Are you logical? Some wisdom from a church father

“For if we think of the Word [λόγον] in the beginning, the Word [λόγον] who is with God, the Word [λόγον] who is God, perhaps we shall be able to say that he alone who participates in this Word [λόγον], insofar as he is such, is ‘rational’ [λογικόν]. Consequently, we could also say that the saint alone is rational [λογικός]” (Origen, Comm. Jo. 2.114)

How Great Our Joy

182 How Great Our Joy

1 While by the sheep we watched at night,
   glad tidings brought an angel bright.

Refrain:
   How great our joy!
   Great our joy!
   Joy, joy, joy!
   Joy, joy, joy!
   Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
   Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

2 There shall be born, so he did say,
   in Bethlehem a child today. [Refrain]

3 There shall the child lie in a stall,
   this child who shall redeem us all. [Refrain]

4 This gift of God we'll cherish well,
   that ever joy our hearts shall fill. [Refrain]
                         German Carol
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming

174 Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming

1 Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming
   From tender stem hath sprung!
   Of Jesse's lineage coming
   As men of old have sung.
   It came, a flower bright,
   Amid the cold of winter
   When half-gone was the night.

2 Isaiah 'twas foretold it,
   The Rose I have in mind:
   With Mary we behold it,
   The virgin mother kind.
   To show God's love aright
   She bore to men a Savior
   When half-gone was the night.

3 This Flower, whose fragrance tender
   With sweetness fills the air,
   Dispels with glorious splendor
   The darkness everywhere.
   True man, yet very God,
   From sin and death He saves us
   And lightens every load
                         German Carol
                         Tr. by Theodore Baker, stanzas 1,2
                         Tr. by Harriet Krauth Spaeth, stanza 3
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

170 Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

1 Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
   When Thou camest to earth for me;
   But in Bethlehem's home was there found no room
   For Thy holy nativity.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

2 Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
   Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
   But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
   And in great humility.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

3 The foxes found rest, and the birds their nes
  t In the shade of the forest tree;
   But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
   In the deserts of Galilee.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

4 Thou camest, O Lord, with the living word
   That should set Thy people free;
   But with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
   They bore Thee to Calvary.
   O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
   There is room in my heart for Thee.

5 When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
   At Thy coming to victory,
   Let Thy voice call me home, saying "Yet there is room,
   There is room at My side for thee."
   My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
   When Thou comest and callest for me.
                         Emily E. S. Elliott
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Is it real?

Knowledge, like truth, is relative to understanding. Our folk view of knowledge as being absolute comes from the same source as our folk view that truth is absolute, which is the folk theory that there is only one way to understand a situation. When that folk theory fails, and we have multiple ways of understanding, or “framing,” a situation, then knowledge, like truth, becomes relative to that understanding. Likewise, when our understanding is stable and secure, knowledge based on that understanding is stable and secure.

Is such knowledge "real knowledge”? Well, it’s as real as our knowledge ever gets—real enough for all but the most seasoned skeptics.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 300

Holy Ghost, with Light Divine

162 Holy Ghost, with Light Divine

1 Holy Ghost, with light divine,
   Shine upon this heart of mine;
   Chase the shades of night away,
   Turn my darkness into day.

2 Holy Ghost, with pow'r divine,
   Cleanse this guilty heart of mine;
   Long hath sin without control,
   Held dominion o'er my soul.

3 Holy Ghost, with joy divine,
   Cheer this saddened heart of mine;
   Bid my many woes depart,
   Heal my wounded, bleeding heart.

4 Holy Spirit, all divine,
   Dwell within this heart of mine;
   Cast down ev'ry idol throne,
   Reign supreme, and reign alone.
                         Andrew Reed
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Although this hymn occurs in more than 775 hymnals, I don't recall ever singing it. Some authorities insert a verse:

2 Let me see my Savior's face,
   Let me all His beauties trace;
   Show those glorious truths to me
   Which are only known to Thee.

</idle musing>

It's the way we look at things...

It is our objectivist legacy that we view rationality as being purely mental, unemotional, detached—independent of imagination, of social functioning, and of the limitations of our bodies and our memories. It is our objectivist legacy that leads us to view reasoning as mechanical and to glorify those kinds of reasoning that in fact are mechanical. It is our objectivist legacy that leads us to view machines that are capable of algorithmic computation as being capable of human reason. And it is our objectivist legacy that we view it as progress when we are able to structure aspects of our physical and social environment to make it more like an objectivist universe.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 183 (emphasis original)

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

159 Sweet, Sweet Spirit

1 There's a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place,
   And I know that it's the Spirit of the Lord;
   There are sweet expressions on each face,
   And I know they feel the presence of the Lord.

