Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go

290 Kelbe L. M.

1 Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go,
   my daily labour to pursue;
   thee, only thee, resolved to know,
   in all I think or speak or do.

2 The task thy wisdom hath assigned
   O let me cheerfully fulfil;
   in all my works thy presence find,
   and prove thy good and perfect will.

3 Give me to bear thy easy yoke,
   and every moment watch and pray,
   and still to things eternal look,
   and hasten to thy glorious day;

4 For thee delightfully employ
   whate'er thy bounteous grace hath given,
   and run my course with even joy,
   and closely walk with thee to heaven.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
An appropriate hymn to end the year with as we look forward to a new year!

Hymnary.org inserts two verses after verse 2:

3 Preserve me from my calling's snare,
   and hide my simple heart above,
   above the thorns of choking care,
   the gilded baits of worldly love.

4 Thee may I set at my right hand,
   whose eyes my inmost substance see,
   and labour on at thy command,
   and offer all my works to thee.

</idle musing>

Stand up, stand up for Jesus

283 Geibel. 7. 6. 7. 6. D. with refrain.

1 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   Ye soldiers of the cross!
   Lift high His royal banner -
   It must not suffer loss.
   From vict'ry unto vict'ry,
   His army shall He lead.
   Till ev'ry foe is vanquished.
   And Christ is Lord indeed.

2 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   The trumpet call obey;
   Forth to the mighty conflict
   In this His glorious day.
   Ye that are men now serve Him
   Against unnumbered foes;
   Let courage rise with danger
   And strength to strength oppose.

3 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   Stand in His strength alone;
   The arm of flesh will fail you -
   Ye dare not trust your own.
   Put on the gospel armor,
   Each piece put on with prayer;
   Where duty calls or danger,
   Be never wanting there.

4 Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   The strife will not be long;
   This day the noise of battle -
   The next the victor's song.
   To Him that overcometh
   A crown of life shall be;
   He with the King of glory,
   Shall reign eternally.
                         Charles Duffield
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I don't recall ever singing the refrain included in the Methodist hymnal (not included above). That might be because it is on the next page and so overlooked? Anyway, here it is:

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   Ye soldiers of the cross!
   Lift high His royal banner -
   It must not suffer loss.

There's a story behind this hymn according to hymnary.org:

I caught its inspiration from the dying words of that noble young clergyman, Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng, rector of the Epiphany Church, Philadelphia, who died about 1854. His last words were, "Tell them to stand up for Jesus: now let us sing a hymn." As he had been much persecuted in those pro-slavery days for his persistent course in pleading the cause of the oppressed, it was thought that these words had a peculiar significance in his mind; as if he had said, ‘Stand up for Jesus in the person of the downtrodden slave.' (Luke v. 18.)

Isn't it refreshing to read that standing up for Jesus here doesn't mean standing up for white supremacy as is so often the claim today? Instead, they are standing up to defend the weak and powerless. Would that it were so now!

The original was six verses, with verses 2 and 3 above becoming verses 3 and 4, and verse 4 becoming verse 6:

2. Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   the solemn watchword hear;
   If while ye sleep He suffers,
   away with shame and fear;
   Where’er ye meet with evil,
   within you or without,
   Charge for the God of battles,
   and put the foe to rout.

5. Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
   each soldier to his post,
   Close up the broken column,
   and shout through all the host:
   Make good the loss so heavy,
   in those that still remain,
   And prove to all around you
   that death itself is gain.

</idle musing>

So, what is a prohet?

If you don't read anything else today, you need to read Scot McKnight's post on What's a prophet?

Here's a snippet to whet your appetite:

First, a prophet, taking Jeremiah as a paradigm, is one who has been in the cabinet room with God (Yahweh).…

Second, a prophet is someone who has been personally sent by God.…

Third, it’s not fun to be a prophet.…

Go there to fill in the blanks, but the last line sums it all up: "If you’re having fun in your prophetic utterances, it’s not prophecy."

