"All along the Watchtower" was originally written by Bob Dylan and appeared on his 1967 John Wesley Harding album and it has been included on may of Dylan's compilation albums too.Since the late 1970's he has performed it more than any other of his songs. The song has been covered by numerous artists including Jeff Healey. The most famous of those cover was by Jimi Hendrix. He recored "All Along The Watchtower" for Electric Ladyland. The Billy Valentine and the Forest |Rangers version of the song appears on the TV hit series "Sons of Anarchy"
When Bob Dylan wrote "All along the Watchtower" it summarised Dylan's own life to date. Given his earlier efforts to make pointed fun of almost everything around him, and his near-fatal motorcycle crash that marked a turning point in his career, it is hard not to see the joker as Dylan himself. He has now learned that life is not a joke, and distinguishes between artists and outsiders who understand the seriousness of life, versus the businessmen and fans who treat his art as simply a marketable commodity.
Said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Business men – they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody of it is worth."
"No reason to get excited, "
The thief – he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now
The hour's getting late."
All along the watchtower
Princess kept the view
While all the women came
And went bare-foot servants too
Outside in the cold distance
A wild cat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey.
There are other reflections that I would like to think about this morning other than where Dylan came in his thinking that life was not a joke. In the Scripture the "Watchtower" is mentioned lots of times.
Isaiah 21:8 - And he cried, A lion: My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights:
Isaiah 5:2 - And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
Habakkuk 2:1 - I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.
2 Kings 9:17 - And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, [Is it] peace?Micah 4:8 - And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.2 Samuel 22:3 - The God of my rock; in him will I trust: [he is] my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.Psalms 18:2 - The LORD [is] my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, [and] my high tower.2 Samuel 22:51 - [He is] the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.Psalms 144:2 - My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and [he] in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.Psalms 61:3 - For thou hast been a shelter for me, [and] a strong tower from the enemy.Proverbs 18:10 - The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." -
The watchtower in the vineyard in scripture is seen as a tower of refuge and strength, a tower of protection from enemy attack, a tower where you could look out and prepare for the arrival of both good and bad. It was practically mandatory to have one, because it provided answers for life’s important and pressing questions.
Where are my children? Climb up into the tower and look. How is the harvest? Climb the tower and see. Where are the workers? Look for them from the tower. Where shall I rest with some sense of protection? In the tower. Where shall I store our supplies? In the protection of the tower. Where can I collect my thoughts and pray? Climb the tower. Where should my children go when bears enter the vineyard? The tower. If intruders enter, where is the safest place for us to withstand them? The safest place in the vineyard, was the vineyard high tower. For the ancients, the tower was a symbol of strength, visibility and protection. Jesus is the fulfillment of that symbol. He offers Himself to be the answer to our most anxious and pressing questions.
How are my children? Jesus is my tower. How are the finances doing? Jesus is my tower. Where can I find peace amidst the strife in my family? I will pray from my tower. How can I solve these difficult problems? I will run to my tower and receive guidance. Where can I find peace? Within my tower of refuge and strength. Where will I find love? From Love Himself, Jesus, the Lord, who made us and fashioned us, and calls us to seek and find Him in the high place, the place of seeing, the place of solidness, the fortress on high; the truly safest on earth, the Lord Jesus our Tower. In the New Testament Jesus fulfils the role of the tower. Psalm 18 points to the truth of the tower fulfilled in Jesus- where the Lord Jesus is the watchtower himself. May you run to him who is the watchtower to gain your strength or perspective today.
Psalm 18:1-2 - “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
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