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Today in 1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe Died

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Mrs. Stowe was a person of many accomplishments, especially considering the limitations often placed on women in the nineteen century. Daughter of a Congregational clergyman named Lyman Beecher, and sister of another, Henry Ward Beecher, she married a seminary professor, and taught at a college herself. She authored the best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852, and wrote more than 40 other books.

Graphic Morning

It was at the request of her brother that Harriet Stowe created the beautiful morning hymn, Still, Still with Thee. It is said the author habitually rose at 4:30 each morning, going for walks in the quiet dawning to ponder the things of God.

The hymn seems to be a meditation on Psalm 139:18, “When I awake, I am still with You.” The Lord promised believers on this side of the cross that we will have His continuing presence with us (Matt. 28:20). And in eternity it is His desire “that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn. 14:3).

For this song, most hymn books use the tune Consolation, based on a melody by Felix Mendelssohn. But try singing it to Joseph Barnby’s lovely tune Alverstoke and you may never go back to the other. (Alverstoke is one of the alternate tunes for the hymn you can listen to on the Cyber Hymnal.)

Still, still with Thee, when purple morning breaketh,
When the bird waketh, and the shadows flee;
Fairer than morning, lovelier than daylight,
Dawns the sweet consciousness, I am with Thee.

So shall it be at last, in that bright morning,
When the soul waketh and life’s shadows flee;
O in that hour, fairer than daylight dawning,
Shall rise the glorious thought, I am with Thee.

(2) Today in 1942 – Andrae Crouch Born

Crouch’s career has included being a singer, songwriter, music producer, and pastor. His best-known gospel songs are: The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power, Through It All, and My Tribute.

To God be the glory, to God be the glory,
To God be the glory for the things He has done.
With His blood He has saved me;
With His pow’r He has raised me.
To God be the glory for the things He has done.

Though his songs have some merit, Andrae Crouch has been instrumental in blurring the important distinction between sacred and secular music. He has worked as a producer and arranger for Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Elton John, and he became only the third gospel musician to have his star enshrined on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To be so linked with those who are demonstrably morally corrupt is to my mind a violation of God’s call to separation (II Cor. 6:14–7:1).

Using Hymns with Children

Ihave been asked on occasion how we can get teen-agers to appreciate and sing the great hymns and gospel songs of the church. There are many ways to encourage this, but the most basic principle of all is: Don’t wait to start this until they’re in their teens!

Each children’s program in the church, Sunday School, Children’s Church, week-day clubs, if you have these, should be regularly introducing and using hymns. Using hymns with children prepares them to have a fuller part in adult worship later on. Conversely, to use only children’s songs and choruses in children’s programming may handicap their later integration into the adult services of worship.

Instead of Heavenly Sunshine or some shallow contemporary song, why not use the first verse of a good hymn as if it were a “chorus” (or perhaps the refrain of a hymn as a chorus, if it can stand alone)? Later, other stanzas could be explained and added.

In some cases, you might have to define a word or explain a concept or two. But so much the better. How often have we taken a moment to do that with the adults? You could also tell a story about the author, or tell how the hymn came to be written. (Many such stories appear on this blog.) If this is done consistently, what children learn will help to prepare them for more meaningful worship with the whole congregation.

And there should be some system to it. Make a list of the hymns you want to introduce in a particular children’s program of the church. Solid hymns, ones that they will treasure in years to come. Then give some thought to how they are to be taught and used. Perhaps you could have a “hymn of the month,” or play a good video of the hymn. Or if you have a gifted soloist or instrumentalist in the congregation, perhaps he or she could drop in on the children’s program and sing or play the song. Or you could involve the children in a little drama, acting out the story of the song.

In addition to fine children’s hymns such as Jesus Loves Me, and Philip Bliss’s Jesus Loves Even Me, here are a few hymns for which the first stanza is sufficiently clear on its own:

My Jesus, I Love Thee (explain “follies”)
Ye Must Be Born Again
Wonderful Words of Life (explain “duty”)
O How I Love Jesus
Jesus Is the Joy of Living(refrain only)
The Light of the World Is Jesus
Amazing Grace (explain “wretch”)
Trust and Obey
What a Friend We Have in Jesus (explain “griefs” and “forfeit”)
Praise Him! Praise Him! (by Fanny Crosby)
Constantly Abiding (refrain)
Blessed Be the Name (explain “majesty supreme”)

With a little study of the hymn book, you will be able to think of many more, and you’ll find using hymns with children very profitable. It builds each child’s repertoire for time to come.

