R7. Reflections: June17

7 June 2017

God Is Waiting in the Silence

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Words: Oswald Jeffrey Smith (b. Nov. 8, 1889; d. Jan. 25, 1986)
Music: Bentley DeForest Ackley (b. Sept. 27, 1872; d. Sept. 3, 1958)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Oswald Smith)
The Cyber Hymnal (Oswald Smith)
Hymnary.org

Note: Many years ago I heard a friend sing this song as a solo, and it deeply impressed me. I thought it might be a great way to begin a worship service, to simply stand up and sing it, reminding people that God is there, and He is waiting for a response from us. So I decided to use it in this way, one Sunday morning.

It didn’t work. I don’t know what your church is like, but in this particular service, babies were squawking, and adults were still talking. Some late arrivals were finding seats. There was anything but “silence,” and the mood and message of the hymn was all but extinguished. In our present church, it might work better just before the Bible message, after the children have been dismissed to Children’s Church.

The play has received a great deal of comment and criticism over the six decades since Samuel Beckett wrote it. It has been called brilliant, labeled absurd, and condemned as vulgar. Take your pick.

Waiting for Godot is performed on a stage devoid of scenery, except for a tree and a rock. The two main characters, threadbare tramps, converse, as they wait for someone named Godot. Three other characters come along and enter the rambling discussion.

That’s it. Godot never appears. In fact Beckett confessed he not only didn’t know who Godot was, he wasn’t even sure he existed. So, what’s the point? That question has led to endless speculation. Is the dark drama a picture of political confusion? Of Freudian psychology? Or a mockery of religion? One guess seems as good as another, though Beckett said the meaning is simple, and he was surprised so many didn’t get it.

The ragged hobos are likely hoping for a handout from Godot. If only he would come, he’d surely help them out. But he is never going to come. Whatever else is intended by it, the play, it seems to me, presents a hopeless view of life–that we’re all bereft beggars, looking for something that never materializes. And life has no meaning, our existence is only a brief vanity. As one character in the play puts it, “They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.”

That’s rather like the view expressed in Ecclesiastes. That this mortal life “under the sun” is vanity–an empty nothing (Ecc. 1:1-2), an endless round of birth and death, planting and harvesting, gain and loss, round and round (Ecc. 3:1-8). But the difference between Beckett’s view and that of Solomon is that the latter provided an antidote for hopelessness. He was describing the dead-end street followed by secular man, but assures us there is a better road. When we factor in God and eternity, the present is invested with new meaning and a living hope (Ecc. 12:13-14), a hope anchored, after Solomon’s time, in the finished work of Christ (I Pet. 1:3).

What are we waiting for? What are we expecting out of life? While so many are waiting and watching for some fantasy helper, God is waiting for them, and seeking for them.

“God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God” (Ps. 53:2). “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (Jn. 4:23). “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine [fellowship] with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).

In 1938, Canadian pastor and hymn writer Oswald Jeffrey Smith published this beautiful worship hymn expressing the thought that God is waiting, and earnestly desiring, those who will respond to His loving call. Though there is, in His Word, a call for sinners to trust in Christ and be saved, this song is also a call to professing Christians to get serious about living for God.

1) God is waiting in the silence,
For a heart that He can fill;
He must find it cleansed and empty,
With a spirit calm and still.

God is waiting in the silence,
Oh, to know that He is near!
Earth recedes and heaven opens,
God is waiting, God is here.

3) God is waiting in the silence,
As the world goes rushing by;
Will not someone stop and listen,
Answer quickly, “Here am I”?

Mike Martin was a Christian, but a rather lukewarm one. As he himself put it, he was “not working at it.” Then one day he heard Smith’s song over the radio–“Will not someone stop and listen, answer quickly, ‘Here am I’?” And Mike, deeply convicted, spoke to the radio, “Lord, I’m coming now. You don’t have to wait any longer.”

From that day on he became an active and ardent servant of God. He founded a youth organization in Seattle, called King’s Teens, to help troubled young people. He was involved in starting a Christian radio station, and a Christian publisher, along with youth camps and other ministries. Through his efforts the Lord blessed and transformed thousands of lives.

