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As with Gladness Men of Old

Words: William Chatterton Dix (b. June 14, 1837; d. Sept. 9, 1898)
Music: Dix, by Conrad Kocher (b. Dec. 16, 1786; d. March 12, 1872)

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

As…so… The words make a comparison for the purpose of giving insight and understanding. The Bible uses this method often. For example, here are three verses from Psalm 103:

As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.

Ps. 103:11-13

The technique is also used frequently in the book of Proverbs:

  • “As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion” (Prov. 11:22).
  • “As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country” (Prov. 25:25).

In each case, our understanding of what is being taught is illuminated by the comparison. And that is the technique William Dix used in our hymn–actually, a Christmas carol that tells of the visit of the wise men to the Lord Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 2:1-12.

(1): As the wise men were led to the feet of Christ, so may we be led to Him. In their case, they followed a supernatural star. In our case, we are prompted by the Spirit of God. First of all convicted of our sin, and led to Christ for salvation. Then, as believers, we are brought, led day by day, into fellowship with Him, by that same Holy Spirit.

(2) continues the theme by describing the joyful mood of the wise men, as they envisioned the fulfilment of their quest (Matt. 2:10), with Mr. Dix urging us to seek the place of prayer with the same enthusiasm.

(3) deals with the gifts of the wise men. “As…so…”

As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare;
So may we with holy joy,
Pure and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to Thee, our heavenly King.

“Gifts most rare,” brought to a “manger rude and bare.” How ironic! The place did not at all reflect the worth of the One who was found there. But they weren’t discouraged by the surroundings. They came seeking the King, and they “fell down and worshiped Him,” presenting the gifts they had brought (Matt. 2:11). In a similar manner, we are exhorted to come with holy joy, and present our costliest treasures to Christ. First of all, to present ourselves as His willing servants (Rom. 12:1; II Cor. 8:5), and then to lay before Him our time, our talents and our treasures, putting them at His disposal.

The final two stanzas of the hymn point us forward to the day when we stand in the presence of Christ, worshiping and praising Him for all eternity. CH-5 is unfortunately omitted from many hymnals, but it provides a fitting conclusion to a wonderful hymn.

In the heavenly country bright,
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down;
There forever may we sing
Alleluias to our King!

Questions:

  1. What are some qualities of the wise men, that set a good example for us?
  2. Why is it important to present ourselves to the Lord first, before offering Him other gifts (Rom. 12:1; II Cor. 8:5)?

Links:

Have You Any Room for Jesus?

Words: Daniel Webster Whittle (b. Nov. 22, 1840; d. Mar. 4, 1901)
Music:  C. C. Williams (? – 1882)

Note: Major Whittle adapted the text for this song from an anonymous poem. I could find nothing as to the identity of Williams.

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

When many see the title and words of this hymn, they are no doubt reminded of the arrival of Mary and Joseph at Bethlehem, where “there was no room for them in the inn.” For this reason, Jesus was probably born in a stable. (No “stable” is mentioned, but we know His first cradle was a manger, Lk. 2:7).

We hear the innkeeper faulted for making no room for Jesus. But he had no way of knowing, apart from a divine revelation, who was to be born that night. His inn was likely overcrowded, because of the census (Lk. 2:1, 3), and Mary and Joseph may have arrived late, travelling more slowly because of her condition. Actually, it could be the busy man showed great kindness to them by offering warm shelter in the stable.

The song, of course, is using the expression in a metaphorical sense, appealing to us to make room for Christ in our lives. “No room!” so many cry. Either by open rebellion, or by passive neglect, they make no room for the Lord. “He came to His own [His own creation], and His own [even His own people, the Jews] did not receive Him” (Jn. 1:11). And still today, by many, “He is despised and rejected” (Isa. 53:3).

