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Hymns

Are You Washed in the Blood?

Words: Elisha Albright Hoffman (b. May 7, 1839; d. Nov. 25, 1929)
Music: Elisha Albright Hoffman

Note: The Wordwise Hymns link below will provide a list of some of the Bible references to the blood of Christ, and its infinite value. Pastor Hoffman has given us a number of other gospel songs found in many hymn books, including: Glory to His Name; Is Thy Heart Right with God; Leaning on the Everylasting Arms (part of this song); and I Must Tell Jesus.
The present song first appeared in 1878, in a book called Spiritual Songs for Gospel Meetings and the Sunday School, of which Hoffman was a co-editor. Three years later, it was included in Ira Sankey’s Sacred Songs and Solos. For some unknown reason, it was dropped from all subsequent versions of Hoffman’s songbook, but it has appeared in many evangelical hymn books, since.
A repeated phrase from the song was used in Vachel Lindsay’s poem “General Booth Enters into Heaven,” about the death of Salvation Army founder, William Booth.
Booth led boldly with his big bass drum–
(Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)
The saints smiled gravely and they said: “He’s come.”
(Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)…

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

Sadly, there are those in the professing church today who want to do away with references to the Saviour’s shed blood. However, to do that, they have to revise the Scriptures themselves. The Bible says Christ loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (Rev. 1:5), and it speaks of those who will triumph in the Tribulation as having “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14)–truths which Hoffman makes use of.

(1) Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Both for salvation from sin (Eph. 1:7) and for the believer’s cleansing, so we can walk in fellowship with the Lord (Eph. 2:13; I Jn. 1:7, 9), we need the remedy made possible by the blood shed on Calvary

(2) Are you walking daily by the Saviour’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Elisha Hoffman’s song concludes with an urgent invitation to all who are lost in sin, and thus without hope for eternity:

(4) Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!

Yes, this is a nineteenth-century gospel song–or what they would call a “Sunday School song.” Contemporary songs avoid calling people’s souls “unclean,” and avoid speaking so explicitly and insistently of the remedy. More’s the pity! We still need the power of the shed blood of Christ in our lives.

Questions:

  1. What are some reasons why many moderns (even professing Christians) seem to want to avoid this subject?
  2. What does the shed blood of Christ mean to you personally?

Links:

More About Jesus

Words: Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (b. June 28, 1851; d. Apr. 24, 1920)
Music: Sweney, by John Robson Sweney (b. Dec. 31, 1837; d. Apr. 10, 1899)

Note: I don’t currently have a posting specifically on More About Jesus, but the link given below will tell you a bit about the author. After a prolonged illness, she began writing poems, especially for children. This is one of them, and it came to the attention of John Sweney, who set it to music. Their collaboration continued with other songs, notably including There Is Sunshine in My Soul Today. I don’t personally have a problem with the joyful rhythm of Sweney’s tune, if it’s not sung too quickly. If you do, you might try using the tune Pentecost.

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

This simple song repeats the word “more” twenty-six times (including the four refrains). Though its emphasis is different, it has this in common with Philip Bliss’s More Holiness Give Me. For some, this may make Hewitt’s song trite, but the repetition certainly makes a point. Contrast the spiritual person with the secular materialist for a moment.

All the materialist wants is more–more of the things of this world, more money, more acquisitions, more possessions. The spiritual person (as the Bible defines this), hungers to know more of God, and all that pertains to the spiritual and eternal world.

As the Christian is one who is rightly related to Christ, so the spiritual person is rightly related to the Holy Spirit. That is, he is walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25), submissive to and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The spiritual person is not necessarily fully mature, but he is definitely heading in that direction. He is teachable, and growing in his Christian life (contrast I Cor. 2:9-16 with I Cor. 3:1-3).

