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Odes of Solomon

Real Bhakti: Love, Reverence, Worship and Sharing in the Being of God

The purpose of creation: for real bhakti

A continuation of our series of postings on the early Christian writings, the mystical Odes of Solomon, written in Apostolic times.

I will give thanks unto Thee O Lord, because I love Thee.
O Most High Thou wilt not forsake me, for Thou art my hope.
Freely I have received Thy grace, I shall live thereby.
My persecutors will come and not see me.
A cloud of darkness shall fall on their eyes, and an air of thick gloom shall darken them.
And they shall have no light to see, so that they may not take hold upon me.
Let their counsel become dull, so that whatever they have cunningly devised may return upon their own heads.
For they have devised a counsel, and it did not succeed.
They prepared themselves wickedly, but they were found to be worthless.
For my hope is upon the Lord, and I will not fear.
And because the Lord is my salvation, I will not fear.
And he is as a garland on my head, and I shall not be moved.
Even if everything should be shaken, I stand firm.
And if all things visible should perish, I shall not die.
Because the Lord is with me, and I am with him. Alleluia.
        –Ode 5 of the Odes of Solomon

  • I will give thanks unto Thee O Lord, because I love Thee.

This entire creation has been spread out for us to make possible our evolution into conscious and perfect sons of God. To truly thank God we must use his creation for the intended purpose: our ascent to Divine Consciousness. That is why David sang:

“What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord” (Psalms 116:12-13).

In other words, seeing the blessing of God David has determined to drink of the cup of immortality and be saved from all limitation and ignorance that attends relative existence. The purpose of a school, however excellent its physical facilities may be, is to learn and leave. We are good students if we avail ourselves of this very birth to liberate ourselves from further birth.

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Growing in the Presence of God

growing in the presence of God

A continuation of our series of postings on the early Christian writings, the mystical Odes of Solomon, written in Apostolic times.

No man O my God changeth Thy Holy Place, nor can he change it and put it in another place.
Because he hath no power over it, for Thy sanctuary Thou hast designed before Thou didst make other places.
That which is the elder shall not be altered by those that are younger than Itself;
Thou hast given Thy heart O Lord to Thy believers.
Never wilt Thou fail, nor be without fruits.
For one hour of Thy faith, is more precious than all days and years.
For who is there that shall put on Thy grace and be rejected?
For Thy seal is known, and Thy creatures are known to it.
And Thy hosts possess it, and the pure archangels are clothed with it.
Thou hast given us Thy fellowship; it was not that Thou wast in need of us, but that we are in need of Thee.
Distill Thy dews upon us, and open Thy rich fountains that pour forth to us milk and honey.
For there is not regret with Thee, that Thou shouldest regret anything which Thou hast promised.
And the end was revealed before Thee.
For what Thou gavest Thou gavest freely, so that no longer wilt Thou draw back and take them again.
For all was revealed before Thee as God, and ordered from the beginning before Thee.
And Thou O Lord hast made all. Alleluia.
–Ode of Solomon 4

About 1960, He Sent Leaness, a book of prayers that people really say in their hearts was shown to me by a friend. She particularly liked the very short one that simply said: “Oh, God, won’t You please stop this awful experiment of trying to make men like Christ?”

These words embody the age-old struggle between God and man: the struggle of God to make man into god and the struggle of man to make God into man, or at least to make him give up and accept man as man and nothing more. Yet, the moment good sense and honesty arises in the questing mind the truth is seen:

  • No man O my God changeth Thy Holy Place, nor can he change it and put it in another place.

The Holy cannot be made unholy, the True cannot be made false, the Infinite cannot be made finite, the Unchanging cannot be made changeable, the Divine cannot be made human.

  • Because he hath no power over it, for Thy sanctuary Thou hast designed before Thou didst make other places. That which is the elder shall not be altered by those that are younger than Itself.

Although discouraged by the old saying, it is possible to teach your grandmother to suck eggs, but not your God. Do not try.

  • Thou hast given Thy heart O Lord to Thy believers.

The unholy can be made holy, the ignorant can be made wise, the finite can be elevated to infinity, the changeable can be made unchanging, and the human can be made divine, for all that is done by God. How? By giving his “heart,” his Consciousness, to those who seek him. It is not God’s grace, love, kindness or mercy we need. We need God. We need to merge with divinity and become divine.

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