Dost Thou See Them?

Tonight, I'm listening to Saint Andrew of Crete's hymn, "Christian, Doth Thou See Them?" Andrew of Crete lived in the 8th century.  Legend has it that the saint was mute until the age of 7, when he partook of communion and was cured. Andrew of Crete is known as a hymnist.  His longest, actually called a canon, is 250 stanzas long.  It's a first person account going through the entire Bible called "The Great Canon." And no, I'm not planning on doing it for this blog, mainly because of my penchant for typing out all the stanzas.

                                                                   St. Andrew of Crete
We have the hymn I'm listening to today because of John Mason Neale (1818-1866). Neale was an excellent scholar who knew twenty languages.  (We will come to Neale again, as he is responsible for Christmas hymns such as "O Come, O Come Emanuel," "Good King Wenceslas," and "Good Christian Men Rejoice.") As with people who speak twenty languages often do, John Mason Neale made himself a nuisance to the leaders of his church. Neale championed higher liturgy and worship, which bothered the local Anglican clergy. Thus, Neale was "relegated" to the almshouse for old men.  Not that he minded too much, it gave him more time to translate hymns.

John Mason Neale

Listening and reading through "Christian, Doth Thou See Them?" reminds me of the book Kris Lungard's Enemy Within, which is pretty much a translation of John Owens Mortification of Sin. Lundgard translates the book from Puritan English into Readable English.  In it, Lundgard stresses the need for constant awareness of sin.  We always need to be on the look out. This hymn deals with similar vigilance.  The first stanza refers to visible temptation.  St. Andrew of Crete calls for the believer to "up and smite them."  Fight back against sin!  The second stanza certainly covers the more spiritual temptations.  The temptations that gnaw on our wants and desires.  Again, there is a call for the believer to fight back, including spiritual strengthening such as prayer and fasting.  The third stanza covers all the influences we hear.  Hear, St. Andrew of Crete reminds the singer to answer all those voices boldly! We should have confidence in our beliefs. We should be encouraged. In fact, that's how the hymn ends, with words of encouragement spoken from the Lord's perspective.  One of the things that I learned early at Penn State, and has stuck with me, is the need to encourage one another.  Sometimes we are called to rebuke our brethren, other times we are called to comfort, but we should always encourage one another no matter the situation.  The Lord is always at work and His salvation is guaranteed, no matter how great our sin.

1) Christian, dost thou see them on the holy ground,
How the powers of darkness compass thee around?
Christian, up and smite them, counting gain but loss
In the strength that cometh by the holy cross.

2) Christian, dost thou feel them, how they work within,
Striving, tempting, luring, goading into sin?
Christian, never tremble, never be downcast;
Gird thee for the battle watch and pray and fast.

3) Christian, dost thou hear them, how they speak thee fair,
"Always fast and vigil, always watch and prayer?"
Christian, answer boldly, "While I breathe I pray."
Peace shall follow battle, night shall end in day.

4)"Well I know thy trouble, O my servant true.
Thou art very weary; I was weary too.
But that toil shall make thee some day all mine own,
And the end of sorrow shall be near my throne."

I couldn't get the video to work, here is a link to the music.