So Send I You

Words: Edith Margaret Clarkson (b. June 8, 1915; d. Mar. 17, 2008)
Music: John Willard Peterson (b. Nov. 1, 1921; d. Sept. 20, 2006)

Note: As of the time this post is being written, the Cyber Hymnal does not have a page on the hymn itself, but I’ve provided a link below to its biography of Margaret Clarkson. The Wordwise Link tells the story behind the hymn. Miss Clarkson was a prolific author, and one of our greatest Canadian hymn writers.

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

The ending of this hymn is not precisely a refrain, since it is not repeated, but is designed to be sung only once. It alludes to the words of the risen Christ to His followers: “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn. 20:21). It is a brief statement, but one which would seem to have profound implications. “As the Father…I also…” In what way are the two similar?

There is the implication of divine authority. Just as God the Father sent the Lord Jesus, so He sends His followers to carry out His “Great Commission” (Jn. 17:18; cf. Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15). In a sense, we are to carry on the work that He began. Yes, what Christ did was unique, particularly His redemptive work. No other could die for the sins of the world. But we are to carry on bearing witness to the truth.

The commission is a demonstration of grace. The disciples had all failed Him, in the crisis hour (Mk. 14:50). And if we had been there, we’d have been no better. Yet the Lord deigns to summon us to serve Him, weak and fallible as we are. We are granted a humbling privilege. The call of the Master also involves a great responsibility. We are commissioned to be His servants, and His ambassadors (II Cor. 5:20). Will we declare, as David did, “I delight to do Your will, O my God” (Ps. 40:8)? “Who is sufficient for these things?” (II Cor. 2:16). “Our sufficiency is from God” (II Cor. 3:5)

The Lord Jesus took on our humanity (Jn. 1:14), readily identifying with those in need. His title for Himself, “the Son of Man,” is used over eighty times in the Gospels. It indicates One who has the nature of Man. “Foxes have holes,” He said, “and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20). Just as He was “touched with the feeling of our infirmity,” so we must minister His compassion to others (Heb. 4:15-16; cf. II Cor. 1:3-4).

Ministry for Christ will also involve self-sacrifice. We can never give what He gave, or even imagine the extent of His condescension. But we can offer ourselves as living sacrifices, in His service (Rom. 12:1). It is this particular aspect of the call to service that Margaret Clarkson emphasizes in her stirring hymn. She does not sugarcoat the case. It is a stark portrait she paints. So much so that in later years she wrote a companion hymn, emphasizing more of the joys of Christian service. Nevertheless, the message of the first song needs careful consideration.

So send I you to labour unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing–
So send I you to toil for Me alone.

We are sent on a path that may involve “loneliness and longing…forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one” (3). Sent “to labour long, and love where men revile [us]” (4). “To spend, though it be blood–to spend and spare not–so send I you to taste of Calvary” (5). If this seems too strong, consider the words of the Lord Jesus, just before He went to the cross:

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you….Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

Jn. 15:18, 20

Questions:

1. Among some professing Christians, this is not a popular message in our day. Why not?
2. What will bring a new and deeper commitment to Christ’s service, in these last days before His return?

Links:

• 8 June 1915 – Margaret Clarkson Born
• Margaret Clarkson (The Cyber Hymnal)