Yep. Being a prophet means interceding with God on behalf of the people and going to people and rebuking them for their sins. Look at Jeremiah especially. There's a reason he's called the weaping prophet!

And then, go pick up the books he recommends, especially Heschel's book! If you are looking for more, you could do much worse than Michael Widmer, Standing in the Breach. I excerpted extensively from it a few years ago.

The three-fold existence of ANE gods

Gods seem to possess three different kinds of substantiality. First, they do have a human-like, material physicality, albeit that theirs is in all respects greater and more powerful than the human version. Second, they also possess its antithesis: an identity or personality that is purely immaterial, although it may be thought to be immanent in the material world as well. And third, in most cases they have also a stellar or perhaps better, a cosmic existence, which is material enough, but not corporeal.—Herman Vanstiphout, in What Is a God?, 27 (emphasis original)

Soldiers of Christ, arise! (all 12 verses!)

282 Diademata. S. M. D.

1. Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
   Strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son.
   Strong in the Lord of hosts, and in His mighty power,
   Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.

2. Stand then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
   But take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
   That, having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
   Ye may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.

3. From strength to strength go on, wrestle and fight and pray,
   Tread all the powers of darkness down and win the well fought day.
   Still let the Spirit cry in all His soldiers, Come!
   Till Christ the Lord descends from high and takes the conquerors home.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
The hymn as Wesley wrote it is actually much longer, as are most Wesley hymns. He is putting theology to verse, which usually requires more than three or four verses. As usual, Cyberhymnal has the fullest rendition. Verse 3 above is verse 12 in their version, with the verses inserted after verse 2.

Note the triumphant attitude of the hymn. Wesley firmly believed in victory over sin! No moping in the mud and whining about being a miserable sinner for him. He knew that his sins weren't just forgiven, but were washed away and that he was now a saint being made more whole (and holy) every day: "freed from sin's remains" (v. 6). Note also, that he knows this only happens by the power of God at work in us. Here are the rest of the verses:

3. Stand then against your foes, in close and firm array;
   Legions of wily fiends oppose throughout the evil day.
   But meet the sons of night, and mock their vain design,
   Armed in the arms of heavenly light, of righteousness divine.

4. Leave no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul,
   Take every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole;
   Indissolubly joined, to battle all proceed;
   But arm yourselves with all the mind that was in Christ, your head.

5. But, above all, lay hold on faith’s victorious shield;
   Armed with that adamant and gold, be sure to win the field:
   If faith surround your heart, Satan shall be subdued,
   Repelled his every fiery dart, and quenched with Jesu’s blood.

6. Jesus hath died for you! What can His love withstand?
   Believe, hold fast your shield, and who shall pluck you from His hand?
   Believe that Jesus reigns; all power to Him is giv’n:
   Believe, till freed from sin’s remains; believe yourselves to Heav’n.

7. To keep your armor bright, attend with constant care,
   Still walking in your captain’s sight, and watching unto prayer.
   Ready for all alarms, steadfastly set your face,
   And always exercise your arms, and use your every grace.

8. Pray without ceasing, pray, your captain gives the word;
   His summons cheerfully obey and call upon the Lord;
   To God your every want in instant prayer display,
   Pray always; pray and never faint; pray, without ceasing, pray!

9. In fellowship alone, to God with faith draw near;
   Approach His courts, besiege His throne with all the powers of prayer:
   Go to His temple, go, nor from His altar move;
   Let every house His worship know, and every heart His love.

10. To God your spirits dart, your souls in words declare,
   Or groan, to Him who reads the heart, the unutterable prayer:
   His mercy now implore, and now show forth His praise,
   In shouts, or silent awe, adore His miracles of grace.

11. Pour out your souls to God, and bow them with your knees,
   And spread your hearts and hands abroad, and pray for Zion’s peace;
   Your guides and brethren bear for ever on your mind;
   Extend the arms of mighty prayer, ingrasping all mankind.

