From the preface of Torrance's Incarnation

For Torrance, theology is personal knowledge of God in which mind and heart together are equally involved. God is personal, or ‘personalising person’ as Torrance used to say, the one who makes us personal and can only be known personally. One cannot therefore study theology without personal knowledge of God in faith. It can never be simply an academic exercise. Theology involves faith and worship and can only properly be done on one’s knees.—Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ, xxix–xxx

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

347 Holy Cross. C. M.

1 How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
   In a believer's ear!
   It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
   And drives away his fear.

2 It makes the wounded spirit whole,
   And calms the troubled breast;
   'Tis manna to the hungry soul,
   And to the weary, rest.

3 Weak is the effort of my heart,
   And cold my warmest thought;
   But when I see thee as thou art,
   I'll praise thee as I ought.

4 Till then, I would thy love proclaim,
   With every fleeting breath;
   And may the music of thy name
   Refresh my soul in death.
                         John Newton
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org inserts a verse after verse 2:

3 By him, my pray'rs acceptance gain,
   Although with sin defil'd;
   Satan accuses me in vain,
   And I am own'd a child.

</idle musing>

Who or what is forming you?

On Center for Action and Contemplation blog, there's snippet from a 2008 book, revised in 2022:

If we’re honest, culture forms us much more than the gospel. It seems we have kept the basic storyline of human history in place rather than allow the gospel to reframe and redirect the story. Except for those who have experienced grace at their core, Christianity has not created a new story, “a new mind” (Romans 12:2), or a “new self” (Ephesians 4:24). The old and tired win/lose scenarios seem to be in our cultural hard drive. The experience of grace at the core of reality is much more imaginative and installs new win/win programs in our psyche, but has been neglected and unrecognized by most of Christianity.—Richard Rohr, in Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, 172

Sadly, too true…

Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts

345 Rimington. L. M.

1. Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,
   Thou Fount of life, Thou Light of men,
   From the best bliss that earth imparts,
   We turn unfilled to Thee again.

2. Thy truth unchanged hath ever stood;
   Thou savest those that on Thee call;
   To them that seek Thee Thou art good,
   To them that find Thee all in all.

3. We taste Thee, O Thou living Bread,
   And long to feast upon Thee still;
   We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead,
   And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.

4. Our restless spirits yearn for Thee,
   Wherever our changeful lot is cast;
   Glad when Thy gracious smile we see,
   Blessed when our faith can hold Thee fast.

5. O Jesus, ever with us stay,
   Make all our moments calm and bright;
   Chase the dark night of sin away,
   Shed over the world Thy holy light.
                         Authorship uncertain
                         Bernard of Clairvaux
                         Tr. and arr. by Ray Palmer
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

O Thou who camest from above

344 Eisenach. L. M.

1 O Thou who camest from above
   The pure celestial fire to impart
   Kindle a flame of sacred love
   On the mean altar of my heart.

2 There let is for Thy glory burn
   With inextinguishable blaze;
   And trembling to its source return
   In humble prayer and fervent praise.

3 Jesus, confirm my heart's desire
   To work, and speak, and think for Thee;
   Still let me guard the holy fire,
   And still stir up Thy gift in me.

4 Ready for all Thy perfect will,
   My acts of faith and love repeat,
   Till death Thy endless mercies seal,
   And make the sacrifice complete.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

The continuing importance of linguistics for translation

It is sometimes argued that improved modern translations are making linguistic study less necessary than it used to be. Quite the contrary is true. Increased modern philological knowledge, while it has enabled us to overcome certain difficulties which the older translations had, has also made the assessment of meaning more approximative in character, has multiplied the factors which may bear upon it, and may thus have made the production of definitive translations more remote.—James Barr, in Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 299

My God, my strength, my hope

343 Richmond. S. M. D.

1 My God, 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;
   This blessing above all,
   Always to pray, I want:
   Out of the deep on Thee to call,
   And never, never faint.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
As usual, cyberhymnal has another verse:

5 I rest upon Thy word;
   The promise is for me;
   My succor 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.

</idle musing>

Context is king!

The communication of meaning in Hebrew was not determined at all by what the words meant in Arabic, and was not primarily determined by what they meant in proto-Semitic; it was primarily determined by the choice between the words available in Hebrew. Because words operate in relation to one another within Hebrew, all philological solutions to particular difficulties have to be considered not only in themselves, for the satisfaction they give in a particular difficult context, but also in their more general implications, for the effect they have on the total balance of the available series of choices in Hebrew.—James Barr, in Comparative Philology and the Text of the Old Testament, 293

Dear Lord and Father of mankind

342 Rest (Elton). 8 6. 8. 8. 6.

1. Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
   Forgive our foolish ways;
   Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
   In purer lives Thy service find,
   In deeper reverence, praise.