In The Romance of Sacred Song, David Beattie records a touching incident related to this hymn. In the early part of the twentieth century, a group of Christians was holding an open air meeting in the city of London. In the course of their presentation, they sang Major Whittle’s song, and reached stanza 2:

Room for pleasure, room for business,
But for Christ the Crucified,
Not a place that He can enter,
In the heart for which He died?

At that moment, two men were walking past. They were on their way to fly some pigeons (I guess in a homing pigeon race). Bill was struck by the words. “That’s me,” he said to his friend Jack. “Room for pleasure, room for business, but no room for Christ. You can fly the pigeons if you like, but I’m not going.” He returned home, left his birds, and headed back to the street meeting.

His wife, startled by his soon return, and his sudden change of mood, followed after him to see what had so affected him. The couple came to a little chapel, where the team had gone to continue their gospel meeting, and they sat down to listen. That night, both husband and wife trusted Christ as Saviour. One who knew them commented later, “That home today is one of the brightest in the great city of London.”

Stanza 1 and the refrain of the hymn alludes to a passage in the book of Revelation, where the Lord Jesus declares, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him [i.e. fellowship with him], and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). The text is sometimes used as a salvation verse. But in the context it refers to a wealthy and spiritually lukewarm church that had shut Christ out (vs. 14-19).

Sinners, who are in danger of eternal condemnation, need to repent and turn to Christ in faith, opening their lives to His energizing presence. But it is possible, even for Christians, and local churches, to get so busy, and fill their lives with so many things (perhaps some perfectly good things, in themselves) and leave no room for a vital fellowship with the Lord.

Questions:

  1. What do you see in your own life, or in the life of your church, that carries the danger of crowding out heart-to-heart fellowship with the Lord?
  2. What can we do to make more room for Christ, and keep things that way?

Links:

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Words: Unknown author
Music: Unknown composer

Note: The author of this carol is unknown. It may have originated some five centuries ago. The song was published by William B. Sandys (pronounced Sands), an English solicitor, in his 1833 volume, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern. Sandys’ book contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday, and the practice of singing carols, of which Queen Victoria herself was an enthusiastic supporter. The traditional tune is excellent, and it apparently originated in Cornwall, although we don’t know the composer.

There are several things to say about the lyrics of this carol. What is given in the Cyber Hymnal seems to be a mix of Sandys’ version, and that which became traditional in London in the mid-1870s. The former version had seven stanzas, the latter had eight. Of these, most today use only (1), (3), (4), and (7).

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

It is difficult to find a definitive or original version of this carol, as many alterations have been made over the years. I have made slight changes of my own in what is posted on the Cyber Hymnal. For example, I’ve never liked the use of “deface” in (7):

This holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface.

To “deface” means to disfigure, as graffiti mars a wall. Surely the intended meaning is, as some modern editors have it, “efface,” meaning to eclipse, as the glory of Christmas overshadows other festive times.

The opening line has frequently suffered from the careless removal of the comma after “merry.” The text does not refer to merry gentlemen, as though it were telling some giddy revelers to have a nice holiday. Nor is the word “rest” used as we would do, today. Five centuries ago it meant make, or keep. A modern paraphrase of the words might read: “May God keep you joyful, gentlemen. May He fill your hearts with gladness!”

This sentiment perfectly reflects the message of the angel on that first Christmas night: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy” (Lk. 2:10). And the reason for great rejoicing follows: “For there is born to you…a Saviour” (vs. 11). One “to save us all from Satan’s power,” as the carol puts it (1), and, “To free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might,” ((4); cf. Heb. 2:14-15).

Various Scriptures, both prophetic and reflecting on the event afterward, have this note of joyful celebration in the “glad tidings” delivered by the angels.

“O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” (Isa. 40:9).

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound (Isa. 61:1; cf. Lk. 4:16-21).

“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Rom. 10:15).

In the words of John, in the incarnation “the Word [God the Son] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). Truly, “this holy tide of Christmas all others doth efface.”

(1) God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray.

