A Christmas Poem on Sin and Redemption

I have quoted the final two lines in each of the second, fourth, seventh and ninth stanzas below from "The Holly and the Ivy," a fifteenth-century English carol. The quotation in the fifth stanza below is from verse 15 in chapter 1 of the First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy (King James Version).

From the letters of

The name of what month can be

Formed a word of six

Letters that means "to free from

The consequences of sin"?

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed the word REDEEM.

"And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To be our sweet Saviour."

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed a verb of six

Letters that means "from sin and

Damnation to deliver."

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed the verb REDEEM.

"And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To do poor sinners good."

"This is a faithful

Saying, and worthy of all

Acceptation," wrote

Paul, "that Christ Jesus came into

The world to save sinners."

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed a word of six

Letters that means "to free from

The consequences of sin."

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed the word REDEEM..

"And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

On Christmas in the morn."

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed a verb of six

Letters that means "from sin and

Damnation to deliver>"

From the letters of

The name DECEMBER can be

Formed the verb REDEEM.

"And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

For to redeem us all."

While by My Sheep

WHILE BY MY SHEEP

The text of an anonymous Christmas hymn,

from the German

(Read Luke 2:15-20.)

While by my sheep I watched at night,

Glad tidings brought an angel bright.

How great my joy! Great my joy!

Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

There shall be born, so he did say,

In Bethlehem a Child today;

How great my joy! Great my joy!

Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

There shall the Child lie in a stall,

This Child who shall redeem us all.

How great our joy! Great our joy!

Joy, joy,joy! Joy, joy, joy!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

This gift of God we'll cherish well,

That ever joy our hearts shall fill.

How great our joy! Great our joy!

Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

The Opposite of What Illumines Life

A found poem. The quotations in the sixth, seventh and eighth stanzas are 1 John 1:5-7, 1 John 4:7-8 and Psalms 18:28 from the Common English Bible (2011).

What Is the Opposite of Love?

Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote,

"Hatred darkens life; love illumines it."

To darken is the opposite

of to illumine, but

is hatred, or is hate, indeed

the opposite of love?

Rollo May once wrote, "Hate

is not the opposite of love;

apathy is."

According to Elie Wiesel,

"The opposite of love

is not hate, it's indifference."

Does apathy

as well as hatred, does

indifference

as well as hatred, darken life?

It is the opposite of love,

whatever that may be,

that darkens life. It is

love that illumines life.

God Is Both Light and Love

John in his First Letter wrote, "This

is the message that we have heard from [Christ]

and announce to you: 'God is light

and there is no darkness in him at all.'

If we claim, 'We have fellowship with him,'

and live in the darkness,

we are lying

and do not act truthfully.

But if we live in the light

in the same way as he is in the light,

we have fellowship with each other,

and the blood of Jesus, his Son,

cleanses us from every sin."

John in that Letter also wrote, "Dear friends,

let's love each other,

because love is from God,

and everyone who loves

is born from God and knows God.

The person who doesn't love

does not know God,

because God is love."

God is, as David sang

in Psalm 18, "the one

who lights my lamp --

the LORD my God

illumines my darkness."

It is the opposite of God,

whatever that may be,

that darkens life. It is

God who illumines life.

This poem, which I have revised and updated for this post,

was first published in the June 2, 2023, edition of

my free email newsletter Hugh's Views: The Old Elway Reader

(now called The Old Elway Reader 2) on Substack.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

In the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 43:2-3 reads, "'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour . . .'" American poet Emily Dickinson, as if quoting the Lord, once wrote, "'Though thou walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will be with thee.'" In the King James Version of the Bible, Psalm 23, a Psalm of David, reads:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

A Prayer for Help in Trouble

How long, O Lord, how long?

A Psalm of David

from the Bible: Psalm 13

(King James Version)

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?

How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

having sorrow in my heart daily?

How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:

lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

lest mine enemy say, "I have prevailed against him";

and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in thy mercy;

my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

I will sing unto the Lord,

because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

So said Rachel Mallalieu about her poem "I Tell My Son to Cover Himself in Someone Else's Blood," a poem she wrote in response to the news of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. To read that poem, click here. 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 5)

Yesterday I posted the fourth of the seven stanzas of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Here is stanza 5 of that hymn. Tomorrow I will post stanza 6.

