Once To Every Man And Nation (#606)
Another Resource: The Spirit Of Prophecy And Military Service
This song was impressed on my mind as important for this time!
Here is the original poem!
By James Russell Lowell
Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by for ever 'twixt that darkness and that light.
Hast thou chosen, O my people, on whose party thou shalt stand,
Ere the Doom from its worn sandals shakes the dust against our land?
Though the cause of Evil prosper, yet 't is Truth alone is strong,
And, albeit she wander outcast now, I see around her throng
Troops of beautiful, tall angels, to enshield her from all wrong.
Backward look across the ages and the beacon-moments see,
That, like peaks of some sunk continent, jut through Oblivion's sea;
Not an ear in court or market for the low foreboding cry
Of those Crises, God's stern winnowers, from whose feet earth's chaff must fly;
Never shows the choice momentous till the judgment hath passed by.
Careless seems the great Avenger; history's pages but record
One death-grapple in the darkness 'twixt old systems and the Word;
Truth for ever on the scaffold, Wrong for ever on the throne,—
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.
We see dimly in the Present what is small and what is great,
Slow of faith how weak an arm may turn the iron helm of fate,
But the soul is still oracular; amid the market's din,
List the ominous stern whisper from the Delphic cave within,—
“They enslave their children's children who make compromise with sin.”
And here’s the hymn as it appears in the SDA Hymnal:
Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.
Actually, it usually comes much more than once! The point of this song, however, is that the choice comes “at least once” to every man and nation! But when we, as either individuals, or as a nation, put ourselves beyond the “reach” of God, then we will face the judgment without mercy!
Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,
Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.
I’m truly sorry, but I must disagree with this verse! A brave man chooses to side with the truth even when the rest of the world is completely against it! But the second line makes it appear that a brave man chooses truth when it is going to “bring fame and profit” and when being “just” brings “prosperity”! But reality is just the opposite of this description! That is, unless you do some “mental gymnastics” with the prose!
Since there’s a semicolon after “to be just”, you could say that this line is a hypothetical proposition that is answered by the fourth line, while the 3rd line is a description of the brave man’s action, but is not really related to the ideas in lines 2 and 4! But line 3 can be properly related to line 1! And there’s a few “precedents” where poets have done this type of thing before; grouping lines 1 with 3, and then 2 with 4! But I still think that the way the verse is worded is quite misleading! There’s a definite need to re-word this verse!
By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,
Toiling up new Calv’ries ever with the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,
They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.
Yes, martyrs can offer examples of faith, and perhaps provide “light” because of the glory of God revealed in their examples! But NO martyr has ever suffered what Christ had to suffer! And then there’s one of my favorite quotations:
“God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor”. Desire of Ages, pages 224, 225 (the last paragraph in Chapter 22 – Imprisonment And Death Of John)
All of us know that there’s always a new cross for us to bear on a weekly, if not daily basis in this life! But we must bear those crosses and not turn back or complain! “New occasions teach new duties” only when we spend regular daily time in God’s Word! And we all know that “time makes ancient good uncouth”! Truths in the Bible are already being called “hate speech” without any legitimate reason!
Truth is progressive because education never stops! Our minds were “designed by God to have an infinite capacity to learn”…and by the way, that’s what an atheist said about the human brain’s design! Yep, it’s definitely a “stunning admission”! It shows humility and honors God when we continue to learn more of His Truth, by studying His Word!
Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.
What a comfort to know that God keeps “watch above His own”! “This life” is a small portion of a 6,000 year long court trial to answer Satan’s charge that God’s government is flawed! You and I are “witnesses”, “defendants”, and in the case of the “saved”, also “jurors” in this trial! During the Millennium (1,000 years of rest and peace) our job is to “audit” the books of heaven to see if any “mistakes” were made!
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