O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy.

Questions:

  1. In your view, what is the essence of Christmas?
  2. Though many of modern Christmas traditions and fantasies are not wrong in themselves, they have tended to obscure the true meaning of the day? How have you and your family dealt with all the extras that have been added to the holiday?

Links:

The First Noel

Words: Author Unknown (the earliest known printing date is 1823, in Some Ancient Christmas Carols, by Davies Gilbert)
Music: Composer Unknown (the tune appeared in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, 1833, compiled by William Sandys (pronounced Sands).

Note: The word Noel, alternately spelled Nowell, means Birthday! As the troubadours of the Middle Ages travelled from town to town, they would carry the news from other places. We can picture one of them standing in the town square crying out, “Birthday, birthday, birthday, birthday!” (as the fourfold “Noel” in the refrain indicates) to announce some notable birth. Then he might share a song to give the details. This is possibly the origin of the carol. The commonly used stanzas are: (1), (2), (3), (4), (6), (8). Regarding the tune, it may actually be a descant borrowed from a tune composed earlier by Jeremiah Clark.

(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 both good and not-so-good about this song. There are some dubious details included that don’t square with the biblical account. But we need to realize that if the carol is, as some suppose, at least three centuries old, and if it was created as a troubadour song, the writer may not have been learned in the details of what the Bible tells us of the birth of Christ.

(1) The first Noel the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

(2) They lookèd up and saw a star
Shining in the east, beyond them far;
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.

The “they” of the second stanza seems to relate back to the shepherds in the first. But there is no record in God’s Word that the shepherds saw the star, nor any certainty that it shone in the daytime–though it’s an interesting idea!

One hymn editor has tried to cover the dubious connection of the shepherds with the star by amending the line in (2) to “For all to see there was a star.” However, that is no better. We don’t know that all saw the star. It seems best to see the heavenly manifestation as a miracle–perhaps only visible to the wise men, and even to them just at certain times (since they first went to Jerusalem, not Bethlehem).

There is another possible inaccuracy. Stanzas (3) and (6) speak of three wise men, but we are not actually told how many there were. The three gifts could have come from two or ten men. Apart from that, the description of the visit of the magi is fine.

In my view, the unknown author redeems himself with (8) which has much to recommend it. Most hymnals and carol books use it as the concluding stanza, ignoring the inferior quality of (9). Consider all that is packed into this single stanza.

  1. We are called to sing with “one accord.” This is a phrase meaning with one mind, with united passion. It is a description of unity used a number of times just before Pentecost, and of the very early days of the church (Acts 1:14; 2:1, 46; 4:24; 5:12).
  2. Our praise is directed to our heavenly Lord, and it’s from heaven we expect His soon return (cf. Rom. 8:34; Phil. 3:20; I Thess. 4:16).
  3. He is identified as the Creator God–which Christ definitely is (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-16).
  4. The Lord, in His omnipotence, called the material realm into being ex nihilo–out of nothing (Ps. 33:6; Heb. 11:3).
  5. From our perspective, an even greater wonder is that He paid the price for our sins on the cross of Calvary with His own life’s blood (Acts 20:28; I Pet. 1:18-19).

That is truly wonderful!

(8) Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with His blood mankind hath bought.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,
Born is the King of Israel.

Questions:

  1. In your view, what is the most significant emphasis missing in our celebration of Christmas year by year?
  2. What do you think is the writer’s purpose in linking the Lord’s creative power with His redemptive work (8)?

Links:

Angels from the Realms of Glory

Words: James Montgomery (b. Nov. 4, 1771; d. Apr. 30, 1854)
Music: Regent Square, by Henry Thomas Smart (b. Oct. 26, 1813; d. July 6, 1879)

Note: James Montgomery was recognized as a gifted poet, highly esteemed by contemporaries such as Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron. In my view, his carol ranks near the pinnacle of our Christmas hymns and carols, perhaps second only to Charles Wesley’s Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. Hymn historians James King and Robert McCutchan both quote an unnamed and effusive commentator saying:

“For comprehensiveness, appropriateness of expression, force, and elevation of sentiment, this hymn may challenge comparison with any hymn that was ever written in any language or country.”

