That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,
without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye
shine as lights in the world (Phil 2:15)
Let your loins be girded
about, and your lights burning; (Luke
12:35)
I am the light of the
world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. (John 8:12)
There is much to be said about LIGHT in the Holy Bible; in fact, LIGHT is a
burning and profound allusion to the Person of Christ. LIGHT secondarily
refers to those who are light-bearers for Christ - it is HIS LIGHT they bear,
and His glorious illumination they reflect. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid." (Matt 5:14) We often speak of the Hidden Manna of
God's Word, but it is easily found if we will remove the shrouds of doubt and
deceit that cover it. God's Word is LIGHT and, once uncovered, comes
penetrating through the darkness of ignorance and misunderstanding like a flash
of morning sunlight.
Several years ago, I wrote a devotion on today's hymn which went out to the
mailing list. There was a dear old saint (now deceased), Francis Eichler,
living in Florida who sent me a letter about that devotion. She said that her
father was a sea captain who was stranded in the harbor of Port au Prince. His
ship was quarantined due to yellow fever aboard. Mrs. Eichler's father died of
that affliction. A folded up copy of today's hymn was found in his belongings.
This lady said she never knew the meaning until she had read my account of it,
and was comforted to know of it. It was, as well, an encouragement to me that
the devotion had been helpful to someone.
BRIGHTLY BEAMS OUR FATHER'S
MERCY
Brightly beams our Father’s
mercy,
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.
Refrain:
Let the lower lights be
burning!
Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor struggling, fainting
seaman
You may rescue, you may save.
Dark the night of sin has
settled,
Loud the angry billows roar;
Eager eyes are watching,
longing,
For the lights along the shore.
Trim your feeble lamp, my
brother;
Some poor sailor,
tempest-tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor,
In the darkness may be lost.
The music and words of this beautiful and touching hymn were composed by Mr.
Philip P. Bliss, of Philadelphia, in 1871. He wrote the words following a
description by D.L. Moody of a maritime disaster near the harbor at Cleveland,
Ohio, Lake Eerie. Here is the account as related:
On a dark, stormy, night, when the
waves rolled like mountains, and not a star was to be seen, a boat, rocking and
plunging, neared the Cleveland harbor. “Are you sure this is Cleveland?” asked
the captain, seeing only one light from the lighthouse.
“Quite sure, sir,” replied the pilot.
“Where are the lower lights?”
“Gone out, sir.”
“Can you make the harbor?”
“We must, or perish, sir!”
And with a strong hand and a brave
heart, the old pilot turned the wheel. But alas, in the darkness he missed the
channel, and with a crash upon the rocks the boat was shivered, and many a life
lost in a watery grave.
Brethren, the Master will take care of
the great lighthouse: let us keep the lower lights burning!
(D.
L. Moody.) Philip P. Bliss, The Charm: A Collection of Sunday School Music
(Chicago, Illinois: Root & Cady, 1871)
It is quite obvious to the Christian professor of that which is exemplified by
the great Lighthouse of the Harbor - it is the LIGHT of God sweeping the
tumultuous waves and billows of the sea as a boon to lost seaman. But what of
the Lower Lights? Those Lower Lights are you and me who receive our oil from
the Holy Ghost to light the small channels of the harbor once the Lighthouse
has wooed the ships of sea near to entry.
Brightly beams our Father’s mercy, From His lighthouse evermore, But
to us He gives the keeping Of the lights along the shore. There
is no light comparable to that of God. As a matter of fact, there is no LIGHT
apart from God. We are the keepers of the Lower Lights alo0ng the
shoreline.
When visiting our churches in Haiti a few years back, I noticed the Port au
Prince Lighthouse standing erect near the head of the harbor of the city. It
was starkly visible both during the hours of darkness as well as daylight;
however, at night, there were lesser lights to be seen all along the harbor
channel. These were the Lower Lights intended to guide the big sea vessels to
safe anchorage in the harbor once that had been brought near by the Lighthouse
Light.
The darkness of sin is stifling to the soul's eye. "Dark the night
of sin has settled, Loud the angry billows roar; Eager eyes are watching,
longing, For the lights along the shore." The Sun settled on this
old world at the Fall of Adam in the Garden at Eden, but we have the promised
and constant Light of Christ to light our paths throughout the long, dark night
of our souls on this orb. He is our Bright and Morning Star from evening to
Sunrise through our hours of darkness. He is our Day Star at dawn, and always
the brightest Light in the Heavens. As the storms of life and the billows of
sin build and crash, we are made to feel secure by the prospect of that
unquenchable Light of Christ above us and in our hearts.
"Trim your feeble lamp, my brother; Some poor sailor, tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor, In the darkness may be lost." A lamp
is of no use without oil. And the soul is of no value without the oil of the
Holy Ghost to provide fuel for light. Remember the ten virgins. Five had made
provision for oil when the Bridegroom came, five did not. Those five virgins
who did not make provision were still virgins and of good character, but good
character will no gain entrance into the Marriage Supper of the Lamb - we must
have the grace and oil of the Holy Ghost to Light our Way. If we have oil, we
must also have fire! Our souls must be the wick whereby the oil feeds the fire
of light. All who are near us may find their way by the Light we shed forth. We
never know where the perishing soul may be, so we sweep the waves by the Light
of God in constant search. By and by, the beam will catch the sight of a seaman
lost on the perilous waters of sin. As he homes in on the Light, he draws close
to harbor. He will then see the Lower Lights, too, to guide him to safe docking
at the harbor haven of rest.
Are your Lights burning?
