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God Who Touchest Earth with Beauty

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Words: Mary Susanne Edgar (b. May 23, 1889; d. Sept. 17, 1973)
Music: Bullinger, by Ethelbert William Bullinger (b. Dec. 15, 1837; d. June 6, 1913)

Mary Edgar and Ada Mackenzie

Note: There is a biographical note about Mary Edgar in the Wordwise link at the bottom of this article. She was a Canadian author who published poetry, hymns, and plays, but she is chiefly known for her development of a camp for girls in Ontario. Edgar was the director of Camp Glen Bernard from its beginning in 1922 until her retirement in 1956. In this 1922 photograph, Mary is on the left. On the right is Canadian Women’s Golf Champion, Ada Mackenzie. The latter instructed the campers in golf.

The author’s great love for nature is evident in her hymn, published in 1925. It was submitted to a contest by the American Camping Association the following year, and won first prize.

As to the tune’ composer, Dr. Bullinger was a Hebrew and Greek scholar, and a musician. He developed The Companion Bible, with its extensive Hebrew and Greek notes. The tune Bullinger is also used with Frances Havergal’s hymn I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus. There was also a tune called Glen Bernard. It was written for the hymn in 1925 by James Edmund Jones (1866-1939).

1) God who touchest earth with beauty,
Make my heart anew;
With Thy Spirit recreate me,
Pure, and strong and true.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Since God created all things in the natural world, it’s not surprising that the natural world reflects something of His nature, and that it is used in His Word to teach spiritual lessons. For example, the lazy person is told to “go to the ant” and learn lessons of discipline and conservation from that little insect (Prov. 6:6-8). And those who wait on God in prayer are told they will “renew their strength,” and “mount up with wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31).

The parables of the Lord Jesus are full of such comparisons. He used simple objects such as coins, and familiar practices such as farming, to illustrate valuable lessons. And we can envision the folly of mending an old garment with a new piece of cloth that has not been pre-shrunk (Matt. 9:16), or the impossibility of a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle (Matt. 19:24). These analogies and many more convey spiritual insights to all willing to learn by them.

Matthew, Mark and Luke each record Christ’s parable about different kinds of soil (cf. Lk. 8:4-15). It was presented as a basic story teaching foundational truths (Mk. 4:13). In the parable, the seed being sown in a field is the Word of God being proclaimed to the multitudes. Some of the seed fell on the rocks, and some on the beaten path. These pictured hearts that were unreceptive to the truth. Other seeds fell among thorns or weeds, and the plants that sprouted were choked out. But some fell in good soil and bore lasting fruit. The latter portrays those who believe and faithfully apply the Word.

It is in this way that the poet uses what she no doubt saw all around her in her camping work, to teach spiritual lessons. See how, in her hymn, Miss Edgar draws analogies from various things in the natural world.

(2). She calls us to purity of heart, like springs of crystal clear water. And like great towering rocks we ought to be strong and sure–steadfast in our spiritual lives.

(3). Like waves dancing in the sunlight, the hymn calls upon us to live our lives in gladness and freedom. And like the straightness of the pines, to be upright in character.

(4). As the heavens arch overhead, we ought to lift our thoughts to higher things, and seek to express this higher perspective in “noble action” and loving service.

(5) is an echo of the opening stanza, but where the prayer at first is “make me” one who is pleasing in Your sight (cf. II Cor. 3:18), the conclusion of the prayer calls up upon the Lord to “keep me” as I ought to be (cf. Jude 1:24-25).

Though this hymn does not tell us anything about how to be delivered from sin’s crippling bondage, through faith in Christ, or how the indwelling Holy Spirit empowers the believer to live and grow in Christlikeness, it is not incompatible with these essential truths. If they are taught by other means, this hymn can serve a worthwhile purpose.

The song can help to sensitize us to lessons God has provided all around us. We can learn from them ourselves, and point them out to others. This is particularly valuable as a way for parents to instill godly wisdom in their children. The Lord has created a beautiful world, and it points the way to His re-creating work in each of us.

Questions:

  1. What illustrations from nature have been a help in your own spiritual life?
  2. What other hymns do you know that provide good lessons from nature?

Links:

Before Jehovah’s Awful Throne

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Words: Isaac Watts (b. July 17, 1674; d. Nov. 25, 1748), altered by John Wesley (b. June 28, 1703; d. March 2, 1791)
Music: Old Hundred, attributed to Louis Bourgeois (b. circa 1510; d. Aug. 25, 1572)

Note: The original version of the hymn was written by Dr. Watts and published in 1719. It began with an entirely different stanza:

Sing to the Lord with joyful voice,
Let every land His name adore;
The British Isles shall send the noise
Across the ocean to the shore.