While I might not go quite that far, it is indeed a magnificent hymn. When it was printed in his newspaper on Christmas Eve, 1816, Montgomery called it simply “Nativity.” In later publications he changed the title to “Good Tidings of Great Joy to All People.” Currently, the song takes the opening line as its title.

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

Most editors now omit the seemingly stern words of (5) (see below), but it simply identifies another group that ought to be praising the Lord for the coming of the Saviour. Most hymnals use only (1) to (4). A few add one of two Trinitarian doxologies (both given in the Cyber Hymnal link). Even so, though it’s rarely used now, the fifth stanza fits the careful structure of the hymn.

(5) Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.

I have called Angels from the Realms of Glory a hymn, as I often use that term generically in these blogs. However, strictly speaking, it is not praise addressed to God, nor is it a prayer to Him. Therefore, it’s more of an early gospel song (or what the Bible calls a “spiritual song,” Col. 3:16).

The author begins in (1) by calling our attention to the announcement of Christ’s birth by the angels (Lk. 2:10-14). The angels’ song of celebration at creation refers to the poetic words of Job 38:4-7, where “morning stars” is poetic imagery for the angels, called in the parallel line “the [heavenly] sons of God.”

(1) Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Next, we see a pair of visiting companies come to the Child: the lowly shepherds (2), and the more socially elite magi (3). Then comes another pairing: the saints of God, elevated to sonship through grace (4), and condemned sinners who turn to Christ for salvation (5). This last fits the church liturgy followed by some for Christmas morning, which calls for Psalm 85 to be read. Sinners can rejoice that “mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” in the saving work of Calvary (Ps. 85:10).

Having presented the rationale for the way Mr. Montgomery conceived the structure of the song, I recognize that few today will likely include stanza (5). Further, the fourth stanza, appealing as it does to the saints gathered for worship at the Christmas season, does make a fitting conclusion to the hymn. While calling us to celebrate the incarnation, it also points us forward to the return of Christ.

(4) Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear.

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Questions:

  1. What others joined in praise at this wonderful event (see Lk. 1:46-55; 2:25-38)? What do their words add to our understanding of Christ’s coming?
  2. For what things are you specifically praising the Lord today?

Links:

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Words: John Francis Wade (b. _____, 1710; d. Aug. 16, 1786)
Music: Adeste Fideles, likely by John Francis Wade

Note: Scholar John Stephan, in his extensive study of early manuscripts, has concluded that one from 1743 is the first and original of this hymn, and that Wade wrote both words and music, sometime between 1740 and 1743. In 1841, Frederick Oakeley (1802-1880) gave us the English translation of the commonly used stanzas (1), (3) and (7). As well as being a popular Christmas carol sung in English, the hymn is still sung in the Latin original as well. It begins:

Adeste fideles laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte Regem angelorum.
Venite adoremus, venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus Dominum.

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

This is a song of invitation. Like church bells chiming on a Sunday morning, the carol issues a call to worship.

(1) O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

The Word of God contains many such summonses. The first is found in Genesis 7:1, where the Lord calls Noah and his family to find safety in the ark. “The LORD said to Noah, ‘Come into the ark, you and all your household.’” The NIV opts to translate the word as “go.” This is unfortunate. It is a common Hebrew word for come, translated that way hundreds of times in the Old Testament. The significance of “come” is that God is already present in the ark, and is calling them to Himself. It is a reminder that He will be with them in the storm.

Other invitations are issued by the Lord, in both Old and New Testaments.

“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….Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live” (Isa. 55:1, 3).

“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

“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).