Could we not say that the more of his kind of “mores” the first individual has, the more hardened and entrenched is his secularism and materialism? And that the more “mores” the spiritual person has in the other direction, the more Christlike he is? What a thoughtful compendium of the latter Eliza Hewitt gives us! She longs:

To know more about the Lord Jesus
To show more of His grace to others
To experience more of His saving fullness
To understand more of His love
To discern more of His will

With regard to the latter, the author is clear on a number of important things. In (2) and (3), she reminds us that it is the indwelling Holy Spirit who teaches us (Jn. 16:13-14; I Cor. 2:10), giving enlightenment as we study God’s Word. By the Spirit, we actually hold communion with the Lord, and we are empowered to appropriate the truths found in the Scriptures.

Finally, the hymn points us to Christ, our great High Priest, on the throne of God (Heb. 4:14-16), and to the resources of heaven that are ours through prayer (Phil. 4:6, 19). Hewitt wants to know more about Christ’s kingdom (Matt. 6:10) and more about His coming reign (Isa. 9:6-7). That is a meaningful hymn!

(1) More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.

More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love who died for me.

Questions:

  1. What in particular do you desire more of, with regard to your spiritual life?
  2. What in your spiritual life do you definitely desire less of?

Links:

All for Jesus

Words: Mary Dagworthy James (b. Aug. 10, 1810; d. Oct. 4, 1883)
Music: Hull, by Asa Hull (b. _____, 1828; d. _____, c. 1895); or Wycliff, by John Stainer (b. June 6, 1840; d. March 31, 1901)

Note: Asa Hull was an American author, composer, and publisher, born in New York City. Other than that, little is known of him. John Stainer, on the other hand, is well known. He was one of the nineteenth century’s finest church musicians. In my view, his flowing tune, Wycliff, is superior to the repetitious one by Hull.

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

The Word of God says:

“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s….I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (I Cor. 6:19-20; Rom. 12:1).

“Bought at a price,” we surely were. “Redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ” (I Pet. 1:18-19), “who gave Himself a ransom for all” (I Tim. 2:6). It’s on this basis that Mary James speaks of the Christian’s “ransomed powers.” The Lord’s sovereignty over the believer is based on a double reality. He is our Creator, and has rights of ownership on that basis. But our redemption is a second factor. He has paid for our release.

On the basis of all that the Lord has done for us in the latter instance (discussed in particular in Romans 1 through 8), Paul pleads for us to respond by willingly accepting our place as servants of God, “living sacrifices” dedicated to bring Him honour and glory. If we are living sacrifices presented to Him, our ransomed powers, thoughts, words, doings, days and hours will be at His disposal now and forever.

(1) All for Jesus, all for Jesus!
All my being’s ransomed powers:
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours.

All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
All my days and all my hours;
All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
All my days and all my hours.

The author goes on to particularize this in her second stanza. Hands and feet, eyes and lips, will be under the Lord’s control, and energized by the Spirit of God to do His bidding. But it’s not an arduous or begrudging service. Far from it. Why would we cling to “gilded toys of dust” (3) that will only pass away, when we can invest our resources to gain things of eternal worth (Matt. 6:19-21). The importance of other things fades, as we keep our eyes on our Saviour (4).

To belong to the King of kings, and serve Him, is a great delight, and a privilege beyond imagining.

(5) Oh, what wonder! how amazing!
Jesus, glorious King of kings,
Deigns to call me His belovèd,
Lets me rest beneath His wings.

Questions:

  1. Do you know of someone who is not happy to be serving Christ, who is grudging in their duties? Why might this be?
  2. What can help to restore this individual’s joy in serving the Lord?

Links:

I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus

Words: Frances Ridley Havergal (b. Dec. 14, 1836; June 3, 1879)
Music: Bullinger, by Ethelbert William Bullinger (b. Dec. 15, 1837; June 6, 1913)

Note: This is said to have been Frances Havergal’s favourite, of all the hymns she wrote. The words were found in her pocket Bible after her death. The hymn was written in 1874, while she was in Switzerland. Dr. Bullinger, composer of the tune that bears his name, was a Hebrew and Greek scholar, but he also studied music and was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral.

