[202]. A Message From A Poem – Pictures From A Counting Song – (Part 2)

[202]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM – PICTURES FROM A COUNTING SONG – (PART 2)

THIS SECOND PART OF THE POEM IS PART 2. IT CONTINUES FROM THE PREVIOUS POST.

“ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE” OR “1, 2, BUCKLE MY SHOE” is a counting song dating back to late 18th century in the USA. It was heard for the first time around 1780 somewhere around Wrentham, Massachusetts. However the first published version of this traditional nursery rhyme is found in London in a children’s song book called “Songs for the Nursery” that appeared in 1805. I have taken each of the 10 lines and made a Christian application for each. One line becomes a stanza.

This is a long poem and developed out of wanting to adapt that counting song to a Christian context. What can I say about it? The poem was too large to be accepted so I have had to break it into 2 Parts which does destroy the uniformity. This is Part 2.

There are just so many scriptures that can be used here for the poem but let us look just at the first one only:-

[[We rise more in the count with, “Eleven, twelve, Dig and Delve.”

Too many Christians neglect the word; its importance, shelve.

“Study to be approved to God,” Paul said to Timothy.

Many are too lazy and they’re governed by apathy.]]

The bible is like a gold mine where you mine for the gold. It takes effort. This mine has countless horizontal gold seams, and the deeper you mine, the more rewarding it is. It is easy to extract the gold near the surface and some Christians just scratch around in the bible and don’t bother to mine seriously, but to “dig and delve” is very rewarding. It is no good to be lazy in that regard and miss out on the treasures found in God’s word. The treasures of the bible are inexhaustible.

{{2 Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth”}}

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PICTURES FROM A COUNTING SONG

One, two, Buckle my shoe;

Three, four, Knock at the door;

Five, six, Pick up sticks;

Seven, eight, Lay them straight:

Nine, ten, A big fat hen ;

Eleven, twelve, Dig and delve;

Thirteen fourteen, Draw the curtain;

Fifteen, sixteen, Maids in the kitchen;

Seventeen, eighteen, Maids in waiting

Nineteen, twenty, My plate’s empty.”

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We rise more in the count with, “Eleven, twelve, Dig and Delve.”

Too many Christians neglect the word; its importance, shelve.

“Study to be approved to God,” Paul said to Timothy.

Many are too lazy and they’re governed by apathy.

A Christian must delve into the word to grow for the Lord,

For the bible is for us, the powerful Spirit’s sword.

Like in a gem mine, with effort, we’ll dig for treasures there;

The beautiful godly gems of Christ, that sparkle so fair.

Their lustre from the bible shines with God’s inspiration.

Take the word, dig and delve with a proper expectation.

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“Thirteen, fourteen, Draw the curtain,” the next line would declare.

Draw it carefully, prayerfully, and without the fanfare.

To draw the curtain on one’s life is a solemn business,

For it opens two diverse ways for man – gladness, sadness.

The Christian ends this life when heaven’s glory’s revealed.

Such delight and joy; magnificence no longer concealed.

The curtain will close, but new life will burst upon the ones

Who are God’s own, redeemed, and saved as God dear blood-bought sons.

But now the dire warning to those not of God, still unsaved -

Before the curtain is drawn, believe; do not be enslaved.

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“Fifteen, sixteen, Maids in the kitchen” – A very odd line.

Maids are servants, and servants work; they toil for those who dine;

Preparing food and cooking, washing up, cleaning dishes

And doing whatever things their lord and master wishes.

Christians have a Lord and Master, and we His servants are.

We work for Him, mundanely too, in service He won’t bar.

Good and faithful servants are those who serve in God’s kitchen,

Who serve in thick and thin; their Lord they honour as sovereign.

Service is an honour, for Jesus who loved us and died,

So like maids, we serve in God’s kitchen, where Christ is our Guide.

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Now we get higher – “seventeen, eighteen, Maids in waiting”,

“But waiting for what?” we might ask as we too are watching.

We’re waiting for the dawning when the Lord will come again;

For the Church’s rapture, and the removal from all pain.

Come, Lord Jesus, come, for we wait for you, our precious Lord,

To take us home to heaven, and there, our Christ-won reward.

As Christians, we know what comes as we consider this:

We rest in patience for redemption that we will not miss.

As “maids in waiting”, so we are to hear the Lord’s strong voice,

“Come up here!” – your wait is over; forever we’ll rejoice.

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“Nineteen, twenty, My plate’s empty, and this is where I start.

My dear Lord, I want You to fill my life, and fill my heart.

My plate is empty for godly things from Your abundance -

Fill it up for life and witness, to be my sustenance.

He feeds me with His daily bread, with Him for fellowship.

Day by day, He fills my empty plate with His choice friendship.

My empty place is blessedness, for it means I need You.

Feed me with the Saviour’s goodness, with all things that are true,

That I may grow, conformed to You, that holy I might be,

And acceptable in Your will, and live for You solely.

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1-5 March 2022 Ronald E Ferguson Metre = 14 throughout. Same with rhyme scheme AABB etc