Excerpt from
Jewels from His Crown
A HEART OF STONE
When first I came into His light, ‘Twas dark and all alone. I had no other gift to bring, Except my heart of stone. By sin my soul was ravaged sore, My strength was almost gone; Betrayed once now and still again, By my cruel heart of stone. I searched His face for one small hint Of what He thought of me; Sharp, cruel arrows from below Had wounded by degree. I scarce could think that He would chose To draw me to His heart, Since I had chosen for so long, From Him to live apart. But from His face He beamed a smile, And poured out liquid love; He changed my former heart of stone, To be like His above. I face each day with joyful trust, All fears I’ve left behind. No greater peace on Him to lean, Nor sweeter rest I find.
There is a bittersweet element to this poem. The picture in my mind as I wrote it was that of the child who picks a flower not knowing its true value. She proudly presents it to her mother. “Here Mom, I love you,” she says. The flowers are wild and plentiful, but to the child it is a rich treasure, expressing its love. In the presence of God we are all bare and have no gift to bring for our salvation. The sadness comes when we discover that the only gift that we truly have is a “heart of stone.” Due to our guilt and unworthiness, we cannot look Him in the face. Finally, with an excruciating and powerful effort we “search His face,” and we are rewarded with a love that I describe as liquid. It is poured from His vessel into our own as though beamed from a source of divine light, because it is.
I am really glad that Dr. David Jeffares is finally publishing these volumes of Sacred Poetry. I have used his poem “When I Look Back upon My Life” in preaching pulpits and conferences in numerous parts of this great land of ours. I have read his poems and I have wept at the rich, warm oil of love and joyful excitement as the words pour forth. It is as though they are written on a scroll in heaven by the finger of God and rewritten here on the earth by Dr. Jeffares.