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

There is a “Whom?” when it comes to our trust, and there’s also a “For what?” After all, we can put our faith in just about anything. Can we trust the cabbage the refrigerator to help us? Sure, if we’re looking to make coleslaw. But for salvation, for the present needs of our souls, and our eternal destiny, we must look to the Lord. Miss Havergal is quite clear on that. She has put her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him only (1).

God’s salvation is not only great, it is free. That is, we are saved by the grace of God, His unearned, unmerited favour (Eph. 2:8-9). No good works, no family connection, no church ritual can add anything to that. If we were able to contribute anything to it, then it would no more be of grace (Rom. 4:4-5).

Stanzas (2) and (3), omitted from many hymn books may be speaking of the initial saving work of God, but they also fit His continuing work in the Christian’s walk of faith. When we, as believers, stumble into sin, we can claim the cleansing and forgiveness won for us at the cross ((2); cf. I Jn. 1:7, 9). Then, the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit will continue to strengthen us in a holy walk ((2); cf. Gal. 5:16).

(2) I am trusting Thee for pardon;
At Thy feet I bow;
For Thy grace and tender mercy,
Trusting now.

(3) I am trusting Thee for cleansing
In the crimson flood;
Trusting Thee to make me holy
By Thy blood.

In stanzas(4) and (5), the author deals with two more essentials in our Christian lives. We need the guidance of God, and the power of God, if we are to do as we ought. With the psalmist we pray, “Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day” (Ps. 25:4-5), and “Strengthen me according to Your word” (Ps. 119:28; cf. Ps. 27:14).

Among Frances Havergal’s dying words were these: “Not one thing hath failed; tell them all ‘round: Trust Jesus! It’s simply trusting Jesus.” (6) gives us a fitting conclusion to this great prayer hymn. There is a desire that, weak and fallible as we are, we can only maintain a godly walk by God’s grace, and as He supports us. Daily, we reach up in faith, trusting the Lord Jesus “forever and for all.”

(6) I am trusting Thee, Lord Jesus;
Never let me fall;
I am trusting Thee forever,
And for all.

Questions:

  1. What do you believe is the greatest obstacle to consistent trust in the Lord?
  2. What is something for which you recently trusted God, and He provided?

Links:

I Must Tell Jesus

Words: Elisha Albright Hoffman (b. May 7, 1839; d. Nov. 25, 1929)
Music: Elisha Albright Hoffman

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

Elisha Hoffman himself gives us the background of this little gospel song, written in 1893:

While I was pastor at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, I called one day at the home of a parishioner and found the lady in great distress and sorrow. Wringing her hands she cried, ‘What shall I do, what shall I do?’ [After sharing some passages of Scripture with her] I replied, ‘You cannot do better than take it all to Jesus–you must tell Jesus.’ For a moment she seemed abstracted in meditation, then her face glowed, her eyes lighted up, and with animation she exclaimed, ‘Yes, I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus!’ As I went from that sorrow-filled home a vision walked before me, a vision of a joy-illumined face, of a soul transformed from darkness into light, and I heard all along my pathway the echo of a tender voice saying, ‘I must tell Jesus.’

Elisha Hoffman

As soon as he reached his study, Pastor Hoffman wrote the words and music for the song.

(1) I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.

Perhaps the song will be considered simplistic and repetitious by some. In the four stanzas, with their refrains, it repeats the phrase “I must tell Jesus” twenty-one times! However, there is this to say: Sometimes we definitely need reminding–and reminding–about this! Several times in the Word of God, we are pointedly told that some failed to pray and ask the Lord’s direction, going ahead, instead, on a foolish and ruinous course.

