October 23 - 30, 2017
Worship: O Come Down, O Love Divine by Bianco da Siena (Written sometime in the 14th or 15th century)
Come down, O love divine, seek Thou this soul of mine,
And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing.
O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear,
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.
O let it freely burn, till earthly passions turn
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
And let Thy glorious light shine ever on my sight,
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.
Let holy charity mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.
And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long,
Shall far out pass the power of human telling;
For none can guess its grace, till he become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.
Video: https://youtu.be/CLQu6_Tjk9M
Witness:
In searching for a song on Psalm 27, I stumbled upon a hymn that I was attracted to. The lyrics were not simple nor were they trite. I had to think about each line of the song - there are actually 8 verses to this hymn which began as a poem written by an Italian mystic who lived at the end of the 14th century and died around 1434 AD. It is clearly a song about the Holy Spirit and carries a lot of symbolism that refers back to the 2nd chapter of Acts. The first resource I consulted online contained 3 of the 4 verses which have been translated from the vernacular language it was originally written in - which in this case was Italian. The Methodist Hymnal in which it was located left out verse 3 (actually it is the 4th in the original poem). The second source I consulted states:
Stanza three of the four English-language stanzas is omitted from most hymnalshttps://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-italian-mystic-composes-melodic-o-love-divine
The author of the article gives this explanation for why such an omission is made:
While the stanza starts out strongly, the translation seems strained and lacks the directness and beauty of the remaining three stanzas. (Ibid)
While this may factually be true and the song is undoubtedly commanding without it. Still, verse 3 in its present form is in no way less powerful than the other stanzas in what it says. It speaks of a divine love being the outer garment we wear, and an authentic humbleness our inner attire. Many can feign love outwardly but are empty on the inside. Others begin in sincerity, but the accolades heaped on them lead to them being puffed up with pride and forgetting that the reason they could cloth themselves with such love was…
… because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Rom 5:5 NIV
What began as a product of grace then becomes a deed of the flesh. Love, the first mentioned in the cluster of the fruit of the Spirit begins to rot. What was self-forgetful has become self-seeking” (see Gal. 5:13-26). The NIV translates the word e)riqi/a as “selfish ambition.” Vines says this word means
ambition, self-seeking, rivalry
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985,
Thomas Nelson Publishers.) (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words,Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
and that it comes
… from erithos, "a hireling"; hence the meaning of "seeking to win followers" (ibid).
Eugene Peterson in the Message has a thought-provoking way of paraphrasing this word.
He puts it this way,
an impotence to love or be loved Gal 5:20.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Any act of love must be done with sincerity and holy motives. Not for show or self-exaltation or attention-getting. That person will not be loved by those who see through the charade, and certainly, that person knows nothing about what love is. When I share a thought, prayer, or poem online, I must examine myself to see if I am doing it clothed in love or am I “seeking to win followers” in the form of “likes” exposing my inward nakedness which has been stripped of the garment of humbleness.
This is where the second line in verse 3 of the hymn comes into play. All acts of love must be born out of and governed by the humility of my inner being. And all failures in humility must be met with weeping and repentance, hating the very thought of failing to express God’s love and for bringing reproach to the honor of the One who dwells in me. And as God has given me the grace to love, He also gives me the grace to be humble and repentant. For James, the brother of our Lord has said (in a different context but still applicable):
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble." (Prov. 3:34) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 4:6-10 NKJV
And far from being passive in all this, we are exhorted to take action based on the grace we have received from God. Notice James string of imperatives that flow from this truth: submit, resist, draw near, cleanse, purify, lament, mourn, weep, and humble.
What Bianco da Siena wrote in poetic form, the Apostle Paul wrote in prose. And the Apostle's words carry an authority which the poem/hymn eloquently witnesses to - eloquently but not adequately enough. Note Paul’s imperatives based on who we are.
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WORD:
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Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life —
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
NIV (84)
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Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
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Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
KJV
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Ps 27:1 - 3
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
3 Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
ESV
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There is some discussion among the commentators concerning what the phrase “devour my flesh” means. David wasn’t accusing his foes of being cannibals. So, what did he mean? Some authorities say this phrase refers to slander.
Psalms 27:1-3To eat up any one's flesh signifies, even in Job 19:22, the same as to pursue any one by evil speaking (in Aramaic by slander, back-biting) to his destruction.
