The gospel feast.
Luke 14:16ff.
[How rich are thy provisions, Lord!
Thy table furnished from above!
The fruits of life o'erspread the board,
The cup o'erflows with heav'nly love.
Thine ancient family, the Jews,
Were first invited to the feast:
We humbly take what they refuse,
And Gentiles thy salvation taste.
We are the poor, the blind, the lame,
And help was far, and death was nigh;
But at the gospel-call we came,
And every want received supply.
From the highway that leads to hell,
From paths of darkness and despair,
Lord, we are come with thee to dwell,
Glad to enjoy thy presence here.]
[What shall we pay th' eternal Son,
That left the heav'n of his abode,
And to this wretched earth came down,
To bring us wand'rers back to God?
It cost him death to save our lives;
To buy our souls it cost his own;
And all the unknown joys he gives
Were bought with agonies unknown.
Our everlasting love is due
To him that ransomed sinners lost
And pitied rebels, when he knew
The vast expense his love would cost.]
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Comments
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"We humbly take what they refuse" is referring to Jesus, Nam. The Jews do not accept him as their savior and are sill awaiting their Messiah.
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Yes, I know this but my perception of Watts' is stating in that verse is that -- from his point-of-view -- they are nothing more than "atheists" since they do not believe that Christ is their Lord and Savior.
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Watts' speaks in his verse in the second part as if the Jews are like every other "gentile" (as he writes) yet most agree today that they are still the "chosen" people. So, he places a negative on them as if they are nothing but "atheists" of some kind.
At least that's my perception of his words. My Great-Grandmother wrote poems of this accord but even in saying that, and she was a good writer (published and everything) I feel Watts is better at the verse than she ever was.
A good piece that Watts has written here.
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