i just came from fellowshipping with some brethren...a little taste of heaven that i don't get much of in this wilderness in which i now dwell..and so forgive if i speak too much words. i am filled with God's goodness right now for He is an ever present help in all my little troubles.
i came out of the house this a.m., used my keys to open the car, threw the knapsack into the passenger seat in the front...and...my car keys were gone! (these kind of weird, surrealistic happenings are increasingly common. i once soared on wings like an eagle (though in the flesh, not in the Spirit) and it was so easy to do things quickly, very rapidly...and in some sense one might say, well done. that is why most of my adult life i was a legend in my own mind. satan, combined with my flesh was feeding me with constant rave reports about myself and, fool that i am apart from God, i actually believed them. but now...i often am reduced to snail-like, filmy speed..often boggled in mind concerning what i am encountering.)
so, i searched the car painstakingly. took every item i had squirreled, stuffed under the front seats..looked in every place again and again and again...put them back again, took them out again...nothing. my two most oft stated prayers, 'help' and 'thank You' were continuing (recently in a moment of greater lucidity i changed 'thank You', which i realized did not correctly mirror my actual heart condition, to 'help me to thank You'..hence a hybrid of my two most common prayers..and so i began to pray that. i went in the house and got my second car key. i went in the house and got my little flash light, unloaded for the nth time the area under the seats and carefully looked in every nook and cranny...and finally found the key.
of course in all these 'time trials' my flesh rages against..the Lord, actually...for He is their author and i know that. as i was musing on the lesson this a.m., but these things are many times deep and unsearchable...i thought about the blessedness of light. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (john 8.12) when all is dark concerning a matter, may i hie to Him and wait in His presence for light.
as a postscript, since i am giving way to wordiness right now (oh Lord make my words few, profitable and full of You!), i must briefly enthuse over a seemingly little, but to me a big, thing.
the front page of this hardbacked king james version has in my blessed father's handwriting, 'rev. alvin j. paine 94', meaning that he got this four years before he died.
(even though like a beast i hated him at heart and condemned him for not loving me during his life, things are coming clear concerning him. he was a sinner like me and like me fell short of loving me in a way i could understand. but he loved me in the most enduring way - best he could he kept seeking to obey God no matter how it caused him to be reviled by others. i pray that God take away the same adamic hatred out of me, but if that is denied may i keep seeking to obey God no matter what others think and say of me. i so look forward to being with him again, all earth stains and the horrible blots of sin gone, in the presence of the Lord. thank You Lord for such a father even in light of all my misperceptions of him..even in the great pain that i had not the light to love him truly as he was.)
....anyway, i was attracted to this bible because i found that it had the best concordance in the world. i began to go to it when i could not remember the particular wording of a verse in the new american standard version. i was brought up with the king james version but from 1976 on i have exclusively used the nasv (except for memorization of and, most recently, the devotional reading of the psalms). i can find any unknown verse in this little concordance. it is a thompson chain-reference bible put out by b.b. kirkbride bible company, the bible my father sold during the great depression and used his entire life (as far as i know). but it is a wonder. this copy printed on wafer thin paper has a concordance, second to none, printed in tiny yet sharp letters easy to read on approximately 95 pages (which, between the thumbs only encompass about 1/8th of and inch)...in which i keep finding easily every passage whose reference i cannot remember. all i do is think of the key word of the phrase i am looking for and under that word the passage is listed! it is a joy and i must gas a little about it here in thankfulness to God for leading me to it.
i bring it up here because i used it this a.m. to find 'my times are in Thy hand', which came to mind concerning all the many hours i have been led by the hand of my Lord thru the many labyrinthine, consuming-my-time mazes that God has set for me lately. may i rest in the fact that my time(s) is (are) in His hands. may i rest, no matter how maddening to the flesh, no matter how impossible to construe, no matter how grievous the results...may i rest continually inquiring in His presence, beholding His beauty. amen.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
3.24.2012 THIS MORNING..PSALM 66.10
..'Thou hast tried us, O God; Thou hast refined us as silver is refined'.
'Thou, O God, has proved us..' it is not known what corn will yield, till it come to the flail; nor what grapes, till they come to the press. grace is hid in nature, as sweet water in rose-leaves; the fire of affliction fetcheth it out. - 'thou hast tried us as silver'..the wicked also are tried ('because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth' revelation 3.10), but they prove reprobate silver ('all of them are stubbornly rebellious, going about as a talebearer. they are bronze and iron; they, all of them, are corrupt. the bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, but the wicked are not separated. they call them refected silver, because the Lord has rejected them'. jeremiah 6.28-30), or at best, as ALCHYMY gold, that will not bear the seventh fire, as Job did ('but He knows the way i take; when He has tried me, i shall come forth as gold'.
- THE MORE SUBLIME AND DIFFICULT PARTS OF CHIMISTRY and chiefly such as
a. relate to the transmutation of metals into gold
b.the finding of a universal remedy for diseases and
c. an alkahest or universal solvent
and other things now (this from websters dictionary, 1828) treated as ridiculous. this pretended science was much cultivated in the 16th and 17th centuries but is now held in contempt.
- CHIMISTRY - (the part of the definition that is needed to understand in this context is) 'THE ART OF MAKING GOLD AND SILVER'
john trapp
'..as silver is tried..' convinced from the frequent use of this illustration, that there was something more than usually instructive in the processes of assaying and purifying silver, i have collected some few facts upon the subject. the hackneyed story of the refiner seeing his image in the molten silver while in the fire, has so charmed most of us, that we have not looked further; yet, with more careful study, much could be brought out.
1.to ASSAY silver requires great personal care in the operator.
-THE TRIAL OF THE GOODNESS, PURITY, WEIGHT, VALUE OF METALS, etc
'the principle of assaying gold and silver is very simple theoretically, but in practice great experience is necessary to insure accuracy; and there is no branch of business which demands more personal and undivided attention. the result is liable to the influence of so many contingencies, that no assayer who regards his reputation will delegate the principal processes to one not equally skilled with himself. besides the result ascertainable by weight, there are allowances and compensations to be made, which are known only to an experienced assayer, and if these were disregarded, as might be the case with the mere novice, the report would be wide from the truth.' (encyclopaedia britanica)
pagnini's version reads: 'thou hast melted us by blowing upon us', and in the monuments of egypt, artificers are seen with the blowpipe operating with small fireplaces, with CHEEKS
-IN MECHANICS 'SIDES'..here, sides of the fireplace
to confine and reflect the heat; the worker evidently paying personal attention, which is evident also in malachi 3.3, 'He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver'.
2. to assay silver requires a skillfully constructed furnace.
the description of this furnace would only weary the reader, but it is evidently a work of art in itself. even the trial of our faith is much more precious than that of gold which perisheth. he has refined us...the furnace of affliction is far more skilfully arranged than that.
3. to assay silver the heat must be nicely regulated.
during the operation, the assayer's attention should be directed to the heat of the furnace, which must be neither too hot nor too cold: if too hot, minute portions of silver will be carried off with the lead, and so VITIATE the assay;
- TO INJURE THE SUBSTANCE OR QUALITIES OF A THING
moreover, the pores of the CUPEL being more open, greater absorption will ensue, and there
- latin, cupella - little cup; A SMALL CUP/VESSEL USED IN REFINING METALS. it retains them in a metallic state but when changed by fire into a fluid scoria, it absorbs them. thus when a mixture of lead with gold or silver is heated in a strong fire, the lead is oxidized & VITRIFIED - CHANGED INTO GLASS
and sinks into the substance of the cupel, while the gold and silver remains pure.
is liability to loss from that cause. one indication of an excess of heat in the furnace, is the rapid and perpendicular rising of the fumes to the ceiling of the MUFFLE
,
-A SMALL OVEN, placed in a furnace, which protects its contents (ie. metals being purified in cupels/crucibles) from coming in contact with fuel, smoke and ashes)
the mode of checking and controlling which has been pointed out in the description of the improved furnace. when the fumes are observed to fall to the bottom of the muffle, the furnace is then too cold; and, if left unaltered, it will be found that the cupellation has been imperfectly performed, and the silver will not have entirely freed itself from the base metals'.
4. the assayer repeats his trying processes. usually two or more trials of the same piece are made, so that great accuracy may be secured. seven times silver is said to be purifid
'Thou, O God, has proved us..' it is not known what corn will yield, till it come to the flail; nor what grapes, till they come to the press. grace is hid in nature, as sweet water in rose-leaves; the fire of affliction fetcheth it out. - 'thou hast tried us as silver'..the wicked also are tried ('because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth' revelation 3.10), but they prove reprobate silver ('all of them are stubbornly rebellious, going about as a talebearer. they are bronze and iron; they, all of them, are corrupt. the bellows blow fiercely, the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, but the wicked are not separated. they call them refected silver, because the Lord has rejected them'. jeremiah 6.28-30), or at best, as ALCHYMY gold, that will not bear the seventh fire, as Job did ('but He knows the way i take; when He has tried me, i shall come forth as gold'.
- THE MORE SUBLIME AND DIFFICULT PARTS OF CHIMISTRY and chiefly such as
a. relate to the transmutation of metals into gold
b.the finding of a universal remedy for diseases and
c. an alkahest or universal solvent
and other things now (this from websters dictionary, 1828) treated as ridiculous. this pretended science was much cultivated in the 16th and 17th centuries but is now held in contempt.
- CHIMISTRY - (the part of the definition that is needed to understand in this context is) 'THE ART OF MAKING GOLD AND SILVER'
john trapp
'..as silver is tried..' convinced from the frequent use of this illustration, that there was something more than usually instructive in the processes of assaying and purifying silver, i have collected some few facts upon the subject. the hackneyed story of the refiner seeing his image in the molten silver while in the fire, has so charmed most of us, that we have not looked further; yet, with more careful study, much could be brought out.
1.to ASSAY silver requires great personal care in the operator.
-THE TRIAL OF THE GOODNESS, PURITY, WEIGHT, VALUE OF METALS, etc
'the principle of assaying gold and silver is very simple theoretically, but in practice great experience is necessary to insure accuracy; and there is no branch of business which demands more personal and undivided attention. the result is liable to the influence of so many contingencies, that no assayer who regards his reputation will delegate the principal processes to one not equally skilled with himself. besides the result ascertainable by weight, there are allowances and compensations to be made, which are known only to an experienced assayer, and if these were disregarded, as might be the case with the mere novice, the report would be wide from the truth.' (encyclopaedia britanica)
pagnini's version reads: 'thou hast melted us by blowing upon us', and in the monuments of egypt, artificers are seen with the blowpipe operating with small fireplaces, with CHEEKS
-IN MECHANICS 'SIDES'..here, sides of the fireplace
to confine and reflect the heat; the worker evidently paying personal attention, which is evident also in malachi 3.3, 'He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver'.
2. to assay silver requires a skillfully constructed furnace.
the description of this furnace would only weary the reader, but it is evidently a work of art in itself. even the trial of our faith is much more precious than that of gold which perisheth. he has refined us...the furnace of affliction is far more skilfully arranged than that.
3. to assay silver the heat must be nicely regulated.
during the operation, the assayer's attention should be directed to the heat of the furnace, which must be neither too hot nor too cold: if too hot, minute portions of silver will be carried off with the lead, and so VITIATE the assay;
- TO INJURE THE SUBSTANCE OR QUALITIES OF A THING
moreover, the pores of the CUPEL being more open, greater absorption will ensue, and there
- latin, cupella - little cup; A SMALL CUP/VESSEL USED IN REFINING METALS. it retains them in a metallic state but when changed by fire into a fluid scoria, it absorbs them. thus when a mixture of lead with gold or silver is heated in a strong fire, the lead is oxidized & VITRIFIED - CHANGED INTO GLASS
and sinks into the substance of the cupel, while the gold and silver remains pure.
is liability to loss from that cause. one indication of an excess of heat in the furnace, is the rapid and perpendicular rising of the fumes to the ceiling of the MUFFLE
,
-A SMALL OVEN, placed in a furnace, which protects its contents (ie. metals being purified in cupels/crucibles) from coming in contact with fuel, smoke and ashes)
the mode of checking and controlling which has been pointed out in the description of the improved furnace. when the fumes are observed to fall to the bottom of the muffle, the furnace is then too cold; and, if left unaltered, it will be found that the cupellation has been imperfectly performed, and the silver will not have entirely freed itself from the base metals'.
4. the assayer repeats his trying processes. usually two or more trials of the same piece are made, so that great accuracy may be secured. seven times silver is said to be purifid
Friday, March 23, 2012
3.23.2012 MOISHE ROSEN ON FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM
far be it from me to disparage any kind of evangelism. but i have notice that in some circles, 'lifestyle' or 'friendship evangelism' has become a euphemism for, 'be nice and don't mention Jesus until they ask'. now don't get me wrong, i believe that christians ought to love and demonstrate respect for jewish people and everyone else. it's the waiting until people ask part that bothers me. frankly, if people had waited for me to ask about Jesus, i would not have heard the gospel. most jews don't bring up that subject to christians; it is too sensitive.
let us approach this subject positively by asking, 'how soon after meeting jewish people (or anyone else) should one mention Jesus?" the answer is simple: it depends on how important Jesus is to you.
let us approach this subject positively by asking, 'how soon after meeting jewish people (or anyone else) should one mention Jesus?" the answer is simple: it depends on how important Jesus is to you.
