Last weekend, a spelling error that I noticed in a PowerPoint slide of Newton’s hymn Amazing Grace provided my journal with an interesting object lesson (not to be read at mealtime).
In the first verse of the hymn a line on the screen read: “That saved a retch like me” instead of “That saved a wretch like me”.
A wretch (spelled with a W) is one for whom we feel sorry whereas a retch (spelled without a W) is that which is spued out of the mouth.
However, this lapsus calami may still have been quite biblical.
Leviticus 18:25 & 28 speaks of the land vomiting out its evil inhabitants and Leviticus 20:22 speaks of the obedient ones not being vomited out of the land.
In Job 20:15 we read the words of one of Job’s “friends”, Zophar the Naamathite. Zophar’s discourse upon the certain misery of the wicked includes the expression, “He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.” (Which is just another way of saying that wickedness is a retch.)
After the well-known expression “[As a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he” the proverb continues, “ Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. (Proverbs 23:7,8)
Proverbs 25:16 warns against eating too much honey (remembering that honey, according to Proverbs 24:13, is good for you.) confirming that too much of a good thing is bad for us. (This warning is repeated in Proverbs 25:27.)
Revelation 3:16 reads, “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” This is the most unequivocally definitive verse likening us (embarrassingly) to vomit!
However the most reassuring verse in the Bible in relation to us being a retch is found in Jonah 2:10 where God caused Jonah the wretch (spelled with a W) to become Jonah the retch (spelled without the W) in order to give Jonah a second chance. It says “And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” Jonah then changed from retch to revivalist, from throw-up to show up, from puke to preacher, from sick to sermoniser, from filled with spew to filling the pew, in short, Jonah was called from the vomit by God to the vocation of God.
Finally, if you’re feeling down-in-the-mouth over this, remember Jonah. He came out all right!
-- Lionel Hartley ©14 April 2011
Happy reading. A number of people have asked if they can use quotes from my Blog in church bulletins or newsletters. Permission is granted provided credit is given to: Dr Lionel Hartley, www.hartleyonline.blogspot.com
Profile
- Lionel Hartley
- Born in New Zealand of English parentage, Lionel D C Hartley worked as an office and theatre manager and commercial artist while gaining qualifications in Business Administration and an honorary diploma in Dramatic Art. In the 1970s, he graduated as a Registered Nurse with subsequent postgraduate qualifications in Psychiatric and Psychopaedic Nursing, Nursing Nutrition and Administration, Sex Therapy and Family Life Counselling. In 1980, he graduated from a Melbourne Theological Seminary with a Diploma of Religion and in 1989 received a PhD in Sociology. He also has qualifications in graphic design, computer programming, business law, accountancy and economics. He is perhaps best known as the author, co-author, editor, and/or illustrator of over 100 books and hundreds of periodical articles, pamphlets and multimedia publications. He retired after 30 years as a family life counsellor. Lionel is still very involved in campanology, writing, manuscript translating (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Latin, and Portuguese), and public speaking. He is married to Rosemary (nee Wells) and they have three grown children. -- Adapted from a profile written by Theo B Hawkins.