Olives that have known no pressure

1
Olives that have known no pressure
  No oil can bestow;
If the grapes escape the winepress,
  Cheering wine can never flow;
Spikenard only through the crushing,
  Fragrance can diffuse.
Shall I then, Lord, shrink from suff’ring
  Which Thy love for me would choose?
  Each blow I suffer
Is true gain to me.
In the place of what Thou takest
  Thou dost give Thyself to me.
2
Do my heart-strings need Thy stretching,
  Songs divine to prove?
Do I need for sweetest music
  Cruel treatment of Thy love?
Lord, I fear no deprivation
  If it draws to Thee;
I would yield in full surrender
  All Thy heart of love to see.
3
I’m ashamed, my Lord, for seeking
  Self to guard alway;
Though Thy love has done its stripping,
  Yet I’ve been compelled this way.
Lord, according to Thy pleasure
  Fully work on me;
Heeding not my human feelings,
  Only do what pleases Thee.
4
If Thy mind and mine should differ,
  Still pursue Thy way;
If Thy pleasure means my sorrow,
  Still my heart shall answer, “Yea!”
’Tis my deep desire to please Thee,
  Though I suffer loss;
E’en though Thy delight and glory
  Mean that I endure the cross.
5
Oh, I’ll praise Thee, e’en if weeping
  Mingle with my song.
Thine increasing sweetness calls forth
  Grateful praises all day long.
Thou hast made Thyself more precious
  Than all else to me:
Thou increase and I decrease, Lord—
  This is now my only plea.

Copyright Living Stream Ministry. Used by permission.

11
Isaiah Tor

Sydney, NSW, Australia

The writer of this hymn portrays the crucified life in a most subjective way, without a hint of self-pity or introspection. The flavour of its utterance bespeaks the deeply wrought dealings of the cross to a degree that matches the Lord's heart for us to be conformed to His death in every single way. This hymn is not a dirge, but a detailed experiential exposition of the Christian life under the cross to a degree where the tone of the last verse is that of heartfelt praise and even boasting in the hope of fully expressing Christ. To enter into the sentiment of this hymn requires a full departure from and denial of the self, to the extent where our only interest is that Christ would be fully increased in us in every way, for the ministry.

Piano Hymns