Hang On To You
And I'll hang on to you
'Cos you're stronger and you keep me from falling
And you brighten the world with your beauty
Keep me closer I'm calling
Looking out like a little child
Holding tight when it all gets wild
And I'll hang on to you
Nothing in this world will see me through
Only you
And I'll hang on to you
Everyday I live, I give to You
And your love it is true
I feel stronger and I'm happy to know you
'Cos you shine like the sun and you're brighter
Than the darkness that's falling
Nothing in this world could ever take your place
Happiness is found in your holy face
In your warm embrace
(Written by Martin Smith ©2000 Curious? Music UK)
Just listened to this song by Delirious, one of my favourite Christian bands, and decided to post the lyrics here. I pray that I will live the wisdom of the words, that I will hang on to Christ because nothing in this world will see me through, only Him. And that every day I live, I give to Him.
Who's Delirious?
It's a British band which started out as The Cutting Edge Band, playing at a youth outreach event at its home church in Littlehampton and grew into one which is now selling millions of albums, reaching out to people with God's message of love and salvation. It wrote the songs "Do You Hear The Mountains Tremble?", "History Maker", "I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever" and "Shout To The North". There are many more good songs on its albums, like the one I highlighted above. If possible, do try to get their "live" albums - fantastic worship.
The good news: Delirious will be praising the Lord at the Festival of Praise on Aug 3 to Aug 5 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Interview with Delirious' lead vocal Martin Smith
The official Delirious website
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Malachi 3:2-3
2 “ But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness. (NKJV)
When I read the verses above, the phrase that caught my eye was "a refiner's fire". The Lord, through Malachi, gives an extremely clear picture of the day of His coming - flames of fire. When the Lord comes, He will purify the sons of Levi.
It is interesting to note that He considered the current state of his chosen people so sinful that He would also seek to purify their religious leaders, that is, the priests from the tribe of Levi or the Levites, as well. This points to the depth of sinfulness that the entire nation has sunk into.
As well, Malachi explains why even the priests had to undergo purification - the Lord accepts only offerings in righteousness. This applies to us even now, which is why we need to come before God daily in confession of our sins and in repentance so that what we offer him (our prayers, our worship, our adoration and our works) is an offering in righteousness. And knowing that He is able to accept us because of the blood that Christ shed on Calvary, not of our own works or abilities. As Matthew Henry says in his commentary: "Till we ourselves be refined and purified by the grace of God, we cannot do anything that will redound to the glory of God."
This brings to my mind the words of Psalm 24:3-6
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah (NKJV)
I also came across this wonderful story which really added a lot to my understanding of why God used that phrase "a refiner's fire" in Malachi.
There was a group of women who got together each week for a Bible study - and eventually reached the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work, and he agreed to answer any questions that may satisfy her curiosity. As she watched the silversmith, he held a chunk of concentrated silver ore over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman imagined God allowing each of us to be held in such a hot situation - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if he could leave it heating on its own or if he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he also had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For as impurities worked their way to the surface, they needed to be removed immediately as dross. Not only that, he explained, but if the silver was left even a little too long in the flames or allowed to become too hot, it would oxidize and become unworkable, causing it to require a whole other process to restore its condition and purity and reclaim its value.
Finally she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part - when I see my image reflected in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that once you accept Christ and give your life to Him, you are one of God's children. He then has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image reflected in you.
-Anonymous
References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness. (NKJV)
When I read the verses above, the phrase that caught my eye was "a refiner's fire". The Lord, through Malachi, gives an extremely clear picture of the day of His coming - flames of fire. When the Lord comes, He will purify the sons of Levi.
It is interesting to note that He considered the current state of his chosen people so sinful that He would also seek to purify their religious leaders, that is, the priests from the tribe of Levi or the Levites, as well. This points to the depth of sinfulness that the entire nation has sunk into.
As well, Malachi explains why even the priests had to undergo purification - the Lord accepts only offerings in righteousness. This applies to us even now, which is why we need to come before God daily in confession of our sins and in repentance so that what we offer him (our prayers, our worship, our adoration and our works) is an offering in righteousness. And knowing that He is able to accept us because of the blood that Christ shed on Calvary, not of our own works or abilities. As Matthew Henry says in his commentary: "Till we ourselves be refined and purified by the grace of God, we cannot do anything that will redound to the glory of God."
This brings to my mind the words of Psalm 24:3-6
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek Your face. Selah (NKJV)
I also came across this wonderful story which really added a lot to my understanding of why God used that phrase "a refiner's fire" in Malachi.