Refrain:
   Sweet Holy Spirit, Sweet heavenly Dove,
   Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
   And for these blessings we lift our hearts in praise;
   Without a doubt we'll know that we have been revived,
   When we shall leave this place.

2 There are blessings you cannot receive
   Till you know Him in His fullness and believe;
   You're the one to profit when you say,
   "I am going to walk with Jesus all the way."

3 If you say He saved you from your sin,
   Now you're weak, you're bound and cannot enter in,
   You can make it right if you will yield,
   You'll enjoy the Holy Spirit that we feel.
                         Doris Akers
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Philosophy matters…

Philosophy matters. It matters more than most people realize, because philosophical ideas that have developed over the centuries enter our culture in the form of a world view and affect us in thousands of ways. Philosophy matters in the academic world because the conceptual frameworks upon which entire academic disciplines rest usually have roots in philosophy—roots so deep and invisible that they are usually not even noticed. This is certainly true in my own field, linguistics, where the classical theory of categories and certain attendant philosophical assumptions have been taken so much for granted that alternative assumptions seem unthinkable. One of my purposes is to show that the classical theory of categories is inadequate for the study of natural language as well as other aspects of the mind and that new philosophical assumptions are required in order to make sense of linguistic phenomena and other aspects of cognition.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 157

Fill Me Now (hymn)

153 Fill Me Now

1 Hover o’er me, Holy Spirit,
   Bathe my trembling heart and brow.
   Fill me with Thy hallowed presence;
   Come, O come and fill me now.

Refrain:
   Fill me now, fill me now,
   Jesus, come and fill me now;
   Fill me with Thy hallowed presence;
   Come, O come and fill me now.

2 Thou canst fill me, gracious Spirit,
   Tho' I cannot tell Thee how.
   But I need Thee, greatly need Thee;
   Come, O come and fill me now. [Refrain]

3 I am weakness, full of weakness;
   At Thy sacred feet I bow.
   Blest, divine, eternal Spirit,
   Fill with pow’r and fill me now. [Refrain]

4 Cleanse and comfort, bless and save me;
   Bathe, O bathe my heart and brow.
   Thou art comforting and saving;
   Thou art sweetly filling now. [Refrain]
                         Elwood R. Stokes
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Mind as computer?

Since the digital computer works by symbol manipulation and since its symbols can be interpreted in terms of a data base, which is often viewed as a partial model of reality, the computer has been taken by many as essentially possessing the capacity to reason. This is the basis of the contemporary mind-as-computer metaphor, which has spread from computer science and cognitive psychology to the culture at large.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, 7–8

Tozer for Tuesday

I know there are households where the servants are better off than many householders are. In the kingdom of God, the humblest servant that serves by the kitchen sink is a happier, freer man than the lord of the manor across the street if he is not a Christian.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 103–104

Spirit, Now Live in Me (hymn)

151 Spirit, Now Live in Me

1 O holy Dove of God descending,
   You are the love that knows no ending.
   All of our shattered dreams You’re mending:
   Spirit, now live in me.

2 O holy Wind of God now blowing,
   You are the seed that God us sowing.
   You are the life that starts us growing:
   Spirit, now live in me.

3 O holy Rain of God now falling,
   You make the Word of God enthralling,
   You are that inner voice now calling:
   Spirit, now live in me.

4 O holy Flame of God now burning,
   You are the power of Christ returning.
   You are the answer to our yearning:
   Spirit, now live in me.
                         Bryan Jeffery Leech
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Stagnation

Let men out in the world stagnate, but Christians do not stagnate. We have God, the everlasting, self-renewing fountain that never gets stale. Our mistake, and the mistake we have made all down through history, is in thinking that we know better than God.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 101

Come, Holy Spirit

150 Come, Holy Spirit

1 Come as a wisdom to children
   Come as new sight to the blind
   Come Lord as strength to my weakness
   Take me soul body and mind

Chorus:
   Come Holy Spirit I need Thee
   Come sweet Spirit I pray
   Come in Thy strength and Thy power
   Come in Thy own gentle way

2 Come as a rest to the weary
   Come as a balm for the sore
   Come as a dew to my dryness
   Fill me with joy evermore

Come like a spring in the desert
   Come to the withered of soul
   O let Thy sweet healing power
   Touch me and make me whole
                         Gloria Gaither
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Blessed Quietness (hymn)

145 Blessed Quietness

1 Joys are flowing like a river,
   Since the Comforter has come;
   He abides with us forever,
   Makes the trusting heart His home.

Refrain:
   Blessed quietness, Holy quietness,
   What assurance in my soul;
   On the stormy sea Jesus speaks to me,
   And the billows cease to roll.