2. In simple trust like theirs who heard,
   Beside the Syrian sea,
   The gracious calling of the Lord,
   Let us, like them, without a word,
   Rise up and follow Thee.

3. O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
   O calm of hills above,
   Where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
   The silence of eternity,
   Interpreted by love!

4. Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
   Till all our strivings cease;
   Take from our souls the strain and stress,
   And let our ordered lives confess
   The beauty of Thy peace.

5. Breathe through the heats of our desire
   Thy coolness and Thy balm;
   Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
   Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
   O still, small voice of calm.
                         John G. Whittier
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Cyberhymnal inserts a verse after verse 3:

4. With that deep hush subduing all
   Our words and works that drown
   The tender whisper of Thy call,
   As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
   As fell Thy manna down.

</idle musing>

You still need to define it!

Now there is a tendency among American historical linguists, one to which Semitists are by no means immune, to assume that ordinary German words acquire, by virtue of their importation into English, technical rigor, and that they imbue scholarly discourse into which they are embedded with a corresponding degree of rigor.—Alice Faber in Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, 191

'Mid all the traffic of the ways

341 St. Agnes. C. M.

1 ’Mid all the traffic of the ways,
   Turmoils without, within,
   Make in my heart a quiet place,
   And come and dwell therein.

2 A little shrine of quietness,
   All sacred to Thyself,
   Where Thou shalt all my soul possess,
   And I may find myself.

3 A little shelter from life’s stress,
   Where I may lay me prone,
   And bare my soul in loneliness,
   And know as I am known.

4 A little place of mystic grace,
   Of self and sin swept bare,
   Where I may look upon Thy face,
   And talk with Thee in prayer.
                         John Oxenham
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Well, I'm continuing my record of choosing relatively obscure hymns! This one occurs in a mere 33 hymnals. but it certainly is an appropriate one for our hectic culture!

As for the author, his name is a pseudonym for William Arthur Dunkerley. His best-known hymn is "In Christ There Is No East or West." It occurs in 324 hymnals, including this hymnal as number 507.
</idle musing>

Why linguistics?

In biblical studies, as in many other areas of learning, language analysis has rarely thrived as an end in itself. For the most part, linguistics has served the needs of philology. Grammar has been formalized in order to read and interpret a text fluently and correctly. Special attention has been paid to irregular patterns and to rare and unexpected forms. The philologist encountering an odd phenomenon can consult a specialized grammar book and find an explanation of a puzzling form or construction, or the thrust of a peculiar idiom. By correctly identifying unusual language forms, the philologist can proceed with the business of interpreting the text. Grammar ministers to meaning, and this is as it should be. Ultimately all disciplines should serve to elucidate the literatures that we study by clearing out the channels of communication, removing the clutter of unknowns that block our understanding.—Edward Greenstein, in Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, 29

Tozer for Tuesday and the Holy Spirit (or lack of!)

So the Holy Spirit gets into the benediction and verse three of hymn number nine. Further than that, the Holy Spirit is not necessary to the church; we have arranged it so that He is not required. He has been displaced by what we call programming and by social activity.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 55

Jesus, Lover of my soul

338 Martyn. (first tune) 7. 7. 7. 7. D
      Hollingside. (second tune)
      Aberystwyth. (third tune)

1. Jesus, lover of my soul,
   let me to Thy bosom fly,
   While the nearer waters roll,
   while the tempest still is high.
   Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
   till the storm of life is past;
   Safe into the haven guide;
   O receive my soul at last.

2. Other refuge have I none,
   hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
   Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
   still support and comfort me.
   All my trust on Thee is stayed,
   all my help from Thee I bring;
   Cover my defenseless head
   with the shadow of Thy wing.

3. Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
   more than all in Thee I find;
   Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
   heal the sick, and lead the blind.
   Just and holy is Thy name,
   I am all unrighteousness;
   False and full of sin I am;
   Thou art full of truth and grace.

4. Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
   grace to cover all my sin;
   Let the healing streams abound;
   make and keep me pure within.
   Thou of life the fountain art,
   freely let me take of Thee;
   Spring Thou up within my heart;
   rise to all eternity.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
While this isn't my favorite Wesley hymn, it does seem to be one of his most popular ones, appearing in over 3100 hymnals! Cyberhymnal inserts a verse 3, which I wasn't familiar with:

3. Wilt Thou not regard my call?
   Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
   Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—
   Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
   Reach me out Thy gracious hand!
   While I of Thy strength receive,
   Hoping against hope I stand,
   dying, and behold, I live.