  • Under Joshua, “the men of Israel…did not ask counsel of the Lord” (Josh. 9:14), and they made a treaty with the devious Gibeonites, a bond that plagued the nation for years to come.
  • King Saul “consulted a medium [a witch] for guidance, but he did not inquire of the Lord” (I Chron. 10:13-14), and his faithlessness and disobedience led to his death, and to the throne of Israel being given to David.
  • The Lord condemned the nation of Israel for seeking an alliance with Egypt to fight against the Assyrians, instead of appealing to Him for help: “Woe to the rebellious children…who take counsel, but not of Me, who devise plans, but not of My Spirit…and have not asked my advice” (Isa. 30:1-2).
  • James assures believers, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God…and it will be given to him” (Jas. 1:5), but later points an accusing finger at some and says, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2).

The Word of God urges us: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him [as Lord of your life], and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6). “Pray without ceasing [i.e. habitually, consistently]” (I Thess. 5:17).

The only quibble I have with Elisha Hoffman is his extravagant claim at the end of the second stanza:

If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end.

No, that is not always the case. Our wise heavenly Father is at work in our trials. He can accomplish things in them that allowing us a life of unbroken comfort and ease could not. What He will do, as we seek His help in prayer, is either deliver us from the difficult or painful circumstance, or give us the grace to endure it, and glorify Him in and through it. In the latter case, “my troubles” remain, but I can bring glory to God by proving the sufficiency of His grace (cf. II Cor. 12:7-10).

Questions:

  1. What are some of the reasons we fail to pray when we should?
  2. What person or situation do you need to commit to the Lord today that perhaps you have been failing to pray about?

Links:

‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Words: Louisa M. R. Stead (b. _____ c. 1850; d. Jan. 18, 1917)
Music: William James Kirkpatrick (b. Feb. 27, 1838; d. Sept. 20, 1921)

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

This seems to be the only hymn from the pen of Louisa Stead (whose middle names we do not know), but it is an excellent one. The tragic circumstances preceding the writing of it, are described in the Wordwise Hymns link below. But there is a postscript worth adding.

After the death of her husband, the author went through some dark days. Not only was she grieving over the loss of her husband, but now she and her little daughter had to find some means of financial support. She looked to the Word of God, and the great hymns of the faith to sustain and encourage her. She states:

When I tried to sing More Love to Thee, O Christ, I remembered that Mrs. Prentiss had cried out for more love, when she lost her two children in an epidemic some years ago. But I do not need to pray for love. God knows I love Him, and I know He loves me. What I need is an extra measure of faith and trust to believe that His providence is still at work, and that His hand can still guide me through the bleak, unknown future.

Louisa Stead

One afternoon, when mother and daughter had nothing left in the house to eat, the two prayed earnestly that the Lord would provide. The next morning, Mrs. Stead found a large basket of food on their doorstep, along with an envelope containing enough money to buy shoes for her daughter Lily. “We trusted God, and He has not failed us,” she said to Lily. It was out of such experiences of trusting the Lord and seeing Him work, that the hymn was written.

Three Hebrew words in the Old Testament that are translated “trust” give us a useful definition of what is meant. (These are paralleled by several Greek words in the New Testament.) There is the Hebrew word chacah, meaning to take refuge in, to flee for protection to; and the word batach, meaning to have bold confidence, to feel safe; and yachal, meaning to wait hopefully and expectantly.

To trust in God is to take refuge in him, to have bold confidence in Him, and wait expectantly for Him to act on our behalf. Not surprisingly, since its focus is on the devotional life of the saints, many references to trust are found in the book of Psalms: chacah (24 times; e.g. Ps. 118:8-9; cf. 144:2); batach (45 times; e.g. Ps. 22:4-5; 28:7); yachal (19 times; e.g. Ps. 42:11; 71:14). The latter word is consistently translated “hope” in Psalms (NKJV), but Job cries, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust [yachal, hope in] Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him” Job 13:15).

To trust in God also means we will “rest upon His promise,” (CH-1). When we do, we’ll be able to testify, as the refrain of our hymn does, “How I’ve proved Him [faithful] o’er and o’er.” This trust begins when we reach out in faith to claim His salvation–when we “trust His [Christ’s] cleansing blood” (2). The other side of the coin is “from sin and self to cease” (3).

