No place to hide!

The new epistemic expectation that comes with enclosure in lmmanence — namely, that whatever is within the sphere of immanence should be understandable to us — means we expect an answer to such matters. Inscrutability is no longer an option; so if believers have no rationally demonstrative answer, but can only appeal to something like the “hidden” will of God, then the scales tip in favor of what we know and understand.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular,—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 65–66

<idle musing>
I realize that without a context this doesn't make a lot of sense, but this book is trying to distill a huge book and I'm trying distill it even more. But, I think you get the gist of what's going on here. At least I hope you do!
</idle musing>

Children of the Heavenly King

300 Children of the Heavenly King

1 Children of the heavenly King,
   As we journey let us sing;
   Sing our Savior’s worthy praise,
   Glorious in His works and ways,

2 We are traveling home to God,
   In the way our fathers trod;
   They are happy now, and we
   Soon their happiness shall see,

3 Fear not, brethren; joyful stand
   On the borders of our land;
   Jesus Christ, our Father’s Son,
   Bids us undismayed go on,

4 Lord, obediently we'll go,
   Gladly leaving all below;
   Only Thou our leader be,
   And we still will follow Thee,

5. Lift your eyes, ye sons of light,
   Zion’s city is in sight:
   There our endless home shall be,
   There our Lord we soon shall see.
                         John Cennick
                         Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I don't recall ever singing this hymn, but it occurs in over 1100 hymnals. Cyberhymnal.org inserts a couple of verses:

3. O, ye banished seed, be glad!
   Christ our advocate is made;
   Us to save, our flesh assumes—
   Brother to our souls becomes.

4. Shout, ye little flock, and blest,
   You on Jesus’ throne shall rest:
   There your seat is now prepared—
   There your kingdom and reward

</idle musing>

Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation

298 Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation

1 Christ is made the sure foundation,
   Christ the head and cornerstone,
   chosen of the Lord, and precious,
   binding all the church in one,
   holy Zion's help forever,
   and her confidence alone.

2 To this temple, where we call You,
   come, O Lord of Hosts, today;
   with accustomed lovingkindness,
   hear Your servants as they pray;
   and Your fullest benediction
   shed within its walls alway.

3 Lord, here grant to all Your servants
   what they ask of You to gain,
   what they gain from You, forever
   with the blessed to retain,
   and hereafter in Your glory
   evermore with You to reign.

4 Praise and honor to the Father,
   praise and honor to the Son,
   praise and honor to the Spirit,
   ever Three, and ever One,
   one in might, and one in glory,
   while unending ages run.
                         Latin c. 7th century
                         Trans. by John M. Neale
                         Methodist Hymnal, 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not a terribly popular hymn, occurring in about 290 hymnals. Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

2 All that dedicated city,
   dearly loved of God on high,
   in exultant jubilation
   pours perpetual melody,
   God the One in Three adoring
   in glad hymns eternally.

</idle musing>

Shrinking, shrinking, shrinking

Whereas historically the doctrine of providence assured a benign ultimate plan for the cosmos, with Locke and Smith we see a new emphasis: providence is primarily about ordering this world for mutual benefit, particularly economic benefit. Humans are seen as fundamentally engaged in an “exchange of services,” so the entire cosmos is seen anthropocentrically as the arena for this economy (Secular Age, p. 177). What happens in the “new Providence,” then, is a “shrinking” of God’s purposes, an “economizing” of God’s own interests: “God’s goals for us shrink to the single end of our encompassing this order of mutual benefit he has designed for us” (p. 221). So even our theism becomes humanized, immanentized, and the telos of God’s providential concern is circumscribed within immanence.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 49

An alternate imaginary

How, in a relatively short period of time, did we go from a world where belief in God was the default assumption to our secular age in which belief in God seems, to many, unbelievable? This brave new world is not just the old world with the God-supplement lopped off; it’s not just the world that is left when we subtract the supernatural. A secular world where we have permission, even encouragement, to not believe in God is an accomplishment, not merely a remainder. Our secular age is the product of creative new options, an entire reconfiguration of meaning.

So it’s not enough to ask how we got permission to stop believing in God; we need to also inquire about what emerged to replace such belief. Because it’s not that our secular age is an age of disbelief; it’s an age of believing otherwise. We can’t tolerate living in a world without meaning. So if the transcendence that previously gave significance to the world is lost, we need a new account of meaning — a new “imaginary” that enables us to imagine a meaningful life within this now self-sufficient universe of gas and fire. 47 (emphasis original)

<idle musing>
I found this statement to be so true: "We can’t tolerate living in a world without meaning." So we create new meanings, new imaginaries—just like the ancient world did.

Think about that for a minute and then look at the new rituals we've created. How are they different from bowing down to Anu, Marduk, or Baal?

Just an
</idle musing>

Not necessarily the real world—definitely not the only option

Taylor’s point is that this is an imaginary — not that this is all just a fiction, but rather that this is a “take” on the world. While we have come to assume that this is just “the way things are,” in fact what we take for granted is contingent and contestable.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 46 (emphasis original)

Functionally disenchanted

Once we learned to distinguish transcendent from immanent, “it eventually became possible to see the immediate surroundings of our lives as existing on this ‘natural’ plane, however much we might believe that they indicated something beyond” (p. 143). Even Christians, we might say, became functionally disenchanted.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 44 (emphasis original)

But will it last? (Tozer for Tuesday)

God is working through His people, and what God works lasts. What God does not work will not last; and I do not care how much personality a man has, he cannot do immortal work, because he is a mortal man. He cannot think immortal thoughts, because he has a mortal mind. But if the Holy Ghost works in him and through him, He giveth to every man severally as He will. And it is the same Father working in us and through us.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 188

<idle musing>
A good word for our time. Back about 15–20 years ago there was a YouTube guy who was selling a blender. His tag line was "But, will it blend?" And he would proceed to show the robustness of his blender. It was quite popular among geeks. He would blend things like a new iPhone. Anything to get attention.

That's where the title to today's post comes from, "But will it last?" We build these huge artifices. God comes along and asks, "But will it last?," examining the foundation. If it isn't Christ, well, you know what a blender does to stuff…

Just an
<idle musing>

Two roads—not what you think

This version of Reform “levels” two—tiered religion by actually expecting everyone to live up to the high expectations of disciplined, monastlc life. But Taylor hints that another sort of leveling is possible: you could also solve the two-tiered problem by lifting the weight of virtue, disburdening a society of the expectations of transcendence, and thus lop off the upper tier or the eternal horizon. In fact, he seems to suggest that it was the first strategy of higher expectations that might have driven some to the latter strategy of lowered expectations. By railing against vice and “crank[ing] up the terrifying visions of damnation,” Protestant preachers effectively prepared “the desertion of a goodly part of their flock to humanism” (p. 75). One strategy of leveling the two-tier problem might occasion a very different strategy that would ultimately become exclusive humanism.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 38

O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art

285 O Love Divine, How Sweet Thou Art

1 O love divine, how sweet thou art!
   When shall I find my longing heart
   all taken up by thee?
   I thirst, I faint, I die to prove
   the greatness of redeeming love,
   the love of Christ to me.

2 Stronger his love than death or hell;
   its riches are unsearchable:
   the first-born sons of light
   desire in vain its depth to see;
   they cannot reach the mystery,
   the length and breadth and height.