</idle musing>

Sacralizing the secular

(Although some historians represent early Protestantism as eliminating the sacred, it is perhaps more accurate to suggest that the movement sacralized the secular.) The basic distinction between the sacramentally ordained priesthood and the universal priesthood of the laity was denied. Furthermore, the cultic aspect of priesthood was replaced by a new emphasis on the priest as one entrusted with the ministry of the word. The Protestant rejection of the hierarchical structure of the priesthood and the jurisdiction derived from it led it to argue that its ministers should be elected by the church community.—Alister McGrath, Theology: The Basics (2nd ed.), 139

<idle musing>
"Sacralized the secular." I like that. It's a different way of looking at things.

That's the end of this book. The next few days will see an assortment of snippets from a couple of books that I've been reading, and then we'll dive into T. F. Torrance, Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ, which will take us a while.
</idle musing>

Savior, like a shepherd lead us

337 Bradbury. 8. 7. 8. 7. D.

1 Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
   Much we need Thy tender care;
   In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
   For our use Thy folds prepare.
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.

2 We are Thine; do Thou befriend us,
   Be the Guardian of our way;
   Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
   Seek us when we go astray.
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Hear Thy children when they pray;
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Hear Thy children when they pray.

3 Thou hast promised to receive us,
   Poor and sinful though we be;
   Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
   Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free.
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Early let us turn to Thee;
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Early let us turn to Thee.

4 Early let us seek Thy favor;
   Early let us do Thy will;
   Blessed Lord and only Savior,
   With Thy love our bosoms fill.
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Thou hast lov'd us, love us still;
   Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus,
   Thou hast lov'd us, love us still.
                         From Hymns for the Young, 1816
                         Attributed to Dorothy A. Thruff
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

Jesus, still lead on

336 Seelenbrautigam. 5. 5. 8. 8. 5. 5.

1. Jesus, still lead on,
   till our rest be won,
   And, although the way be cheerless,
   We will follow calm and fearless,
   Guide us by Thy hand
   to our fatherland.

2. If the way be drear,
   if the foe be near,
   Let no faithless fears o’ertake us,
   Let not faith and hope forsake us,
   For through many a woe
   to our home we go.

3. Jesus, still lead on,
   till our rest be won;
   Heavenly Leader, still direct us,
   Still support, control, protect us,
   Till we safely stand
   in our fatherland.
                         Nicolaus L. Zinzendorf
                         Translated by Jane L. Borthwick
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
Most of the Zinzendorf hymns that I know of in English were translated by John Wesley, so it was interesting to see that this one was done by the prolific translator Jane Borthwick. Cyberhymnal inserts this verse after verse 2:

3. When we seek relief
   from a long felt grief;
   When temptations come alluring,
   Make us patient and enduring;
   Show us that bright shore
   where we weep no more.

</idle musing>

Jesus, I live to Thee

335 Lake Enon. S. M.

1 Jesus, I live to Thee,
   The loveliest and best;
   My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
   In Thy blest love I rest.

2 Jesus, I die to Thee,
   Whenever death shall come;
   To die in Thee is life to me,
   In my eternal home.

3 Whether to live or die,
   I know not which is best;
   To live in Thee is bliss to me,
   To die is endless rest.

4 Living or dying, Lord,
   I ask but to be Thine;
   My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
   Makes heaven for ever mine.
                         Henry Hargaugh
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

The Trinity

The doctrine of the Trinity can be regarded as the outcome of a process of sustained and critical reflection on the pattern of divine activity revealed in scripture, and continued in Christian experience. This is not to say that scripture contains or sets out an explicit doctrine of the Trinity; rather, scripture bears witness to a God who demands to be understood in a Trinitarian manner.—Alister McGrath, Theology: The Basics (2nd ed.), 103

My Lord how full of sweet content

334 Hamburg. L. M.

1. My Lord, how full of sweet content;
   I pass my years of banishment!
   Where’er I dwell, I dwell with Thee,
   In Heaven, in earth, or on the sea.

2. To me remains nor place nor time;
   My country is in every clime;
   I can be calm and free from care
   On any shore, since God is there.

3. While place we seek, or place we shun
   The soul finds happiness in none;
   But with a God to guide our way,
   ’Tis equal joy, to go or stay.

4. Could I be cast where Thou are not,
   That were indeed a dreadful lot:
   But regions none remote I call,
   Secure of finding God in all.
                         Madame Guyon
                         Translated by William Cowper
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1939 edition

<idle musing>
I didn't realize the Madame Guyon had written any hymns or that they were translated into English, let alone by the great hymnwriter William Cowper! It's not a very popular hymn, only occurring in abour 40 hymnals.

If you aren't familiar with Madame Guyon, you should take the time to familiarize yourself with her. She was a French mystic whose writings were (and still are) very influential.
</idle musing>