I Will Bless Thee, O Lord -- Esther Watanabe

 

We don’t know much about her, except that she was perhaps reading from the Psalms. Esther Watanabe was her name, and what she had to say around the year 1970 was personal, echoing what her musical ancestor, David, said on more than one occasion – “I Will Bless Thee, O Lord.” What David experienced, and what Esther would have noticed when she read his poetry, was that he had many reasons to thank and lift up God’s name, no matter what the circumstances. Maybe Esther didn’t have or need a vision of this God (like Ezekiel did [Ezekiel 1], as imagined in this 16^th Century work of art by Raphael) whom she wanted to bless. But it doesn’t take much imagination to ponder why Esther might have needed His presence, for the human condition has so many pitfalls that to say one never needs Him would be the anomaly, rather than the norm. What might be considered unusual, however, is the attitude to sing of His goodness when one is suffering; complaining and feeling desperately abandoned would perhaps be more appropriate. And David and the rest of us, probably Esther too in 1970, have felt that way, and yet where else can we go but to Him? Maybe it takes just one episode when it seems He indeed listens to coax a bit of faith and praise from deep within, even when trouble pays a visit.

 

We might not have specific information about Esther’s walk that day/s around 1970, but we could hypothesize that what David had to say in two of his psalms, Psalms 34 and 145, struck her as worthy of an ‘Amen’. Was she in the same situation or something similar to what David was going through when he crafted Psalm 34? The preface words to that one indicate David was feeling pretty upbeat in the wake of a strange episode, when he feigned madness before a king in order to escape danger. ‘…at all times’, David said, indicating that in trouble or comfort, or whatever might be an in-between situation, God was still worthy of acclaim. In that particular psalm, David indicated in multiple verses that danger and stress were present (vv.4, 6-7, 15, 17-19), so if these were multiple incidents, or even just the one with the foreign king, it dawned on David that he emerged from an impossible situation because God was protecting him. In Psalm 145, David again felt God’s protection in difficulties (in vv. 14 and 19), but the praise that arises from David’s heart in that poem is more about who God is, revealed in His ‘greatness’ (v. 3), His ‘mighty acts’ (v.4), His ‘majesty’ (v.5), and righteousness (v. 7). It is God’s character that causes the overflow of David’s heart in exaltation. That God’s goodness and His dominion would ‘endure(s) throughout all generations’(v.13) was also what gave David such ecstasy, perhaps as he realized that his progeny would still prosper even after his (David’s) earthly kingdom ended. We know not whether Esther had any children or successive generations of friends and acquaintances that came after her, but how would you and I feel if we knew that others we’d known in this life could reach eternity some day and reunite with us? Mortality is a certain thing, isn’t it? Looking to Him, offering Him who is good a blessing of praise, is a hope exercise. And, hope is not empty (see Hebrews 3:6; 6:11,18-19; 7:19; 10:23; 11:1).        

 

And so, Esther echoed what David had said long ago. ‘Bless the Lord’ might sound a bit strange at first. How can I, a mere mortal, offer the Almighty, the Divine Creator of the universe, something that would bless Him who is already possessing of such greatness already? It would be easy to feel so humble, that you wouldn’t feel right lifting your head and giving Him a gift. Moses was afraid to look at Him (Ex. 3:6) and indeed was later warned not the look at God’s face (Ex. 33:18-21), and yet this same God wanted Moses to know Him, wanted a relationship with him. We are His creation, the most special creatures in His image (Genesis 1:27). Every father wants to hear his sons and daughters, the very offspring of himself, say ‘thanks, Dad’. If He made us to relate to each other in this way, why should He feel different about us and Himself? This Father is one you and I can have forever.    

