MInd-blowing thought

I'm currently copyediting a commentary on Leviticus (not scheduled for publication until late 2024) and ran across this on Thursday, which blew my mind. I'm still processing it. I thought I had blogged it last week, but was looking through my miscellaneous notes and saw it.

Never in Scripture do we find that God sanctifies space. Although the world is his creation, he does not hallow it.—Jacob Milgrom, Leviticus 23–27: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, 1962

I did a bit of digging, and a few scholars reference it, all apparently approvingly. I haven't (yet) found any disagreement, but I'd love to access the full Anchor Bible volume to get the rest of the context. Alas, Google books only allows search inside, but I did just discover that the Internet Archive has a copy I can check out for an hour. I'll have to do some digging…

Saviour, breathe an evening blessing

50 Evening Prayer 8. 7. 8. 7.

1 Saviour, breathe an evening blessing
   Ere repose our spirits seal;
   Sin and want we come confessing,
   Thou canst save and Thou canst heal.

2 Though destruction walk around us,
   Though the arrows past us fly,
   Angel guards from Thee surround us;
   We are safe if Thou art nigh.

3 Though the night be dark and dreary,
   Darkness cannot hide from Thee;
   Thou are He who, never weary,
   Watchest where Thy people be.

4 Should swift death this night o'ertake us,
   And our couch become our tomb,
   May the morn in heaven awake us,
   Clad in bright and deathless bloom.
                         James Edmeston
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

Stand up and bless the Lord

39 Old 134th (St. Michael). S. M.

1 Stand up, and bless the Lord,
   ye people of His choice;
   stand up, and bless the Lord your God
   with heart, and soul, and voice.

2 Though high above all praise,
   above all blessing high,
   who would not fear His holy Name,
   and laud and magnify?

3 O for the living flame,
   from His own altar brought,
   to touch our lips, our minds inspire,
   and wing to heav'n our thought!

4 God is our strength and song,
   and His salvation ours;
   then be His love in Christ proclaimed
   with all our ransomed pow'rs.

5 Stand up and bless the Lord,
   the Lord your God adore;
   stand up, and bless His glorious Name
   henceforth for evermore.
                         James Montgomery
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I recall this as an opening hymn, a nice rousing beginning. In the Methodist church, the opening processional has all the congregation stand, so it's a fitting hymn.

Hymnary.org adds another verse as verse 4:

4 There, with benign regard,
   our hymns He deigns to hear;
   though unrevealed to mortal sense,
   the spirit feels Him near.

</idle musing>

Awake, my soul!

34 The Morning Watch L.M.

1 Awake, my soul, and with the sun
   thy daily stage of duty run;
   shake off dull sloth, and early rise
   to pay thy morning sacrifice.

2 Lord, I my vows to Thee renew.
   Disperse my sins as morning dew;
   guard my first springs of thought and will;
   and with Thyself my spirit fill.

3 Direct, control, suggest, this day,
   all I design or do or say,
   that all my pow'rs, with all their might,
   in Thy sole glory may unite.

4 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
   praise Him all creatures here below;
   praise Him above, ye heav'enly host;
   praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
                         Thomas Ken
                        The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
You should read his biography that I link to at hymnary.org; he did some pretty daring stuff in the face of royalty—even being imprisoned in the tower of London at one point! This particular hymn is the one known as the morning hymn. There's an interesting little note at the end of the first biography at hymnary.org:

Ken wrote many hymns, which were published posthumously in 1721 and republished in 1868 as Bishop Ken's Christian Year, or Hymns and Poems for the Holy Days and Festivals of the Church. But he is best known for his morning, evening, and midnight hymns, each of which have as their final stanza the famous doxology “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow.”

</idle musing>

May our souls find rest in thee

33 Trust. 8. 7. 8. 7.

1 Come, O Lord, like morning sunlight,
   Making all life new and free;
   For the daily task and challenge
   May we rise renewed in Thee.

2 Come, O Lord, like ocean flood-tides,
   Flowing inland from the sea;
   As the waters fill the shallows,
   May our souls be filled with Thee.

3 Come, O Lord, like mountain breezes,
   Freshening life in vale and lea;
   In the heat and stress of duty
   May our souls find strength in Thee.