For obvious reasons, this nationalistic stanza has been omitted. John Wesley did an excellent job of revising the rest in 1737. It is Wesley’s version that is included here.

Today’s editors have changed the opening line, feeling that, in modern usage, the word “awful” has departed too far from its original meaning. (Wasn’t that an awful looking hairdo that Mabel had!”) As Wesley thought of the word, it meant filled with awe–that God’s throne is so glorious and majestic as to fill us with awe and reverence.

Abandoning the word, some have tried, “Before Jehovah’s awe-full throne;” others “Before the Lord Jehovah’s throne;” and still others “Before Jehovah’s Awesome Throne.” A simpler procedure, by far, would be for the service leader to explain the true meaning of the word “awful,” before the hymn is sung.

Various tunes have been suggested (the Cyber Hymnal currently lists three options). I have chosen instead Old Hundredth, the tune often used with All People That on Earth Do Dwell. (This tune doesn’t require a repetition of the last line of each stanza, as the Cyber Hymnal has it.)

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

This hymn is a paraphrase of some truths expressed in Psalm 100. Watts called it “Praise to the Lord from All Nations.” It provides a strong statement of the sovereign majesty of Almighty God.

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.

Ps. 100:1-5

(1) Before Jehovah’s awful throne,
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone;
He can create, and He destroy.

(2) His sovereign power, without our aid,
Made us of clay, and formed us men;
And when like wandering sheep we strayed,
He brought us to His fold again.

On one occasion, Charles Haddon Spurgeon held a service in the Music Hall in Surrey Garden, London, with a gathering of eight to ten thousand people. After the opening prayer, Spurgeon announced this hymn. He read the entire hymn through, announcing that they’d use the tune Old Hundredth in singing it. Then, he read each stanza separately, before it was sung. Describing the experience, one wrote:

“Most magnificent was the shout of praise that now went up. Not a voice was mute, save where occasionally someone’s nerves were overpowered by the massive rolling chorus that rose on every side. Never did we before realize what congregational singing might become. It was an uplifting of voice and heart such as one can hope to hear only a few times in a lifetime.”

Some form of the word “praise” is used 152 times in Psalms (NKJV), surely indicating a major theme of the book. And 44 of those times, the word appears in a verse with forms of either the word sing or song (e.g. Ps. 7:17; 28:7). There is no greater activity in which human beings can engage that in praising God. It will occupy the saints in eternity too (Rev. 19:5).

(3) We are His people, we His care,
Our souls, and all our mortal frame;
What lasting honours shall we rear,
Almighty Maker, to Thy name.

(4) We’ll crowd Thy gates with thankful songs,
High as the heavens our voices raise;
And earth, with her ten thousand tongues,
Shall fill Thy courts with sounding praise.

(5) Wide as the world is Thy command,
Vast as eternity Thy love;
Firm as a rock Thy truth must stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move.

Questions:

  1. See if you can list the things for which Watts and Wesley praise the Lord in this hymn?
  2. What particular thing comes to mind that you personally can praise God for today?

Links:

O Day of Rest and Gladness

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Words: Christopher Wordsworth (b. Oct. 30, 1807; d. March 20, 1885)
Music: Mendebras, a German melody arranged for this hymn by Lowell Mason (b. Jan. 8, 1792; d. Aug. 11, 1872)

Note: Christopher Wordsworth was the nephew of the well-known poet William Wordsworth. Having written it in 1862, the author simply called the hymn “Sunday.” Most hymnals now use (1), (2), (5) and (6), of the original six stanzas.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

One Sunday morning there was a visitor to the home of Bishop Wordsworth, a man who was to lead the service in church that day. Wordsworth put his arm around him and said, “Come upstairs with me. The ladies are going to sing a hymn to encourage you in your labour for the day.” So they went, and heard this hymn, copied on slips of paper. It wasn’t until several days later that the visitor found out that Christopher Wordsworth himself had written the song.

This hymn suffers mildly from a common malady in our hymnody, the virtual equating of the Saturday Jewish Sabbath with the Sunday Christian Lord’s Day. There is not a verse of Scripture to support such a view. Nor is Sunday ever declared to be a day of rest for Christians, as the Sabbath was for Israel (Exod. 20:8-11). The two days are quite distinct in their meaning and purpose. For a fuller discussion of this point, see my article Sunday Sabbath.