2 Bringing life and health and gladness
   All around this heav'nly Guest,
   Conquered unbelief and sadness,
   Changed our weariness to rest. [Refrain]

3 Like the rain that falls from heaven,
   Like the sunlight from the sky,
   So the Holy Spirit's given,
   Coming on us from on high. [Refrain]

4 See, a fruitful field is growing,
   Blessed fruit of righteousness;
   And the streams of life are flowing
   In the lonely wilderness. [Refrain]

5 What a wonderful salvation,
   When we always see His face,
   What a perfect habitation,
   What a quiet resting place. [Refrain]
                         Manie P. Ferguson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The Comforter Has Come

143 The Comforter Has Come

1 O spread the tidings 'round
   Wherever man is found,
   Wherever human hearts and human woes abound;
   Let every Christian tongue proclaim the joyful sound:
   The Comforter has come!

Refrain:
   The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
   The Holy Ghost from heaven, the Father's promise given;
   O spread the tidings 'round wherever man is found:
   The Comforter has come!

2 The long, long night is past, the morning breaks at last,
   And hushed the dreadful wail and fury of the blast,
   As o'er the golden hills the day advances fast!
   The Comforter has come! [Refrain]

3 Lo, the great King of kings with healing in His wings,
   To every captive soul a full deliverance brings;
   And through the vacant cells the song of triumph rings;
   The Comforter has come! [Refrain]

4 O boundless Love divine! how shall this tongue of mine
   To wondering mortals tell the matchless grace divine:
   That I, a child of hell, should in His image shine!
   The Comforter has come! [Refrain]
                         Frank Bottome
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I wasn't familiar with this hymn, which occurs in more than 230 hymnals. Nor was I familiar with the author. He wrote quite a few hymns, of which this is the most popular. Some of his hymns were translated into Arabic, German, and even Chinese!
</idle musing>

Capacity to reason

The capacity to reason is usually taken as defining what human beings are and as distinguishing us from other things that are alive. If we understand reason as being disembodied, then our bodies are only incidental to what we are. If we understand reason as mechanical—the sort of thing a computer can do—then we will devalue human intelligence as computers get more efficient. If we understand rationality as the capacity to mirror the world external to human beings then we will devalue those aspects of the mind that can do infinitely more than that. If we understand reason as merely literal, we will devalue art.—George Lakoff, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things, xvi

An Affirmation

139 An Affirmation

WE BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST THE LORD,
    Who was promised to the people of Israel,
    Who came in the flesh to dwell among us,
    Who announced the coming of the rule of God,
    Who gathered disciples and taught them,
    Who died on the cross to free us from sin,
    Who rose from the dead to give us life and hope,
    Who reigns in heaven at the right hand of God,
    Who comes to judge and bring justice to victory.

WE BELIEVE IN GOD HIS FATHER,
    Who raised Him from the dead,
    Who created and sustains the universe,
    Who acts to deliver His people in times of need,
    Who desires all men everywhere to be saved.

WE BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
    Who is the form of God present in the church,
    Who is the guarantee of our deliverance,
    Who leads us to find God’s will in the Word,
    Who guides us in discernment,
    Who impels us to act together.
                         — The Mennonite Hymnal, 1967
                         Hymns for the Family of God

True Religion

True religion is not discovered or conscripted by man. Christianity grows downward from heaven, not upward from the earth. It does not stand upon the earth. Its roots are in heaven, so that man has nothing to say here at all. True religion is revealed from above.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 97

The Nicene Creed

138 The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
And of all things visible and invisible:
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man,
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again
according to the scriptures,
and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father.
And he shall come again with glory
to judge both the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceedeth from the Father [and the Son],*
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spake by the prophets.
And I believe one umiversal and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.

<idle musing>
* I bracketed out the "filioque" clause since the Orthodox Churches don't accept it. I believe it to be true, but the history of its inclusion is messy. In the interest of Christian unity, I think it should be excluded.
</idle musing>

Praise Ye the Triune God

136 Praise Ye the Triune God

1. Praise ye the Father, for his loving kindness,
   Tenderly cares he for his loving children;
   Praise him, ye angels, praise him in the heavens,
   Praise ye Jehovah!

2. Praise ye the Saviour, great is his compassion,
   Graciously cares he for his chosen people;
   Young men and maidens, ye old men and children,
   Praise ye the Saviour!

3. Praise ye the Spirit, Comforter of Israel,
   Sent of the Father and the Son to bless us;
   Praise ye the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
   Praise ye the Triune God!
                         Elizabeth Rundle Charles
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Thought for the day

When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship.—Harry S. Truman

When We All Get to Heaven

123 When We All Get to Heaven

1 Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
   Sing His mercy and His grace;
   In the mansions bright and blessed
   He'll prepare for us a place.

Refrain:
   When we all get to heaven,
   what a day of rejoicing that will be!
   When we all see Jesus,
   we'll sing and shout the victory!