4 Come, O Lord, like evening twilight,
   Bringing peace on land and sea;
   At the radiant close of labor
   May our souls find rest in Thee.
                         Martin S. Littlefield
                        The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

When morning gilds the skies

31 Laudes Domini 6. 6. 6. 6. 6. 6.

1. When morning gilds the skies
   my heart awaking cries:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   Alike at work and prayer,
   to Jesus I repair:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

2. Whene’er the sweet church bell
   peals over hill and dell,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   O hark to what it sings,
   as joyously it rings,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

3. The night becomes as day
   when from the heart we say:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   The powers of darkness fear
   when this sweet chant they hear:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

4. Ye nations of mankind,
   in this your concord find,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   let all the earth around
   ring joyous with the sound
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

5. In Heav’n’s eternal bliss
   the loveliest strain is this,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   Let earth, and sea and sky
   from depth to height reply,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

6. Be this, while life is mine,
   my canticle divine:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   Sing this eternal song
   through all the ages long:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
                         Anonymous German hymn
                         Translated by Edward Caswall
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Rarely have I run across a hymn with as many variations as this one! According to hymnary.org, Cyberhymnal has 15 verses! And of those, the Methodist hymnal's verse 4 isn't to be found! Here are the verses that the Methodist hymnal doesn't include:

2. When you begin the day,
   O never fail to say,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   And at your work rejoice,
   to sing with heart and voice,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
  

4. My tongue shall never tire
   of chanting with the choir,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   This song of sacred joy,
   it never seems to cloy,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

5. Does sadness fill my mind?
   A solace here I find,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   Or fades my earthly bliss?
   My comfort still is this,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

6. To God, the Word, on high,
   the host of angels cry,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   Let mortals, too, upraise
   their voice in hymns of praise,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

7. Be this at meals your grace,
   in every time and place;
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   Be this, when day is past,
   of all your thoughts the last
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

8. When mirth for music longs,
   this is my song of songs:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   When evening shadows fall,
   this rings my curfew call,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

9. When sleep her balm denies,
   my silent spirit sighs,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   When evil thoughts molest,
   with this I shield my breast,
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

11. No lovelier antiphon
   in all high Heav’n is known
   Than, Jesus Christ be praised!
   There to the eternal Word
   the eternal psalm is heard:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

12. Let all the earth around
   ring joyous with the sound:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!
   In Heaven’s eternal bliss
   the loveliest strain is this:
   May Jesus Christ be praised!

13. Sing, suns and stars of space,
   sing, ye that see His face,
   Sing, Jesus Christ be praised!
   God’s whole creation o’er,
   for aye and evermore
   Shall Jesus Christ be praised!

</idle musing>

May the grace of Christ our savior

27 Sardis. 8. 7. 8. 7.

1. May the grace of Christ our Savior
   and the Father's boundless love
   with the Holy Spirit's favor
   rest upon us from above.

2. Thus may we abide in union
   with each other and the Lord,
   and possess in sweet communion
   joys which earth cannot afford.
                         John Newton
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

Tozer for Tuesday

Always remember that in the Bible the truth is never to be discovered by saying, “It is written,” but by saying, “It is Written and again it is written.” Truth is never found in only one verse; truth is found in one verse plus another verse plus another verse plus another verse until the whole truth of God lies before you. If you take only one verse and make that to be supreme, and crowd out everything else, you can teach any crazy kind of doctrine in the world.—A.W. Tozer, Living as a Christian, 145

<idle musing>
Ain't that the truth! : (

There's some pretty crazy stuff out there, and this is one of the reasons—they just find a good prooftext and off they run.
</idle musing>

Jesus, where'er Thy people meet

24 Malvern. L. M.

1. Jesus, where’er Thy people meet,
   There they behold Thy mercy seat;
   Where’er they seek Thee Thou art found,
   And every place is hallowed ground.

2. For Thou, within no walls confined,
   Inhabitest the humble mind;
   Such ever bring Thee, where they come,
   And, going, take Thee to their home.

3. Dear Shepherd of Thy chosen few,
   Thy former mercies here renew;
   Here, to our waiting hearts, proclaim
   The sweetness of Thy saving name.

4. Here may we prove the power of prayer
   To strengthen faith and sweeten care;
   To teach our faint desires to rise,
   And bring all Heav’n before our eyes.
                        William Cowper
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org says that the Cyberhymnal adds two more verses:

5. Behold at Thy commanding word,
   We stretch the curtain and the cord;
   Come Thou, and fill this wider space,
   And bless us with a large increase.

6. Lord, we are few, but Thou art near;
   Nor short Thine arm, nor deaf Thine ear;
   O rend the heavens, come quickly down,
   And make a thousand hearts Thine own!

</idle musing>

Come, sound his praise abroad!

22 Silver Street. S. M.

1 COME, sound His praise abroad.
   And hymns of glory sing!
   Jehovah is the sovereign God,
   The universal King!

2 He formed the deeps unknown;
   He gave the seas their bound:
   The wat’ry worlds are all His own,
   And all the solid ground.

3 Come, worship at His throne,
   Come, bow before the Lord,
   We are His work, and not our own,
   He formed us by His word.

4 To-day attend His voice,
   Nor dare provoke His rod;
   Come, like the people of His choice,
   And own your gracious God.
                         Isaac Watts
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

We gather together

20 Kremser. Irregular

1 We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
   He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
   the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing;
   sing praises to His Name, He forgets not His own.

