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Shepherd of Tender Youth

Words: Titus Flavius Clemens, called Clement of Alexandria (b. circa 170; d. circa 220)
Music: Italian Hymn, by Felice de Giardini (b. Apr. 12, 1716; d. June 8:1796)

Note: This hymn’s title, and its first line, are sometimes rendered Shepherd of Eager Youth. Clement produced the original around A.D. 200, making it the earliest hymn we have from the post-apostolic era. Henry Dexter (1821-1890) made a literal translation of Clement’s work, then versified his English translation. The Cyber Hymnal lists a number of tunes used with the hymn, including Italian Hymn, to which we also sing, Come, Thou Almighty King. The original of Clement’s work said, in part:

Shepherd of royal lambs
Assemble Thy simple children
To praise holily, to hymn guilelessly
With innocent mouths.

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

Titus Flavius Clemens (Clement) was a convert from paganism. Ordained a presbyter, he became head of the catechetical school of Alexandria. Origen was one of his pupils. The hymn, entitled “Hymn of the Saviour Christ,” appears at the end of his book The Tutor. Though it is often found in our hymnals under “Children’s Hymns,” the song was written to instruct new converts, who perhaps were not all preteens. It does, however, make a fine hymn for children.

(1) Shepherd of tender youth, guiding in love and truth
Through devious ways; Christ our triumphant King,
We come Thy name to sing and here our children bring
To join Thy praise.

Clement reported vividly of the hymn singing of the early church, showing just how much sacred music played a part in not only the formal worship but the daily lives of Christians at that time.

“We cultivate our fields, praising; we sail the sea, hymning….[The believer’s] whole life is a holy festival. His sacrifices are prayers and praises, and Scripture readings before meals, psalms and hymns during meals and before bed, and prayer again during night. By these he unites himself to the heavenly choir.”

The present hymn centres on the Lord Jesus Christ, and His work on our behalf in the past (at Calvary), and the present (cf. Eph. 5:25-27). On the cross, the Lord Jesus willingly humbled Himself to pay the debt of our sin.

(2) Thou art our holy Lord, O all subduing Word,
Healer of strife. Thou didst Thyself abase
That from sin’s deep disgrace Thou mightest save our race
And give us life.

Now, Christ is our “great High Priest” at the Father’s right hand (Heb. 4:14-16), there to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25), and serve as our heavenly Advocate (I Jn. 2:1-2).

(3) Thou art the great High Priest; Thou hast prepared the feast
Of heavenly love; while in our mortal pain,
None calls on Thee in vain; help Thou dost not disdain,
Help from above.

In addition, Christ is ever-present with us (Matt. 28:20), guiding and directing us as our loving Shepherd (Ps. 23:1-6).

(4) Ever be Thou our Guide, our Shepherd and our Pride,
Our Staff and Song; Jesus, Thou Christ of God,
By Thine eternal Word lead us where Thou hast trod,
Make our faith strong.

Questions:

  1. What are some of the Bible truths in this hymn that it would be important to teach our children?
  2. How many times can you recall hearing (or preaching yourself) a message on the present ministries of Christ?
  3. Take another look at what Clement said about the hymn singing of his day. Do we come anywhere near this now? Why? (Or why not?)

Links:

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

Words: Julia Ward Howe (b. May 27, 1819; d. Oct. 17, 1910)
Music: (composer unknown)

Note: In 1856, John William Steffe (1830-1890) published a collection of camp-meeting songs which included one beginning “Say, brothers, will you meet us, on Canaan’s happy shore.” The singable tune was later used for a Civil War song about a radical abolitionist named John Brown, who was executed in 1859 (“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave, but his soul goes marching on”).

In December of 1861, on hearing the tune sung lustily by the Union troops with this text, Julia Ward Howe said she’d “often wished to write some words to it.” That night she awoke before dawn with an idea for a new hymn forming in her mind. Her infant children were sleeping in the room with her, so she did not light a lamp, but scribbled down the now famous lines in the semi-dark. (She’d done this sort of thing before, and says she found if she didn’t rewrite her scrawl within twenty-four hours, she was unable to decipher it!)

Five stanzas of the hymn were published in February of 1862. It has been claimed that Mrs. Howe withdrew (5) from publication, but we actually don’t know for certain whether she wrote it, or when it was first included in the song. It contained the line “As He [Christ] died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.” It was a sentiment particularly suited to wartime. But in 1944, during World War II, choral conductor Fred Waring changed the latter phrase to “let us live to make men free,” and so it has remained.