2.23.2012 JOHN PATTON SEEKING TO RAISE SUPPORT FOR THE MISSION
(after about five years on the island of tanna in the new hebrides islands just off australia, patton having lost his wife and baby son to disease and death and endured constant threats of death was finally force off the island. at this time he toured through parts of australia to share the mission with the believers there. many times God was with him. below he relates the final story of this time.)
the crowning adventure of my tour came about in the following manner. i was advertised to conduct services at narracoort on sabbath and at a station on the way on saturday evening. but how to get from penola was a terrible perplexity. on saturday morning, however, a young lady offered me, out of gratitude for blessings received, the use of her riding horse for the journey. 'garibaldi' was his name; and, though bred for a race-horse, i was assured that if i kept him firmly in hand, he would easily carry me over the two and twenty miles. he was to be left at the journey's end and the lady herself would fetch him back. i shrank from the undertaking, knowing little of horses and having vague recollections of being dreadfully punished for more than a week after my last and almost only ride. but everyone in that country is quite at ease on the back of a horse. they saw no risk; and, as there appeared no other way of getting there to fulfil my engagements, i, for my part began to think that God had unexpectedly provided the means and that he would carry me safely through.
i accepted the lady's kind offer and started on my pilgrimage. a friend showed me the road and gave me ample directions. in the bush, i was to keep my eye on the notches in the trees and follow them. he agreed kindly to bring my luggage to the station and leave it there for me by and bye. after i had walked very quietly for some distance, three gentlemen on horseback overtook me. we entered into conversation. they inquired how far i was going, and advised me to sit a little 'freer' in the saddle, as it would be so much easier for me. they seemed greatly amused at my awkward riding. dark clouds were now gathering ahead and the atmosphere prophesied a severe storm; therefore they urged that i should ride a little faster, as they, for a considerable distance, could guide me on the right way. i explained to them my plight through inexperience, said that i could only creep on slowly with safety and bade them good bye. as the sky was getting darker every minute, they consented, wishing me a safe journey and started off at a smart pace.
i struggled to hold in my horse; but seizing the bit with his teeth, laying back his ears and stretching out his eager neck, he manifestly felt that his honour was at stake; and in less time than i take to write it, the tree friends cleared a way for us and he tore past them all at an appalling speed. they tried for a time to keep within reach of us, but that sound only put fire into his blood; and in an incredibly short time i heard them not; nor, from the moment that he bore me swinging past them durst i turn my head by one inch to look for them again. in vain i tried to hold him in; he tore on, with what appeared to me the speed of the wind. then the thunderstorm broke around us, with flash of lightning and flood of rain and at every fresh peal my garibaldi' dashed more wildly onward.
to me, it was a vast surprise to discover that i could sit more easily on this wild flying thing, than when at a canter or a trot. at every turn i expected that he would dash himself and me against the great forest trees; but instinct rather than my had guided him miraculously. sometimes i had a glimpse of the road, but as for the notches'. i never saw one of them; we passed them with lightning speed. indeed, i durst not lift my eyes for one moment from watching the horse's head and the trees on our track. my high-crowned hat was now drenched and battered out of shape; for whenever we came to a rather clear space, i seized the chance and gave it another knock down over my head. i was spattered and covered with mud and mire.
crash, crash, went the thunder, and on, on, went 'garibaldi' through the gloom of the forest, emerging at length upon a clearer ground with a more visible pathway. reaching the top of the slope, a large house stood out far in front of us to the left; and the horse had apparently determined to make straight for that, as if it were his home. he skirted along the hill, and took the track as his won familiar ground, all my effort to hold him in or guide him having no more effect than that of a child. by this time, i suspect, i really had lost all power. 'garibaldi' had been at that house, probably, frequently before; he knew those stables; and my fate seemed to be instant death against door or wall.
some members of the family, on the outlook for the Missionary, saw us come tearing along as if mad or drunk; and now all rushed to the verandah, expecting some dread catastrophe. a tall and stout young groom, amazed at our wild career, throwing wide open the gate, seized the bridle at great risk to himself and ran full speed, yet holding back with all his might and shouting at me to do the same. we succeeded - 'garibaldi' having probably attained his purpose - in bringing him to a halt within a few paces of the door. staring at me with open mouth, the man exclaimed, 'i have saved your life. what madness to ride like that?' thanking him, though i could scarcely by this time articulate a word, i told him that the horse had run away and that i had lost all control.
truly i was in a sorry plight, drenched, covered with mud, and my hat battered down over my eyes; little wonder they thought me drunk or mad? finally, as if to confirm every suspicion and amuse them all, - for master, mistress, governess, and children now looked on from the verandah, - when i was helped off the horse, i could not stand on my feet? my head still went rushing on in the race; i staggered and down i tumbled into the mud, feeling chagrin and mortification; yet there i had to sit for some time, before i recovered myself, so as either to rise or to speak a word. when i did get to my feet, i had to stand holding by the verandah for some time, my head still rushing on in the race. at length the master said, 'will you not come in?'
i knew that he was treating me for a drunken man; and the giddiness was so dreadful still, that my attempts at speech seemed more drunken than even my gait.
as soon as i could stand, i went into the house and drew near to as excellent fire in my dripping clothes. the squatter sat opposite me in silence, reading the newspapers and taking a look at me now and again over his spectacles. by and bye he remarked, 'wouldn't it be worth while to change your clothes?'
speech was now returning to me. i replied, 'yes, but my bag is coming on in the cart and may not be here tonight'.
he began to relent. he took me into a room and laid out for me a suit of his own. i being then very slender and he a big-framed farmer, my new dress, though greatly adding to my comfort, enhanced the singularity of my appearance.
returning to him, washed and dressed, i inquired if he had arranged for a meeting? my tongue, i fear, was still unsteady, for the squatter looked at me rather reproachfully and said, 'do you really consider yourself fit to appear before a meeting tonight?'
i assured him that he was quite wrong in his suspicions, that i was a life-long Abstainer and that my nerves had been so unhinged by the terrible ride and runaway horse. he smiled rather suggestively and said we would see how i felt after tea.
we went to the table. all that had occurred was now consummated by my appearing in the lusty farmer's clothes; and the lady and other friends had infinite difficulty in keeping their amusement within decent bounds. i again took speech in hand, but i suspect my words had still the thickness of the tippler's utterance, for they seemed not to carry much conviction. 'dear friends, i quite understand your feelings; appearances are so strangely against me. but i am not drunken, as ye suppose. i have tasted no intoxicating drink, i am a life-long Total Abstainer!'
this fairly broke down their reserve. they laughed aloud, looking at each other and at me, as if to say, 'man, you're drunk at this very moment'.
before tea was over they appeared, however, to begin to entertain the idea that i might address the meeting; and so i was informed of the arrangements that had been made. at the meeting, my incredulous friends became very deeply interested. manifestly their better thoughts were gaining the ascendancy. and they heaped thereafter every kindness upon me, as if to make amends for harder suspicions.
next morning the master drove me about ten miles further on to the church. a groom rode the race-horse, who took no scathe from his thundering gallop of the day before. it left deeper traces upon me. i got through the services, however, and with good returns for the mission. twice since, on my mission tours, i have found myself at the same memorable house; and on each occasion, a large company of friends were regaled by the good lady thaere with very comical descriptions of my first arrival at her door.
the crowning adventure of my tour came about in the following manner. i was advertised to conduct services at narracoort on sabbath and at a station on the way on saturday evening. but how to get from penola was a terrible perplexity. on saturday morning, however, a young lady offered me, out of gratitude for blessings received, the use of her riding horse for the journey. 'garibaldi' was his name; and, though bred for a race-horse, i was assured that if i kept him firmly in hand, he would easily carry me over the two and twenty miles. he was to be left at the journey's end and the lady herself would fetch him back. i shrank from the undertaking, knowing little of horses and having vague recollections of being dreadfully punished for more than a week after my last and almost only ride. but everyone in that country is quite at ease on the back of a horse. they saw no risk; and, as there appeared no other way of getting there to fulfil my engagements, i, for my part began to think that God had unexpectedly provided the means and that he would carry me safely through.
i accepted the lady's kind offer and started on my pilgrimage. a friend showed me the road and gave me ample directions. in the bush, i was to keep my eye on the notches in the trees and follow them. he agreed kindly to bring my luggage to the station and leave it there for me by and bye. after i had walked very quietly for some distance, three gentlemen on horseback overtook me. we entered into conversation. they inquired how far i was going, and advised me to sit a little 'freer' in the saddle, as it would be so much easier for me. they seemed greatly amused at my awkward riding. dark clouds were now gathering ahead and the atmosphere prophesied a severe storm; therefore they urged that i should ride a little faster, as they, for a considerable distance, could guide me on the right way. i explained to them my plight through inexperience, said that i could only creep on slowly with safety and bade them good bye. as the sky was getting darker every minute, they consented, wishing me a safe journey and started off at a smart pace.
i struggled to hold in my horse; but seizing the bit with his teeth, laying back his ears and stretching out his eager neck, he manifestly felt that his honour was at stake; and in less time than i take to write it, the tree friends cleared a way for us and he tore past them all at an appalling speed. they tried for a time to keep within reach of us, but that sound only put fire into his blood; and in an incredibly short time i heard them not; nor, from the moment that he bore me swinging past them durst i turn my head by one inch to look for them again. in vain i tried to hold him in; he tore on, with what appeared to me the speed of the wind. then the thunderstorm broke around us, with flash of lightning and flood of rain and at every fresh peal my garibaldi' dashed more wildly onward.
to me, it was a vast surprise to discover that i could sit more easily on this wild flying thing, than when at a canter or a trot. at every turn i expected that he would dash himself and me against the great forest trees; but instinct rather than my had guided him miraculously. sometimes i had a glimpse of the road, but as for the notches'. i never saw one of them; we passed them with lightning speed. indeed, i durst not lift my eyes for one moment from watching the horse's head and the trees on our track. my high-crowned hat was now drenched and battered out of shape; for whenever we came to a rather clear space, i seized the chance and gave it another knock down over my head. i was spattered and covered with mud and mire.
crash, crash, went the thunder, and on, on, went 'garibaldi' through the gloom of the forest, emerging at length upon a clearer ground with a more visible pathway. reaching the top of the slope, a large house stood out far in front of us to the left; and the horse had apparently determined to make straight for that, as if it were his home. he skirted along the hill, and took the track as his won familiar ground, all my effort to hold him in or guide him having no more effect than that of a child. by this time, i suspect, i really had lost all power. 'garibaldi' had been at that house, probably, frequently before; he knew those stables; and my fate seemed to be instant death against door or wall.
some members of the family, on the outlook for the Missionary, saw us come tearing along as if mad or drunk; and now all rushed to the verandah, expecting some dread catastrophe. a tall and stout young groom, amazed at our wild career, throwing wide open the gate, seized the bridle at great risk to himself and ran full speed, yet holding back with all his might and shouting at me to do the same. we succeeded - 'garibaldi' having probably attained his purpose - in bringing him to a halt within a few paces of the door. staring at me with open mouth, the man exclaimed, 'i have saved your life. what madness to ride like that?' thanking him, though i could scarcely by this time articulate a word, i told him that the horse had run away and that i had lost all control.
truly i was in a sorry plight, drenched, covered with mud, and my hat battered down over my eyes; little wonder they thought me drunk or mad? finally, as if to confirm every suspicion and amuse them all, - for master, mistress, governess, and children now looked on from the verandah, - when i was helped off the horse, i could not stand on my feet? my head still went rushing on in the race; i staggered and down i tumbled into the mud, feeling chagrin and mortification; yet there i had to sit for some time, before i recovered myself, so as either to rise or to speak a word. when i did get to my feet, i had to stand holding by the verandah for some time, my head still rushing on in the race. at length the master said, 'will you not come in?'
i knew that he was treating me for a drunken man; and the giddiness was so dreadful still, that my attempts at speech seemed more drunken than even my gait.
as soon as i could stand, i went into the house and drew near to as excellent fire in my dripping clothes. the squatter sat opposite me in silence, reading the newspapers and taking a look at me now and again over his spectacles. by and bye he remarked, 'wouldn't it be worth while to change your clothes?'
speech was now returning to me. i replied, 'yes, but my bag is coming on in the cart and may not be here tonight'.
he began to relent. he took me into a room and laid out for me a suit of his own. i being then very slender and he a big-framed farmer, my new dress, though greatly adding to my comfort, enhanced the singularity of my appearance.
returning to him, washed and dressed, i inquired if he had arranged for a meeting? my tongue, i fear, was still unsteady, for the squatter looked at me rather reproachfully and said, 'do you really consider yourself fit to appear before a meeting tonight?'
i assured him that he was quite wrong in his suspicions, that i was a life-long Abstainer and that my nerves had been so unhinged by the terrible ride and runaway horse. he smiled rather suggestively and said we would see how i felt after tea.
we went to the table. all that had occurred was now consummated by my appearing in the lusty farmer's clothes; and the lady and other friends had infinite difficulty in keeping their amusement within decent bounds. i again took speech in hand, but i suspect my words had still the thickness of the tippler's utterance, for they seemed not to carry much conviction. 'dear friends, i quite understand your feelings; appearances are so strangely against me. but i am not drunken, as ye suppose. i have tasted no intoxicating drink, i am a life-long Total Abstainer!'
this fairly broke down their reserve. they laughed aloud, looking at each other and at me, as if to say, 'man, you're drunk at this very moment'.
before tea was over they appeared, however, to begin to entertain the idea that i might address the meeting; and so i was informed of the arrangements that had been made. at the meeting, my incredulous friends became very deeply interested. manifestly their better thoughts were gaining the ascendancy. and they heaped thereafter every kindness upon me, as if to make amends for harder suspicions.
next morning the master drove me about ten miles further on to the church. a groom rode the race-horse, who took no scathe from his thundering gallop of the day before. it left deeper traces upon me. i got through the services, however, and with good returns for the mission. twice since, on my mission tours, i have found myself at the same memorable house; and on each occasion, a large company of friends were regaled by the good lady thaere with very comical descriptions of my first arrival at her door.
