SUNDAY READING

Taranaki Daily News, 30 August 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING

By

A. H. COLLINS

A BOTTLE IN THE SMOKE. ‘‘l am become like a oottlo in the smoke: Yet do I not forget My . statues.”- —Psalm CXIX, 83. The smiling optimist who first coinid this , quaint saying is a dim figure in the misty pact. We' speak of “the Psalms of David” and this psalm may be Davidie, but of this we cannot be sure, ancT it does not really matter. The author is unknown, and of. course "We know little, very little, of hie home, and the shaping hands that moulded his ■ life, and disciplined his powers. Our ■ conception of the man must be gleaned from the . internal evidence of 'the

psalm-itself,'and. .even tlii&./mtisttmot . . .Jboj; pressed' too hard. One commentator i‘j '<;opdudes. that, thetavithor was-a young ■ man because in- vtfive it .ia. written: •‘'Wherewithal shall a. ...-young, man • ' ■cleanse his ways.” . Anotlier exppsittir is equally, sure that ,the. ■poet-’was; i! bld an<i ■■ experienced bocaaiHe .;iri ex- ■; claifns : .'.‘How many’are thS /days of I Thy servant;?’’. But jf instead/of, stl'ess--1 ingz isolated and' 'casual word's, and ; phrases, we scan the main structure of the song,- there are two or . three facts •which are . neither fanciful nor trivial.

Obviously we are dealing with'a man -, who had a profound regard for the .Word-, of God, as he knew it; His Bible i was slender and fragmentary, compared i with our own. The major and minor . prophets had not been born; the Psalms , did not circulate; and the earliest parts ; of the New Testament did not appear . till centuries later. But he knew and prized and loved the, little he had.. He , describes- it. as “sweeter than honey,” d as ‘‘more prized than gold,”- as “a light j to his feet,” and a solace to his heart. r [ In his eyes “the law of -the Lord” is ! full of beauty and his prayer .is for .! light. and .‘strength to walk in it and obey< its. precepts. REVERENCE FOR TRUTH.' ' • < ' • ‘ A second thing to note is that the SPsahn is an acrostic. “It is the 'longest . and the most artificial of the whole col- , Sections of the Psalms. It m divided into .2 strophes, each one ■with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew ■alphabet in regular order. Each.strophe , contains eight yerses, and each verse, begins with the same letter, and the number of the strophes is determined by the number of the Hebrew letters.” That, is to say, the Psalm is an acroetic. But the author was “an original,” and though his style is “whimsical,” he was one of those rare souls who see truth with their own eyes and tell what they see in their own language. His reverence for truth was deep, though it took an eccentric form. .Others composed Bible acrostics, but here is a man whose love for “the law of the Lord” prompted him to compose a psalm with as many stanzas as there are letters in the Hebrew tongue, and each, of the IT# verses has a choice name for, the Divine Law! But think of the enormous difficulty! The man who could accomplish this had an original mind, and was a sacred humorist, and as Dr. Cox says, he was an early edition of George Herbert, whose originality rose to genius.” What a means of grace it is to see the funny side of things and smile in the face of sorrow! THE WRITER’S ORIGINALITY. One thing more, and still interpreting , the song by the singer: plainly ...this , man had fallen on evil times. Proud ■ and violent, men oppressed him. The 1 wicked were in power, and this man's devotion' made, him an offence in their eyes. Yet, when he cried to God for j .help, the Lord and Lover of righteous- j mees made no response.’.When wilt thou comfort mo?” he-asks, dndZo comfort I

