Imagination and Celebration
Written by Greg Sunday, 29 November 2009 19:51
Recently, as I was singing "Had It Not Been the Lord Who Was On Our Side," (adapted from Ps 124), it struck me that the meaning of the psalm is rooted in the ability to imagine what would have been. Though I think it might be safe to generalize, I'll speak personally here. I have a crippling capacity to accept what is without considering what might have been. This is crippling because, though I may have something good, I often fail to thank God for it. Or, if I do, it is a kind of deist's prayer, so that in my heart I assume that it would have been so anyway, but I ought to thank God for all good things. This affects even the way I receive prayers fulfilled. When I am asking for something, the petition itself is born of my ability to imagine what it will be like without God's help, and so I ask for an alternative. Somehow, though, once the alternative "comes true," I have the unsettling suspicion that it might have worked out that way anyway--that this is just how it was going to be, and I no longer consider any alternative to my present experience. I confess, with great humility, that I am far more of a deist and a materialist than I ever wished or imagined. I would say "cripple" is a mild way of putting it. Psalm 124 has convicted me that I have a profound need to exercise my imagination, considering what would have surely happened had it not been the Lord who was on my side. From that ability, a great and real sense of joy flows forth--true celebration. Blessed be the Lord, who would not give us up!
After these reflections, I began straining to think of other songs that speak in the conditional. None have come to mind in English, but I'll share a couple in Spanish.
Si no hubiera sido por el Señor (If it hadn't been for the Lord)
Si no hubiera sido por el Señor. (If it hadn't been for the Lord)
Si no hubiera sido por el Señor. (If it hadn't been for the Lord)
Mi alma se hubiera perdido (My soul wold have been lost)
Si no hubiera sido por el Señor; (If it hadn't been for the Lord)
Mi alma se hubiera perdido (My soul would have been lost)
Si no hubiera sido por el Señor; (If it hadn't been for the Lord)
¡Muchísimas gracias, oh buen Señor! (Thank you so much, O Good Lord)
¡Muchísimas gracias, oh buen Señor! (Thank you so much, O Good Lord)
Tu sangre en la cruz derramaste; (Your blood you shed on the cross)
Con ella limpiaste mi corazón. (With it you washed my heart)
Tu sangre en la cruz derramaste; (Your blood you shed on the cross)
Con ella limpiaste mi corazón. (With it you washed my heart)
¡Oh, gloria, aleluya a ti, Señor! (O glory, Halleluya to you, Lord )
¡Oh, gloria, aleluya a ti, Señor! (O glory, Halleluya to you, Lord )
Mi alma te ensalza y alaba; (My soul extols and praises you)
Con gozo te canta por tu amor. (With joy it sings to you because of your love)
Mi alma te ensalza y alaba; (My soul extols and praises you)
Con gozo te canta por tu amor. (With joy it sings to you because of your love)
Qué sería de mí (What would become of me)
Qué sería de mí si no me hubieras alcanzado (What would become of me, if you hadn't reached me?)
Dónde estaría hoy si no me hubieras perdonado (Where would I be today if you hadn't forgiven me?)
Tendría un vacío en mi corazón (I would have an empty space in my heart)
Vagaría sin rumbo, sin dirección (I would wander aimlessly, without direction)
Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor (If it wasn't for your grace and your love)
Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor (If it wasn't for your grace and your love)
Sería como un pájaro herido que se muere en el suelo (I would be like a wounded bird that dies on the ground)
Sería como un ciervo que brama por agua en un desierto (I would be like a deer that pants for water in the desert)
Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor (If it wasn't for your grace and your love)
Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor (If it wasn't for your grace and your love)
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