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Sweet Will of God

Words: Lelia Naylor Morris (b. Apr. 15, 1862; d. July 23, 1929)
Music: Lelia Naylor Morris

Note: Mrs. Morris’s hymn was first published in 1900.

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

Batters in baseball speak of the “sweet spot” on a bat, the place of maximum effectiveness. The spot where the greatest energy is transferred to the hit ball, causing it to travel the farthest, and where there’s a minimum of sting to the batter’s hands. Because various factors are involved, the exact location varies from bat to bat, but some estimate it to be around 12-17 centimetres from the end of the barrel.

Spiritually speaking, is there a place of maximum effectiveness for the Christian? A position of greatest efficiency, which also provides the greatest comfort and satisfaction? Again, it’s difficult to come up with one single answer. Each person is different, and a multitude of factors are involved. Furthermore, the Christian life is not a game. A lack of outward success (like striking out in baseball) may not always be a failure in God’s sight.

But having said that, there is one single answer to the question. There is a “sweet spot” in the life of the child of God. Though it may differ in some particulars from person to person, for each one of us it’s fundamentally the same. It is described by a phrase which, with slight variations, is found dozens of times in the Bible. The phrase is “the will of God.”

Many different things have come about by the exercise of divine will. The Scriptures themselves, for example, came by the will of God. They came to be when “holy men of God spoke [and wrote] as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet. 1:21). “The Lord gave the word” (Ps. 68:11). And God says, “The word which I speak will be done” (Ezek. 12:28).

The Bible is the means God uses to present the Christian gospel (Rom. 10:13-14). And it’s the will of God that those who believe be engaged in service for the Lord–not as a way of earning our salvation, but as a loving response to the One who saved us. David “served his own generation by the will of God” (Acts 13:36), and so did Paul, who was “called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God” (I Cor. 1:1).

Our eternal destiny is also assured according to the outworking of the sovereign will of God. “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:11-12).

Meanwhile, in general terms, it’s the desire of the Lord that we do His will, that His will and purpose be accomplished through us. Missionary and author Elisabeth Elliott said, “I have only one thing to do today: the will of God.”

Though the details will differ from person to person, according to the gifts and opportunities the Lord gives to each one, Ephesians 1:12, gives the fundamental idea: “that we should be to the praise of His glory.” To that end, it’s God’s will that we “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Whatever choices and decisions we make, whatever we do and say, our goal should be to honour the Lord, and become more and more like Christ.

Lelia Naylor Morris was a prolific hymn writer, giving us dozens of songs, usually both words and music. In 1900, she published Sweet Will of God, about finding the true “sweet spot” of Christian living. It says:

(1) My stubborn will at last hath yielded;
I would be Thine, and Thine alone;
And this the prayer my lips are bringing,
“Lord, let in me Thy will be done.”

Sweet will of God, still fold me closer;
Till I am wholly lost in Thee;
Sweet will of God, still fold me closer,
Till I am wholly lost in Thee.

(3) Thy precious will, O conquering Saviour,
Doth now embrace and compass me;
All discords hushed, my peace a river,
My soul, a prisoned bird, set free.

CH-4) Shut in with Thee, O Lord, forever,
My wayward feet no more to roam;
What power from Thee my soul can sever?
The centre of God’s will my home.

That last line sums it up beautifully. “The centre of God’s will my home.” Like the sweet spot on a baseball bat, the place of greatest blessing and fullest peace is in the centre of His will.

Questions:

  1. What things are implied by the calling God’s will our “home”?
  2. The word “sweet” can refer to a sensation of taste. But it can also speak of that which is agreeable and delightful to mind and heart. How does the latter apply to God’s will?

Links:

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

Words: Isaac Watts (b. July 17, 1674; d. Nov. 25, 1748)
Music: Resignation, an American Folk Melody, composer unknown

Note: Dr. Watts published these words in 1719. Resignation is the tune I’m most familiar with for his beautiful rendering of Psalm 23. It has been traced back to William Walker’s Southern Harmony (1835), and Freeman Lewis’s Beauties of Harmony (1828). You can hear it sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on YouTube. (There is a tune with that name on the Cyber Hymnal, but it is not the same one.)

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

There’s no question Psalm 23 is one of the most beloved chapters in all the Scriptures. It’s likely the most read and quoted Bible chapter of all.

Not surprisingly, dozens of hymns have been based upon it. Some are metrical versions of the text, quoting it almost word-for-word, as does The Lord’s My Shepherd, sung to the tune Crimond. Others paraphrase the words of David, such as The King of Love My Shepherd Is, by Henry Baker (1821-1877). Still others are freer meditations on the themes of the psalm, as is He Leadeth Me, by Joseph Gilmore (1834-1918).