3.23.2012 JOHN PATON SURROUNDED BY CANNIBALS
(one of many instances that were continually occurring during his time on the islands just off austrailia where God had called him is here related by patton)..one morning at daybreak i found my house surrounded by armed men and a chief intimated that they had assembled to take my life. seeing that i was entirely in their hands, i knelt down and gave myself away body and soul to the Lord Jesus, for what seemed the last time on earth. rising, i went out to them and began calmly talking about their unkind treatment of me and contrasting it with all my conduct towards them. i also plainly showed them what would be the sad consequences, if they carried out their cruel purpose. at last some of the chiefs, who had attended the worship, rose and said 'our conduct has been bad; but now we will fight for you, and kill all those who hate you'.
grasping hold of their leader, i held him fast till he promised never to kill any one on my account, for Jesus taught us to love our enemies and always to return good for evil! during this scene, many of the armed men slunk away into the bush, and those who remained entered into a bond to be friendly and to protect us. but again their public assembly resolved that we should be killed, because, as they said, they hated Jehovah and the worship; for it made them afraid to do as they had always done. if i would give up visiting the villages, and praying and talking with them about Jehovah, they intimated that they would like me to stay and trade with them, as they liked the traders but hated the missionaries. i told them that the hope of being able to teach them the worship of Jehovah alone kept me living amongst them; that i was there, not for gain or pleasure, but because i loved them, and pitied their estate, and sought their good continually by leading them to know and serve the only true God.
grasping hold of their leader, i held him fast till he promised never to kill any one on my account, for Jesus taught us to love our enemies and always to return good for evil! during this scene, many of the armed men slunk away into the bush, and those who remained entered into a bond to be friendly and to protect us. but again their public assembly resolved that we should be killed, because, as they said, they hated Jehovah and the worship; for it made them afraid to do as they had always done. if i would give up visiting the villages, and praying and talking with them about Jehovah, they intimated that they would like me to stay and trade with them, as they liked the traders but hated the missionaries. i told them that the hope of being able to teach them the worship of Jehovah alone kept me living amongst them; that i was there, not for gain or pleasure, but because i loved them, and pitied their estate, and sought their good continually by leading them to know and serve the only true God.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
2.20.2012 CHUCHILLS SPEECHES II
10.8.1940 neither by material damage nor by slaughter will the people of the british empire be turned from their solemn and inexorable purpose. it is the practice and in some cases the duty of many of my colleagues and many members of the House to visit the scenes of destruction as promptly as possible, and i go myself from time to time. in all my life, i have never been treated with so much kindness as by the people who have suffered most. one would think one had brought some great benefit to them, instead of the blood and tears, the toil and sweat which is all i have ever promised. on every side, there is the cry, 'we can take it,' but with it, there is also the cry, 'give it 'em back'...
meanwhile, what has happened to the invasion which we have been promised every month and almost every week since the beginning of july? do not let us be lured into supposing that the danger is past. on the contrary, unwearying vigilance and the swift and steady strengthening of our force by land, sea and air which is in progress must be at all costs maintained. now that we are in october, however, the weather becomes very uncertain and there are not many lucid intervals of 2 or 3 days together in which river barges can cross the narrow seas and land upon our beaches. still, those intervals may occur. fogs may aid the foe, our armies, which are growing continually in numbers, equipment, mobility and training, must be maintained all through the winter, not only along the beaches but in reserve, as the majority are, like leopards crouching to spring at the invader's throat. the enemy has certainly got prepared enough shipping and barges to throw half a million men in a single night on to salt water - or into it. the Home Guard, which now amounts to 1,700,000 men, must nurse their weapons and sharpen their bayonets...(note: did God send churchill to counter hitler..the inevitable victory of truth and life to counter the inevitability of destruction and death, God's heart for mankind opposed to satan's?)
because we feel easier in ourselves and see our way more clearly through our difficulties and dangers than we did some months ago, because foreign countries, friends or foes, recognise the giant, enduring, resilient strength of britain and the british empire, do not let us dull for one moment the sense of the awful hazards in which we stand. do not let us lose the conviction that it is only by supreme and superb exertions, unwearing and indominable, that we shall save our souls alive. no one can predict, no one can even imagine, how this terrible war against german and nazi aggression will run its course or how far it will spread or how long it will last. long, dark months of trials and tribulations lie before us. not only great dangers, but many more misfortunes, many shortcomings, many mistakes, many disappointments will surely be our lot. death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey; hardship our garment;constancy and valour our only shield. we must be united, we must be undaunted, we must be inflexible. our qualities and deeds must burn and glow through the gloom of europe until they become the veritable beacon of its salvation.
6.16.1941 ..'the destiny of mankind is not decided by material computation. when great causes are on the move in the world, stirring all men's souls, drawing them from their firesides, casting aside comfort, wealth and the pursuit of happiness in response to impulses at once awe-striking and irresistible, we learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.
a wonderful story is unfolding before our eyes. how it will end we are not allowed to know. but on both sides of the atlantic we all feel, i repeat, all, that we are a part of it, that our future and that of many generations is at stake. we are sure that the character of human society will be shaped by the resolves we take and the deeds we do. we need not bewail the fact that we have been called upon to face such solemn responsibilities. we may be proud and even rejoice amid our tribulations, that we have been born at this cardinal time for so great an age and so splendid an opportunity of service here below. \
wickedness, enormous, panoplied, embattled, seemingly triumphant, casts its shadow over europe and asia. laws, customs and traditions are broken up. justice is cast from her seat. the rights of the weak are trampled down. the grand freedoms of which the president of the united states has spoken so movingly are spurned and chained. the whole stature of man, his genius, his initiative and his nobility, is ground down under systems of mechanical barbarism and of organised and scheduled terror.
for more than a year we british have stood alone, uplifted by your (united states') sympathy and respect and sustained by our own unconquerable will-power and by the increasing growth and hopes of your massive aid. in these british islands that look so small upon the map we stand, the faithful guardians of the rights and dearest hopes of a dozen states and nations now gripped and tormented in a base and cruel servitude. whatever happens we shall endure to the end.
but what is the explanation of the enslavement of europe by the german nazi regime? how did they do it? it is but a few years ago since one united gesture by the peoples, great and small, who are now broken in the dust, would have warded off from mankind the fearful ordeal it has had to undergo. but there was no unity. there was no vision. the nations were pulled down one by one while the others gaped and chattered. one by one, each in his turn, they let themselves be caught. one after another they were felled by brutal violence or poisoned from within by subtle intrigue.
and now the old lion with her lion cubs at her side stands alone against hunters who are armed with deadly weapons and impelled by desperate and destructive rage. is the tragedy to repeat itself once more? ah no! this is not the end of the tale. the stars in their courses proclaim the deliverance of mankind. not so easily shall the onward progress of the peoples be barred. not so easily shall the lights of freedom die.
but time is short. every month that passes adds to the length and to the perils of the journey that will have to be made. united we stand. divided we fall. divided, the dark age returns. united, we can save and guide the world.
10.5.1946 (from 'the iron curtain has descended' speech) ..'we oppose the establishment of a socialist state, controlling the means of production, distribution and exchange..our conservative aim is to build a property-owning democracy, both independent and interdependent...include profit sharing schemes in suitable industries and intimate consultations between employers and wage earners...
1.31.1947 (the 'palestine: blood and shame' speech) ..'the idea that general reprisals upon the civil population and vicarious examples would be consonant with our whole outlook upon the world and with our name, reputation and principles, is, of course, one which should never be accepted in any way. we have, therefore, very great difficulties in conducting squalid warfare with terrorists. that is why i would venture to submit to the house that every effort should be made - i exclude no reasonable proposal - to bring it to an end.
it is quite certain that what is going on now in palestine is doing us a great deal of harm in every way. whatever view is taken by the partisans of the jews or the partisans of the arabs it is doing us harm in our reputation all over the world. i deplore very much this struggle that we have got into. i do not think we ought to have got into it. i think it could have been avoided. it could have been avoided if promises had not been made by hon. Members (of the House) opposite at the election, on a very wide scale and if those promises had not been woefully disappointed. i must say that. all my hon. friends on this side of the House do not agree with the views which i have held for so many years about the zionist cause. but promises were made far beyond those to which responsible governments should have committed themselves. what has been the performance? the performance has been a vacuum, a gaping void, a senseless, dumb abyss - nothing.
i remember so well nine or ten months ago my right hon, friend (mr oliver stanley), now sitting beside me here, talking to all of us in our councils and saying that whatever happens this delay and vacillation shall not go on. but certainly a year has gone by and we have not advanced one single step. we have not advanced on single step either in making good our pledges to those to whom we have given them, or in reaching some broader solution, or in disembarrassing ourselves of burdens and obligations - burdens which we cannot bear, and obligations which we have shown ourselves unable or unwilling to discharge.
my right hon. friend dealt particularly with one aspect and one aspect only. this is a conflict with the terrorists and no country in the world is less fit for a conflict with terrorists than great britain. that is not because of her weakness or cowardice; it is because of her restraint and virtues and the way of life which we have lived so long in this sheltered island. but, sir, if you should be thrown into a quarrel, you should bear yourself so that the opponent may be aware of it. i deprecate this quarrel and i will deal a little further with its costs. i deprecate this quarrel very much indeed and i do not consider it was necessary. great responsibilities rest on those who have fallen short of their opportunities. once you are thrown into a quarrel, then in these matters pugnacity and willpower cannot be dispensed with.
this is a lamentable situation. however we may differ, it is one of the most unhappy , unpleasant situations into which we have got. even in these troublous years. here, we are expending hard-earned money at an enormous rate in palestine. everyone knows what our financial difficulties are - how heavy the weight of taxation. we are spending a vast sum of money on this business. for 18 months we have been pouring out our wealth on this unhappy, unfortunate and discreditable business. then there is the manpower of at least 100,000 men in palestine, who might well be at home strengthening our defeated industry. what are they doing there? what good are we getting out of it?
we are told that there are a handful of terrorists on one side and 100,000 british troops on the other...in my view we should definitely give notice that, unless the united states come in with us shoulder to shoulder on a 50-50 basis on an agreed policy, to take a half and half share of the bloodshed, odium, trouble, expense and worry, we will lay our mandate at the feet of UNO. whereas, six months ago, i suggested that we should do that in 12 months i suggest now that the period should be shortened to six months. one is more and more worried and one's anxiety deepens and grows as hopes are falsified and the difficulties of the aftermath of war, which i do not underrate, lie still heavily upon us in a divided nation, cutting deeply across our lives and feelings, in these conditions we really cannot go on,k in all directions, taking on burdens which use up and drain out the remaining strength of britain and which are beyond any duty we have undertaken in the international field. i earnestly trust that the government will, if they have to fight this squalid war, make perfectly certain that the willpower of the british state is not conquered by brigands and bandits and that unless we are to have the aid of the united states, they will at the earliest possible moment, give due notice to divest us of a responsibility which we are failing to discharge and which in the process is covering us with blood and shame.
meanwhile, what has happened to the invasion which we have been promised every month and almost every week since the beginning of july? do not let us be lured into supposing that the danger is past. on the contrary, unwearying vigilance and the swift and steady strengthening of our force by land, sea and air which is in progress must be at all costs maintained. now that we are in october, however, the weather becomes very uncertain and there are not many lucid intervals of 2 or 3 days together in which river barges can cross the narrow seas and land upon our beaches. still, those intervals may occur. fogs may aid the foe, our armies, which are growing continually in numbers, equipment, mobility and training, must be maintained all through the winter, not only along the beaches but in reserve, as the majority are, like leopards crouching to spring at the invader's throat. the enemy has certainly got prepared enough shipping and barges to throw half a million men in a single night on to salt water - or into it. the Home Guard, which now amounts to 1,700,000 men, must nurse their weapons and sharpen their bayonets...(note: did God send churchill to counter hitler..the inevitable victory of truth and life to counter the inevitability of destruction and death, God's heart for mankind opposed to satan's?)
because we feel easier in ourselves and see our way more clearly through our difficulties and dangers than we did some months ago, because foreign countries, friends or foes, recognise the giant, enduring, resilient strength of britain and the british empire, do not let us dull for one moment the sense of the awful hazards in which we stand. do not let us lose the conviction that it is only by supreme and superb exertions, unwearing and indominable, that we shall save our souls alive. no one can predict, no one can even imagine, how this terrible war against german and nazi aggression will run its course or how far it will spread or how long it will last. long, dark months of trials and tribulations lie before us. not only great dangers, but many more misfortunes, many shortcomings, many mistakes, many disappointments will surely be our lot. death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey; hardship our garment;constancy and valour our only shield. we must be united, we must be undaunted, we must be inflexible. our qualities and deeds must burn and glow through the gloom of europe until they become the veritable beacon of its salvation.
6.16.1941 ..'the destiny of mankind is not decided by material computation. when great causes are on the move in the world, stirring all men's souls, drawing them from their firesides, casting aside comfort, wealth and the pursuit of happiness in response to impulses at once awe-striking and irresistible, we learn that we are spirits, not animals, and that something is going on in space and time and beyond space and time, which, whether we like it or not, spells duty.
a wonderful story is unfolding before our eyes. how it will end we are not allowed to know. but on both sides of the atlantic we all feel, i repeat, all, that we are a part of it, that our future and that of many generations is at stake. we are sure that the character of human society will be shaped by the resolves we take and the deeds we do. we need not bewail the fact that we have been called upon to face such solemn responsibilities. we may be proud and even rejoice amid our tribulations, that we have been born at this cardinal time for so great an age and so splendid an opportunity of service here below. \
wickedness, enormous, panoplied, embattled, seemingly triumphant, casts its shadow over europe and asia. laws, customs and traditions are broken up. justice is cast from her seat. the rights of the weak are trampled down. the grand freedoms of which the president of the united states has spoken so movingly are spurned and chained. the whole stature of man, his genius, his initiative and his nobility, is ground down under systems of mechanical barbarism and of organised and scheduled terror.
for more than a year we british have stood alone, uplifted by your (united states') sympathy and respect and sustained by our own unconquerable will-power and by the increasing growth and hopes of your massive aid. in these british islands that look so small upon the map we stand, the faithful guardians of the rights and dearest hopes of a dozen states and nations now gripped and tormented in a base and cruel servitude. whatever happens we shall endure to the end.
but what is the explanation of the enslavement of europe by the german nazi regime? how did they do it? it is but a few years ago since one united gesture by the peoples, great and small, who are now broken in the dust, would have warded off from mankind the fearful ordeal it has had to undergo. but there was no unity. there was no vision. the nations were pulled down one by one while the others gaped and chattered. one by one, each in his turn, they let themselves be caught. one after another they were felled by brutal violence or poisoned from within by subtle intrigue.
and now the old lion with her lion cubs at her side stands alone against hunters who are armed with deadly weapons and impelled by desperate and destructive rage. is the tragedy to repeat itself once more? ah no! this is not the end of the tale. the stars in their courses proclaim the deliverance of mankind. not so easily shall the onward progress of the peoples be barred. not so easily shall the lights of freedom die.
but time is short. every month that passes adds to the length and to the perils of the journey that will have to be made. united we stand. divided we fall. divided, the dark age returns. united, we can save and guide the world.
