Remember the Sabbath Day

Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.

Which day?
Let's sort out first which day of the week is the sabbath day.  In Judaism, the sabbath is Saturday - which starts on Friday evening at 6pm and continues for 24 hours. Christians have transferred the idea of the sabbath to Sunday, the first day of the week, because Jesus set this in motion.  This was the day on which He rose from the dead (John 20:1-18). All eight post-resurrection appearances took place on the first day, either His day of resurrection or the following Sunday. The seventh day is a reminder of God’s work in creation: the first day is a weekly reminder of God’s work in redemption. Every Sunday is an Easter for the Christian.  The early church recognised this change and kept the first day of the week as a distinct and different day (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:2)

Still relevant?

Is the fourth commandment relevant to us today, and if so, how should we treat it?

God gave this law to the Hebrews as they wandered through the desert during their 40-year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land of Canaan. (Exodus 20)

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work,  but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 

Seven is a number which denotes perfection and completeness, and is used in the Bible many times with this underlying meaning.  God used the backdrop of his creation of the world in 6 days, and resting on the seventh, to tell his people to do the same - to have one day of rest in seven.  It's interesting that after the French Revolution an attempt was made to metricate the calendar and have a ten-day week.  The experiment failed and was eventually abandoned in favour of returning to a seven-day week. 

The commandment about the sabbath is more detailed than all the others, covering four verses in Exodus 20, and is the only one which begins with the word 'remember'.   All too easily we forget things which should be important, and one of the things which has tended to wither in recent years, even among Christians, is meaningful observance of this commandment.

Jewish observance

Sabbath observance for orthodox Jews is legalistic and restrictive: one of their websites includes the following information :

Climbing a tree is forbidden, because it may lead to breaking twigs or tearing leaves, which could be construed as “reaping” (i.e., separating part of a growing plant from its source). Other activities that by extension are prohibited on the Sabbath include the following:

• Adding fresh water to a vase of cut flowers (sowing — any activity that causes or furthers plant growth).
• Making a bouquet of flowers (making a sheaf).
• Separating good fruit from spoiled fruit (winnowing, selecting, sifting).).
• Cutting hair or nails (shearing sheep-removing outer covering of a human or animal).
• Applying makeup (dyeing).
• Drawing blood for a blood test (slaughtering).
• Rubbing soap to make lather, applying face cream, polishing shoes, using scouring powder for utensils or other surfaces (scraping-smoothing the surface of any material by grinding, rubbing, or polishing).
• Sharpening a pencil (cutting to shape-altering the size or shape of an item to make it better for human use).
• Painting, drawing, typing (writing, making durable marks on a durable material).
• Tearing through lettering on a package (erasing).
• Opening an umbrella or unfolding a screen (building).
• Smoking a cigarette, using the telephone (kindling a fire).
• Switching off an electric light (extinguishing a fire).
• Setting or winding a clock or watch (finishing off).

Jesus's clarification.

Jesus took a very different view:      One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.  The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”  He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?  In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”  (Mark 2.23)

Jesus's teaching is clear: sabbath observance is meant to be a gift to us, not a restriction upon us.  Resting one day a week is a privilege to be encouraged, not a nuisance designed to enslave us.

The Lord's Day Observance Society  (now named 'One Day Ministries') campaigned for many years to protect shop employees from being obliged to work in supermarkets  on a Sunday, and this turned into the 'Keep Sunday Special' campaign.  It became heated and politically controversial, with strong arguments being put forward on both sides. It finally resulted in supermarkets being allowed to open on Sundays but with restricted hours of opening. 

One Day Ministries has an informative web-page on the fourth commandment: 
 https://www.dayone.org.uk/home/what-s-wrong-with-britain/fourth-commandment/

My personal application

Keeping the sabbath involves both rest and dedication to God.  'Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.'  My mid-teens were academically pressurized - I went to a public day-school which included Saturday morning school, followed by three hours of weekend homework. 

