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What a Wonderful Saviour

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

Note: Elisha Hoffman’s father was a minister of the gospel in the Evangelical Association, and his son took up Christian ministry in his own time. He was both a poet and a musician as well, so provided both words and music for many of his songs. Eventually he produced more than two thousand of them, some translated into many languages.

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

Several of Pastor Hoffman’s songs that are still in common use are somewhat repetitious–as is the present one. They’re often dismissed on that account by the hymnological elite. Granted these songs will never make a list of the greatest hymns in English hymnody. But it seems to me they have a place, in part because of their very repetitiousness. In another of his songs the repeated “I must tell Jesus” hammers home the need for prayer, when so many of us neglect it. In this one, we are reminded twenty or so times “What a wonderful Saviour!” we have–with twenty exclamation marks following.

Is that too much? Maybe. Or maybe not–given the nature of the Subject. An exclamation mark (!) indicates the expression of a strong emotion, and grammarians caution writers against overusing it. However, when we are referring to One who is infinitely wonderful, it’s difficult to see how we can overstate the case.

I grew up, and ministered in churches, and now attend a church, where there’s little outward expression of emotion in the worship services. Perhaps, in part, it’s because we’re Canadians–whom others describe as being somewhat reserved. Also, for some, it’s a result of fearing that the opposite might take hold. What if congregants go on an emotional binge, with shouts of “Hallelujah!” or weeping and wailing all over the place?

Well, what if it did happen? Is there anything heretical about that? (No. The Word of God contains many examples of God’s people weeping before Him, or shouting for joy.) Further, we need to make a clear distinction between the legitimate expression of feelings on the one hand, and emotionalism on the other. The latter describes an excessive emotion or sentimentalism stirred up for its own sake. When emotion rules, rather than a legitimate reason for emotion, that should be a concern.

It is also appropriate to call for a subduing of emotion when it is inappropriate to the moment. Nehemiah gives us an example (Neh. 8:8-12). The people had listened to the Scriptures read and explained, and they grieved at how they had offended God. But the Feast of Tabernacles which they were celebrating was a time for rejoicing. Time enough afterward to deal with confession and repentance–as they did (Neh. 9:1-3). During the feast, Nehemiah counselled, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).

Freedom and flexibility in the Spirit need to coexist with moderation and spiritual discipline. The end result will no doubt vary somewhat with culture and custom, but surely there are limits in both directions. We may decry a formal liturgy that leaves no room at all for spontaneous expression. But, it’s possible to become rigid about having no structure too. Even in free-wheeling evangelical circles, there can be a kind of unspoken rigidity when “Amens!” and “Praise the Lords!” dominate the entire service and seem close to becoming automatic and unthinking.

It is something worth monitoring. Encourage freedom, but avoid an implied license to do or say whatever the individual’s whim motivates. For myself, I sometimes remind a congregation that there are two wonderful sounds a preacher likes to hear when he is proclaiming God’s Word. One is the turning of pages, as folks check out what he’s saying with what the Bible says (cf. Acts 17:11). The other is a hearty and sincere “Amen!” or “Praise the Lord!” when a significant point is made. Surely we should encourage both!

(1) Christ has for sin atonement made
What a wonderful Saviour!
We are redeemed, the price is paid
What a wonderful Saviour!

What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Jesus!
What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord!

(2) I praise Him for the cleansing blood
What a wonderful Saviour!
That reconciled my soul to God
What a wonderful Saviour!

Questions:

  1. How would you describe the level of spontaneous expression in your own church? (Too little? Too much? Or just about right?)
  2. If this area of worship isn’t what you believe it should be, how could you encourage change?

Links:

Take the World, But Give Me Jesus

Words: Frances Jane (“Fanny”) Crosby (b. March 24, 1820; d. Feb. 12, 1915)
Music: John Robson Sweney (b. Dec. 31, 1837; d. Apr. 10, 1899)

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

Many of Fanny Crosby’s gospel songs were inspired by things that happened to her, or conversations she had, during her long life. Biographer Bernard Ruffin quotes from Miss Crosby’s book Memories of Eighty Years, concerning one such:

Fanny was talking to one of her neighbours, who complained bitterly of his poverty. “If I had wealth I would be able to do just what I wish to do; and I would be able to make an appearance [i.e. an impression] in the world.” Fanny replied, “Well, take the world, but give me Jesus.”

Bernard Ruffin

She later turned that comment into the present song–words that also seem to draw upon the penetrating words of the Lord Jesus, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mk. 8:36-37). The value of our “treasures” depends on who does the counting, and what kind of a measuring instrument is used (cf. Matt. 6:19-21).

One day a gem dealer attended a Gem and Mineral Show, in Arizona. At one booth, he noticed a blue-violet stone about the size and shape of a potato. “You want $15 for this?” he said to the vendor. And the seller, realizing the stone was not as pretty as others in the bin, lowered the price to $10, and made a sale. But that stone has since been certified as a 1,905-carat natural star sapphire, nearly twice the size of the next largest stone of its kind. Its worth is estimated at more than two and a quarter million dollars!

