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Today in 1817 – John Fawcett Died

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For seven years, John Fawcett served a small Baptist church in a village in Yorkshire, England. It was a time of great blessing, and Pastor Fawcett was loved by his congregation.

Beyond his own community, he was a recognized scholar, and even King George III wrote to express his appreciation for the young preacher. One day in 1772, he received an invitation to serve a much larger congregation in London. It was tempting. The financial support would be greater, and he admitted that was needed, because “my family increases faster than my income.”

After due consideration, and accepting the invitation with some misgivings, he preached his farewell sermon in the little church. Then, with wagons loaded with all their belongings, the family prepared to take their leave. The congregation gathered around to say goodbye. But suddenly Mrs. Fawcett broke into tears and cried, “O John, I cannot bear this. I know not how we can go!” “Nor I,” her husband replied. “Nor will we go. Unload the wagons!” A letter was sent off declining the new position, and Pastor Fawcett stayed an amazing fifty-four years serving in the little church.

It is believed that the bond of fellowship the church family experienced at that time led John Fawcett to write his hymn, Blest Be the Tie that Binds, published in 1782.

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

Another fine hymn of Pastor Fawcett’s is Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing. The fact that there are several hymns with that opening line has led to some confusion about Fawcett’s authorship. But eminent historian John Julian seems to settle the matter in his Dictionary of Hymnology.

Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing;
Fill our hearts with joy and peace;
Let us each Thy love possessing,
Triumph in redeeming grace.
O refresh us, O refresh us,
Traveling through this wilderness.

Thanks we give and adoration
For Thy gospel’s joyful sound;
May the fruits of Thy salvation
In our hearts and lives abound.
Ever faithful, ever faithful,
To the truth may we be found.

(2) Today in 1854 – Francis Rowley Born

The son of a doctor, Francis Harold Rowley became an ordained Baptist clergyman who, for about 30 years, served churches in several states in America. He was also greatly interested in animal welfare, wrote books on the subject, and was president of the Massachusetts S.P.C.A. for 35 years, being made chairman of the board at the age of 91. For his notable interest in both human and animal welfare, the Rowley School of Humanities at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta was named in his honour.

I Will Sing the Wondrous Story is the only hymn credited to Rowley. He was serving a church in Massachusetts at the time of writing it (around 1886). The church was holding a series of evangelistic meetings, assisted by gospel musician Peter Bilhorn. Pastor Rowley says, “One night, after the close of the service, he [Bilhorn] said, ‘Why don’t you write a hymn for me to set to music.’ During the night these most unpretentious and wholly unworthy verses came to me.”

Sometimes today the words are sung to the tune Hyfrydol.  It’s a truly great hymn tune, but my only concern is that it’s used for so many hymns. Most of the older hymn books still set the hymn to Peter Bilhorn’s original melody.

Years after Francis Rowley wrote the song, the author was walking down a street in London, late at night, and saw a group of Salvation Army people holding an open-air service. He says, “As I came nearer to them, it occurred to me that the hymn they were singing was familiar. Then it dawned upon me that it was this one.”

I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me.
How He left His home in glory
For the cross of Calvary.

Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.

It is both a joy and a duty to sing the praises of our Saviour. David pledges, “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol” (Ps. 86:12-13).

In eternity, the redeemed of the Lord will join in singing “by the crystal sea.” Observing those around the heavenly throne, John says, “They sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation’….Blessing and honour and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Rev. 5:9, 13).

(3) Today in 1899 – Stuart Hine Born

Stuart Wesley Keene Hine was a British missionary who, with his wife, served in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Russia, until the outbreak of the Second World War. He made an English translation of a much-travelled hymn he had learned during his years of missionary service, adding to it a stanza of his own. The result was the now immensely popular hymn How Great Thou Art.