A fellow pupil somewhat older than myself said in our Bible Class (Crusaders) that he had decided never to do schoolwork on a Sunday, as he wanted to have a day of rest which included coming to Crusaders and/or church .  I was impressed and decided to follow his example. I have continued to do so for the past 60+  years.  As a schoolteacher I would not mark books or prepare lessons on a Sunday.   When I came to live in Neston I acquired a fairly big vegetable garden and attempted to keep it well-cultivated.  But it was heavy-going and to me it was rather a chore, so I decided against gardening on Sundays.  Others, who love gardening as a relaxation from their daily grind at the office might see this in exactly the opposite way. If gardening is a relaxation, then it can count as rest.

Poulsom's farm.

The field opposite our house used to be farmed by Christopher Poulsom. Chris had excellent relationships with other local farmers, and also with his employees. The neighbouring farmers would always help one another at haymaking time, but Christopher, because of his Christian priorities would not do farmwork on Sundays if it could wait until Monday, and would not demand work from his employees on Sunday either if it could be avoided. Chris once told me of a Sunday when many other farmers were haymaking as they expected a rainstorm on the Monday. Christopher went to chapel on the Sunday, leaving half the field harvested and half still undone. In due course the rain came down in torrents, soaking the part of the field which had been harvested, but leaving the other part of the field completely untouched. It was a great example of God honouring those who honour him. 

Chris teaching my first wife Lindsay how to drive the tractor

A picnic during harvesting

Is God in control?

In my blog entry dated 3^rd May 2020 I said "It's not so clear to us yet why we are suffering a worldwide pandemic today, but it is awe-inspiring to consider that God knows, and is ultimately in control."  This was written in the context of the ten plagues in Egypt which preceded the Exodus, and which were clearly foreknown by, and controlled by God for a specific purpose.  I'd like to pursue and clarify my comment by emphasizing the word "ultimately" in the statement.  Throughout history there has been a war going on between good and evil, and ultimately God will have the victory. This might be a better way of putting things than saying God is in control, because it is quite clear that God has ceded some of his control to us.   We are not puppets or androids, wired up to live our lives on a pre-programmed course. Nor are we accidental products of a materialistic universe which has no creator and in which our random acts are ultimately meaningless. 

Freewill

We are taught from the very beginning of the Bible  that human beings have been given free will by our creator.  (for my comments on the value of the Bible,see my blog entry of December 10^th 2019)  We can choose our course of action. This is what is meant when we are told that mankind was made in the image of God (1).  God has graciously shared his freedom to make choices and enabled us to do so as well. In order for this freedom to have meaning, there has to be the availability of a choice between right and wrong actions.  Way back in pre-history the power of evil was ceded to Satan , though not permanently. For good reason, Satan is described by Jesus as The prince of this world,(2)  because of the (temporary) power he has been permitted to retain over world events and occurrences.

The first humans
The very first humans  were given freedom of choice. Whether the story of Adam and Eve is literally or allegorically true, the message is the same: They were able to obey or disobey God, and they chose to disobey.  They pursued the same popular but regrettable choice as Frank Sinatra  - "I did it my way" !

Job

The book of Job is the story of a wealthy and honourable man who lived in ancient times, very probably before 1000 BC.  It's a story of personal disaster on a huge scale, though it has a happy ending.  In chapter 1 we are told that God deliberately allowed Satan to have a measure of control over Job's life - indeed to do Job great harm - in order that Satan might see that Job would remain faithful to God throughout his ordeals. This would prove that Satan ( a mere fallen angel who in no way has the same power as God) does not have the power to break Job's spirit.  I believe we see Job's commitment reflected over and over again in modern times when Christian believers keep faithful to their Lord despite wicked and unjust treatment at the hands of extremist groups and of anti-Christian governments.

Jesus

The ultimate example of this battle between good and evil is of course the story of Jesus, who did no wrong yet was put to death by execution at the hands of wicked men.  Foul wickedness was perpetrated, yet what follows it is the story of Easter: surely the supreme evidence that God is ultimately in control.