10.5.1946 (from 'the iron curtain has descended' speech) ..'we oppose the establishment of a socialist state, controlling the means of production, distribution and exchange..our conservative aim is to build a property-owning democracy, both independent and interdependent...include profit sharing schemes in suitable industries and intimate consultations between employers and wage earners...
1.31.1947 (the 'palestine: blood and shame' speech) ..'the idea that general reprisals upon the civil population and vicarious examples would be consonant with our whole outlook upon the world and with our name, reputation and principles, is, of course, one which should never be accepted in any way. we have, therefore, very great difficulties in conducting squalid warfare with terrorists. that is why i would venture to submit to the house that every effort should be made - i exclude no reasonable proposal - to bring it to an end.
it is quite certain that what is going on now in palestine is doing us a great deal of harm in every way. whatever view is taken by the partisans of the jews or the partisans of the arabs it is doing us harm in our reputation all over the world. i deplore very much this struggle that we have got into. i do not think we ought to have got into it. i think it could have been avoided. it could have been avoided if promises had not been made by hon. Members (of the House) opposite at the election, on a very wide scale and if those promises had not been woefully disappointed. i must say that. all my hon. friends on this side of the House do not agree with the views which i have held for so many years about the zionist cause. but promises were made far beyond those to which responsible governments should have committed themselves. what has been the performance? the performance has been a vacuum, a gaping void, a senseless, dumb abyss - nothing.
i remember so well nine or ten months ago my right hon, friend (mr oliver stanley), now sitting beside me here, talking to all of us in our councils and saying that whatever happens this delay and vacillation shall not go on. but certainly a year has gone by and we have not advanced one single step. we have not advanced on single step either in making good our pledges to those to whom we have given them, or in reaching some broader solution, or in disembarrassing ourselves of burdens and obligations - burdens which we cannot bear, and obligations which we have shown ourselves unable or unwilling to discharge.
my right hon. friend dealt particularly with one aspect and one aspect only. this is a conflict with the terrorists and no country in the world is less fit for a conflict with terrorists than great britain. that is not because of her weakness or cowardice; it is because of her restraint and virtues and the way of life which we have lived so long in this sheltered island. but, sir, if you should be thrown into a quarrel, you should bear yourself so that the opponent may be aware of it. i deprecate this quarrel and i will deal a little further with its costs. i deprecate this quarrel very much indeed and i do not consider it was necessary. great responsibilities rest on those who have fallen short of their opportunities. once you are thrown into a quarrel, then in these matters pugnacity and willpower cannot be dispensed with.
this is a lamentable situation. however we may differ, it is one of the most unhappy , unpleasant situations into which we have got. even in these troublous years. here, we are expending hard-earned money at an enormous rate in palestine. everyone knows what our financial difficulties are - how heavy the weight of taxation. we are spending a vast sum of money on this business. for 18 months we have been pouring out our wealth on this unhappy, unfortunate and discreditable business. then there is the manpower of at least 100,000 men in palestine, who might well be at home strengthening our defeated industry. what are they doing there? what good are we getting out of it?
we are told that there are a handful of terrorists on one side and 100,000 british troops on the other...in my view we should definitely give notice that, unless the united states come in with us shoulder to shoulder on a 50-50 basis on an agreed policy, to take a half and half share of the bloodshed, odium, trouble, expense and worry, we will lay our mandate at the feet of UNO. whereas, six months ago, i suggested that we should do that in 12 months i suggest now that the period should be shortened to six months. one is more and more worried and one's anxiety deepens and grows as hopes are falsified and the difficulties of the aftermath of war, which i do not underrate, lie still heavily upon us in a divided nation, cutting deeply across our lives and feelings, in these conditions we really cannot go on,k in all directions, taking on burdens which use up and drain out the remaining strength of britain and which are beyond any duty we have undertaken in the international field. i earnestly trust that the government will, if they have to fight this squalid war, make perfectly certain that the willpower of the british state is not conquered by brigands and bandits and that unless we are to have the aid of the united states, they will at the earliest possible moment, give due notice to divest us of a responsibility which we are failing to discharge and which in the process is covering us with blood and shame.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
3.18.2012 NEVER GIVE IN! THE BEST OF WINSTON CHURCHILL'S SPEECHES
these were compiled by his grandson, winston s. churchill
4.11.1919 'bolshevist atrocities' ..'it would not be right for us to send our armies raised on a compulsory basis to russia (to aid those victims of the communist revolution). if russia is to be saved it must be by russian manhood..
9.16.1925 ..'can we be blind to the fact that british interests and the british empire and britain herself have been singled out as the first and main object of their (the bolshevists') malice. this island community of ours which in all the great quarrels of the last 400 years has always defended and hitherto always successfully defended the cause of ordered freedom, stands as a massive obstacle in the path of boshevist revolutionaries. to lay it low, to shatter it to pieces, to grind it to powder by every resource of violence of cunning - this is their task. they have recognized it. let us recognize it too.
2.22.1933 ..'these well meaning gentlemen of the british broadcasting corporation (the bbc in the 1930s supported a policy of appeasement and did their best to keep churchill's voice off the air) have absolutely no qualifications and no claim to represent british public opinion.
speaking of the league of nations vis a vis germany after the latter's occupation of the rhineland..'do not let us have it out as if we were a rabble flying before forces we dare not resist. let us have it out on the basis that we are negotiation from strength and not from weakness; that we are negotiating from unity and not from division and isolation; that we are seeking to do justice because we have power.
9.24.1936 ..'if governments are to bind themselves together for collective security, it follows that they must rigorously abstain from organized interference in the internal affairs of their neighbors and fellow members of the League (of nations)...unprovoked aggression..propaganda carried on by foreign $ in any country is a serious form of provocation..' (churchill's pleas for united strength used by the league of nations as well as for britain to begin to arm were, at home and abroad ignored during the 5 years leading up to the declaration of war on germany in september, 1939...at which time he was asked to be prime minister and establish a wartime government with a policy of total victory over germany, italy..and eventually japan)
this book introduced me to 'lawrence of arabia' for the first time. churchill and his family were intimately acquainted with this person, lawrence, who accomplished amazing feats in the middle east only to return home and completely fade from public life. churchill speaks highly of his book, 'the 7 pillars'
10.16.1938 ..'alexander the great remarked that the people of asia were slaves because they had not learned to pronounce the word 'no'..the german people, industrious and faithful, valiant, but alas! lacking in the proper spirit of civic independence..tyrants are afraid of thoughts..words..the workings of the human mind.
4.20.1939 ..'if the british empire is fated to pass from life into history we must hope it will not be by the slow processes of dispersion and decay, but in some supreme exertion for freedom, for right and for truth.
(german armies have invaded france, the blitzkrieg, and there is the possibility of more than 300,000+ british and french troops being cut off and possibly destroyed/imprisoned)..'the armies must cast away the idea of resisting behind concrete lines or natural obstacles and must realize that mastery can only be regained by furious and unrelenting assault..
5.19.1940 (centuries old words from trinity sunday)..'but you men of valor be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar...
6.18.1940 ..'what general weygand called the battle of france is over. i expect that the battle of britain is about to begin. upon this battle depends the survival of christian civilisation. upon it depends our own british life and the long continuity of our institutions and our empire. the whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. if we can stand up to him, all europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. but if we fail, then the whole world, including the united states, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the british empire and its commonwealth last for a 1000 years, men will still say, 'this was their finest hour'.
7.4.1940 'now i turn to the immediate future. we must, of course, expect to be attacked, or even invaded, if that proves to be possible - it has not been proved yet - in our own island before very long. we are making every preparation in our power to repel the assaults of the enemy, whether they be directed upon great britain, or upon ireland, which all irishmen, without distinction of creed or party, should realise is in imminent danger. these again are matters upon which we have clear views. these preparations are constantly occupying our toil from morn till night and far into the night. but, although we have clear views, it would not, i think, be profitable for us to discuss them in public, or even, so far as the government are concerned, except under very considerable reserve in a private session. i call upon all subjects of his majesty and upon our allies and well wishers - and they are not a few - all over the world, on both sides of the atlantic, to give us their utmost aid. in the fullest harmony with our dominions, we are moving through a period of extreme danger and of splendid hope, when every virtue of our race will be tested and all that we have and are will be freely staked. this is no time for doubt or weakness. it is the supreme hour to which we have been called.
i will venture to read to the House (of commons) a message which i have caused to be sent to all who are serving in positions of importance under the crown and, it the house should view it with sympathy, i should be very glad to send a copy of it to every member for his own use - not that such exhortations are needed. this is the message:
on what may be the eve of an attempted invasion or battle for our native land (hitler's forces were methodically massing across the channel for what seemed to be a massive assault), the prime minister desires to impress upon all persons holding responsible positions in the government, in the fighting services or in the civil departments (citizens in england were armed to resist enemy invasion, if necessary, block by block and street by street), their duty to maintain a spirit of alert and confident energy. while every precaution must be taken that time and means afford, there are no grounds for supposing that more german troops can be landed ion this country, either from the air or across the sea, than can be destroyed or captured by the strong forces at present under arms. the royal air force is in excellent order and at the highest strength it has yet attained. the german navy was never so weak, nor the british army at home so strong as now. the prime minister expects all his majesty's servants in high places to set an example of steadiness and resolution. they should check and rebuke expressions of loose and ill-digested opinion in their circle, or by their subordinates. they should not hesitate to report, or if necessary remove, any officers of officials who are found to be consciously exercising a disturbing or depressing influence and whose talk is calculated to spread alarm and despondency. thus alone will they be worthy of the fighting men, who, in the air, on the sea, and on land, have already met the enemy without any sense of being outmatched in martial qualities.
in conclusion, i feel that we are entitled to the confidence of the House and that we shall not fail in our duty, however painful. the action we have already taken should be, in itself, sufficient to dispose once and for all of the lies and rumours which have been so industriously spread by german propaganda and through fifth column activities that we have the slightest intention of entering into negotiations in any form and through any channel with the german and italian governments. we shall, on the contrary, prosecute the war with the utmost vigour by all the means that are open to us until the righteous purposes for which we entered upon it have been fulfilled.
9.11.1940 (on 9.5 the germans switched tactics from trying to destroy the bases of the royal air force to continual bombing raids against the civilian population of london and other major cities)..'besides this, convoys of merchant ships in tens of dozens are being moved through the straits of dover into the channel, dodging along from port to port under the protection of the new batteries which the germans have built on the french shore. there are now considerable gatherings of shipping in the german, dutch, belgian and french harbours - all the way from hamburg to brest. finally, there are some preparations made of ships to carry an invading force from the norwegian harbours.
behind these clusters of ships or barges, there stand very large numbers of german troops, awaiting the order to go on board and set out on their very dangerous and uncertain voyage across the seas. we cannot tell when they will try to come; we cannot be sure that in fact they will try at all; but no one should blind himself to the fact that a heavy, full-scale invasion of this island is being prepared with all the usual german thoroughness and method and that it may be launched now - upon england, upon scotland, or upon ireland, or upon all three.
if this invasion is going to be tried at all, it does not seem that it can be long delayed. the weather may break at any time. besides this, it is difficult for the enemy to keep these gatherings of ships waiting about indefinitely, while they are bombed every night by our bombers and very often shelled by our warships which are waiting for them outside.
therefore, we must regard the next week or so as a very important period in our history. it ranks with the days when the spanish armada was approaching the channel, and drake was finishing his game of bowls; or when nelson stood between us and napoleon's grand army at boulogne. we have read all about this in the history books; but what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilisation than these brave old days of the past.
every man and woman will therefore prepare himself to do his duty, whatever it may be, with special pride and care. our fleets and flotillas are very powerful and numerous; our air force is at the highest strength it has ever reached and it is conscious of its proved superiority, not indeed in numbers, but in men and machines. our shores are well fortified and strongly manned and behind them, ready to attack the invaders, we have a far larger and better equipped mobile army than we have ever had before.
besides this, we have more than a million and a half men of the Home Guard, who are4 just as much soldiers of the regular army as the grenadier guards, and who are determined to fight for every inch of the ground in every village and in every street.
it is with devout but sure confidence that i say: let God defend the right.
these cruel, wanton, indiscriminate bombings of london are, of course, a part of hitler's invasion plans. he hopes, by killing large numbers of civilians and women and children, that he will terrorise and cow the people of this mighty imperial city and make them a burden and an anxiety to the government and thus distract our attention unduly from the ferocious onslaught he is preparing. little does he know the spirit of the british nation or the tough fibre of the londoners whose forebears played a leading part in the establishment of parliamentary institutions and who have been bred to value freedom far above their lives. this wicked man, the repository and embodiment of many forms of soul-destroying hatred, this monstrous product of former wrongs and shame, has now resolved to try to break our famous island race by a process of indiscriminate slaughter and destruction. what he has done is to kindle a fire in british hearts, here and all over the world, which will glow long after all traces of the conflagration he has caused in london have been removed. he has lighted a fire which will burn with a steady and consuming flame until the last vestiges of nazi tyranny have been burnt out of europe and until the old world- and the new - can join hands to rebuild the temples of man's freedom and man's honour, upon foundations which will not soon or easily be overthrown.
this is a time for everyone to stand together and hold firm, as they are doing. i express my admiration for the exemplary manner in which all the air raid precautions services of london are being discharged, especially the fire brigade, whose work has been so heavy and also dangerous. all the world that is still free marvels at the composure and fortitude with which the citizens of london are facing and surmounting the great ordeal to which they are subjected, the end of which or the severity of which cannot yet be foreseen.
it is a message of good cheer to our fighting forces on the seas, in the air, and in our waiting armies in all their posts and stations, that we send them from this capital city. they know that they have behind them a people who will not flinch or weary of the struggle - hard and protracted though it will be; but that we shall rather draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival, and of the victory won not only for our own time, but for the long and better days that are to come.