The Billy Graham team introduced it in North America at their Toronto Crusade in 1955. On a whim, soloist George Beverly Shea made a couple of changes in the opening stanza, believing they improved the song. “Works,” in the second line became “worlds,” and “mighty thunder,” in the third line became “rolling thunder.” Stuart Hine was not at all pleased with the tinkering, but he seems to have grudgingly accepted it in time.

O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee;
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

Today in 1725 – John Newton Born

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Newton’s story is among the better known in English hymnody. For years he was the blaspheming captain of a slave ship. But the Lord got hold of his life and everything changed. From that day until he died he never ceased to marvel at the “amazing grace” of God. Grace is God’s unmerited favour. It is God freely giving to us blessings we did not earn and do not deserve. And it was his overwhelming joy in that that led John Newton to write:

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.

What we commonly sing as the last stanza of this great hymn was not written by Newton. It was added later. In fact, we do not know who wrote it. But it does provide a great summing up of the song. Because of God’s wonderful grace, we have not only the forgiveness of our sins now, but the prospect of eternal joy and blessing in His presence in the heavenly kingdom. And,

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

When almost 40 years of age Newton became the pastor of the Anglican church in the little English village of Olney. Renowned poet William Cowper was a member of his congregation. Together, they produced a new hymn book, Olney Hymns, in 1779. Newton contributed 280 of the hymn texts, and Cowper 68. Quite a few of Newton’s hymns still appear in hymnals today. Among them:

Amazing Grace
Come, My Soul, Thy Suit Prepare
Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
I Saw One Hanging on the Tree
May the Grace of Christ Our Saviour
Safely Through Another Week

Graphic How Sweet the Name of Jesus

In the accompanying picture you can see the first 3 stanzas of How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds, exactly as they appear in 1779’s Olney Hymns. Notice that the lower case “s” in those days was sometimes printed similarly to the letter “f,” making the text look decidedly odd to the modern reader. (The heading refers to the words of the Song of Solomon 1:3, “Your name is ointment poured forth.”)

The original of Stanza 5 of this hymn begins, “Jesus! My Shepherd, Husband, Friend.” And in spite of the fact that the Bible portrays Christ as the heavenly Bridegroom, and the church as His bride (cf. II Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7-9), most editors today substitute the word Brother for Husband.

However, they may possibly have missed Newton’s intention. As a former sea captain, he would have known that the man in charge of the ship’s food stores and provisions back then was called the ship’s husband. It may have been in the sense of being our heavenly Provider that the term was originally meant to apply to Christ.

John Newton’s testimony was much like that of the Apostle Paul whose reputation in the early church was, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy” (Gal. 1:23). Both men were objects of God’s amazing grace!

(2) Today in 1954 – James McConnell Died

As a child in the early 1950s, I can recall watching a television show called “Smilin’ Ed’s Gang,” sponsored by Buster Brown Shoes, and starring “Smilin’ Ed McConnell.” The show featured stories and songs, and an impudent puppet called Froggy the Gremlin. James Edwin McConnell had originated the show on radio, and brought it briefly to television, before his death in 1954. (Actor Andy Devine took over the show from there.)

But Mr. McConnell had a more serious side. The son of a Baptist pastor, he was involved in evangelistic work, singing, playing the piano, and leading choirs at the meetings. In addition, he hosted radio programs of hymns. And he wrote the tunes (and sometimes the words as well) for a number of gospel songs.

One of these is the 1921 song Jesus is a Friend of Mine (not to be confused with He’s a Friend of Mine, by John Sammis and Daniel Towner). James McConnell provided the music for Avis Christiansen’s text. You can see the song and hear the melody on the Cyber Hymnal.

I’ve a blest Companion ever at my side;
He’s my Lord and Saviour, and He’s my Guide;
I am trusting daily in His love divine;
He’s a Friend of mine.

Jesus is a Friend of mine,
Friend of mine, a Friend of mine;
Sweeter ever sweeter, is His love divine;
Jesus is a Friend of mine.

