As I am, Lord Jesus, take me - a translation of 'Cymer Iesu' by William Williams, Pantycelin

Here, as promised, is a translation of the Welsh hymn 'Cymer Iesu' by William Williams (1717 – 1791). The original words are set out below. The tune, Bryn Calfaria, is in most hymn books.

As I am, Lord Jesus, take me,

Better I shall never be.

You have power to keep me faithful

When my faithless heart would flee.

There is wholeness

Through the wounds of Calvary.

 

Exiled to long weary wandering

Through a wasteland parched and dry,

All alone, I could not triumph

O’er the least of enemies.

But the name of

Jesus bids the mighty flee!

From the cross flows blood that raises

Feeble saints to conquerors

That same blood assures of victory

Over hordes of mighty foes

So from Calvary

Breathes a peace that stills our fears

I will trust, then, in your power

Ever glorious are your deeds!

Trampling death and hell and Satan

Under your victorious feet

Peerless Calvary

Never from my thoughts depart.

Cymer, Iesu, fi fel ‘rydwyf

Fyth ni allaf fod yn well

D’allu di am gwna yn agos

F’ewyllys i yw mynd ymhell

Yn dy glwyfau, yn dy glwyfau

Bydda i’n unig fyth yn iach

Mi ddiffygiais deithior crastir

Dyrys anial wrthyf f’hun

Ac mi fethais â choncweirio

O’m gelynion lleiaf un

Mae dy enw, mae dy enw

‘N able i beri i’r cryfaf ffoi

Gwaed y Groes sy’n codi i fyny

‘Reiddil yn goncwerwr mawr

Gwaed dy Groes sydd darostwng

Cewri cedyrn fyrdd i lawr

Gad i’m deimlo, Gad i’m deilo

Awel o Galfaria fryn

Ymddiriedaf yn dy allu

Mawr yw’r gwaith a wnest erioed

Ti gest angau, Ti gest uffern

Ti gest Satan dan y droed

Pen Calfaria, Pen Calfaria

Nac aed  hwnnw byth o’m cof.

William Williams (1717 - 1791)

Translation © the author of Strangers and Pilgrims, 2010.

Could Bible knowledge destroy you? Matthew Henry on 1Cor 8:2

'Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know' 1 Corinthians 8:2

We think of intelligence as a blessing, and knowledge as something which builds people up spiritually, but for many clever people it is a snare and and a blind path that leads them away from God just as they appear to be knowing most about him. Those of us who are of a more intellectual bent need to guard very carefully against the pride that Biblical study and knowledgeability can so easily lead to. It is the trap that Satan particularly sets for those to whom God has given gifts of learning and wisdom. It is a tragic irony when knowledge of the book which should guide people to God leads to their spiritual death but we can all too easily stop studying it to know God better but instead are simply feeding our self esteem. Instead of nourishing the soul it bloats up.

The always-helpful Matthew Henry says:

'There is no proof of ignorance more common than conceit of knowledge. Much may be known, when nothing is known to good purpose. And those who think they know any thing, and grow vain thereon, are the least likely to make good use of their knowledge. Satan hurts some as much by tempting them to be proud of mental powers, as others, by alluring to sensuality.'

I was very struck by the last sentence. A wrongly-motivated acquisition of Biblical knowledge can be as dangerous for some people as the temptations of sex, money, ambition etc for other - and yet we warn Christians much about the latter but scarcely ever about the former. We particularly need to pray for well known ministers and bible teachers in this respect as it takes a great deal of grace to remain humble when large numbers follow you, read you and quote you. It has been the downfall of some great men.

Keeping it all together - The Armour of God Part 2

The Belt

The first item applied by the Roman soldier was the great belt which, along with the breastplate, formed the body armour. The tunic underneath would be gathered, or 'girded up', into it so that nothing was flapping about loose. Rugby enthusiasts will be familiar with the dangers of loose bits of clothing hanging down that can be grabbed hold of. When Paul speaks of being girded up, therefore, he speaks of being self-disciplined, concentrated on one objective, with nothing to impede or drag us down, nothing superfluous to get in the way. It is the same idea conveyed by the writer to the Hebrews when he instructs his hearers to ' throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles ...'

The belt is described in the NIV as being the Belt of Truth but 'truth' here is not a reference to the Word of God (which is represented by the sword) but to 'truthfulness' or 'sincerity' (integrity, where the nature matches the words, genuine, real). Whilst sincerity can be misplaced, as Matthew Henry comments 'there can certainly be no true religion without sincerity.' The Apostle Paul emphasises the importance of sincerity when we draw near to God (e.g. 1 Tim 1:5, also Heb 10:22); and approaching God with sincere repentence and singleminded seeking is often shown in scripture to be the starting point for finding salvation.