9.17.1940 (two days before the battle for britain reached its climax and on this day, unbenown at this speech hitler indefinitely suspended operation sealion..a direct attack upon the british island)..'these next few weeks are grave and anxious. i said just now in the public session that the deployment of the enemy's invasion preparations and the assembly of his ships and barges are steadily proceeding and that any moment a major assault may be launched upon this island. i now say in secret that upwards of 1700 self-propelled barges and more than 200 seagoing ships, some very large ships, are already gathering at the many invasion ports in german occupation. if this is all a pretense and stratagem to pin us down here, it has been executed with surprising thoroughness and on a gigantic scale. some of these ships and barges, when struck by our bombing counterattack and preventive attack, have blown up with tremendous explosions, showing that they are full loaded with all the munitions needed for the invading armies and to beat us down and subjugate us utterly. the shipping available and now assembled is sufficient to carry in one voyage nearly half a million men. we should, of course , expect to drown a great many on the way over and to destroy a large proportion of their vessels. but when you reflect upon the many points from which they could start and upon the fact that even the most likely sector of invasion, ie., the sector in which enemy fighter support is available for their bombers and dive bombers, extending from the Wash to the isle of wight, is nearly as long as the whole front in france from the laps to the sea, and also upon the dangers of fog or artificial fog, one must expect many lodgments or attempted lodgments to be made on our island simultaneously. these we shall hope to deal with as they occur and also to cut off the supply across the sea by which the enemy will seek to nourish his lodgments.
the difficulties of the invader are not ended when he sets foot on shore. a new chapter of perils opens upon him. i am confident that we shall succeed in defeating and largely destroying this most tremendous onslaught by which we are now threatened, and anyhow, whatever happens, we will all go down fighting to the end. i feel as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that we shall be victorious.
4.11.1919 'bolshevist atrocities' ..'it would not be right for us to send our armies raised on a compulsory basis to russia (to aid those victims of the communist revolution). if russia is to be saved it must be by russian manhood..
9.16.1925 ..'can we be blind to the fact that british interests and the british empire and britain herself have been singled out as the first and main object of their (the bolshevists') malice. this island community of ours which in all the great quarrels of the last 400 years has always defended and hitherto always successfully defended the cause of ordered freedom, stands as a massive obstacle in the path of boshevist revolutionaries. to lay it low, to shatter it to pieces, to grind it to powder by every resource of violence of cunning - this is their task. they have recognized it. let us recognize it too.
2.22.1933 ..'these well meaning gentlemen of the british broadcasting corporation (the bbc in the 1930s supported a policy of appeasement and did their best to keep churchill's voice off the air) have absolutely no qualifications and no claim to represent british public opinion.
speaking of the league of nations vis a vis germany after the latter's occupation of the rhineland..'do not let us have it out as if we were a rabble flying before forces we dare not resist. let us have it out on the basis that we are negotiation from strength and not from weakness; that we are negotiating from unity and not from division and isolation; that we are seeking to do justice because we have power.
9.24.1936 ..'if governments are to bind themselves together for collective security, it follows that they must rigorously abstain from organized interference in the internal affairs of their neighbors and fellow members of the League (of nations)...unprovoked aggression..propaganda carried on by foreign $ in any country is a serious form of provocation..' (churchill's pleas for united strength used by the league of nations as well as for britain to begin to arm were, at home and abroad ignored during the 5 years leading up to the declaration of war on germany in september, 1939...at which time he was asked to be prime minister and establish a wartime government with a policy of total victory over germany, italy..and eventually japan)
this book introduced me to 'lawrence of arabia' for the first time. churchill and his family were intimately acquainted with this person, lawrence, who accomplished amazing feats in the middle east only to return home and completely fade from public life. churchill speaks highly of his book, 'the 7 pillars'
10.16.1938 ..'alexander the great remarked that the people of asia were slaves because they had not learned to pronounce the word 'no'..the german people, industrious and faithful, valiant, but alas! lacking in the proper spirit of civic independence..tyrants are afraid of thoughts..words..the workings of the human mind.
4.20.1939 ..'if the british empire is fated to pass from life into history we must hope it will not be by the slow processes of dispersion and decay, but in some supreme exertion for freedom, for right and for truth.
(german armies have invaded france, the blitzkrieg, and there is the possibility of more than 300,000+ british and french troops being cut off and possibly destroyed/imprisoned)..'the armies must cast away the idea of resisting behind concrete lines or natural obstacles and must realize that mastery can only be regained by furious and unrelenting assault..
5.19.1940 (centuries old words from trinity sunday)..'but you men of valor be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar...
6.18.1940 ..'what general weygand called the battle of france is over. i expect that the battle of britain is about to begin. upon this battle depends the survival of christian civilisation. upon it depends our own british life and the long continuity of our institutions and our empire. the whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. if we can stand up to him, all europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. but if we fail, then the whole world, including the united states, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the british empire and its commonwealth last for a 1000 years, men will still say, 'this was their finest hour'.
7.4.1940 'now i turn to the immediate future. we must, of course, expect to be attacked, or even invaded, if that proves to be possible - it has not been proved yet - in our own island before very long. we are making every preparation in our power to repel the assaults of the enemy, whether they be directed upon great britain, or upon ireland, which all irishmen, without distinction of creed or party, should realise is in imminent danger. these again are matters upon which we have clear views. these preparations are constantly occupying our toil from morn till night and far into the night. but, although we have clear views, it would not, i think, be profitable for us to discuss them in public, or even, so far as the government are concerned, except under very considerable reserve in a private session. i call upon all subjects of his majesty and upon our allies and well wishers - and they are not a few - all over the world, on both sides of the atlantic, to give us their utmost aid. in the fullest harmony with our dominions, we are moving through a period of extreme danger and of splendid hope, when every virtue of our race will be tested and all that we have and are will be freely staked. this is no time for doubt or weakness. it is the supreme hour to which we have been called.
i will venture to read to the House (of commons) a message which i have caused to be sent to all who are serving in positions of importance under the crown and, it the house should view it with sympathy, i should be very glad to send a copy of it to every member for his own use - not that such exhortations are needed. this is the message:
on what may be the eve of an attempted invasion or battle for our native land (hitler's forces were methodically massing across the channel for what seemed to be a massive assault), the prime minister desires to impress upon all persons holding responsible positions in the government, in the fighting services or in the civil departments (citizens in england were armed to resist enemy invasion, if necessary, block by block and street by street), their duty to maintain a spirit of alert and confident energy. while every precaution must be taken that time and means afford, there are no grounds for supposing that more german troops can be landed ion this country, either from the air or across the sea, than can be destroyed or captured by the strong forces at present under arms. the royal air force is in excellent order and at the highest strength it has yet attained. the german navy was never so weak, nor the british army at home so strong as now. the prime minister expects all his majesty's servants in high places to set an example of steadiness and resolution. they should check and rebuke expressions of loose and ill-digested opinion in their circle, or by their subordinates. they should not hesitate to report, or if necessary remove, any officers of officials who are found to be consciously exercising a disturbing or depressing influence and whose talk is calculated to spread alarm and despondency. thus alone will they be worthy of the fighting men, who, in the air, on the sea, and on land, have already met the enemy without any sense of being outmatched in martial qualities.
in conclusion, i feel that we are entitled to the confidence of the House and that we shall not fail in our duty, however painful. the action we have already taken should be, in itself, sufficient to dispose once and for all of the lies and rumours which have been so industriously spread by german propaganda and through fifth column activities that we have the slightest intention of entering into negotiations in any form and through any channel with the german and italian governments. we shall, on the contrary, prosecute the war with the utmost vigour by all the means that are open to us until the righteous purposes for which we entered upon it have been fulfilled.
9.11.1940 (on 9.5 the germans switched tactics from trying to destroy the bases of the royal air force to continual bombing raids against the civilian population of london and other major cities)..'besides this, convoys of merchant ships in tens of dozens are being moved through the straits of dover into the channel, dodging along from port to port under the protection of the new batteries which the germans have built on the french shore. there are now considerable gatherings of shipping in the german, dutch, belgian and french harbours - all the way from hamburg to brest. finally, there are some preparations made of ships to carry an invading force from the norwegian harbours.
behind these clusters of ships or barges, there stand very large numbers of german troops, awaiting the order to go on board and set out on their very dangerous and uncertain voyage across the seas. we cannot tell when they will try to come; we cannot be sure that in fact they will try at all; but no one should blind himself to the fact that a heavy, full-scale invasion of this island is being prepared with all the usual german thoroughness and method and that it may be launched now - upon england, upon scotland, or upon ireland, or upon all three.
if this invasion is going to be tried at all, it does not seem that it can be long delayed. the weather may break at any time. besides this, it is difficult for the enemy to keep these gatherings of ships waiting about indefinitely, while they are bombed every night by our bombers and very often shelled by our warships which are waiting for them outside.
therefore, we must regard the next week or so as a very important period in our history. it ranks with the days when the spanish armada was approaching the channel, and drake was finishing his game of bowls; or when nelson stood between us and napoleon's grand army at boulogne. we have read all about this in the history books; but what is happening now is on a far greater scale and of far more consequence to the life and future of the world and its civilisation than these brave old days of the past.
every man and woman will therefore prepare himself to do his duty, whatever it may be, with special pride and care. our fleets and flotillas are very powerful and numerous; our air force is at the highest strength it has ever reached and it is conscious of its proved superiority, not indeed in numbers, but in men and machines. our shores are well fortified and strongly manned and behind them, ready to attack the invaders, we have a far larger and better equipped mobile army than we have ever had before.
besides this, we have more than a million and a half men of the Home Guard, who are4 just as much soldiers of the regular army as the grenadier guards, and who are determined to fight for every inch of the ground in every village and in every street.
it is with devout but sure confidence that i say: let God defend the right.
these cruel, wanton, indiscriminate bombings of london are, of course, a part of hitler's invasion plans. he hopes, by killing large numbers of civilians and women and children, that he will terrorise and cow the people of this mighty imperial city and make them a burden and an anxiety to the government and thus distract our attention unduly from the ferocious onslaught he is preparing. little does he know the spirit of the british nation or the tough fibre of the londoners whose forebears played a leading part in the establishment of parliamentary institutions and who have been bred to value freedom far above their lives. this wicked man, the repository and embodiment of many forms of soul-destroying hatred, this monstrous product of former wrongs and shame, has now resolved to try to break our famous island race by a process of indiscriminate slaughter and destruction. what he has done is to kindle a fire in british hearts, here and all over the world, which will glow long after all traces of the conflagration he has caused in london have been removed. he has lighted a fire which will burn with a steady and consuming flame until the last vestiges of nazi tyranny have been burnt out of europe and until the old world- and the new - can join hands to rebuild the temples of man's freedom and man's honour, upon foundations which will not soon or easily be overthrown.
this is a time for everyone to stand together and hold firm, as they are doing. i express my admiration for the exemplary manner in which all the air raid precautions services of london are being discharged, especially the fire brigade, whose work has been so heavy and also dangerous. all the world that is still free marvels at the composure and fortitude with which the citizens of london are facing and surmounting the great ordeal to which they are subjected, the end of which or the severity of which cannot yet be foreseen.
it is a message of good cheer to our fighting forces on the seas, in the air, and in our waiting armies in all their posts and stations, that we send them from this capital city. they know that they have behind them a people who will not flinch or weary of the struggle - hard and protracted though it will be; but that we shall rather draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival, and of the victory won not only for our own time, but for the long and better days that are to come.
9.17.1940 (two days before the battle for britain reached its climax and on this day, unbenown at this speech hitler indefinitely suspended operation sealion..a direct attack upon the british island)..'these next few weeks are grave and anxious. i said just now in the public session that the deployment of the enemy's invasion preparations and the assembly of his ships and barges are steadily proceeding and that any moment a major assault may be launched upon this island. i now say in secret that upwards of 1700 self-propelled barges and more than 200 seagoing ships, some very large ships, are already gathering at the many invasion ports in german occupation. if this is all a pretense and stratagem to pin us down here, it has been executed with surprising thoroughness and on a gigantic scale. some of these ships and barges, when struck by our bombing counterattack and preventive attack, have blown up with tremendous explosions, showing that they are full loaded with all the munitions needed for the invading armies and to beat us down and subjugate us utterly. the shipping available and now assembled is sufficient to carry in one voyage nearly half a million men. we should, of course , expect to drown a great many on the way over and to destroy a large proportion of their vessels. but when you reflect upon the many points from which they could start and upon the fact that even the most likely sector of invasion, ie., the sector in which enemy fighter support is available for their bombers and dive bombers, extending from the Wash to the isle of wight, is nearly as long as the whole front in france from the laps to the sea, and also upon the dangers of fog or artificial fog, one must expect many lodgments or attempted lodgments to be made on our island simultaneously. these we shall hope to deal with as they occur and also to cut off the supply across the sea by which the enemy will seek to nourish his lodgments.
the difficulties of the invader are not ended when he sets foot on shore. a new chapter of perils opens upon him. i am confident that we shall succeed in defeating and largely destroying this most tremendous onslaught by which we are now threatened, and anyhow, whatever happens, we will all go down fighting to the end. i feel as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow that we shall be victorious.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
3.17.2012 JOHN PATTON TAKES LEAVE OF HIS HOME..HIS FATHER
two days thereafter i started out from my quiet country home on the road to glasgow. literally 'on the road', for from torthorwald to kilmarnock - about 40 miles - had to be done on foot and thence to glasgow by rail. railways in those days were as yet few and coach travelling was far beyond my purse. a small bundle, tied up in my pocked handkerchief, contained my bible and all my personal belongings. thus was i launched upon the ocean of life. i thought on One who says, 'I know thy poverty, but thou art rich'.
my dear father walked with me the first 6 miles of the way. his counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been but yesterday; and tears are on my cheeks as freely now as then whenever memory steals me away to the scene. for the last half mile or so we walked on together in almost unbroken silence, - my father, as was often his custom, carrying hat in hand, while his long, flowing yellow hair (then yellow, but in later years white as snow) streamed like a girl's down his shoulders. his lips kept moving in silent prayers for me; and his tears fell fast when our eyes met each other in looks for which all speech was vain! we halted on reaching the appointed parting place; he grasped my hand firmly for a minute in silence and then solemnly and affectionately said: 'God bless you, my son! your father's God prosper you and keep you from all evil!"
unable to say more, his lips kept moving in silent prayer; in tears we embraced and parted. i ran off as fast as i could and when about to turn a corner in the road where he would lose sight of me, i looked back and saw him still standing with head uncovered where i had left him - gazing after me. waving my hat in adieu, i was round the corner and out of sight in an instant. but my heart was too full and sore to carry me further, so i darted into the side of the road and wept for a time.