As Thomas Kelly puts it, in his hymn, Praise the Saviour, Ye Who Know Him:

Trust in Him, ye saints, forever,
He is faithful, changing never.

The Lord is infinitely trust-worthy. Are you resting in His faithful word, in your daily walk? And can you testify, with Louisa Stead:

(4) I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Saviour, friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

Questions:

  1. With what particular things in your own life are you conscious of trusting in the Lord today?
  2. Why is it so many (even professing believers) fail to trust in God?

Links:

Ye Servants of God

Words: Charles Wesley (b. Dec. 18, 1707; d. March 29, 1788)
Music: Hanover, by William Croft (b. _____, 1678; d. Aug. 14, 1727)

Note: This hymn was written by Wesley to encourage Christians in a time of great persecution. Stanzas (2) and (3), omitted now from our hymn books, specifically address that problem. (You can see a fuller explanation on the Wordwise Hymns link below.) The tune Hanover was at first thought to have been written by Handel, but it seems likely Croft was the composer.

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

Believers are referred to as “servants of God” many times in the Scriptures. Both the Old Testament Hebrew (ebed) and New Testament Greek (doulos), identify one who is a willing slave of the Lord. Moses is described as “the servant of God” more than a dozen times (e.g. I Chron. 6:49; Rev. 15:3). The Apostle Paul likewise speaks of himself this way–often at the beginning of his letters (e.g. Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1). Other apostles do the same (Jas. 1:1; II Pet. 1:1; Jude 1:1).

The people of Israel are described as “the servants of the Lord” (Isa. 54:17), and a similar expression is used of Christians. We are to be “not lagging in diligence, [but] fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11), “bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). Though we have freedom in Christ, we should “not [be] using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God” (I Pet. 2:16). As Paul’s ministry illustrates, we ought to be “serving the Lord with all humility (Acts 20:19), since to do so is a great privilege, granted by His grace.

The Bible teaches (Heb. 13:15-16), and Wesley’s hymn affirms, that as servants of God we have both a manward and Godward responsibility. (The call to love God and love others fits this dual emphasis, Matt. 22:37-39.) To put it another way, we could say that the duties of the church, and of the servants of Christ individually, involve three “E’s.” We are to exalt the Saviour, edify (build up) the saints, and evangelize sinners.

In our ministry to others, we are to share the gospel and other truths of God’s Word, both with our fellow believers, and with the unsaved (II Tim. 4:2; I Pet. 3:15; cf. Acts 20:20).

(1) Ye servants of God, your Master proclaim,
And publish abroad His wonderful name;
The name all victorious of Jesus extol,
His kingdom is glorious and rules over all.

(4) God ruleth on high, almighty to save,
And still He is nigh, His presence we have;
The great congregation His triumph shall sing,
Ascribing salvation to Jesus, our King.

In addition to our witness to others, our Godward responsibility (which will continue on through eternity) is to praise and glorify Him (Ps. 103:1-2; 107:1-2; Col. 3:16; Rev. 19:5).

(5) “Salvation to God, who sits on the throne”
Let all cry aloud and honour the Son;
The praises of Jesus the angels proclaim,
Fall down on their faces and worship the Lamb.

(6) Then let us adore and give Him His right,
All glory and power, all wisdom and might;
All honour and blessing with angels above,
And thanks never ceasing and infinite love.

Questions:

  1. What do you believe is the greatest hindrance in our ministering effectively to others?
  2. What would it take for us to praise the Lord more, and be more thankful, day by day?

Links:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Words: Isaac Watts (b. July 16, 1674; d. Nov. 25, 1748)
Music: Hamburg, by Lowell Mason (b. Jan. 8, 1792; d. Aug. 11, 1872)

Note: The Cyber Hymnal includes six stanzas of this hymn, but hymn books that I’ve seen use only four or five. Though it makes a valid point, the last one seems rather anticlimactic, but here it is.