When I meet temptations Jesus bears me through,
Gives me blessèd vict’ry and keeps me true;
Heaven’s golden sunlight round my path doth shine;
He’s a Friend of mine.

Lord’s Day Meditation – What to Do

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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him [as Lord], and He shall direct your paths.

Prov. 3:5-6

This passage literally tells us what to do about everything! (Note the double “all” that covers everything on the inside of us–our hearts, and everything on the outside–our ways.)

What to Do with All Your Heart

The heart of man, in biblical terms, is the inner self, including the rational mind, the will and emotions, as well as our values and desires. In our hearts we are to centre our trust in God. Proverbs exhorts each of us: Trust in Jehovah God, put your full confidence in Him. Have faith in God and don’t be afraid.

The opposite, to be avoided, is leaning on our own understanding. This does not mean we are to exercise a blind, presumptuous faith, and not use the power to think and reason that God gave us. But we are not to rely and depend (or “lean”) upon our own mental powers. What our fallible opinions must not be the bottom line.

This even applies to our understanding of God Himself. As an infinite Being, He will always be far above our full understanding. Where is our faith to be placed? Not in our own understanding of Him, but in God Himself, whether we fully understand or not! Hudson Taylor said: “Trust in the Lord is not heavy baggage, and it never fails.”

What to Do with All Your Ways

While the heart speaks of the inner self, ways and paths have to do with our outward experiences, the events and actions that make up the practical outworking of our daily lives. And where our inward response is to be faith, our outward response, intimately connected with this, will be obedience. To “acknowledge” God is, I believe, to own and recognize Him as Lord, giving earnest heed to His will for us.

Our daily lives are should involve a walk of obedience that consistently acknowledges His Lordship. Then we may be assured that He will direct us in the best way, showing us the path to take, and dealing with any obstacles and dangers ahead, in order to bring us to our goal. And what is that? It is the achievement of His purpose for us, to His own glory and honour.

Thomas Chisholm’s 1937 gospel song is based on this text.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
This is God’s gracious command;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
So shall you dwell in the land.

Trust in the Lord, O troubled soul,
Rest in the arms of His care;
Whatever your lot, it mattereth not,
For nothing can trouble you there;
Trust in the Lord, O troubled soul,
Nothing can trouble you there.

Today in 1846 – William Featherstone Born

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William Ralph (sometimes spelled Rolf) Featherstone lived with his family in Montreal. They attended the Wesleyan Methodist church there (now called St. James United Church). And there is some question about the years of his birth and death. Some list them as 1842-1870, others 1846-1873. It will be seen that in either case he died while still a young man in his late twenties.

Featherstone wrote the hymn My Jesus, I Love Thee when he was 16 years old, likely at the time of his conversion. He sent a copy to his aunt in California, and it was she who suggested he have it published. Reportedly, his descendants still treasure the original manuscript of the hymn.

A Methodist hymnal published early in the twentieth century has an interesting difference in the wording of the first stanza from what we’re familiar with today. It reads:

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine!
For Thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art Thou.
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now!

“Pleasures,” rather than today’s word “follies” likely follows the author’s original. It fits the statement in Hebrews, where we read that Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God “than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25). It can be argued that young Featherstone knew what he was doing, and the original, with its resignation of sinful pleasures, makes good sense.

(2) Today in 1847 – Lizzie DeArmond Born

Lizzie Douglas Foulks DeArmond was a school teacher who lived in Pennsylvania. She served the Lord in the children’s department of her Sunday School. DeArmond had enjoyed writing since her earliest years, but it was not until she found herself a widow in 1923, with 8 children to support, that she focused on this as a means both of ministry and livelihood. She produced children’s hymns, recitations, exercises, dialogues and so on, along with articles for newspapers and magazines, the text for cantatas, nature stories and more.

Mrs. DeArmond wrote of her work, “If anything I have written has helped to lift one soul above the cares and worries of everyday life, and brought it nearer to the great loving heart of Jesus, the joy is mine, but the glory belongs to God.” It was out of her grief over the death of her daughter that Lizzie DeArmond wrote the touching gospel song, Good Night and Good Morning.

