Change of heart, or change of economic system?

They are all people with something to lose, or people who long for a hierarchical society and dread the prospect of a world of free and equal human beings. Behind all the ballyhoo that is talked about “godless” Russia and the “materialism” of the working class lies the simple intention of those with money or privileges to cling to them. Ditto, though it contains a partial truth, with all the talk about the worthlessness of social reconstruction not accompanied by a “change of heart.” The pious ones, from the Pope to the yogis of California, are great on the “change of heart,” much more reassuring from their point of view than a change in the economic system.—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 207

<idle musing>
Not a whole lot has changed in eighty years, has it? Except maybe the grabbing has become more extreme and obvious as the ethos of the country has changed to greed and self-centeredness/narcissism.
</idle musing>

I Am Trusting Thee , Lord Jesus

73 I Am Trusting Thee , Lord Jesus

1 I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
   Trusting only Thee;
   Trusting Thee for full salvation,
   Great and free.

2 I am trusting Thee for pardon;
   At Thy feet I bow;
   For Thy grace and tender mercy,
   Trusting now.

3 I am trusting Thee to guide me;
   Thou alone shalt lead,
   Ev'ry day and hour supplying
   All my need.

4 I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus;
   Never let me fall;
   I am trusting Thee forever,
   And for all.
                         Frances Havergal
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Faith Is the Victory

71 Faith Is the Victory

1. Encamped along the hills of light,
   Ye Christian soldiers, rise.
   And press the battle ere the night
   Shall veil the glowing skies.
   Against the foe in vales below
   Let all our strength be hurled.
   Faith is the victory, we know,
   That overcomes the world.

Refrain
   Faith is the victory!Faith is the victory!
   O glorious victory, that overcomes the world.

2. His banner over us is love,
   Our sword the Word of God.
   We tread the road the saints above
   With shouts of triumph trod.
   By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
   Swept on o’er every field.
   The faith by which they conquered death
   Is still our shining shield. [Refrain]

3. On every hand the foe we find
   Drawn up in dread array.
   Let tents of ease be left behind,
   And onward to the fray.
   Salvation’s helmet on each head,
   With truth all girt about,
   The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
   And echo with our shout. [Refrain]

4. To him that overcomes the foe,
   White raiment shall be giv’n.
   Before the angels he shall know
   His name confessed in Heav’n.
   Then onward from the hill of light,
   Our hearts with love aflame,
   We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
   In Jesus’ conqu’ring name. [Refrain]
                         John H. Yates
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
This section of the hymnal is loaded with what we used to call Gospel Hymns. They are generally theology-lite and have rousing tunes, designed to move the crowd. When you understand that, it's easier to just enjoy singing them and not get into the weeds of theology. Inevitably, I find singing them drives the blues away—and we could definitely use that in these days of topsy-turvy weather and news.

So, enjoy the tunes and sing them!
</idle musing>

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

66 My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

1 My Shepherd, you supply my need,
   most holy is your name;
   in pastures fresh you make me feed,
   beside the living stream.
   You bring my wand'ring spirit back.
   when I forsake your ways;
   you lead me, for your mercy's sake,
   in paths of truth and grace.

2 When through the shades of death I walk,
   your presence is my stay;
   one word of your supporting breath
   drives all my fears away.
   Your hand in sight of all my foes,
   does still my table spread;
   my cup with Blessings overflows,
   your oil anoints my head.

3 Your sure provisions gracious God
   attend me all my days;
   oh, may your house be my abode,
   and all my work be praise.
   Here would I find a settled rest,
   while others go and come;
   no more a stranger, nor a guest,
   but like a child at home.
                         Isaac Watts
                         Hymns for the Family of God

They swallow the lie—and get indigestion

With the working class it is the other way about. Too ignorant to see through the trick that is being played on them, they easily swallow the promises of fascism, yet sooner or later they always take up the struggle again. They must do so, because in their own bodies they always discover that the promises of fascism cannot be fulfilled. To win over the working class permanently, the fascists would have to raise the general standard of living, which they are unable and probably unwilling to do. The struggle of the working class is like the growth of a plant, the plant is blind and stupid, but it knows enough to keep pushing upwards towards the light, and it will do this in the face of endless discouragements.—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 202

<idle musing>
OK, I don't like his demeaning classist outlook, but he does shine the light on an important truth. The "lower class" may empower their overlords, but when the leaders fail—which they inevitably will, because their real goal is power and money—the "lower class" will rise up and rebel. It might take a generation or two, but they will. Cue reference to Hab 3.
</idle musing>

Moment by moment (Hymn)

65 Moment by Moment

1 Dying with Jesus, by death reckoned mine;
   Living with Jesus, a new life divine;
   Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine,
   Moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine.

Refrain:
   Moment by moment I’m kept in his love;
   Moment by moment I’ve life from above;
   Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine;
   Moment by moment, O Lord, I am thine.