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need, by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), falls somewhere between the second and third category, being something of a cross between a paraphrase and a thematic meditation. Watts published a book in 1719 called The Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, which contained this version of Psalm 23.

A paraphrase, by definition, restates the original in other words. But the hymn under consideration does that and more. On another occasion, Watts actually wrote what is more precisely a paraphrase of this beautiful psalm. But we’ll give our attention here to his other treatment of the psalm.

The King James Version of the Bible distinguishes between two words translated “Lord” by printing one with all capital letters. The Hebrew word Adonai, is rendered “Lord,” while the Hebrew word usually pronounced Jehovah or Yahweh becomes “LORD.” Both are used of God, the first emphasizing His lordship or rule, the second suggesting His self-existence as the I AM, and the covenant-making God. Watts identifies which is used in Psalm 23:1.

(1) My Shepherd will supply my need:
Jehovah is His name;
In pastures fresh He makes me feed,
Beside the living stream.
He brings my wandering spirit back
When I forsake His ways,
And leads me, for His mercy’s sake,
In paths of truth and grace.

Notice that, in the middle of the first stanza, the author injects a new idea: “He brings my wandering spirit back / When I forsake His ways.” That happened to Peter. At the time of Jesus’ trial, he denied, with an oath, that he never even knew the Lord. But later repentant, he was forgiven and restored. While this can certainly happen, it may not be the intent of “He restores my soul” (vs. 3). David may simply mean that the Lord refreshes his life, bringing renewed spiritual vitality in a time of testing.

Another new idea, about the Lord’s “supporting breath,” is introduced in the second stanza, which is based on Psalm 23, verses 4 and 5.

(2) When I walk through the shades of death
Thy presence is my stay;
One word of Thy supporting breath
Drives all my fears away.
Thy hand, in sight of all my foes,
Doth still my table spread;
My cup with blessings overflows,
Thine oil anoints my head.

Perhaps Watts was thinking of the dawn of creation when God “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7). Or of the time after His resurrection when the Lord Jesus “breathed on them [the disciples], and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (Jn. 20:22).

Each of those instances was historically unique, but they can be applied to us in principle, in the sense that the Spirit of God can be thought of as Lord’s animating Breath, at work in the life of the believer. Both the Hebrew word (ruwach) and the Greek word (pneuma) can mean either spirit or breath, depending on the context.

Finally, Watts’s lovely parting words are worthy of note. The Bible text reads, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD [i.e. in the presence of Jehovah] forever” (vs. 6). To which Watts adds the thought that he will not be a mere guest, but “like a child at home.”

(3) The sure provisions of my God
Attend me all my days;
O may Thy house be my abode,
And all my work be praise.
There would I find a settled rest,
While others go and come;
No more a stranger, nor a guest,
But like a child at home.

Questions:

  1. What is your favourite hymn version of Psalm 23?
  2. What is the truth in Psalm. 23 that has blessed you most?

Links:

Is Your All on the Altar?

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

Note: As of writing this, the Cyber Hymnal gives a date of 1905 for the publication. However, Hymnary.org shows a song book with it, dating 1900, so that seems the better option.

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

Every now and then, in the news, a near drowning is reported, a tragedy that was thwarted by the bold rescue action of another swimmer. But frequently it happens that the desperate person thrashes about violently, when approached, striking out at his would-be saviour in panic. Until the drowning person surrenders to his rescuer, he puts them both in peril. It’s in giving up that he gains what he truly needs.

In most situations this is counterintuitive. Usually, those in trouble are urged to keep trying, and even redouble their efforts. Quitters are scorned, drop-outs are despised, while individual effort and personal persistence are lauded. But there are some cases when resignation is victory, when surrender brings success. That is so in our relationship with the Lord.

The Bible makes it plain that no one will ever get to heaven by his or her own efforts. Salvation is by the grace of God–His unmerited favour–”not of works lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). It is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us” (Tit. 3:5). It is through faith in the Calvary work of Christ that one becomes a Christian (Jn. 3:16). Salvation is not a do, but a done.

And what about after that? What of how we live the Christian life? “Are you so foolish [Paul asks in Galatians]? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?…If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 3:3; 5:25).

The Word of God describes living as the Christians we’ve become through faith it as a walk of faith (II Cor. 5:7), and a life of surrender to the will of God. There is a connection between the two: “by faith Abraham obeyed” (Heb. 11:8). We obey God “doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6), because we trust His Word, and are convinced His will is best.