O come, thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heavenly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (stanza 2)

Yesterday I posted stanza 1 of the ninth-century Latin hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," a Christian hymn for Advent and Christmas, translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Here below is stanza 2. The Bible says in part, "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.' Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,' which being interpreted is, 'God with us.'" So reads Matthew 1:20-23 (King James Version). Tomorrow I will post stanza 3 of this Latin hymn.

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,

Who ord'rest all things mightily;

To us the path of Knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

          Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

          Shall come to thee, O Israel.

The Last Words of David

From the Bible: 2 Samuel 23:1-7

(King James Version)

Now these be the last words of David.

David the son of Jesse said,

and the man who was raised up on high,

the anointed of the God of Jacob,

and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,

The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,

and his word was in my tongue.

The God of Israel said,

the Rock of Israel spake to me,

He that ruleth over men must be just,

ruling in the fear of God.

And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,

even a morning without clouds;

as the tender grass springing out of the earth

by clear shining after rain.

Although my house be not so with God;

yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,

ordered in all things, and sure:

for this is all my salvation, and all my desire,

although he make it not to grow.

But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away,

because they cannot be taken with hands:

but the man that shall touch them

must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear;

and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.

Pray for Sri Lanka After Easter Bombings | Blog | News | American Bible Society

Read Pray for Sri Lanka After Easter Bombings | Blog | News | American Bible Society: On Easter Sunday, more than 320 people were killed and 500 were injured in 8 coordinated attacks throughout Sri Lanka. At St. Sebastian’s Easter mass, families lined the pews as they sang hymns celebrating Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. But in an instant, a bomb tore everything [Click on the link above and continue reading.]

Palm Sunday Hymn: "Hosanna, Loud Hosanna"

As the Bible (King James Version) says:

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried,
     Hosanna:
     Blessed is the King of Israel
     that cometh in the name of the Lord.
(John 12:12-13)

And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying,
     Hosanna to the Son of David:
     Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;
     Hosanna in the highest.
(Matthew 21:8-9)

And many spread their garments in the way; and others cut down branches off the trees, and strewed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying,
     Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
     Blessed be the kingdom of our father David,
     that cometh in the name of the Lord:
     Hosanna in the highest.
(Mark 11:8-10)


HOSANNA, LOUD HOSANNA
by Jeanette Threlfall, 1873

Hosanna, loud hosanna,
   The little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple
   The lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them
   Close folded to his breast,
The children sang their praises,
   The simplest and the best.

From Olivet they followed
   Mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving,
   And chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of earth and heaven
   Rode on in lowly state,
Not scorned that little children
   Should on his bidding wait.

"Hosanna in the highest!"
   That ancient song we sing,
For Christ is our Redeemer,
   The Lord of heaven our King.
O may we ever praise him
   With heart and life and voice,
And in his blissful presence
   Eternally rejoice!

"The Final Say: Spread No Rumors"

THE FINAL SAY: SPREAD NO RUMORS

by Monty Gilmer

I hate to spread rumors, but what else can one do with them?

     AMANDA LEAR

     French singer, quoted in the Los Angeles Times

Lord, who may enter your Temple?

Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill?

Those who obey God in everything

   and always do what is right,

whose words are true and sincere,

   and who do not slander others.

They do no wrong to their friends

   nor spread rumors about their neighbors.

     DAVID

     in the Bible: Psalm 15:1-3 (Good News Translation)

"I Never Knew You": A Poem of Jesus Christ

David the psalmist wrote, "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping" (Psalm 6:8, King James Version).


I NEVER KNEW YOU
A Poem of Jesus Christ
from the Bible: Matthew 7:21-23 (King James Version)

Not every one that saith unto me, "Lord, Lord,"
Shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
But he that doeth the will of my Father
Which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, "Lord, Lord,
Have we not prophesied in thy name?
And in thy name have cast out devils?
And in thy name done many wonderful works?"
And then will I profess unto them,
"I never knew you:
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

From the Bible: How David Sustained His Faith

HOW DAVID SUSTAINED HIS FAITH
from a Psalm of David in the Bible: Psalm 27:1, 4, 9 (King James Version)

David sustained his faith by the power of God:
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

David sustained his faith by his love to the service of God:
One thing have I desired of the Lord,
That will I seek after;
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in his temple.

