28b Wells "What does 'the lamp' refer to?"

“While the lamp holds out to burn”
The lamp image here draws on a parable of Jesus:

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” 7Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” 9But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” 10And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” 12But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” 13Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matthew 25:1-13(NRSV)

The parable stresses readiness. In the last hundred plus years or so this has been read as be ready for “the second coming of Jesus.” The Watts text refers to what I believe is a more long-standing reading: be ready because we cannot know when we’ll die. The lamp refers to each of our lives—while we live we can repent.

The third verse is very interesting in that it seems to say the dead are not yet in heaven; they are just dead. “Their memory and their sense is gone, Alike unknowing and unknown” presumably awaiting the “day of grace” of verse 2 and the all-at-once resurrection of the dead back to life. When did we acquire the notion of the soul going immediately from the body 'up' to face St. Peter at the pearly gate (to be let in, or sent 'below')?

28t Aylesbury "here below/above the sky"

Not too much jumps out at me here. This is another Isaac Watts text.
“…our God while here below, And ours above the sky.”
The date is given as 1719. This is 176 years after Copernicus published De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) in the year of his death, 1543. That work is seen as the start of a radical shift in cosmology that has moved the earth from the center of everything to an unimaginably tiny place in an unimaginably vast universe. Watts’ imagery draws on the Biblical cosmology that understood heaven to be a physical place, literally above the earth.

“Beyond the pomp that charms the eye And rites adorned with gold.”
I suspect that, as a non-conformist, Watts here is taking a little poke at both the Roman Catholic and Church of England “smells and bells” liturgies.

Lord revive us, Lord revive us! back at the blog

Friends, after a too-long absence, I hope and intend another fairly regular round of posts to this blog. 

Again a reminder, if you have any questions about the imagery/references/meanings of texts in the Sacred Harp, hit the Comments link to post a comment and let me know.  (comments are moderated -- so don't worry if it doesn't show up in the blog for a day or two.)

During these past months, some of you have asked me questions when we've been talking. They were great questions. I didn't write them down. Do us all a favor and post them here. Thanks.

While waiting for those particular questions, I'll continue working through the book with things that happen to strike me. If anything in my posts happens to strike you, please post a comment.