Over a hundred times in the New Testament Christ is called the “Lord Jesus.” He is both our Saviour and Lord. And if we call Him Lord, we are recognizing Him as the Ruler of our lives. There is a telling incident in Acts when God commands Peter to do something he doesn’t want to do. His response is, “Not so [or, No!], Lord” (Acts 10:14). But that is a contradiction. Either He is Lord or not. If He is, then His will is to be obeyed.

Yet Peter’s response is not unique. Many times life’s decisions come down to a kind of tug-of-war between God and us. One way some may try to resolve this is to compartmentalize their lives, relegating church and religion to one compartment–over which they recognize God’s management. Then, for the rest, family, friends, job, recreation, and so on, that is theirs, and they do more or less as they please with such things.

But, as someone has put it, He is either Lord of all, or not Lord at all. The Bible uses the sacrifice analogy. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the animal did not get to choose whether or not to be a sacrifice–or which part of it would be sacrificed. Then, in the New Testament we read, “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price [paid by the blood of Christ]” (I Cor. 6:19-20). We are to “present [our] bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is [our] reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).

It is in full surrender to the will of God that we find true peace and joy, and fulfilment in life. That is the theme of a gospel song by American pastor Elisha Hoffman. Among the two thousand songs he wrote–often supplying both words and music–is one that says this:

(1) You have longed for sweet peace,
And for faith to increase,
And have earnestly, fervently prayed;
But you cannot have rest,
Or be perfectly blest,
Until all on the altar is laid.

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?
Your heart does the Spirit control?
You can only be blest,
And have peace and sweet rest,
As you yield Him your body and soul.

(3) O we never can know
What the Lord will bestow
Of the blessings for which we have prayed,
Till our body and soul
He doth fully control,
And our all on the altar is laid.

Questions:

  1. Is there some area of your life you have resisted turning over to the Lord’s full control?
  2. What has been the result for you of clinging to the control of this area?

Links:

I Shall Be Like Him

Words: William Anson Spencer (b. Sept. 6, 1840; d. Sept. 25, 1901)
Music: William Anson Spencer

Note: Spencer was a busy pastor, who wrote a few hymns, but only one seems to be found commonly in hymn books today. Published in 1897, it takes its title, I Shall Be Like Him, from the first line of the refrain.

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

Years ago we had, in our collection of Christmas tree lights, one of the earliest bulbs ever made for that purpose. It still worked–probably because we didn’t use it anymore. It gave off only a dim glow, through greenish glass. Included in a string of newer lights, it was totally outshone, its weak beam almost invisible from a few feet away.

Light bulbs overall have undergone many changes. The goal has been to devise ones that last longer, produce a clear, bright light, but consume less energy in doing so. That’s typical of many other things, from cars to computers, from power saws to soap. New products are repeatedly advertised as bigger, stronger, faster, and more effective than what came before.

Not all the changes delight us. And we’ve come to realize, “new and improved” is sometimes a matter of opinion. But manufacturers keep trying to win us to their latest creation. They imply, for a while, that each is the “ultimate”–a word that’s used sometimes. But we all know that’s not the case. The commercial hyperbole only lasts until the next version comes off the line.

Bring this over into human experience. Book stores often have many shelves of volumes dedicated to a “new and improved” you. Personal development is big business. Articles on the Net proclaim how to better yourself as well. Here’s how to quit a bad habit, or let go of the past they may claim. Well, yes. Easy to say, but not always so easy to accomplish. In fact, while we may be cheered by small victories, we’re repeatedly confronted with how far we have yet to go. “Nobody’s perfect” is more than a cliche.

The Bible addresses our spiritual progress similarly, declaring, as a starting point, that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). We are called to put our faith in Christ, our Saviour (Jn. 3:16), and begin a life of consistent faith and obedience toward God. It is expected that Christians will “ grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (II Pet. 3:18). But even the great Apostle Paul had to admit, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on” (Phil. 3:12).

We can indeed grow and make progress in our spiritual lives. But true and ultimate perfection awaits a better day. When the believer is called into the presence of God, we are assured of both physical and spiritual perfection. At that time, “[He] will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21), and “we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him” (I Jn. 3:2). “As for me…I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness,” says the psalmist (Ps. 17:15).

It is a future we long for, a transformation worth waiting for, celebrated in the hymn by William Anson Spencer. The hymn begins:

(1) When I shall reach the more excellent glory,
And all my trials are passed,
I shall behold Him, O wonderful story!
I shall be like Him at last.

I shall be like Him, I shall be like Him,
And in His beauty shall shine;
I shall be like Him, wondrously like Him,
Jesus, my Saviour divine.