I’ve said this is a milder example of the error because it is only in the first and final stanzas that Wordsworth refers to Sunday being a “day of rest.” On the other hand, his second stanza beautifully captures a threefold significance of the Lord’s Day.

(1) O day of rest and gladness, O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness, most beautiful, most bright:
On Thee, the high and lowly, through ages joined in tune,
Sing “Holy, holy, holy,” to the great God Triune.

(2) On Thee, at the creation, the light first had its birth;
On Thee, for our salvation, Christ rose from depths of earth;
On Thee, our Lord, victorious, the Spirit sent from heaven,
And thus on Thee, most glorious, a triple light was given.

Notice the three things mentioned that give particular import to the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week.

  • “The light first had its birth.” On the first day of the creation week, “God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light” (Gen. 1:3-5). (It’s worth noting that this was a day of work for the Lord, not a day of rest, as the seventh day was, Gen. 2:2.) How fitting that the Lord Jesus Christ should take this symbol of life, purity and truth to Himself, saying, “I am the light of the world” (Jn. 8:12).
  • “Christ rose from depths of earth.” It was “the first day of the week” that was resurrection day. “After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb” (Matt. 28:1), and found it empty. In response to their bewilderment, an angel announced, “He is not here, for He is risen as He said” (vs. 6). Notably too, the day of His resurrection was for Christ not a day of rest, but of ceaseless activity.
  • “On Thee, our Lord, victorious, the Spirit sent from heaven.” It was at Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, which was another Sunday, that the Spirit of God began His Church Age ministry, and the church was born (Acts 2:1-6). For the early church as well, that first Sunday was a day of action, not of rest.

In these historic roots the Lord’s Day finds its significance. While the Jewish Sabbath looked back to creation, and was to be a day of rest for Israel, the Christian Lord’s Day celebrates the resurrection of Christ and the birth of the church. It was given that significance not by divine (biblical) law, but apparently by a consensus of the early Christians, who chose it as an appropriate day to assemble for worshiping the Lord Jesus, through whom we have the light of life.

In stanzas 3 to 5, Christopher Wordsworth uses various poetic images to describe what the day is like: a port in the storm, a garden of paradise, a cooling fountain, a mountaintop from which to view our heavenly home, and a time to receive heavenly manna. He concludes (4) by calling it:

A day of sweet reflection, thou art a day of love,
A day of resurrection from earth to things above.

Having said these things about the distinctions of the Lord’s Day, let me contradict myself, slightly. It is, or can be a “day of rest” in the sense that we take a break from the usual routine and make it a day of Christian ministry and fellowship. But how we spend the day is by choice and personal conviction, not by some law of God. Further, we recognize that in our modern world some will be limited by employment duties in their use of the Lord’s Day. They must find their times to get together with God’s people elsewhere.

Questions:

  1. How do you spend the Lord’s Day?
  2. What blessings do you find in it for you and others?

Links:

Never Thirst Again

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Words: May Agnew Stephens (b. ____, 1865; d. March 19, 1935)
Music: May Agnew Stephens

Note: May Agnew began Christian ministry with the Salvation Army. Then after her marriage she became associated with Albert Simpson’s Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. She and her husband founded Parkdale Alliance Tabernacle, in Toronto, Canada. She served in an effective leadership role there, particularly in the area of music.

This gospel song, published in 1903, sometimes uses the first line of the chorus as a title, making it a question: What, Never Thirst Again? The Wordwise Hymns link gives you a picture of Jacob’s well, which is still providing water today. Tourists can drink some of the cold clear water from its spring-fed depths, nearly 4,000 years after Jacob dug the well.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The song is inspired by the words of the Lord Jesus, when He spoke with a Samaritan woman one day (Jn. 4:5-14). He had stopped on the outskirts of a Samaritan city called Sychar, and paused to rest at a well dug by the patriarch Jacob, many centuries before (vs. 5-6). When a woman came by to draw water, He asked her for a drink (vs. 6-7).

The request startled her, because “the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans” (vs. 9). The Lord, however, bypasses any argument over this prejudice, and immediately makes a spiritual comparison to the water of life.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 4:10-14

Water is used here as a symbol of the life-giving, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. That’s made clearer by a later incident.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jn. 7:37-39

(1) There flows from Calvary a stream
For every sinner’s pain,
And he that drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never thirst again.

What! never thirst again?
No, never thirst again;
What! never thirst again?
No, never thirst again,
For he that drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again.