(6) To Christ, who won for sinners grace
By bitter grief and anguish sore,
Be praise from all the ransomed race
Forever and forevermore.

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

Lowell Mason indicated that the source of his tune, Hamburg, was a Gregorian chant or plainsong. The beautiful tune Rockingham also fits this hymn. (You can hear it played at the Cyber Hymnal link below.)

This hymn deserves a place in the top ten of anyone’s list. Personally, I’d place it in the top three or four hymns in the English language. In over 300 years since it was written, it has hardly been surpassed. Charles Wesley was himself an outstanding hymn writer, with at least a couple of his songs worthy of inclusion in the top ten. But Wesley is reputed to have said he’d give up all that he’d written to have been the author of this one.

We can no longer “survey the wondrous cross” of Christ in a physical sense. There is even some doubt as to where it was located. We know the place of execution was outside the walls of Jerusalem (Heb. 13:12). But the walls have been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and the city enlarged. We simply don’t know the exact location of Calvary (kranion, in Greek, meaning skull), or Golgotha (from the Aramaic word gulgoleth, meaning skull).

Our visit there must consist of an envisioning of the scene in our mind’s eye, based on the Word of God, and energized by faith. And when we do that, sincerely, and thoughtfully, we’re overwhelmed by what “the Prince of Glory” did for us (cf. I Cor. 2:7-8). How could we exchange the wealth of all the world for the eternal salvation wrought for us there? How could we ever take pride in our own achievements, when compared to Christ’s? With the Apostle Paul we say, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).

(1) When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

(2) Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

As we see Christ’s bleeding form, and are gripped by the reason for His agony, the holy hush is broken only by our own weeping–not so much for His approaching death, because we know how the story ends. But for our own folly and sin that made the cross necessary. How can we cling to all this sinful world has to offer, if it will mean abandoning Him (cf. I Jn. 2:15-17).

(3) See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

(4) His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

What can I give Him in return? Salvation is ours by the grace of God. We can do nothing to earn it or pay for it. And yet, love responds to love, and we readily pledge Him our love and loyalty, and our sacred service.

(5) Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

There are echoes of Romans 12:1 here. And some worship leaders suggest, as a variation, that the congregation sing the last two lines:

Love so amazing, so divine,
Shall have my soul, my life, my all.

Questions:

  1. The Apostle Paul speaks of “the offense of the cross” (Gal. 5:11). In what sense is the cross offensive to some?
  2. Of all the hymns in the English language, what are the top ten, in your view? (Not just your favourites, but the ones you consider the best hymns of all.)
  3. What qualities should we look for, in determining the worthiness of a hymn?

Links:

We Give Thee But Thine Own

Words: William Walsham How (b. Dec. 13, 1823; d. Aug. 10, 1897)
Music: Schumann, by Lowell Mason (b. Jan. 8, 1792; Aug. 11, 1872)

Note: The tune is sometimes attributed to Lowell Mason, since it first appeared in a book published by him and George Webb. It is named Schumann as German composer Robert Schumann was thought to have written it. However, there is no real evidence that he did.

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

The people of Israel had given freely to the project of building a temple in Jerusalem (I Chron. 29:9). Though it was to be David’s son Solomon who would direct the construction, David, in his last years, gathered the materials needed. Afterward, he offered a prayer of praise and thanksgiving for the blessings of God (vs. 10-19).

In the latter verses, it is emphasized several times that we give what the Lord has equipped and prepared us to give. All that we have comes from Him, and we are stewards of it. In our offerings, we present to Him, for use in His service, what belongs to Him.

“All that is in heaven and it earth is Yours….Both riches and honour come from You….All comes from You, and of Your own have we given You….All this abundance…is from Your hand, and is all Your own” (vs. 11, 12, 14, 16).