“Take the world, but give me Jesus.” Why? Because the pleasures and treasures of this world are soon going to pass away (Heb. 11:24-26; II Pet. 3:10; I Jn. 2:15-17), but “His love abideth ever” (Jn. 13:1; Rev. 1:5). As the Lord told the people of Israel, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jer. 31:3). Nothing can compare with that! One is reminded of the oft-quoted words of missionary Jim Elliot: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

(1) Take the world, but give me Jesus,
All its joys are but a name;
But His love abideth ever,
Through eternal years the same.

Oh, the height and depth of mercy!
Oh, the length and breadth of love!
Oh, the fullness of redemption,
Pledge of endless life above!

One more note of interest. As you likely know, Fanny Crosby was blind. However, she not only refused to count this as a disability, but was able to testify that it gave her certain advantages. She saw things with the eyes of faith, and with a poet’s insight, that others of us so often miss. It’s not surprising that many of her gospel songs refer either to this spiritual sight, or to the joy that would be hers when the first face she sees in Glory will be that of her Saviour.

In stanza (3), “His constant smile” seems to be poetic imagery for Christ’s fellowship and His many blessings on her life.

(3) Take the world, but give me Jesus,
Let me view His constant smile;
Then throughout my pilgrim journey
Light will cheer me all the while.

Questions:

  1. What are the common measuring sticks many in this world use to measure the value of things in their lives–or things they wish were there?
  2. What is the best way to measure the worth of these things?

Links:

God Leads Us Along

Words: George A. Young (c. 1855 to 1935)
Music: George A. Young

Note: This is a fine gospel song, though its origins are obscure. As students of hymnology, we continue to look for more data about the author.  Information for the “P.S.” to this post comes from Al Smith’s Treasury of Hymn Histories, by Alfred B. Smith (Dickinson Press Incorporated, 1981).

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

George Young was a carpenter, and a preacher of the gospel. In the late nineteenth century he laboured in obscurity, serving small rural areas in the United States. Today, there is not even a reliable record of the dates of his birth and death. (A guess would be approximately 1855 and 1935, respectively.) Often his income was so small he had difficulty supporting his wife and family. Even so, he kept on diligently serving the Lord.

Finally, after a great deal of effort and years of sacrifice, the Youngs were able to move into a small house they had built for themselves. All were delighted with the new place, but tragedy soon overtook them. While George was away holding meetings in another community, some ruffians who were hostile to the gospel he preached set fire to the Young’s home burning it to the ground.

In 1903, George Young published a hymn for which he wrote both words and music. It is a testimony to his faith in God, in spite of this severe trial. It depicts different kinds of circumstances and experiences we face in life, with a reminder that the Lord provides for us in them all. The opening stanza paints a lovely picture, reminiscent of the 23rd Psalm. But the author was well aware that not all of life is like that. The song’s refrain gives a more sobering view of life’s trials:

(1) In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

“Some through great sorrow.” It’s believed this is a reference to Young’s own experience. He had learned, through painful loss that “God…gives songs in the night” to those who trust in Him (Job 35:10). And through it all, whether in good times or bad, the Lord continues to “lead His dear children along.”

Perhaps there are those who think that if God is our Guide, our lives should never be touched by hurt or harm. But that’s not the case. When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, he led his people with a supernatural pillar of cloud and fire (Deut. 1:33). But He led them through a wilderness. There they experienced a lack of water, and a shortage of food, in addition to enemy attacks. God did not deliver them from such experiences. But He proved Himself strong, time and again, to meet their need.

Today, Christians are subject to all the ills common to man, and they have, as the hymn writer’s experience reminds us, the added burden of living in a world at enmity with God. Jesus warned, long ago, “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you” (Jn. 15:20). George Young certainly knew about that!

Though there are some remarkable instances of God’s deliverance from pain or peril, they are not the common thing. We are not promised a final and full release from trials until we go to be with Him in glory. It is then that sickness, pain, and death will be forever put behind us (Rev. 21:4). More often now, rather than delivering us from these things, the Lord helps us in them, and carries us through them.

(3) Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

There is an interesting P.S. to this story. Around 1942, hymn writer Haldor Lillenas (The Bible Stands; Wonderful Grace of Jesus) decided to track down George Young’s widow, and find out more. He got an address in a small town and, driving there, he stopped at a gas station to ask for directions. When the attendant saw the address, he said, “Why sir, that’s the County Poor House up the road about three miles. And mister, when I say poor house, I really mean poor house!”

Not knowing what to expect, Lillenas made his way there. He found Mrs. Young, a tiny, elderly woman, in surroundings that were far from congenial. However, she radiated the joy of the Lord, and spoke of how He’d guided her and her husband over many years. Then, she exclaimed, “Dr. Lillenas, God led me here! I’m so glad He did, for you know, about every month someone comes into this place to spend the rest of their days….So many of them don’t know my Jesus. I’m having the time of my life introducing them to Jesus! Dr. Lillenas, isn’t it wonderful how God leads!”

Questions:

  1. How would you answer someone who said he could not believe there was a God, because there is so much suffering in the world?
  2. In what ways has the Lord been leading you in the past week?

Links:

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:

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