When comes to the weary a blessèd release,
When upward we pass to His kingdom of peace,
When free from the woes that on earth we must bear,
We’ll say “good night” here, but “good morning” up there.

Good morning up there where Christ is the Light,
Good morning up there where cometh no night;
When we step from this earth to God’s heaven so fair,
We’ll say “good night” here but “good morning” up there.

(3) Today in 1856 – Frederick Graves Born

Frederick Arthur Graves was troubled from childhood with epileptic seizures–though they appear to have stopped for a time in his adult years. In his sixties, he became an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. Graves wrote a number of gospel songs, including Honey in the Rock in 1895.

I can recall a student in the Bible college where I taught discovering this song in a hymn book and wondering aloud (with something of a superior smirk) where such an odd idea came from. He was surprised to learn it was taken from the Scriptures. In the rugged Holy Land, bees build nests wherever they can, often hiving in a crevice of some rocky cliff. And when God gave His people “honey from the rock” (Deut. 32:13; Ps. 81:16) it was a way of showing that they could trust Him to provide for them, even in the most unlikely places and circumstances.

Graves takes the rock as a symbol of Christ, and speaks of the richness of spiritual provision found in Him.

O my brother, do you know the Saviour,
Who is wondrous kind and true?
He’s the “Rock of your salvation!”
There’s honey in the Rock for you.

Oh, there’s honey in the Rock, my brother,
There’s honey in the Rock for you;
Leave your sins for the blood to cover,
There’s honey in the Rock for you.

Today in 1836 – Emily Elliot Born

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Emily Elizabeth Steele Elliot was the niece of Charlotte Elliot, author of the hymn Just As I Am. She wrote a number of hymns for the church in England where her father served as pastor. Elliot published a book called Under the Pillow containing 48 of her hymns. It was designed for the use of those in hospitals and infirmaries.

The one song of hers in common use today is the Christmas hymn Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne. It reminds us of the infinite condescension required for God the Son to take on our humanity. Though “being in the form of God, [He] did not consider it robbery [a thing to be clutched and held on to] to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7).

The third stanza, a touching reference to Christ’s words in Luke 9:58, is sometimes omitted from our hymn books. It says:

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

(2) Today in 1855 – Louis Benson Born

Dr. Louis Fitzgerald Benson practiced law for seven years. Then, after seminary training, he became a Presbyterian pastor. However, his most lasting contribution to the church at large is likely his scholarly work in the area of hymnology. Considered one of the leading authorities on the hymns of the Christian church, he had a private library of some 9,000 volumes on the subject, writing extensively on hymn history himself. Louis Benson wrote a number of hymns, and provided English translations of the work of others. One of his own is O Sing a Song of Bethlehem.

O sing a song of Bethlehem, of shepherds watching there,
And of the news that came to them from angels in the air:
The light that shone on Bethlehem fills all the world today;
Of Jesus’ birth and peace on earth the angels sing alway.

He said that the ideal hymn should have the qualities of: reverence, spiritual reality, beauty, and cheerfulness. In his classic work The Hymnody of the Christian Church, he says:

Hymnody, then, is a spiritual function, and its welfare proceeds from the heart. Nevertheless its congregational expression needs guidance and thoughtful ordering, as much now as at Corinth in the days of St. Paul.

What Makes a Good Hymn?: To learn of several other factors that work together to make a good quality hymn, take a look at my article on the subject.

(3) Today in 1865 – Peter Bilhorn Born

American gospel musician and evangelist Peter Philip Bilhorn had a remarkable career in many respects. His family was Bavarian, and their original name was Pulhorn. This was changed officially by a judge named Abraham Lincoln (before he became president). With his older brother, Bilhorn established the Eureka Wagon and Carriage Works, in Chicago. He also had a marvellous singing voice, and entertained in the concert halls and beer gardens in the area. But when he came to Christ, he determined to use his gifts in the service of the Lord.