then, rising up cautiously, i climbed the dyke to see if he yet stood where i had left him and just at that moment i caught a glimpse of him climbing the dyke and looking out for me! he did not see me and after he had gazed eagerly in my direction for a while he got down, set his face towards home and began to return - his head still uncovered and his heart, i felt sure, still rising in prayers for me. i watched through blinding tears, till his form faded from my gaze and then, hastening on my way, vowed deeply and oft, by the help of God, to live and act so as never to grieve or dishonour such a father and mother as He had given me.
the appearance of my father, when we parted - his advice, prayers and tears - the road, the dyke, the climbing up on it and then walking away, head uncovered - have often, often, all through life, risen vividly before my mind and do so now while i am writing, as if it had been but an hour ago. in my earlier years particularly, when exposed to many temptations, his parting form rose before me as that of a guardian angel. it is no pharisaism, but deep gratitude, which makes me here testify that the memory of that scene not only helped, by God's grace, to keep me pure from the prevailing sins, but also stimulated me in all my studies, that i might not fall short of his hopes and in all my christian duties, that i might faithfully follow his shining example.
my dear father walked with me the first 6 miles of the way. his counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been but yesterday; and tears are on my cheeks as freely now as then whenever memory steals me away to the scene. for the last half mile or so we walked on together in almost unbroken silence, - my father, as was often his custom, carrying hat in hand, while his long, flowing yellow hair (then yellow, but in later years white as snow) streamed like a girl's down his shoulders. his lips kept moving in silent prayers for me; and his tears fell fast when our eyes met each other in looks for which all speech was vain! we halted on reaching the appointed parting place; he grasped my hand firmly for a minute in silence and then solemnly and affectionately said: 'God bless you, my son! your father's God prosper you and keep you from all evil!"
unable to say more, his lips kept moving in silent prayer; in tears we embraced and parted. i ran off as fast as i could and when about to turn a corner in the road where he would lose sight of me, i looked back and saw him still standing with head uncovered where i had left him - gazing after me. waving my hat in adieu, i was round the corner and out of sight in an instant. but my heart was too full and sore to carry me further, so i darted into the side of the road and wept for a time.
then, rising up cautiously, i climbed the dyke to see if he yet stood where i had left him and just at that moment i caught a glimpse of him climbing the dyke and looking out for me! he did not see me and after he had gazed eagerly in my direction for a while he got down, set his face towards home and began to return - his head still uncovered and his heart, i felt sure, still rising in prayers for me. i watched through blinding tears, till his form faded from my gaze and then, hastening on my way, vowed deeply and oft, by the help of God, to live and act so as never to grieve or dishonour such a father and mother as He had given me.
the appearance of my father, when we parted - his advice, prayers and tears - the road, the dyke, the climbing up on it and then walking away, head uncovered - have often, often, all through life, risen vividly before my mind and do so now while i am writing, as if it had been but an hour ago. in my earlier years particularly, when exposed to many temptations, his parting form rose before me as that of a guardian angel. it is no pharisaism, but deep gratitude, which makes me here testify that the memory of that scene not only helped, by God's grace, to keep me pure from the prevailing sins, but also stimulated me in all my studies, that i might not fall short of his hopes and in all my christian duties, that i might faithfully follow his shining example.
3.17.2012 THIS MORNING IN PSALM 62:8-9
spurgeon's comments on ..
v8 - 'trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. selah'...YE TO WHOM HIS LOVE IS REVEALED, REVEAL YOURSELVES TO HIM. His heart is set on you, lay bare your hearts to him. turn the vessel of your soul upside down in his secret presence and let your inmost thoughts, desires, sorrows, and sins be poured out like water. hide nothing from him, for you can hide nothing. to the Lord unburden your soul; let Him be your only father-confessor, for he only can absolve you when he has heard your confession. to keep our griefs to ourselves is to hoard up wretchedness. the stream will swell and rage if you dam it up: give it a clear course and it leaps along and creates no alarm. sympathy we need and if we unload our hearts at Jesus' feet, we shall obtain a sympathy as practical as it is sincere, as consolatory as it is ennobling. the writer in the westminster assembly's annotations well observes that it is the tendency of our wicked nature to bite on the bridle and hide our grief in sullenness; but the gracious soul will overcome this propensity and utter its sorrow before the Lord.
v9 - 'surely men of low degree are vanity and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.'..here the word is 'only' again (note: it occurs also in vs. 1,2,4,5 and 6. only here is it translated 'truly'); men of low degree are only vanity, nothing more. they are many and enthusiastic, but they are not to be depended on; they are mobile as the waves of the sea, ready to be driven to and fro by any and every wind; they cry 'hosanna' today and 'crucify him' tomorrow. the instability of popular applause is a proverb; as well build a house with smoke as find comfort in the adulation of the multitude. as the first (not: actually second) son of adam was called abel or vanity, so here we are taught that all the sons of adam are abels: it were well if they were all so in character as well as in name; but alas! in this respect, too many of them are cains. 'and men of high degree are a lie'. that is worse. we gain little by putting our trust in the aristocracy, they are not one whit better than the democracy; nay, they are even worse, for we expect something from them, but get nothing. may we not trust the elite? surely reliance may be placed in the educated, the chivalrous, the intelligent? for this reason are they a lie; because they promise so much, and in the end, when relied upon, yield nothing but disappointment. how wretched is that poor man who puts his trust in princes. the more we rely upon God, the more shall we perceive the utter hollowness of every other confidence.
v8 - 'trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. selah'...YE TO WHOM HIS LOVE IS REVEALED, REVEAL YOURSELVES TO HIM. His heart is set on you, lay bare your hearts to him. turn the vessel of your soul upside down in his secret presence and let your inmost thoughts, desires, sorrows, and sins be poured out like water. hide nothing from him, for you can hide nothing. to the Lord unburden your soul; let Him be your only father-confessor, for he only can absolve you when he has heard your confession. to keep our griefs to ourselves is to hoard up wretchedness. the stream will swell and rage if you dam it up: give it a clear course and it leaps along and creates no alarm. sympathy we need and if we unload our hearts at Jesus' feet, we shall obtain a sympathy as practical as it is sincere, as consolatory as it is ennobling. the writer in the westminster assembly's annotations well observes that it is the tendency of our wicked nature to bite on the bridle and hide our grief in sullenness; but the gracious soul will overcome this propensity and utter its sorrow before the Lord.
v9 - 'surely men of low degree are vanity and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.'..here the word is 'only' again (note: it occurs also in vs. 1,2,4,5 and 6. only here is it translated 'truly'); men of low degree are only vanity, nothing more. they are many and enthusiastic, but they are not to be depended on; they are mobile as the waves of the sea, ready to be driven to and fro by any and every wind; they cry 'hosanna' today and 'crucify him' tomorrow. the instability of popular applause is a proverb; as well build a house with smoke as find comfort in the adulation of the multitude. as the first (not: actually second) son of adam was called abel or vanity, so here we are taught that all the sons of adam are abels: it were well if they were all so in character as well as in name; but alas! in this respect, too many of them are cains. 'and men of high degree are a lie'. that is worse. we gain little by putting our trust in the aristocracy, they are not one whit better than the democracy; nay, they are even worse, for we expect something from them, but get nothing. may we not trust the elite? surely reliance may be placed in the educated, the chivalrous, the intelligent? for this reason are they a lie; because they promise so much, and in the end, when relied upon, yield nothing but disappointment. how wretched is that poor man who puts his trust in princes. the more we rely upon God, the more shall we perceive the utter hollowness of every other confidence.
3.17.2012 JOHN PATON'S MOTHER AND FATHER MEET
from such a home came our mother, janet jardine rogerson, a bright-hearted, high-spirited, patient-toiling and altogether heroic little woman; who, for about 43 years, made and kept such a wholesome, independent, God-fearing and self-reliant life for her family of 5 sons and 6 daughters, as constrains me, when i look back on it now, in the light of all i have since seen and known of others far differently situated, almost to worship her memory. she had gone with her high spirits and breezy disposition to gladden, as their companion, the quiet abode of some grand- or great-grand-uncle and aunt, familiarly named in all that dalswinton neighbourhood 'old adam and eve'.
their house was on the outskirts of the moor and life for the young girl there had not probably too much excitement. but one thing had arrested her attention. she had noticed that a young stocking maker from the 'brig end', james paton, the son of william and janet there, was in the habit of stealing alone into the quiet wood, book in hand, day after day, at certain hours, as if for private study and meditation.
it was a very excusable curiosity that led the young bright heart of the girl to watch him devoutly reading and hear him reverently reciting (though she knew not then, it was ralph erskine's 'gospel sonnets', which he could say by heart 60 years afterwards, as he lay on his bed of death); and finally that curiosity awed itself into a holy respect, when she saw him lay aside his broad scotch bonnet, kneel down under the sheltering wings of some tree and pour out all his soul in daily prayers to God.
as yet they had never spoken. what spirit moved her, let lovers tell - was it all devotion or was it a touch of unconscious love kindling in her towards the yellow-haired and thoughtful you? or was there a stoke of mischief, of that teasing, which so oftens opens up the door to the most serious step in all our lives? anyhow, one day she slipped in quietly, stole away his bonnet and hung it on a branch near by, while his trance of devotion made him oblivious of all around; then, from a safe retreat, she watched and enjoyed his perplexity in seeking for and finding it! a second day this was repeated; but his manifest disturbance of mind and his long pondering with the bonnet in hand, as if almost alarmed, seemed to touch another chord in her heart - that chord of pity which is so often the prelude of love, that finer pity that grieves to wound anything nobler or tenderer than ourselves.
next day, when he came to his accustomed place of prayer, a little card was pinned against the tree just where he knelt and on it these words; - 'she who stole away your bonnet is ashamed of what she did; she has a great respect for you and asks you to pray for her, that she may become as good a christian as you'.
staring long at that writing, he forgot ralph erskine for one day! taking down the card and wondering who the writer could be, he was abusing himself for his stupidity in not suspecting that some one had discovered his retreat and removed his bonnet, instead of wondering whether angels had been there during his prayer, -when, suddenly raising his eyes, he saw in front of old adam's cottage, through a lane amongst the trees, the passing of another kind of angel, swinging a milk-pail in her hand and merrily singing some snatch of old scottish song. he knew, in that moment, by a divine instinct, as infallible as any voice that ever came to seer of old, that she was the angel visitor that had stolen in upon his retreat - that bright-faced, clever-witted niece of old adam and eve, to whom he had never yet spoken, but whose praises he had often heard said and sung -'Wee Jen'. i am afraid he did pray 'for her', in more senses than one, that afternoon; at any rate, more than a scotch bonnet was very effectually stolen; a good heart and true was there virtually bestowed and the trust was never regretted on either side and never betrayed.
often and often, in the genial and beautiful hours of the autumntide of their long life, have i heard my dear father tease 'Jen' about her maidenly intentions in the stealing of that bonnet; and often have heard her quick mother-wit in the happy retort, that had his motives for coming to that retreat been altogether and exclusively pious, he would probably have found his way to the other side of the wood, but that men who prowled about the garden of eden ran the risked of meeting some day with a daughter of eve!
their house was on the outskirts of the moor and life for the young girl there had not probably too much excitement. but one thing had arrested her attention. she had noticed that a young stocking maker from the 'brig end', james paton, the son of william and janet there, was in the habit of stealing alone into the quiet wood, book in hand, day after day, at certain hours, as if for private study and meditation.
it was a very excusable curiosity that led the young bright heart of the girl to watch him devoutly reading and hear him reverently reciting (though she knew not then, it was ralph erskine's 'gospel sonnets', which he could say by heart 60 years afterwards, as he lay on his bed of death); and finally that curiosity awed itself into a holy respect, when she saw him lay aside his broad scotch bonnet, kneel down under the sheltering wings of some tree and pour out all his soul in daily prayers to God.
as yet they had never spoken. what spirit moved her, let lovers tell - was it all devotion or was it a touch of unconscious love kindling in her towards the yellow-haired and thoughtful you? or was there a stoke of mischief, of that teasing, which so oftens opens up the door to the most serious step in all our lives? anyhow, one day she slipped in quietly, stole away his bonnet and hung it on a branch near by, while his trance of devotion made him oblivious of all around; then, from a safe retreat, she watched and enjoyed his perplexity in seeking for and finding it! a second day this was repeated; but his manifest disturbance of mind and his long pondering with the bonnet in hand, as if almost alarmed, seemed to touch another chord in her heart - that chord of pity which is so often the prelude of love, that finer pity that grieves to wound anything nobler or tenderer than ourselves.
next day, when he came to his accustomed place of prayer, a little card was pinned against the tree just where he knelt and on it these words; - 'she who stole away your bonnet is ashamed of what she did; she has a great respect for you and asks you to pray for her, that she may become as good a christian as you'.
staring long at that writing, he forgot ralph erskine for one day! taking down the card and wondering who the writer could be, he was abusing himself for his stupidity in not suspecting that some one had discovered his retreat and removed his bonnet, instead of wondering whether angels had been there during his prayer, -when, suddenly raising his eyes, he saw in front of old adam's cottage, through a lane amongst the trees, the passing of another kind of angel, swinging a milk-pail in her hand and merrily singing some snatch of old scottish song. he knew, in that moment, by a divine instinct, as infallible as any voice that ever came to seer of old, that she was the angel visitor that had stolen in upon his retreat - that bright-faced, clever-witted niece of old adam and eve, to whom he had never yet spoken, but whose praises he had often heard said and sung -'Wee Jen'. i am afraid he did pray 'for her', in more senses than one, that afternoon; at any rate, more than a scotch bonnet was very effectually stolen; a good heart and true was there virtually bestowed and the trust was never regretted on either side and never betrayed.
often and often, in the genial and beautiful hours of the autumntide of their long life, have i heard my dear father tease 'Jen' about her maidenly intentions in the stealing of that bonnet; and often have heard her quick mother-wit in the happy retort, that had his motives for coming to that retreat been altogether and exclusively pious, he would probably have found his way to the other side of the wood, but that men who prowled about the garden of eden ran the risked of meeting some day with a daughter of eve!
