At the LORD’s command they encamped, and at the LORD’s command they set out. They obeyed the LORD’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses. – Numbers 9:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 3, 2021): Numbers 9

The prayer has been called beautiful yet extreme. It has been criticized for its fatalistic nature. It was written during a portion of our history when infant mortality was high, and men often died young. If you survived to later life in those days, you often suffered in a state of poverty that would last the length of your days. The argument is that the prayer is bound to that era and of lesser use in contemporary society. And maybe that is so, and yet, there is something fatalistic about this Christian existence that we live. Like many civil servants working in government offices, we serve at the pleasure of the President or the King.

The prayer in question is called “The Methodist Covenant Prayer,” and it reads like this:

I am no longer my own but yours.

Put me to what you will,

Rank me with whom you will;

Put me to doing, put me to suffering;

Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,

Exalted for you or brought low for you;

Let me be full, let me be empty,

Let me have all things, let me have nothing;

I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

You are mine, and I am yours.

So be it.

And the covenant made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

The prayer does indeed deal with the extremes of life while we seem to live in varied shades of grey. But there is also something extreme about even our existence.

This fatalistic existence was something that Israel knew well. They did not get up in the morning and make plans for the day to come. They got up and looked toward the Temple. If the cloud covered it, then they prepared to live one more day in their encampment. But if the cloud had risen, then they prepared to leave. There were no shades of grey. Just go or stay. I think Israel would have understood the words from the prayer; “Put me to doing, put me to suffering; Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you.” Tell me to stay, or tell me to go. There were no other choices.

There still isn’t another choice. We serve at the pleasure of our heavenly King to do as he wishes. We are employed by him or laid aside for him. And we can still echo the prayer as we go through our days.

And now, glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

You are mine, and I am yours.

So be it.

And the covenant made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 10