(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Others see this as referring to wild animals.
Psalms 27:2 [To eat up my flesh] As if they would eat me up. That is, they came upon me like ravening wolves, or hungry lions. We are not to suppose that they literally purposed to eat up his flesh, or that they were cannibals; but the comparison is one that is drawn from the fierceness of wild beasts rushing on their prey. Compare Ps 14:4.(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
The UBT says:
Psalms 27:2-3 The psalmist's enemies are called evildoers who assail him and try "to devour his flesh" (see RSV footnote and NIV). Since most languages will not be able to use the Hebrew metaphor "eat up my flesh," the second verbal phrase is understood by some to mean slander (MFT, RSV); others, however, take it in the sense of tear to pieces, destroy (Weiser; NEB, TOB, NAB, SPCL), which seems more reasonable here.(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)
In the end, what does it matter? In either case, the result is the same. They both can bring hurt, defamation of character, and destruction. If I had any preference, I would side with the latter interpretation, for it includes slander, but it does not limit the scope of the destructive forces we face in life to just verbal attacks. In verse 12 David seems to blend both thoughts.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,for false witnesses rise up against me,breathing out violence.
NIV
As I contemplate this truth, I can think of several applications. David’s focus and his response in times of trial have been instructive.
First, his focus has been upward and not outward. David looked towards the Lord and contemplated who God was and what He had done in his life. When he did fear dispersed. When Peter took his eyes off the Lord, he sank in the turbulent waves. When the Lord willingly surrendered Himself to His enemies in the garden, His Disciples all fled in fear.
To change the direction of focus a little. We must learn to look beyond our circumstances. We need to see the armies of the Lord that surround us even as the servant of Elisha was enabled to view them literally when Elisha prayed to the Lord to allow the servant to see what Elisha already saw and therefore was not afraid (2 Kings 6:17).
Secondly, David’s response was to reason from faith and not from fear. This of course was based on the first premise outlined in the previous paragraph. When we begin with our circumstances, it can lead to an irrational fear. Of course, if we live only by what we can see then fear does seem rational. But the believer does not live just by the five senses. No, we look beyond and above our circumstances - “for we live by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7 NIV). Thus we can reason from faith, which leads to hope, and a fearlessness that seems unreasonable to the world.
This very reasoning is seen in the writings of the Apostle Paul who in a passage where he is defending his calling releases a string of “therefores” and “fors.” I will quote these and let you see him reasoning from faith. You will also observe that he walks with faith and hope because his focus is upward and beyond that which is seen by the physical senses – represented by the eye. Thus, he is able to persevere because of it.
Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Cor 4 NIV
Thirdly, David had a realistic view of life. While David looked up and beyond his circumstances, he did not deny them. Nor did he believe life was going to be a bed of roses, or as he would put it – all “green pastures” and “restful waters.” No, David was realistic:
· When evildoers assail me Ps. 27:2 ESV
· when I walk in a valley of death-shade Ps. 23:4 YLT
· when the mighty waters rise Ps 32:6 NIV
· when evil days come Ps 49:5 NIV
· When we were overwhelmed by sins Ps 65:3 NIV
· when I was in trouble Ps 66:14 ESV
· when I am old Ps 71:9 NIV – I had to throw that one in for me 😊
· When I was in distress Ps 77:2 NIV
· when they attack Ps 109:28 NIV
I once was asked by a youth leader when I attended Seminary to help him find verses that showed that the Christian life was fun and less troubled. David would give that request a big “HUH?” and an “Um, yeah, about that.” Our Lord amid all His marvelous promises gave this sobering assurance,
“In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:33a NIV
Yet, He does not leave us hanging on to the edge of despair but reaches down and rescues us with these words,
But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33b NIV
I will save my final thoughts on what I have observed from David’s “journal” in Psalm 27 concerning trials till my next journal entry. This entry has taken a week to complete and has grown quite long. The witness section above was longer than usual. The WORD portion was rather lengthy too, as I meditated and the Lord illumined my spirit to understand this passage and see ways in which it applies to my life. It may be long as regards to a blog entry, but it is clearly not a full treatise. I’m sure you can add to what I have written, and since the story of my life has not been fully written (except in eternity), I’m absolutely confident the Lord has more for me to learn and relearn.