It is the statement in vs. 14, “of Your own have we given You,” that gave How the opening line of his hymn. However, the author put Proverbs 19:17 above the text: “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given,” which looks at giving from another angle. When we give to the Lord, He will most certainly bless us.

This is a fine stewardship hymn. Since the Lord has been so gracious to us, we ought to use what He has given to serve Him, and help those around us. Some churches use the opening stanza just before offerings to the Lord are received.

(1) We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.

(2) May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our firstfruits give.

Then Dr. How lists some of the things we can do, by the grace of God, and as He equips us. Though he puts an emphasis on charity, and material needs (“homes are bare and cold”), there is also a recognition of the spiritual need of “lambs for whom the Shepherd bled” (3).

(4) To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.

(5) The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace—
It is a Christ-like thing.

In the final stanza we are reminded that when believers help others, in the name of Christ, they are serving Him, and doing it unto Him (cf. Matt. 18:5; 25:40; Col. 3:23-24).

(6) And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be;
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.

Questions:

  1. If everything we have comes from God, what is the proper response to that?
  2. What is the difference between laying up treasures on earth, and laying up treasures in heaven (see Matt. 6:19-21)?

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Once to Every Man and Nation

Words: James Russell Lowell (b. Feb. 22, 1819; d. Aug. 12, 1891)
Music: Ebenezer, by Thomas John Williams (b. _____, 1869; d. Apr. 23, 1944)

Note: Originally, this hymn was an 1845 poem, protesting the American war with Mexico. Lowell called it “The Present Crisis.” It was argued by him and others (including Abraham Lincoln) that it would increase the power of the southern states, and enlarge the area in which slavery was accepted. In 1896, W. Garrett Horder selected parts of Lowell’s poem and turned them into a hymn relating more broadly to ethical decisions in political and community life.
The tune Ebenezer was also called, in Welsh, Ton Y Botel (literally “wave the bottle”) because of a story (correct or not) that it was found in a bottle washed up on the coast of Wales. Another tune that works well with this hymn is Hyfrydol.

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

There is little of Bible truth, or of the fundamentals of the apostolic faith in the hymn– understandable, since Lowell was a Unitarian. However, it does speak eloquently to those occasions when we must make weighty moral decisions that could radically affect the future (if not our future, specifically). Christians can certainly take these words as a challenge to stand for biblical principles in the testing hour.

(1) Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

We can discern many such choices in the Scriptures. Adam and Eve’s decision to believe the devil, rather than believe God, has been affecting the human family ever since (cf. Gen. 2:17; 3:4-6). So has Abraham’s decision to heed his wife’s suggestion and father a child by her Egyptian maid, Hagar (Gen. 16:1-2). The Arab nations descending from that child, Ishmael, have been a thorn in the side of Israel for four millennia.

Israel was challenged to obey God–and warned of the consequences if they didn’t–many times. Moses reviewed God’s laws and told them, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil” (Deut. 30:15). Joshua urged them, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). And Elijah issued a challenge to Israel when he confronted the prophets of Baal, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (I Kgs. 18:21).

The early church faced such major decisions too, in times of persecution. The Jewish leadership in Jerusalem commanded the apostles to stop preaching the gospel.

“They called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”…[And] Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’” (Acts. 4:18-20; 5:29; cf. Lk. 16:13; Rom. 12:9, 21; I Thess. 5:21-22).

What if they’d caved in? How different history might have been! And we face great choices in our day, as well. James Lowell speaks of “new Calv’ries,” (3). Of course Christ’s sacrifice of the cross to pay the debt of our sin cannot be replicated or repeated. But in the sense that we must at times be ready to lay our very lives on the line for truth and justice, we face our own crosses, and our own sacrifices.

This is a hymn that needs to be studied thoughtfully, as well as sung!

(4) Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;
Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;
Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

Questions:

  1. What great challenges calling for a decisive stand are we facing today, as a nation?
  2. What life-changing decisions are you facing in your own life? What principles will you apply to make your choice?

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