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

Gaining immediate popularity, The Battle Hymn of the Republic (or simply Battle Hymn of the Republic) went on to become a kind of second, and unofficial national anthem in America. There are many colourful images called forth by the words of this song, and here and there we can catch a glimmer of orthodox Christian truth, but it is only a glimmer. This is not surprising, given Julia Howe’s beliefs.

She was raised in a conservative Anglican (Episcopalian) home, but she rebelled against the strict Calvinism of her father and became quite liberal, believing in the brotherhood of man, and the universal fatherhood of God. She joined the Unitarian Church (which denies the full deity of Christ) and frequently preached in Unitarian churches.

She and her husband also became involved in various humanitarian causes, including women’s suffrage. (In 1870 she proposed that all the women of the world could organize to end war for all time.) Commendably, the Howes were strong advocates of abolition as well.

Even with Mrs. Howe’s liberal theology, there is some truth in her hymn, especially if it is separated from its original historical context. Mrs. Howe thought of Christ coming spiritually in judgment on America’s national sin of slavery, through the avenging hand of the Union Army. But we can look beyond that and see in some of her words the literal second coming of Christ in His glory, meting out fiery judgment on the wicked. Consider the following two passages, and you will see that the hymn echoes a similar message.

“[There will come a day] when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe” (II Thess. 1:7-10).

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:11-16; cf. Isa. 63:1-3).

(1) Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.

Questions:

  1. Is this a hymn you sing in your church? (Why? Or why not?)
  2. What other hymns would you use that teach about Christ’s return with greater clarity?

Links:

Living for Jesus

Words: Thomas Obediah Chisholm (b. July 29, 1866; d. Feb. 29, 1960)
Music: Carl Harold Lowden (b. Oct. 12, 1883; d. Feb. 27, 1963)

Note: There is also a lovely gospel song by Charles Weigele, called Living for Jesus. Chisholm’s song seems to be better known. Thomas Chisholm died on February 29th–a rarity, since the day only comes once in four years! Yesterday there was a new Hymn Almanac post for the 29th, featuring among other things the death of the hymn writer.

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

For twenty-eight years, Carl Lowden was song leader at the Linden Avenue Baptist Church, in Camden, New Jersey. He also served for a number of years as a music teacher at the Bible Institute of Pennsylvania (now known as the Philadelphia College of the Bible). In the early twentieth century, Lowden produced this melody, publishing it with his own words, as a children’s song.

Later, he decided the tune needed some better lyrics, and wrote to Thomas Chisholm, asking him to provide some. Mr. Chisholm responded that he’d never produced a text “to order,” and didn’t think he could, but Carl Lowden persisted, and the result is this fine gospel song. It has since been translated into more than a dozen languages. It begins:

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

O Jesus, Lord and Saviour, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

This is a call to sincerity and loyalty to Christ, a call to willing and joyful obedience to Him. With the Apostle Paul, believers should desire “that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (II Cor. 4:10), and, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The goal of each of us should be “that [we] may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).

The refrain puts special emphasis on the fact that we determine to do this as our response to all that Christ has done for us. It’s a motivation brought out by the word “therefore,” in Romans 12:1. “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God [because of all He has done for you], that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” We are, in fact, constrained and compelled by love ((2), cf. II Cor. 5:14)–our love responding to His love for us (Rom. 5:8; I Jn. 4:19).

We know that there will be trials, and burdens to bear, in our service for Christ (3). In identifying ourselves with Him, and His ultimate sacrifice, we are taking up our cross (Lk. 9:23). But we continue “doing each duty in His holy name. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17).

(4) emphasizes the shortness of time, before Christ returns. We need to be doing what we can to win the lost to Christ, and to encourage the saints. The Lord Jesus came to seek and save lost sinners (Lk. 19:10; I Tim. 1:15), and we ought to share the good news of salvation in Him. Thomas Chisholm says his “dearest treasure” is “the light of His smile.” When we stand before Him, hearing the Lord’s “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21), will be reward enough.

Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

Questions:

  1. What gifts and opportunities has the Lord given you that you can use in His service?
  2. If our heart is the Lord’s throne (as Thomas Chisholm says in his refrain), what will that mean in practical terms?