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raphael_-_Ezekiel%27s_Vision.jpg … The author died in 1520, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. …found inside this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Father

Father and Friend, Thy Light, Thy Love -- John Bowring

 

A man of many talents, that was how one might describe the Englishman, John Bowring. And though he could have kept his many talents for his own self-gratification, he apparently knew his heavenly “Father and Friend, Thy Light, Thy Love” so well that he acknowledged Him in dozens of hymns, including this one in which he called Him by four names or characteristics. (See image of him here, showing him two years after the hymn was published.) The way John addressed Him suggests an intimacy and identification of the source of his talents that he would put to use over a lifetime in his native land and in many places abroad. John did not specify what prompted him to compose these words, but perhaps his poetry and the way he conducted his life revealed his motives. A person with so many God-given gifts isn’t necessarily obliged to say more if he lives his beliefs for everyone to observe. See what you think of John Bowring and what he had to say about God. 

 

Father. This was the first name that captured John’s attention as he sang to Him, and this was evident in the hymn’s first word, but also expressed in his original third verse that is perhaps rarer, in that it is not often included in today’s hymnals. This father is to be ‘hallowed’, John said, as well as the One who is counted upon for ‘strength, wisdom, (and) goodness’, qualities that we esteem in earthly fathers. He occupies a ‘throne’ also, since he is the head of our spiritual household, as a mortal father likewise does in our physical homes as the figure of ultimate authority for his ‘children’ (v.4). How about Friend? Verse two says this Divine Being is a ‘voice we hear’, a ‘presence (we) feel’, and is that not true of one’s closest friend/s, a person or group that is present perhaps when we need someone else to hear our thoughts and just be with us to relieve the lonesomeness? Light and how it impacted John is throughout most of his poetic stanzas in ‘Father and Friend, Thy Light, Thy Love’, suggesting this was John’s favorite characteristic of Him. He was ‘beaming’ and ‘gild(ing)’ the very ‘heavens above’ (v.1); and even if He was ‘too pure for mortal sight’, John could imagine Him surrounded by ‘clouds’ thus making Him ‘invisible’ (v.2). John could also see the evidence of Him across ‘the maze of time’, among the ‘infinity of space’, and was able to ‘trace’ God’s ‘footsteps’ (v.4). That speaks to us still today, for none of us has or ever will see Him with our human eyes, at least until eternity, but we can see the light and evidence of His being in so many ways. Love. God is love, a testimony that is shared by those mortals to whom God was closest, in both the Old and New Testaments, like Moses (Deuteronomy 7:9), David and Solomon (1 Kings 8:23; 1 Chronicles 6:14), and John (1 John 4:8), and then by this other John named Bowring. He says it best perhaps in his song’s verse five with the reminder that with love we need not ‘faint nor fear’, and that His people are immersed in Him when gathered together. That’s a warm, contented feeling, if you’ve ever experienced it when in the company of others who are in His love. He’s ‘everywhere’, and His people ‘cannot be’ truly satisfied when elsewhere.

 

We can speculate that John Bowring may have carried all of these characteristics of God with him in the many venues across the 80 years he lived upon the Earth. Perhaps they helped ground John in the fundamentals of who he was, and how his Creator had gifted him. This man spoke dozens of languages and served his country and fellow men in various ways as an editor (Westminster Review) and statesman (in France, China, Hong Kong, Siam, and Italy, and as a member of England’s Parliament), especially as he moved about in the area of various business enterprises in England and internationally also, besides writing or translating poetry. His hymnody is a window into how John carried himself and how he was so evidently a success story in so many things that he did, perhaps because he honored God deep within himself. To promote business in which he was involved at one point (in 1841), Bowring reportedly said "Jesus Christ is free trade and free trade is Jesus Christ". He also was outspoken regarding equal voting rights for women and the abolition of slavery. Bowring’s life was really a full one, not without faults for sure, but he used what God had given him to the fullest. Perhaps what he had to say about his Father, Friend, Light, and Love was an expression of what he’d already seen of Him as a young man by 1824, but also what a firm foundation he had that helped him live the next 40-50 years with such purpose. When God’s present, just look at the kind of life someone can live.   