The second stanza seems to make use of a story about a demigod named Tantalus in Greek mythology. He is famous for the form of eternal punishment said to have been inflicted on him. Tantalus was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink. Mrs. Stephens compares this to the fleeting pleasures of the world.

The book of Jeremiah also uses imagery suggesting a frustrated and unsatisfied thirst. There, God says, “For people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns–broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). This latter text is used more explicitly in the gospel song None but Christ Can Satisfy.

(2) Earth’s fountains fair but mock our souls,
Like desert phantoms lure,
And they that drink, the fainter grow,
The keener thirst endure.

In contrast, the gospel of grace offers living, life-giving water. So, sinners are invited to avail themselves of God’s grace.

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1). “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).

(3) This stream from Calvary still flows,
To bless and cleanse and heal,
And he that drinketh, Jesus said,
New life and rest shall feel.

(4) Oh, blessèd stream of pure delight!
Oh, balm for every pain!
To thee I haste, for Jesus said,
I’ll never thirst again.

Questions:

  1. What is it about physical water that makes it a good picture of the work of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual realm?
  2. What other pictures are found in Scripture to help us understand the work of the Spirit, and of the gospel?

Links:

The Song of the Soul Set Free

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Words: Oswald Jeffrey Smith (b. Nov. 8, 1889; d. Jan. 25, 1986)
Music: Alfred Henry Ackley (b. Jan. 21, 1887; d. July 3, 1960)

Note: Dr. Oswald J. Smith was a Canadian pastor, missionary statesman, and hymn writer (giving us some 1,200 songs). In 1933, another gospel songwriter, A. H. Ackley, sent him the manuscript of a tune, asking that Smith see if he could provide words for it. The latter placed the music on the piano in his Toronto home, and went right to work.

Ackley had suggested the basic theme, and Smith soon had three stanzas to fit the tune. Then, it occurred to him that the holy angels, not personally having experienced salvation through the Calvary work of Christ, couldn’t sing such a song from their own experience. That gave him the fourth stanza, and he quickly added a refrain. Oswald Smith was pleased with the result, and in later years considered it one of the best he’d written.

The song is a triumphant testimony to the sinner’s deliverance through Christ, and it was much used by the large choirs in Billy Graham’s evangelistic meetings. The Sydney, Australia, crusade choir made a recording of the song. I have it in my own collection. You can listen to it here as well.

(1) Fairest of ten thousand, is Jesus Christ my Saviour,
The Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star,
He is all my glory and in this heart of mine,
Forevermore I’m singing a song of love divine.

‘Tis the song of the soul set free,
And its melody is ringing;
‘Tis the song of the soul set free,
Joy and peace to me it’s bringing,
‘Tis the song of the soul set free,
And my heart is ever singing
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The song of the soul set free.

(2) Once my heart was burdened, but now I am forgiven,
And with a song of gladness, I’m on my way to heav’n;
Christ is my Redeemer, my Song of songs is He,
My Saviour, Lord and Master, to Him my praise shall be.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

One of Christ’s titles for Himself is “the Bright and Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16). But notice the reference in the second stanza to the “Song of songs.” That’s actually the inspired heading of the Bible book we call The Song of Solomon. The opening verse says it’s “the song of songs which is Solomon’s” (S.S. 1:1). It means the most excellent song of all he wrote (and he apparently composed one thousand and five of them, I Kgs. 4:32).

But Oswald Smith cleverly turns the title of a romantic song about the love between a man and a woman to something that glorifies the Saviour. I have no problem with that, as long as we don’t lose the original intent of the book–which represents God’s stamp of approval on romance and marriage. Smith is simply taking the phrase and using it in a secondary and figurative way. Four times in the Bible the authors declare, “the Lord is my…song” (Exod. 15:2; II Sam. 1:18; Ps. 118:14; Isa. 12:2).

That connection with Solomon’s song doesn’t stop there. In the opening stanza Christ is referred to as the “Fairest of ten thousand,” and the “Lily of the Valley.” The first description is similar to what Solomon’s bride says of him, that he’s “chief among ten thousand” (S.S. 5:10). The second phrase is actually the bride’s description of herself: “I am the lily of the valleys” (S.S. 2:1). It’s a humble designation of herself as just a delicate little flower, formerly hidden away from view, but now exalted by the king. If we apply it to Christ, it might indicate His beauty of character, or His humble condescension to dwell among us.

(3) When He came to save me, He set the joy bells ringing,
And now I’m ever singing, for Christ has ransomed me;
Once I lived in darkness, the light I could not see,
But now I sing His praises, for He has set me free.