Today in 1818 – Edward Hopkins Born

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Hopkins was an English church organist (for 55 years in one church alone!). He was given an honorary doctorate by the Archbishop of Canterbury. A recognized authority in his field, Edward John Hopkins wrote a book called The Organ: Its History and Construction. Hopkins wrote a variety of church music and was respected as an editor of hymnals. He produced many hymn tunes, but only one remains in common use in America–his tune Ellers, for the hymn Saviour Again, to Thy Dear Name We Raise.

The text for this lovely closing hymn was written by John Ellerton in 1866. The last line of the third stanza quoted below is taken from Psalm 139:12, “The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Or, as the New American Standard Bible has it, “Even the darkness is not dark to You.” None of the circumstances we face, day by day, is hidden from God. He sees and knows all about what may seem obscure and threatening to us.

Two of our biggest problems with the darkness are: we’re not sure where we are going, or which way to go; and we’re not sure what’s “out there,” causing us to be anxious about unknown dangers. But our assurance is that the darkness is no different than the light to the Lord. He will continue to lead His children, holding us in the hollow of His hand, whether the way be dark or light.

Saviour, again to Thy dear name we raise
With one accord our parting hymn of praise;
We stand to bless Thee ere our worship cease;
Then, lowly kneeling, wait Thy word of peace.

Grant us Thy peace upon our homeward way;
With Thee began, with Thee shall end the day.
Guard thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
That in this house have called upon Thy name.

Grant us Thy peace, Lord, through the coming night;
Turn Thou for us its darkness into light;
From harm and danger keep Thy children free,
For dark and light are both alike to Thee.

Edward Hopkins also wrote the tune for the children’s hymn The Wise May Bring Their Learning. (The hymn tune is called Christmas Morn.) There are some good things in the text, and it would be well for it to be given a wider use than it has at present.

The wise may bring their learning, the rich may bring their wealth,
And some may bring their greatness, and some bring strength and health;
We, too, would bring our treasures to offer to the King;
We have no wealth or learning; what shall we children bring?

We’ll bring Him hearts that love Him; we’ll bring Him thankful praise,
And young souls meekly striving to walk in holy ways;
And these shall be the treasures we offer to the King,
And these are gifts that even the poorest child may bring.

We’ll bring the little duties we have to do each day;
We’ll try our best to please Him, at home, at school, at play;
And better are these treasures to offer to our King;
Than richest gifts without them—yet these a child may bring.

In spite of the recent turn to overhead projectors and video projectors, I believe there is still a place for hymnals in the pews. If you are contemplating the purchase, check out Choosing a Hymn Book for Your Church.

Today in 1875 – John Wilcox Died

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John Henry Wilcox was an American church organist who died at the relatively young age of 49. He is known in hymn history for one small contribution. He wrote the tune Faben, that is often used with a couple of hymns: Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens Adore Him, and Lord, with Glowing Heart I’d Praise Thee.

Both of these are hymns of praise to God. And some form of the word “praise” is found over 250 times in our English Bibles. We see it first when Jacob’s wife Leah praises the Lord for the birth of Judah (Gen. 29:35). And in John’s vision of the eternal heavenly city we read of a command that will issue from the throne of God, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him both small and great” (Rev. 19:5).

Over 150 times in the book of Psalms alone we read of praising God. This suggests a dominant theme of the book. David the psalmist declares, “I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High” (Ps. 9:2). Because of the greatness of our God, He is utterly deserving of all the praise we can render to Him. “The Lord…is worthy to be praised” (Ps. 18:2). In the words of Francis Scott Key’s 1819 hymn,

Lord, with glowing heart I’d praise Thee,
For the bliss Thy love bestows,
For the pardoning grace that saves me,
And the peace that from it flows:
Help, O God, my weak endeavour;
This dull soul to rapture raise:
Thou must light the flame, or never
Can my love be warmed to praise.

(2) Gracious Father, Guard Thy Children (Data Missing)

This is a thoughtful hymn expressing a prayer for God’s protection in a time of trial. The author is unknown. You can hear the tune on the Cyber Hymnal.

Gracious Father, guard Thy children
From the foe’s destructive power;
Save, O save them, Lord, from falling
In this dark and trying hour.
Thou wilt surely prove Thy people,
All our graces must be tried;
But Thy Word illumes our pathway,
And in God we still confide.

