Poured Out Like Wine – Anonymous

He or she is unknown, but that detail doesn’t mean we cannot understand this composer. “Poured Out Like Wine” asks a question and then provides an answer, a conversation that indicates this poet was in tune with the Lamb, the One who modeled for every believer what it is to sacrifice. The composer-poet may have also identified with another 1^st Century character, one who was told he’d suffer much for Him. This apostle recorded his feelings twice in the last decade of his life that captured the attention of this anonymous composer centuries later, making one wonder if perhaps he was in a similar life situation. What’s really at stake when somebody endeavors to be a sacrifice…is it like what’s shown here in this 16^th Century representation of what the Aztecs might have experienced in their rituals?

“Poured Out Like Wine” could be the poignant phrase the Paul the apostle uses at least twice in his letters to describe his dedication to the mission God had given him, a solemn undertaking that perhaps millions, including the composer, have considered. Both times the apostle was in confinement (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6), a fact that underscores the sober nature of this commitment. It’s not for the timid or weak, and maybe can only be appreciated fully by someone like Paul after repeated episodes. He was likely nearing the end of life the second time he uses it, so he’d already answered ‘Yes’ to the question many times over. He must have felt at that point that he was an echo of the many centuries of sacrificers, not to mention his Savior who turned sacrifice into a passageway to renewal. So, it’s natural to wonder where the composer was along his life’s path when he jotted down these words. Was he just at the beginning, or was he somewhere along the way, perhaps trying to coax another to join the straight and narrow? His verses indicate he didn’t just launch into this life blindly, without hesitation. No, he had to be invited, persuaded (v.1). Maybe he was reminiscing the way the great apostle was, inspiring readers with his thoughts about what it was like to mimic Jesus as a suffering servant, and admiring the view of Canaan and his inheritance. Saying ‘yes’ to suffering must have a sweet taste after a life like Paul’s, to be in tune with God’s Spirit and able to acknowledge that one’s life has been well-spent, worthy of eternal dwelling with Him.    

Pour it out. Sacrifice. Focus on Jesus as the model. Coax others to do the same. Eye the light at the other end. These were all the things this nameless writer could have done as he contemplated and lived what he wrote. The song doesn’t need attribution. Its link is clear….clear back to Paul, and the One from whom he got it. Listen to Him in the first verse, and sing the second verse, if you wanna see what Paul saw.