3 God only knows the love of God;
   O that it now were shed abroad
   in this poor stony heart!
   For love I sigh, for love I pine;
   this only portion, Lord, be mine,
   be mine this better part.

4 Thy only love do I require,
   nothing on earth beneath desire,
   nothing in heaven above:
   let earth and heaven, and all things go,
   give me thine only love to know,
   give me thine only love.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not one of Wesley's better known hymns, only occurring in about 375 hymnals. I can't say that I recall ever singing it. Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

4 For ever would I take my seat
   with Mary at the Master's feet:
   be this my happy choice;
   my only care, delight, and bliss,
   my joy, my heaven on earth, be this,
   to hear the Bridegroom's voice!

</idle musing>

Lord Jesus, Think on Me

284 Lord Jesus, Think on Me

1. Lord Jesus, think on me
   And purge away my sin;
   From earthborn passions set me free
   And make me pure within.

2. Lord Jesus, think on me,
   With care and woe oppressed;
   Let me Thy loving servant be
   And taste Thy promised rest.

3. Lord Jesus, think on me
   Amid the battle’s strife;
   In all my pain and misery
   Be Thou my Health and Life.

4. Lord Jesus, think on me
   Nor let me go astray;
   Through darkness and perplexity
   Point out your chosen way.

5. Lord Jesus, think on me
   That, when the flood is past,
   I may th’eternal brightness see
   And share Thy joy at last.

6. Lord Jesus, think on me
   That I may sing above
   To Father, Spirit, and to Thee
   The strains of praise and love.
                         Synesius of Cyrene c. 375–430
                         Trans. by Allen W. Chatfield
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not a very popular hymn, only occurring in a little over 100 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it. Cyberhymnal inserts a verse:

5. Lord Jesus, think on me
   When floods the tempest high;
   When on doth rush the enemy,
   O Savior, be Thou nigh!

</idle musing>

Everyday holiness

The result [of the Reformation abolition of monasteries, etc.] is that “for the ordinary householder” this will require something paradoxical: living in all the practices and institutions of [‘this-worldly’] flourishing, but at the same time not fully in them. Belng in them but not of them; being in them, but yet at a distance, ready to lose them. Augustine put it: use the things of this world, but don’t enjoy them; uti, not frui. Or do it all for the glory of God, in the Loyola-Calvin formulation” (p. 81). Religious devotion — and hence expectations of holiness and virtue — is not sequestered to the monastery or the convent; rather, the high expectations of sanctification now spill beyond the walls of the monastery.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 37

God of All Power and Truth and Grace

281 God of All Power and Truth and Grace

1 God of all power, and truth, and grace,
   which shall from age to age endure,
   whose word, when heaven and earth shall pass,
   remains and stands for ever sure;

2 That I thy mercy may proclaim,
   that all mankind thy truth may see,
   hallow thy great and glorious name,
   and perfect holiness in me.

3 Thy sanctifying Spirit pour
   to quench my thirst and make me clean;
   now, Father, let the gracious shower
   descend, and make me pure from sin.

4 Give me a new, a perfect heart,
   from doubt, and fear, and sorrow free;
   the mind which was in Christ impart,
   and let my spirit cleave to thee.

5 O that I now, from sin released,
   thy word may to the utmost prove,
   enter into the promised rest,
   the Canaan of thy perfect love!
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not one of Wesley's more popular hymns, occurring in less than 100 hymnals. Cyberhymnal adds some verses:

2 Calmly to Thee my soul looks up,
   And waits Thy promises to prove,
   The object of my steadfast hope,
   The seal of Thine eternal love.

4 Chose from the world if now I stand
   Adorned in righteousness divine;
   If brought unto the promised land,
   I justly call the Savior mine.

5 Perform the work Thou hast begun
   My inmost soul to Thee, convert;
   Love me, for ever love Thine own,
   And sprinkle with Thy blood my heart.

7 Purge me from every sinful blot,
   My idols all be cast aside,
   Cleanse me from every evil thought,
   From all the filth of self and pride.

9 O take this heart of stone away!
   Thy sway it doth not, cannot own;
   In me no longer let it stay;
   O take away this heart of stone.

10 The hatred of the carnal mind
   Out of my flesh at once remove;
   Give me a tender heart, resigned
   And pure, and. full of faith and love.

11 Within me Thy good Spirit place,
   Spirit of health, and love, and power;
   Plant in me Thy victorious grace,
   And sin shall never enter more.

12 Cause me to walk in Christ my way;
   And I Thy statutes shall fulfill,
   In every point Thy law obey,
   And perfectly perform Thy will.

13 Hast Thou not said, who cannot lie,
   That I Thy law shall keep and do?
   Lord, I believe; though men deny:
   They are all false, but Thou art true.

15 There let me ever, ever dwell,
   Be Thou my God, and I will be
   Thy servant; O set to Thy seal,
   Give me eternal life in Thee.

16 From all remaining filth within,
   Let me in Thee salvation have,
   From actual, and from inbred sin,
   My ransomed soul persist to save.

17 Wash out my deep original stain,
   Tell me no more, it cannot be,
   Demons, or men! The Lamb was slain,
   His blood was all poured out for me.

18 Sprinkle it, Jesu, on my heart!
   One drop of Thy all cleansing blood
   Shall make my sinfulness depart,
   And fill me with the life of God.

19 Father, supply my every need;
   Sustain the life Thyself has giv’n:
   Call for the never failing Bread,
   The Manna that comes down from Heav’n.

20 The gracious fruits of righteousness,
   Thy blessings’ unexhausted store
   In me abundantly increase
   Nor let me ever hunger more.

21 Let me no more in deep complaint
   My leanness, O my leanness, cry,
   Alone consumed with pining want
   Of all my Father’s children I!

22 The painful thirst, the fond desire,
   Thy joyous presence shall remove,
   While my full soul doth still require
   Thy whole eternity of love.

23 Holy, and true, and righteous Lord,
   I wait to prove Thy perfect will,
   Be mindful of Thy gracious word,
   And stamp me with Thy Spirit’s seal.

24 Thy faithful mercies let me find,
   In which Thou causest me to trust;
   Give me the meek and lowly mind,
   And lay my spirit in the dust.

25 Show me how foul my heart hath been,
   When all renewed by grace I am,
   When Thou hast emptied me of sin,
   Show me the fullness of my shame.

26 Open my faith’s interior eye:
   Display Thy glory from above,
   And all I am shall sink, and die,
   Lost in astonishment and love.

27 Confound, o’erpower me with Thy grace!
   I would be by myself abhorred;
   All might, all majesty, all praise,
   All glory be to Christ my Lord!

28 Now let me gain perfection’s height;
   Now let me into nothing fall!
   Be less than nothing in Thy sight,
   And feel that Christ is all in all.