came! Then he took his reed pen and ■wrote this whimsical word: “I am like '...'a bottle in the' snibke.” . J: This is perhaps all, we can say-with confidence of the Man, and yet it is : enough to 'rescue him from- mists and ; shadows and 'make him real and human. We are' dealing! with a real,'red-blooded • man,', ah-d mot siiriply ~a ‘ dainty philosopheror ja smiling moralist, who offers to patch' bur griefs with' a' proverb' and ; tharni. blip 'aches wi'fh air,, and quiet our agony with' words. Here is a real man, who knows'real life. If you prick him ho wil Iblced. Here is a fellow traveller trudging along the same rough road that tires us, and enduring the - trials that baffle our strength and our foresight. Here is a brother man, fainting under the same load we carry. Out Of the dim unknown comes this cheerful . sufferer, who seems to say: “I have been there, and I know how you feel; tut it is all right, and the issue will justify the experience.” And as he speaks his- “April face” shows the - sunlight playing through his tears. “I am become like a bottle in the smoke.” SHRIVELLED LIKE A WINESKIN. But what does he mean by the odd figure? Like “A bottle in the smoke?” What is the point The word “bottle” is an unfortunate translation, and it is surprising that the Revised Version retains it. In the margin we have “wineskin,” which supplies the clue. Dr. Moffatt is better still: “Though shrivelled like a wineskin in the smoke, I never forget mine orders.” Here is an eastern sitting in an eastern house with ' its wide, open chimney corner, or perhaps no chimney at all. The house is filled with smoke. He is pondering the experiences of life. Then his eye rests on the wineskin, up in the rafters, in the warm, curling smoke, in true Eastern fashion. The skins are grimed, shivclled and wearing away, but the wine itself 'is mellowing in the warm smoke. Tiie influences that stain and destroy the wineskin are the influences which bring the wine to perfection. The skin is soiled and decaying, but the fruit of the vine is losing its rawness and becoming fit for use. Poet like he secs the parable, and .with slow, sunny smile, playing about his curled lip, he says, “I am become like a bottle in 'the smoke.” Life on its 'outward side is choked and besmirched; but these unfriendly influences are developing character and .help to make ns “meet for the Master’s . use,” and. all history confirms the poets ' judgment.' For, say what we may, the best things in human story and'. the 'most fruitful .periods in churches and 'nations have not been the. fruits of peace ' arid plenty: they .have been the result . ®f .struggle,, suffering, endurance. . The, wineskin has perishcdy but “the red, ! sweet wine .of, life? has .been mellowed j , and refined. “Fop' (( tlipugh oiir outwgrd man pur 'inward man..'./’

THE SOUL OF GOOD IN THINGS EVIL Mind, I am not attempting to gloss over the grim facts of life. I am not offerng “chaff well meant for grain.” . No good comes of mawkish and unreal words about pain And loss. God knows these are real enough and bitter enough. ~ They strain the heart and hurt the ' flesh, but they, cannot touch, and still ' less destroy, the soul. No I cannot sing , about “sweet affliction”; it is soft and sentimental. This old time poet suffered, and suffered wrongfully, and ho does not gloss it over; he docs better, lie J faces Hie facts and still seeks “the soul of good in things evil.”. Professor Jacks ,in his book, “The ’ Challenge of Life,” refers to the effort to ! roach a life freed of difficulty, and ’ hopes it will never come, and for this [ reason.:-. “It is precisely when, circum- ' stances arercasiest, that man gives the poorest, of himsqlf and best when- lie is fighting odds. Give him a ’. life..in .which.' suffering.-plays no part and/you. defraud him. of the c-i le of his ..being.,.. You.'say to him, Be hero no piore.Z Henceforth take your ease, eat, ’'drink and be merry. Be fortune’s darling and smiling fool. From such a prospect wise men turn with disgust and loathing.” ... And if from the individual, you turn . to the funded experience of the church you, find confirmation of the truth. , It is more than poetic license to say, “The blood of the martyr is the seed of the church,” for tho church has suffered ' more from easy circumstances than from . persecution. When the church could I say “silver and gold have I none she could say to the lame man, “Rise up and walk.” It uas when the church was patronised, and had princes as her lackeys, that she lost the power to heal and. evangelise., When her saints and. heroes were harried and slain, her unZ, j conquerable’’"soul leaped to sovereignty. The wlrio skin wast’ed\by the wine mdIdwed.'Z. ' '.7 ; 1 Some" men are- troubled about the I change in the outward form of truth;' i and tremble for the 'ark of God, but if j you put “new wine into old wine skins,” ! the ferment ■will rend the old wine skins. Changes are sure to come in the outward form of truth, but change need not mean decay. The One thing that matters is this: Are we loyal and devoted to the word and will of God? Never mind the wine skin if the wine is ripening. THE INWARD TRUTH. We are a good deal perturbed about the outward look of things in the laws and habits of the people and well we might be if these changes affected the Empire’s soul, but if we are driven back on God all will yet be well. Cowper in one of his letters, wrote in April, 1768, “I was never much skilled in politics, but this I know, when I see a great building full of cracks, weather-beaten and moulding apace, and much declined from the perpendicular, the downfall of that house is not far distant, unless it be set right again by extraordinary repair. -This is much the case with c:r poor- country.” This was zOO years; ago, : but our national house stands. The world looked dark and' the cause of God hopeless when Christ had none to confess Him save the dying robber on the deadly tree. There have been dark days since, and they may come again, but Christ reigns and the end is sure. Our concern should not be with outward signs but with the inward spirit. There was a brief hour w.mn even Clifford was depressed, but out of Lis soul’s darkness he flung this challenging word:— ' . I “Aye, and though the stars' are paling, “And the songs, had died to wailing, [“And the glorious cause were failing, | “And the gallant flag were torn. “Not the lightning, nor the thundei’, I “Shall our souls from duty sunder, “Till all lies are beaten under, “And the palm be won and worn.”