August 24th, 2026
by Paul Cypert
by Paul Cypert
Paul Simon (Simon and Garfunkel) in the song ‘BLESSED’ sings “blessed are the sat upon, spat upon and ratted on”. The song weaves a satirical irony mimicking the teaching of Jesus called by many ‘the Beatitudes’ found in Matthew chapter 5.
The haunting lyrics leaves one to wonder of his/her own condition as He sings “My words trickle down like a wound that I have no intention to heal.” And “I have tended my own garden much too long”.
Left unattended wounds do that. They grow a garden of introspection a type of narcissistic view where the wounded both loves and hates the image they see reflected by their lives. Folks desperately look to addictive substances, status, relationship, or persona to somehow mystically ease the pain of the wound. But they don’t.
And life goes on …
Because the pain of the wound is never assuaged …
Because there is no intention to heal …
And I ponder … have I left wounds unattended?
There’s a better way …
Maybe our understanding is skewed …
Robert Robinson penned these words in the old Hymn ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’. 3rd Stanza:
“O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;seal it for thy courts above”.
I love the Old Hymn but have some concerns with Robert’s Theology.
Seems to me Robert was asking God to do something about his wandering heart that a prayer or stanza sung does not cure.
At least Robert understood the battle was within. Maybe that he never read the scripture where Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (emphasis mine) Matthew 11:28-29 NASB 1995
And perhaps we like Robert don’t get it because we don’t understand that life is a classroom not a court room.
He restores my soul!
All of us have wounds to heal to some degree just based on the fact we are born into a sinful state. So, be Intentional! All spiritual wholeness/growth is in an act of intentionality. It is a big step to tether one’s life and future to Jesus and learn. At its basic level it is the abandonment of your self-life. And being tethered to Jesus? Well, it is a difficult to wander when you are yoked/tethered with Jesus.
He must increase I must decrease.
How often do we actually bump into ourselves and really examine the fact that we are going to church but we are not going deeper? Well, all that churchy stuff is pretty amazing. But you got to understand church is not a replacement for individual spiritual growth. Growth can become communal through the shared experience. Connection with others who are all about the same work as you. Depth and growth. Go to church but don’t think attendance, worship or works are a substitute for you and your responsibility to grow spiritually. Church can and should support our apprenticeship with Jesus.
Past the cross it seems to me the fiercest and strongest love comes to us when the Lord is working on our souls. Why? Because He is jealous for you. Because it is the work of the Father fighting for His sons and daughters. That they may be holy.
And I wonder … How often do we bypass spiritual work by replacing it with churchy work?
Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of the Heaven. Book of Matthew 5:3
So, blessed are the troubled souls! Those who recognize their situation. Those who struggle with faith, sin, wandering, understanding God. Those who see and recognize their spiritual poverty, their lack of spiritual acumen, whose very souls are under attack. Jesus said, “for theirs is the Kingdom of God (Heavens)”.
And this is important for you to understand; God is not in the least uncomfortable with the struggle in fact he welcomes it. Embrace it and be one of those powerful persons who has every intention of healing the wound. And don’t you get it? You are the blessed for the kingdom of the Heavens welcomes both the person and the struggle. But don’t expect to stay the same.
This is a great starting place to learn the ways of Jesus: start your day with the Lord’s prayer … this is simple prayer and as you pray this prayer which is by the way all the structure someone needs to have a powerful and active prayer life you will begin to quiet your soul and sense and hear his leading in your spirit. Then Follow His lead …
Let Nothing Disturb You,
Paul
The haunting lyrics leaves one to wonder of his/her own condition as He sings “My words trickle down like a wound that I have no intention to heal.” And “I have tended my own garden much too long”.
Left unattended wounds do that. They grow a garden of introspection a type of narcissistic view where the wounded both loves and hates the image they see reflected by their lives. Folks desperately look to addictive substances, status, relationship, or persona to somehow mystically ease the pain of the wound. But they don’t.
And life goes on …
Because the pain of the wound is never assuaged …
Because there is no intention to heal …
And I ponder … have I left wounds unattended?
There’s a better way …
Maybe our understanding is skewed …
Robert Robinson penned these words in the old Hymn ‘Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing’. 3rd Stanza:
“O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;seal it for thy courts above”.
I love the Old Hymn but have some concerns with Robert’s Theology.
Seems to me Robert was asking God to do something about his wandering heart that a prayer or stanza sung does not cure.
At least Robert understood the battle was within. Maybe that he never read the scripture where Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (emphasis mine) Matthew 11:28-29 NASB 1995
And perhaps we like Robert don’t get it because we don’t understand that life is a classroom not a court room.
He restores my soul!
All of us have wounds to heal to some degree just based on the fact we are born into a sinful state. So, be Intentional! All spiritual wholeness/growth is in an act of intentionality. It is a big step to tether one’s life and future to Jesus and learn. At its basic level it is the abandonment of your self-life. And being tethered to Jesus? Well, it is a difficult to wander when you are yoked/tethered with Jesus.
He must increase I must decrease.
How often do we actually bump into ourselves and really examine the fact that we are going to church but we are not going deeper? Well, all that churchy stuff is pretty amazing. But you got to understand church is not a replacement for individual spiritual growth. Growth can become communal through the shared experience. Connection with others who are all about the same work as you. Depth and growth. Go to church but don’t think attendance, worship or works are a substitute for you and your responsibility to grow spiritually. Church can and should support our apprenticeship with Jesus.
Past the cross it seems to me the fiercest and strongest love comes to us when the Lord is working on our souls. Why? Because He is jealous for you. Because it is the work of the Father fighting for His sons and daughters. That they may be holy.
And I wonder … How often do we bypass spiritual work by replacing it with churchy work?
Jesus said, Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of the Heaven. Book of Matthew 5:3
So, blessed are the troubled souls! Those who recognize their situation. Those who struggle with faith, sin, wandering, understanding God. Those who see and recognize their spiritual poverty, their lack of spiritual acumen, whose very souls are under attack. Jesus said, “for theirs is the Kingdom of God (Heavens)”.
And this is important for you to understand; God is not in the least uncomfortable with the struggle in fact he welcomes it. Embrace it and be one of those powerful persons who has every intention of healing the wound. And don’t you get it? You are the blessed for the kingdom of the Heavens welcomes both the person and the struggle. But don’t expect to stay the same.
This is a great starting place to learn the ways of Jesus: start your day with the Lord’s prayer … this is simple prayer and as you pray this prayer which is by the way all the structure someone needs to have a powerful and active prayer life you will begin to quiet your soul and sense and hear his leading in your spirit. Then Follow His lead …
Let Nothing Disturb You,
Paul
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