The challenge to you and me is this: God has ceded the power of choice to us. Which choice shall we make?  Christian believers are instructed to put on armour, because we too are part of the war against evil.  This evil might be man-made (think World War 2, or man's continuing destruction of the environment) or it might be natural (a pandemic, earthquake or tsunami). Whatever the evil, we are given the choice of whether to support evil, resist evil and work to mitigate its effects, or lazily do nothing.  St Paul challenges us: 

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (3)   

It's a battle described in Bunyan's famous allegory Pilgrim's Progress. (For more on this see my blog entry dated January 6^th 2020) .  The choice is ours: we have control of what we shall do with our own lives, but God assures us that the victory will one day be his.  The many acts of goodness and sometimes of heroism which we have seen during these weeks of pandemic are evidence that many have been making good choices.

A favourite hymn of yesteryear contains this same bible-based theme of  the warfare in which we are engaged.  It was written by Frances Ridley Havergal and was inspired by Moses' challenge in Exodus 32.26 :

Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King?
Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe?
Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?
By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!

Not for weight of glory, nor for crown and palm,
Enter we the army, raise the warrior psalm;
But for love that claimeth lives for whom He died:
He whom Jesus saveth marches on His side.
By Thy love constraining, by Thy grace divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!

Jesus, Thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem,
But with Thine own lifeblood, for Thy diadem;
With Thy blessing filling each who comes to Thee,
Thou hast made us willing, Thou hast made us free.
By Thy grand redemption, by Thy grace divine,
 

We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!

Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe,
But the King’s own army none can overthrow;
’Round His standard ranging, vict’ry is secure,
For His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure.
Joyfully enlisting, by Thy grace divine,
 

We are on the Lord’s side—Saviour, we are Thine!

Chosen to be soldiers, in an alien land,
Chosen, called, and faithful, for our Captain’s band;
In the service royal, let us not grow cold,
Let us be right loyal, noble, true and bold.
Master, wilt Thou keep us, by Thy grace divine,
Always on the Lord’s side—Saviour, always Thine!

(1) Genesis 1.27

(2) John 12.31 and 16.11

(3) Ephesians 6.10

The Throne

Here are two of the things I have done recently during the covid19 lockdown.

• With Wendy I have watched the film 'Exodus, Gods and Kings'
• I've also been reading, along with our church's virtual housegroup, the Book of Revelation, and have reached chapter 4.

Exodus, Gods and Kings is a stunning film in terms of CGI effects, and brings ancient Egypt dramatically alive. 

(However, I wouldn't commend it for accuracy: it deviates several times quite unnecessarily from the story as told in the Bible. 
I would like to have said to the producer "If it isn't broken, don't mend it!"  The original story is quite compelling enough without any need to make changes to it).

The challenge which Moses made to Pharaoh - the leader of the greatest nation on earth at the time, was quite extraordinary and bold.  "Let my people go."  Release all the Hebrew slaves and allow them to leave Egypt.   As we know, Pharaoh refused, and ten great plagues came upon Egypt.   At this time of the covid19 pandemic, it is helpful to be reminded that plagues are absolutely and totally under the control of God. With hindsight we can see clearly why God sent the plagues on Egypt, and how carefully orchestrated they were.   It all happened for a reason. It's not so clear to us yet why we are suffering a worldwide pandemic today, but it is awe-inspiring to consider that God knows, and is ultimately in control.  It's at such a time as this that turning to God, which Pharaoh did not do, would be such a good idea.   

 In the film, Pharaoh in his frustration shouts out "I am God".  Doubtless he thought he was, in the way that so many absolute rulers down through the ages have done.

When I was reading Revelation ch 4, I came upon this verse:

There before me was a throne in heaven, with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. 

The context makes it clear that this was the throne of God himself. Pharaoh's throne in ancient Egypt must have been the most magnificent throne in the world at the time, occupied by an autocratic ruler.  But the throne in heaven was, and is, occupied by one who draws our attention to the rainbow encircling it. Why?   This description is in the last book of the Bible.  In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we can find the answer. It wasn't a plague or pandemic that came - but something equally appalling: a worldwide flood.The description of the reason for the flood and its onset are described in chapter six.  The sad fact was that only Noah and his family were at one with God: everyone else had turned away from God and were doing their own thing.   After the flood was over,

God said to Noah and his sons, "I now establish my covenant with you and your descendants and with every living creature…  Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood. Never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth. I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you and all life on earth. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds I will see it and remember this covenant.  (Genesis 9)

The rainbow encircling the throne is a sign and reminder that the almighty creator of the world, (who can do whatever he wishes with his creation), limits himself by his own promise that he will never again destroy the world by a flood. It's a covenant of love and grace, in startling contrast to the attitude of Pharaoh, whose only wishes were to retain his slaves, his wealth and his prestige. 