2 Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
   ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
   so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
   Thou, Lord wast at our side—the glory be Thine!

3 We all do extol Thee, Thou leader triumphant,
   and pray that Thou still our defender wilt be.
   Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
   Thy Name be ever praised; O Lord, make us free!
                         Anonymous
                         Translated by Theodore Baker
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

For the beauty of the earth

18 Dix. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7. 7.

1 For the beauty of the earth,
   for the glory of the skies,
   for the love which from our birth
   over and around us lies:

Refrain: Christ, our Lord, to you we raise
this, our hymn of grateful praise.

2 For the beauty of each hour
   of the day and of the night,
   hill and vale and tree and flower,
   sun and moon and stars of light: [Refrain]

3 For the joy of ear and eye,
   for the heart and mind's delight,
   for the mystic harmony
   linking sense and sound and sight: [Refrain]

4 For the joy of human love,
   brother, sister, parent, child,
   friends on earth, and friends above,
   for all gentle thoughts and mild: [Refrain]

5 For Thy church that evermore
   lifeth holy hands above,
   Offering up on every shore
   her pure sacrifice of love: [Refrain]

6 For yourself, best gift divine!
   To the race so freely given:
   For that great, great love of Thine,
   peace on earth and joy in heaven! [Refrain]
                         Folliott S. Pierpoint
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Wow. Hymnary.org has so many variations on this one. Some changes are obvious why they happened, such as in verse 6, where "race" is changed "world," but others just don't make sense. Oh well. I guess once it leaves copyright and is a popular hymn, editors just can't keep their hands off of stuff.

Be that as it may, this is the version I grew singing : )
</idle musing>

Why settle for less?

Made for spirituality, we wallow in introspection. Made for joy, we settle for pleasure. Made for justice, we clamor for vengeance. Made for relationship, we insist on our own way. Made for beauty, we are satisfied with sentiment. But new creation has already begun. The sun has begun to rise. Christians are called to leave behind, in the tomb of Jesus Christ, all that belongs to the brokenness and incompleteness of the present world. It is time, in the power of the Spirit, to take up our proper role, our fully human role, as agents, heralds, and stewards of the new day that is dawning. That, quite simply, is what it means to be Christian: to follow Jesus Christ into the new world, God’s new world, which he has thrown open before us.—N. T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, 237

<idle musing>
That's the final excerpt from this book. I hope you enjoyed it enough to either buy a copy or borrow one.

I'm going on a bike trip this weekend with our son and his oldest son, so I'm not sure I'll have time to start a new one on Monday…
</idle musing>

From all that dwell below the skies

17 Duke Street. L. M.

1 From all that dwell below the skies,
   Let the Creator's praise arise;
   Let the Redeemer's name be sung,
   Through ev'ry land, by ev'ry tongue.

2 In ev'ry land begin the song;
   To ev'ry land the strains belong;
   In cheerful sounds all voices raise,
   And fill the world with loudest praise.

3 Your lofty themes, all mortals, bring;
   In songs of praise divinely sing;
   The great salvation loud proclaim,
   And shout for joy the Savior's name.

4 Eternal are your mercies, Lord;
   Eternal truth attends your word;
   Your praise shall sound from shore to shore,
   Till suns shall rise and set no more.
                         Isaac Watts
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

The why of Christian sexual ethics

Christian sexual ethics, in other words, isn’t simply a collection of old rules which we are now free to set aside because we know better (the danger within Option Two). Nor can we appeal against the New Testament by saying that whatever desires we find inside our deepest selves must be God-given (the natural assumption within Option One). Jesus was quite clear about that. Yes, God knows our deepest desires; but the famous old prayer which (tremblingly) acknowledges that fact doesn’t go on to imply that this means they are therefore to be fulfilled and carried out as they stand, but rather that they need cleansing and healing:

Almighty God, to Whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from Whom no secrets are hidden: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord.Amen.

Another famous old prayer puts it even more sharply:

Almighty God, who alone can bring order to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity: Give your people grace so to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, among the many changes of this world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

We have lived for too long in a world, and tragically even in a church, where this prayer has become reversed: where the wills and affections of human beings are regarded as sacrosanct as they stand, where God is required to command what we already love and to promise what we already desire. The implicit religion of many people today is simply to discover who they really are and then try to live it out—which is, as many have discovered, a recipe for chaotic, disjointed, and dysfunctional humanness. The logic of cross and resurrection, of the new creation which gives shape to all truly Christian living, points in a different direction. And one of the central names for that direction is joy: the joy of relationships healed as well as enhanced, the joy of belonging to the new creation, of finding not what we already had but what God was longing to give us. At the heart of the Christian ethic is humility; at the heart of its parodies, pride. Different roads with different destinations, and the destinations color the character of those who travel by them.—N. T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, 233–34

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee

12 Hymn to Joy. 8. 7. 8. 7. D.

1 Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
   God of glory, Lord of love;
   Hearts unfold like flow'rs before Thee,
   Op'ning to the sun above.
   Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
   Drive the dark of doubt away;
   Giver of immortal gladness,
   Fill us with the light of day!