There was a group of women who got together each week for a Bible study - and eventually reached the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work, and he agreed to answer any questions that may satisfy her curiosity. As she watched the silversmith, he held a chunk of concentrated silver ore over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman imagined God allowing each of us to be held in such a hot situation - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if he could leave it heating on its own or if he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he also had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For as impurities worked their way to the surface, they needed to be removed immediately as dross. Not only that, he explained, but if the silver was left even a little too long in the flames or allowed to become too hot, it would oxidize and become unworkable, causing it to require a whole other process to restore its condition and purity and reclaim its value.
Finally she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part - when I see my image reflected in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that once you accept Christ and give your life to Him, you are one of God's children. He then has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image reflected in you.
-Anonymous
References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Seeing is believing
When life threatens to just drown us in all its huge waves of worries, troubles and tribulations, we sometimes need only to simply hold our breath, plunge in and let the waters wash over us, carry us some distance, till we resurface again to feel the radiant warmth of the beautiful sun. We look around, re-adjust our bearings and swim on from where we left off. Time is of no consequence because we will get to a place where we want to be eventually. But only if we wanted to be there in the first place.
Jose Saramago wrote about a place in his new book, Seeing. This place could have been anywhere in the world and its people anybody in the world. It was a place with a democratic government that seemed to have ruled it forever, a place with a people that seemed to have been content living under such a democratic government forever.
Something strange happened over not one day, but two days in two weeks. On the first election day, 70 per cent of the votes cast were blank. And on the second election day, held after the government declared the first election to be null and void, 83 per cent of the votes turned out blank.
Faced with such a frightening and unfamiliar scenario, the government first declared a state of emergency, indefinitely detained 500 voters selected through counter-espionage measures, put the city under a state of siege and finally produced its master stroke, withdrawing from the city and leaving it to its own devices, confident that chaos and disorder would erupt, and that the people would soon come before them, crawling on their knees and begging for forgiveness.
Life in the city, though, went on as it had done in the past, leading the government to turn increasingly ruthless in its measures to root out the source of this insurgence, and causing some in the cabinet to compare the plague of the blank votes to the plague of blindness that had struck the city four years ago.
A letter from someone in the city gave the government a lead and a breakthrough, the letter claiming that the current plague of blank votes was linked to the plague of blindness, and that both were caused by one person, a murderer. The subsequent infiltration of an investigation team into the city results in a devastating outcome.
Does such a place in Saramago's book exist today, a totalitarian government operating under the guise of democracy, backed by a subservient security and judicial structure, a government which has lost touch with its voters, a government which serves increasingly only its own interests, a government whose existence and purpose is eventually questioned, a compliant populace who were content with the status quo, an unquestioning people who never bothered about their rights, an unthinking people who atrophied into inaction and became mindless puppets, a disillusioned people who finally came to their senses.
Truth sometimes can be stranger than fiction.
Jose Saramago wrote about a place in his new book, Seeing. This place could have been anywhere in the world and its people anybody in the world. It was a place with a democratic government that seemed to have ruled it forever, a place with a people that seemed to have been content living under such a democratic government forever.
Something strange happened over not one day, but two days in two weeks. On the first election day, 70 per cent of the votes cast were blank. And on the second election day, held after the government declared the first election to be null and void, 83 per cent of the votes turned out blank.
Faced with such a frightening and unfamiliar scenario, the government first declared a state of emergency, indefinitely detained 500 voters selected through counter-espionage measures, put the city under a state of siege and finally produced its master stroke, withdrawing from the city and leaving it to its own devices, confident that chaos and disorder would erupt, and that the people would soon come before them, crawling on their knees and begging for forgiveness.
Life in the city, though, went on as it had done in the past, leading the government to turn increasingly ruthless in its measures to root out the source of this insurgence, and causing some in the cabinet to compare the plague of the blank votes to the plague of blindness that had struck the city four years ago.
A letter from someone in the city gave the government a lead and a breakthrough, the letter claiming that the current plague of blank votes was linked to the plague of blindness, and that both were caused by one person, a murderer. The subsequent infiltration of an investigation team into the city results in a devastating outcome.
Does such a place in Saramago's book exist today, a totalitarian government operating under the guise of democracy, backed by a subservient security and judicial structure, a government which has lost touch with its voters, a government which serves increasingly only its own interests, a government whose existence and purpose is eventually questioned, a compliant populace who were content with the status quo, an unquestioning people who never bothered about their rights, an unthinking people who atrophied into inaction and became mindless puppets, a disillusioned people who finally came to their senses.
Truth sometimes can be stranger than fiction.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The Selfish Giant (Oscar Wilde)
EVERY afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS
WILL BE
PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been!" he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.
"But where is your little companion?" he said: "the boy I put into the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow," said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I would like to see him!" he used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said; "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."
"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."
