The Apprentice by Kai-Anne Clews read by Francois van den Berg

I would rather hide myself in Jesus, And be a stranger to this age. I would rather chide myself, for this pleases, And averts many dangers along the way. No bitter depth or cavern, No expanse of depth, of deepest space, Is anything but shallow To the Lord of all eternity, and Immediately accessible, to His gaze. No height of any mountain peak, No celestial vision amid the clouds, No upward reach of eternity, Is considered high - To the one who All surrounds. The High, The Low, The Middle way – The canopy of Heavens stars – All are within sight everyday – Of this Beloved Lord of ours. The Lord of all eternity, Where, then, from Him can I hide? I step in all places, with asurity, He’s already mapped it all. And is by my side. What feeling can I encounter, That my Lord then might not know? What place can I travel to, That my Lord then, did not first go? What knowledge then is secret, Discovered only unto me? What treasure of wisdom, Excludes, the Holy Three? What achievement of any hue, Can I claim then is mine alone? What virtue can I lay hold of, And boast “Why should I atone?” What beauty could I notice, What pleasure garden could I nourish, What medicinal poultice could I make – To make men well and flourish? If not all taken first from His library, Borrowed from His stock? All meaning flowing from His dictionary, All time, ticking, from His clock. Does not then the painter Merely imitate the glory of the sunrise? Does not then the Poet, Merely name the beauty seen with the eyes? All belongs unto the Lord, Even the Creatures, all are His, That He shares freely with us, As gently as a kiss… How He Longs to Know You… He’s always awaiting the slightest prayer, So everyday might dawn anew, Together, to face the eternal frontier. He has made us then for fellowship, We that bear His form, This good eternal apprenticeship, That does every soul transform.