2 All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
   Earth and heav'n reflect Thy rays,
   Stars and angels sing around Thee,
   Center of unbroken praise;
   Field and forest, vale and mountain,
   Flow'ry meadow, flashing sea,
   Chanting bird and flowing fountain
   Call us to rejoice in Thee!

3 Always giving and forgiving,
   Ever blessing, ever blest,
   Well-spring of the joy of living,
   Ocean-depth of happy rest!
   Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
   All who live in love are Thine
   Teach us how to love each other,
   Lift us to the joy divine.

4 Mortals, join the mighty chorus,
   Which the morning stars began;
   Father love is reigning o’er us,
   Brother love binds man to man.
   Ever singing, march we onward,
   Victors in the midst of strife;
   Joyful music leads us sunward
   In the triumph song of life.
                         Henry van Dyke
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

Ain't it the truth! : (

Throughout the early centuries of Christianity, when every kind of sexual behavior ever known to the human race was widely practiced throughout ancient Greek and Roman society, the Christians, like the Jews, insisted that sexual activity was to be restricted to the marriage of a man and a woman. The rest of the world, then as now, thought they were mad. The difference, alas, is that today half the church seems to think so, too.—N. T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, 232

<idle musing>
I admit, I laugh when people tell me how sexually debased the US is. Sure, it's not a moral citadel, but if you read (especially) Greek history … well, in comparison we are a moral citadel! Of course, that's not to justify it!

But, as Wright says, what is different is that too many in the church have decided that scripture is wrong and society is correct. That is new and, well, to my mind, wrong. Amos's vision of the plumb line (Amos 7:8–9) comes to mind, as does his intercessory prayer (Amos 7:2, 5). That's been my prayer for over ten years now, that YHWH would relent.
</idle musing>

Now thank we all our God

7 Nun Danket. 6. 7. 6. 7. 6. 6. 6. 6.

1 Now thank we all our God
   with heart and hands and voices,
   who wondrous things has done,
   in whom his world rejoices;
   who from our mothers' arms
   has blessed us on our way
   with countless gifts of love,
   and still is ours today.

2 O may this bounteous God
   through all our life be near us,
   with ever joyful hearts
   and blessed peace to cheer us,
   to keep us in his grace,
   and guide us when perplexed,
   and free us from all ills
   of this world in the next.

3 All praise and thanks to God
   the Father now be given,
   the Son and Spirit blest,
   who reign in highest heaven
   the one eternal God,
   whom heaven and earth adore;
   for thus it was, is now,
   and shall be evermore.
                         Martin Rinkart
                         Translated by Catherine Winkworth
                        The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I encourage you to click through to the biographies of the author and translator of this hymn. The author's biography is a testimony to endurance in the face of plague, war, and threats, while that of the translator is a look at an early activist for women's rights. Well worth your time!
</idle musing>

The irony of an emperor

But the fact that we can’t ever earn God’s favor by our own moral effort shouldn’t blind us to the fact that the call to faith is also a call to obedience. It must be, because it declares that Jesus is the world’s rightful Lord and Master. (The language Paul used of Jesus would have reminded his hearers at once of the language they were accustomed to hearing about Caesar.) That’s why Paul can speak about “the obedience of faith.” Indeed, the word the early Christians used for “faith” can also mean “loyalty” or “allegiance.” It’s what emperors ancient and modern have always demanded of their subjects. The message of the gospel is the good news that Jesus is the one true “emperor,” ruling the world with his own brand of self-giving love. This, of course, cheerfully and deliberately deconstructs the word “emperor” itself. When the early Christians used “imperial” language in relation to Jesus, they were always conscious of irony. Whoever heard of a crucified emperor?—N. T. Wright, Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, 208

<idle musing>
I love that: "Whoever heard of a crucified emperor?" Indeed! Jesus flips things upside down. Of course, they only seem to be upside down because our world is upside down. He really flips things right side up, so that we see the reall values—ones that generally are scorned by society: self-giving love, humility, etc.
</idle musing>

Tozer for Tuesday

When people were discussing politics and the right form of government in front of the famous Dr. Samuel Johnson, he cleared his throat and began with those famous words, “Sir, I perceive that it matters little what form of government prevails in a country, the people will be happy if only the rulers be righteous men.” That is worthy to be written down in the halls of Congress and everywhere else throughout the world. The people will be happy if our leaders are righteous men. But they are not all righteous men, because they are humans and subject to temptation the same as everybody else.—A.W. Tozer, Living as a Christian, 144