We are in the time of waiting;
Soon we shall behold our Lord,
Wafted far away from sorrow,
To receive our rich reward.
Keep us, Lord, till Thine appearing,
Pure, unspotted, from the world;
Let Thy Holy Spirit cheer us
Till Thy banner is unfurled.

With what joyful exultation
Shall the saints Thy banner see,
When the Lord for whom we’ve waited
Shall proclaim the jubilee!
Freedom from this world’s pollutions;
Freedom from all sin and pain;
Freedom from the wiles of Satan,
And from death’s destructive reign.

Today in 1814 – Frederick Faber Born

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Frederick William Faber began his career as a Calvinist and a clergyman in the Church of England. Later in life, under the influence of John Henry Newman, he got involved in the Oxford Movement and became a Roman Catholic.

Faber was re-baptized a Catholic, and took the name of Wilfred. His followers were known as Wilfridians. He was an admirer of the hymns of John Newton and William Cowper and, though he confessed a lack of any musical ability, he tried to create some hymns that would be acceptable in his new-found religious orientation.

Where the teachings of Catholicism and Protestantism agree–and there are a number of points on which they do–Faber’s hymns have gained acceptance with the latter. My God, How Wonderful Thou Art, and There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy have found their way into many hymn books. Faith of Our Fathers did too, once some strongly Catholic lines were removed.

A touch of the Catholic influence is still evident in There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy, in the second line of the second stanza given below–“And more graces for the good.” The grace of God (His unmerited favour) is mentioned nearly 160 times in the Bible. But it is never spoken of in the plural. It is simply His abundant grace, referring to His divine enablement. As Paul puts it, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (I Cor. 15:10).

Monsignor J. D. Conway, in his book Facts of the Faith, claims that “the sacraments…are divinely established channels through which graces flow” (p. 53). He speaks of “innumerable sorts of active graces” (p. 43), and explains the Roman Catholic teaching that “the Mass…brings to us daily that fountain of all graces, the cross of Christ.” 

But we must immediately question the claim that this pattern is “divinely established.” There is nothing of this in the Word of God, which invites the believer simply to “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may…find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). No official clergy or formal rituals need to intrude between us and the throne of God.

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in His justice,
Which is more than liberty.

There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour;
There is healing in His blood.

If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord.

(2) Today in 1851 – Eliza Hewitt Born

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt trained to be a school teacher, and was valedictorian of her class. But her teaching career was sidelined by a spinal condition that kept her bedridden for a long period, leaving her a semi-invalid. It’s believed that this condition may have related to something that had happened in the classroom. She was struck in the back with a heavy slate by a boy she was trying to discipline.

Even after she retired from teaching, Eliza Hewitt continued to have a strong interest in children. She served as a Sunday School superintendent for much of her life. She was a friend of Fanny Crosby’s, had a cousin who was a hymn writer (Edgar Stites, who wrote Simply Trusting), and also wrote many hymns herself.

The writer of one of our hymns, No Other Plea (My Faith Has Found a Resting Place), remained something of a mystery for years. You will sometimes see it attributed to a Lidie H. Edmunds, but nothing is known of such a person. This was later discovered to be a pen name of Eliza Edmunds Hewitt.

It is a fine song, speaking with great clarity of the basis for our salvation. We aren’t saved by joining a particular church, or by adhering to a particular creed. We are saved by the grace of God, through personal faith in Christ (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9). As Eliza Hewitt puts it:

My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device nor creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Saviour’s name,
Salvation through His blood.

Today in 1933 – James Mountain Died

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James Mountain was an English revivalist and pastor. He wrote many books and articles. And though he also wrote a number of hymns, he is better known for the tunes he contributed for hymns such as: Jesus I Am Resting, Resting; Like a River Glorious; and Loved With Everlasting Love. He was greatly influenced by the evangelistic ministry of Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey in Britain during the 1870’s. His music reflects what he learned from them. From 1882 to 1889 he made a seven-year evangelistic tour of the world.

Of the three hymns mentioned above, the tune for Frances Havergal’s  Like a River Glorious (called Wye Valley) seems especially singable. Its steady flowing pace suggests the idea of a peaceful flowing river. But its singability can also cause some congregations to run away with it. Don’t sing this hymn too quickly or the point is lost–that there is a restfulness and tranquility of soul found in the life of faith. In her second stanza Miss Havergal says, “Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.” Please see that it doesn’t!

