Spiritual Readings                "Greetings from Whittier Presbyterian Church"

March 16, 2001

One of my little hobbies is collecting recordings of the church cantatas of Johan Sebastian Bach.  Here are the words from one of the sections of cantata #84.  Try to overlook the differences in time and language (and maybe theology!) for the gems that are there.

 God indeed owes me nothing, and if He gives me aught

it is a sign that he loves me.   I can deserve nothing of Him,

Since what I do is but my duty.  Yes!  However good my actions seem,

Still have I accomplished nothing of worth.  But man is so impatient

That sometimes he is downcast  That God gives not in abundance.

Has He not so long already  clothed and nourished us, for no return?

And will He not raise us one day  In bliss, into his majestic presence

It is enough for me  That I need never go hungry to bed.

 Indeed, “It is enough for me that I need never go hungry to bed.”  How often do I realize that because I never go to bed hungry that I am in a better position than the majority of human beings on the planet and throughout history.  And how often am I just not satisfied unless blessings come in abundance, instead if maybe just one small voice from time to time.  God’s support and providence are all around us if we but look.  May we look closer this Lenten season, to what God gives us, and be grateful.

Grace & peace

Geoff