Did a say a few? OK, a bunch! Charles always wanted to pack his hymns full of theology. Sometimes he took longer than other times : )
</idle musing>

A Division of Labor

First, the social body makes room for a certain division of labor. By making room for entirely “religious” vocations such as monks and nuns, the church creates a sort of vicarious class who ascetically devote themselves to transcendence/ eternity for the wider social body who have to deal with the nitty-gritty of creaturely life, from kings to peasant mothers (which is why patronage of monasteries and abbeys is an important expression of religious devotion for those otherwise consumed by “worldly” concerns). We miss this if we retroactively impose our “privatized” picture of faith upon abbeys and monasteries and imagine that the monks are devoting themselves to personal pursuits of salvation. The monks pray for the world, in the world’s stead. So the social body lives this tension between transcendence and the mundane by a kind of division of labor.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 32

Blest are the pure in heart

276 Blest are the pure in heart

1 Blest are the pure in heart,
   For they shall see our God;
   The secret of the Lord is theirs,
   Their soul is His abode.

2 The Lord, who left the heavens
   His life and peace to bring,
   Who dwelt in lowliness with men,
   Their Pattern and their King;

3 He to the lowly soul
   Doth still Himself impart,
   And for His temple and His throne
   Selects the pure in heart.

4 Lord, we Thy presence seek;
   May ours this blessing be;
   O give the pure and lowly heart,
   A temple meet for Thee.
                         John Keble
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
You might have noticed that there is no link on the Methodist hymnal. That's because the Internet Archive is down. I received an email last night from a notification site I subscribe to that let's me know when one of my accounts anywhere on the internet has been hacked. I don't reuse passwords (neither should you!), but it's always nice to know when a site you used has been hacked and credentials leaked. Anyway, it stated that the Internet Archive had been hacked and all the hashed passwords and account credentials had been leaked. So, I suspect that's why the site is down today.

If I were a conspiracy person, I would say that it is because the publishers don't like the site. But I'm not. I suspect it was a group looking to extort cash. (I'm leaving unsaid what some of you are thinking...)
</idle musing>

Cosmos? Who needs it, we have the universe!

The final aspect of the shift involves our view of the natural world; in the premodern imaginary, we live in a cosmos, an ordered whole where the “natural” world hangs within its beyond (p. 60). It's as if the universe has layers, and we are always folded into the middle. If the premodern self is “porous,” so too is the premodem cosmos.

In contrast to this, the modern imaginary finds us in a “universe” that has its own kind of order, but it is an immanent order of natural laws rather than any sort of hierarchy of being (p. 60).… At this point, we simply recognize that the shift from cosmos to universe — from “creation” to “nature” — makes it possible to now imagine meaning and significance as contained within the universe itself, an autonomous, independent “meaning” that is unhooked from any sort of transcendent dependence.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 34–35

Lead, Kindly Light

272 Lead, Kindly Light

1 Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom,
   Lead Thou me on!
   The night is dark, and I am far from home;
   Lead Thou me on!
   Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
   The distant scene; one step enough for me.

2 I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou
   Shouldst lead me on;
   I loved to choose and see my path; but now
   Lead Thou me on!
   I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,
   Pride ruled my will; remember not past years.

3 So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
   Will lead me on
   O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
   The night is gone;
   And with the morn those angel faces smile,
   Which I have loved long since and lost awhile!
                         John Henry Newman
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

What's left?

If God were to strip the churches from all that man is doing and leave only what He has done or is doing, we would trim the average Church back down to a nubbin. There would not be enough left to have a decent service.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 184

O Love divine, that stooped to share

270 O Love divine, that stooped to share

1 O Love divine, that stooped to share
   Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear!
   On Thee we cast each earth-born care;
   We smile at pain while Thou art near.

2 Though long the weary way we tread,
   And sorrow crown each lingering year,
   No path we shun, no darkness dread,
   Our hearts still whispering, "Thou art near!"

3 When drooping pleasure turns to grief,
   And trembling faith is turned to fear,
   The murmuring wind, the quivering leaf,
   Shall softly tell us Thou art near!

4 On Thee we fling our burdening woe,
   O Love divine, for ever dear!
   Content to suffer, while we know,
   Living and dying, Thou art near!
                         Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
As I've said before, not that Oliver Wendell Holmes!
</idle musing>

But isn't it a private matter?

Not only were things invested with significance in the premodem imaginary, but the social bond itself was enchanted, sacred. “Living in the enchanted, porous world of our ancestors was inherently living socially” (p. 42). The good of a common weal is a collective good, dependent upon the social rituals of the community. “So we’re all in this together.” As a result, a premium is placed on consensus, and “turning ‘heretic’ ” is “not just a personal matter.” That is, there is no room for these matters to be ones of “private” preference. “This is something we constantly tend to forget,” Taylor notes, “when we look back condescendingly on the intolerance of earlier ages. As long as the common weal is bound up in collectives rites, devotions, allegiances, it couldn’t be seen just as an individual’s own business that he break ranks, even less that he blaspheme or try to desecrate the rite. There was immense common motivation to bring him back into line” (p. 42). Individual disbelief is not a private option we can grant to heretics to pursue on weekends; to the contrary, disbelief has communal repercuss—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 30 (emphasis original)

<idle musing>
Are they wrong? (Honest question.)

Over the weekend I was reading a book published in 2006, and they were decrying the loneliness epidemic in the United States. Mind you, this is before the ascendence of social media and the plague we call smart phones!

I'm not saying I want to go back to the days before all that (and Smith/Taylor assure us that such a thing is impossible), but a bit less individualism (like maybe 90 percent less!) would be a good thing...

Just an
</idle musing>

Open My Eyes That I May See

267 Open My Eyes That I May See

1 Open my eyes, that I may see
   Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
   Place in my hands the wonderful key
   That shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait for Thee,
   Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
   Open my eyes, illumine me,Spirit divine!

2 Open my ears, that I may hear
   Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
   And while the wave-notes fall on my ear,
   Everything false will disappear.
   Silently now I wait for Thee,
   Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
   Open my ears, illumine me,Spirit divine!

3 Open my mouth, and let me bear
   Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
   Open my heart, and let me prepare
   Love with Thy children thus to share.
   Silently now I wait for Thee,
   Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
   Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
                         Clara H. Scott
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was surprised at how few hymnals have this—less than 250. The author of the hymn, Clara Scott, also wrote the tune. According to hymnary.org, there is a fourth verse, which I had never heard before:

4 Open my mind, that I may read
   More of thy love in word and deed;
   What shall I fear while yet thou dost lead?
   Only the light from thee I plead.
   Silently now I wait for thee,
   Ready, my God, thy will to see;
   Open my mind, illumine me, Spirit divine!

</idle musing>

Still, Still with Thee

264 Still, Still with Thee

1 Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,
   When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;
   Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight,
   Dawns the sweet consciousness I am with Thee.

2 Alone with Thee amid the mystic shadows,
   The solemn hush of nature newly born;
   Alone with Thee in breathless adoration,
   In the calm dew and freshness of the morn.

3 Still, still with Thee! as to each newborn morning
   A fresh and solemn splendor still is given,
   So does this blessed consciousness, awaking,
   Breathe each day nearness unto Thee and heaven.

4 When sinks the soul, subdued by toil, to slumber,
   Its closing eyes look up to Thee in prayer;
   Sweet the repose beneath Thy wings o'ershading,
   But sweeter still, to wake and find Thee there.

5 So shall it be at last, in that bright morning,
   When the soul waketh, and life's shadows flee;
   O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,
   Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with Thee.
                         Harriet B. Stowe
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Yes, that Harriett (Beecher) Stowe, the one who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. According to the biography linked above, she wrote about 30 books, plus numerous pamphlets and more than a few hymns.