"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
The Oscar Wilde Collection
PS: I popped into the Popular bookstore at Thomson Plaza on Monday, when I was having dinner with my boss and my colleagues. The bookstore carried this collection of Penguin Popular Classics, with the books having a lime-green cover. I looked at the titles, and chose to buy three - The Happy Prince And Other Stories (Oscar Wilde), Tender Is The Night (F.Scott Fitzgerald) and Dubliners (James Joyce). The collection was being sold under the children's section, and each book cost only S$4.73.
I started on the Oscar Wilde book just, and when I came to The Selfish Giant, I remembered that I had read it before but this second reading was still as fresh and as moving to me as the first, and it prompted me to get out of my bed to post the story here. Hope that you will enjoy this beautiful garden of love as much as I did.
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other.
One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden," said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
TRESPASSERS
WILL BE
PROSECUTED
He was a very selfish Giant.
The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. "How happy we were there," they said to each other.
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. "Climb up! little boy," said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. "How selfish I have been!" he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. "It is your garden now, little children," said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.
"But where is your little companion?" he said: "the boy I put into the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
"We don't know," answered the children; "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow," said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. "How I would like to see him!" he used to say.
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said; "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."
One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."
"Nay!" answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love."
"Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."
And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
The Oscar Wilde Collection
PS: I popped into the Popular bookstore at Thomson Plaza on Monday, when I was having dinner with my boss and my colleagues. The bookstore carried this collection of Penguin Popular Classics, with the books having a lime-green cover. I looked at the titles, and chose to buy three - The Happy Prince And Other Stories (Oscar Wilde), Tender Is The Night (F.Scott Fitzgerald) and Dubliners (James Joyce). The collection was being sold under the children's section, and each book cost only S$4.73.
I started on the Oscar Wilde book just, and when I came to The Selfish Giant, I remembered that I had read it before but this second reading was still as fresh and as moving to me as the first, and it prompted me to get out of my bed to post the story here. Hope that you will enjoy this beautiful garden of love as much as I did.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Reflections on Malachi 3:1
1 “Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the LORD of hosts. (NKJV)
This verse got me extremely excited because I never knew Malachi had prophesied the coming of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
I was overjoyed to read this verse because this was written 400 years before Christ, and it was fulfilled.
The title of "My Messenger" deserves special notice because there were so many people stamped with this mark - Malachi, the one who wrote the book, John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for the Lord, and finally Jesus Christ, the one who would bring the covenant of God.
John the Baptist would be the messenger who will pave the way for the Lord. From reading Mark 1:1-5, John's arrival fulfils both Malachi 3:1 as well as Isaiah 40:3. John came baptising in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And he also preached that there would come One after him, who would be mightier than him, and One who would baptise with the Holy Spirit - foretelling the arrival of Christ.
Isaiah 40:3-5 (NKJV)
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“ Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert[a]
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Jesus Christ would be the one bringing the covenant of God, one that would be confirmed and sealed in not only his preaching, but also his blood and his crucifixion and thereafter his resurrection.
Christ himself declared that He was the fulfillment of scripture about the coming Messiah in Luke 4:17-21, when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth.
Luke 4:17-21 (NKJV)
The scripture that Christ was citing in the above verses was Isaiah 61:1.
What a beautiful description of the ministry of Christ:
- To preach good tidings to the poor (telling them of the good news of an abundant eternal kingdom that is theirs to possess);
- To heal the brokenhearted (promising them the Lamb who will shepherd them and guide them to living waters and wipe away every tear from their eyes);
- To proclaim liberty to the captives (washing away all their sins by His blood and setting them free from the power of sin and the wages of sin in death and from all condemnation);
- To proclaim recovery of sight to the blind (bringing them from darkness into His marvellous light);
- To set at liberty those who are oppressed (freeing them from the bondages of spiritual entrapment and sin); and
- To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (heralding the day of vengeance of the Lord, His second coming which will result in judgment).
What a wonderful hope we have in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by repenting of our sins and turning to Him!
References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the LORD of hosts. (NKJV)
This verse got me extremely excited because I never knew Malachi had prophesied the coming of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
I was overjoyed to read this verse because this was written 400 years before Christ, and it was fulfilled.
The title of "My Messenger" deserves special notice because there were so many people stamped with this mark - Malachi, the one who wrote the book, John the Baptist, the one who would prepare the way for the Lord, and finally Jesus Christ, the one who would bring the covenant of God.
John the Baptist would be the messenger who will pave the way for the Lord. From reading Mark 1:1-5, John's arrival fulfils both Malachi 3:1 as well as Isaiah 40:3. John came baptising in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And he also preached that there would come One after him, who would be mightier than him, and One who would baptise with the Holy Spirit - foretelling the arrival of Christ.
