Time to pester the pastor?

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:22-24

My wife and I were reading the other day from Lamentations 3. (Has it ever struck you, by the way, that the Bible, an essentially good news book, contains a whole book entitled “Lamentations”, which sounds more like bad news? I think that simple fact tells us something very important…)

Lamentations 3 includes the beautiful words above. As we read them together they called to mind an equally beautiful hymn, which we had both sung many years ago as young Christians. I think it is worth setting out in full, and I invite you to take a few minutes to read and absorb it. The language, of course, is old-fashioned – but, after all, the writer was an Anglican clergyman called John Keble, from the Victorian period, so that must be expected, and is surely well worth grappling with…

1 New every morning is the love
our wakening and uprising prove;
through sleep and darkness safely brought,
restored to life and power and thought.

2 New mercies, each returning day,
hover around us while we pray;
new perils past, new sins forgiven,
new thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven.

3 If on our daily course our mind
be set to hallow all we find,
new treasures still, of countless price,
God will provide for sacrifice.

4 The trivial round, the common task,
will furnish all we need to ask,
room to deny ourselves, a road
to bring us daily nearer God.

5 Only, O Lord, in thy dear love
fit us for perfect rest above;
and help us, this and every day,
to live more nearly as we pray.

It must be twenty years or more since I last sung that hymn, and being reminded of it was a sheer delight. (It really saddens me that such treasures from bygone centuries are largely lost to the church today: a whole generation of modern Christians know next to nothing of two thousand years of rich hymnody. How, I wonder, can we be so arrogant as to let that happen? (And no, I’m not just an old man being nostalgic!).

Why do I find it so precious?

First, it’s simple and almost child-like, but certainly not childish.

Just five short verses (six in some versions). Each of them opens up a solid new thought (no endless repetition!), offering us a fresh idea to ponder, something to nourish and stimulate our faith.

Second, it’s scripture-based.

It is, in effect, a mini-sermon in song, opening up different aspects of what it means to be a Christian, and to live out in practice this wonderful Christian life.

Third, it’s God-centred, not me-centred.

Have you noticed how many songs and hymns (old as well as new, to be fair) tend to be about how I feel, rather than about what God is like? Certainly, there is a place for I/me songs, but if we over-do them we are in danger of becoming narcissistic – it’s all about me, and God is just a means to an end. And that’s very unhealthy spiritually.

Fourth, it’s realistic, not sentimental.

Verse 2 reminds us that every day we are in need of “new mercies” (there is never a moment when we are not dependent on him), that there will be “new perils” (the devil is always active!), and, yes, “new sins” needing to be forgiven (we’re still far from perfect).

Verse 4 reminds us that the Christian life often consists basically of “the trivial round, the common task” (doing the washing, perhaps, or picking up the children from school, or turning up to a boring job) - but how each such chore presents us with “a road/ To bring us daily nearer God”.

Being a Christian isn’t hallelujahs all the way! Every day we are called to find “room to deny ourselves” (self-denial, I suspect, probably isn’t the strongest suit of most of us!).

Fifth, it’s positive, encouraging and challenging.

Verse 3 reminds us that every day it’s our business – our responsibility – to “set our mind to hallow all we find”; in other words, to seek the holy presence of God in even those most routine tasks of life.

Personally, I specially appreciate the way, after four verses of meditation and reflection, the final verse becomes a prayer. I’ll spell it out at the end of this blog, but just point out here that it reminds us that when all these daily blessings and struggles are finally over we are destined for “perfect  rest above”. We all have homes here on this earth (I hope so, anyway: may God give us compassionate hearts for the truly homeless) but they are nothing compared with what awaits us!

In a nutshell… every day of our lives is an opportunity to know God better, to learn something new about him, and to trust him, however hard the way may be. It’s the same theme as the more modern song “One day at a time, sweet Jesus”, but fleshed out, I think, with deeper reflection.

May it do us all good today!

Only, O Lord, in thy dear love
fit us for perfect rest above;
and help us, this and every day,
to live more nearly as we pray. Amen

John Keble, 1792-1866

Keble also wrote another famous hymn, “Blest are the pure in heart”, likewise a wonderful model of simple but deep reflection leading to a beautiful prayer. Why not dust off that old hymn book and let it refresh you, and perhaps even pester your pastor to include it one Sunday morning?