Links:

Today in 1691 – John Byrom Born

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John Byrom’s father worked as a linen draper in Manchester, England. But Byrom followed a more academic pursuit. He graduated with a Masters degree from Cambridge, and earned a living by teaching shorthand, using a system of his own invention. A Christian layman, he was a friend of John and Charles Wesley, and both men made use of his shorthand technique, John for writing his famous Journals, and Charles for writing his hymns. Byrom also wrote a number of hymns himself.

Christians Awake (original)


Late in 1749, Mr. Byrom asked his young daughter Dolly, his favourite of the children,  what she would like for Christmas that year. In reply, she said, “Please write me a poem.” Coming down on Christmas morning Dolly found a neatly folded paper on the breakfast table. On it, under the heading, “Christmas Day, For Dolly,” were found the stirring lines of a carol now known as Christians Awake. (The original is pictured here.)

John Wainwright, the church organist and choir leader of the church the family attended, set the poem to music. A year later came a wonderful surprise. The family was awakened to hear Wainwright’s choir of men and boys at their front door singing, for the first time:

Christians, awake, salute the happy morn
Whereon the Saviour of the world was born.
Rise to adore the mystery of love
Which hosts of angels chanted from above,
With them the joyful tidings first begun
Of God incarnate and the virgin’s Son.

Then to the watchful shepherds it was told,
Who heard th’angelic herald’s voice, “Behold,
I bring good tidings of a Saviour’s birth
To you and all the nations of the earth;
This day hath God fulfilled His promised Word;
This day is born a Saviour, Christ the Lord.”

(2) Today in 1960 – Thomas Chisholm Died

Thomas Obediah Chisholm was educated in a small country school–where he became the teacher at the age of 16! For a time he edited a publication called the Pentecostal Herald. Later, he was ordained as a Methodist pastor, but he only served a church in Kentucky for a short time before poor health required him to resign. He became an insurance salesman, but he had a wider ministry than he could have imagined through the poetry he wrote.

Of his 1200 poems, quite a number were set to music. He has given us fine songs such as: Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Living for Jesus, O to Be Like Thee, He Was Wounded for Our Transgressions, and Trust in the Lord. (For a bit more about Mr. Chisholm and his songs, see Today in 1886.) Based on the familiar words of Isaiah 53, He Was Wounded for Our Transgressions says:

He was wounded for our transgressions,
He bore our sins in His body on the tree;
For our guilt He gave us peace,
From our bondage gave release,
And with His stripes, and with His stripes,
And with His stripes our souls are healed.

Living for Jesus, a song about the Christian life, has been translated into many languages.

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

O Jesus, Lord and Saviour, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

Living for Jesus who died in my place,
Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Since Jesus Came Into My Heart

Words: Rufus Henry McDaniel (b. Jan. 29, 1850; d. Feb. 13, 1940)
Music: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (b. Aug. 18, 1856; d. Sept. 15, 1932)

Note: You can learn more details about Rufus McDaniel in the Wordwise link below. In his Hymnal Handbook, Homer Rodeheaver tells the story of what happened when this gospel song was first introduced and sung.

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

Written in the spring of 1914, the song was taught by Mr. Rodeheaver, and composer Charles Gabriel, to those gathered for a Billy Sunday evangelistic meeting in Philadelphia, the following year. An officer named Fowler had been assigned by the police department to attend the meetings each night, to see that they were orderly. (He became a captive audience!) God used the message of this song to convict and convert him. Not only did he put his faith in the Saviour, but during the remaining two weeks of meetings, he convinced many of his fellow officers to attend, and more than a hundred professed their faith in Christ.

This is a wonderful example of the transforming power of the gospel, and that is precisely the message of the song–that God brings about a “wonderful change” in the lives of those who are saved through personal faith in Christ. As the Apostle Paul put it:

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek [or Gentile]” (Rom. 1:16).

(1) “I have light in my soul.” There is a consistent contrast in the Word of God between the spiritual darkness of the sinner, and the light of God’s salvation. Christ said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12). But “this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (Jn. 3:19).

Paul was sent out to preach the gospel “to open their eyes [by the power of the Holy Spirit], in order to turn them from darkness to light” (Acts 26:18). To Christians, he writes, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8; cf Col. 1:13).

(2) “I have ceased from my wandering and going astray” is perhaps a little optimistic. It’s a worthy goal, but there is human fallibility to contend with. McDaniel is on safer ground with, “My sins which were many are all washed away.” In Revelation 1:5 we read, “Jesus Christ…loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (cf. Eph. 1:7). “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I Jn. 1:7).