Bilhorn became a much-travelled evangelist, also serving as a song leader in the early ministry of Billy Sunday. At the World’s Christian Endeavour Convention in London’s Crystal Palace, he conducted a choir of 4,000 voices. On the invitation of Queen Victoria, he sang several of his own songs in the chapel at Buckingham Palace.

Graphic Bilhorn Organ

Seeing the need for a small portable pump organ that could be used in street meetings and on the mission field, Peter Bilhorn designed and built one himself. The small but powerful organ folded down into a unit about the size of a large suitcase. The Bilhorn Brothers Organ Company grew from this, and they sold a variety of models worldwide. (I can recall playing an organ of this type in Sunday School, many years ago.) The inventor turned all his profits from their sale back into the Lord’s work.

One time, while conducting meetings in Wisconsin, the evangelist retired to his room for the night, but could not sleep. He felt compelled to take his folding organ and go out into the bitter cold. Walking down a street, he saw a gleam of light in a basement window. When he knocked, he was admitted to a room where a group of men were gambling. He set up his organ and began to sing. As a result of this bold ministry, six men trusted in the Saviour that night.

Peter Bilhorn wrote around 2,000 gospel songs, sometimes providing the tune for others, as he did for I Will Sing the Wondrous Story, and other times writing both words and music himself, as for Sweet Peace, the Gift of God’s Love. The ensemble below plays the tune of the latter hymn.

There comes to my heart one sweet strain,
A glad and a joyous refrain,
I sing it again and again,
Sweet peace, the gift of God’s love.

Peace, peace, sweet peace,
Wonderful gift from above,
Oh, wonderful, wonderful peace,
Sweet peace, the gift of God’s love.

Through Christ on the cross peace was made,
My debt by His death was all paid,
No other foundation is laid.
For peace, the gift of God’s love.

Today in 1816 – Daniel March Born

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Daniel March was born in Massachusetts. He ministered in Congregational and Presbyterian churches, and had a great interest in world missions. On one occasion in 1868 he was invited to speak at a meeting of the Christian Association of Philadelphia. Wanting to present the need for believers to be willing to serve the Lord, he chose as his text the words of Isaiah 6:8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”

Not finding a hymn to suit the text, Daniel March wrote his own–Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling.

Hark, the voice of Jesus calling,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are ripe and harvests waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Long and loud the Master calls us,
Rich reward He offers thee;
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me”?

If you cannot cross the ocean,
And the distant lands explore,
You can find the lost around you,
You can help them at your door;
If you cannot give your thousands,
You can give the widow’s mite;
What you truly give for Jesus,
Will be precious in His sight.

(2) Today in 1829 – Priscilla Owens Born

Of Scottish-Welsh descent, Priscilla Jane Owens was a public school teacher in the city of Baltimore for 49 years. She was also much involved in the work of the Sunday School, and wrote most of her hymns for use there. Two fine gospel songs of hers are still sung today. Jesus Saves was written for a missionary service of the Union Square Methodist Church which she attended. (For a change, try singing this song to Josiah Booth’s tune Limpsfield.)

Graphic Anchor

We Have an Anchor, written in 1882, is another of Priscilla Owens’s hymns. In the days before air travel, journeys by sea were common. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, steam power was just beginning to overtake the use of sail driven vessels. Voyages in the Atlantic and Pacific were filled with hazards. This provided an instructive parallel to the spiritual dangers we face in life, and we can see the use of maritime imagery in many of our hymns.

The Bible speaks of “the hope which is laid up for [us] in heaven” (Col. 1:5), using the word “hope” in the biblical sense of the joyful certainty of future blessing. The writer of Hebrews calls it “the hope that is set before us,” and he says, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Heb. 6:18-19). The presence of Christ already in Glory is the basis for this strong assurance (vs. 20).