2 While we walk the pilgrim pathway
   Clouds will overspread the sky;
   But when trav'ling days are over
   Not a shadow, not a sigh. [Refrain]

3 Let us then be true and faithful,
   Trusting, serving ev'ry day;
   Just one glimpse of Him in glory
   Will the toils of life repay. [Refrain]

4 Onward to the prize before us!
   Soon His beauty we'll behold;
   Soon the pearly gates will open–
   We shall tread the streets of gold. [Refrain]
                         E. E. Hewitt
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Ok, theology: zero; maybe even negative. Well, there is some good theology in the first two lines. Enjoyment: 100. Yep, another rousing gospel tune that drives the blues away, which is what we need in these "interesting" days. So sing it unashamedly, but also sing some hymns with actual theological content : )
</idle musing>

A word for today

I was reading Ezekiel 22 in the Hebrew Bible yesterday. It sound strikingly similar to what is going on today in the United States:

22 The Lord’s word came to me: 2 You, human one, will you judge? Will you judge the bloody city? Then explain all her detestable practices to her. 3 Say, The Lord God proclaims: City, self-destructive blood-letter, self-defiling idol maker: 4 All the blood that you’ve shed is your punishment, and all the idols that you’ve made are your defilement. This is how you’ve shortened your days and hastened the end of your years! For this reason I’ve given you over to the ridicule of nations and the derision of every land. 5 Those from near and far will mock your infamous name and great chaos. 6 Look, Israel’s princes, every one of them, have joined forces to shed blood in you. 7 In you they treat father and mother with contempt. In you they oppress immigrants and deny the rights of orphans and widows. 8 You despise my holy things and degrade my sabbaths. 9 In you slanderers show up to shed blood. In you they eat on the mountains. In you they do obscene things. 10 In you a father’s nakedness is uncovered. In you menstruating women are violated. 11 Every man engages in detestable practices with his neighbor’s wife, every man defiles his daughter-in-law with obscene acts, and every man violates his sister, his own father’s daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood. You collect interest and fees, you profit by extorting your neighbor, and you neglect even me! This is what the Lord God says.

13 I now strike my hands over your ill-gotten gain and blood that’s been shed in you. 14 Will your strength and courage endure when I deal with you? I am the Lord: I speak, and I act! 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you throughout the lands, and so I will remove your uncleanness from you. 16 When you are degraded[Heb. adds "in you"] like this in the sight of the nations, then you will know that I am the Lord.

17 The Lord’s word came to me: 18 Human one, the house of Israel has become a waste product for me. They are all copper, tin, iron, and lead. In the furnace, they’ve become the waste product of silver. 19 So this is what the Lord God says: Because you’ve all become a waste product, I’m now gathering you into the middle of Jerusalem. 20 Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are collected and placed in a furnace to fan the flames under them and melt them down, so in my anger and rage I will collect you, put you in, and melt you down. 21 I will gather you, fan the flames of my wrath under you, and melt you down in the middle of it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it. You will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my rage on you.

23 The Lord’s word came to me: 24 Human one, say to her, You are an unclean land without rain on the day of reckoning. 25 The conspiracy of princes[LXX; Heb. prophets] in her is like a roaring lion ripping up prey. They’ve piled up wealth and precious goods and made many widows in her. 26 Her priests have done violence to my instructions and made my holy things impure. They have not clearly separated the holy from the ordinary, and they have not taught the difference between unclean and clean things. They’ve disregarded my sabbaths. So I’ve been degraded among them. 27 The officials in her are like wolves ripping up prey. They shed blood and destroy lives for unjust riches. 28 Her prophets have whitewashed everything for them, seeing false visions and making wrong predictions for them, saying, “This is what the Lord God says,” when the Lord hasn’t spoken. 29 The important people of the land have practiced extortion and have committed robbery. They’ve oppressed the poor and mistreated the immigrant. They’ve oppressed and denied justice. 30 I looked for anyone to repair the wall and stand in the gap for me on behalf of the land, so I wouldn’t have to destroy it. But I couldn’t find anyone. 31 So I’ve poured out my anger on them. With my furious fire I’ve finished them off. I’ve held them accountable. This is what the Lord God proclaims. (CEB)

He Hideth My Soul

120 He Hideth My Soul

1. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
   A wonderful Savior to me;
   He's hiding my soul in the cleft of the rock,
   Where rivers of pleasure I see.

Refrain:
   He's hiding my soul in the cleft of the rock
   That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
   He's hiding my life in the depths of his love
   And cov'ring me there with his hand,
   And cov'ring me there with his hand.