(3) We’re “possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure.” In truth the One who died for us on the cross is “the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope” (I Tim. 1:1). Of believers it’s said that God “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Pet. 1:3). And the writer speaks of “the hope [meaning the joyful certainty of future blessing] set before us. This hope we have as an anchor for the soul” (Heb. 6:18-19).

Both of the final stanzas speak of our eternal future, when we’ll go to dwell in our heavenly home (Rev. 21:1-5). Even in the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23:4) the Lord is with us. It’s no wonder, as the refrain says, “Floods of joy o’er my soul like the sea billows roll”!

(4) There’s a light in the valley of death now for me,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And the gates of the city beyond I can see,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

(5) I shall go there to dwell in that city, I know,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
And I’m happy, so happy, as onward I go,
Since Jesus came into my heart!

Questions:

  1. How has your own faith in Christ transformed your life?
  2. If there are Christians who don’t have “floods of joy,” why might that be? And how can we help them?

Links:

The Cleansing Wave

Words: Phoebe Worrell Palmer (b. Dec. 18, 1807; d. Nov. 2, 1874)
Music: Phoebe Palmer Knapp (b. March 9, 1839; d. July 10, 1908)

Note: There has sometimes been confusion in hymn books as to who wrote what, since mother (Mrs. Phoebe Palmer) and daughter (Mrs. Phoebe Knapp) both had the same first name. The mother wrote the words, and the daughter composed the tune, though Great Hymns of the Faith credits the daughter with both.

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

This was a family active in the nineteenth century holiness movement, and their gospel song somewhat reflects that. While I’m sure we would agree on many things, I part company with the Knapps in their assertion that one can experience the death or eradication of the sin nature in this life. The most direct statement of this teaching comes in the third stanza:

(3) I see the new creation rise;
I hear the speaking blood.
It speaks! Polluted nature dies!
Sinks ’neath the cleansing flood.

This is rooted in the teaching that a “second work of grace” is available that destroys the sin nature completely so the person is perfectly holy and free from sin. But this flies in the face of Christian experience and the teaching of the Word of God. “If we say that we have no sin [i.e. no sinful nature], we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (I Jn. 1:8). As Weymouth puts it: “If we claim to be already free from sin, we lead ourselves astray.”

As to our legal standing in Christ, the Christian is perfectly holy, since the righteousness of Christ has been credited to our heavenly account, just as surely as our sins were charged to Christ’s account and paid for at the cross (II Cor. 5:21). But the believers’ state–how we live out our Christian lives in daily experience–is another matter entirely. While our standing (or position in Christ) is constant, our state (or condition in life) is dependant on the consistency of our walk in faith and obedience toward God. In the latter case, there is always the potential for stumbling into sin.

“If we say that we have not sinned [i.e. committed sinful acts], we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (I Jn. 1:10). “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Gal. 5:17).

The Christian is not called to plead (or tarry) for what theologians call “crisis sanctification,” which eradicates the sin nature. Rather, we are called to walk in the Spirit, with faith and obedience toward the Word of God. And when we sin, as we can sometimes do, we are to confess it and turn from it (I Jn. 1:9).

Fortunately, the remainder of this hymn focuses mainly on the basic salvation experience–for which, of course, there’s ample biblical support. A couple of hymnals I have on my desk as I write simply omit the third stanza as being out of the mainstream. The rest celebrates the joyful triumph in knowing sins forgiven, through the cleansing tide of the blood of Christ. In the use of that imagery it resembles William Booth’s Boundless Salvation. The present hymn says in part:

(1) Oh, now I see the cleansing wave!
The fountain deep and wide;
Jesus, my Lord, mighty to save,
Points to His wounded side.

The cleansing stream I see! I see!
I plunge, and oh, it cleanseth me!
Oh, praise the Lord! It cleanseth me!
It cleanseth me—yes, cleanseth me.

(4) Amazing grace! ’tis heav’n below
To feel the blood applied,
And Jesus, only Jesus know,
My Jesus crucified.

Questions:

  1. What do you see as the dangers of perfectionism (or the eradication theory)?
  2. What are the important ingredients to maintaining a holy walk day by day?