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.

It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Saviour’s hand;
And the cables, passed from His heart to mine,
Can defy that blast, through strength divine.

The original version of the final stanza preserves the interrogative pattern of the earlier ones. But there is merit in a later revision that makes the song end with a testimony of assurance. Here are the two, and you can decide for yourself which is best.

Will your eyes behold through the morning light
The city of gold, and the harbour bright?
Will you anchor safe by the heav’nly shore
When life’s storms are past for evermore?

When our eyes behold through the gath’ring night
The city of gold, our harbour bright,
We shall anchor fast by the heav’nly shore,
With the storms all past forevermore.

Today in 1893 – William Owen Died

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William Owen was a Welshman who laboured in a slate quarry. He wrote a number of hymn tunes, including Bryn Calfaria (Calvary Hill) to which we sing the gospel song What Did He Do? The tune is in a typical rousing Welsh style, similar to that of Cwn Rhondda to which we sing Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.

Owen’s composition dates from 1852, but James M. Gray adopted it for his text, What Did He Do? in 1903. James Martin Gray was president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago in the early part of the twentieth century. If you have a singing congregation of reasonable size that can handle the parts (especially in the chorus) the song may well become a favourite, rendered with joyful enthusiasm.

O listen to our wondrous story,
Counted once among the lost;
Yet One came down from heaven’s glory,
Saving us at awful cost!

Who saved us from eternal loss?
Who but God’s Son upon the cross?
What did He do?
He died for you!
Where is He now?
In heaven interceding!

No angel could His place have taken,
Highest of the high though he;
The loved One on the cross forsaken,
Was One of the Godhead three!

Apologies on behalf of the one who produced the following video link. I’m sure the upside-down picture in the middle was completely accidental.

(2) And Is It So? A Little While (Data Missing)

We know nothing of the author of And Is it So? A Little While, published in 1864. The tune was written by Joseph Maclean. You can hear the tune on the Cyber Hymnal.

This lovely little second coming hymn seems to draw its theme from the words of the writer of Hebrews: “For yet a little while [just a little longer], and He who is coming will come, and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37).

In spite of the dogmatic date-setting of a few authors and TV preachers, it is still true that God is keeping His own counsel regarding the time of Christ’s return. “That day and hour no one knows, but My Father only” (Matt. 24:36; cf. 24:42; 25:13). Yet in the light of eternity, it is but a short time until He appears.

And is it so? “A little while,”
And then the life undying,
The light of God’s unclouded smile,
The singing for the sighing?
“A little while!” O glorious word,
Sweet solace of our sorrow;
And then “forever with the Lord,”
The everlasting morrow.

Then be it ours to journey on
In paths that He decrees us,
Where His own feet before have gone,
Our strength, our hope, our Jesus;
In lowly fellowship with Him
The cross appointed bearing;
For O a crown no grief can dim
One day we shall be wearing.

O ’twill be passing sweet to gaze
On Him in all His glory;
And lost in love and glad amaze
To shout redemption’s story;
Till angels bend to catch the strain
Our human lips are swelling,
And “worthy is the Lamb once slain,”
Resounds through heaven’s high dwelling.

Today in 1884 – Charles Widmeyer Born

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American gospel song writer Charles Brenton Widmeyer accepted Christ as his Saviour at the age of 13. He went on to serve as a preacher and seminary professor with the Nazarene denomination, as well as writing over 350 hymns. On one occasion he was preparing to preach a sermon on John Chapter 21, and wrote a song to suit it.

The incident recorded in John occurred after Christ’s resurrection. Some of the disciples had gone out fishing, and worked all night with nothing to show for it. But in the early morning mists, the Lord Jesus appeared on the shore and called them to cast out their nets once more, “on the right side of the boat” (Jn. 21:6). The result was a catch of 153 large fish. Then the Lord, who had breakfast prepared for them, summoned them to “Come and dine” (vs. 12, KJV). Pastor Widmeyer made a spiritual application of this to the nourishment for our souls found in Christ.

