The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.

Carols with uses 2

In As with gladness men of old William Dix makes applications as he goes. So at the ends of the first three verses we have

So, most glorious Lord, may we Evermore be led to Thee.
So may we with willing feet Ever seek Thy mercy seat.
So may we with holy joy, Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring, Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.

Then in the penultimate verse he writes

Holy Jesus, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds Thy glory hide.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the reminder of the Gospel bite of some of these hymns. We often lose the focus in a soft-wash of familiarity and sentimentality, and forget the point that the hymn writers were driving at.