Links:

In the Garden

Words: Charles Austin Miles (b. Jan. 7, 1868; d. March 10, 1946)
Music: Charles Austin Miles

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

This 1912 offering is a song that has definitely received mixed reviews over the years. It has been scorned as a mere sentimental ballad. Carlton Young, in his Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (p. 432) says it is “often denounced as erotic and egocentric”! Yet it seems to be a favourite of many, and is often requested.

I’ve had it asked for at various times when a funeral service is being planned, and I always think, “What a lost opportunity!” There are so many great hymns that can comfort the sorrowing, or present the gospel of grace to needy sinners. Why opt for this shallow song? If you wonder what the options are for a memorial service, you can check out about thirty-five of them in the article Funeral Hymns.

Hymn writer, organist and sacred music editor Don Hustad tells of being at a dinner party where a woman complained that the church wasn’t singing the old favourites any more, “such as In the Garden.” Mr. Hustad says, “I couldn’t resist the temptation. ‘What garden?’ I asked.”

“What difference does it make ‘what garden’” she snapped, rather crossly.

But, as Don Hustad points out: “If the hymn is just a childhood favourite with pleasant phrases about gardens and birds and roses, it cannot be really meaningful in a vital worship experience today” (Crusade Hymn Stories, p. 49).

It helps a little when we learn that Austin Miles was thinking of the time when Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb of Jesus on Easter morning (Jn. 20:1-18). And when He spoke her name (vs. 16), she knew who he was. As I say, it helps to know that–but only a little.

There’s not much substance to this song! And though it may give some hint of the emotional response of Mary to the Lord’s resurrection, it is not particularly factual. I’m not so sure the dew was still on the roses (whatever roses those were). Mary had already been to the tomb once (vs. 1). Then she went to tell Peter about what she saw (vs. 2), and he came, with John, and had a look (John 20:3-10). Only then do we see Mary at the tomb alone. So, considerable time had passed.

And did the birds really “hush their singing” at the sound of Jesus’ voice? I would think that, if anything, they would carol all the more joyfully. But nothing is said in Scripture either way. Nor is there much “walking and talking” with Jesus, to judge by the account. Immediately after Mary recognizes Him, the Lord says:

Do not cling to Me [don’t hold on to Me], for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’

John 20:17

At which Mary heads off to do as she’s been commanded (vs. 18). And what (or whose?) is “the voice of woe” that Miles refers to? According to the dictionary, “woe” is grievous distress, wretched melancholy, or lamentation. Where do you see that in the passage? Austin Miles states: “I wrote, as quickly as the words could be formed, the poem exactly as it has since appeared.” Perhaps he should have given the matter a little more thought!

A personal opinion: This weak gospel song is definitely at the low end of what I’d tolerate for use in services I plan. And on the rare occasions when I’ve used it, I’ve taken time to explain what it’s about, and relate it to the passage in John’s Gospel.

If we are to be “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16), and we’re to “sing with the understanding” (I Cor. 14:15), we need to select songs that speak biblically and clearly. “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?” (I Cor. 14:8).

(1) I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

(3) I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Questions:

  1. What other hymns and gospel songs are you reluctant to use (even though they seem to be favourites of some) because they are shallow and virtually meaningless, if not in error?
  2. Why do you think people latch onto such songs? Is it because of a pleasing tune? Or maybe warm fuzzy sentiments?

Links:

Caedmon’s Hymn

Words: Caedmon (b. date unknown; d. circa 680)
Music: (unknown)

The purpose of this blog is not only to open up the Bible and learn from God’s Word, but also to discuss the background and meaning of the traditional hymns and gospel songs of the church, ones found in commonly used hymn books of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. That being so, it is slightly out of character to include a hymn that is not found in any of our modern hymnals and which is not, to my knowledge, even sung today. However, Caedmon’s Hymn is worthy of being an exception because of its historical importance.

The story of how a humble cowherd became a prolific hymn writer is recorded by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, completed in AD 731. He provides us with the only extant record of Caedmon’s life. To read a bit more of what we know about him, see the link below.

Though it neither looks nor sounds at all like modern English, this hymn is considered by scholars to be the first hymn in the English language for which we know the author. (In fact, it’s the first example of Anglo-Saxon poetry of any kind that has survived.) It was written some time after AD 657. The copy above is from AD 737, and thus comes to us from less than a century after the original was created.

In John Parker’s beautiful volume about English hymns, Abide with Me (New Leaf Press, 2009), he includes a chapter about Caedmon called “Hymns of a Shy Shepherd.” There are pictures in colour of the ruins of Whitby Abbey, where Caedmon lived and worked for the latter part of his life. On the accompanying CD you can hear this hymn recited in both its original version, and a modern translation.

