I try my best to attend Church every Sunday morning. Although I miss it sometimes, and I'm probably not as active in the Church as I should be, I find many things that trouble and upset me; even scare me in some instances. There are always the basic pet peeves like people bringing their coffee in the Sanctuary and playing on their cell phones, but then there are other things that shake me up and really make me wonder just who is paying attention. The last song that was sung at church today was a hymn entitled "Come Ye Sinners." It had been revamped and was newer in style, but the words seemed old. I was singing along with everyone else when I happened to glance ahead at the last line of the tune:
"In the arms of my dear Savior,
O there are ten thousand charms."
I immediately stopped singing and looked around me while everyone droned out the last line. Nobody that I saw looked upset, or even curious for that matter that in a Christian church we were singing about our Lord adorned with occult amulets! When I arrived home, I grabbed my unabridged dictionary and looked up the definition of the word 'Charm.' Here's the first definition:
Charm- A word, character, or other thing imagined to possess some occult or unintelligible power; hence, a magic power or spell; an enchantment; an incantation.
There are other definitions like a bracelet with ornaments on it and something that sparkles, but I looked up when the hymn was written (1759) and these definitions didn't apply back then. Even if they did, it sure doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to have God wearing a charm bracelet.
Joseph Hart was the author of this hymn and in the original version of it, not once is the word charm found. Here's the original lyrics to the 1759 version:
Come, ye sinners, poor and wretched,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, joined with power;
He is able, He is able, He is able,
He is willing, doubt no more.
It wasn't until 100 years after this version did an alternate emerge by (none other than) an anonymous author! From that point on, the most widely accepted version of this hymn has been the post Hart version of it.
So why does this all matter you may ask? Because the power of life and death lies in the tongue (Proverbs 28:21), and if a Christian doesn't watch what proceeds forth from their mouth, then they may very well be speaking death. There are many scriptures in the Bible (namely the books of Moses) that speak of witchcraft, enchantments (the word charm originated from this), and the like. The Bible even says not to suffer a witch to live (Exodus 22:18). This may seem a little long, but I'd like you to understand in the fullest aspect that I'm able to present just what I believe and why I believe it. Here's what James has to say about the tongue:
..."If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh." (James 3: 2b-12)
So as a Christian, one should be very conscientious of what proceeds from their mouth, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Just going to Church and sitting there believing that what you see is good because you're in Church doesn't cut it. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
If I could leave you with one nugget of wisdom from this post that would sum it up, I would encourage you to never blindly follow anything without using your resources and your brain to rightly divide the word of truth. Lazy Christians not only corrupt themselves; they pollute and tarnish Christianity as a whole.
"Holy shoddy is still shoddy." -Charles Spurgeon
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As long as God knows the intent of your words, it's okay. Charms obviously means something different context; pleasures. In God's arms there are 10,000 pleasures (or things to appreciate or things to adore).
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with the intent of your words is that as an able minded person, we should be aware of what the words we speak mean. We are instructed to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents. By being fed a word that has such a negative connotation as "Charm," we not only look like we don't mind occult ideas, but we may also be perceived as ignorant in the history of our own beliefs and how many cultures have adopted a form of hybrid Christianity and occultism because Christians of the past were too lackadaisical to proclaim Christianity as the only way to heaven. I perceive it as much too weighty an issue to be balked at and even more so to be widely accepted in the Christian Church. As a Holy institution, every precaution must be taken to present the Church spotless before Christ and the unsaved. To do otherwise would be sheer laziness.
ReplyDeleteIn this culture, I believe there are hardly enough people who actually understand the history of the word "charms", plus I believe it takes on a new meaning now. Like when men meet women they may occasionally say "Pleased to meet you" and the women may say "Charmed", meaning they are pleased as well. Just like Christmas used to be a pagan holiday, it now has a new meaning: to celebrate the Christ.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, however, when the new lyrics were added, the word "charm" still had the original meaning associated with it. Remember, this was in the 19th century. Words like fantastic still meant (literally) unbelievable. We can go back and forth with the issue, but as you say, there are hardly enough people that know the history (or etymology) of the word. Doesn't this strike you as odd that we, as an English speaking people, don't even know our own words? I'll leave you with this to ponder: If the entire universe was created by the spoken Word of God, and we were created in His image, wouldn't it behoove us to try and understand just what it is that proceeds from our mouths?
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