That being said, I don't recall ever singing this one. And it isn't a terribly common hymn, only occurring in around 350 hymnals. It is her most popular hymn.
</idle musing>

Things and power

In this premodern, enchanted universe, it was also assumed that power resided in things, which is precisely why things like relics or the Host could be invested with spiritual power. As a result, “in the enchanted world, the line between personal agency and impersonal force was not at all clearly drawn” (p. 32). There is a kind of blurring of boundaries so that it is not only personal agents that have causal power (p. 35). Things can do stuff.—James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to Be Secular, 29 (emphasis original)

<idle musing>
And what makes you think that they don't? It's a widespread belief, rearing its head in the Bible and throughout the ancient world. There's a marvelous book on it, sadly now out of print, that I've excerpted from in the past: Barbara Nevling Porter, ed., What Is a God?

The world is an enchanted place, if only we would take off our materialistic glasses (I mean philosophically materialistic—that the physically visible world is all there is). The mystics know that, and the two-thirds world knows it. But we've lost touch with it. And that's what this book is all about…

Just an
</idle musing>

It's the story

Taylor seems to recognize that we are “narrative animals”: we define who we are, and what we ought to do, on the basis of what story we see ourselves in.—James K. A. SmithHow (Not) to Be Secular, 25

<idle musing>
Today we begin a new book. For years I've been meaning to read Charles Taylor's A Secular Age, but the shear size of it was offputting to me. So, I decided I would do a no-no: I'm reading a distillation of it.

The goal is to learn enough about the book to motivate me to finally pick it up and read it. But at almost 900 pages—well that's a major time commitment!
</idle musing>

Complete collapse

Broadly speaking, the collapse of the Assyrian Empire was one of the most sudden and absolute in history: some provinces were already in a state of profound crisis while others retained a measure of vitality, but Assyria itself suffered a vertical crash. The most densely urbanized and populated region, the great cities, and the infrastructure of irrigation were all transformed into a desert. The process common to other empires, which after their collapse survive as “commonwealths”— that is, as cultural, linguistic and religious communities—does not apply to Assyria.—Mario Liverani, Assyria: The Imperial Mission, 258

<idle musing>
That's it for this book. It really is a great book, but it didn't lend itself well to extractions. I highly recommend it for understanding how empires, not just the Assyrian one, work.

Not sure what I'll be excerpting from next. I've been reading Smith's How (Not) to Be Secular as well as Walton and Walton, The Lost World of the Torah. Oh, and at the local bookstore, I picked up a used copy of Malcolm Gladwell, What the Dog Saw, but that doesn't lend itself well to excerpting, so it probably won't show up here.

As if that weren't enough, I checked out of the library the third book of the Wingfeather Saga. I read the first two way back in 2020 during Covid on the recommendation of a friend. Delightful books, but I got sidetracked and am only now coming back to finish the series. And, I'm editing a few books. Most of the summer was spent editing the forthcoming Eerdmans NICOT volume on Daniel 1–6. It's a monster at around 400K words! Between that and the garden, it's been a pretty busy summer. But, with the garden winding down, I'm looking forward to more reading time. We'll see how that works out : )
</idle musing>

The word games we play to look good…

In the imagination of the western world, there is now a tidy distinction between the “Asiatic” empires—still definable as such, because they remain territorial, compact, bellicose, aggressive, despotic, and fundamentalist—and the western ones, which are not considered true empires because they are flexible, delocalized, peaceful, secular, progressive, enlightened, commercial, and now financial. The term “empire” is reserved for those we do not like, our adversaries, and nobody would apply it to themselves or take pride in such a label. While empires in the first category can be described as “empires of evil,” there is no corresponding expression denoting “good empires” to describe those in the second category. The “holy war,” the jihad, is a threat to humanity, but a Crusade is merely a figure of speech. Perhaps nothing expresses this duality better than the original “Star Wars” trilogy (produced between 1977 and 1983, during the Cold War), in which the empire is evil, aggressive, and impenetrable, and its soldiers are faceless and armored like ancient warriors—while “we” are a confederation, a flexible and vibrant international alliance that fights for good and for the salvation of humanity. Moreover, post-imperialistic historiography stresses intercultural phenomena such as assimilation and emulation, rather than those associated with conquest pure and simple.—Mario Liverani, Assyria: The Imperial Mission, 253

Tozer for Tuesday

People do not like the word “mystery,” but it is a good Bible word, and it is a word we ought to learn to live with. For the world—everything round about us—is shrouded in mystery.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 180

Be Thou My Vision

256 Be Thou My Vision

1. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
   Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
   Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
   Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

2. Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
   I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
   Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
   Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

3. Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
   Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
   Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
   High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

4. High King of Heaven, my victory won,
   May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun!
   Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall,
   Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
                         Ancient Irish
                         Trans. by Mary E. Byrne
                         Versed by Eleanor H. Hull
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
This is one of my favorite hymns, so I was very surprised to see that it only occurs in a little more than 150 hymnals. The Methodist hymnal also excised the third verse:

3. Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
   Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
   Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tow’r:
   Raise Thou me heav’nward, O Pow’r of my pow’r.

We know nothing about the versifier, sadly, and precious little about the translator. Apparently, this is the only thing she translated.
</idle musing>

Thought for the day

Orwell’s observation clearly expresses the fundamental intentions and modalities of political communication. “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”George Orwell, A Collection of Essays (Doubleday, 1954), 177. Quoted in Assyria: The Imperial Mission, 242.

Jesus, My Strength, My Hope

253 Jesus, My Strength, My Hope

1 Jesus, my strength, my hope,
   On Thee I cast my care,
   With humble confidence look up,
   And know Thou hear’st my prayer.
   Give me on Thee to wait,
   Till I can all things do;
   On Thee, almighty to create,
   Almighty to renew.

2 I want a sober mind,
   A self-renouncing will,
   That tramples down and casts behind
   The baits of pleasing ill;
   A soul inured to pain,
   To hardship, grief, and loss,
   Bold to take up, firm to sustain,
   The consecrated cross.

3 I want a godly fear,
   A quick-discerning eye,
   That looks to Thee when sin is near,
   And bids the tempter fly;
   A spirit still prepared,
   And armed with jealous care,
   Forever standing on its guard,
   And watching unto prayer.

4 I want a true regard,
   A single, steady aim,
   Unmoved by threatening or reward,
   To Thee and Thy great name;
   A jealous, just concern
   For thine, immortal praise;
   A pure desire that all my learn
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Cyberhymnal.org adds the following verses:

4. I want a heart to pray,
   To pray and never cease,
   Never to murmur at Thy stay,
   Or wish my sufferings less.
   This blessing, above all,
   Always to pray, I want,
   Out of the deep on Thee to call,
   And never, never faint.

6. I rest upon Thy Word;
   The promise is for me;
   My comfort and salvation, Lord,
   Shall surely come from Thee.
   But let me still abide,
   Nor from my hope remove,
   Till Thou my patient spirit guide
   Into Thy perfect love.

7. I want with all my heart
   Thy pleasure to fulfill,
   To know myself, and what Thou art,
   And what Thy perfect will.
   I want I know not what,
   I want my wants to see,
   I want—alas! what want I not,
   When Thou art not in me?