2. A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord;
   He carries my burdens away,
   He's holding me up, and I shall not be moved;
   He's giving me strength day by day. [Refrain]

3. With numberless blessings each moment he crowns
   And fills with his fullness divine;
   I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God
   For such a Redeemer is mine. [Refrain]

4. When clothed in his brightness, transported I rise
   To meet him in clouds of the sky,
   His perfect salvation, his wonderful love,
   I'll shout with the millions on high. [Refrain]
                         Fanny Crosby
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Wonderful Grace of Jesus

114 Wonderful Grace of Jesus

1 Wonderful grace of Jesus,
   greater than all my sin;
   how shall my tongue describe it,
   where shall its praise begin?
   Taking away my burden,
   setting my spirit free,
   for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Refrain:
   Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
   deeper than the mighty rolling sea,
   higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
   all sufficient grace for even me;
   broader than the scope of my transgressions, sing it!
   greater far than all my sin and shame.
   O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise his name!

2 Wonderful grace of Jesus,
   reaching to all the lost,
   by it I have been pardoned,
   saved to the uttermost.
   Chains have been torn asunder,
   giving me liberty,
   for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. [Refrain]

3 Wonderful grace of Jesus,
   reaching the most reviled,
   by its transforming power
   making me God’s dear child,
   purchasing peace and heaven
   for all eternity,
   for the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me. [Refrain]
                         Haldor Lillenas
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I didn't grow up singing this song. But once I heard it, it became one of my favorite hymns. When I was at Asbury College (now University), during chapel it would frequently be sung. To hear it with over a thousand voices, many of whom could sing their parts, was truly marvelous.

One of the places we lived in Indiana had a slight hill on our walking course. We were in the habit of singing hymns as we walked, but we always made a point of NOT singing this one in the area of that hill. It just requires too much breath to sing properly when you are going up a hill!

By the way, take a minute or two to read the bio of the author. He lived quite a life.
</idle musing>

Now to the Lord a Noble Song

1 Now to the Lord a noble song!
   Awake, my soul, awake, my tongue,
   Hosanna to th’Eternal Name,
   And all His boundless love proclaim.

2 See where it shines in Jesus’ face,
   The brightest image of His grace;
   God, in the person of His Son,
   Has all His mightiest works outdone.

3 Grace! ‘tis a sweet, a charming theme;
   My thoughts rejoice at Jesus’ name!
   Ye angels, dwell upon the sound;
   Ye heav’ns, reflect it to the ground.

4 O may I reach the happy place,
   Where He unveils His lovely face;
   His beauties there may I behold,
   And sing His name to harps of gold.
                         Isaac Watts
                         In A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God

The effectiveness of stories

Use of narratives, in fact, may be one of the only strategies available for influencing the beliefs of those who are predisposed to disagree with the position espoused in the persuasive content. Normally, if persuasive message content is counterattitudinal, message recipients will ignore such content, counterargue it, or belittle the source of such information in a process Petty & Cacioppo (1986) called biased processing. However, the tendency of narrative-type information to suppress counterargung may be quite strong.—Michael D. Slater, “Entertainment Education and the Persuasive Impact of Narratives ,” in Narrative Impact: Social and Cognitive Foundations, ed. Melanie C. Green, Jeffrey J. Strange, and Timothy C. Brock (London: Taylor & Francis, 2011), 175 (emphasis original)

A Prayer for the world

113 A Prayer for Our World

ALMIGHTY GOD: You have called us together, and by Your Holy Spirit, make us one with Your Son our Lord. We thank You for the church, for the power of Your word, and for our life together in Christ. Give us a heart to love the loveless, the lonely, the hungry, and the hurt, without pride or a calculating spirit, so that we may serve You with integrity and joy.

GOD OF GRACE: In Your world there are fields to seed and harvest. We thank You for men and women who farm the land, and for workers who prepare and distribute food. While we struggle with the problem of overweight, millions are dying from hunger. Help us to find the wisdom and the commitment to bring hope and health to our brothers and sisters throughout the world. May no one starve because of our greed or neglect, and may we all hunger and thirst for righteousness alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Gary W. Demarest
Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Even more relevant now than when he penned it 1976!
</idle musing>

Why the somber face?

Our hope for this world and for the world to come is a High Priest, an altar, a temple, a tabernacle, a shrine and a Savior by the throne above. This we Christians have. What bothers me is how we can keep so quiet about it and why it is that we can take it so soberly, almost sadly. It would seem to me that we Christians ought to be the happiest people in the whole wide world.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 92

He Giveth More Grace

112 He Giveth More Grace

1. He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,
   He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
   To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
   To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.

Chorus:
   His love has no limit;
   His grace has no measure.
   His pow'r has no boundary
   known unto men.
   For out of His infinite riches
   In Jesus, He giveth,
   And giveth, and giveth again!

