One time when Coemgen was reciting his hours, he dropped his psalter into the lake; and great grief and vexation seized him. And the angel said to him: “Do not grieve,” said he. Afterwards an otter came to Coemgen bringing the psalter with him from the bottom of the lake, and not a line or letter was blotted. The angel told Coemgen to go to teach and preach the Word of God to the peoples, and not to hide himself any longer.
– Anonymous, Life of Coemgen (I)
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
– Revelation 14.6, 7
A mixture of truth and tale
These stories make me smile. They also challenge me in the depths of my soul. How precious is the Word of God to me?
I would love to have been a young man, sitting around a fire and listening to an old saint relate the life of Patrick, Brigit, Coemgen, Columbanus, or Colum Cille. Given the historical and cultural background of the Irish people, they would have expected the stories of their forebears in the faith to include episodes like the one excerpted above. And they would have been able to separate the truth from the tale to be delighted by the one and taught by the other.
Coemgen had decided to live a solitary life on a hillside between two lakes. The Irish word Glendalough means just that, “between two lakes”. It was his practice there to seek the Lord early and throughout the day, living off the land and pursuing a life of prayer and meditation.
We can envision him walking down to one of the lakes, his psalter in hand, to sit on a rock and enjoy an extended season of prayer and singing. Many Irish saints found retreating into woods or fields or hillsides or the shores of lakes an important aspect of their devotional lives. They knew how to experience God there, and if, like Coemgen, they were ensconced in a revelation-rich environment and had their psalter with them, well, that was about as good as it gets in this life.
The truth: Coemgen dropped his psalter into the lake. We can hear him, like Charlie Brown, “Aaaaaagh!” But a word from the Lord came to him—perhaps whispered by an angel?—reminding him not to despair or grieve. Somehow, he managed to retrieve the psalter, undamaged. The tale: An otter fetched it for him.
The truth: Coemgen took this as a sign that he was to forego his retirement and instead, preach and teach the Word to the peoples around him.
The preciousness of the Word
For the few minutes (perhaps) that Coemgen had lost his psalter, he realized just how precious the Word of God was to him. It fed His soul, guided his prayers, comforted him in his solitude, and directed his daily life. It is possible that an angel helped him from time to time in understanding difficult parts of the psalms. An angel continually preaches the Gospel over the whole earth in a manner we cannot fully understand. Surely angels, which serve and protect us all day long, can impress us with reminders from Scripture—“Count it all joy…”—as well as some word concerning our calling and work.
Was Coemgen, overjoyed to have his psalter back, suddenly and powerfully affected for the neighboring peoples who had no knowledge of God’s Word? His calling seems to have begun at this point, for he immediately took up the work at Glendalough for which he is remembered.
And what about us? Do we regard the Scriptures—God speaking to us—as precious and indispensable? If so, then how do our lost neighbors get by without them? What will it take to burden us for them, that they, too, might hear the Good News about Jesus Christ and His eternal Kingdom?
A young man, hearing this tale of Coemgen and his psalter, might have sensed a rebuke from God, that he should seek Him more diligently in His Word. Or an exhortation to cherish the Scriptures more earnestly. Or to make himself available to the Lord to discover his own mission field and minister the Word to the people there.
What might an angel of the Lord want you to learn from Coemgen’s experience about the preciousness of God’s Word?
For Reflection
1. What do we mean by saying that the Word of God is “precious”?
2. How would someone know that the Word is “precious” to you?
Psalm 71.23, 24, 3
(Solid Rock: My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less)
My lips with joy and praises ring;
to You, Redeemer, praise I bring!
I praise Your goodness all day long; LORD, humble all who do me wrong.
Refrain, v. 3
A Rock of habitation be;
command Your Word to rescue me;
my Rock and Fortress ever be!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are investigating the role of culture in God’s Kingdom. Our Read Moore podcast continues working through The Gospel of the Kingdom, working to understand the true Gospel of the Lord. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
