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>