2 Never a trial that he is not there,
   Never a burden that he doth not bear,
   Never a sorrow that he doth not share,
   Moment by moment, I’m under his care. [Refrain]

3 Never a weakness that he doth not feel,
   Never a sickness that he cannot heal;
   Moment by moment, in woe or in weal,
   Jesus, my Savior, abides with me still. [Refrain]
                         Daniel W. Whittle
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
The words sound trite, but that doesn't detract from their truth. It's not a very popular hymn, only occurring in about 150 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it. Seems the author also published under the pseudonym El Nathan. Not a whole lot more is known about him.
</idle musing>

In it for the long haul

In the long run—it is important to remember that it is only in the long run—the working class remains the most reliable enemy of fascism, simply because the working class stands to gain most by a decent reconstruction of society. Unlike other classes or categories, it can’t be permanently bribed.—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 201

Hope in a dark place

59 Plans While in Prison

“The most important part of our task will be to tell everyone who will listen that Jesus is the only answer to the problems that are disturbing the hearts of men and nations. We shall have the right to speak because we can tell from our experience that His light is more powerful than the deepest darkness. . . How wonderful that the reality of His presence is greater than the reality of the hell about us.”
—Betsie ten Boom, to her sister, Corrie
Hymns for the Family of God

The power of literature and stories

Nourished for hundreds of years in a literature in which Right invariably triumphs in the last chapter, we believe half-instinctively that evil always defeats itself in the long run. Pacifism, for instance, is founded largely on this belief. Don’t resist evil, and it will somehow destroy itself. But why should it? What evidence is there that it does? And what instance is there of a modern industrialised state collapsing unless conquered tram the outside by military force?—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 200

<idle musing>
Ah, but he is wrong about a state collapsing without being overrun. The most recent example is the Soviet Union. It dramatically collapsed in 1980. And, we are currently seeing the collapse of the US. So, military force isn't necessary. Economic collapse can happen from within.
</idle musing>

Prayer for Strength

55 Prayer for Strength

O God, You have given us life through Your Son, Jesus Christ. You have given us the security of faith in a world that longs for something on which to rely. We thank You for Your gifts to us.

Teach us to stand strong for Your Kingdom: to be free in this world in order to be Christ’s men and women.

Help us to know Your love and the love of each other. Set us free to become our true selves because we are loved, and to free others because we love.

Give us enough tests to make us strong;
enough vision and endurance to follow Your way;
enough patience to persist when the going is difficult;
enough of reality to know our weaknesses;
and enough humility to know these gifts come from You.

Go before us to prepare the way;
walk behind us to be our protection;
and walk beside us to be our companion,

through Christ our Lord, Amen.
—Richard Langfold
Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
The portion of the hymnal I'm reading through right now is entitle Comfort. Seems appropriate in light of the wholesale destruction of everything that going on right now. Perhaps it's time to pull out Augustine's City of God to get a bit of perspective!
</idle musing>

A prayer for writing and checking footnotes!

There's remarkable post today at the Christian Scholar's Review on set liturgical prayers and their value. But the thing that jumped out at me is their prayer for writing footnotes:

A Liturgy for the Writing of Citations

O Lord, you have placed me
in a community of scholars,
working together to explore your world.

As I place commas, periods, and parentheses
Let me see that care and attentiveness
Are attributes of your creativity and grace.

As I take pains to attribute my work aright
Help me be grateful for the labor of others
And see the joy of communal discovery.

You are King of Details, O God.
You send planets swirling in a dangerous dance
Just as you choreograph the cells in my own body.

You have given me this small task to do.
Clear my heart of frustration and boredom.

For annoyance, bring gratitude
For impatience, bring absorbing care

Help me to neither take for granted the work of others
Nor the work of your Son
Nor the work you give me to do in your world.

On writing history

I know it is the fashion to say that most of recorded history is lies anyway. I am willing to believe that history is for the most part inaccurate and biased, but what is peculiar to our own age is the abandonment of the idea that history could be truthfully written. In the past people deliberately lied, or they unconsciously coloured what they wrote, or they struggled after the truth, well knowing that they must make many mistakes; but in each case they believed that “the facts” existed and were more or less discoverable. And in practice there was always a considerable body of fact which would have been agreed to by almost everyone.—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 199 (emphasis original)

Tozer for Tuesday

The difference between spiritual things and earthly things is that the things of the spirit are so modest; the things of the spirit are not pushing in on you; they are not singing commercials to you; they are not knocking on your door and urging you to buy; they are simply waiting for you to notice.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 38