Caedmon’s Hymn praises God for His creative work. The form in which the hymn was written does not lend itself easily to a modern metrical version, but there have been a number of translations made. The one below is by Albert S. Cook.

Now must we hymn the Master of heaven,
The might of the Maker, the deeds of the Father,
The thought of His heart. He, Lord everlasting,
Established of old the source of all wonders:
Creator all-holy, He hung the bright heaven,
A roof high upreared, o’er the children of men;
The King of mankind then created for mortals
The world in its beauty, the earth spread beneath them,
He, Lord everlasting, omnipotent God.

This simple but biblical hymn predates the time of Isaac Watts, sometimes called the “Father of English Hymnody,” by a thousand years! But it stands alone. The above song of praise is the only one that we have from that early time. However, Bede recorded how Caedmon went on to write songs on many other biblical subjects. He says:

[Caedmon] sang first about the creation of the world and about the origin of mankind and all of the history of Genesis–that is the first book of Moses, and afterwards about the exodus of the Israeli people from the land of Egypt and their entry into the promised land; and about many other stories of the holy writ of the books of the canon; and about Christ’s incarnation, and about his suffering and about his ascension into the heavens; and about the coming of the Holy Ghost, and of the lore of the apostles; and after about the day of impending judgment, and about the terror of the torturing punishment, and about the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, he wrought many songs. And so also many others he made about divine mercy and judgment. In all of them he eagerly sought to pull men away from love of sin and criminal deeds, and to love and to zealously awake to (the doing) of good deeds.

Bede

The stream that began here widened to become a flood, from Watts, Wesley and many more. But the twin purposes of worship and instruction that Caedmon espoused have remained. We need to know more of God and His Word, and we need a means to express to one another what we believe, “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16). Thank the Lord for all whom He has gifted to provide sacred songs for the church.

Questions:

  1. Simple though it is, what are some important truths expressed in Caedmon’s Hymn?
  2. Can you suggest a number of reasons why believers should praise the Lord?

Links:

Amazing Grace

Words: John Newton (July 24, 1725; d. Dec. 21, 1807)
Music: New Britain, by an unknown composer

Note: John Newton’s original version of the hymn, as printed in Olney Hymns, in 1779, contained six stanzas ((1) through (6)). (7) does not appear to have been from Newton’s pen, it was added much later, and the author is unknown. However, it does make a fitting conclusion to this wonderful song.

The tune has had five different names over the years, including New Britain, McIntosh, St. Mary’s, Gallaher, and (later) Amazing Grace. Its earliest publication seems to have been in an 1829 book called Columbian Harmony, but the tune was first wedded to Newton’s text in Southern Harmony, published in 1835. In 1900, Edwin Excell (1851-1921) arranged the tune as we know it today.

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

What can be said of this great hymn that hasn’t been said before–many times over? Much of it is autobiographical, reflecting the author’s own experience. After a narrow escape from a terrible storm at sea, John Newton began to think of his past life. He had not only rejected Christ and the gospel, but had blasphemed the Lord’s name over and over, with terrible oaths. The depths of his depravity horrified him. Was there any hope for such a vile sinner? He says:

“I began to pray. I could not utter the prayer of faith. I could not draw near to a reconciled God and call Him Father. My prayer was like the cry of the ravens, which yet the Lord does not disdain to hear. I now began to think of Jesus whom I had so often offended. I recollected the particulars of His life and death, a death for sins not His own, but for those who, in their distress, should put their trust in Him….In perusing the New Testament, I was struck with several passages, particularly the prodigal [i.e. Christ’s parable of the prodigal son, Lk. 15:11-32]–a case that had never been so clearly exemplified as by myself. And then the goodness of the father in receiving, nay, in running to meet such a son, and this intended only to illustrate the Lord’s goodness to returning sinners, this gained upon [impressed] me.”

John Newton

The grace of God, and “the God of all grace” (I Pet. 5:10), is the central theme of this hymn. “Grace” is a word found some 137 in our English Bibles, from “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6:8), to “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Rev. 22:21). It represents the unearned and unmerited favour and blessing of God. And it is “amazing” for that very reason. Not only is it undeserved. But those who receive were fully deserving of just the opposite, wrath and divine judgment.