</idle musing>

Wisdom from the ANE: “intellectual” (dub-sar!) was not yet become a term of abuse

Apparently the Babylonians did not set much store by small government, and “intellectual” (dub-sar!) was not yet become a term of abuse. Also, it should count for something that all this thinking and writing came from those who were judged to be the best minds, and certainly the best schooled intellects, of their times.—Herman Vanstiphout, in What Is a God?, 18

Onward, Christian soldiers

280 St. Gertrude. 6. 5. 6. 5. D.

1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
   Marching as to war.
   With the cross of Jesus
   Going on before:
   Christ, the royal Master,
   Leads against the foe;
   Forward into battle,
   See His banners go.

Refrain:
   Onward, Christian soldiers,
   marching as to war,
   With the cross of Jesus
   going on before.

2 Like a mighty army
   Moves the Church of God;
   Brothers, we are treading
   Where the saints have trod,
   We are not divided,
   All one body we:
   One in hope and doctrine,
   One in charity. [Refrain]

3 Crowns and thrones may perish,
   Kingdoms rise and wane,
   But the Church of Jesus
   Constant will remain,
   Gates of hell can never
   'Gainst that Church prevail;
   We have Christ's own promise,
   And that cannot fail. [Refrain]

4 Onward, then, ye people,
   Join our happy throng;
   Blend with ours your voices
   In the triumph song,
   Glory, laud, and honor
   Unto Christ the King:
   This through countless ages
   Men and angels sing. [Refrain]
                         Sabine Barino-Gould
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
This was one of my favorite hymns when I was in grade school—probably as much because of the rousing chorus as anything else. I certainly didn't understand the theology of it!

Surprisingly, given my recent poor track record in choosing popular hymns, this one occurs in over 1700 hymnals!
</idle musing>

Miscellaneous language tidbits

From the forthcoming The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures 2:

Parthian had been the official language under the Parthians, and the third-century Sasanian kings had their inscriptions written in both Middle Persian and Parthian, some also in Greek. Both Parthian and Middle Persian were written using local Iranian scripts based on Aramaic and were difficult both to read and to write.[1] The Manichean script is based on Syriac scripts, but is not identical with any of the three common ones (Jacobite, Nestorian, and Estrangelo), so today it is usually just called the Manichean script. This script was used to write Middle Persian, Parthian, and Sogdian, as well as Bactrian (one Manichean fragment survives) and some other languages in Xinjiang.

[1]. Notably because of historical spellings (as English and French) and the use of arameograms (also called heterograms), i.e., Aramaic words to be read in Iranian (e.g., YDH̱ spelling dast “hand”). A later version of this script is used in a fragment of the Psalms of David, also found at Turfan, and a still later version is found in the Zoroastrian literature from the ninth century and later, commonly called Pahlavi.

<idle musing>
Interesting. I wasn't aware of the use of arameograms (and, yes, it's lower case!). It's sort of like Akkadian, with its Sumerograms, or Hittite, having Sumerograms and Akkadograms. Miscellaneous tidbit there: In some cases we don't even know the underlying Hittite word because it's never written, just the case endings appear, attached to the Sumerogram or Akkadogram. We know the declension it belongs to and the gender, but not the word itself!
</idle musing>

So, What is a god?

Although we wrestled with such questions [on the nature of the gods in the ANE], we came to no final agreement about the answers to them; it became abundantly clear, however, that the differences in how different genres represent the gods are of crucial importance for our question. Not only do the representations of gods in different genres suggest that there was no single, monolithic “idea of what a god was” in ancient Mesopotamia, even within a single chronological period and area, they also make it abundantly clear that we must understand more about each genre in question, its rules and conventions, its authors, its uses, and its intended purpose or impact, if we are really to understand how Mesopotamians envisioned their gods.—Herman Vanstiphout, in What Is a God? Anthropomorphic and Non-Anthropomorphic Aspects of Anthropomorphic Aspects of Deity in Ancient Mesopotamia, 11

God of grace and God of glory

279 CWM Rhondda. 8. 7. 8. 7. 8. 7.

1 God of grace and God of glory,
   On Thy people pour Thy power;
   Crown Thine ancient Church’s story;
   Bring her bud to glorious flower.
   Grant us wisdom,
   Grant us courage,
   For the facing of this hour,
   For the facing of this hour.

