Laden with Guilt and Full of Fears, take 3

Yes, yet another entry on the same song. Watts had so much to say in just this one excellent hymn...what an amazing songwriter. I'm inclined to address and expound upon, however, one last phrase of this hymn: the first phrase of the final verse. It reads, "This is the judge that ends the strife where wit and reason fail, my guide to everlasting life through all this gloomy vail". It refers to the Scriptures' teaching on the efficacy of Christ's death in ending the strife between us and God and making atonement for sin, and how the Scriptures guide us in finding life with God.

Not only, however, does the Cross of Christ reconcile our relationship with God, it should work within our relationships with other sinners as well. When we see our own sinfulness and how unworthy we are of God's forgiveness, we should be that much more willing to forgive other people. That's a hard thing sometimes, especially for those who have been deeply hurt and wronged. But God commands us to do so, as much for our own sake as for the sake of others.

Life is all too often a "gloomy vail". It sucks to be alive. But through the Scriptures and through the Body of Christ, we have a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak--a picture, however distorted, of the better time and place that awaits us, where we will sit in the presence of God and He will wipe away all of our tears. Until then, we should be working constantly to be excellent to each other and constantly work to end the strife between each other, even as our strife with God has been healed by the Cross of Christ.

"This is the judge that ends the strife where wit and reason fail, my guide to everlasting life through all this gloomy vail." (Watts)

Luke