2. When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
   When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
   When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
   Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
                         Annie Johnson Flint
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Not at all a popular hymn, only occurring in about 30 hymnals. Take a minute to read the biography. She wasn't just reciting empty platitudes. This hymn came out her own experiences, which makes it much richer. Hymnary.org adds a third verse and turns the refrain into the fourth verse:

3. Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision,
   Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
   Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
   The Father both thee and thy load will upbear.

</idle musing>

Tozer, from the 1960s, with a word for our times

We hear of rapists, murderers and all the rest. Yet that rapist who rapes and kills in the park in the dark of the night is no further off from God than that proud businessman surrounded by his adoring family, who reads Shakespeare and listens to Beethoven. All are sinners, and all have come short of the glory of God (see Rom. 3:23). We are all without hope and without God in the world. Yet there is hope in God, if we will believe.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 92

Whiter Than Snow

109 Whiter Than Snow

1 Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
   I want Thee forever to live in my soul,
   Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
   Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain:
   Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,
   Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

2 Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
   And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
   I give up myself, and whatever I know,
   Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. [Refrain]

3 Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
   I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet;
   By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow,
   Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. [Refrain]

4 Lord Jesus, Thou seeest I patiently wait,
   Come now, and within me a new heart create;
   To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst "No,"
   Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. [Refrain]
                         James Nicholson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Transcendent

To deny the presence and existence of a transcendental world of which God is the head and the creator and the Lord, and to deny the mystical element of Christianity, you might as well close your Bible and go for a walk, because you will never understand it. If Christianity is reduced to a doctrine that can be explained with no intuitive knowledge, no direct knowledge of the heart of God, then where is the wonder of it? I would not give a dime to support a teaching that denied the presence of God in His universe and the fact that the human heart can know God through Jesus Christ.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 81

We're Hungry, Lord (prayer)

106 We’re Hungry, Lord

We ’re hungry for something, Lord.
We have so much rich food and cake and candy for ourselves, but we’re hungry.
People around us are so stiff and tight and hard to reach.
And they make us that way.
But we’re hungry for something more.
People we know keep talking about great ideas, brilliant questions, and the problem of God’s existence.
But we’re hungry for You, not ideas or theories.
We want You to touch us, to reach inside us and turn us on.
There are so many people who will counsel us to death.
But we’re hungry for someone who really knows You and has You, someone who can get so close to us that we can see You there.
We have so many things, but we’re hungry for You.
Deep, deep down inside we ’re hungry, even if we appear to be silly, lazy, or unconcerned at times.
We ’re hungry for Your kind of power and love and joy.
Feed us, Lord, feed us with Your rich food.
— Anonymous

It's mystical

Recognizing this transcendence is a mystical thing. By the word “mystical,” I mean nothing of the esoteric religion of the East. I mean that there is such a thing as a Christian knowing God and meeting God for himself. That we can press our way into the sanctuary of the holy of holies, and with our hearts, we can meet, know, feel, sense, and experience God in a manner more wonderful than any man or woman can experience any human thing or any human being. This is what is taught here [in Hebrews], and this is basic to Christianity.Tozer: —A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 81

Grace Greater Than Our Sin

105 Grace Greater Than Our Sin

1. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
   Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
   Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
   There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Refrain
   Grace, grace, God’s grace,
   Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
   Grace, grace, God’s grace,
   Grace that is greater than all our sin.

2. Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
   Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
   Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
   Points to the refuge, the mighty cross. [Refrain]

3. Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
   What can avail to wash it away?
   Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
   Brighter than snow you may be today. [Refrain]

4. Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
   Freely bestowed on all who believe!
   You that are longing to see His face,
   Will you this moment His grace receive? [Refrain]
                         Julia H. Johnston
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Not a lot is known about the hymnwriter except that she wrote lots of hymns. This one was her most popular one, occurring in about 150 hymnals. None of the other ones broke 50, although one was translated into Arabic: يا لعمق حب ربي ترك العرش لأجلي, which translates to "Oh, how deep is my Lord's love that He left the throne for me," but I couldn't locate the English hymn that it translates, and twelve made it into German.
</idle musing>

A Morning Prayer

103 Morning Prayer

O God,
Early in the morning do I cry unto Thee
Help me to pray,
And to think only of Thee
I cannot pray alone

In me there is darkness,
But with Thee there is light.
I am lonely, but Thou leavest me not.
I am feeble in heart, but Thou leavest me not.
I am restless, but with Thee there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with Thee there is patience;
Thy ways are past understanding, but
Thou knowest the way for me.

O heavenly Father,
I praise and thank Thee
For the peace of the night.
I praise and thank Thee for this new day.
I praise and thank Thee for all Thy goodness
and faithfulness throughout my life.
Thou hast granted me many blessings:
Now let me accept tribulation
from Thy hand.
Thou wilt not lay on me more than I can bear.
Thou makest all things work together for good
for Thy children.
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Hymns for the Family of God

Thought for today

1 The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.

2 Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen?
   I cry out to you, “Violence!”
     but you don’t deliver us.
3 Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
   so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 The Instruction is ineffective.
     Justice does not endure
     because the wicked surround the righteous.
   Justice becomes warped.