David sustained his faith by prayer:
Hide not thy face far from me;
Put not thy servant away in anger:
Thou hast been my help;
Leave me not, neither forsake me,
O God of my salvation.

"The Lord Is My Shepherd" : The King James Bible

"'Though thou walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,

I will be with thee.'"

So wrote American poet Emily Dickinson (1830-1886),

as if she were quoting the Lord, "my shepherd."

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

A Psalm of David

from the Bible: Psalm 23 (King James Version)

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

For his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil:

For thou art with me;

Thy rod and thy staff

They comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me

In the presence of mine enemies:

Thou anointest my head with oil;

My cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life:

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

For ever.

"My Garden" by Thomas Edward Brown (1830-1897)

"The fool hath said in his heart, 'There is no God.'" So begins a Psalm of David, Psalm 14, in the King James Version of the Bible. Manx poet, scholar and teacher Thomas Edward Brown, who was also a theologian, was a wise man who believed there is a God. Here is a poem of his about his garden and about God.


MY GARDEN

A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
   Fringed pool,
Ferned grot --
   The veriest school
   Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not --
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
      Nay, but I have a sign;
      'Tis very sure God walks in mine.

"A Prayer for Help in Trouble": A Psalm of David

A PRAYER FOR HELP IN TROUBLE
A Psalm of David
from the Bible: Psalm 13 (King James Version)

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, "I have prevailed against him";
And those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in thy mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord,
Because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

"Good Tidings of Great Joy" : The King James Bible

On this day in 1965, according to the Associated Press, "'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' the first animated TV special featuring characters from the 'Peanuts' comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, was first broadcast on CBS." Here is the poem that is, as Linus, after reciting it, said, "what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."


GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY
from the Bible: Luke 2:8-14 (King James Version)

And there were in the same country
Shepherds abiding in the field,
Keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
And the glory of the Lord shone round about them;
And they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not:
For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
Which shall be to all people.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David
A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

"And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel
A multitude of the heavenly host
Praising God, and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace,
Good will toward men."

Quotation: Michael Logan on Michelangelo's David

MICHELANGELO'S DAVID

     Michelangelo, it is said, did not believe that he created his famous statue of David but, rather, that he'd chipped away needless stone to release a masterpiece that was already there.

     MICHAEL LOGAN

     in TV Guide (August 10-16, 2002)

David by Michelangelo (1475-1564)

"Prayer for Guidance: Westminster Chimes" by Monty Gilmer

In a familiar hymn of his, Isaac Watts prayed in part, "O God, our help in ages past, / Our hope for years to come; / Be thou our guide while life shall last, / And our eternal home."  Here is a poem of mine, a poem about praying for guidance, that first appeared in the 2001 edition of The Bluestone Review.  I have revised this poem of mine slightly since its first publication.


PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE: WESTMINSTER CHIMES
by Monty Gilmer

Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.

[Lord, through this hour
Be thou our guide,
So by thy power
No foot shall slide.]
"Like a monk, who, under his cloak,
Crosses himself" (Longfellow wrote),
So chimed the clock.

The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down;
Hickory dickory dock.

David the psalmist wrote,
"The meek will he guide in judgment,
And the meek will he teach his way."

John Hall, at one with that verse, wrote,
     "The simple thou dost teach and guide
Thy perfect ways to know,
And thou dost such instruct aright
As humble be and low."

The author of the Forty-eighth Psalm wrote,
"For this God is our God for ever and ever;
He will be our guide even unto death."

In chime with that, George Wither wrote,
     "For God in life will be our guide;
     And in our death, our God abide."

Quieter than a mouse,
Time runs; the clock still strikes,
After it plays "Westminster Chimes,"
After it prays for us.

Grandfather clock

(Photo by Quadell)

"The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation" : The King James Bible

Read the Psalm of David Psalm 27: "The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation" in The Holy Bible: King James Version.