A final thought: there is a big contrast between the Flood and the current pandemic: the flood killed everyone who had rebelled against their creator, and a new beginning was made, based on one loyal family.  Today's pandemic is nowhere near  killing everybody, and already we see the first signs of  new beginnings as the common danger brings out the best in so many people.  

PS   There is a good article in 'Christian Today' about turning to God in a time of crisis, at  
https://www.christiantoday.com/article/the-antidote-for-despair/134788.htm

Armchair critics

There's a lot of criticism in the press and the social media every day about the way in which the Covid19 crisis is being handled in the UK. If criticism has a positive purpose in pointing towards policy adjustments which will improve the situation, then that is all to the good. 

 

But a lot of criticism is not like that. We have to accept that this pandemic is a new situation where those in office are grappling with the unknown. We in our armchairs cannot know what it is like to carry the immensely heavy burden of decision-making in a rapidly evolving situation. When critics condemn the mistakes made up till now by politicians and their advisors, they are most likely benefitting by the fact that mistakes and errors of judgement are always easier to spot with hindsight. Hindsight is a luxury which should not be abused, especially if it only serves to make the public more anxious and worried by reading about the incompetence, carelessness or unwisdom of their leaders. Different experts have differing opinions about how the crisis has been managed. Some are likely to have been more right than others - but it's far easier to assess with hindsight who was right in the past, than it is to know with certainty who will be right with their advice about future policy.

So it is counterproductive to condemn those who made poor decisions in the past, if all it achieves is to generate worry and uncertainty about the competence of our present leaders and advisers. For better or worse we voted our leaders into office, quite recently, and we can't change that in the short run. For better or worse we have scientific and medical advisors who have been regarded as experts in their field, and we cannot know whether the situation would be improved or harmed if they were replaced. So if we feel like being armchair critics, let us beware of raising anxiety levels, which simply adds fuel to the crisis.

HOW TO BE SAFE

In this extraordinary time when the media feed us with daily stories of sickness and death throughout the world, it's all too easy to feel insecure and worried.  The risks for some are particularly heavy, especially for those who work on the front line for the NHS and its equivalents worldwide.  From a practical point of view no-one is safe.

But come with me to have a look at four stories which tell of the ultimate and only source of safety. The coronavirus is by no means the first plague to have threatened mankind.

(1)  The Ten Plagues. We've all heard the story of the ten plagues in Egypt, culminating in the pivotal event in the history of the Jews - the Exodus. Who was safe when the final plague did away with the eldest son in every Egyptian family,  and ultimately when the whole of Pharaoh's army perished in the Red Sea?  The only safe families were those who, because of their belief in God, obeyed strict instructions. The angel of death passed over them (hence the expression 'The Passover') and later the whole tribe passed over the dried-up bed of the Red Sea to safety.

(2) David and Goliath.  When David, a young lad, offered to take up the challenge of the Philistines and fight their giant soldier Goliath in a duel, King Saul said "You can't possibly do it!"  "But I can" said David. 

"One day when I was watching my father's sheep, a lion grabbed a lamb and I went after it and struck the lion and he dropped the lamb. Then he came after me but I caught him by his beard and killed him. Another time I killed a bear with my hands. And I'll do the same to this wicked giant, for he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who saved me from the jaws of the lion and the bear will save me from the sword of the giant."   

We know how the story ended. But where did David's confidence come from? How did he know he would be safe, when the odds were stacked so heavily against him?  The answer stares at us from what David said. He knew he could trust in God.  It 's interesting to reflect that David had spent years as a shepherd in wild land, learning his skills. During that time he cannot have known that those very skills would one day be used to change the destiny of his nation.