5 Look among the nations and watch!
   Be astonished and stare
     because something is happening in your days
       that you wouldn’t believe even if told.
6 I am about to rouse the Chaldeans,
   that bitter and impetuous nation,
     which travels throughout the earth to possess dwelling places it does not own.
7 The Chaldean is dreadful and fearful.
   He makes his own justice and dignity.
8 His horses are faster than leopards;
   they are quicker than wolves of the evening.
His horsemen charge forward;
   his horsemen come from far away.
     They fly in to devour, swiftly, like an eagle.
9 They come for violence,
   the horde with all their faces set toward the desert.
He takes captives like sand.
10 He makes fun of kings;
rulers are ridiculous to him.
   He laughs at every fortress,
     then he piles up dirt and takes it.
11 He passes through like the wind and invades;
   but he will be held guilty,
     the one whose strength is his god.

12 Lord, aren’t you ancient, my God, my holy one?
Don’t let us die.
Lord, you put the Chaldean here for judgment.
   Rock, you established him as a rebuke.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
   you are unable to look at disaster.
Why would you look at the treacherous
   or keep silent when the wicked swallows one who is more righteous?
14 You made humans like the fish of the sea,
   like creeping things with no one to rule over them.
15 The Chaldean brings all of them up with a fishhook.
   He drags them away with a net;
   he collects them in his fishing net,
     then he rejoices and celebrates.
16 Therefore, he sacrifices to his net;
   he burns incense to his fishing nets,
   because due to them his portion grows fat
     and his food becomes luxurious.
17 Should he continue to empty his net
   and continue to slay nations without sparing them?

2:1 I will take my post;
   I will position myself on the fortress.
   I will keep watch to see what the Lord says to me
   and how he will respond to my complaint.
                         Habakkuk 1:1–2–2:1 CEB

<idle musing>
I've been hanging out in this for the last month or so now. I'll probably eventually get to chapter 3, but for now, this is it. Make the appropriate changes, e.g., those horses are Tesla trucks that raid the government buildings, the Chaldeans are Dear Leader's™ cronies looting and stealing…

YMMV, of course. But that's where I'm at.
</idle musing>

Would that it were true today!

This [the risen and ascended Jesus] is what excited and thrilled the Early Church. They were not excited about the politico-industrial questions that excite so many religious leaders today. Everybody seems to jump on the political bandwagon, believing that it is the church’s obligation to control government. But in the Early Church, those men and women baptized with the Holy Ghost, as recorded in the second chapter of Acts, were excited about other things.

They were excited about God on the throne. They were thrilled about Christ on the right hand of God the Father and His coming again in clouds of glory. They talked about the consummation of all things, the downfall of iniquity, the purgation of the world, the cleansing of the heavens above. They were intoxicated with thoughts about the glorified Christ who would soon return.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 71–72

Day by Day, and with Each Passing Moment

102 Day by Day, and with Each Passing Moment

1. Day by day, and with each passing moment,
   Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
   Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
   I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
   He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
   Gives unto each day what He deems best—
   Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
   Mingling toil with peace and rest.

2. Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
   He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
   This the pledge to me He made.

3. Help me then in every tribulation,
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation,
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E’er to take as from a father’s hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   Till I reach the promised land.
                         Lina Sandell
                         Trans. by A. L. Skoog
                         Hymns for the Family of God

More on trust and obey

Trust is on one side of the coin, and obey is on the other. But the Church has taken a fine saw and split them, saying, “You don’t have to obey. Just believe.” Everything is “believe.” You cannot divide that coin. You cannot separate it; if you do, it is no good. It is not just trust; it is not just obey. It is trust and obey. Believe God and then go get obedience. You will find that it will become in your heart eternal salvation. Jesus Christ will become your all in all.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 62

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

98 Great Is Thy Faithfulness

1. Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father;
   There is no shadow of turning with thee.
   Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
   As thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
   Great is thy faithfulness,
   Great is thy faithfulness,
   Morning by morning new mercies I see.
   All I have needed thy hand hast provided;
   Great is thy faithfulness,
   Lord unto me.

2. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
   Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
   Join with all nature in manifold witness
   To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]

3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
   Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
   Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
   Blessings all mine and ten thousand beside. [Refrain]
                         Thomas O. Chisholm
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Trust — And Obey

I believe that “trust” and “obey” are two wings of a bird. A wise old writer once wrote, “Two wings of a dove don’t weigh her down.” She rises by means of them. “Trust” and “obey” are the two wings of the Christian. We trust and we obey. We obey because we trust. We trust in order that we might obey. If we try to obey without faith, we get nowhere. If we try to have faith without obedience, it ends in nothing.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 61

Assurance (Solzhenitsyn)

97 Assurance

How easy for me to live with You, O Lord!
How easy for me to believe in You!
When my mind parts in bewilderment or falters,
then the most intelligent people see no further
than this day’s end
and do not know what must be done tomorrow,
You grant me the serene certitude
that You exist and that You will take care
that not all the paths of good be closed.
Atop the ridge of earthly fame,
I look back in wonder at the path
which I alone could never have found,
a wondrous path through despair to this point
from which I, too, could transmit to mankind
a reflection of Your rays.
And as much as I must still reflect
You will give me. But as much as I cannot take up
You will have already assigned to others.
—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Hymns for the Family of God

Believe? Then Act!

Remember: You do not believe a thing rightly until you act in accordance with it. When you bring your life into line with your faith, you are a believer; But when your life is not in line with your faith, you are no true believer at all.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 52

I don't know about tomorrow

96 I don't know about tomorrow

1 I don't know about tomorrow,
   I just live from day to day.
   I don't borrow from its sunshine,
   For its skies may turn to gray.
   I don't worry o'er the future,
   For I know what Jesus said,
   And today I'll walk beside Him,
   For He knows what is ahead.

Refrain:
   Many things about tomorrow,
   I don't seem to understand;
   But I know who holds tomorrow,
   And I know who holds my hand.

2 Every step is getting brighter,
   As the golden stairs I climb;
   Every burden's getting lighter;
   Every cloud is silver lined.
   There the sun is always shining,
   There no tear will dim the eye,
   At the ending of the rainbow,
   Where the mountains touch the sky. [Refrain]

3 I don't know about tomorrow,
   It may bring me poverty;
   But the one who feeds the sparrow,
   Is the one who stands by me.
   And the path that be my portion,
   May be through the flame or flood,
   But His presence goes before me,
   And I'm covered with His blood. [Refrain]
                         Ira F. Staphill
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The power of novels

Personally I believe that most people are influenced far more than they would care to admit by novels, serial stories, films and so forth, and that from this point of view the worst books are often the most important, because they are usually the ones that are read earliest in life. It is probable that many people who would consider themselves extremely sophisticated and “advanced” are actually carrying through life an imaginary background which they acquired in childhood…—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 305

<idle musing>
Well, that's the end of the book. When I picked it up at the library book sale a couple of years ago, I didn't think it would suddenly become so relevant. Would that it weren't! Anyway, not sure what book to tackle next. I'm in the middle of a cognitive linguistics book, but those don't lend themselves well to extracts. And, as with most linguistics books, it's long and slow-going (at least for me).

All that to say, there might be a bit of a pause in postings outside of the regular hymns and Tozer for Tuesday while I finish the linguistics book. Or, I might start something else and let the linguistics book rest for a bit while I digest it some. We'll see.
</idle musing>

I Am Not Skilled to Understand

94 I Am Not Skilled to Understand

1 I am not skilled to understand
   what God has willed, what God has planned;
   I only know that at his right hand
   is One who is my Savior!

2 I take him at his word indeed:
   “Christ died for sinners,” this I read;
   for in my heart I find a need
   of him to be my Savior!

3 That he should leave his place on high
   and come for sinful man to die,
   you count it strange? So once did I,
   before I knew my Savior!

4 And oh, that he fulfilled may see
   the travail of his soul in me,
   and with his work contented be,
   as I with my dear Savior!

5 Yes, living, dying, let me bring
   my strength, my solace from this spring;
   that he who lives to be my King
   once died to be my Savior.
                         Dora Greenwell
                         Hymns for the Family of God

My God Is There Controlling

93 My God Is There Controlling

We search the starlit Milky Way,
A million worlds in rhythmic sway,
Yet in our blindness some will say,
“There is no God controlling!”

But as I grope from sphere to sphere,
New wonders crowd the eye, the ear,
And faith grows firmer every year:
“My God is there, controlling!”

We probe the atoms for their cause,
Explore the earth for nature’s laws,
Yet seldom in our searching pause
To think of God controlling.

Each flash of fact from out the night,
Each burst of truth upon my sight
That quickens awe or adds delight,
Reveals my God controlling.
William H. Reid
Hymns for the Family of God

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

87 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

1 What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
   leaning on the everlasting arms;
   what a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
   leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain:
   Leaning, leaning,
   safe and secure from all alarms;
   leaning, leaning,
   leaning on the everlasting arms.

2 O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
   leaning on the everlasting arms;
   O how bright the path grows from day to day,
   leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]

3 What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
   leaning on the everlasting arms?
   I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
   leaning on the everlasting arms. [Refrain]
                         E. A. Hoffman
                         Hymns for the Family of God