But Pastor Spencer also understood that, though this ultimate perfecting awaits us, we can still work on developing a godly character and a Christlike spirit, here and now, by the grace of God. Progress now, perfection yet to come.

(2) We shall not wait till the glorious dawning
Breaks on the vision so fair,
Now we may welcome that heavenly morning,
Now we His image may bear.

(3) More and more like Him, repeat the blest story,
Over and over again,
Changed by His Spirit from glory to glory,
I shall be satisfied then.

Questions:

  1. What particular area of Christian growth and development are you concentrating on right now?
  2. What methods and means are you using to grow spiritually in this area?

Links:

How Can It Be?

Words: Avis Marguerite Burgeson Christiansen (b. Oct. 11:1895; d. Jan. 14, 1985)
Music: John Willard Peterson (b. Nov. 1, 1921; d. Sept. 20, 2006)

Note: Avis lived in Chicago and was married to a vice president of Moody Bible Institute there. The present song was published in 1961. It seems to display echoes of Charles Wesley’s great hymn And Can It Be?

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

Star Trek, the television program, first broadcast in the 1960s, was followed by a number of spin-off series and movies. Part of the fascination for these science fiction stories was that they explored strange new worlds, with creatures that were so different from human beings.

It was all fiction. But there is a world, far nearer to us, at our very feet, that can illustrate the same kind of strangeness and disconnect. We find the creatures of that world in our lawns and gardens–and sometimes, appearing as an unwanted nuisance in our homes. I’m speaking of ants.

Just as God created the stars in the vast reaches of space, He also created these tiny creatures. And He designed all He has made to teach valuable lessons (Job 12:7). For example, the Lord offers the busy labours of the ants to remind us to be industrious and hard working. As Proverbs bluntly puts it, “Go to the ant, you sluggard [you slothful, lazy person]! Consider her ways and be wise” (Prov. 6:6).

But, let’s suppose for a moment that you wanted to talk to the ants. To converse with them in order to teach them about yourself, and maybe assist them in some way. You can see the problem. We are so far above them in size, and intellect. And finding a common language that we both could share seems beyond us.

What if you saw an ant at your feet, and told him you loved him, and were concerned about him. Think of how an ant would feel to see this enormous moving mountain towering above him, and hear an unintelligible sound thundering at him. Bewilderment, terror and flight would be the likely result. If only the ant could become a man or, failing that, if you could become an ant. Then perhaps you’d be able to relate to one another.

Apply that simple illustration to our relationship with God. How can the eternal and omniscient Creator of all things, the one whom the Bible says fills heaven and earth (Jer. 23:24) communicate in any intelligible way with us, puny little creatures that we are? The answer is that God had to become Man to do so most effectively (Jn. 1:1, 14). The incarnation of God the Son brought Him into our world.

During the time Christ was on earth, He spent many hours teaching people about spiritual things. And He related to them in a close and caring way. He healed many of disease, and reached out to the outcasts of society, even having time minister to little children. Finally, He went to the cross.

The Bible explains that this was an act of God’s love. There Christ, the sinless One, took upon Himself the debt of our sin.  “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8). That’s the message of a familiar Bible verse, John 3:16. Yes, the Bible speaks of that love, but the Bible’s authors are hard pressed to explain the reason for it.

Why would God love us enough to suffer so terribly for us? How is it that He loves us at all? The answer, incomplete though it is, lies in the character of God. He is a loving (Rom. 5:8; I Jn. 4:16) and gracious God (Eph. 1:7: 2:5-8). He made us in His image (Gen. 1:27) as those who are capable of having a loving relationship with Him (I Cor. 1:9). A relationship He desires (Jn. 14:2-3; 17:24). Beyond that, all we can do in response is wonder and worship.

One hymn writer who pondered the question is Avis Christiansen. Over a period of sixty years, she wrote hundreds of gospel songs. One of them, called How Can It Be? expresses her marvel at the mystery of Christ’s loving sacrifice.

1) O Saviour, as my eyes behold
The wonders of Thy might unfold,
The heav’ns in glorious light arrayed,
The vast creation Thy hast made–
And yet to think Thou lovest me–
My heart cries out, ‘How can it be?’

How can it be? How can it be?
That God should love a soul like me,
O how can it be?”

I don’t know. But He does.

Questions:

  1. What should be our response to the love that sent the Saviour to the cross of Calvary to pay our debt of sin?
  2. What other hymns do you know and use that express the wonder of what the Lord did for us?

