Venomous poison

The 1980s song Poison by Alice Cooper has come on the radio a few times recently. Though I know of this song from several years ago the lyrics have recently reminded me of Proverbs 7.

One could argue that Poison is somewhat sadistic and not merely seductive. Possibly, though I think the physical descriptors can be appreciated as metaphors for the evil behind lustful seduction, especially as the man is still tempted despite his knowledge of her harm. Proverbs likewise uses the metaphor of death, though also linking it to spiritual death.

Proverbs 7 and Poison below.

Joy to the world

What grace the Father has extended to man by sending his Son to dwell among us.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:13-14)

Isaac Watts has captured the great goodness of God in this famous hymn. The whole earth groans under the curse of death; pain and sorrow rule; and one man's life restored and is restoring all things!

May all men everywhere give allegiance to the King of kings.

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Joy to the world
Isaac Watts, 1674–1748

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

We Christians serve a king

Though his kingship does not look like others who would rule this world. I find it interesting that we bow before a man who went thru an unjust trial, was beaten by men who hate him, was nailed to a patibulum and left hanging naked to die in front of a crowd, many who mocked him. A long way from the the rulers who conquer kingdoms or are born into royalty, and demand obeisance.

Yet I gladly bow at the foot of a cross to a man whose only item symbolic of royalty is a crown, and that of thorns. Still, how appropriate that the result of the curse should grace the forehead of him who took the curse upon himself.

"Are you the Christ," they ask. "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." We will see Jesus as a conquering king, but for now,

Behold the Man upon a cross
My guilt upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished.

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How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, Stuart Townend

Let it rain

The Newsboys sing a song called Let It Rain. It is about the apostle Peter before he dies. I think the frequent mention and allusion to water in the song is very clever.

Let It Rain

Fisher of men remembers...

And I have watched in wonder
As with a word You calmed a raging sea
I have seen You make the wine from water
Mud and water made a blind man see
Water still reminds me
Of the seaside where our eyes first met

Chorus
Let it rain
Lord we're waiting for Your rain to fall
Let it rain
Bringing back the wonder of it all
And I can see Your face again
When You let it rain

And I've been bathed in mercy
By every gesture, every word You've said
Once I spoke of power and high position
You took a towel and washed my feed instead
Water, like a promise
Heaven opens, but I'm not there yet

Chorus

I've been foolish
Thought I know it all
Three times I denied Your name
Your forgiveness, like a waterfall
Washes away my shame

A new dawn is breaking
Another hour, and then I leave this place
I am ready Lord to give my life for you
I'm so ready Lord to see Your face
Water like a promise
And in this final hour I think my final prayer shall be
Would You let it rain?
Let Your Spirit fall afresh on me

Chorus

Best Friday

On this good, indeed the best of Fridays, we remember the darkness of the cross; the great evil of the crucifixion. Yet in this evil world that Adam made so, only thru the evil of men could our justification come.

This hymn captures the centrality of the cross to history, in fact the unimportance of all other things in comparison. And it well describes the deep love of Christ for us. It was penned by Isaac Watts, a prolific hymn writer. I was not familiar with the fourth verse.

Jesus you did not deserve the suffering you endured. We thank you that you have delivered us from death. You are our Lord and we gladly say so. Help us offer you our souls, our lives, our all!

When I survey the wondrous cross

Isaac Watts (1674–1748)

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Giving up claim to your life

Churches frequently ask that people offer up their whole selves for Jesus. Jesus should get all of us and we should not hold back any part of our lives; Jesus is Lord over all.

I agree with this. My view of Christianity is one of an exchange of lives: my life for Jesus' life. He died for my sins, I live his life at his direction; it is no longer mine to own, including all my decisions. I do have mixed feelings about this approach however. In reality this is a very difficult thing to do. And to make a promise to God you think you are likely to fail on does not seem wise. So while this is what God wants of us, I am probably more likely to ask that God changes me that this may be my desire, or that as I grow I may give more and more to him. It is not that I necessarily want to hold back aspects (though at times perhaps), rather that I do.

I also am aware that others who have offered their whole selves to God, and meant it, and acted on it, have seen God work powerfully in their lives. I believe Charles Finney went through a process of giving all to God before his ministry. And I suspect Rhys Howells was in a similar position though I have not read his biography. Others have given God something important that represents all, or at least a lot, of themselves. Keith Green offered God his music knowing he may not get it back. So a quick comment about giving Jesus all in a music break does not do justice to the magnitude of this decision.

While I would not have married my wife without God giving me the go ahead and his approval, I do think I put her on the altar prior to that point: yet God still asks more of me than I give.

Perhaps it is an event for some people, perhaps it is process where we hand over more and more, perhaps it is both.

My pastor once said that he did not think the Christian walk got easier in terms of our faith in God, that we always can grow and God will give us ever more opportunities to trust him in ways that we have not done so before.

Which introduces the lyrics to a song that focuses on this aspect of faith:

Take my life and let it be

Fran­ces R. Ha­ver­gal (1836–1879)

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

That is your interpretation

It seems some people think the refrain, "That is just your interpretation," is legitimate. By implication they are saying that there are a multitude of interpretations and, further, that any particular one is as legitimate as another. While it is true that some statements can have more than one interpretation, there are many they cannot have.

I was contemplating a hymn I enjoy, Be thou my vision. The first 2 lines are:

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Be all else but naught to me, save that thou art.

Consider the phrase, "Be all else but naught to me." What could it mean? If the word "be" refers to "Lord" of the preceding line the phrase stated unambiguously is

Lord be everything except nothing to me

If the word "be" refers to the "all else" which follows then the meaning would be

Everything be nothing to me

So this phrase can potentially have more than one meaning. Of course the phrase cannot mean

Lord, you mean nothing to me

however you parse it.

In this hymn there is only one meaning, the following clause limitis the options to the second interpretation—"save that thou art" makes sense with one idea but not the other. Despite the fact I like the poetic flavour of the first interpretation, it doesn't quite make sense:

Lord be everything except nothing to me, except you.

Whereas what is intended is:

Everything be nothing to me, except you (Lord)

There are not a multitude of interpretations for every statement, and not all possible interpretations have equal validity.

God and God alone

My wife was playing a song on the piano this evening. Probably because the song is 20 years old we haven't sung it in church for some time. It is simple but the lyrics and music are excellent and sound. I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. I think it will stand the test of time, unlike many Christian songs—though I am told the same is true of hymns, we sing the greats and many lesser ones have been fallen by the way. Written by Phill McHugh.

Verse
God and God alone
Created all these things we call our own
From the mighty to the small
The glory in them all
Is God's and God's alone

Verse
God and God alone
Reveals the truth of all we call unknown
All the best and worst of man
Can't change the master plan
It's God's and God's alone

Chorus
God and God alone
Is fit to take the universe's throne
Let everything that lives
Reserve its truest praise
For God and God alone

Verse
God and God alone
Will be the joy of our eternal home
He will be our one desire
Our hearts will never tire
Of God and God alone

How deep the Father's love for us

The reason for Christ's sacrifice on the mount of crucifixion. As we are reminded again this Good Friday. I was somewhat surprised to learn this hymn has only been around a decade.

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss—
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life—
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart—
His wounds have paid my ransom.