Jesus has a table spread
Where the saints of God are fed,
He invites His chosen people, “Come and dine”;
With His manna He doth feed
And supplies our every need:
O ’tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time!

“Come and dine,” the Master calleth, “Come and dine”;
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time;
He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine,
To the hungry calleth now, “Come and dine.”

Here, the Happy Goodman Family present this song in an upbeat Southern Gospel style.

 (2) Today in 1938 – Paul Rader Died

Paul Rader lived a varied and interesting life. Athlete, businessman, pastor, denominational leader, he has also produced hymns that are still in common use.

One day in 1921 he was walking across a busy street in the city of Chicago, with his four-year-old daughter clutching his hand. “Aren’t you afraid to cross the street, Harriet?” he asked her. “No,” she said, not when you’re with me. Why should I be afraid?”

That little incident was the basis for Pastor Rader’s song, Only Believe. It alludes to the promise of the Lord Jesus in Lk. 12:32, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (The incident regarding the waters of Marah is found in Exod. 15:22-27.) Paul Rader wrote both words and music, dictating them later to his church pianist, Lance Latham, a hymn writer in his own right.

Fear not, little flock, from the cross to the throne,
From death into life He went for His own;
All power in earth, all power above,
Is given to Him for the flock of His love.

Only believe, only believe;
All things are possible, only believe;
Only believe, only believe;
All things are possible, only believe.

Fear not, little flock, He goeth ahead,
Your Shepherd selecteth the path you must tread;
The waters of Marah He’ll sweeten for thee–
He drank all the bitter in Gethsemane.

Today in 1704 – Benjamin Keach Died

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This is not a man who will be known to most today, since his hymns are no longer in common use. But he was an English Baptist pastor and author in the seventeenth century, much persecuted for his beliefs. In 1664, he was fined, imprisoned and pilloried, for a book he had written, but he went on to write over 40 of them, along with hundreds of hymns. He worked as an evangelist in the small towns and villages of England, finally becoming established in London, where he ministered to a large congregation in his latter years. He is noted as the first to introduce hymn singing to Baptist congregations in England.

The little Christmas carol Awake My Soul, Awake My Tongue provides a sample of his hymn output. (You can see the entire selection and hear the tune on the Cyber Hymnal.)

Awake, my soul, awake, my tongue,
My glory wake and sing,
And celebrate the holy birth,
The birth of Israel’s King!

The careful shepherds with their flocks
Were watching for the morn,
But better news from heav’n was brought;
Your Saviour now is born!

(2) Today in 1842 – William Bambridge Born

William Samuel Bambridge, an organist and choir director born in New Zealand, composed the tune St. Asaph, used with a lovely, though little-known hymn of praise, At Thy Feet, Our God and Father. (For the entire piece and the tune, see the Cyber Hymnal.)

At Thy feet, our God and Father,
Who has blest us all our days,
We with grateful hearts would gather,
To begin this hour with praise:
Praise for light so brightly shining
On our steps from heaven above;
Praise for mercies daily twining
Round us golden cords of love.

Every day will be the brighter
When Thy gracious face we see;
Every burden will be lighter
When we know it comes from Thee,
Spread Thy love’s broad banner o’er us,
Give us strength to serve and wait,
Till the glory breaks before us
Through the City’s open gate.

(3) Today in 1927 – Edward Smith Born

Edward Russell Smith, better known as Tedd Smith, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. A pianist, composer and arranger, who worked for years with Billy Graham in his evangelistic ministry, he has written about 40 hymn texts and tunes. One day in September of 1972 he was invited to attend a Communion Service with a small group of believers unknown to him. The bond of love in Christ he experienced made a deep impression on Smith. He thought of the words of the Lord Jesus, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). It was that incident that led him to write There’s a Quiet Understanding.