Links:

He Is So Precious to Me

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

Note: Gabriel grew up on an Iowa farm, where he taught himself to play the family’s reed organ. He began teaching in singing schools by age 16, and went on to become a church music director, as well as a composer and publisher. He became one of the most prominent hymn writers of the early twentieth century. Evangelical hymn books still contain many of his songs. My Saviour’s Love; More Like the Master; O That Will Be Glory; and Send the Light, to name a few. As well as the lyrics, he wrote the tunes for his songs, also composing dozens of tunes for the songs of others.

Mr. Gabriel wrote and published the present song in 1902. At that time, the first stanza was somewhat different from what we use now. Actually, I rather like the original in some ways, though there’s nothing particularly wrong with the version that appeared several years later. The 1902 publication has:

1) I’m happy in Jesus, my Saviour, my King,
And all the day long of His goodness I sing;
To Him in my weakness I lovingly cling,
For He is so precious to me.

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

In Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, the cringing, creepy Gollum lusts after the magic ring, which he speaks of as “my precious.” It’s recovery and possession was the obsession of his dark and depraved existence.

It’s startling to learn what’s precious to some individuals. We have precious metals, and precious gems, and our precious time. But every now and then on the news we see people afflicted with a passion for hoarding. With their distorted value system, it seems that everything is precious. Nothing can ever be thrown away. Their homes become a serious health hazard, filled from floor to ceiling with whatever comes their way.

Living a balanced life, with the ability to discern between what is mundane and what is extraordinary, between junk and jewelry, the trivial and the precious, depends on what measure we use to weigh their worth. In other words, it depends on our value system. It’s helpful to ask ourselves questions such as: What will I think of this a year from now? What will it mean to me ten years from now? And what will it mean in eternity?

The Lord Jesus discussed values in the Sermon on the Mount. He said:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal….Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.

Matt. 6:19-20, 33

Years later, in his two epistles, the Apostle Peter lists several things that are “precious” in spiritual and eternal terms. Believers are “chosen by God and precious” (I Pet. 2:4), and their faith in God is a precious thing (I Pet. 1:7; II Pet. 1:1). The faithful promises of God are precious to us as well (II Pet. 1:4), and the Bible contains hundreds of them.

Most precious of all to Christians is the Lord Jesus, our Saviour. Applying the illustration of stones used in the erection of a building, Peter says, He was precious to God the Father, and became “the chief cornerstone” in the building God was constructing–meaning the church (I Pet. 2:6). “To you who believe, He is precious.” But to those who refuse to accept Him, Him He is “the stone which the builders rejected” (I Pet. 2:7).

Charles Gabriel wrote a fine gospel song about that called He Is So Precious to Me, which begins:

(1) So precious is Jesus, my Saviour, my King;
His praise all the day long with rapture I sing.
To Him in my weakness for strength I can cling,
For He is so precious to me.

For He is so precious to me;
For He is so precious to me.
’Tis heaven below, my Redeemer to know,
For He is so precious to me.

Then the author expresses a regret that the Lord had to wait so long to gain admittance to his heart.

(2) He stood at my heart’s door ’mid sunshine and rain,
And patiently waited an entrance to gain.
What shame that so long He entreated in vain,
For He is so precious to me.

Finally, he looks forward to the day when he can be in heaven with the Lord, in the place Jesus says He is preparing for His own (Jn. 14:2-3).

(4) I praise Him because He appointed a place
Where some day, through faith in His wonderful grace,
I know I shall see Him, shall look on His face,
For He is so precious to me.

Questions:

  1. In addition to the Lord Jesus Christ, what spiritual treasures do you consider especially precious?
  2. What is it about the things you mentioned that makes them precious to you?

Links:

By Cool Siloam’s Shady Rill

Words: Reginald Heber (b. Apr. 21, 1783; d. Apr. 3, 1826)
Music: Belmont, by William Gardiner (b. March 15, 1770; d. Nov. 16, 1853)

Note: Reginald Heber was a Church of England clergyman who served, briefly, as the bishop of Calcutta. (After three years, he died there of apparent sun stroke.) Though he wrote over fifty hymns, most of them were not published until after his death. He gave us Holy, Holy, Holy, and the missionary hymn From Greenland’s Icy Mountains, as well as the militant song The Son of God Goes for to War. But it is another hymn that gets our attention now.

Published in 1812, this is an interesting song that takes a while to reveal its main subject and purpose. Is it about brooks and flowers? (No.) About children? (In part. But not completely.) It is an appeal to God’s sustaining grace and keeping power to enable us to live a life pleasing to Him, whatever our age. The rest is by way of analogy and illustration.

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

As the snows of winter begin to recede, and seed catalogues arrive in the mail, the thoughts of many turn to gardening. What will we plant this year? Some things for food, but perhaps also some flowers that will grace the fertile soil with the unique beauty God has prepared them to share.

