This is the second post in the Jargon Buster series.
I’m writing this in the week following Pentecost. There is a theme in the story of Pentecost which is echoed and repeated in many of the songs we sing, including one which we sang this week: O God of Burning Cleansing Flame.
O God of burning cleansing flame
Send the fire
Your blood-bought gift today we claim
Send the fire today
Look down and see this waiting host
And send the promised Holy Ghost
We need another Pentecost
Send the fire today
Send the fire today
God of Elijah hear our cry
Send the fire
And make us fit to live or die
Send the fire today
To burn up every trace of sin
To bring the light and glory in
The revolution now begin
Send the fire today
Send the fire today
It’s fire we want for fire we plead
Send the fire
The fire will meet our every need
Send the fire today
For strength to always do what’s right
For grace to conquer in the fight
For power to walk the world in white
Send the fire today
Send the fire today
To make our weak hearts strong and brave
Send the fire
To live a dying world to save
Send the fire today
Oh see us on Your altar lay
We give our lives to You today
So crown the offering now we pray
Send the fire today
Send the fire today
Send the fire today
For those of you reading this in the future, we are currently in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic. Our church building is closed, we are meeting online, and our music is prerecorded in the week before our meeting. I have therefore spent quite a bit of time playing, singing and mixing this song. As much as I wish I could say my mind was fixed in a state of permanent spiritual focus, that would be a lie. I’m human, and my mind wanders.
One of these mental field trips took me to Norwich cathedral. Sharon and I visited it a couple of years ago and we took a guided tour. It was a quiet day, and we were the entire party, which meant we had our own personal guide, which was nice. One of the features that was pointed out to us was the pinkish/purple colouration of much of the stone walls. I’d assumed it was just a natural feature of the stone, but apparently not; it is caused by the reaction of the limestone to the intense heat of a fire! There seemed to be so much of it. Over the centuries there have been enough fires both large and small to really leave their mark. One of my first reactions on hearing this was ‘how?’. There didn’t seem to be much in the vast, open space to actually burn. But then it stands to reason that whatever used to be there isn’t any longer, because, well, it burnt!
This little side-track does have a relevance. I now imagine a service in which the congregation of Norwich cathedral are being lead in singing the stirring William Booth song mentioned above. I can see the people gathered in a cluster in the centre of the nave, keeping as far away as possible from anything made from wood or fabric. I imagine buckets of water stored under the seats, and Deacons discretely waiting by fire extinguishers around the sides. I see the enthusiastic but oblivious worship leader giving it everything from the front, while the congregation timidly sing the words, their hearts in their mouths. I see their eyes moving nervously left and right, and finally upwards as they mouth the words, now barely audible, ‘It’s fire we want, for fire we plead, Send the fire!’
Now, when we sing these words, we aren’t actually asking for fire, in our home, church or anywhere else. We’ve recently expended a significant amount of money and effort on repairing, expanding and upgrading our own building, humble though it may be when compared to a cathedral. A good dose of fire is not what any of us would want there. So, why is this song so full of it. And while we’re at it, what is with the obsession with fire, flames and burning in general in the songs we sing?
- Consuming Fire
- Refiner’s Fire
- River of Fire
- O God of Burning Cleansing Flame
- Set a Fire
- Let the Flame Burn Brighter
- Like a Candle Flame
And no fire in the title, but plenty in the words:
- Be Still For the Presence of the Lord (He burns with holy fire)
- Build This House (I want something that will last when Your holy fire comes)
- Come Set Your Rule and Reign (Come set our hearts ablaze with hope)
- History Maker (… With the fire of God and the truth at hand)
- Holy Spirit We Welcome You (Move among us with holy fire)
- Hosanna (… coming on the clouds with fire)
- Jesus, Lover of my Soul (… all consuming fire is in your gaze)
- Jesus, Be the Centre (Be the fire in my heart)
- Keep the Banner Flying High (Light a fire in my bones)
- Shine, Jesus, Shine (Blaze, Spirit, blaze, set our hearts on fire.)
- Majesty (Here I am) – (Here I stand, sanctified by glory and fire)
- My Lighthouse (Fire before us, you’re the brightest)
- Purify My Heart (Refiner’s fire…)
- There Must be More Than This (Consuming Fire, my heart’s one desire…)
- We’ll Walk the Land (with hearts on fire… Two thousand years and still the flame is burning bright across the land.)
- Give Me Oil In My Lamp (Keep me burning)
- And Can it be (I woke, the dungeon flamed with light)
We’re obsessed!
Now, when it comes to cracking the code, to understanding the reason for all these mentions of fire, there are a few different ways in which the imagery of fire is used. In each case, the power of the moment or story can be felt without need of further explanation.
- God’s Revelation – Eg. Exodus 3:2. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.
Also, specifically, the Holy Spirit – Eg. Acts 2:2-3. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. - Refiner’s Fire, or Fire of Purification – Eg. 1Corinthians 3:12-14. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
We can relate to that. We know what a powerful fire looks like, what the heat feels like coming off it, and the effect it has on anything in it. We understand that expensive gold and gems will remain afterwards, but wood, hay and straw will have gone. So this can relate to the works, treasures and deeds of this life carrying forward to the next, and it can also relate to trials in this life (think of Job, for instance). - Fire of Judgement – Eg. Genesis 19:24. Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.
Revelation 20:14-15. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. - Power/Energy/motivation for us – Eg. Jeremiah 20:9 … his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.
There are many other examples, and other nuances throughout scripture. This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, but we can usually get the idea in any given context.
So, going back to the song, O God of Burning Cleansing Flame. What does it mean? Well, it manages to cram several of the above meanings in.
And send the promised Holy Ghost
We need another Pentecost
That seems clear enough.
God of Elijah hear our cry
Send the fire
And make us fit to live or die
Send the fire today
To burn up every trace of sin
Purification (of us).
The fire will meet our every need
Send the fire today
For strength to always do what’s right
For grace to conquer in the fight
For power to walk the world in white
And
To make our weak hearts strong and brave
Send the fire
To live a dying world to save
Send the fire today
Asking for power and strength.
And Finally,
Oh see us on Your altar lay
We give our lives to You today
So crown the offering now we pray
Send the fire today
We haven’t really touched on this, but when God directly accepted offerings in the old testament, He did so by burning them up with fire from above. No messing, no ambiguity. We offer ourselves as a sacrifice (Romans 12:1 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.). Whereas we don’t expect God to literally consume us with fire, we acknowledge His right to do with us as He pleases, and adopt the attitude that our life is His, not our own. This is something we’ll often fail on, but it is good to be reminded of the commitment we made to God, and see our lives in this context.
Love to you all – ’till next time,
Dave