God has said that 'You will find me when you seek me, if you seek me with all your heart...' (Jeremiah 29:13 quoting Deuteronomy 4:29) We need to be whole hearted, singleminded and genuine in our seeking - whether that be when we are just setting out as Christians or are grappling with God after many years on the journey of faith. The Christian life requires the same kind of total focus on the objective, discipline and energy that elite athletes have to exhibit. If we are just drifting passively along, enjoying the occasional spiritual fix and living much like anyone else around us our Christianity may just be a sham.

Staying Standing - The Armour of God (1)

'Put on the whole armour of God so that you may be able to stand against the devil's schemes.' Ephesians 6:11

When we cone to this famous passage, we need to begin with a crucial question. What is the battle which the armour of God is provided for? We often think of evangelism as a battle but, if you read what goes before, it is clear that Ephesians 6 is not about that 'external' battle but the 'internal' battle to keep going in the faith.

The need to persevere in the faith was a constant preoccupation of Paul's in his letters to both churches and individuals. It seems to be a much less prominent theme in Evangelical  churches today. We seem afraid to mention it, in case we affect our Reformed credentials by warning people not to fall away from the faith. But it is all over the New Testament and when we ignore it we are like people tiptoeing around a woolly mammoth in the living room. Paul feels no such embarrassment; he gets eyeball to eyeball with the mammoth because he knows it is a great and real threat to his readers. This is the threat for which God provides his divine armoury of Ephesians 6. All its components are given us to enable us to stand fast in the 'evil day', to endure to the end with our Christian profession intact. Even the apparently 'offensive' sword is about enabling us to repel the devil's attacks.

We should note that we are commanded to put on 'the whole armour of God' and it is important we view the armour as a complete set. A soldier cannot pick and choose which bits of armour he fancies wearing or he will leave parts of his body undefended with fatal consequences. Likewise we cannot choose to major on some aspects of Christian character and neglect others, or we will be leaving Satan gaping holes in our defences which he will exploit to the uttermost.

We should also note that this is not ceremonial armour intended to look splendid on special occasions but is intended for daily wear and to be knocked about by the daily realities of life. A Roman soldier would have put on his armour so frequently that he would have been able to do it with his eyes closed. In the same way the application of these items of spiritual armour needs to become second nature.   We do not acquire these pieces of armour and then sit back. Each needs to be reapplied each day because we soon lapse back into unbelief and laxness. A careless soldier who lost his armour or let it fall into disrepair would discover that it would not serve its purpose when he was attacked but the good soldier constantly checked his equipment and ensured everything was in good working order. Then he was 'always ready' and would not be caught unawares. We have an enemy who is constantly on the prowl, 'seeking who he may destroy' but if we adopt the whole armour of God we will be equipped to repel his most subtle and varied schemes.

Finally, we should remember that this is not just armour which God gives to us but is the armour in which he attires himself. In Isaiah 59, an important parallel passage to Ephesians 6, God is portrayed coming to the aid of his people in battle garb, including a breastplate of righteousness and a helmet of salvation - sound familiar? So if we want to stand firm against the devil's schemes, we need to acquire the character of God himself - a character of passionate goodness, justice and mercy. That way, we will stand firm in Christ to the last.

Terror in paradise

© The author

I was recently on holiday in the beautiful Western Isles where life is slow and still follows traditions dating back hundreds of years. Everything seemed so peaceful and quiet. Trouble and violence seemed a million miles away. Even the everyday hassles of the workplace were forgotten for a while. But just after we arrived we heard that an Islamist gunman had opened fire on holidaymakers on a Tunisian beach. 38 people died including people from this area. Although I was far away in Scotland, the world suddenly seemed a more frightening place. Everything which that morning had seemed changeless and timeless now seemed vulnerable and threatened.

We have faced terrorism before, of course, but ISIS seems even more menacing than previous groups because it doesn't just want land or political concessions but to wipe out our way of life and will stop at nothing to achieve it. It is also unsettling because these are not foreigners attacking from the outside but people from our midst.

Perhaps you find yourself wondering where things are heading and what life the next generation will have. Things which we assumed were solid and unchangeable suddenly appear uncertain and fragile. As governments and ideologies come and go, and societies and places change, we can feel all at sea with nothing secure to hold on to.

© ‘oxyman’, geograph.org.uk

The Bible says that Christians have a hope so secure and certain that it is like 'an anchor for the soul' (Hebrews 6:19) - something that gives complete confidence when everything else is in chaos. It will see us safe through the greatest crisis of all, death itself. It will not change as other ideas go out of vogue. It will safeguard our hearts and minds through times of the greatest threat and anxiety. It has been proved certain by generations of people.