Friday, March 16, 2012
3.16.2012 THE SCOTTISH-COTTAGE HOME OF JOHN G. PATTON
taken from the autobiography of john paton (b.1824) , missionary to the new hebrides near australia..
'there (in torthorwald, scotland) , amid this wholesome and breezy village life, our dear parents found their home for the long period of 40 years. there too were born to them 8 additional children making in all a family of 5 sons and 6 daughters. theirs was the first of the thatched cottages on the left, past the 'miller's house', going up the 'village gate', with a small garden in front of it and a large garden across the road; and it is one of the few still lingering to show to a new generation what the homes of their fathers were. the architect who planned that cottage had no ideas of art, but a fine eye for durability!
it consists at present of 3, but originally of 4, pairs of 'oak couples', planted like solid trees in the ground at equal intervals and gently sloped inwards till they meet or are 'coupled' at the ridge, this coupling being managed not by rusty iron, but by great solid pins of oak. a roof of oaken wattles (note: a number of poles laid on a roof to hold thatch) was laid across these, till within 11-12 feet of the ground, and from the ground upwards a stone wall was raised, as perpendicular as was found practicable, towards these overhanging wattles, this wall being roughly 'pointed' with sand and clay and lime. now into and upon the roof was woven and intertwisted a covering of thatch, that defied all winds and weathers, and that made the cottage marvellously cosy, -being renewed year by year, and never allowed to remain in disrepair at any season. but the beauty of the construction was and is its durability or rather the permanence of its oaken ribs! there they stand, after probably not less than 4 centuries, japanned with 'peat reek' (note: smoke from the constant burning of peat for cooking and heat) till they are literally shining, so hard that no ordinary nail can be driven into them, and perfectly capable of service for 4 centuries more on the same conditions. the walls are quite modern, having all been rebuilt in my father's time, except only the few great foundation boulders, piled around the oaken couples; and part of the roofing also may plead guilty to having found its way thither only in recent days; but the archtect's one idea survives, baffling time and change - the ribs and rafters of oak.
our home consisted of a 'but' and a 'ben' and a 'mid room', or chamber, called the 'closet'. the one end was my mother's domain and served all the purposes of diningroom and kitchen and parlour, besides containing 2 large wooden erections, called by our scotch peasantry 'box-beds'; not holes in the wall, as in cities, but grand, big airy beds, adorned with many coloured counterpanes (note: dictionary says 'quilt or coverlet' in older usage) and hung with natty curtains, showing the skill of the mistress of the house.
the other end was my father's workshop, filled with 5-6 'stocking frames', whirring with the constant action of 5 or 6 pairs of busy hands and feet and producing right genuine hosiery for the merchants at hawick and dumfries.
the 'closet' was a very small apartment betwixt the other 2, having room only for a bed, a little table, and a chair, with a diminutive window shedding diminutive light on the scene. this was the sanctuary of that cottage home.
thither daily and oftentimes a day, generally after each meal, we saw our father retire and 'shut the door'; and we children got to understand by a sort of spiritual instinct (for the thing was too sacred to be talked about) that prayers were being poured out there for us, as of old by the high priest within the veil in the most holy place. we occasionally heart the pathetic echoes of a trembling voice pleading as if for life, and we learned to slip out and in past that door on tiptoe, not to disturb the holy coloquy. the outside world might not know, but we knew, whence came that happy light as of a new-born smile that always was dawning on my father's face: it was a reflection from the Divine Presence, in the consciousness of which he lived. never, in temple or cathedral, on mountain or in glen, can i hope to feel that the Lord God is more near, more visibly waling and talking with men, than under that humble cottage roof of thatch and oaken wattles. though everything else in religion were by some unthinkable catastrophe to be swept out of memory or blotted from my understanding, my soul would wander back to those early scenes, and shut itself up once again in that Sanctuary Closet, and hearing still the echoes of those cries to God, would hurl back all doubt with the victorious appeal, 'he walked with God, why may not i?'
'there (in torthorwald, scotland) , amid this wholesome and breezy village life, our dear parents found their home for the long period of 40 years. there too were born to them 8 additional children making in all a family of 5 sons and 6 daughters. theirs was the first of the thatched cottages on the left, past the 'miller's house', going up the 'village gate', with a small garden in front of it and a large garden across the road; and it is one of the few still lingering to show to a new generation what the homes of their fathers were. the architect who planned that cottage had no ideas of art, but a fine eye for durability!
it consists at present of 3, but originally of 4, pairs of 'oak couples', planted like solid trees in the ground at equal intervals and gently sloped inwards till they meet or are 'coupled' at the ridge, this coupling being managed not by rusty iron, but by great solid pins of oak. a roof of oaken wattles (note: a number of poles laid on a roof to hold thatch) was laid across these, till within 11-12 feet of the ground, and from the ground upwards a stone wall was raised, as perpendicular as was found practicable, towards these overhanging wattles, this wall being roughly 'pointed' with sand and clay and lime. now into and upon the roof was woven and intertwisted a covering of thatch, that defied all winds and weathers, and that made the cottage marvellously cosy, -being renewed year by year, and never allowed to remain in disrepair at any season. but the beauty of the construction was and is its durability or rather the permanence of its oaken ribs! there they stand, after probably not less than 4 centuries, japanned with 'peat reek' (note: smoke from the constant burning of peat for cooking and heat) till they are literally shining, so hard that no ordinary nail can be driven into them, and perfectly capable of service for 4 centuries more on the same conditions. the walls are quite modern, having all been rebuilt in my father's time, except only the few great foundation boulders, piled around the oaken couples; and part of the roofing also may plead guilty to having found its way thither only in recent days; but the archtect's one idea survives, baffling time and change - the ribs and rafters of oak.
our home consisted of a 'but' and a 'ben' and a 'mid room', or chamber, called the 'closet'. the one end was my mother's domain and served all the purposes of diningroom and kitchen and parlour, besides containing 2 large wooden erections, called by our scotch peasantry 'box-beds'; not holes in the wall, as in cities, but grand, big airy beds, adorned with many coloured counterpanes (note: dictionary says 'quilt or coverlet' in older usage) and hung with natty curtains, showing the skill of the mistress of the house.
the other end was my father's workshop, filled with 5-6 'stocking frames', whirring with the constant action of 5 or 6 pairs of busy hands and feet and producing right genuine hosiery for the merchants at hawick and dumfries.
the 'closet' was a very small apartment betwixt the other 2, having room only for a bed, a little table, and a chair, with a diminutive window shedding diminutive light on the scene. this was the sanctuary of that cottage home.
thither daily and oftentimes a day, generally after each meal, we saw our father retire and 'shut the door'; and we children got to understand by a sort of spiritual instinct (for the thing was too sacred to be talked about) that prayers were being poured out there for us, as of old by the high priest within the veil in the most holy place. we occasionally heart the pathetic echoes of a trembling voice pleading as if for life, and we learned to slip out and in past that door on tiptoe, not to disturb the holy coloquy. the outside world might not know, but we knew, whence came that happy light as of a new-born smile that always was dawning on my father's face: it was a reflection from the Divine Presence, in the consciousness of which he lived. never, in temple or cathedral, on mountain or in glen, can i hope to feel that the Lord God is more near, more visibly waling and talking with men, than under that humble cottage roof of thatch and oaken wattles. though everything else in religion were by some unthinkable catastrophe to be swept out of memory or blotted from my understanding, my soul would wander back to those early scenes, and shut itself up once again in that Sanctuary Closet, and hearing still the echoes of those cries to God, would hurl back all doubt with the victorious appeal, 'he walked with God, why may not i?'
Saturday, March 3, 2012
3.3 2012 PSALM 55 REVISITED
this a.m. come to psalm 55 and once again try to take in what God has for me there.
i command God in prayer..
-for He says, CALL TO ME and i will show you great.. mighty things you know not
-for He encourages..for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. let us therefore DRAW NEAR WITH CONFIDENCE to the throne of grace.. that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
-for Jesus, in teaching His disciples to pray said, pray in this manner..
HALLOWED BE Thy name
Thy kingdom COME
Thy will BE DONE
GIVE us..bread
FORGIVE us..as we..have forgiven
DO NOT LEAD us into temptation
DELIVER us from evil
..all commands...He commands me, He encourages me, He teaches me to come with COMMANDS..
so here goes..
v1GIVE EAR to my prayer
HIDE NOT THYSELF from my supplication
v2ATTEND UNTO me and
HEAR me
why?
v3-because of the voice of the enemy
-because of the oppression of the wicked
-for they cast iniquity upon me (calumny - latin calumnia from calvi - deceive 'the malicious uttering of false charges or misrepresentations calculated to damage my reputation)
-and in wrath they hate me.
the enemy described -
v10-day and night they go about (the city) upon the walls thereof
..iniquity and mischief are in her.. (iniquity -hebrew aven: trouble, sorrow, wickedness: mischief - hebrew amal: trouble, labor, toil)
v11-wickedness is in the midst..
-deceit and guile depart not.. (guile -cunning, strategem)
v12-..it was not an enemy that reproached me...
v13-..but it was thou (an intimate)
v19-..because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
v20-he hath put forth his hands against such be at peace with him..
v21-the words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart..
-his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
the psalmist's desire for the enemy-
v15-LET DEATH SEIZE UPON them
LET them GO DOWN QUICK into hell
the psalmist's resolve-
v16-as for me, i will call upon the Lord
v17-evening and morning and at noon, will i pray and cry aloud
v23-i will trust in Thee
the psalmist's belief-
v16-and the Lord shall save me.
v17-and He shall hear my voice
v19-God shall hear and afflict them
v22-He (God) shall sustain thee
-He (God) shall never suffer the righteous to be moved
v23-God shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction
-bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days
the psalmist's experience-
v18-He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me..
the psalmist encourages himself-
v22 cast thy burden upon the Lord (and He shall sustain thee)
now contrast the believer's desire, above (death, hell), for his enemy with Jesus' instructions to the believer in this situation:
1. luke 6.27-LOVE your enemies..how is this shown?
-love is patient (lit. far away from wrath) do you have any conscious anger? (ask the Lord to reveal to you any unconscious anger)
-love is kind; are you willing, looking for ways in which you can help or make yourself useful to your enemy?
-love does not seek its own; in how you are relating to your enemy are you, consciously or unconsciously seeking something for yourself..or is it all disinterested?
-love does not take into account a wrong suffered; based upon what your enemy does are you sometimes sweet and sometimes sour, one time caring, one time totally unconcerned, etc?
-love does not rejoice in unrighteousness..
-love rejoices with the truth; do you tell your enemy when he is acting etc. contra the command and will of God?
-love bears (covers) all things; are you either thinking of them or relating to them in a way you think they deserve or are you trying to shield them from what they deserve? (love covers a multitude of sins. do not related to them as they deserve. we ALL deserve the righteous condemnation of God! God continually holds out to ALL of us the offer of forgiveness of our sins and the offer of eternal life with Him IF we see ourselves as He sees us, turn from our sins and seek to continually obey Him as in everything as our Lord and master, as our God and savior)
-love believes all things; are you praying that God would bring your enemy to repentance and into relationship with Him?
-love hopes all things; do you confidently expect God to help you and deliver you from all harm?
-love endures all things; are you patiently bearing up under all that your enemy is sending your way?
2. DO GOOD TO those who hate you; are you, right now vis a vis your enemy, negative, neutral or actively doing good to him? (cf. v35)
3. v28-BLESS those who curse you;
-what is blessing? think of the aaronic blessing in numbers 6..
..the Lord
bless you and keep you (God protects)
make His face shine upon you (He gives light, guidance)
be gracious to you (He gives strength to do good)
lift up His countenance upon you (He is present)
give you His peace (He gives everything i need)
..and think of deuteronomy 1.11..may the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are, and bless you, just as He promised you..
..the Lord
does what He promises (if i obey Him, He will keep every promise made to me)
increase you 1000-fold (He does for me far more than what i deserve or could pay back)..
..so what does it mean to BLESS the one who curses (desires and/or seeks to do what is worst for you)? it means to in spirit, in desire and in action desire (give) God's best to the one who hates you. are you 'there' right now?
4. ..PRAY FOR those who mistreat you; (what kind of mistreatment? the word is epAreadzO from epAreEa which means spiteful abuse. the margin gives 'revile' as an alternate word for 'mistreat'.
REVILE comes from middle french (reviler) which in turn comes from RE (a prefix which means to do again (and, possibly, again! and, even, again!)or anew) + VILE (which means to be of
small worth or account
common
mean
morally base
wicked
foul
physically repulsive
degraded
low
disgusting
contemptable)
..so 'revile' is to, again and possibly again and again, 'look at', treat as, speak of a person as something along the lines of the column of adjectives directly above; so, are you praying for those you know or who give you the impression that they think of you in this manner?
5. v29-whoever hits you on the cheek, OFFER him the other also; are you walking around as a dead man, fully cooperating with anyone who would do you physical harm?
6. ..and whoever takes away your coat, DO NOT WITHHOLD your shirt from him either'; are you assisting those who are taking away even the most needed personal property (actually freely giving them more than they plan on taking)?
7. v30-GIVE to everyone who asks of you and whoever takes away what is yours, DO NOT DEMAND IT BACK; are you walking around as an absolute beggar who is depending only on God for any physical need?
8. v31-..just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way; are you treating your enemy exactly like you like to be treated? cf. v38-
GIVE and it will be given to you
good measure
pressed down
shaken together
running over
they will pour into your lap.
for by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. well...do you want to get back from God what you are giving to your enemy in your heart?
9. v35-LEND, expecting nothing in return (not even a 'thank you"); is there a 'temporary' expectation in any of your giving..are you freely seeking to meet needs you see.. unasked..of your enemy (luke 17.10)? ( james 2.15 'if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'go in peace, be warmed and be filled', and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?)
10. v36-BE(COME) MERCIFUL just as your Father is merciful. 'mercy'-to have pity upon, show compassion to. mercy is compassion that forbears punishing even when justice commands it; does your spirit have any 'get back' in it?
11. v37-DO NOT JUDGE and you will not be judged. 'judge'-form an estimate of (in this case negative); is your estimate of your enemy what God's is? (every man has fallen short of God's glory; every man needs to hear of Jesus' love for and His death on the cross for them and His resurrection from the dead to prove that He has successfully paid God's penalty for their sin(s); every man can be helped to see God's love in His child..you!)