2 Lo! the hosts of evil round us
   Scorn Thy Christ, assail His ways!
   Fears and doubts too long have bound us;
   Free our hearts to work and praise.
   Grant us wisdom,
   Grant us courage,
   For the living of these days,
   For the living of these days.

3 Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
   Bend our pride to Thy control;
   Shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
   Rich in things and poor in soul.
   Grant us wisdom,
   Grant us courage,
   Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal,
   Lest we miss Thy kingdom’s goal.

4 Set our feet on lofty places;
   Gird our lives that they may be
   Armored with all Christ-like graces
   In the fight to set men free.
   Grant us wisdom,
   Grant us courage,
   That we fail not them nor Thee,
   That we fail not them nor Thee!

5 Save us from weak resignation
   To the evils we deplore:
   Let the search for Thy salvation
   Be our glory evermore.
   Grant us wisdom,
   Grant us courage,
   Serving Thee whom we adore,
   Serving Thee whom we adore.
                         Henry Emerson Fosdick
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Another rousing hymn. This particular section of the hymnal is entitled The Christian Life: Activity and Zeal, so yesterday's, today's, and the next several days will be rousing hymns, some with military symbolism (see my musings from yesterday on that topic).

I continue to choose hymns that are not common in hymnals. I guess it shows that I grew up in the liberal wing of Christianity, the Methodist church. This, again, was a staple hymn, but it only occurs in 157 hymnals. Sad. It's a good hymn with good solid practical theology. Sure, it's short on atonement themes, but we have other hymns we can sing to supply that! The third verse, especially, speaks to our current situation:

  Cure Thy children’s warring madness,
   Bend our pride to Thy control;
   Shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
   Rich in things and poor in soul.

For those who don't know, Henry Emerson Fosdick was a famous liberal (in the theological sense) pastor in the early–mid part of the twentieth century. He stood strongly against racism and other structural sins. Although he supported the US in WWI, he later regretted it. (The wiki page I linked to is a good source.)
</idle musing>

And in the end, Where does philosophy go?

Suppose that there is indeed objective truth, but there is no algorithmic method that guarantees us access to that truth. Christian philosophers can, I believe, embrace this possibility without despair. They can hold both that there is a truth to seek, and reasonably hope we can achieve an approximation of that truth if we seek honestly and with passion. Those who know they are made in the image of God will have reason to trust that their human capacities are trustworthy, the gifts of a gracious and loving God. Thus there are resources in the Christian faith that may help protect philosophy itself from the despair that threatens those who aspire to the kind of knowledge Spinoza thought possible, but who realize that it is not humanly achievable.—Evans, A History of Western Philosophy, 585

<idle musing>
That's his summary at the end of the book. I hope you enjoyed that quick romp through almost 600 pages of A History of Western Philosophy.

Tomorrow we'll start a different book, now out of print, to the best of my knowledge, so the link will be to Worldcat, letting you locate a library near you carrying the book. The book? What Is a God? Anthropomorphic and Non-Anthropomorphic Aspects of Anthropomorphic Aspects of Deity in Ancient Mesopotamia, edited by Barbara N. Porter. It used to be distributed by Eisenbrauns, which is why I have a copy. I hope you enjoy the ride!
</idle musing>

Whence authority? (Tozer for Tuesday)

Then there is another kind of authority with prophets and apostles and popes and bishops and religious sages. If they are good, they have borrowed their authority; and if they are bad, they have usurped it. They have authority all right; nobody can doubt it.