There’s a quiet understanding when we’re gathered in the Spirit,
It’s a promise that He gives us, when we gather in His name.
There’s a love we feel in Jesus, there’s a manna that He feeds us–
It’s a promise that He gives us when we gather in His name.

Today in 1674 – Isaac Watts Born

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lamb

Watts is notable for the high quality of his hymns. But it is more than that which gained him the reputation of being the Father of English Hymnody. In the established English church of his day, only the Psalms were sung. The creation and use of new hymns was looked upon by some as an attempt to add to the Bible, and it was therefore considered off limits. There was some openness to change in the nonconformist church the Watts family attended, but the old tradition still hung on.

However, a young Isaac Watts argued with his father Enoch, a deacon in the church, that if they only sang the Old Testament Psalms they were missing a lot of New Testament truth. Finally, his father told him that if he thought he could produce something suitable to go ahead and try. Watts was only in his mid-teens at the time, but he had a sound grounding in Bible knowledge and a gift for poetry. With his father’s encouragement, he set to work.

The next Sunday morning, the congregation had a new hymn to sing, prophetic of much more to come. It began:

Behold the glories of the Lamb
Amidst His Father’s throne.
Prepare new honours for His Name,
And songs before unknown.

(You can see all eight stanzas of this ground-breaking hymn on the Cyber Hymnal.) The assembled believers were delighted with the new song, and asked for more. The young man began producing a new hymn each week, and did so for a couple of years. He made an even stronger contrast between Old Testament and New, between the far side of the cross and today, with the following hymn. It is based on several verses of Scripture.

Not all the blood of beasts
On Jewish altars slain
Could give the guilty conscience peace
Or wash away the stain.

But Christ, the heav’nly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
A sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they.

My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
While, like a penitent, I stand,
And there confess my sin.

The Old Testament sacrifices were accepted by God, when offered in faith, but they were not the final answer to sin. The shed blood of an animal could not pay our debt (Heb. 10:11). These offerings pointed forward to Christ, who came to do just that (Jn. 1:29; Heb. 9:12). The third stanza of Watts’s hymn alludes to the way the offerer placed his hand on the sacrifice as a sign of identification with it (Lev. 1:4). It was a way of saying, “This innocent substitute is dying instead of me.” We do the same, when we identify ourselves with Christ on the cross, by faith.

Eventually, in his lifetime, Watts would create over 600 hymns. Still today, 300 years later, most hymn books contain quite a number of them. Here is a sampling of the songs of Isaac Watts still in use:

Alas, and Did My Saviour Bleed? (At the Cross)
Am I a Soldier of the Cross?
Begin, My Tongue, Some Heavenly Theme
Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
Come, We That Love the Lord (We’re Marching to Zion)
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
Jesus Shall Reign
Join All the Glorious Names
Joy to the World
Not All the Blood of Beasts
Not What These Hands Have Done
O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Sweet Is the Work
There Is a Land of Pure Delight
When I Can Read My Title Clear
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

A brilliant scholar, Dr. Watts was a master of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. He authored about 60 books on a variety of subjects, but the work for which he is justifiably remembered today is the writing of his hymns. And hymn historians are in general agreement that the best of these–judged by some to be the greatest in the English language–is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. There is little that can match, or even approach, the sublime poetry of the third stanza, with its imagery of the blood of Christ representing an outpouring of sorrow and love.

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

The hymn was published in 1707, and was particularly intended for use at the Lord’s Supper. The author based his thoughts on Galatians 6:14, “God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Paul means there that this sinful world had lost its attraction for him and, for their part, the world of unsaved men and women had broken fellowship with Paul, sensing he was no longer one of them. The cross is a great dividing line in the Christian’s life.

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

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

Here is an earnest choir of high schoolers singing a beautiful arrangement of this superb hymn. Though at some points, the voices show an understandable lack of maturity, they do a fine job. But I pray that, as you listen, you will realize far beyond that what a wonderful Saviour we have!

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