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12 I wisdom dwell
with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 13 The fear of
the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil
way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine,
and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. 15 By me kings
reign, and princes decree justice. 16 By me princes
rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. 17 I love them that
love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. 18 Riches and
honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better
than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20 I lead
in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21 That I may
cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. (Prov 8:12-21)
I
am not sure if I have written on this hymn previously or not; however, if so, I
am writing again. It is a favorite of mine. There should be no similarity
between any previous writing and this except for historical detail. The hymn
was composed by John H. Newman in 1833 (before the debilitating effects of the
Oxford Movement in England). Perhaps, if I did not write before on it, it was
owing to the contempt I feel for Newman for betraying his vows to the
Reformation and joining with Rome. But the hymn is beautiful and touches the
soul. He wrote these words regarding its composition: Before starting from
my inn, I sat down on my bed and began to sob bitterly. My servant, who had
acted as my nurse, asked what ailed me. I could only answer, I have a work to
do in England. I was aching to get home, yet for want of a vessel I was kept
at Palermo for three weeks. I began to visit the churches, and they calmed
my impatience, though I did not attend any services. At last I got off in
an orange boat, bound for Marseilles. We were becalmed for whole week in the
Straits of Bonifacio, and it was there that I wrote the lines, Lead, Kindly
Light, which have since become so well known. There are two wonderful
tunes to which the hymn is sung – SANDON by Charles Purdy
(1857) and LUX BENIGNA by John B. Dykes (1865). Though both
are great tunes, I prefer the latter (Lux Benigna).
Lead, Kindly Light
Lead,
kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark,
and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I
do not ask to see
The distant scene;
one step enough for me.
I was not ever thus,
nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose
and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish
day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will.
Remember not past years!
So long Thy power
hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen,
o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn
those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long
since, and lost awhile!
Meantime, along the
narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod,
Lead, Savior, lead
me home in childlike faith, home to my God.
To rest forever
after earthly strife
In the calm light of
everlasting life.
Lead,
kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on! The night is dark, and
I am far from home; lead Thou me on! Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The
distant scene; one step enough for me. There have been a remarkable
number of accounts of near death experiences in which the parties expressed a
vision of a great light which drew them ever nearer into a blissful state.
Whether these are genuine experiences of the Divine Presence, I will leave to
others to decide, and to God. But God is our Light in a dark place that both
beckons and leads us. His every Word is a Beacon of the Light of Truth: Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms
119:105 All the commentary that the world offers are naught but doom and gloom;
but the Word of our Lord is a Bright and Shining Light. In fact, Christ is the
Light of the World. During the sunny noonday, few turn their eyes to Heaven;
but in the dark and bleak hours of the cold and bitter night, folded hands are
lifted in prayer. It may be that when the gloomy darkness is encircling our
souls, it is a benefit of Heaven in bringing us to remember our Maker. 1 Remember now
thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun,
or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return
after the rain. (Eccl 12:1-2) Our every step is
ordered by the Lord so that His child neither stumbles nor departs from the
paths of righteousness. 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither
shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11 For he shall
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall
bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:10-12) The Good Shepherd has His eye on the horizon to lead us while we
follow on with nearsighted blindness.’
In
this world, the Christian is both far from home physically, and at home
spiritually with the Lord who trod the Emmaus Road with two unsuspecting
disciples.
I
was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on; I loved to choose
and see my path; but now lead Thou me on! I loved the garish day, and, spite of
fears, Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years! Many good, moral
people (and some lifelong Christians, too) have never been brought to the steps
of death or grave illness before suddenly confronting it at a late age. It can
be disarming even for the faithful. Perhaps we have enjoyed perfect health as
we see others suffering from all kinds of egregious diseases and health issues.
We are not prepared for we have always been very independent of illness. So in
our latter days, we face the dilemma of faith cause by depressing illness that
is new to us. Now we may suddenly be bed-ridden and helpless. We must depend
upon family and other caretakers to see to our needs. We had previously danced
in the sunlight, but now we find ourselves struggling in the grips of merciless
pain and personal incapacities. Without knowing of it, we may have been proud
in our past lives, but now we are humbled to know the pain that we had only seen
at a distance in others. Our faith is the last resource of the Christian
available to him under the sun. Pride is past, and faith is taken up like never
before.
So
long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on. O’er moor and fen,
o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone, And with the morn those angel
faces smile, which I Have loved long since, and lost awhile! We
often pray for, and receive, blessings from God that are not efficacious. I
have a Tom Cat named Benjamin whom I love. He begs for food at all hours of the
day. Hating to say ‘NO! I allow him to eat more than he should and
he is growing fat. Perhaps we plead too much for blessings which the Lord is
not inclined to give until we are overly persistent. He loves us and grants
them often. But our opulence of blessings has made us soft and overweight
spiritually. Travelling through this old world is a journey through very rough
and threatening country. The swamps, floods, and underbrush of the world retard
our progress, and the night dims our vision. We have no hope in any resource
but that Light of God which beams ahead. It is the Great Search Light casting
its beams across the billows and tumult of the sea from which the lost seaman
gathers hope and courage. We know, as surely as we know our names, that the
night is not eternal – the Sunrise of Morning follows hard on the heels of
night and we look forward to that Sunrise with hope and joy. We
cling to the promise of God: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in
the morning. (Psalm 30:5) The bright angels
stand in the Risen Sun to do His bidding on our part.
Meantime, along the
narrow rugged path, Thyself hast trod, Lead, Savior, lead me home in childlike
faith, home to my God. To rest forever after earthly strife In the calm light
of everlasting life. We wonder that God would allow us to suffer the thorns and
thistles of life, but forget that His dear Son suffered the whip, the nails and
the wound in His side on our behalf. Following Him, we must expect our crosses
to bring offenses. He leads us along the path that He trod – but without the
shame and horror. We are weak, frail and blind; we therefor need someone to
lead us. If that Someone is Christ, we shall be led to safe havens; but if
another, we shall fall into the same ditch as our leader. Following Christ is
fraught with imagined perils, but in the end, it is the only safe way:
I said to the man
who stood at the Gate of the Year, ‘Give me a light that I may tread safely
into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness, and put your hand
into the Hand of God. That shall be better than light, and safer than a known
way. From
a speech by King George VI of England delivered at Christmas, 1939, as Great
Britain faced the uncertain perils of World War II.
