How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of my Kinsman Redeemer, the Fetcher of My Soul, as He strides down the Sides of the North thru the flora and the fauna of His own creation, just to meet with me down here in the valley below. With every step, all of creation seems to pale before the Glory that emanates from His Presence.  Before each step, the brilliant flora fades into a subtle pastel. Before each step, the beasts, and critters of the forest and the beasts and critters of the field slowly prostrate themselves before Him as He comes their way. Before Him, for a few short moments, all of creation seems to hold her breath, while behind Him, all of that lovely goodness that compasses Him about dovetails into His wake with an uncontainable exuberance. The flora explodes with colors and hues far richer and more brilliant than the moment before. The fauna of the field and the fauna of the forest revel at His feet with a rollicking joy, as if they had just been informed that they were to live forever, which seems to put a smile on His Face. Defying gravity with several swift sweeps of the wing, the birds of the air that were perched before Him with bowed heads, rise all about Him, entwining themselves in a frolicking flight that, for a few quick moments, resembles a terrifying, Old Rugged Cross, yes, that “Cross“, then, kvelling about in a shapeshifting move they crossover into what seems to be a joyful cross –  kinda like a cross between the Texas Two-Step and the Tennessee Waltz, rejoicing aloft.

¶ All the while, I’m gazing up from the valley below, thinking; In my forty years of being born anew, I’ve never seen anything like this before. My, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the Feet of this King, this Prince of Peace, this Fetcher of Lost Souls, the One Who fetched me, Who, with all the Power of Almighty God, is Comin Down the Mountain, proclaiming, ‘Peace on earth and goodwill towards men’ ” (Isaiah 52:7, Luke 2:14) …drawing whosever will to “come to Him” before the final judgment descends.  And even though I know He’s the One Who fetched my soul forty years ago, I’m standing here thinking; Who is this?  When, out of the deep blue yonder rolls a loving Voice not unlike a peal of thunder, bearing out,  “Do you not remember?”  “This is My Beloved Son in Whom I AM well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

I fall to my knees, lift up my hands, and sing:

Blessed is the Man who follows,

Follows hard after You.

Strong are his hands when the strength of that man

Is knowing You, the Truth

 

For we who have come thru the Fire and the Flood

Know full well,

It’s the Spirit, the Water, the Water, and Blood

That overcome.

 

It’s the Spirit, the Water, the Water, and Blood,

These Three agree, these Three in One.

The Spirit, the Water, the Water, and Blood

Overcome the World.     ©wc

¶ Before I can get to the next verse I feel the touch of a powerful, yet Loving Hand upon my shoulder and I hear a voice as sovereign as all of heaven speaking, “Stand up, dear brother.”  As I rise to my feet I find myself face to face with my Kinsman Redeemer. All I can utter is, “Oh Lord, I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips dwelling in the midst of a people with unclean lips.” {Isaiah 6:5} Still, I found myself peering into the depths of a boundless expanse of tranquility so vast that nothing could disturb my soul. Nonetheless, while lost in the Deep Love of His Eyes, He spoke to me with all the tenderness of God’s Great Heart, saying, “You must not call unclean what I have cleansed.” {Acts 11:9} Why, I think He meant me!  Yet still further, deep beyond the fathomless lovingkindness in His Eyes loomed, what seemed to be, stormy billows of vengeance. Within these stormy billows, I caught a terrifying glance of a judgment soon to fall on those that do trouble Him so. Deep within those billows brewed an ominous storm of such magnitude that I believe we just may grieve with uncontrollable weeping for the souls of those upon whom it is about to fall. For all the souls of the proud and arrogant mockers, for all the souls of the high and haughty, for all the souls of the demented and violently insane, for all the souls taken captive by the filthy and the perverse, and perhaps even most of all, for the souls of the fearful and the naive who have a form of godliness but deny the Holy Spirit – who love religion but hate His Lordship. It is upon these that this ominous storm of vengeance is about to descend. Oh, you’ve got to know this; this fiery vengeance will be far beyond what any war has ever delivered. This descending wrath will be outside the range of human understanding, and because of the severity of this coming judgment I believe I saw tears flow from the eyes of my Kinsman Redeemer, “…for His great desire was to gather all of us beneath His wings,” {John 11:35, Luke 19:41, 13:34}

¶ Still, though He said not a Word, I felt as though the Lord wanted me to peer deeper into the vast infinity of the eyes into which I gazed, which I did. Beyond that great expanse of tranquility, beyond those stormy billows of vengeance, even beyond the terrifying tempest of judgment, and righteous indignation, beyond all that I gathered a glimpse of what appeared to be a Golden City with mansions built of sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, and precious stones, and there, in the heart of it all, appeared the Throne of God. It was there upon a golden altar before Him that did sit a set of scales upon which I saw the souls of men and women hanging in the balance. I began to weep uncontrollably for what was about to befall them when I heard a Voice which said, “How shall they call on Me in Whom they do not believe? How shall they believe in Me in Whom they have not heard? How shall they hear of Me if there is no one to tell them, and how can they tell others, except they themselves be saved and sent? Oh, how beautiful upon My mountains are the feet of My brothers and sisters that preach My Gospel of Peace, taking My glad tidings of good things to all mankind.” (Romans 10:14,15)