</idle musing>

Cynical? Maybe…

The slogan “Exporting Democracy” summarizes the political mission of American imperialism during the presidency of Bush the elder. This slogan justifies political-military intervention against regimes that do not govern through a parliamentary structure. A preference for democracy over absolutism or “despotism” (seen as a relic of the past) is self-evident in the post-Enlightenment West but is by no means easily transposed to the Orient, where autocratic governments are not imposed from above; such governments are instead supported by much of the population, and tentative steps towards democratization are either taken in the name of religion (as at the end of the Pahlavi monarchy in Iran) or prompted by the armed forces (as in Kemalist Turkey). Moreover, the formula of “exportation” is itself strongly associated with its commercial origins and connotations and leads unfailingly to the idea that financial interests and commercial profits inform the American mission.—Mario Liverani, Assyria: The Imperial Mission, 157

Awake, My Soul, Stretch Every Nerve

249 Awake, My Soul, Stretch Every Nerve

1 Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve,
   And press with vigor on;
   A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
   And an immortal crown.
   And an immortal crown.

2 A cloud of witnesses around
   Hold thee in full survey;
   Forget the steps already trod,
   And onward urge thy way.
   And onward urge thy way.

3 'Tis God's all-animating voice
   That calls thee from on high;
   'Tis His own hand presents the prize
   To thine aspiring eye.
   To thine aspiring eye.

4 Blest Savior, introduced by Thee,
   Have I my race begun;
   And crowned with victory at Thy feet
   I'll lay my honors down.
   I'll lay my honors down.
                         Philip Doddridge
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Although I don't recall ever singing this hymn, it appears to be quite popular, occurring in over a thousand hymnals. Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

4 That prize, with peerless glories bright,
   Which shall new lustre boast
   When victors' wreaths and monarchs' gems
   Shall blend in common dust.

</idle musing>

Assyria, remorse, and fools

In a previous study, I suggested that the Assyrians, who were required to provide men for wars and expeditions from which not everyone returned, needed reassurance In relation to two problems that have always confronted soldiers in war: fear of death (open, self-evident) and repugnance of or remorse (more subliminal) for killing fellow human beings.

To counteract the fear of death, Assyrian records relate that enemies die, and their deaths are counted in the hundreds and thousands; Assyrian losses are always omitted. Remorse for killing, buried deep in the human conscience, is exorcised by the conviction that the Assyrians are not to blame for these deaths. Instead, the enemies who foolishly oppose the universal order are at fault; they are the ones who began hostilities (or at least provoked war with their attitude): they force us to kill them. There is no shortage of modern and contemporary parallels.—Mario Liverani, Assyria: The Imperial Mission, 89

<idle musing>
I had read bits and pieces of this book over the years. Back before it was published, Jim forwarded the introduction to me, which immediately sold me on how important a book it is. Because I was the marketing guy at Eisenbrauns at the time, I made sure that the introduction was posted to the book's page. I figured that anyone who read the introduction would want to read the whole thing. It's still posted; you can find it here.

We'll only dip lightly into the book for the next week or two, but if you are at all interested in empire or the Assyrians, this is an excellent resource. So many of the succeeding empires learned from the Assyrians—both positively and negatively!
</idle musing>

O Sometimes the Shadows Are Deep

245 O Sometimes the Shadows Are Deep

1 O sometimes the shadows are deep,
   And rough seems the path to the goal,
   And sorrows, sometimes how they sweep
   Like tempests down over the soul!

Refrain:
   O then to the Rock let me fly,
   To the Rock that is higher than I;
   O then to the Rock let me fly,
   To the Rock that is higher than I!

2 O sometimes how long seems the day,
   And sometimes how weary my feet;
   But toiling in life's dusty way,
   The Rock's blessed shadow, how sweet! [Refrain]

3 O near to the Rock let me keep
   If blessings or sorrow prevail,
   Or climbing the mountain way steep,
   Or walking the shadowy vale. [Refrain]
                         Erastus Johnson
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Check out his biography, linked above. This is interesting:

On the advice of his physician he took a sea voyage, embarging on the ship Gold Hunter en route from New York to California. The crew of the ship mutinied just before rounding Cape Horn and as Johnson was the only person on board who knew anything about navigation, other than the captive officers, he was pressed into service to take the ship on to its destination, San Francisco. This he was able to do successfully.

</idle musing>

Paul and the Gift, final post

The goal of Paul’s mission is the formation of communities whose distinct patterns of life bear witness to an event that has broken with normal criteria of worth. Paul expects baptism to create new life-orientations, including forms of bodily habitus that express the reality of resurrection—life in the midst of human mortality. The gift needs to be realized in unconventional practice or it ceases to have meaning as an incongruous gift. It creates new modes of obedience to God, which arise from the gift as “return” to God, but without instrumental purpose in eliciting further divine gifts. The transformative power of grace thus creates a fit between believers and God, which will be evident at the eschaton. Judgment “according to works” does not entail a new and incompatible principle of soteriology; it indicates that the incongruous gift has had its intended effect in embedding new standards of worth in the practice of those it transforms.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 569

<idle musing>
That winds up this (long) book. I hope you enjoyed it and learned from it. I know I did. I'll never look at grace the same again! Next up is a few posts from Mario Liverani, Assyria: The Imperial Mission.
</idle musing>

March on, O Soul, with Strength

243 March on, O Soul, with Strength

1 March on, O soul, with strength!
   Like those strong men of old
   Who 'gainst enthroned wrong
   Stood confident and bold;
   Who thrust in prison or cast to flame,
   Still made their glory in the Name.

2 The sons of fathers we
   By whom our faith is taught
   To fear no ill, to fight.
   The holy fight they fought:
   Heroic warriors ne'er from Christ
   By any lure or guile enticed.

3 March on, O soul, with strength!
   As strong the battle rolls!
   'Gainst lies and lusts and wrongs,
   Let courage rule our soul:
   In keenest strife, Lord, may we stand,
   Upheld and strengthed by Thy hand.

4 Not long the conflict; soon
   The holy way shall cease,
   Faith's warfare ended, won
   The home of endless peace:
   Look up! the victor's crown at length:
   March on, O soul, march on, with strength.
                         George T. Coster
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not a very popular hymn; it only occurs in 70 hymnals. When the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church united to form the United Methodist Church, this was one of the hymns the EUB brought with them. A nice addition, I might add.
</idle musing>

Not a replacement

Paul’s theology is not directed against Judaism; neither does he consider assemblies of Jewish and Gentile believers as the replacement of Israel. On his reading, Israel is most truly itself when it is solely dependent on the root of God’s unconditioned mercy; and that is fully and definitively the case when it draws on the “wealth” poured out to Jew and Gentile in Christ.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 566 (emphasis original)

It's a mystery! (Tozer for Tuesday)

The first spiritual axiom I want to note is that God does everything creative and constructive. He does not do evil. Sin is a work of temporary rebellion against God, and the explanation is yet concealed. Sin is concealed; that is, the reason how the great God can be working and sin can still be in the world is concealed from us. We do not yet know because those concealed things are mystery.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 180 (emphasis original)

Am I a Soldier of the Cross (Isaac Watts)

239 Am I a Soldier of the Cross

1 Am I a soldier of the cross,
   a foll'wer of the Lamb,
   and shall I fear to own His cause,
   or blush to speak His name?