The Lord loves gardens. He planted the very first one (Gen. 2:8). The Lord Jesus frequently used planting and harvesting illustrations in His parables (e.g. Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23). And He revealed Himself to Mary Magdalene, after His resurrection, in a garden (Jn. 19:41; 20:11-18). Apparently there will be gardens in heaven too. “Paradise” (Lk. 23:43) is a Persian word meaning a lovely park or garden.

We also have God’s promise of the faithful cycling of the seasons year by year (Gen. 8:22). In some ways the seasonal changes in a garden mirror the passing of our lives. There is a springtime of birth and anticipation, a summer of growth and beauty, an autumn of fruitfulness, and a winter of withering decline. Reginald Heber, one of our outstanding hymn writers, gave us a hymn about that.

It begins with a scene of seductive beauty and fragrant abundance.

(1) By cool Siloam’s shady rill
How fair the lily grows!
How sweet the breath, beneath the hill,
Of Sharon’s dewy rose!

Dr. Heber is merely setting a scene before us. His purpose in using it is much different from what we might expect. His own title for the hymn was, “Christ a Pattern for Children, Luke 2:40.” The verse refers to the boy Jesus, setting His example before us: “The Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” With this the hymn makes a comparison:

(2) Lo! such the child whose early feet
The paths of peace have trod,
Whose secret heart, with influence sweet,
Is upward drawn to God.

It all sounds lovely. But the writer now draws a stern lesson–so stern, in fact, that modern hymnals often omit the next two stanzas.

(3) By cool Siloam’s shady rill
The lily must decay;
The rose that blooms beneath the hill
Must shortly fade away.

(4) And soon, too soon, the wintry hour
Of man’s maturer age
Will shake the soul with sorrow’s power
And stormy passion’s rage.

It is a sobering truth, both in gardens and in our lives. “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecc. 3:1-2). What, then, of the time in between? Heber reminds us that, through childhood, and beyond, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to trust in God and, by His grace, live to please Him, just as the Lord Jesus did.

(5) O Thou, whose infant feet were found
Within Thy Father’s shrine,
Whose years with changeless virtue crowned,
Were all alike divine.

(6) Dependent on Thy bounteous breath,
We seek Thy grace alone,
In childhood, manhood, age, and death
To keep us still Thine own.

It wasn’t the author’s purpose to carry things beyond that, but we can add a further note. Death is not the end. Through faith in Christ–the One who said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jn. 11:25)–there is a wonderful prospect beyond the valley of the shadow. “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead” (I Cor. 15:21).

Questions:

  1. Is this a hymn you would use in your church? (Why? Or why not?)
  2. What are some of the changing spiritual challenges of childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age?

Links:

Why?

Words: John McFarlane Moore (b. Sept. 1, 1925)
Music: John McFarlane Moore

Note: Born in Scotland in 1925, John McFarlane Moore put his faith in Christ at the age of sixteen. He went on to serve as the Assistant Superintendent of the Seamen’s Chapel, in Glasgow, and as a pastor. He later came to Canada, and became the pastor of a church in Willowdale, Ontario. Moore also wrote more than 150 hymns, including the popular Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary.

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

Why? It’s a question children ask all the time–sometimes to the bewildered frustration of adults? “Why does the sun look so bright?” Answer that question–“because it’s close to us”–and you may simply get another “why”! And responding, “Because God made it that way” won’t get you off the hook. Again, “Why?”

Such questions arise from the curious minds of the young. But when older children or teens ask it, it can sometimes be a challenge to parental authority. “Why can’t I go to the party?” Or, “Why can’t I get a tattoo?” Sometimes parents retreat behind the all-purpose “Because I said so.” But the underlying issues likely deserve a fuller and more helpful answer than that.

The “why” question appears in our English Bibles over four hundred times. Sometimes the Lord Himself asks it, in order to help us understand the root of our own actions and decisions. That’s the case with Scripture’s first “why,” when God confronts Cain. His brother Abel’s offering was received by the Lord, but Cain was enraged when his was rejected. “Why are you angry?” asks the Lord. “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Gen. 4:6, 7).

Refusing to examine the evil in his own heart, and seething with fury, Cain killed his brother. The Apostle John later comments, in almost the last use of the word in the Bible, “And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous” (I Jn. 3:12). Philips paraphrases, helpfully, I believe: “It was because he realized the goodness of his brother’s life and the evil of his own.” But instead of following Abel’s example, Cain killed his brother.