As Newton pondered the wreckage of his past life, he saw in his wretchedness a man whom God treated with grace that he in no way merited and had no hope of earning. God’s free gift overwhelmed him, and did so for the rest of his life. He would readily say with Paul, “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace” (Acts 20:32). The devout passion of his hymn reveals this. The words he chose strike an emotional chord, as well as delivering important truth. There we find amazing, sweet, and precious grace, poured out upon a wretch, who is lost, and blind.

There are more than a dozen personal references in the hymn (I, me, my), bringing this centuries old hymn closer in form to the modern gospel song, with its focus on experience. However, there is nothing shallow here. It would be rare for a superficial contemporary offering to put words such as wretch, lost and blind in the singer’s mouth. Nor would it be willing to grapple with the paradox of grace teaching our hearts to fear (2).

(1) Amazing grace (How sweet the sound!)
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

(2) ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!

Stanzas (4), (5) and (6) are lesser known, since they are not included in many modern hymnals. But they are worthy of note. “His Word my hope secures,” and “the earth shall soon dissolve like snow” are especially notable lines.

(4) The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

(6) The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

Questions:

  1. In what way does grace awaken fear, before it relieves it”
  2. What are some of the riches of God’s grace (Eph. 1:7; 2:7) that He gives to us in salvation?

Links:

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Words: Charles Wesley (b. Dec. 18, 1707; d. Mar. 29, 1788)
Music: Martyn, by Simeon Butler Marsh (b. June 1, 1798; d. July 14, 1875)

Note: There are a number of inspiring stories as to how this hymn came to be written. (The Cyber Hymnal (see link below) has an interesting one.) I know of at least three that are possible, but the fact is we simply can’t be sure which, if any, is correct.

Martyn is a simple tune for this hymn. More dramatic and powerful by far is Aberystwyth, by Welsh composer Joseph Parry (1841-1903). Aberystwyth is a city in the north of Wales, where Mr. Parry was a professor of music. A great tune befitting a great hymn. (And, if you use Parry’s majestic tune, be careful not to sing it too quickly.)

Wesley called his song, “In Time of Prayer and Temptation.” It now takes its title from the opening line. And it’s a true hymn, in the technical sense–a song addressed to God and extolling Him. Over the years, editors tinkered with his phrasing, thinking they knew better. But it later years publishers returned to the original, realizing that later emendations did not improve Wesley’s masterpiece.

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

The phrase, “O Lord, Thou lover of souls,” from an apocryphal book, Wisdom of Solomon 11:26, may have suggested the first line. Others think a line from Thomas a Kempis’s Imitation of Christ may have been the inspiration, where the Lord is called a “zealous Lover of faithful souls.” But there is ample inspired Scripture as well to assure us of the Saviour’s love. “The Son of God…loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20; cf. Rom. 8:37; Eph. 5:2, 25). It is love that sent Him to the cross to die in our place (Jn. 10:11; 15:13). And that love is ongoing, expressed in the tender care of the Shepherd for His sheep, day by day.

(1) Jesus, Lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

This magnificent hymn justly holds a place among a handful of the greatest hymns in the English language. Edwin Long, in his Illustrated History of Hymns and Their Authors, devotes twenty pages to his opinion about the song’s origin, and to many stories of how it has been a blessing over the years. Whatever the story behind it, it depicts an individual with fervent faith who seeks the Lord in a desperate situation. The third stanza (3) is rarely used, but its “Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall” is a graphic picture of urgent need.

(3) Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.

The sufficiency of the Lord Jesus to meet the author’s needs is confessed. He is “all I want,” and “more than all in Thee I find” (4). Yet see how Wesley recognizes the element of grace in all of the Lord’s provision. We are unworthy of all that He has done and is doing for us. He is just and holy, “I am all unrighteousness; He is full of grace and truth, while “false and full of sin I am.”

(4) Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

The emotional power of “Leave, ah! leave me not alone” is unquestionable. “My helpless soul,” and “my defenceless head” likewise depict the petitioner’s crisis situation. T. L Cuyler wrote: “The one central, all-prevailing idea of this matchless hymn is the soul’s yearning for its Saviour. The figures of speech vary, but not the thought.”

(2) Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenceless head with the shadow of Thy wing.

Questions:

  1. What particular expressions of need in the hymn do you identify with?
  2. What descriptions of the Lord in the hymn are a special blessing and encouragement to you?

Links:

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