2 Must I be carried to the skies
   on flow'ry beds of ease,
   while others fought to win the prize,
   and sailed thro' bloody seas?

3 Are there no foes for me to face?
   Must I not stem the flood?
   Is this vile world a friend to grace,
   to help me on to God?

4 Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
   increase my courage, Lord!
   I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
   supported by Thy word.

5 The saints in all this glorious war
   shall conquer, though they die;
   they see the triumph from afar
   by faith's discerning eye.

6 When that illustrious day shall rise,
   and all Thine armies shine
   in robes of vict'ry thro' the skies,
   the glory shall be Thine.
                         Isaac Watts
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

When the storms of life are raging

244 When the storms of life are raging

1 When the storms of life are raging,
   Stand by me;
   When the storms of life are
  raging, Stand by me.
   When the world is tossing me
   Like a ship upon the sea,
   Thou who rulest wind and water,
   Stand by me.

2 In the midst of tribulations,
   Stand by me;
   In the midst of tribulations,
   Stand by me.
   When the hosts of hell assail,
   And my strength begins to fail,
   Thou who never lost a battle,
   Stand by me.

3 In the midst of faults and failures,
   Stand by me;
   In the midst of faults and failures,
   Stand by me.
   When I do the best I can,
   And my friends misunderstand,
   Thou who knowest all about me,
   Stand by me.

4 When I’m growing old and feeble,
   Stand by me;
   When I’m growing old and feeble,
   Stand by me.
   When my life becomes a burden,
   And I’m nearing chilly Jordan,
   O Thou Lily of the Valley,
   Stand by me.
                         Charles A. Tindley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
This one is even less popular than yesterday's was. It only occurs in about 57 hymnals! You should take a minute or two to read the bio of the author. He was an extremely popular preacher and pastored a multiracial church long before it was common.

Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

4 In the midst of persecution,
   Stand by me;
   In the midst of persecution,
   Stand by me.
   When my foes in battle array,
   Undertake to stop my way,
   Thou who saved Paul and Silas,
   Stand by me.

It's a conversation

Paul stands among fellow Jews in his discussion of divine grace, not apart from them in a unique or antithetical position. At the same time, he stands in the midst of a debate, and none of our Jewish authors can be taken as spokesmen for a single, simple, or uncontested notion of grace.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 565, emphasis original

In the Hour of Trial

237 In the Hour of Trial

1 In the hour of trial,
   Jesus, plead for me
   lest by base denial
   I unworthy be.
   When you see me waver,
   with a look recall,
   nor for fear or favor
   ever let me fall.

2 With forbidden pleasures
   should this vain world charm
   or its tempting treasures
   spread to work me harm,
   bring to my remembrance
   sad Gethsemane
   or, in darker semblance,
   cross-crowned Calvary.

3 Should your mercy send me
   sorrow, toil, and woe,
   or should pain attend me
   on my path below,
   grant that I may never
   fail your cross to view;
   grant that I may ever
   cast my care on you.

4 When my life is ending,
   though in grief or pain,
   when my body changes
   back to dust again,
   on your truth relying,
   through that mortal strife,
   Jesus, take me, dying,
   to eternal life.
                         James Montgomery
                         Alt. by Frances A. Hutton
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I found this to be quite accurate and also humorous, from his bio at the link above:

In common with most poets and hymnwriters, Montgomery strongly objected to any correction or rearrangement of his compositions. At the same time he did not hesitate to alter, rearrange, and amend the productions of others.

And, of course, this one was altered—but we have no information about that person and this seems to be the only hymn they altered.
</idle musing>

Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name

236 Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name

1 Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise
   With one accord our parting hymn of praise;
   We stand to bless Thee ere our worship cease,
   Then, lowly kneeling, wait Thy word of peace.

2 Grant us Thy peace upon our homeward way;
   With Thee began, with Thee shall end the day.
   Guard Thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
   That in this house have called upon Thy name.

3 Grant us Thy peace, Lord, through the coming night;
   Turn Thou for us its darkness into light;
   From harm and danger keep Thy children free,
   For dark and light are both alike to Thee.

4 Grant us Thy peace throughout our earthly life,
   Our balm in sorrow, and our stay in strife;
   Then, when Thy voice shall bid our conflict cease,
   Call us, O Lord, to Thine eternal peace. John Ellerton The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Cyberhymnal adds a couple of verses:

4. Grant us Thy peace—the peace Thou didst bestow
   On Thine apostles in Thine hour of woe;
   The peace Thou broughtest, when at eventide
   They saw Thy piercèd hands, Thy wounded side.
  

5. Grant us Thy peace throughout our earthly life;
   Peace to Thy church from error and from strife;
   Peace to our land, the fruit of truth and love;
   Peace in each heart, Thy Spirit from above.

</idle musing>

O Love that wilt not let me go

234 O Love that wilt not let me go

1 O Love that wilt not let me go,
   I rest my weary soul in Thee;
   I give Thee back the life I owe,
   That in Thine ocean depths its flow
   May richer, fuller be.

2 O Light that followest all my way,
   I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
   My heart restores its borrowed ray,
   That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
   May brighter, fairer be.

3 O Joy that seekest me through pain,
   I cannot close my heart to Thee;
   I trace the rainbow through the rain,
   And feel the promise is not vain
   That morn shall tearless be.

4 O Cross that liftest up my head,
   I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
   I lay in dust life's glory dead,
   And from the ground there blossoms red
   Life that shall endless be.
                         George Matheson
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

Theologically dangerous!

It was certainly possible for some gifts to be construed as “unmerited” (as we have found both in Paul and in some other Jewish literature), but this was not a normal, and certainly not a necessary, connotation of the terms we generally translate as “grace.” In fact, an unmerited gift from God was theologically problematic, and could threaten the justice and the rationality of the universe. Although Christian theologians (and modern dictionaries) regard it as self-evident that “grace” means a benefit to the unworthy, in ancient terms this was a striking and theologically dangerous construal of the concept.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 563

Peace, Perfect Peace

229 Peace, Perfect Peace

1 Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?
   The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

2 Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?
   To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.

3 Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?
   Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.

4 Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
   Jesus we know, and he is on the throne.

5 It is enough: earth's struggles soon shall cease,
   and Jesus call to heaven's perfect peace.
                         Edward H. Bickersteth
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
A very simple hymn, but its message is as desperately needed today as ever. I don't ever recall singing it and it only occurs in about 390 hymnals.

Hymnary.org's biography of him says this:

Joined with a strong grasp of his subject, true poetic feeling, a pure rhythm, there is a soothing plaintiveness and individuality in his hymns which give them a distinct character of their own. His thoughts are usually with the individual, and not with the mass: with the single soul and his God, and not with a vast multitude bowed in adoration before the Almighty. Hence, although many of his hymns are eminently suited to congregational purposes, and have attained to a wide popularity, yet his finest productions are those which are best suited for private use.

Seems this was his most popular hymn.
</idle musing>

It's supposed to work that way…

Against modern notions of “altruism” we found that benefits were generally intended to foster mutuality, by creating or maintaining social bonds. This expectation of reciprocity, with its (non-legal) obligations, created cyclical patterns of gift-and-return, even where there were large differentials in power between givers and recipients.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 562

On a Hill Far Away (The Old Rugged Cross)

228 On a Hill Far Away

1 On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
   The emblem of suff'ring and shame;
   And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
   For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
   So I'll cherish the cross, the old rugged cross,
   Till my trophies at last I lay down;
   I will cling to the cross, the old rugged cross,
   And exchange it some day for a crown.

