I attended the funeral of
the father of a good friend of ours recently. I was very moved by the entire
service; the sweet spirit of the preacher and the awesome pomp and circumstance
of the military at his graveside. I swelled with pride at the soldiers and their
absolute professionalism. The playing of "Taps" on the bugle
and the presentation of the precisely folded U.S. flag to his widow was
overwhelming and emotional but so beautiful.
During the service, the
preacher read the verses of the song, "Amazing Grace," including two
unknown verses that struck my heart:
Yes, when this flesh
and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall
cease;
I shall possess within
the veil,
A life of joy and
peace!
The earth shall soon
dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to
shine;
But God who called me
here below
Shall be forever mine!
My favorite part of the
bonus verses: "...I shall possess within the veil..."
Dictionary.com defines a
veil as "something that covers, separates, screens, or conceals." When Jesus died on the
cross for our sins, He eliminated the need for a veil between us and God.
Through Jesus, we have direct access to the throne of the Most High who shall
be "forever mine.”
What a wonderful thought!!
A forever mine Lord and possession of a life of joy and peace within the veil.
I hope that brings you as
much comfort as it does me.
Well, I'm crying! I imagine you were moved; I went to a Memorial Day Service with Tracy and Iris, as Archie was a Veteran...it was sooo beautiful, and I lost it completely when TAPS was played! I love those verses, not usually sung in this, my favorite (as it is for so many others)song of Praise.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about the "within the veil" portion; thank you for this! And yes, comfort is had from this, your post. AWESOME!!!