What is this hope? It is a person – Jesus Christ, the one the Bible describes as ‘the Rock’. Through him we have hope that there is life beyond the grave, a point and a meaning to life and a way to rectify the wrong done in this life. There is strength for daily living and true, lasting peace. God knows all that happens in his world. He will call everyone to account for what they have done in their lives  and will not allow the terrible things people do to one another to continue forever. God sent Jesus to deal with the consequences of all that evil - from acts of terrorism down to the everyday things that fill us with guilt and regret. He came to obtain forgiveness for all that wrongdoing by dying in our place on a Roman cross. We only have to trust him and ask him to give us that forgiveness.

The Bible says that, without Jesus, we are ''without hope in the world' (Ephesians 2:12) but his death and resurrection gives us “a hope and a future” .(Jeremiah 29:11) If you would like to know more about how you can find this hope, open a copy of the Bible and read about it for yourself, or talk to someone you know who is a Christian. 

'The Watts of Wales' - William Williams of Pantycelyn

William Williams, author of 'Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah', was among the finest and most prolific hymnwriters the British Isles has produced. Yet most people in English churches are unfamiliar with William Williams or the other 800+ hymns because the majority were in Welsh.

William Williams put into verse the spirit and character of the Welsh Methodist Revival of 1762, in which he was a key figure. One of the chief things I appreciate about his hymns is how they articulate the intimate, individual process that goes on between a soul and the Saviour at conversion and throughout a true Christian life - a process which those who went through the Revival had experienced themselves in such a profound way. William Williams' hymns are intensely personal  and individually challenging,  often written in the first person. This seems to be particularly characteristic of hymns from these times of great revival. W. Vernon Higham's 'I saw a new vision of Jesus', although by a present-day writer,  is very much in that tradition.  These are not the sort of general, formulaic words that can be happily sung by those merely going through the motions but words for serious, all-out Christianity.

Williams' hymns articulate the utter hopelessness and desperation of our state without God but also express total conviction about the efficacy of Jesus' blood and the security of our eternal salvation. They describe the need for continued, daily dependence on Christ which these spiritual giants understood and practiced so well, but also communicate a deep delight in Jesus Christ and an intense love for him born of a profound understanding and personal experience of the great doctrines of grace. All these were themes which characterised the 1762 Revival.

History has rightly discarded much of the hymnody of past generations but Williams' hymns have an enduring worth and deserve to be known beyond the small circles of Welsh-speaking Christians who know and sing them. Some have been translated into English but most have not. Those translations that do exist are of variable quality. Some are simply clunky and difficult to sing. Others have only loosely conveyed the original words and some, worse still, have watered down Williams' out-and-out Calvinistic theology to fit with the translators' own liberal inclinations.

In appreciation of the blessing that William Williams' works have been to me personally, I'm contributing some English translations in the hope that they will bring his thoughts to a wider audience. In writing these I have tried to be as faithful as possible to Williams' original meaning but at the same time to make them poetic and singable, preserving the original metre so that the original Welsh tunes can still be used. These translations are copyright but are free to use for worship purposes providing users acknowledge the source in any printed materials.

Agnostics and the Mersey Tunnel

When someone tells me that they are agnostic I always wonder what they actually mean by this. The word 'agnostic'  itself is just Greek for the absence of knowledge and that seems to be all that some people are saying when they use the label. They are simply expressing a lack of certainty about spiritual matters. Others seem to be saying not so much that they don't know as they don't care - 'apathetic' rather than agnostic. But there is another group who are what I call 'militantly agnostic'. They are saying, in effect, 'I don't know, I'm never going to know and it is not possible for anyone to know. So don't you dare to try to tell me you know.'

I think it was this last group who Stephen Gaukroger had in mind when he said that 'agnosticism was like the Mersey Tunnel - alright to travel through, but a nightmare to live in!' In other words, agnosticism is alright as a point on a journey but making it your life's position is a bad idea.

When people first begin to think seriously about the meaning of life, describing themselves as 'agnostic' may be an honest articulation of the fact that they are no longer closed to the possibility of the existence of God but are still trying to work things out. There are many people, thank God, who moved from atheism to agnosticism and then to wholehearted belief in Jesus Christ. Agnosticism was a point on their journey from unbelief to belief.

But nothing is sadder than those who have got 'stuck' in agnosticism. Militant agnosticism leads nowhere. To continue the travel metaphor, it sits down and refuses to even look at the map. It refuses to consider the possibility that there might be any way out of the tunnel or that there could be anything better out there. It watches other travellers hopefully passing him by, believing they have found a route out. Yes, there is the possibility that they may be wrong but there is also the possibility they might be right. But the one who sits and refuses to even try any of the exits is certain of only one thing - remaining stuck in that tunnel! Agnosticism offers no light to live by, no moral framework, no greater purpose in anything. The only thing it promises is a life of perpetual uncertainty.

Don't live the rest of your life in a gloomy tunnel! At least look into the claims of Christianity. Get a Bible and find out for yourself what it says and consider the serious implications for you if its message is true. Say to God, "If you are there, reveal yourself to me." But don't waste your life in perpetual indecision and uncertainty.