(3) The furnace.  The Jews were in exile in Babylon. Three friends of Daniel, named Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to bow down to worship a statue of the Emperor Nebuchadnezzar. As a penalty of this refusal they were threatened with death by burning.  Their respectful but firm response in instructive: "We won't do it! If you throw us into the furnace, our God is able to save us, and He will. But even if He doesn't, we will not worship your gods, sir, nor bow to your gold statue."  
 

Who is the fourth person? Read the bible story to find out.

 The furnace was heated up to such a temperature that it killed the nearby soldiers on duty. The three men were flung into the furnace but escaped unscathed.  Again, it's clear why they were safe. Even in those days, perhaps before there was any clear understanding of an afterlife, these men were confident enough in their God to know that one way or another they would be safe. And they were. (And, in the course of time Nebuchadnezzar himself, the greatest emperor of his time, became a believer in God, realising that his own power was as nothing compared to the power of God).

(4) The Lion's den.   Nebuchadnezzar eventually knew the truth, but his successors didn't.  Daniel lived on into old age (probably he was 80 by now) in exile in Babylon, and those who hated believers in God concocted a scheme to have Daniel done away with. Daniel always regularly prayed to God, so they persuaded the king, Darius,  to make a law that for 30 days, anyone who prayed to anyone other than the king would be thrown into a den of lions.   

Inevitably Daniel  was caught and sentenced to this gory punishment. We know what happened. Daniel was as safe in the lions' pit as he would have been anywhere else.  This was such a stunning outcome that Darius, like his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar, became a believer in God.

(5) I'd like to round off this quartet of stories about where safety lies,  by returning to David, who found himself in 'lockdown' when he was fleeing from Saul, and again later in life when he was fleeing from Absalom. Many of his writings express his feelings whilst in great danger. But those dangers never caused him to abandon his faith in God. In Psalm 61 he looked for safety under God's protection. He said

"Lead me to the rock which is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent for ever, and take refuge in the shelter of your wings."

There are four word-pictures in this about God's protection -  

a rock: rugged strength and stability; 
  
a tower - purpose-built protection;  

a tent - in David's time the tent, or tabernacle was the house of God; 

wings - the sort of shelter which a mother hen gives to her chicks.

(6) I don’t want to be misunderstood. Inevitably the dreadful coronavirus will continue to afflict and in some cases kill thousands of people worldwide, whether they trust in God or not. But the astounding promise of Jesus that "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"  gives us a security which no-one else can give. Centuries before Jesus uttered these words, those heroes of the Old Testament somehow had an inner conviction of where true safety lay.

(1) Exodus 8-14

(2) 1 Samuel 17

(3) Daniel 3

(4) Daniel 6.  (…and in this story a prophetic prayer made by Solomon 466 years earlier was fulfilled - see 1 Kings 8.^{30, 46-50)}

(5) Psalm 61.^2-4

(6) John 3.¹⁶

The Neston horse-drawn tramway

(All pictures and maps can be enlarged if you click on them)

Many years ago, stone was mined at Spring Quarry - immediately underneath the present MoD buildings - and transported to Corsham Station on a horse-drawn tramway. (All the stone extraction in Corsham was from 'quarries' even though they were underground).

Stone wharf at Corsham Station

The tramway crossed from Greenhill into Spring Lane, before curving off to the loading bays to the West of Spring Lane.

In 1988, when the quarry in Park Lane was a stone museum, they held an open day and laid a stretch of track to demonstrate the use of the tramway. 

Then in 2024 two stone waggons were renovated by the members of the Brunel Shed in Potley, and placed near the A4 in Pickwick: 

 

 

Everything has now disappeared, though I managed to photograph some of the old rail from the track, now being used as a washing line pole in a Greenhill garden - only 20 yards or so from where the tramway used to run.

Two more pictures supplied to me from the collections of Derek Hawkins and Julian Carosi: 
 

The tramway in Spring Lane, Neston, where it curved off to the loading bays

 

At the corner of Potley Lane - tramway visible on the left

 Another tramway also led to the wharf at Corsham Station by crossing Potley Bridge. The track led down to the wharf at the right of the picture.  Potley Bridge is a Grade II listed building, as it dates from the pioneering stage of railway development and is a rare example of an early flying arch bridge constructed to a design by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

 

In the following map I have superimposed roughly the layout of roads in the area to show where the underground quarry workings are in relation to the surface. (Click on the map to enlarge it)

The following reproductions are from a quarry map dated 1900…..