Like Mike, none of us has to wait any longer to respond to God’s call. He is not a hopeless fantasy like Godot. The Lord will be the Saviour of all who will call on Him in faith (Rom. 10:13), and He stands ready to direct and empower our service through His Spirit.

Questions:
1) What do you believe God is waiting on you to do today?

2) How will you respond to His will for you?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Oswald Smith)
The Cyber Hymnal (Oswald Smith)
Hymnary.org

5 June 2017

Father, Whate’er of Earthly Bliss

Robert Cottrill R7. Reflections: June17

Words: Anne Steele (b. May ___, 1716; d. Nov. 11, 1778)
Music: Naomi, by Hans Georg Nägeli (b. May 26, 1773; d. Dec. 26, 1836)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Hans Nageli)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: Without much question Anne Steele was the greatest woman hymn writer of the eighteenth century. In the devotional depth of her many hymns, she has been compared to Frances Havergal who came along a century later. But while many of Miss Havergal’s hymns (Take My Life and Let It Be; Lord, Speak to Me; Like a River Glorious; Who Is on the Lord’s Side?) are still sung today, Miss Steele’s are largely unknown–indeed, few Christians in the 21st century have even heard of her. This needs to be remedied!

Anne Steele was born, and lived out her entire fifty-two years in Broughton, Hampshire, in England. She was the oldest daughter of a timber merchant, who served the local Baptist church as a lay pastor for forty years, without remuneration.

Anne’s life was dotted with tragedies, making the present hymn all the more poignant and meaningful. When she was three, her mother died. When she was nineteen, a severe hip injury left her permanently disabled. Three years later, she was engaged to be married, but it’s been reported her fiancee drowned the day before their wedding. (Wikipedia claims later research contracts this tragedy, but for whatever reason she seems to have remained single.) Yet the things that could have left her bitter made her better. Out of her trials came a rich treasury of devotional verse–144 hymns, and 34 metrical versions of Psalms.

In spite of her gifts as an author, Anne preferred to remain in the background. Her poems were not even put in print until about ten years before her death, and were published then under the pen name Theodosia. Earlier, when she sent off two volumes of verse to a publisher, her father wrote in his journal:

“This day Annie sent part of her composition to London to be printed. I entreat a gracious God, who enabled and stirred her up to such a work, to direct in it and bless it for the good of many.”

As to the present hymn, the three brief stanzas come from a ten-stanza poem entitled “When I Survey Life’s Varied Scene.” It was a contemporary of Steele’s, Augustus Toplady (who gave us the hymn Rock of Ages), who selected and published separately the three stanzas as “The Request,” now known as Father, Whate’er of Earthly Bliss.

We face many trials in this life. Some are of our own making, but many are not. And God is able to take all these experiences and bring good out of them (Rom. 8:28). Our suffering deepens our trust in God and brings ultimate glory to Him. As Paul put it:

“He [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Cor. 12:9).

Times of difficulty challenge us, and build character.

“The testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect [mature] and complete, lacking nothing” (Jas. 1:3-4).

The child of God who is steadfast in faith in suffering will be rewarded one day.

“Our light affliction, which is but for a moment [relatively speaking], is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:17).

Anne Steele prays for a calm and thankful heart, in spite of her troubles. She wants to focus on her relationship with the Lord. These are commendable sentiments for every Christian.

“Now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:6-7).

CH-1) Father, whate’er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let this
My humble prayer, arise:

CH-2) Give me a calm and thankful heart,
From every murmur free;
The blessing of Thy grace impart,
And make me live to Thee.

CH-3) Let the sweet hope that Thou art mine
My life and death attend,
Thy presence through my journey shine,
And crown my journey’s end.

As weeping friends gathered around Anne Steele’s deathbed, on November 11th, 1778, her final words were, “I know that my Redeemer liveth” (quoting from Job 19:25-26). On her tombstone is this tribute:

Silent the lyre, and dumb the tuneful tongue,
That sung on earth her great Redeemer’s praise;
But now in heaven she joins the angelic song,
In more harmonious, more exalted lays.

Questions:
1) What has been your attitude toward your own troubles and trials?