 

See here for all the original verses of the hymn, and the year in which the words were first written/published: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/f/f/t/t/fftltlov.htm

 

See here for biography of the author: https://hymnary.org/person/Bowring_John -- also, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowring    and here: John Bowring

 

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sir_John_Bowring_by_John_King.jpg... The author died in 1847, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931….image found inside this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowring   

Great and Mighty Is He -- Todd Pettygrove

 

Great and mighty, and splendor and glory….though easy enough to pronounce, they should be reserved for someone uniquely qualified to wear them. These traits of God are mentioned throughout scripture (dozens of times), so the author of these contemporary praise verses (Todd Pettygrove) could have been reading from among any number of incidents in which God is called upon in this way. From Moses through Paul, writers lauded Him with these terms, recalling their encounters with Him and reacting as any one might – with terror and profound humility, but also with great confidence in His ability to rescue and protect those who belong to Him. It began in creation when He formed everything out of seemingly nothing, including humanity (see the image here, Creation of Adam, from Michelangelo’s imagination of what this looked like, in one of his 16^th Century works). “Great and Mighty Is He” might be words from any of us in various circumstances, but it certainly would not be too frequent to say these words just once more.

 

Sometime around 1987 Todd Pettygrove perhaps was reading about this awesome being we call God, or maybe he and another or several others were sharing about His character. We don’t frankly know what spurred Todd to convert these few attributes of Him into a praise chorus, but it nevertheless hits the bullseye for believers, because it connects us with centuries-old fellow believers. Some of those believers felt so strongly about Him and their contact with Him that they couldn’t keep this too themselves. We might take it for granted today that they wrote poetic words about their experiences, but what they had to say was something that was overflowing about Him whom they’d experienced. Perhaps it was like someone who sees something so amazing, like an unidentified flying object, something other-worldly that just makes it impossible for you to move on and approach your day with a sense of normalcy. It’s life-changing. He was that way for Moses, the Israelites’ leader who had an especially closeup experience with Him, such that when he spoke about Him, it was often with these traits about him on his lips (see Deuteronomy 3:24; 4:34; 7:19; 9:26; 10:17; 26:8). Or, how about David, who also had an especially close relationship with Him, and instructed others in how to regard Him (see 1 Chronicles 16:29; 29:11), including his own son Solomon who likewise told others how to think of Him (see 1 Kings 8:42; 2 Chronicles 6:32). Pick out any of the prophets to see how this was carried on through successive generations. Centuries later, these characteristics had not worn off, not even a little bit. He transformed an enemy of His son into an obedient servant, who then spent the rest of his life exclaiming His qualities while facing hardships most of us cannot imagine and went to his death to do so – that was Paul (see Ephesians 1:19). He’s not done.  

 

So, maybe Todd was reading any of the passages that underscore this God’s majesty, and how He might terrify and send shockwaves through those who’ve not accepted Him. Or, how about those who have accepted Him, and have tried to coax others that it’s great to be on His side, versus the alternative? It is admittedly pretty difficult sometimes to appreciate what an encounter with Him would be like when He’s still physically invisible. But He’s made all of it that I can see. And, some of it’s really amazing, and there must be so much more that we’ve not yet seen that speaks of Him, too. For example, are there other-worldly things that we’ve not yet understood? Check out the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, as I did the other night, and imagine how people might react to an experience with something terrifying and yet fantastically awe-inspiring. Our world seems to be coming to grips with the possibility that other things or beings, perhaps originating beyond our planet Earth, have been visiting. (Read at the following link: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-files-pentagon-3rd-release-documents-videos/ ). Are you and I ready to encounter them? It makes one think for a few moments, doesn’t it? The only way I have to respond is that God must have made them too, if my bible is true. Encounters with the incredible could be in earth-dwellers’ future. Some of our ancestors have already had such encounters, with Him.         

 

 

See information on the image here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo,_Creation_of_Adam_04.jpg.... The author died in 1564, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. …found inside this document: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God