Ah, the thanklessness of it,
the ugliness, the evil!(Alexander Smellie, "On the Secret Place" 1907)
"Then HE returned to HIS disciples and
found them sleeping. 'Could you not
keep watch with ME for one hour?' HE
asked." Matthew 26:40
Every word is incisive--
every syllable is an arrow whose
point has been dipped in yearning
and wounded love.
1. The sleep is inexcusable, because
of the indebtedness of the disciple.
"Could YOU not keep watch?"
asks CHRIST; and the you is emphatic:
you, who have heard MY teaching;
you, who witnessed MY miracles;
you, who known the allurement of MY life;
you, whom I have crowned with MY special favor;
you, who have sworn your fidelity so
often and so recently!
Such things HE has done for me as well--
Such things HE has done for me as well--
such blessings HE has bestowed; such pains
HE has undergone. And shall I be negligent
towards HIM? Ah, the thanklessness of it,
the ugliness, the evil!
2. And the sleep is inexcusable, because
2. And the sleep is inexcusable, because
of the modesty of the LORD'S demand.
HE asked,
Now let me lay the stress on the verb,
watch. HE might have bidden me to . . .
drink the wormwood and the gall with HIM;
climb the hill of shame by HIS side;
die, as HE died, of a broken heart.
drink the wormwood and the gall with HIM;
climb the hill of shame by HIS side;
die, as HE died, of a broken heart.
But the Cross and the curse
are for HIMSELF alone--
and from me HE seeks simply . . .
the open eye,
and the consecrated mind,
and the obedient spirit.
and the consecrated mind,
and the obedient spirit.
HE does not call me to exile
or prison or martyrdom--
but to guard myself, to repel
the advance of temptation,
to cultivate holiness and obedience.
It seems unpardonable, that CHRIST'S
friend should deny HIM a gift so small!
3. And the sleep is inexcusable, because of
3. And the sleep is inexcusable, because of
the measurelessness of the SAVIOR'S deserts.
What poignancy and pathos dwell
in the last words!
HE is my Healer, my Teacher, my King,
my GOD, my SAVIOR!
The earth moves at HIS command.
The beasts are governed by HIS scepter,
and the birds sing HIS praise. High in
the ranks of creation, the angels are
flames of fire, and speed at HIS
requests. All creation does HIS will.
But HE blesses me--
as HE has blessed none of them.
They do not know my motives to spend
and be spent for HIM. To support me,
HE became man. To bless me with
eternal glory, HE emptied HIMSELF,
and was numbered with transgressors.
Shall I forget HIM?
4. And the sleep is inexcusable, because
4. And the sleep is inexcusable, because
of the brevity of the vigilance.
with ME FOR ONE HOUR?"
How quickly one hour runs
out to its final second!
Many a night, from sunset to sunrise,
HE spent pleading for me, the morning
star finding HIM where the evening
star had left HIM. HE devoted a
whole eternity, ageless and endless--
to the devising and accomplishing
of my salvation!
And shall I grudge HIM my fast-fleeting
days? HIS grace towards me has neither
commencement nor close--
and how can I rob HIM of those few
fragments of time which remain to me?
Nay, this very moment let me arise!
Sleeping disciples--
I wonder whether I am among them!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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