Poems to pipes

Reblogged from the discussion from an 8/12/03 post at barlowfarms.

Bach wrote:

Whene'er I take my pipe and stuff it
And smoke to pass the time away
My thoughts, as I sit there and puff it,
Dwell on a picture sad and grey:
It teaches me that very like
Am I myself unto my pipe.
Like me this pipe, so fragrant burning,
Is made of naught but earthen clay;
To earth I too shall be returning,
And cannot halt my slow decay.
My well used pipe, now cracked and broken,
Of mortal life is but a token.

No stain, the pipe's hue yet doth darken;
It remains white. Thus do I know
That when to death's call I must harken
My body, too, all pale will grow.
To black beneath the sod 'twill turn,
Likewise the pipe, if oft it burn.

Or when the pipe is fairly glowing,
Behold then instantaneously,
The smoke off into thin air going,
'Til naught but ash is left to see.
Man's fame likewise away will burn
And unto dust his body turn.

How oft it happens when one's smoking,
The tamper's missing from it's shelf,
And one goes with one's finger poking
Into the bowl and burns oneself.
If in the pipe such pain doth dwell
How hot must be the pains of Hell!

Thus o'er my pipe in contemplation
Of such things - I can constantly
Indulge in fruitful meditation,
And so, puffing contentedly,
On land, at sea, at home, abroad,
I smoke my pipe and worship God.



Rev. Ralph Erskine, Smoking Spiritualized:

PART I.

THIS Indian weed, now withered quite,
Though green at noon, cut down at night,
Shows thy decay;
All flesh is hay:
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The pipe so lily-like and weak,
Does thus thy mortal state bespeak;
Thou art e'en such, -
Gone with a touch:
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And when the smoke ascends on high,
Then thou behold'st the vanity
Of worldly stuff,
Gone with a puff:
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And when the pipe grows foul within,
Think on thy soul defiled with sin;
For then the fire
It does require:
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

And seest the ashes cast away,
Then to thyself thou mayest say,
That to the dust
Return thou must.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

PART II.

Was this small plant for thee cut down?
So was the plant of great renown,
Which Mercy sends
For nobler ends.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

Doth juice medicinal proceed
From such a naughty foreign weed?
Then what's the power
Of Jesse's flower?
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The promise, like the pipe, inlays,
And by the mouth of faith conveys,
What virtue flows
From Sharon's rose.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

In vain the unlighted pipe you blow,
Your pains in outward means are so,
Till heavenly fire
Your heart inspire.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

The smoke, like burning incense, towers,
So should a praying heart of yours,
With ardent cries,
Surmount the skies.
Thus think, and smoke tobacco.

Spurgeon and Cigars

Saw this link about Spurgeon and Cigars and thought you'd be interested: Cigars and Spurgeon

Augustine and Preaching

I saw this quote on Jeff Meyer's blog, Corrigenda. I thought you guys would appreciate it.

Jeff says, "A passage from Fredrick van der Meer's wonderful biographical study Augustine the Bishop comes to mind:

Neither in Hippo nor in Carthage did Augustine have ground for complaining that his hearers were not receptive to their fingertips, and indeed in that day an orator who sought contact with his audience never failed to find it. Augustine certainly did so. Even the transcriptions of the notarii, from which much light and shade has naturally disappeared, show us that many sermons were punctuated by loud applause, sometimes, indeed, by complete dialogues between speaker and audience, all of which have been faithfully reproduced. Applause on these occasions was not so much a token of praise as of concurrence, or it was simply an indication that the listeners had followed the argument. Where a modern audience might do no more than slightly nod their heads or purse their lips, the people of Antiquity would use their voices to let the speaker know that they had understood him, that they had recognized a text or grasped a pun. This practice was so universal that Augustine actually reckoned with it, and even encouraged it, dividing his audience, on one occasion, into shouters and silent. "This lot of people indicate to me by their shouts that they had understood me, while the others indicated by their silence that they needed a more detailed explanation." Sometimes the shouts were confined to those who had been baptized--as, for instance, when there was some reference to the eucharistic feast which the catechumens could not understand. Thus the bishop, who at the time was dealing with the story of Joseph in Egypt, when "he heard a speech he did not understand," once called out to the unbaptized: Be baptized, then you will understand a language which as yet has no meaning for you! Then you will learn where your heart should truly be. When, upon this, the faithful, who recognized the reference to the sursum corda, acclaimed him, he went on: When I say these things many understand me and call out to me, while others remain mute, because they have never heard the language which they now fail to understand.

It is very apparent from all this that Augustine could always reckon on a lively interest, even when dealing with questions of pure dogma. When he began to quote a text that was popular or well know, they would interrupt him at the first words. . . . On one occasion he spoke about a man who, on his way to woo his bride, was attacked by a lion, and strangled it; immediately the church was filled with shouts of "Samson!" . . . . Once, when he was preaching in the basilica of Restitutus in Carthage on the passion of our Lord, he closed a superb climax with the words, "and last of all, domini exitus mortis--'With the Lord are the issues of death.'" Immediately came the cheers, for they had recognized three words from the Psalms. Yes, he agreed, it is in the Psalms. . . . Sometimes the applause tended to be premature. On one occasion the congregation guessed that he was going to analyze the idea of mundus and give it its double meaning of "wicked world" and of the "pure world created by God." They showed plainly that they had divined his purpose and Augustine cried out, "What have I said? What is there to cheer about? We are still battling with the problem and you have already started to cheer!"

Time and time again it is plain that the applause brings him on to a new idea, and he almost invariably reacts to it in some positive way. On occasion he could parry and strike back. . . It often happened that he gave expression to his pleasure in being understood: "Your cries show me that you have understood, but I ask permission of those who have understood me to give a brief explanation of what has been said, for the benefit of those who have not" (van der Meer, Augustine the Bishop [London: Sheed and Ward, 1961], pp. 427-430).

He did not find this everlasting repetition of applause in the least wearisome, despite the fact that, strictly speaking, he should have disapproved of it. He most certainly never ceased to react to it. When once they cheered at the words "for the joy of beholding my Lord," he immediately burst in upon them, exclaiming, "Why do you call out? Why are you carried away? Is it not because a little of this love [of God] is glowing within you?"

X2

I saw this review at the Christianity Today website and thought you'd be interested. It includes links to other reviews.

Film Forum: A Sequel with Metal Claws and a Moral Backbone

Gundry's Articles

Here are the links to Gundry's articles from Books and Culture on justification.


Why I Didn't Endorse "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration"
… even though I wasn't asked to.


On Oden's Answer

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