The third stanza describes salvation as coming from darkness to light, and bondage to freedom, through Christ who paid the ransom for us. This lifts the saints to music and singing.

One more point should be made about the angels in the fourth stanza. We can say that the holy angels, not having been saved through faith in the Calvary work of Christ, will not be able to sing the song of the redeemed from personal experience. But I wouldn’t rule out their joining with us in singing praises to our Saviour. The “four living creatures” John sees around the throne of God are cherubim (a kind of angels). And they do seem to join in redemption’s song (Rev. 5:8-14; cf. Ezek. 10:20).

(4) Angels cannot sing it, this song of joy and freedom,
For mortals only know it, the ransomed and the free;
Slaves were they in bondage, and deepest misery,
But now they sing triumphant, their long of liberty.

Questions:

  1. We do not know if we’ll also sing in heaven some of the hymns and gospel songs composed on earth. But supposing for a moment that we will, which ones would you think are especially appropriate?
  2. What do you think is the meaning of the statement, “the Lord is our song”?

Links:

Speak, My Lord

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Words: George Bennard (b. Feb. 4, 1873; d. Oct. 10, 1958)
Music: George Bennard

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The author is far better known for giving us The Old Rugged Cross. But this is a fine missionary hymn, published in 1911, well worthy of our attention.

In Matthew, the Lord Jesus speaks of the need for workers in God’s harvest field (the world).

“He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest’” (Matt. 9:37-38).

There are also a number of Christ’s parables that have to do with harvesting, and working for Him in the harvest field (e.g. Matt. 20:1-16). Believers are summoned to serve the Lord, and bring others to Him, as a part of the great spiritual harvest.

(1) Hear the Lord of harvest sweetly calling,
“Who will go and work for Me today?
Who will bring to Me the lost and dying?
Who will point them to the narrow way?”

The hymn also alludes (in (2)) to the experience of Isaiah. In the book of Isaiah, chapter 6, we have the prophet’s life-changing vision of the Almighty.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”

Isa. 6:1-3

In the light of God’s utter and absolute holiness, Isaiah is newly aware of his own sinfulness, and the sinfulness of Israel (vs. 5). But in his vision he experiences the needed cleansing of his lips, so that he might be prepared to deliver the Lord’s message.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged”

Isa. 6:6-7

It is then that Isaiah hears, and responds to the call of God to take His message to the people. “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’” The “Us” of vs. 8 would seem to be a Trinitarian reference, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit united in the calling of the prophet. (We have a similar thing at creation, when the Lord says, “Let Us make man in Our image” (Gen. 1:26)

(2) When the coal of fire touched the prophet,
Making him as pure, as pure can be,
When the voice of God said, “Who’ll go for us?”
Then he answered, “Here I am, send me.”

Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I’ll be quick to answer Thee;
Speak, my Lord, speak, my Lord,
Speak, and I will answer, “Lord, send me.”

Notice the logical flow of this hymn. (1) and the refrain describe the call of God to Christian service. (2) shows the necessary preparation of the servant for the task. (3) reminds us of the great need.

(3) Millions now in sin and shame are dying,
Listen to their sad and bitter cry;
Hasten, brother, hasten to the rescue;
Quickly answer, “Master, here am I.”

And finally, (4) warns that the day of opportunity is soon gone. Time is short before the Lord’s return. May we be those who are diligent in our service, using the gifts God has given us, until the Lord calls us to Himself.

(4) Soon the time for reaping will be over;
Soon we’ll gather for the harvest home;
May the Lord of harvest smile upon us,
May we hear His blessèd, “Child, well done.”

Questions:

  1. What are some of the hindrances in our day to Christians bringing in an abundant harvest for the Lord?
  2. What can be done about the issues mentioned above?

Links:

Golden Harps Are Sounding

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Words: Frances Ridley Havergal (b. Dec. 14, 1836; d. June 3, 1879)
Music: Hermas, by Frances Ridley Havergal

Note: In 1871, Frances Havergal provided both words and music for this fine hymn, calling it “Ascension Song,” and referencing Ephesians 4:8, “When He ascended on high.”

The occasion for its creation was as follows. The hymn writer was visiting a boys’ school with a friend (Charles Snepp, editor of Miss Havergal’s book Songs of Grace and Glory). While he went inside to attend to some business, she leaned against a wall adjacent to the playground, feeling very tired. But ten minutes later he came out to find her at work. Miss Havergal had taken an old envelope and was scribbling on it the words of a new hymn about Christ’s ascension. Later, she would compose the tune for it as well.