Quite a few times, the question is raised with regard to the death of Christ. The demand of the Jews that He be crucified puzzled Pilate. “‘Why [he asked]?’ What evil has He done?” But they cried out all the more, ‘Crucify Him!’” (Mk. 15:13-14). “Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no fault in this Man’” (Lk. 23:4). But in spite of this conclusion, for fear of a mob uprising, the morally weak governor ordered Christ’s death anyway.

The question of why Christ died still needs to be answered. The immediate motive for demanding Christ’s death was jealousy on the part of the Jewish leadership, and resentment at His growing popularity. But in the sovereign purposes of God, the reason was quite different. Why would God the Father allow His sinless Son to die a cruel death at the hands of His creatures?

The answer is: the Son of God died as our Substitute, under the wrath of God, to pay the penalty for our sin. The Lord Jesus Himself declared, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28).

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isa. 53:6

[He] Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree….For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.

I Pet. 2:24; 3:18

In 1953, Pastor Moore wrote both words and music for a gospel song simply entitled Why? It addresses the question regarding the purpose of Christ’s death this way.

Why did they nail Him to Calvary’s tree?
Why? Tell me, why was He there?
Jesus the Helper, the Healer, the Friend–
Why? Tell me, why was He there?

Echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah quoted above (Isa. 53:6), Moore answers the question:

All my iniquities on Him were laid–
He nailed them all to the tree.
Jesus the debt of my sin fully paid–
He paid the ransom for me.

It will be the eternal song of the saints, in heaven:

You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

Rev. 5:9

Questions:

  1. What are some other “Why?” questions that are commonly asked about God?
  2. What answers can you provide for such questions?

Links:

I Want to Be Like Jesus

Words: Thomas Obediah Chisholm (b. July 29, 1866; d. Feb. 29, 1960)
Music: David Livingstone Ives (b. _____, 1921; d. _____, 1987)

Note: Thomas Obediah Chisholm, an American hymn writer, got his early education at a small country school in Kentucky and, at the age of sixteen, began teaching at the school himself. At twenty-one he became the associate editor of the local newspaper. Chisholm put his faith in Christ six years after, and trained to become a pastor.

When ill health later led to his retirement from active pastoral work, he turned to writing devotional verse. A number of his poems were set to music, and found their way into our hymn books. Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and Trust in the Lord are two of these. In the providence of God, Mr. Chisholm likely has blessed many thousands more as a hymn writer than he could ever have reached as a pastor. The present hymn was published in 1945.

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

Hero worship, or the desire to be like one’s hero, is a fairly common phenomenon. If the object of adulation is a person of good character, the aspiration may have some benefit. But it can take a darker turn, if the one being emulated is morally corrupt.

Police have long been wary of what’s termed copycat crime. A crime is committed and receives sensational publicity. Then, after the sordid details are described in the media, other similar crimes may crop up. There are also examples of fictional crimes being enacted by copycats. Mystery writer Agatha Christie was appalled when her book, The Pale Horse, was found in the possession of a killer. He had copied her villain’s use of an almost untraceable poison named in the book.

It’s not uncommon for young people to try to dress like and act like popular movie or rock stars. Sadly, some of these individuals are not worthy examples to follow. They glory in rebelling against moral standards, and ridicule those who hold to them. In time, their wayward lives will reap what they have sowed. But by then the damage may have been done to a host of adoring fans.

If we’re looking for someone to imitate, we need a better example than that. The Bible presents the supreme pattern for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul repeatedly told others to do what he (Paul) was doing, but only insofar as he was acting in a Christlike way. He says, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (I Cor. 11:1). On that basis he could exhort the Philippian Christians to “join in following my example” (Phil. 3:17).

Not only are we responsible to choose the best pattern to follow–that of the Lord Jesus. We ourselves are to then be an example to others, that they too will be drawn to reproduce the kind of conduct that’s pleasing to God. Paul told Timothy to “be an example to the believers” (I Tim. 4:12), and told Titus likewise “to be a pattern of good works” (Tit. 2:7).

But it all comes back to our ultimate exemplar, Christ. We are to “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us” (Eph. 5:2). In the same chapter in Ephesians, this is applied to a husband’s behaviour toward his wife. We are told, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25). What a high standard that is! With Paul, we cry, “Who is sufficient for these things?” (II Cor. 2:16), and we answer with him, “Our sufficiency is from God” (II Cor. 3:5).

Pursuing the goal of Christlikeness requires passionate commitment and the sacrifice of selfish ambition. That is not natural for us, it’s supernatural, a work of the Spirit of God within us. Our natural tendency, rooted in our old sin nature, is to want what pleases us and satisfies our fleshly cravings. Those motives are born in us.