Bishops have authority. They can say, “Don’t you do so- and-so,” and the little preacher does not dare do it. Then there are popes and apostles and prophets. Now I say again that if they were good men, they borrowed their authority from God; and if they were bad men, they usurped it from God. So either way they got it from God. But they all had to surrender their authority and die.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 32

Lead on, O King Eternal

278 Lancashire. 7. 6. 7. 6. D.

1 Lead on, O King Eternal.
   The day of march has come!
   Henceforth in fields of conquest
   Thy tents shall be our home;
   Thru days of preparation
   Thy grace has made us strong,
   And now, O King Eternal,
   We lift our battle song.

2 Lead on, O King Eternal,
   Till sin's fierce war shall cease,
   And holiness shall whisper
   The sweet Amen of peace;
   For not with swords' loud clashing
   Nor roll of stirring drums -
   With deeds of love and mercy
   The heav'nly kingdom comes.

3 Lead on, O King Eternal,
   We follow not with fears!
   For gladness breaks like morning
   Where'er Thy face appears;
   Thy cross is lifted o'er us -
   We journey in its light:
   The crown awaits the conquest -
   Lead on, O God of might.
                         Ernest W. Shurtleff
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I know a lot of people are against military imagery in hymns. I'm not, for a couple of reasons. First, it's a scriptural image. Second, people need to realize that their ambition doesn't have to be physical aggression, such as violence, war, etc. Instead, by submitting it all to God, they can turn that ambition to fighting the good fight, as Paul puts it.

I'm continually being amazed at the number of hymnals some of these hymns are in. This one, for example, was a staple when I was growing up. It makes an excellent closing hymn. But it occurs in less than 400 hymnals.

Incidentally, the author of the hymn was in Paris helping refugees during World War I, so he put his life where his theology was.
</idle musing>

My soul, be on thy guard!

277 Laban. S. M.

1 My soul, be on thy guard:
   Ten thousand foes arise;
   The hosts of sin are pressing hard
   To draw thee from the skies.

2 O watch and fight and pray:
   The battle ne'er give o'er;
   Renew it boldly every day,
   And help divine implore.

3 Ne'er think the victory won,
   Nor lay thine armor down;
   Thine arduous work will not be done
   Till thou obtain the crown.

4 Fight on, my soul, till death
   Shall bring thee to thy God;
   He'll take thee, at thy parting breath,
   To His divine abode.
                         George Heath
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Seems an appropriate hymn for Christmas Eve, as the world waits for the arrival of the Messiah, despite its less than victorious verses. Not surprisingly, the author became a Unitarian pastor. Can't have a victory without Christ.
</idle musing>

Must Jesus bear the cross alone?

276 Maitland. C. M.

1 Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
   And all the world go free?
   No, there's a cross for every one,
   And there's a cross for me.

2 How happy now the saints of God,
   Who once went sorrowing here;
   They rest I joy, life's crown is theirs,
   They know no pain nor tear.

3 The consecrated cross I'll bear
   Till death shall set me free,
   And then go home my crown to wear,
   For there's a crown for me.
                         Thomas Shepherd
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org omits the second verse and adds these two at the end:

3 Upon the crystal pavement, down
   At Jesus' pierced feet,
   Joyful, I'll cast my golden crown
   And His dear name repeat.

4 O precious cross! O glorious crown!
   O resurrection day!
   Ye angels, from the stars come down
   And bear my soul away.

They also have a wide variety of other verses. Go there and compare to your heart's content! Consider it an early Christmas present!
</idle musing>

Make it so, Lord!

Wisdom from Sirach 40:

12 All bribery and injustice
will be wiped out,
      but good faith will last forever.
13 The money of the unjust
will dry up like a river,
      and it will crash like loud thunder
      in a rainstorm.
14 Generous people will rejoice,
      but those who sin will ultimately fail.
15 The offspring of the ungodly
won’t produce many branches,
      and they are polluted roots
      on sheer rock.
16 A reed by any water or riverbank
      will be pulled up before any grass.
17 Kindness is like an orchard of blessings,
      and an act of charity will last forever. (CEB)

To which I can only say, Even so, Lord Jesus, make it so!