There can be little doubt either of Frances Havergal’s deep piety, or her considerable scholarship. She mastered languages with ease–among them Hebrew and Greek, Latin, French, German and Italian. (She even learned enough Welsh to take part in services in that tongue.) Added to this was her skill as a musician, both as a vocalist, pianist and a composer. But it was her spirituality that shaped her life and ministered to others. She said, “‘Thy will be done’ is not a sigh, but only a song!” Inscribed on her tombstone, at her request, was” “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” [I Jn. 1:7].

Of interest may be her comments on her method of writing hymns.

“Writing is praying with me, for I never seem to write even a verse by myself, and feel like a little child writing. You know a child would look up at every sentence and say, ‘What shall I say next?’ That is just what I do. I ask that at every line He would give me–not merely thoughts and power, but also every word, even the very rhymes. Very often I have a most distinct and happy consciousness of direct answers.”

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

T he ascension of Christ is described by Mark and Luke in the Gospels (Mk. 16:19-20; Lk. 24:49-53). That latter writer reviews the event at the beginning of Acts (Acts 1:9-11). After that, Christ’s place in heaven at the Father’s right hand, and His continuing ministry to the saints from there, are mentioned more than two dozen times in the New Testament. “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33; cf. Rom. 8:34; Phil. 3:20; I Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3, 13; 4:14; 6:19-20; 8:1, etc.).

(1) Golden harps are sounding, angels voices ring,
Pearly gates are opened, opened for the King;
Christ the King of glory, Jesus, King of love,
Is gone up in triumph, to His throne above.

All His work is ended, joyfully we sing,
Jesus hath ascended! Glory to our King!

(2) He who came to save us, He who bled and died,
Now is crowned with glory at His Father’s side.
Nevermore to suffer, nevermore to die;
Jesus, King of glory, is gone up on high.

Consider the significance of the Lord’s ascension, both for Him and for us. It marked the end of His earthly redemptive work. His cry from the cross, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30) says it–literally meaning “Paid in full!” speaking of His payment for sin (cf. I Jn. 2:2). That is what Miss Havergal means in her refrain when she says, “All His work is ended.”

The earthly companionship enjoyed by His followers was ended too. Though He has pledged always to be with us in His spiritual presence (Matt. 28:20), we will not see Him face to face until we are called into His presence, either by death (II Cor. 5:8); Phil. 1:23), or at the rapture of the church (I Thess. 4:13-18).

Christ’s entry into heaven was a “Triumphal Entry” far more magnificent and universally praised than was His entry into Jerusalem just before His death (cf. Jn. 12:12-16). In heaven once more, Christ assumed His actual and visible glory, a glory that was almost always veiled on earth (with only a glimpse given to Peter, James, and John, at His transfiguration, Matt. 17:1-2; cf. Rev. 1:12-18).

Seated at the Father’s right hand, on His Father’s throne (Rev. 3:21), Christ began His work as Head of the church (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-12), and as great High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16) and Advocate for His own (I Jn. 2:1-2). It is from there that He will return at His second coming to take up His earthly messianic throne, the throne of David (Lk. 1:31-33).

(3) Pleading for His children in that blessèd place,
Calling them to glory, sending them His grace;
His bright home preparing, faithful ones, for you;
Jesus ever liveth, ever loveth, too.

Questions:

  1. What is, to you, the greatest value of Christ’s place in heaven?
  2. Does your church teach clearly about Christ’s ascension and His present ministry?

Links:

Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens Adore Him

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Words: Stanzas 1 and 2 by an unknown author; stanza 3 by Edward Osler (b. Jan. 31, 1798; d. March 7, 1863)
Music: Hyfrydol, by Roland Huw Prichard (b. Jan. 14, 1811; d. Jan. 25, 1887)

Note: The first two stanzas of the hymn (author unknown) were written around 1801. They appeared in a four-page tract, containing five hymns, that was pasted in the back of a hymn book published for use by London’s Foundling Hospital (an orphanage for abandoned children). Dr. Edward Osler added the third stanza in 1836, maybe thinking it needed to be a bit longer, or needed a fitting climax.

The Cyber Hymnal lists no less than five possible tunes used with this hymn. (One of them, called Gotha, or Albert, was composed by Prince Albert, beloved husband of Queen Victoria.) However, I believe the rousing Welsh tune Hyfrydol suits the text of this great hymn best of all. (Hyfrydol is commonly used with the hymn Our Great Saviour.)