…which brings us to what we know today as Psalm XV

<<A Psalm of David>>

1 Who shall abide in Your house? Who shall rest forever in Your Holy Mountain?

2 He who desires to behave with Godly integrity, he who is just, faithful, and fair and speaks out of the Truth that the Lord has placed in his heart.  (v.1 &2,¹wcv & ²)

¶ We must come to realize, even though we are only passing thru this place, that we may “sit amongst those who are wondered at here on earth and walk amongst those who stand by Him in the heavenlies” even though we are but “brands plucked out of the fire”, for the Lord Himself has said to us, “Come stand within My gates, Take off those filthy, man-made clothes, you smell like a dead man’s grave, and I will clothe you with My righteousness, for These Last Days”.  ( taken from Zechariah 3:8,7,&4, Matthew 23:27)     ©These Last Days ©Will Callery ©William & Cynthia Pub. Co BMI

¶ Which takes us down to the Bank of God’s Little Pond where we might sit for a spell, take all this in, and ponder, you know, down by the pond. That we might, down there by the Pondering Pond, ponder just what it is that’s goin’ on here; Should I make a withdrawal by Fetching a little Wisdom out of the Deep so I can, when needed, make a much-needed Deposit elsewhere, after all, I am sitting on “God’s Bank” or should I just sit here on the Bank of the Pond until something sinks in? Either way, I am Banking on the Word of God and it is, indeed, a Deep Fetch.

1 Who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your Holy Mountain?

2 He that walks uprightly, works righteousness, and speaks the Truth in his heart.

¶ Anyone who thinks that they have been graced at birth with these Born of the Spirit character traits spoken of in verse 2, or that they have somehow developed them on their own by turning over a new leaf, or that they can acquire them by attending a seminary and becoming a “denominational citizen” is something I wouldn’t Bank On. Still and all, the spiritual character traits in verse 2, may, in deed, be withdrawn from the Bank of God’s Little Pond, however, IT is Deep and can only be Fetched by “seeking first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.”. (Matthew 6:33 & 21:22)  The only place our own righteousness will take us, I promise you, is a place we do not want to go! Now that’s also something you can Bank On.

1 So who is it that will journey up into the Mountain of the Lord to abide there forever? And who are those who are to be gathered into the Holy Place, into the Kingdom of God, forever?  (¹wcv & ²)

The Word of God says,

2 Those that learn to walk uprightly, work RIGHTEOUSNESS, and speak the Truth that the Lord has placed within their hearts.

3 Who do not backbite nor keep any falsehood tucked beneath their tongues, who stir up no evil with their neighbors, nor slander the name of their fellow man.

4 (And) In whose eyes the ways of the reprobate and the vile are despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord, and who, when he gives his word will not go back on it, even if it hurts.

5 Who makes no underhanded gain of the money he lends to the poor (of tithes & offerings or in the marketplace), neither can he be bribed to bring false testimony against the innocent. Whoever lives in this manner need never fear a fall from the favor of the Lord. They shall never be moved!   (vs. 2-5, ¹wcv & ²)

¶ Now that, my friend, is a Fetch into the Deep. Something we can all Bank On. For though the Pond be Little, “a little here and a little there”, the Bank is Steep and the Waters Deep. (Isaiah 28:10, Psalm 36:6, 107:24, 18:4, Proverbs 20:5)

¶ Speaking of Deep Waters, I believe those spoken of in David’s Psalm XV might also be called “Fishers of Men”. These are those who, in Christ Jesus, have escaped the comatose of that Thousand Yard Stare, along with its enticing desires, lustful charms, and seductive offers. Instead of being seized, enabled, and groomed by the ruler of this present, evil world, here they are, standing in awe, watching their Lord Comin’ Down the Mountain in all of His Glory to meet with them down here in the valley below. These are those who said “Yes” to His Lordship when He said, “Come and follow Me” {Matthew 4:19} …and to whom He, in turn, says, “You know, I came down here just to see you today – to ask you something.” To which, of course, we always reply, “What is it, Lord?”  “Well”, He said, “perhaps you can help and tip the scales a bit more for some of those poor souls hanging in the balance’.”  “You see”, says the Fetcher of our souls, “I think your feet are beautiful upon the mountains, too.”

THE OUTSHINING by Will Callery ©william & Cynthia Pub. Co.©2008 BMI

 

God bless us each and every single one with the Wisdom to lay it ALL down before Him!

 

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Letters From Over Yonder & The Deep Fetch are published by William & Cynthia Pub. Co. ©2023 (All Rights Reserved)

¹wcv / My Emphasis/Version

² / My Insert