A broken Hallelujah

Our friend Tammy from South Africa drew our attention to a recent music video of  Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' .   The choirmaster at Roedean School in South Africa put together brilliantly and movingly a video of the choir singing this haunting song after the school had closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Somehow he used technology to film the choristers individually and then put them together as though they were performing in the school.  It was deeply moving to see them singing together in harmony whilst we saw the empty rooms and corridors.  I recommend that you watch the video before reading on: if you search for 'Hallelujah' on Youtube and choose the Roedean School version, it's easy to find. 

Or copy and paste this link into your browser:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y51WWrYodI&list=RD3y51WWrYodI&start_radio=1

Listening to the strange words of this song I wondered what they really meant. These are the lyrics:

Well, I heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
You say I took the name in vain

I don't even know the name

But if I did, well really what's it to ya?

There's a blaze of light in every word

It doesn't matter which you heard

The holy or the broken Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
I did my best, it wasn't much

I couldn't feel so I tried to touch

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya

And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the lord of song

With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...

Well, baby, I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor (you know)
I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
 
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
Well, there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me, do ya?
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
 
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...
 
Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya
And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
 
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah

 

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen was a Canadian Jew - his surname indicates his Jewish background:  Cohen, the most common surname in Israel, means 'priest' and represents an ancient biblical priestly heritage.  Just what sort of a faith Cohen himself had isn't easy to pin down, though towards the end of this song he seems to express a struggle to retain a faith that he once had, or thought he had.  As he struggles with belief versus unbelief, he still retains some sort of desire to worship.     His thoughts expressed in this song have clear links to the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament).

 

David the harpist - window at Roedean School, SA

The song  looks at David, the musician and man of God, who despite his deep faith in God is tempted by Bathsheba and falls into sin. 

 

David spies on Bathsheba - painting by Tissot

Then there is the parallel story of Samson, another man dedicated to God, who falls into the same sexual temptation and is seduced by Delilah. 

 

Samson and Delilah - painting by Van Dyck

 Both are imperfect human beings - (aren't we all?) - yet both are repentant and both want to continue to worship God  -  hence their use of 'Hallelujah', which roughly translates as 'Praise the Lord'.  Though the song doesn't mention it, that's where every believer in God stands. We are all sinners - all fault-ridden individuals. It's only by the grace of our creator that we are acceptable to Him.  It's very appropriate therefore that our praise to Him is described as 'a broken Hallelujah'.

The sinful actions of David and of Samson are recorded in the Bible and we can see in their stories that their actions had terrible results.* They certainly paid a heavy price for their behaviour.  Yet they repented, and David's moving repentance is recorded in Psalm 51 , where David says "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."

The Bible is a treasure-house of stories which tells us repeatedly that if we sincerely want a relationship with our maker, he is willing to set aside our imperfections, our inadequacies and our stumblings, provided we acknowledge and repent of them. We can turn to Him and not be turned away.  It seems to me that Leonard Cohen was trying to grasp this when he wrote   Hallelujah!

*  2 Samuel 11 and Judges 16

There's a much more detailed analysis of the lyrics of Hallelujah at

  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-leonard-cohens-hallelujah-brilliantly-mingled-sex-religion-194516/

Covidia

I was about to write a blog entry relating to the coronavirus pandemic, but discovered that Canon J  John has written, probably much better than I could, his thoughts on the issue which are much the same as mine.  So I'd like to share his thoughts with you rather than writing my own blog entry on this:

 

Comfort in Covidia

I imagine I’m not alone in feeling that I have been mysteriously pushed through the doors of some magical wardrobe and now, in a state of severe bewilderment, find myself gazing around a strange, unwelcoming landscape. It is definitely not C.S. Lewis’s Narnia; this hostile desert – which I take the opportunity of naming Covidia – is much more alien and daunting. Yet the door is closed behind us and, to use the old words of the King James Bible, you and I find ourselves ‘strangers in a strange land’ (Exodus 2:22). What we face is threatening and even frightening. Nevertheless, I’m comforted by the fact that many of the followers of Jesus have trod this path before. Although we find the present COVID-19 pandemic unusual, it’s worth remembering that if you look back over history it was a rare generation that didn’t have to grapple with such things as the Black Death, plague, cholera or the like. Other men and women of faith have crossed this discouraging landscape before us.