Kierkegaard and absolute knowledge

Kierkegaard, responding to Hegel’s claim to deliver absolute knowledge, agrees with Nietzsche that we are not purely rational creatures, and that we can never obtain a godlike point of view. His pseudonym Johannes Climacus makes this plain: “A logical system is possible, but a system of existence is impossible for anyone but God.” We humans can certainly construct logical systems, but they never perfectly capture the whole truth about existence. Our systems can never be totally complete or final in the sense that they are unrevisable. However, it is important that Kierkegaard does not think this means that there is no objective truth that we can seek. Reality is a system for God, and objective truth is simply the truth as God knows it. Furthermore, since we are created in God’s image, there is reason to hope that our search for truth will not be completely in vain. We remain finite, fallible, and sinful creatures, but if we are God’s creatures we have reason to hope that we can at least approximate the truth we need to have as human beings. It is something like this faith in our cognitive powers that underlies Reid’s philosophy of common sense as well.—Evans, A History of Western Philosophy, 582–83

Christian, dost thou see/feel/hear them?

275 St. Andrew of Crete (first tune). Greek Hymn (second tune) 6. 5. 6. 5. D.

1 Christian, dost thou see them
   On the holy ground,
   How the hosts of darkness
   Compass thee around?
   Christian, up and smite them,
   Counting gain but loss:
   Smite them by the merit
   Of the holy Cross!

2 Christian, dost thou feel them,
   How they work within,
   Striving, tempting, luring,
   Goading into sin?
   Christian, never tremble;
   Never be down-cast;
   Gird thee for the battle,
   Watch and pray and fast.

3 Christian, dost thou hear them
   How they speak thee fair;
   “Always fast and vigil?
   Always watch and prayer?”
   Christian, answer boldly:
   “While I breathe, I pray.”
   Peace shall follow battle,
   Night shall end in day.

4 “Well I know thy trouble,
   O my servant true;
   Thou art very weary,—
   I was weary too:
   But that toil shall make thee,
   Some day, all Mine own:
   But the end of sorrow
   Shall be near My Throne.”
                         Andrew of Crete 660–712
                         Tr. by John M. Neale
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I don't recall ever singing this hymn (to either tune). It isn't real common, occurring in just over 300 hymnals.
</idle musing>

Kierkegaard and existentialism? Maybe not

Eventually Kierkegaard influenced those twentieth century philosophers we today term “existentialists,” such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus. Since most of these thinkers were atheists, Kierkegaard’s fame as the “father of existentialism” came at some cost to our understanding of his own concerns as a Christian thinker. To understand his work, one must read him as “the individual” to whom Kierkegaard himself directed his work, seeing him in terms of his own concerns. While Kierkegaard certainly had a great influence on existentialism, it is important not to anachronistically read back into his own work the concerns of these later thinkers.—Evans, A History of Western Philosophy, 518

Lead us, O Father

271 Burleigh. 10. 10. 10. 10.

1 Lead us, O Father, in the paths of peace;
   Without Thy guiding hand we go astray,
   And doubts appall, and sorrows still increase;
   Lead us through Christ, the true and living Way.

2 Lead us, O Father, in the paths of truth;
   Unhelped by Thee, in error's maze we grope,
   While passion stains and folly dims our youth,
   And age comes on, uncheered by faith and hope.

3 Lead us, O Father, in the paths of right;
   Blindly we stumble when we walk alone,
   Involved in shadows of a mortal night;
   Only with Thee we journey safely on.

4 Lead us, O Father, to Thy heav'nly rest,
   However rough and steep the pathway be,
   Through joy or sorrow, as Thou deemest best,
   Until our lives are perfected in Thee.
                         William H. Burleigh
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Reading the lyrics, I was struck by the fact that it would have made a great Trinitarian hymn if the other two members of the Trinity had been mentioned. But, when I checked out the bio of the author and found out he was Unitarian, it made sense. Oh, and it isn't very popular, occurring in under 200 hymnals. His bio mentions that his hymns were more popular in Britain than the US, and that they were more popular outside Unitarianism than within it.
</idle musing>