Like a river glorious, is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase;
Perfect, yet it floweth, fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth, deeper all the way.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

As noted above, James Mountain also provided the tunes for Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting:

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

And Mountain gave us the tune for Loved with Everlasting Love:

Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know;
Spirit breathing from above, Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace! O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.

(2) The Land Afar (Data Missing)

I have often wondered why it is that hymn books from a century ago and more contain many many hymns about the Lord’s return, and about heaven, while newer books include far fewer.

For one thing, it may have to do with the spirit of materialism that has infested our age, and the focus on the pleasures of the moment. How many Christians, unless they are elderly and infirm, love Christ’s appearing with the passion of the apostle (II Tim. 4:7-8)? And how many unfortunately are seeking more comfort and ease here below, or see their destiny in temporal and material terms?

A case in point is the simple little gospel song The Land Afar. We do not know who authored it, but George Stebbins provided the tune. If you are looking for the music, it is #972 in Ira Sankey’s old Sacred Songs and Solos. (Incidentally, of the 1200 songs in the book, there are nearly 150 about the second coming and heaven!) The present hymn says:

There is a land that lies afar,
Where grief is all unknown;
A land wherein the angels sing
Around the heav’nly throne.

Oh, ’twill be sweet when we shall meet
Upon that distant shore,
Whereon the glorious sun ne’er sets,
But shines forever more.

We are but pilgrims on the earth,
And brief our sojourn here;
But well we know, beyond this vale
There is a brighter sphere.

There is a realm of boundless love,
A goal for hearts distressed,
Where all may find for endless years
A home among the blest.

Today in 1702 – Philip Doddridge Born

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Philip Doddridge was the youngest of 20 children. (Sadly, 18 of these died in infancy.) He was a pastor, and a man of great scholarship. Doddridge was a friend of Isaac Watts, and described himself as one of several lamps “kindled at Watts’s torch.” He died of tuberculosis at the age of 49, but he packed a lot in a few years!

Philip Doddridge entered  pastoral ministry at the age of 19, and at the urging of Isaac Watts, he also opened a theological school for training young pastors. During the years he taught there, he trained about 150 young men to serve Christ. In addition he wrote about 370 hymns. Several of these are still in use. It was Pastor Doddridge’s practice, after he had finished his sermon preparation, to write a hymn to suit the theme. Among the songs he has given us:

Great God, We Sing That Mighty Hand
How Gentle God’s Commands
How Rich Thy Bounty, King of Kings
My Gracious Lord, I Own Thy Right
O Happy Day
See Israel’s Gentle Shepherd Stand

The hymn My Gracious Lord, I Own Thy Right was headed in the original manuscript: “Christ’s Service, The Fruit of Our Labours on Earth.”  The hymn is a clear declaration of the sovereignty of God over our lives. That was the principle violated in Eden when our first parents disobeyed God’s command (Gen. 2:17; 3:6). They were asserting their independence, and we’ve been suffering from that ever since!

The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein” (Ps. 24:1). “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Rom. 11:36). Therefore, “To God our Saviour, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 1:25). Doddridge’s hymn, a personal affirmation of these truths, begins:

My gracious Lord, I own Thy right
To every service I can pay,
And call it my supreme delight
To hear Thy dictates, and obey.

What is my being but for Thee,
Its sure support, its noblest end?
’Tis my delight Thy face to see,
And serve the cause of such a Friend.

Philip Doddridge’s hymn, O Happy Day, was written to accompany one of his sermons, and first appeared in 1755. (The refrain was added later.) His original title was “Rejoicing in our Covenant Engagements to God,” referring to the covenant the Israelites made with the Lord in II Chron. 15:12, 15. Dodderidge obviously applied this to the bond that is formed between the believer and Christ, at conversion.

O happy day, that fixed my choice
On Thee, my Saviour and my God!
Well may this glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad.

Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away!
He taught me how to watch and pray,
And live rejoicing every day
Happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away.

O happy bond, that seals my vows
To Him Who merits all my love!
Let cheerful anthems fill His house,
While to that sacred shrine I move.

’Tis done: the great transaction’s done!
I am the Lord’s and He is mine;
He drew me, and I followed on;
Charmed to confess the voice divine.

Now for something completely different, 🙂 here is the Cathedral Quartet performing the tune for O Happy Day, but singing the Tonic Solfa (doh, ray, me) instead of words. It’s a novelty number, done just for fun.

Grace, ‘Tis a Charming Sound is a joint effort between Doddridge and Augustus Toplady, author of the hymn Rock of Ages. The hymn is based on Eph. 2:5, “By grace you have been saved,” and Pastor Doddridge’s original title was “Salvation by Grace.” Most hymnals today add a refrain, which was not part of the original.