2 O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
   Has a wondrous attraction for me;
   For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
   To bear it to dark Calvary. [Refrain]

3 In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
   A wondrous beauty I see;
   For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died
   To pardon and sanctify me. [Refrain]

4 To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,
   It's shame and reproach gladly bear.
   Then He'll call me some day to my home far away,
   Where His glory forever I'll share. [Refrain]
                         George Bennard
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I've mused on this hymn in the past. See here and here.

I was and wasn't surprised to see that it only occurs in about 450 hymnals. He wrote the hymn in 1913. </idle musing>

Perseverance of the saints?

As we have seen, the motif of “wealth” evokes the superabundance thematized in Romans 5:12-21, and there are statements here that emphasize the priority of God’s call or gift (9:11; 11:2, 35) in a way that supports its lack of correspondence to human worth. If Paul traces here a final singularity in the purpose of God’s mercy (11:32), this is far from a principled insistence that God can only be benevolent: as we have seen, there are multiple references to God’s hardening, wrath, and severity, alongside God’s grace, both in relation to Israel (11:7—10) and in relation to Gentile believers (11:20—22). Paul’s threat that branches may be cut off if they do not remain in God’s goodness (11:17—24) calls into question any dogmatic, Augustinian commitment to “the perseverance of the saints.”—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 557 (emphasis original)

O How Happy They Are

227 O How Happy They Are

1 How happy are they,
   Who the Saviuor obey,
   And have laid up their treasure above!
   Tongue cannot express
   The sweet comfort and peace
   Of a soul in its earliest love.

2 That comfort was mine,
   When the favour divine
   I first found in the blood of the Lamb;
   When my heart it believ'd,
   O what joy I receiv'd,
   What a heaven in Jesus's name!

3 'Twas a heaven below
   The Saviour to know;
   And the angels could do nothing more
   Than to fall at his feet,
   And the story repeat,
   And the lover of sinners adore.

4 Jesus all the day long
   Was my joy and my song;
   O that all his salvation might see!
   He hath loved me, I cried,
   He hath suffer'd and died,
   To redeem such a rebel as me.

5 Oh! the rapturous height
   Of that holy delight
   Which I felt in the life-giving blood!
   Of my Saviour possest,
   I was perfectly blest,
   As if fill'd with the fulness of God.

6 Now my remnant of days
   Would I spend to his praise,
   Who hath died my poor soul to redeem.
   Whether many or few,
   All my years are his due;
   May they all be devoted to him.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I don't recall ever singing this hymn, but it does a good job of capturing the first love of a believer. Would that it remained true for the rest of their (and my) life!

Hymnary.org inserts a few verses:

5 On the wings of his love
   I was carry'd above
   All sin, and temptation, and pain;
   I could not believe
   That I ever should grieve
   That I ever should suffer again.

6 I rode on the sky,
   Freely justify'd I!
   Nor envy'd Elijah his seat:
   My soul mounted higher
   In a chariot of fire,
   And the moon it was under my feet.

9 What a mercy is this!
   What a heaven of bliss!
   How unspeakably favored am I!
   Gathered into the fold,
   With believers enrolled,
   With believers to live and to die!

</idle musing

Savior, More Than Life to Me

226 Savior, More Than Life to Me

1 Savior, more than life to me,
   I am clinging, clinging close to Thee;
   Let Thy precious blood applied,
   Keep me ever, ever near Thy side.

Refrain:
   Ev'ry day, ev'ry hour,
   Let me feel thy cleansing pow'r;
   May Thy tender love to me
   Bind me closer, closer, Lord, to Thee.

2 Through this changing world below,
   Lead me gently, gently as I go;
   Trusting Thee, I cannot stray,
   I can never, never lose my way. [Refrain]

3 Let me love Thee more and more,
   Till this fleeting, fleeting life is o'er;
   Till my soul is lost in love,
   In a brighter, brighter world above. [Refrain]
                         Fanny Crosby
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not one of her more popular hymns. It only occurs in a little over 400 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it, but I might just be having a memory lapse.

It definitely speaks to our needs in this hour, though. But then, it speaks to every hour because life on earth is anything but certain, even in the best of times.
<idle musing>

Why supercessionism doesn't work

To believe in Christ is nothing other than to live from “the root.” If Israel’s identity was always derivative and “eccentric,” created and sustained by the calling of God, its nature is neither erased nor altered by its response in faith to God’s calling in Christ. The olive tree allegory renders impossible the claim that Israel has been superseded by Gentiles or absorbed into a non-Jewish realm known as “the church.” To the contrary, it is Gentiles who are “grafted in,” but what they join is a people and a mode of existence utterly dependent on “the gifts and the calling of God” (11:29).—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 553

When We Walk with the Lord (Trust and Obey)

223 When We Walk with the Lord

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
   What a glory He sheds on our way!
   While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
   And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
   Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
   To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
   But our toil He doth richly repay;
   Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
   But is blessed if we trust and obey.

3. But we never can prove the delights of His love
   Until all on the altar we lay;
   For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
   Are for them who will trust and obey.

4. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
   Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
   What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
   Never fear, only trust and obey.
                         John H. Sammis
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was very surprised to see that this hymn only occurs in about 450 hymnals. An interesting side note is that he pastored a Presbyterian church here in Red Wing for a while. He eventually ended up at BIOLA.

I mused on this hymn about ten years ago.

Hymnary.org inserts a verse, which I do recall singing, so my memory of this hymn must not be primarily from the Methodist hymnal:

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

</idle musing>

Standing on the Promises

221 Standing on the Promises

1 Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,
   Through eternal ages let His praises ring;
   Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
   Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:
   Standing, standing,
   Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
   Standing, standing,
   I'm standing on the promises of God.

2 Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
   When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
   By the living word of God I shall prevail,
   Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

3 Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord,
   Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord,
   Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
   Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

4 Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
   List'ning every moment to the Spirit's call,
   Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
   Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]
                         R. Kelso Carter
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Surprisingly, this hymn only occurs in about 420 hymnals. Well, maybe not so surprisingly, as it's more a gospel song than a hymn, but YMMV.
</idle musing>

Jesus, Priceless Treasure

220 Jesus, Priceless Treasure

1 Jesus, priceless treasure,
   source of purest pleasure,
   friend most sure and true:
   long my heart was burning,
   fainting much and yearning,
   thirsting, Lord, for you.
   Yours I am, O spotless Lamb,
   so will I let nothing hide you,
   seek no joy beside you!

2 Let your arms enfold me:
   those who try to wound me
   cannot reach me here.
   Though the earth be shaking,
   every heart be quaking,
   Jesus calms my fear.
   Fires may flash and thunder crash;
   yea, though sin and hell assail me,
   Jesus will not fail me.