With the carol, there is a sense that we are invited to join a time of celebration and praise that has already begun. In the context of the birth of Christ, this of course has to do with echoing the glorious announcement of the angels to the shepherds (Lk. 2:8-14). The song deals with this angelic praise in (3), and follows it in (4) (a stanza not usually used today) with the shepherds going to “see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us” (vs. 15).

(3) Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest.
O come, let us adore Him.

(4) See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps.
O come, let us adore Him.

In singing the hymn, believers are positioning themselves as those who are already worshiping the Lord, and are calling for others to join them. It suggests we have found Him infinitely worthy of our adoration, and want others to discover the same. “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation” (Ps. 95:1).

(7) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Questions:

  1. What are some of the reasons why we seek the Lord and come to Him?
  2. The invitation at the empty tomb to “Come and see” (Matt. 28:6) is followed by the exhortation to “Go and tell” (vs. 7). What is the application of this to our Christian lives?

Links:

O How I Love Jesus

Words: Frederick Whitfield (b. Jan. 7, 1829; d. Sept. 13, 1904)
Music: Traditional Melody (source unknown)

Note: Frederick Whitfield wrote these words while a theological student at Trinity College, Dublin. The song was first published in 1855. Though there are nine stanzas to it, hymn books I’ve checked use only four: (1), (2), (4) and (5). The unused closing stanzas are also worth a look. Here they are:

(7) Jesus, the name I love so well,
The name I love to hear:
No saint on earth its worth can tell,
No heart conceive how dear.

(8) This name shall shed its fragrance still
Along this thorny road,
Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill
That leads me up to God.

(9) And there with all the blood-bought throng,
From sin and sorrow free,
I’ll sing the new eternal song
Of Jesus’ love for me.

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

The name “Jesus,” meaning the Lord saves, or the Lord is salvation, was given to Christ by a heavenly decree, before He was born, both to Mary (Lk. 1:31), and to Joseph (Matt. 1:21). It represents both His Person (He is the Saviour), and the prospect of His saving work on the cross. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). When His birth was first announced, it was declared, “There is born to you…a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Lk. 2:11).

“Jesus” is a name used of Him over 940 times in the New Testament. Several times it is used in the Old Testament too, though hidden from view in our English Bibles. When God the Son speaks, in prophecy, of His Father’s plan for His incarnation, He quotes the Father as saying, “that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth,” and Isaiah prophesies, “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” (Isa. 49:5-6; 52:10).

In those verses, the word for “salvation” is Ye-shoo-ah, the Hebrew form of the name Jesus. When he takes the infant Jesus in his arms, in the temple, Simeon seems to allude to Isaiah 52:10, saying, “My eyes have seen Your salvation [Your Ye-shoo-ah, Your Jesus]” (Lk. 2:28, 30). He could as well have said, “My arms have held Your salvation,” because He realized that our eternal salvation is bound up in a Person.

Needless to say, because of the importance of this name, and the One it represents, there are many hymns and gospel songs that speak of the name of Jesus. Full information for many can be found on the Cyber Hymnal. Here is a small sampling:

How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, by John Newton
At the Name of Jesus, by Carolyn Noel
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name, by Edward Perronet
Precious Name (Take the Name of Jesus with You), by Lydia Baxter
The Name of Jesus, by William Martin
There Is No Name So Sweet on Earth, by George Bethune

(1) There is a name I love to hear,
I love to sing its worth;
It sounds like music in my ear,
The sweetest name on earth.

O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me!

Questions:

  1. What does the name of Jesus mean to you personally?
  2. What is your favourite hymn about the name of Jesus? (And why is it your favourite?)

Links:

Face to Face

Words: Carrie Elizabeth Ellis Breck (b. Jan. 22, 1855; d. Mar. 27, 1934)
Music: Grant Colfax Tullar (b. Aug. 5, 1869; d. May 20, 1950)

Note: The Wordwise link below provides the remarkable story of how this hymn came to be–an example of the wonderful providence of God. The Cyber Hymnal uses the word “darkened” in (2). Mrs. Breck’s original word was “darkling,” meaning obscure and vaguely threatening. It’s a perfectly good word. No need to change it in my view.