Joy vs. feeling happy

Joy at All Times 47

We must recognize that there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and feeling happy. The Scripture tells us that we should always rejoice. Take the lyrical Epistle of Paul to the Philippians where he says: “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice”. He goes on saying it. To rejoice is a command, yes, but there is all the difference in the world between rejoicing and being happy. You cannot make yourself happy, but you can make yourself rejoice, in the sense that you will always rejoice in the Lord. Happiness is something within ourselves, rejoicing is “in the Lord”. How important it is then, to draw the distinction between rejoicing in the Lord and feeling happy. Take the fourth chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. There you will find that the great Apostle puts it all very plainly and clearly in that series of extraordinary contrasts which he makes: “We are troubled on every side (I don’t think he felt very happy at the moment) yet not distressed”, “we are perplexed (he wasn ’t feeling happy at all at that point) but not in despair”, “persecuted but not forsaken”, “cast down, but not destroyed ”—and so on. In other words the Apostle does not suggest a kind of happy person in a carnal sense, but he was still rejoicing. That is the difference between the two conditions.—Martin Lloyd-Jones ( Hymns for the Family of God)

Origen on taking sin lightly

Sheep and goats and cattle and birds were slain for those, of former times. With such things were they sprinkled. For you, however, the Son of God was slain: and it pleases you to sin again? (Homily on Leviticus 2, 4) Translation from William A. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, 1:207

Love is hard work!

In this yogi-ridden age, it is too readily assumed that “non-attachment” is not only better than a full acceptance of earthly life, but that the ordinary man only rejects it because it is too difficult: in other words, that the average human being is a failed saint. It is doubtful whether this is true. Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings. if one could follow it to its psychological roots, one would, I believe, find that the main motive for “non-attachment” is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual, is hard work.—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 176–77

A prayer for those whose loved one has died

45 For Loneliness in Bereavement

Father, I am only human. I need the touch of human companionship. Sorely I miss those I love who are with Thee. I pray, O Jesus, that Thou wilt reveal to me unseen presences. Help me to know how close my loved ones are. For if they are with Thee, and Thou art with me, I know that they cannot be far away.

Make real for me that contact of spirit with spirit that will re-establish the lost fellowship for which my heart yearns. Give to me faith shining through my tears. Plant peace and hope within my heart. Point me with joy to the great reunion.

But until then, enable me to live happily and worthily of those who are with Thee. In the Name of Him who is the Lord of Life, I pray, Amen. —Peter Marshall ( Hymns for the Family of God)

No One Understands Like Jesus

36 No One Understands Like Jesus

1. No one understands like Jesus.
   He's a friend beyond compare;
   Meet Him at the throne of mercy;
   He is waiting for you there.
   No one understands like Jesus
   When the days are dark and grim;
   No one is so near, so dear as Jesus
   Cast your ev'ry care on Him!

2. No one understands like Jesus;
   Ev'ry woe He sees and feels;
   Tenderly He whispers comfort,
   And the broken heart He heals.
   No one understands like Jesus
   When the days are dark and grim;
   No one is so near, so dear as Jesus
   Cast your ev'ry care on Him!

3. No one understands like Jesus
   When the foes of life assail;
   You should never be discouraged;
   Jesus cares and will not fail!
   No one understands like Jesus
   When the days are dark and grim;
   No one is so near, so dear as Jesus
   Cast your ev'ry care on Him!

4. No one understands like Jesus
   When you falter on the way;
   Tho' you fail Him, sadly fail Him,
   He will pardon you today.
   No one understands like Jesus
   When the days are dark and grim;
   No one is so near, so dear as Jesus
   Cast your ev'ry care on Him!
                         John W. Peterson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I wasn't familiar with John W. Peterson until I moved to Madison. All of a sudden his hymns were everywhere—at least it seemed that way. The story behind this hymn is told here. Take the time to read it. I think you'll be glad you did.
</idle musing>

Near to the Heart of God

35 Near to the Heart of God

1 There is a place of quiet rest,
   near to the heart of God,
   a place where sin cannot molest,
   near to the heart of God.

Refrain:
   O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
   sent from the heart of God,
   hold us, who wait before thee,
   near to the heart of God.

2 There is a place of comfort sweet,
   near to the heart of God,
   a place where we our Savior meet,
   near to the heart of God. [Refrain]

3 There is a place of full release,
   near to the heart of God,
   a place where all is joy and peace,
   near to the heart of God. [Refrain]
                         Cleland B. McAfee
                         Hymns for the Family of God

On overlooking the wrongs of those "on our side" (Orwell)

I have little direct evidence about the atrocities in the Spanish civil war. I know that some were committed by the Republicans, and far more (they are still continuing) by the Fascists. But what impressed me then, and has impressed me ever since, is that atrocities are believed in or disbelieved in solely on grounds of political predilection. Everyone believes in the atrocities of the enemy and disbelieves in those of his own side, without ever bothering to examine the evidence. Recently I drew up a table of atrocities during the period between 1918 and the present; there was never a year when atrocities were not occurring somewhere or other, and there was hardly a single case when the Left and the Right believed in the same stories simultaneously. And stranger yet, at any moment the situation can suddenly reverse itself and yesterday’s proved-to-the-hilt atrocity story can become a ridiculous lie, merely because the political landscape has changed.—George Orwell, A Collection of Essays, 191