2) Have you been able to see ways in which the Lord can use them for good?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Hans Nageli)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

2 June 2017

Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown

Robert Cottrill R7. Reflections: June17

Words: Charles Wesley (b. Dec. 18, 1707; d. Mar. 29, 1788)
Music: St. Petersburg, by Dmitri Stepanovich Bortniansky (b. Oct. 28, 1751; d. Oct. 10, 1825)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Charles Wesley)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: Wesley’s more than 6,000 hymns certainly qualify him to be thought of as one of our greatest hymn writers. However, in his day, he also preached the gospel with great effectiveness. This hymn’s history combines both of those gifts.

There’s an odd expression that’s been around for at least four centuries: He got taken down a peg or two. We know what it means, but where it originated remains a mystery. Research reveals half a dozen suggestions as to its source, including marks on a drinking mug, and the position of flags displayed on a ship. None of the theories seems conclusive.

When we speak of someone being “taken down a peg or two,” it means he has been humbled. The individual had too exalted an opinion of himself, but something was said, or done, that has caused him (or others) to realize he’s not as clever or strong as he thought he was. Historically, the expression was used in religious circles of church leaders who pompously supposed they deserved to be treated with extra reverence, but found out others didn’t share their opinion.

We are warned, in the Bible, “not to think of [ourselves] more highly than [we] ought to think” (Rom. 12:3). Humility is seen as a necessary part of showing Christlike love to others: “Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up” (I Cor. 13:4). “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (I Pet. 5:5).

Jacob was a man in Old Testament times who struggled with this issue. The name he was given means heel-gripper, suggesting that he would always be trying to trip others up and get the better of them, and he lived up (or down!) to his name. (As an aside, it’s a good thing to name our children something that will inspire them to aim higher.)

Jacob put great stock in his ability to make deals to his own advantage. To gain the upper hand and enrich himself, Jacob had conned his brother Esau, and his father Isaac, and his father-in-law Laban. He was what we’d call a wheeler-dealer, and he showed his craftiness often.

Then, he met the Lord in a most unusual way (Gen. 32:24-31).

He was alone in the wilderness, camped out in the dark of night, when…

“A Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He [his Attacker] saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint [and the muscle shrank, vs. 32] as He wrestled with him….And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.’”

There are definitely mysteries here, but many conservative scholars believe the midnight Wrestler was the pre-incarnate Son of God (vs. 30; cf. Hos. 12:2-5). And, true to form, Jacob tried to make a deal with Him: “I will not let You go unless You bless me” (vs. 26). But the Lord’s power showed that puny Jacob only remained in the fight because the Lord let him. His new name can be translated God fights, or God prevails. And Jacob’s continuing lameness (vs. 31)–perhaps a permanent disability–reminded him that his future renown as the ancestor of the twelve tribes of Israel was God’s doing, not his own.

On May 24, 1741, Charles Wesley preached on this unusual passage. He used it as a picture of the Christian’s need for prevailing prayer, to passionately and persistently seek the blessing of God, clinging to Him with the knowledge that it’s only by His enabling grace that we can do what He wants us to do, and be what He wants us to be.

A year later, Wesley wrote the present very long hymn (of fourteen stanzas) to convey his spiritual application of Jacob’s mysterious experience. In my view, we must be cautious in doing this. Jacob was a real, historical figure, and his experience was real–whether we can fully understand it or not. (His aching hip reminded him later that it was no dream!) And while it’s possible to use such events to illustrate spiritual truth, we must not imply by doing so that they are mere myths, to be interpreted as we like.

With that reminder, Wesley’s hymn says, in part:

CH-1) Come, O thou Traveler unknown,
Whom still I hold, but cannot see!
My company before is gone,
And I am left alone with Thee;
With Thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.

And later there’s the admission of personal dependence on God:

CH-13) Contented now upon my thigh
I halt, till life’s short journey end;
All helplessness, all weakness I
On Thee alone for strength depend;
Nor have I power from Thee to move:
Thy nature, and Thy name is Love.

Questions:
1) What are the meanings of some names given to relatives or friends of yours? Do they reflect a positive image, something the individual can aspire to?

2) What experience have you had lately that taught you a lesson in humility?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Charles Wesley)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org