I recall standing near the entrance of a large department store one day. Right near the entrance was a colourful display of children’s videos. Just then, a family came in, mom and dad, with a toddler. She spotted the display instantly and quickly  trotted toward it. Arm outstretched, finger pointing, she said, in a demanding voice, “I want that!”

It seemed to me at the time that we too often respond to our world in much the same way, “I want that…and that…and that!” Samson wanted a Philistine wife, even though his parents tried to dissuade him from marrying one of their heathen enemies. His reply says a lot about his character, and about the moral weakness that plagued his career as a judge in Israel. He simply said, “Get her for me, for she pleases me well” (Jud. 14:3).

If we are to become more and more like Christ, we will consistently need to say “No” to the flesh, and “Yes” to God. What pleases us above all else must be pleasing the Lord. That is the theme of Mr. Chisholm’s wonderful hymn.

1) I have one deep supreme desire,
That I may be like Jesus.
To this I fervently aspire,
That I may be like Jesus.
I want my heart His throne to be,
So that a watching world may see
His likeness shining forth in me.
I want to be like Jesus.

Questions:

  1. What are the qualities that in particular make up the Christlike character and life?
  2. What is the means by which these are attained and maintained?

Links:

A Glorious Church

Words: Ralph Erskine Hudson (b. July 12, 1843; d. June 14, 1901)
Music: Ralph Erskine Hudson

Note: This sprightly gospel song was first published in 1892. It has a similar theme to Henry Alford’s more poetically elegant Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand.

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

For years they were the laughing stock of the league. The New York Mets baseball team had never had a winning season–never finished higher than ninth place. Their manager in the early years, Casey Stengel, called them “the Amazin’ Mets,” not because of how well they played, but because they always seemed to come up with new ways to lose.

Until the 1969 season. That year, to the astonishment of many, they won the World Series. Battling their way to the top, all through the season, they became “the Miracle Mets,” a symbol for all time of those who endure a long struggle, and are finally victorious.

There is, in that, a faint picture of the church of Jesus Christ. Referred to in the Bible as the spiritual body of Christ, a body of which He is the Head (Eph. 1:22-23), it was formed on the Day of Pentecost in AD 30, by a mighty work of the Spirit of God. “About a hundred and twenty” believers were gathered (Acts 1:15) in a loft, above the home of Mark’s parents (cf. Acts 12:12), which he describes for us as “a large upper room” (Mk. 14:15). There Jesus had previously celebrated Passover with His disciples.

That group of 120 was the nucleus, the beginning of the Christian church which, in spite of times of persecution and of apostasy, has continued to grow. The statistics today are staggering. There are over two billion people in the world who identify themselves as Christians. They are composed of a wide spectrum of groups and sects–some of which we would not classify as biblically orthodox. Nevertheless, the truly born again saints of God number in the many millions.

In nearly every nation on earth, there is a Christian witness. But not all are able to live out their faith in peace. In many lands, conversion to Christianity is forbidden, and gatherings of believers are illegal. It’s estimated that about 160,000 professing Christians are martyred each year for their faith–a woeful horror that goes largely unreported in the secular media. It is a beleaguered but thriving body.

Is it a perfect church? No, far from it–because it’s made up of very imperfect people. To borrow Stengel’s term, it’s “amazin’” the number of ways we can find to foul up. Samuel Stone’s great hymn, The Church’s One Foundation, describes it this way:

With a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed.

Too often troubled by false doctrine, internal conflict and division, and more, it’s nonetheless heroic, and faces a glorious future. Through the sacrifice of Christ, and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, the body of Christ is being prepared for what’s to come. Describing this, using the imagery of a suit of clothes in pristine condition, the Bible says:

Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Eph. 5:25-27

Ralph Erskine Hudson (1843-1901), an American Civil War veteran, was the author of many popular hymns. He was inspired by that wonderful future prospect to write the words and music of an encouraging gospel song about the church in heavenly glory.

(1) Do you hear them coming, brother,
Thronging up the steeps of light,
Clad in glorious shining garments,
Blood washed, garments pure and white?

’Tis a glorious church without spot or wrinkle,
Washed in the blood of the Lamb;
’Tis a glorious church without spot or wrinkle,
Washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Take heart, Christian. Through the grace of God, and the blood of Christ, God’s Lamb, we’ll one day be victorious–and glorious (Rev. 7:14; 12:11)!

(4) Wave the banner, shout His praises,
For our victory is nigh!
We shall join our conqu’ring Saviour,
We shall reign with Him on high!

Questions:

  1. What do you believe is the greatest problem of the church today, its greatest hindrance to fulfilling its God-given mission?
  2. What is “the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26), and how does this prepare and equip the church for its present work?

Links:

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