Grace, ’tis a charming sound,
Harmonious to mine ear;
Heav’n with the echo shall resound,
And all the earth shall hear.

Saved by grace alone!
This is all my plea;
Jesus died for all mankind,
And Jesus died for me.

‘Twas grace that wrote my name
In life’s eternal book;
’Twas grace that gave me to the Lamb,
Who all my sorrows took.

Grace taught my wand’ring feet
To tread the heav’nly road;
And new supplies each hour I meet,
While pressing on to God.

O let Thy grace inspire
My soul with strength divine
May all my powers to Thee aspire,
And all my days be Thine.

Lord’s Day Meditation – Renewing Our Strength

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Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Isa. 40:30-31

Eric Liddell, the “Flying Scotsman,” was the famed gold medalist in the 1924 Olympics. The film Chariots of Fire depicts events in his life around that time. There is a scene in it that is particularly memorable. The actor playing Eric Liddell, on his way to becoming a missionary to China, is reading from Isaiah Chapter 40 in a church service. And, as he reads the verses quoted above, the film cuts to some runners toiling in a race, exhausted, stumbling, falling. It is a powerful image because it emphasizes our human limitations.

The setting of Isa. 40:30-31 is a time of trial and testing. Israel says, “My way is hidden from the LORD, and my just claim is passed over by my God” (vs. 27). Historically, the struggle relates to the Babylonian Captivity in which the Jews suffered as slaves for 70 years. Prophetically, it points to the persecution of the nation in the Great Tribulation yet to come (cf. Matt. 24:15-26). But of course there is a broad principle involved that applies to believers personally in every age. While we wait for God to deliver, we can wait on God for strength.

Dr. Harry Ironside, in his commentary on Isaiah, makes this insightful comment:

Mere natural and physical powers will not avail in the hour when one is called upon to face great mental and spiritual emergencies. But they who have learned to refer everything to God and to wait quietly upon Him will be given all needed strength to rise above depressing circumstances, thus enabling them to mount heavenward as eagles facing the sun, to run their race with patience, and to walk with God with renewed confidence and courage, knowing that they are ever objects of His love and care.

In our service for Christ we face not only the daily physical and mental strains but the spiritual struggle against the enemy of our souls. If we are to be both faithful and fruitful, we’ll need to continually renew our strength by the nourishment of God’s Word, and by seeking His daily grace in prayer. There is a gospel song with a lengthy refrain quoting the passage in Isaiah. The author of the words is identified only as G. M. J. The tune was written by James McGranahan.

Ho, reapers in the whitened harvest!
Oft feeble, faint, and few;
Come, wait upon the blessed Master,
Our strength He will renew.

For “they that wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength,
They shall mount up with wings,
They shall mount up with wings as eagles:
They shall run and not be weary;
They shall walk and not faint.”

Rejoice! For He is with us alway,
Lo, even to the end!
Look up! Take courage and go forward–
All needed grace He’ll send.

Today in 1799 – Philip Pusey Born

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Philip Pusey became a member of Parliament in Britain. Prime Minister Disraeli said of him that he was “both by his lineage, his estate, his rare accomplishments and fine abilities, one of the most distinguished country gentlemen who ever sat in the House of Commons.” A patron of the arts, he was one of the founders of the London Library. And Philip Pusey took a great interest in hymnology.

In 1834 he wrote Lord of Our Life, and God of Our Salvation, a paraphrase of an earlier German hymn. The original was written in 1644, near the end of the Thirty Years War, which accounts for  several military references in the song. Pusey saw his hymn as applying to the condition of the church in his day, “assailed from without, enfeebled and distracted within, but on the eve of a great awakening.”

The comment is reminiscent of Paul’s, in his farewell to the elders of the church at Ephesus. “After my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30). Attacks from the outside, and from within. And today we must be on guard against the same things. In part, the hymn says:

Lord of our life, and God of our salvation,
Star of our night, and hope of every nation,
Hear and receive Thy church’s supplication,
Lord God Almighty.

Lord, Thou canst help when earthly armour faileth;
Lord, Thou canst save when sin itself assaileth;
Lord, o’er Thy rock nor death nor hell prevaileth;
Grant us Thy peace, Lord.