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

Face to face. The phrase indicates that the two individuals involved are in one another’s presence, visible to one another, and close to one another. They are able to communicate directly, rather than through an intermediary, or using some device such as a phone or computer.

When applied to Christ, it has a wonderful significance for every child of God. The disciples of old had a privilege that we no longer enjoy. They saw Christ face to face–and were even given a glimpse of Him in heavenly glory (Matt. 17:1-2). Since His ascension, we have not been able to do that. We meet Him in His Word, and view Him with the eyes of faith, but it’s not the same. Like the veil in Israel’s tabernacle (and later in the temple) that curtained off the holy of holies, where God manifested His glorious presence, that privilege is denied us for now.

(2) Only faintly now I see Him,
With the darkling veil between,
But a blessèd day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.

Our anticipation of heaven involves many things. Dwelling places especially prepared for us by the Lord Jesus (Jn. 14:2-3), the banishing of pain and sorrow and death (Rev. 21:4), and a reunion with saved loved ones who’ve gone on before us (I Thess. 4:14). But chief among the joys of heaven will surely be seeing our Saviour, face to face, in all His glory. With incredible understatement, Paul says that being with Christ will be “far better” (Phil. 1:23). “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face” (I Cor. 13:12, KJV).

(3) What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened,
And the dark things shall be plain.

The anticipation of that has comforted and cheered countless believers in the face of danger and death. Many years ago, R. W. Porteous and his wife, missionaries serving with the China Inland Mission, were captured by bandits. Tied together, they were forced to march for miles over rough, mountainous terrain until they reached the outlaws’ stronghold. On a moonlit night, soon after, they were taken by those who guarded them to a lonely hill. There, one of the men drew out a large executioner’s knife.

It was plain what was intended. “We stood looking up at the stars,” says Porteous, “and God’s peace came into our hearts. We could not restrain ourselves from singing praise to Him. We sang [the hymn’s refrain]:

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!

One of the men said, ‘Listen to these foreigners singing! They are not afraid to die.’” In telling what happened, the missionary said, “We do not know whether it was the singing that touched the hearts of the guards, and kept them from carrying out their threat to kill us. But we do know it was the restraining hand of God.” Not only were they not slain, a few weeks later, they were released.

Questions:

  1. Are there spiritual benefits to be gained by not seeing Christ face to face, for the time being? (If so, what?)
  2. What is it about the anticipation of seeing Christ face to face that sustains believers in difficult trials?

Links:

There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood

Words: William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) (b. Nov. 15, 1731; d. Apr. 25, 1800)
Music: Cleansing Fountain, an American camp meeting tune, arranged by Lowell Mason (b. Jan. 8, 1792; d. Aug. 11, 1872)

Note: A number of changes in William Cowper’s original have been made. Many hymn books have, in (2), “And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.” The author’s original version made it a personal confession: “And there have I, as vile as he, washed all my sins away.” (I like Cowper’s version better.)
In the case of (5), the alterations made later provide a more positive statement. William Cowper wrote:
Then in a nobler sweeter song I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
With the use of the traditional tune, that calls for a repetition of “lies silent in the grave.” Editors since have changed the order of the lines to make the repeated phrase “I’ll sing Thy power to save.”
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save.
The last two stanzas seem anticlimactic, if not inferior, and are usually omitted.
Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
‘Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

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

If you’ve ever seen, even in passing, any of those “Ultimate Fighter” matches on television, you have witnessed crowds screaming for blood. The more the better! This mindless craving to see others be beaten bloody, as a form of entertainment, reminds me of the brutal contests in the Roman arena in ancient times.

