creation so that we see his personality everywhere.

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” (John 14: 16-17)

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun. (Psalm 19:1-4)

This isn’t a particularly deep or original though, but right now with winter setting in on the grey plains of Ohio, I am finding it particularly comforting.