This is a great hymn of praise. As the original heading indicates, it is based on Psalm 148. The heading reads: Hymn from Psalm CXLVIII, Haydn. (The reference to composer Franz Josef Haydn perhaps suggests the use of his tune, composed in 1797, and sometimes called Haydn. We commonly use it for the hymn Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.)

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The Psalm that inspired the hymn says:

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.

Ps. 148:1-5

Perhaps it’s fitting that most of this wonderful hymn is anonymous. For that reason we are less distracted by human personalities and can focus our full attention on the praise of God.

We can certainly see how human beings and angels can praise the Lord. We are able to think about what He has done, and what it means to us and others, and put our expressions of worship and thanksgiving into words. According to the psalm, even the highest members of society (vs. 11), both old and young (vs. 12) have reason to praise the Lord.

But, Psalm 148 speaks of praise extending far beyond that, summoning the following to praise God: the sun, moon and stars (vs. 3); the waters above the earth (vs. 4); animals, and the elements (vs. 7-8, 10); as well as mountains and trees (vs. 9). Even nursing infants can praise God (cf. Ps. 8:2). Without verbalizing it as we can, these all bring honour and glory to God:

  • By fulfilling the purpose for which God created them. For example, when the trees produce fruit for man and beast to eat, that glorifies God (cf. Ps. 104:14).
  • Through the scientific discoveries of man. When we look at nature with clear and unbiased vision, we see there the wonderful handiwork of God, and we are moved to praise Him for it (cf. Ps. 19:1).

(1) Praise the Lord: ye heavens, adore Him;
Praise Him, angels in the height.
Sun and moon, rejoice before Him;
Praise Him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord, for He hath spoken;
Worlds His mighty voice obeyed.
Laws which never shall be broken
For their guidance He hath made.

Beyond the world of nature, believers have reason to praise and worship God for His wonderful salvation. He has promised that, through faith in Christ, sinners can have their sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life (Jn. 3:16). He has promised that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord in faith will be saved (Rom. 10:13). And “never shall His promise fail” (2).

(2) Praise the Lord, for He is glorious;
Never shall His promise fail.
God hath made His saints victorious;
Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation;
Hosts on high, His power proclaim.
Heaven and earth and all creation,
Laud and magnify His name.

Every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honour and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Rev. 5:13

(3) Worship, honour, glory, blessing,
Lord, we offer unto Thee.
Young and old, Thy praise expressing,
In glad homage bend the knee.
All the saints in heaven adore Thee;
We would bow before Thy throne.
As Thine angels serve before Thee,
So on earth Thy will be done.

Questions:

  1. How does even the wrath of man (Ps. 76:10) bring praise to God?
  2. Will you encourage your church to learn and sing this great hymn, if they don’t do so already?

Links:

Oh It Is Wonderful

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Words: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (b. Aug. 18, 1856; d. Sept. 15, 1932)
Music: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel

Note: this gospel song was first published in 1898.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

Wonderful! It’s a word that’s found many, many times in our hymnody. Even Charles Gabriel’s fine hymn, My Saviour’s Love, says in the refrain, “How marvellous! How wonderful!…Is my Saviour’s love to me!” But here’s a short list where the word is found in a number of song titles.

My God, How Wonderful Thou Art
‘Tis Marvelous and Wonderful
What a Wonderful Saviour
Wonderful (Ackley)
Wonderful Grace of Jesus
Wonderful Peace (Haldor Lillenas)
Wonderful Peace (Warren Cornell)
Wonderful Story of Love
Wonderful, Wonderful Jesus
Wonderful Words of Life

In the Word of God, the word “wonderful” is found 22 times. It refers to what is extraordinary and marvellous, something that is difficult to do or to understand. Not surprisingly, the Bible often refers to “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11), or to the works of the Lord Jesus, while He was on earth (e.g. Matt. 7:27; 21:15). The word “wonders” almost always is applied to the miraculous (cf. Acts 2:22; II Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:4; Rev. 13:13).

But the subject of Charles Gabriel’s song is not physical miracles. It has to do with the heart of God. His theme is stated clearly in the refrain: “It is wonderful [extraordinary and marvellous] that He should care for me, enough to die for me!”

Here we are, weak, sinful, fallen creatures, living and dying on a tiny dot of a planet hanging in the immensity of space. And the God who created it all, and continues to oversee its operation, the God who has hosts of angels ready to do His will, that Almighty God is concerned about the welfare of you and me! Imagine: “For me, a sinner, He [Christ] suffered, and bled, and died” (1). That is the very essence of the gospel.