One man who did is the great reformer Martin Luther. In 1527, at a time when bubonic plague was rampaging across Germany with many fatalities, he was asked the question as to whether it was right to run away from it. Never a man to give a short answer when a long one would do, he wrote an entire booklet in response. Originally given the less than cheering title Whether to Flee From Death, it was later published under the slightly more positive name Whether One May Flee From A Deadly Plague. The full text is found at https://davenantinstitute.org/whether-one-may-flee-from-a-deadly-plague/ and has much of interest. In one paragraph Luther expresses his own position like this:

‘I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbour needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely, as stated above. See, this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.’

There’s a lot to ponder here and let me offer you three wise principles from it that still hold true.

Principle 1 Learn wisely
In fact, for its time there is here a good example of what you might call ‘sanitary sanity’. Luther intends adopting a strategy of what we would call self-isolation as much as possible and of avoiding going where he is not needed. His reasoning is, very reasonably, that he knows that he could become infected and therefore pass on the plague to others. His comment about that which might ‘tempt God’ refers to presumably the sort of situation where someone claims divine protection and then recklessly runs into a situation demanding God to protect them. Significantly, despite the passing of nearly 500 years, this remains good guidance: we should pay attention to the suggestions of medical experts and think of minimising the spread of the disease to us or to others. COVID-19 has claimed enough victims – try not to give it any more.

Principle 2 Live faithfully
We can no doubt identify with Luther praying for God’s protection but his comments on his own death probably take us beyond our comfort zone. Luther has a deep, calm and commendable trust that if his heavenly Father does decide to take him in death, then so be it; the key thing is that he has done his duty and not put anybody else at risk. Many of us have a faith that asks nothing more than ‘Lord, keep me safe today’. Luther sees his whole life in the hands of God. Indeed, his perspective on death is helpful: he sees it not as an act of bitter tragedy or a demonic victory but simply as an event where God ‘takes him’. Underlying all the actions Luther intends to take is his deep faith in Christ.

Principle 3 Love richly
The question that Luther was addressing is whether someone in a position of church responsibility should flee from peril. To summarise his answer: if you have no duties you can leave, but if your neighbour – and here, following Jesus, he means anybody we are in contact with – needs you, you should stay. Actually, in days of a global pandemic, fleeing disease makes little sense but the principle of being lovingly concerned for those around us remains completely valid. One of the problems with epidemics is that there is always a temptation to ‘look after Number One’ and self-isolation heightens it. We tend to make some sort of physical or psychological bunker and go and hide away inside. While this makes medical sense, it brings its own perils. Jesus asked, ‘What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?’ (Matthew 16:26 NLT). In the same vein we might ask, ‘What do I benefit if we survive this epidemic but, in the process, harm our eternal soul?’ We are to love God with all that we have but also our neighbour.

The bleak landscape of Covidia through which we must travel is very much uncharted territory. Yet we are not the first to travel it; Luther and countless others have gone before us and, if it’s any encouragement, the reformer himself outlived the plague and kept going for another 19 years before God finally ‘took him’.

With that image of a sterile and ominous landscape before us I am reminded of the first few lines of what is the best known of all Welsh hymns, ‘Guide me, O thou great Redeemer, Pilgrim through this barren land; I am weak, but thou art mighty; Hold me with thy powerful hand.’ Here we have the greatest of encouragements. As we travel through this difficult time, we, who have put our faith in Christ, know that he travels alongside us. Jesus is Emmanuel, the one who is ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). And in our harsh new world, that is the greatest comfort of all.

J.John
Reverend Canon
www.canonjjohn.com