When Jesus stood before Pilate, the raucous mob shouted “Crucify Him! Crucify Him” (Lk. 23:21). Pilate, convinced of the innocence of Christ, washed his hands before the multitude–a symbolic way of trying to evade responsibility for the execution. But the crowd was not to be deterred. Their terrible cry was, “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matt. 27:24-25). In contrast to this bloodthirsty mob, we have Peter’s stirring and reverent words:

“To you who believe, He is precious” (I Pet. 2:7). “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Pet. 1:18-19).

We honour the Saviour, and His willingness to shed His blood on the cross, because it’s only by faith in His great Calvary work that we can be saved. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission [no forgiveness of sins]” (Heb. 9:22).

(3) Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

(4) E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

(5) When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save.

Questions:

  1. What is the significance of Christ shedding His blood on the cross, according to the following verses (Lev. 17:11; Eph. 1:7)?
  2. What is the reasoning behind professing Christians wanting to downplay references to the blood of Christ, in sermons, songs, and even in Bible versions? What do you think of this?

Links:

In Jesus

Words: James Proctor (dates unknown)
Music: Robert Harkness (b. March 2, 1880; d. May 8, 1961)

Note: We have little information about James Proctor, including the dates of his birth and death. (At a guess, I’d say about 1840 and 1900, respectively.) However, the story behind this gospel song is one of the most remarkable in the history of hymnody. You can check it out in the Wordwise link below. The song was published in 1903. I’ve sung it as a solo many times, and in the 1950s I had the privilege of meeting Robert Harkness, the composer of the tune.

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

It’s true. People try many different ways to find peace of mind and hope for the future. Some engage in good works and community service. Some focus on the acquisition of wealth and property. Some do all they can to be popular and win the praise of others. Some indulge in the proverbial wine, women and song. But for all this, there’s still something lacking. And Jim Proctor found he couldn’t make sense of life with the way he was living, and the belief system he’d espoused. There had to be something (and Someone) more.

(2) My soul is night, my heart is steel—
I cannot see, I cannot feel;
For light, for life, I must appeal
In simple faith to Jesus.

The book of Ecclesiastes deals with this subject. It records a sermon preached by King Solomon in old age, looking back on his life (Ecc. 1:1). He had tried all of the things mentioned above, and more, but found them empty. The word “vanity” is found 28 times in the book, a word meaning a breath or a vapour. Pleasure, wealth, power, and so on, all seem as fragile and temporary as a mist that dissipates and vanishes away.

All of that relates to life “under the sun”–another expression Solomon uses often (27 times). It refers to this mortal life, from the womb to the tomb. If that’s all there is to life, then it is indeed vanity, a mere nothing. But after Solomon has clearly established that point, he describes another dimension of life that can give it meaning and purpose.

That is, that we cannot understand life without factoring in God and eternity. We are accountable to God for what we’ve done with our lives, and there is an eternal destiny beyond the grave to prepare for (Ecc. 12:13-14). The Lord Jesus dealt with this when He told His hearers to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:19-21; cf. vs. 33), and Paul likewise sounded a similar note (Col. 3:1-4; cf. I Tim. 6:7).

After struggling for a long time on the wrong path, Mr. Proctor found that the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Person and work, made sense of a lot of things in his life that were otherwise dark and unknowable.

(3) He died, He lives, He reigns, He pleads;
There’s love in all His words and deeds;
There’s all a guilty sinner needs
Forevermore in Jesus.

The men Proctor had associated with previously were agnostics and atheists. They’d no doubt think he’d lost his senses, if he left his association with them and trusted Christ as his Saviour. But he did it. And wrote:

(4) Though some should sneer, and some should blame,
I’ll go with all my guilt and shame;
I’ll go to Him because His name,
Above all names, is Jesus.

Questions:

  1. A philosopher wrote that each person has “a God-shaped blank” in his soul. What does this mean?
  2. What kinds of priorities and activities will enable the Christian to lay up treasures in heaven?

Links:

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