 (2) Heir of the Kingdom (Data Missing)

It’s the Apostle James who speaks of believers as “heirs of the kingdom” (Jas. 2:5; cf. Lk. 12:32). Peter refers to us as “a royal priesthood” (I Pet. 2:), and Revelation describes the redeemed as “kings and priests” (or “a kingdom of priests”), promising that “we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10; cf. 3:1). We are joint heirs with Christ (Gal. 4:7), part of the royal family, and will have a part in His coming reign.

There is hymn whose authorship is unknown that challenges believers to live with eternity’s values in view, as those who are heirs of the kingdom. Lowell Mason provided the tune for Heir of the Kingdom, and you can hear it on the Cyber Hymnal.

Heir of the kingdom, O why dost thou slumber?
Why art thou sleeping so near thy blest home?
Wake thee, arouse thee, and gird on thine armour,
Speed, for the moments are hurrying on.

Heir of the kingdom, say, why dost thou linger?
How canst thou tarry in sight of the prize?
Up, and adorn thee, the Saviour is coming;
Haste to receive Him descending the skies.

Earth’s mighty nations, in strife and commotion,
Tremble with terror, and sink in dismay;
Listen, ’tis naught but the chariot’s loud rumbling;
Heir of the kingdom, no longer delay.

Stay not, O stay not, for earth’s vain allurements!
See how its glory is passing away;
Break the strong fetters the foe hath bound o’er thee;
Heir of the kingdom, turn, turn thee away.

Keep the eye single, the head upward lifted;
Watch for the glory of earth’s coming King;
Lo! o’er the mountain tops light is now breaking;
Heirs of the kingdom, rejoice ye and sing.

Why do we sing hymns in church? There are some reasons, perhaps unspoken and unrecognized, that are less than biblical. The Scriptures give us important insight on this. I’ve discussed the issue in the article Worship in Song.

Today in 1734 – James Allen Born

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James Allen began in the Church of England, but later joined first the Inghamites (a group that combined Methodist and Moravian doctrine), and later still the Sandemanians (a Scottish sect believing in community property to be shared by the members). Allen’s hymn, which originally began, “While my Jesus I’m possessing…” was revised and improved about 20 years later by Walter Shirley, becoming Sweet the Moments, Rich in Blessing.

A line in the second verse below (“Loving much, and much forgiven”) alludes to an incident in the Gospel of Luke. A Pharisee named Simon invited the Lord Jesus to his home for a meal. But he was indignant when the Lord allowed a woman to anoint His feet with costly perfume. He thought to himself, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner” (Lk. 7:39).

Knowing what was in his mind, Christ told a story about two debtors, one who owed a great deal of money, the other who owed little. Then came the question, “Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love [the forgiving creditor] more?” And Simon replied, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more” (vs. 40-43). Then came the Lord’s pointed application: “To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (vs. 47).

But of course there is an irony here. The Pharisee might have thought he had little need for God’s forgiveness and cleansing, but he seemed totally insensitive to the sinful pride in his heart. The more we are aware of our own weakness and imperfection, the more we’ll appreciate and revel in the grace and mercy of God.

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross we spend,
Life and health and peace possessing
From the sinner’s dying Friend.

Here we find our hope of heaven,
While upon the Lamb we gaze;
Loving much, and much forgiven,
Let our hearts o’erflow with praise.

(2) Today in 1822 John Burton Sr. Died

Holy Bible Book Divine was published in 1803 as a children’s hymn. John Burton was a dedicated Christian layman who wrote many songs for use in Sunday Schools.  But this hymn has a message for all, young and old. In the short span of 4 stanzas, the song lists about 10 things the Bible can do for us. Among them, it tells us where we came from, and where we’re going. And God uses it to guide and guard us on the Christian way, and reprove us when we get off course.

In the words of the Bible itself, “All Scripture is given my inspiration of God [it’s God-breathed], and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3:16). The Word of God is a treasure indeed. In the words of the psalmist, “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver” (Ps. 119:72).

Holy Bible, Book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine;
Mine to tell me whence I came;
Mine to teach me what I am.

Mine to tell of joys to come,
And the rebel sinner’s doom;
O thou holy Book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine.

Here are a couple of renditions of the song that may be of interest. In the first, a young man sings the song with a slightly contemporary style. Nicely done. He has a few comments at the end about the ministry opportunity he believes God is giving him. (Just one correction regarding what he says: the tune was composed by William Bradbury; the words are by John Burton Sr.) If you have never heard a bell choir, you may enjoy the lovely version of the tune in the second clip.

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