“Give me the grace to bear my burden so
That men may learn the secret of my power,
And meet each trouble with their face aglow,
And voice thy praises in the midnight hour;
For when our helplessness cries unto thee,
Thy power descends in Christ to set us free.”
We miss much by not giving heed to the marginal readings in our reference Bibles. Ofttimes a new light falls upon a verse or a word, when we have noted that alternative renderings which is thus given. These marginal reading give us other shades of meaning in the original words, and ofttimes suggest a hidden sense which is very beautiful.
Take a single example. Few Bible words are more frequently quoted than that in one of the psalms, which says, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.” The privilege is a very precious one. We all have our burden. No matter how happy any one is, he is bearing some weight of care, or sorrow, or responsibility. Continually we find our load too heavy for our own unaided strength. We feel that we cannot carry it without help. Human love comes up close beside us, willing, if it were possible, to take the burden from our shoulder, and carry it for us. But this is not possible. “Every man must bear his own burden.” Most of life’s loads are not transferable.
Take pain, for instance. No tenderest, truest love can bear our pain for us, or even bear any smallest part of it. Or take sorrow. Close as human friendship may come to us when our heart is breaking with grief, it cannot take from us any least portion of the anguish we suffer as we meet bereavement. Or take struggle with temptation. We can get no human help in it, and must pass through the struggle alone.
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