12. DO NOT CONDEMN and you will not be condemned. 'condemn'- pronounce guilty; convict; sentence; doom'; to adjudge unfit (for good and for God's love, in this case); damn (give over to a punishment or fate ie. to condemn to hell) luke 9.56 says, 'for the Son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.
-'save'- safe, well.
-'safe' - (from latin salus- health, safety) freed from harm, risk; secure from the threat of danger, harm and loss
-'health'- being sound (in this case, in soul)
-'sound- free from injury, disease (flaw, defect or decay); free from error; solid, firm, stable; thorough; showing good judgment or sense how about you? do you want God to pour out all the above goodness on the one who delights in your pain and misfortune, your enemy?
13. PARDON and you will be pardoned. greek apolUO - send away (in this case sin); are you thinking of and treating your enemy as if they have absolutely no sin?
i command God in prayer..
-for He says, CALL TO ME and i will show you great.. mighty things you know not
-for He encourages..for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. let us therefore DRAW NEAR WITH CONFIDENCE to the throne of grace.. that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
-for Jesus, in teaching His disciples to pray said, pray in this manner..
HALLOWED BE Thy name
Thy kingdom COME
Thy will BE DONE
GIVE us..bread
FORGIVE us..as we..have forgiven
DO NOT LEAD us into temptation
DELIVER us from evil
..all commands...He commands me, He encourages me, He teaches me to come with COMMANDS..
so here goes..
v1GIVE EAR to my prayer
HIDE NOT THYSELF from my supplication
v2ATTEND UNTO me and
HEAR me
why?
v3-because of the voice of the enemy
-because of the oppression of the wicked
-for they cast iniquity upon me (calumny - latin calumnia from calvi - deceive 'the malicious uttering of false charges or misrepresentations calculated to damage my reputation)
-and in wrath they hate me.
the enemy described -
v10-day and night they go about (the city) upon the walls thereof
..iniquity and mischief are in her.. (iniquity -hebrew aven: trouble, sorrow, wickedness: mischief - hebrew amal: trouble, labor, toil)
v11-wickedness is in the midst..
-deceit and guile depart not.. (guile -cunning, strategem)
v12-..it was not an enemy that reproached me...
v13-..but it was thou (an intimate)
v19-..because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
v20-he hath put forth his hands against such be at peace with him..
v21-the words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart..
-his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
the psalmist's desire for the enemy-
v15-LET DEATH SEIZE UPON them
LET them GO DOWN QUICK into hell
the psalmist's resolve-
v16-as for me, i will call upon the Lord
v17-evening and morning and at noon, will i pray and cry aloud
v23-i will trust in Thee
the psalmist's belief-
v16-and the Lord shall save me.
v17-and He shall hear my voice
v19-God shall hear and afflict them
v22-He (God) shall sustain thee
-He (God) shall never suffer the righteous to be moved
v23-God shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction
-bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days
the psalmist's experience-
v18-He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me..
the psalmist encourages himself-
v22 cast thy burden upon the Lord (and He shall sustain thee)
now contrast the believer's desire, above (death, hell), for his enemy with Jesus' instructions to the believer in this situation:
1. luke 6.27-LOVE your enemies..how is this shown?
-love is patient (lit. far away from wrath) do you have any conscious anger? (ask the Lord to reveal to you any unconscious anger)
-love is kind; are you willing, looking for ways in which you can help or make yourself useful to your enemy?
-love does not seek its own; in how you are relating to your enemy are you, consciously or unconsciously seeking something for yourself..or is it all disinterested?
-love does not take into account a wrong suffered; based upon what your enemy does are you sometimes sweet and sometimes sour, one time caring, one time totally unconcerned, etc?
-love does not rejoice in unrighteousness..
-love rejoices with the truth; do you tell your enemy when he is acting etc. contra the command and will of God?
-love bears (covers) all things; are you either thinking of them or relating to them in a way you think they deserve or are you trying to shield them from what they deserve? (love covers a multitude of sins. do not related to them as they deserve. we ALL deserve the righteous condemnation of God! God continually holds out to ALL of us the offer of forgiveness of our sins and the offer of eternal life with Him IF we see ourselves as He sees us, turn from our sins and seek to continually obey Him as in everything as our Lord and master, as our God and savior)
-love believes all things; are you praying that God would bring your enemy to repentance and into relationship with Him?
-love hopes all things; do you confidently expect God to help you and deliver you from all harm?
-love endures all things; are you patiently bearing up under all that your enemy is sending your way?
2. DO GOOD TO those who hate you; are you, right now vis a vis your enemy, negative, neutral or actively doing good to him? (cf. v35)
3. v28-BLESS those who curse you;
-what is blessing? think of the aaronic blessing in numbers 6..
..the Lord
bless you and keep you (God protects)
make His face shine upon you (He gives light, guidance)
be gracious to you (He gives strength to do good)
lift up His countenance upon you (He is present)
give you His peace (He gives everything i need)
..and think of deuteronomy 1.11..may the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are, and bless you, just as He promised you..
..the Lord
does what He promises (if i obey Him, He will keep every promise made to me)
increase you 1000-fold (He does for me far more than what i deserve or could pay back)..
..so what does it mean to BLESS the one who curses (desires and/or seeks to do what is worst for you)? it means to in spirit, in desire and in action desire (give) God's best to the one who hates you. are you 'there' right now?
4. ..PRAY FOR those who mistreat you; (what kind of mistreatment? the word is epAreadzO from epAreEa which means spiteful abuse. the margin gives 'revile' as an alternate word for 'mistreat'.
REVILE comes from middle french (reviler) which in turn comes from RE (a prefix which means to do again (and, possibly, again! and, even, again!)or anew) + VILE (which means to be of
small worth or account
common
mean
morally base
wicked
foul
physically repulsive
degraded
low
disgusting
contemptable)
..so 'revile' is to, again and possibly again and again, 'look at', treat as, speak of a person as something along the lines of the column of adjectives directly above; so, are you praying for those you know or who give you the impression that they think of you in this manner?
5. v29-whoever hits you on the cheek, OFFER him the other also; are you walking around as a dead man, fully cooperating with anyone who would do you physical harm?
6. ..and whoever takes away your coat, DO NOT WITHHOLD your shirt from him either'; are you assisting those who are taking away even the most needed personal property (actually freely giving them more than they plan on taking)?
7. v30-GIVE to everyone who asks of you and whoever takes away what is yours, DO NOT DEMAND IT BACK; are you walking around as an absolute beggar who is depending only on God for any physical need?
8. v31-..just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way; are you treating your enemy exactly like you like to be treated? cf. v38-
GIVE and it will be given to you
good measure
pressed down
shaken together
running over
they will pour into your lap.
for by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. well...do you want to get back from God what you are giving to your enemy in your heart?
9. v35-LEND, expecting nothing in return (not even a 'thank you"); is there a 'temporary' expectation in any of your giving..are you freely seeking to meet needs you see.. unasked..of your enemy (luke 17.10)? ( james 2.15 'if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'go in peace, be warmed and be filled', and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?)
10. v36-BE(COME) MERCIFUL just as your Father is merciful. 'mercy'-to have pity upon, show compassion to. mercy is compassion that forbears punishing even when justice commands it; does your spirit have any 'get back' in it?
11. v37-DO NOT JUDGE and you will not be judged. 'judge'-form an estimate of (in this case negative); is your estimate of your enemy what God's is? (every man has fallen short of God's glory; every man needs to hear of Jesus' love for and His death on the cross for them and His resurrection from the dead to prove that He has successfully paid God's penalty for their sin(s); every man can be helped to see God's love in His child..you!)
12. DO NOT CONDEMN and you will not be condemned. 'condemn'- pronounce guilty; convict; sentence; doom'; to adjudge unfit (for good and for God's love, in this case); damn (give over to a punishment or fate ie. to condemn to hell) luke 9.56 says, 'for the Son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.
-'save'- safe, well.
-'safe' - (from latin salus- health, safety) freed from harm, risk; secure from the threat of danger, harm and loss
-'health'- being sound (in this case, in soul)
-'sound- free from injury, disease (flaw, defect or decay); free from error; solid, firm, stable; thorough; showing good judgment or sense how about you? do you want God to pour out all the above goodness on the one who delights in your pain and misfortune, your enemy?
13. PARDON and you will be pardoned. greek apolUO - send away (in this case sin); are you thinking of and treating your enemy as if they have absolutely no sin?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
3.1.2012 THIS MORNING WITH GOD
mind is numb. pray for family. no bells and whistles. crying out for God to forgive and save me from myself.. that He would change my wicked heart and shed His light, give His grace..give me a heart for Him.
continue to read/meditate through the psalms. today 54,55.
save me, O God, by Thy name..
hear my prayer, O God..
give ear to my prayer, O God..
attend unto me, and hear me..
my heart is sore pained within me..
fearfulness and trembling are come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me.
day and night they go about the city upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. (will i ever be delivered from my hatred of men. one by one they go by me with little true good coming out of me toward them..very rarely sharing what everyone of them desperately need. wept when i got in the car and a song to this affect played. oh when...will i ever be delivered from self, given over to You, sharing Your overflowing love, mercy, grace so desperately needed...they go empty away...)
as for me, i shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me.
everning, and morning, and at noon, will i pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. what does spurgeon's treasury of david say about this..
-often but none too often. seasons of great need call for frequent seasons of devotion. the three periods chosen are most fitting: to begin, continue, and end the day with God is supreme wisdom. where time has naturally set up a boundary, there let us set up an altar-stone. the psalmist means that he will always pray; he will run a line of prayer right along the day..spurgeon
-this was the custom of pious hebrews. see daniel 4.10. the hebrews began their day in the evening and hence david mentions the evening first. the rabbins say, men should pray three times each day because the day changes three times. this was observed in the primitive church..the old psalter gives this a curious turn:
'at even i sall tell his louing (praise) what tim Crist was on the crosse and
at morn i sall schew his louing, what tim he ros fra dede.
and sua he sall here my voice at midday, that is sitand at the right hand of his fader, wheder he stegh (ascended) at midday'. adam clark
-the three principal parts of the day are mentioned, not as marking special times set apart for prayer, but as a poetical expression for 'the wholde day', 'at all times', 'without ceasing' j.j. stewart perowne
- if our poor, frail bodies need refreshment from food three times a day, who, that knows his own weakness, will say that we need not as frequent refreshment for our poor frail spirits? william s. plumer 1867
- i can no more believe him to be frequent and spiritual in ejaculatory prayer, who neglects the season of solemn prayer, than i can believe that he keeps every day in the week a sabbath, who neglects to keep that one which God hath appointed. william gurnall, 1617-1679
-there is no limited time in the court of heaven for hearing petitions. He keeps continually open house for all comers and goers; and indeed, most for comers, than goers. His eyes are always open to behold our tears; His ears are always open to hear our groans; His heart also and his bowels are always open, and never shut up so fast, but they will yearn and turn within Him, if our misery be never so little. for as we have not an High Priest to pray by 'that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities' so neither have we a God to pray to that shall see us in distress and hear us call and cry and never be moved. zachary bogan (1625-1659), in 'meditations of the mirth of the christian life'
-'and cry aloud'..the word here employed properly means to murmur; to make a humming sound; to sigh; to growl; to groan. here the language means that he would give utterance to his deep feelings in appropriate tones -whether words, sighsor groans. albert barnes
cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
continue to read/meditate through the psalms. today 54,55.
save me, O God, by Thy name..
hear my prayer, O God..
give ear to my prayer, O God..
attend unto me, and hear me..
my heart is sore pained within me..
fearfulness and trembling are come upon me and horror hath overwhelmed me.
day and night they go about the city upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. (will i ever be delivered from my hatred of men. one by one they go by me with little true good coming out of me toward them..very rarely sharing what everyone of them desperately need. wept when i got in the car and a song to this affect played. oh when...will i ever be delivered from self, given over to You, sharing Your overflowing love, mercy, grace so desperately needed...they go empty away...)
as for me, i shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me.
everning, and morning, and at noon, will i pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice. what does spurgeon's treasury of david say about this..
-often but none too often. seasons of great need call for frequent seasons of devotion. the three periods chosen are most fitting: to begin, continue, and end the day with God is supreme wisdom. where time has naturally set up a boundary, there let us set up an altar-stone. the psalmist means that he will always pray; he will run a line of prayer right along the day..spurgeon
-this was the custom of pious hebrews. see daniel 4.10. the hebrews began their day in the evening and hence david mentions the evening first. the rabbins say, men should pray three times each day because the day changes three times. this was observed in the primitive church..the old psalter gives this a curious turn:
'at even i sall tell his louing (praise) what tim Crist was on the crosse and
at morn i sall schew his louing, what tim he ros fra dede.
and sua he sall here my voice at midday, that is sitand at the right hand of his fader, wheder he stegh (ascended) at midday'. adam clark
-the three principal parts of the day are mentioned, not as marking special times set apart for prayer, but as a poetical expression for 'the wholde day', 'at all times', 'without ceasing' j.j. stewart perowne
- if our poor, frail bodies need refreshment from food three times a day, who, that knows his own weakness, will say that we need not as frequent refreshment for our poor frail spirits? william s. plumer 1867
- i can no more believe him to be frequent and spiritual in ejaculatory prayer, who neglects the season of solemn prayer, than i can believe that he keeps every day in the week a sabbath, who neglects to keep that one which God hath appointed. william gurnall, 1617-1679
-there is no limited time in the court of heaven for hearing petitions. He keeps continually open house for all comers and goers; and indeed, most for comers, than goers. His eyes are always open to behold our tears; His ears are always open to hear our groans; His heart also and his bowels are always open, and never shut up so fast, but they will yearn and turn within Him, if our misery be never so little. for as we have not an High Priest to pray by 'that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities' so neither have we a God to pray to that shall see us in distress and hear us call and cry and never be moved. zachary bogan (1625-1659), in 'meditations of the mirth of the christian life'
-'and cry aloud'..the word here employed properly means to murmur; to make a humming sound; to sigh; to growl; to groan. here the language means that he would give utterance to his deep feelings in appropriate tones -whether words, sighsor groans. albert barnes
cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
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