Isaiah 40:3-5 (NKJV)
3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“ Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert[a]
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Jesus Christ would be the one bringing the covenant of God, one that would be confirmed and sealed in not only his preaching, but also his blood and his crucifixion and thereafter his resurrection.
Christ himself declared that He was the fulfillment of scripture about the coming Messiah in Luke 4:17-21, when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth.
Luke 4:17-21 (NKJV)
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,[a]
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”[b]
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The scripture that Christ was citing in the above verses was Isaiah 61:1.
What a beautiful description of the ministry of Christ:
- To preach good tidings to the poor (telling them of the good news of an abundant eternal kingdom that is theirs to possess);
- To heal the brokenhearted (promising them the Lamb who will shepherd them and guide them to living waters and wipe away every tear from their eyes);
- To proclaim liberty to the captives (washing away all their sins by His blood and setting them free from the power of sin and the wages of sin in death and from all condemnation);
- To proclaim recovery of sight to the blind (bringing them from darkness into His marvellous light);
- To set at liberty those who are oppressed (freeing them from the bondages of spiritual entrapment and sin); and
- To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (heralding the day of vengeance of the Lord, His second coming which will result in judgment).
What a wonderful hope we have in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by repenting of our sins and turning to Him!
References:
1. Matthew Henry's Commentary of the Bible
2. John Calvin's Commentary of the Bible
Monday, April 2, 2007
Rise up my love, my fair one, come away
Love
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.
"A guest," I answer’d "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"
Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.
- George Herbert (17th Century Anglican poet)
I came across this poem when I was searching online for some readings on the character of God. How beautifully the words tell of God's love and grace, and His service in His crucifixion.
I was curious about George Herbert so I did an online search on him. Bartleby.com has a detailed account of his life at http://www.bartleby.com/15/2/21.html
I haven't finished reading the 28 A4-sized pages of his life but will update in this post once I get a grip of what he's like and how he defined his relationship with God.
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.
"A guest," I answer’d "worthy to be here";
Love said, "You shall be he."
"I, the unkind, the ungrateful? ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee."
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
"Who made the eyes but I?"
Lord, but I have marr'd them; let my shame
Go where it doth deserve."
"And know you not," says Love "who bore the blame?"
"My dear, then I will serve."
"You must sit down," says Love "and taste my meat."
So I did sit and eat.
- George Herbert (17th Century Anglican poet)
I came across this poem when I was searching online for some readings on the character of God. How beautifully the words tell of God's love and grace, and His service in His crucifixion.
I was curious about George Herbert so I did an online search on him. Bartleby.com has a detailed account of his life at http://www.bartleby.com/15/2/21.html
I haven't finished reading the 28 A4-sized pages of his life but will update in this post once I get a grip of what he's like and how he defined his relationship with God.
What is God like?
After going through Malachi 2:17, I wanted to look up some verses that would reaffirm God's character and His attributes. I went online and came to this "What is God like?" bible study by William C. Nichols. There are so many verses in the Bible that tell of God's character and I thought I would list down those highlighted by Nichols as a start. His list is not an exhaustive one.
1. God is our powerful majestic sovereign creator
Colossians 1:15-18
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Isaiah 40:12-26
12 Who has measured the waters[a] in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?
15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.
21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.
24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.
25 “ To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.
2. God is loving
1 John 4:8
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Psalm 36:5-7
5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
Lamentations 3:21-23
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
3. God is compassionate and patient
Deuteronomy 7:9-10
9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,[a] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
4. God is perfectly righteous and just
Deuteronomy 32:4
4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He.
Psalm 45:6-7
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
Exodus 34:7
7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Psalm 7:9-11
9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
10 My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
5. God is holy and pure
Isaiah 6:1-3
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
Psalm 99:5
5 Exalt the LORD our God,
And worship at His footstool—
He is holy.
Psalm 5:5-6
5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
Isaiah 57:15
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“ I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
6. God is a God of great wrath because He is holy
Romans 1:18-20
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Nahum 1:2-7
2 God is jealous, and the LORD avenges;
The LORD avenges and is furious.
The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries,
And He reserves wrath for His enemies;
3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
The LORD has His way
In the whirlwind and in the storm,
And the clouds are the dust of His feet.
4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry,
And dries up all the rivers.
Bashan and
And the flower of
5 The mountains quake before Him,
The hills melt,
And the earth heaves[a] at His presence,
Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
6 Who can stand before His indignation?
And who can endure the fierceness of His anger?
His fury is poured out like fire,
And the rocks are thrown down by Him.
7 The LORD is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Hebrews 10:26-31
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord.[b]“The LORD will judge His people.”[c] And again, 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Isaiah 55:8-9
8 “ For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
9 “ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Matthew 10:28
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Reference:
http://www.intoutreach.org/God.html
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