I have learned the wondrous secret

1
I have learned the wondrous secret
  Of abiding in the Lord;
I have tasted life’s pure fountain,
  I am drinking of His word;
I have found the strength and sweetness
  Of abiding ’neath the blood;
I have lost myself in Jesus,
  I am sinking into God.
  I’m abiding in the Lord
And confiding in His word;
I am hiding in the bosom of His love.
Yes, abiding in the Lord
And confiding in His word,
  I am hiding in the bosom of His love.
2
I am crucified with Jesus,
  And He lives and dwells with me;
I have ceased from all my struggling,
  ’Tis no longer I, but He.
All my will is yielding to Him,
  And His Spirit reigns within;
And His precious blood each moment
  Keeps me cleansed and free from sin.
3
All my sicknesses I bring Him,
  And He bears them all away;
All my fears and griefs I tell Him,
  All my cares from day to day,
All my strength I draw from Jesus,
  By His breath I live and move;
E’en His very mind He gives me,
  And His faith, and life, and love.
4
For my words I take His wisdom,
  For my works His Spirit’s power;
For my ways His ceaseless presence
  Guards and guides me every hour.
Of my heart, He is the portion,
  Of my joy the boundless spring;
Savior, Sanctifier, Healer,
  Glorious Lord, and coming King.
21
Tom

Milwaukee, United States

Wow. This song speaks of a life I don't yet know how to live. A life that is just Christ and only Christ. Not Christ-like. Not empowered by Christ. Not lived next to Christ. But Christ. Christ only. Clearly the life Paul speaks about in Philippians when he says "To me, to live, is Christ" and Watchman Nee expounds upon in the "Overcoming Life", and Charles Trumbull eloquently explains in his little essay "The Life that Wins" - a most amazing essay. "For my ways his ceaseless presence guards and guides me every hour. " How many of us can honestly say that? I can't. How many of us honestly desire that? I do. So where is the disconnect??? If we desire it, and God clearly wills it, why do we not live it? Is Christ not more than a match for our flesh? Did he not put our flesh to death on the Cross? Do we not believe this is true? Yes, most of us do believe all these things. So why is this not automatic? I believe the key is in the other place the word "cease" is employed in this song, in verse 2. "I have ceased from all my struggling, tis no longer I but he." That ceasing leads to Christ's ceaseLESS presence. I will speak for myself now: I love my "good works" (even though I agree mentally with the Bible that they are filthy rags) too much and have not allowed Christ to make a full replacement. I have not taken action according to my beliefs. I try to help Him a little here and there, so that He and I are still two, not one. As Brother Nee says, I have not moved out of my abode fully. How can you move out of your own abode? By coming to a completely different level of trust in Jesus that only the Holy Spirit can impart to you. This is the meaning of "I am the alpha and the omega", and "revelation from faith to faith". It all starts with HIS faith in us, not ours, and it continues from there. Yet I make it MY faith. Then I wonder why I struggle. But it's obvious isn't it? I want to help God with his gift to me of Christ, but works nullify grace, don't they? It's all him, from beginning to end. We just trust that like a little child and rejoice infinitely in this gift of life. To quote Trumbull "Oh, Mr Trumbull, if we would just step out more boldly in faith upon Christ, he could do so much more for us." In the end is a matter of trust, trusting God fully, as Jesus did and still does in us, if we are willing to let him in all the way.


Dasha Chong

Round Rock, TX, United States

I have lost myself in Jesus! I am sinking into God!


Prem

Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India

Amen abiding in You Lord Jesus.


Renyta Suwuh

Austin, Texas, United States

Hallelujah we have learned this wondrous secret!


Jessica

Richmond, BC, Canada

All my fears and griefs I tell Him,

All my cares from day to day,

“In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). Hence, if you have some problem, you just need to tell Him. ... This is to live Christ. Those who do not know this secret consider to live Christ a difficult thing. Actually, you just need to practice speaking with the Lord constantly; then spontaneously you will live Christ.

("The Organic Aspect of God's Salvation, p. 55)


Stephen

Madison, WI, United States

Just keep playing the same chord until it sounds bad, then switch :)


Tara

Dallas, TX, United States

@Andrew & anyone else interested: the guitar chords listed are from the original score, not written for guitar. A lot of times, simplify the chords by playing one per measure, whichever chord makes sense with the most notes. So, start on D, until the word abiding (v1), which is G, then D next measure.


Andrew

Charlottesville, Va

Love the song, but I was wondering, can y'all lower the amount of chords for the guitar, not just on this song but on all? Just seems like there are way too many chords in the song, doesn't sound right.


Jonathan Pafford

Charlotte, NC, United States

For my ways His ceaseless presence guards and guides me every hour. "Lord may everything we do and say issue from living in Your sweet presence."


Lizzy

Canada

This song is very uplifting. All I need to do is to abide in Him and to confide in His word, then I can hide in the bosom of His love. He is Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, Glorious Lord and coming King.

Later, when we compiled our hymnal, we found a very good hymn written by A. B. Simpson on abiding (Hymns, #564, published by Living Stream Ministry). However, this hymn does not say much regarding the way to abide in the vine. This lack compelled us to spend more time in the Gospel of John, since the matter of abiding is revealed there. In principle, when we do not understand a point covered in a book of the Bible, we should study the entire book in order to understand it. Eventually, through our study of the Gospel of John, we discovered that the matter of abiding is related to the two spirits.

Piano Hymns