"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-2322But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22‑23)).
Has the Lord called you out, just apart to Himself?
Shut up to His presence alone?
In a garden enclosed, you may bear precious fruit,
Which only to His eye is known.
The fruits of the Spirit, so precious to Him,
Need not active life to be known,
But in quietness, restfulness, patience, and peace,
These fruits in His presence are grown.
The love and the gentleness, goodness, joy, faith,
Which come from His great heart of love,
Can only be known, when we're resting in Him,
Occupied with the One up above.
The peace and longsuffering, temperance too,
The meekness, expressed by our Lord,
Were all shown in Jesus, when here upon earth
He walked as a man before God.
He has gone back to glory, where He's seated now,
At the Father's right hand, up above,
As our High Priest and Advocate, He intercedes,
And pleads for His own—matchless love!
Up there in the glory, He lives for us now,
The Lamb, who to this world once came;
And seeks by His spirit, to work in His own,
To bear fruit for His precious Name.
In a garden enclosed, just shut up with Himself,
Is the place for these graces to grow;
Where we're watered by rivers, and streams of His love,
And His presence continually know.
Thus, into His image, God fashions and molds,
He will finish the work He's begun,
Of transforming souls in communion with Him,
To the likeness of His blessed Son.