3 Hence, all worldly treasure!
   Jesus is my pleasure,
   Jesus is my choice.
   Hence, all empty glory!
   What to me your story
   told with tempting voice?
   Pain or loss or shame or cross
   shall not from my Savior move me,
   since he chose to love me.
                         Johann Franck
                         Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org adds a few verses:

2. Banish thoughts of sadness,
   for the Lord of gladness,
   Jesus, enters in;
   though the clouds may gather,
   those who love the Savior
   still have peace within.
   Though I bear much sorrow here,
   still in you lies purest pleasure,
   Jesus, priceless treasure!

3. Satan, I defy thee;
   Death, I now decry thee;
   Fear, I bid thee cease.
   World, thou shalt not harm me
   Nor thy threats alarm me
   While I sing of peace.
   God’s great pow’r guards every hour;
   Earth and all its depths adore Him,
   Silent bow before Him.

4. Evil world, I leave thee;
   Thou shalt not deceive me,
   Thy appeal is vain.
   Sin that once did bind me,
   Get thee far behind me,
   Come not forth again.
   Past thy hour, O pride and pow’r;
   Sinful life, thy bonds I sever,
   Leave thee now forever.

5. Hence, all earthly treasure!
   Jesus is my pleasure;
   Jesus is my choice.
   Hence, all empty glory!
   What to me thy story
   Told with tempting voice?
   Pain or loss or shame or cross
   Shall not from my Savior move me,
   Since He chose to love me.

</idle musing>

The future and present hope of ingrafting

Paul’s stress on the root, and on the rationale of election, is a sign that he presses to explain how Israel came to be, and in that explanation desires to understand its present crisis, its future hope, and the extraordinary supplementation to the stock of God’s “inheritance” in the form of believing Gentiles. If its source of life (its “root”) is the creative call that “raises the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (4:17), one can readily explain both the ingrafting of Gentiles and the hope that, by the power of God (11:23), Israel will be reconstituted and complete again.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 552

There is a Balm in Gilead

212 There is a balm in Gilead

Refrain:
   There is a balm in Gilead
   To make the wounded whole;
   There is a balm in Gilead
   To heal the sin-sick soul.

1 Sometimes I feel discouraged
   And think my work’s in vain,
   But then the Holy Spirit
   Revives my soul again. [Refrain]

2 If you cannot preach like Peter,
   If you cannot pray like Paul,
   You can tell the love of Jesus
   and say, “He died for all!” [Refrain]
                         American Folk Hymn
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was very surprised to see that this hymn only occurs in about 125 hymnals. Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

2 Don’t ever be discouraged,
For Jesus is your friend;
And if you lack for knowledge,
He’ll ne'er refuse to lend. [Refrain]

</idle musing>

Grafted in

But God is grafting Gentiles not into the tree (Israel) but into the root, whose richness sustains both natural and unnatural branches, both Jews and Gentiles. Thus, for Paul, heritage is created by grace: offspring are born by promise to be children of God (9:8). It is because Israel was formed in this way from the beginning that it is first in time, with a “natural” afliliation to divine mercy. Gentiles are brought into relation not to an ethnic deity … but to the God of whom Israel is a product and a witness.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 551n75 (emphasis original)

If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

210 If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee
   And hope in Him through all thy ways,
   He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
   And bear thee through the evil days.
   Who trust in God’s unchanging love
   Builds on the rock that naught can move.

2. Only be still, and wait His leisure
   In cheerful hope, with heart content
   To take whatever the Father’s pleasure
   And all discerning love have sent;
   Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
   To Him who chose us for His own.

3. Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways,
   But do your part in conscience true;
   Trust His rich promises of grace,
   So shall they be fulfilled in you;
   God hears the call of those in need,
   The souls that trust in Him indeed.
                         Georg Neumark
                         Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

This one's a real mess when it come to variations—the line from the translator's biography sums it all up: "Though often altered, these translations continue to be used in many modern hymnals." Seems the original translation went as follows (per Cyberhymnal):

1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee
   And hope in Him through all thy ways,
   He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
   And bear thee through the evil days.
   Who trust in God’s unchanging love
   Builds on the rock that naught can move.

2. What can these anxious cares avail thee
   These never ceasing moans and sighs?
   What can it help if thou bewail thee
   O’er each dark moment as it flies?
   Our cross and trials do but press
   The heavier for our bitterness.

3. Be patient and await His leisure
   In cheerful hope, with heart content
   To take whatever thy Father’s pleasure
   And His discerning love hath sent,
   Nor doubt our inmost want are known
   To Him who chose us for His own.

4. God knows full well when time of gladness
   Shall be the needful thing for thee.
   When He has tried thy soul with sadness
   And from all guile has found thee free,
   He comes to thee all unaware
   And makes thee own His loving care.

5. Nor think amid the fiery trial
   That God hath cast thee off unheard,
   That he whose hopes meet no denial
   Must surely be of God preferred.
   Time passes and much change doth bring
   And set a bound to everything.

6. All are alike before the Highest:
   ’Tis easy for our God, We know,
   To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
   To make the rich man poor and low.
   True wonders still by Him are wrought
   Who setteth up and brings to naught.

7. Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
   Perform thy duties faithfully,
   And trust His Word: though undeserving,
   Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
   God never yet forsook in need
   The soul that trusted Him indeed.

Looking at the various incarnations of it at Hymnary.org, you can see how the hymnals have changed some verses and chosen ones they want.

You should take a couple of minutes to read the biography of the German author of the hymn. He knew a bit about hardship and trusting.
</idle musing>

"Required to live the life they have been given"

Paul does not perfect the efficacy of grace as a form of monergism, because it is clear for him from the baptismal event that the very life in which the believer acts and decides is a life sourced, established, and upheld by Christ (a “life from the dead”). Within this frame, and on this basis, plenty of statements can be made regarding believers as responsible agents who are required to present their bodies in one direction rather than another. Christian obedience is thus vital, but only ever in a responsive mode: it arises in conjunction with faith and gratitude as the answer to a prior gift. The gift is entirely undeserved but strongly obliging: it creates agents who are newly alive, required to live the life they have been given.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 518

<idle musing>
I really like that: "Required to live the life they have been given." That sums up discipleship and Christianity, doesn't it?
</idle musing>

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

208 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

1 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   and to take him at his word;
   just to rest upon his promise,
   and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

Refrain:
   Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
   How I've proved him o'er and o'er!
   Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
   O for grace to trust him more!

2 O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
   just to trust his cleansing blood;
   and in simple faith to plunge me
   neath the healing, cleansing flood! [Refrain]

3 Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
   just from sin and self to cease;
   just from Jesus simply taking
   life and rest, and joy and peace. [Refrain]
                        Louisa M. R. Stead
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was surprised to find that this only occurs in about 450 hymnals. Granted, the theology isn't very deep, but it's a solid gospel hymn. We could use more people trusting in the final verse, "from sin and self to cease," that's for sure! Especially in our narcissistic world of social media.

You should take the time to read the biography of the author.
</idle musing>

One gift

Hence, the obligation now incumbent on believers is not to “gain” grace (or salvation), nor to win another installment of grace. There is a single χάρισμα of eternal life ([Rom] 6:23) that runs from the Christ-event to eternity (cf. 8:32), not a series of “graces” won by increases in sanctification. Paul certainly expects that the moral incongruity at the start of the Christian life will be reduced over time, as the believers’ slavery to righteousness draws them toward holiness (6:19). In that sense, what began as a morally incongruous gift will be completed as a morally congruous gift.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 517–18