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (Jn. 3:16-17). “I declare to you the gospel….that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (I Cor. 15:1, 3).

(1) I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me;
I tremble to know that for me He was crucified—
That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled, and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that He should care for me!
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

We can have little conception of the condescension of Christ, in coming from heaven’s glory to this sin-cursed earth. Then for Him to be rejected and crucified by His own creatures (Jn. 1:11; Matt. 27:22-23). “He humbled Himself and became obedient [to His heavenly Father] to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). All “to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine” (2).

And not only did He assume my debt, and pay the debt of sin I owed (redemption), His own righteousness was credited to my account (justification). What an amazing exchange (II Cor. 5:21).

(2) I marvel that He would descend from His throne divine,
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine;
That He should extend His great love unto such as I–
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

As Christians, we need to keep the sacrifice of Christ in view. That’s one reason we are to participate in the Lord’s Supper (the Communion Service) “till He comes” (I Cor. 11:26). We must not forget the cross. For now, “we praise and adore at the mercy seat” (3). The mercy seat was found in the Old Testament tabernacle, and later the temple. It was where the high priest brought the sacrifice for sin, on the annual Day of Atonement. “At the throne of grace” might have been a better New Testament reference (cf. Heb. 4:16), but we know what is meant.

In the future, we can gather at “the glorified throne” of God in heaven, there to worship and praise Him eternally.

(3) I think of His hands, pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no! I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at His feet.

Questions:

  1. What is the most wonderful thing about the cross to you?
  2. What other things that God is doing in your life today are “wonderful”?

Links:

Not What These Hands Have Done

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Words: Horatius Bonar (b. Dec. 19, 1808; d. July 31, 1889)
Music: St. Andrew, by Joseph Barnby (b. Aug. 12, 1838; d. Jan. 28, 1896)

Note: The original hymn, called “Salvation Through Christ Alone,” was published in 1861, in twelve, four-line stanzas. The Cyber Hymnal has combined each pair of stanzas in one, and has give us five of these. The combination given there of stanzas 2 and 3 (producing (2)) is somewhat different from Bonar’s version which was:

Thy grace alone, O God, to me can pardon speak;
Thy power alone, O Son of God, can this sore bondage break.
No other work save Thine, no meaner blood will do:
No strength, save that which is divine, can bear me safely through.

Also, Bonar’s final stanza is missing from the Cyber Hymnal.

My life with Him is hid,
My death has passed away,
My clouds have melted into light,
My midnight into day.

The Cyber Hymnal suggests two tunes. St. Andrew (or Barnby) fits the shorter stanza version, while Leominster works beautifully with the longer combined stanzas, as the Cyber Hymnal has them.

(Stanza numbers in brackets below refer to the stanza number in The Cyber Hymnal. Find the link at the bottom of the article.)

The life of Horatius Bonar was a busy one. In fact, if ever there was a man who deserved to get to heaven on the basis of a multiplicity of good works, he is that man. He served as a pastor in two churches for a total of fifty years. Those who observed his ministry said he seemed to be always visiting, always preaching, always writing, always praying!

For twenty-five years he edited the Quarterly Journal of Prophecy, and also The Border Watch, a periodical that had a great influence in the birth of the Free Church of Scotland. He wrote many books and tracts, and over 600 hymns. In his later years he also served as moderator of his denomination’s General Assembly.

Yet all of that he set aside as not deserving of any saving merit.

(1) Not what these hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what this toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

(3) Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, and set my spirit free.

It is the insistent testimony of the Word of God that salvation is not a reward for human effort or good works. It is by grace, God’s unearned, unmerited favour and blessing. In other words, it is a free gift. If we paid anything for it, it would cease to be a gift.

“By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:4-5).

“If by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work” (Rom. 11:6). “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Tit. 3:5).

“[God] has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (II Tim. 1:9).

The other side of the grace “coin” is worship and service, not in order to be saved, but after we’re saved. Since it is true that our salvation is all of God, He, and He alone, deserves the glory and praise for it. “You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation….Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!” (Rev. 5:9, 12).

We serve the Lord not to gain salvation, but to express our appreciation for it. That is why Ephesians 2:10 follows verses 8 and 9. And why Titus 3:8 comes after verse 5.

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus [i.e. saved] for good works” (Eph. 2:10). “Those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works” (Tit. 3:8).

(4) I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

(5) I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.
’Tis He who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

Questions:

  1. Why is it that human nature seems to want to find something to do for God, to earn His favour and acceptance?
  2. What other hymn(s) do you know that clearly show salvation to be by God’s grace?

Links:

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