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it pays to serve jesus

It Pays to Serve Jesus

Words: Frank Claude Huston (b. Sept. 12, 1871; d. Nov. 14, 1959)
Music: Frank Claude Huston

Note: This simple gospel song was written in 1909. Mr. Huston was one of those individuals who had a varied career. He taught school for a year, then became a singer who traveled in evangelistic work. He later served as a pastor in a number of churches in Indiana. Huston also founded a publishing company, that produced both secular and gospel songs.

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

As Christians, we are called to serve the Lord, and we are promised heavenly rewards for our service. The Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work” (Rev. 22:12). Even a cup of water given in service for Christ will be duly rewarded (Mk. 9:41).

Frank Huston wrote this gospel song about that entitled, It Pays to Serve Jesus. It was written in two stages. First, the musician composed a melody. Thinking it might be useful in the future, he jotted down the notes on a piece of paper, folded it up and put it in his pocket.

Weeks later, he was asked if he could write a song about how it was rewarding to serve the Lord. He was paying a visit to a friend, 82 year-old M. E. Mick. During their conversation, Mr. Mick suddenly said to Huston, “Brother Huston, you have written so many good songs, won’t you write one for me on the subject we have just been discussing, and call it, ‘It Pays to Serve Jesus’?” Frank interrupted to remind him that there was already a published song bearing that title, whereupon Mick replied, “I know there is, but I think you can write a better one.”

Pondering the possibilities, he thought of the tune he’d created earlier. Pulling the paper from his pocket, he set it on the piano, and the words to fit it seemed to follow easily.

(1) The service of Jesus true pleasure affords,
In Him there is joy without an alloy;
’Tis heaven to trust Him and rest on His words;
It pays to serve Jesus each day.

It pays to serve Jesus, it pays every day,
It pays every step of the way,
Though the pathway to glory may sometimes be drear,
You’ll be happy each step of the way.

(2) It pays to serve Jesus whate’er may betide,
It pays to be true whate’er you may do;
’Tis riches of mercy in Him to abide;
It pays to serve Jesus each day.

(3) Though sometimes the shadows may hang o’er the way,
And sorrows may come to beckon us home,
Our precious Redeemer each toil will repay;
It pays to serve Jesus each day.

The song says, “It pays to serve Jesus each day.” And it certainly does. Our work will be rewarded later, before the Judgment Seat of Christ. But Christian ministry also is rewarding here and now. I can personally testify to that. In the present world, service for Christ brings many joys.

  • The joy of pleasing our Commander (Acts 20:24; Col. 1:10; II Tim. 2:3-4; 4:7).
  • The joy of making an eternal investment in fulfilling work (Matt. 6:19-20; Phil. 3:12-14; cf. Heb. 12:2).
  • The joy of fellowship in the gospel with other servants of Christ (Phil. 1:3-5; II Tim. 1:4).
  • The joy of seeing people blessed, and lives transformed through our service (Phil. 2:2; I Thess. 1:2-3; 2:19-20; III Jn. 1:4).

But there is another side to it. Apart from any reward a gracious God might give us, He is worthy of our service, and fully deserving of all we can offer to Him, just because of who He is. It’s a question of balance. We ought to serve the Lord Jesus simply because He is deserving of all we can render Him. He has granted us the privilege of holy service, and we do so first of all as an act of homage, to His honour and glory.

“Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it….What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deut. 10:14, 12). “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do’” (Lk. 17:10).

It does pay to serve the Lord. But the Lord is worthy of our faithful service simply because He is the Lord.

Questions:

  1. How are you serving the Lord these days?
  2. Why do you serve the Lord?

Links:

Today in 1818 – George Duffield Born

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The father and grandfather of George Duffield were both Presbyterian clergymen, and after he graduated from seminary, George followed in their footsteps. He served a number of churches, but it was his pastorate at a church in Philadelphia (1852-1861) that is of most interest to us.

The winter of 1857-58 witnessed the igniting of revival fires in the city. At the centre of this great work was a 33-year-old servant of God named Dudley Tyng. Yet the spiritual harvest was clearly the Lord’s doing, not the result of one person’s ability. Working men used to gather, day after day, during the noon hour, to hear the Word of God.

One day, 5,000 men packed into a local hall. They listened as Mr. Tyng preached a powerful message of commitment. In the course of his sermon, he made this declaration: “I must tell [fulfil] my Master’s errand. And I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short in my duty to you in delivering God’s message.” When the service reached its close, over a thousand men committed their lives to Christ.

barn

Shortly after, Mr. Tyng went to visit a local farm, where he watched with fascination the operation of a corn-shelling apparatus worked by mule power. But suddenly, as he was standing near, the sleeve of his coat caught in the gears, and his arm was pulled into the machine. He was severely injured, and soon infection set in. In those days before antibiotics, that was a life-threatening condition. Several days later Tyng died. His friend, George Duffield, was at his bedside. He asked the dying man if he had any message for the men back in the city. “Tell them to stand up for Jesus,” he replied.

It was for a memorial service in honour of Dudley Tyng that Pastor Duffield wrote the hymn poem that echoes that phrase. (Note the reference to the failure of “the arm of flesh” which perhaps relates to Mr. Tyng’s words and his tragic accident.)

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high His royal banner, it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory His army shall He lead,
Till every foe is vanquished, and Christ is Lord indeed.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, stand in His strength alone;
The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.
Put on the gospel armour, each piece put on with prayer;
Where duty calls or danger, be never wanting there.

(2) Today in 1858 – John King Died

Born in Yorkshire, England, John King graduated from Queen’s College, Cambridge and was ordained for ministry in the Anglican Church in 1814. He held a number of posts in that denomination over succeeding years. He is known in hymnody for one song only, a Palm Sunday hymn called When His Salvation Bringing.

When, His salvation bringing,
To Zion Jesus came,
The children all stood singing
Hosanna to His name;
Nor did their zeal offend Him,
But, as He rode along,
He let them still attend Him,
And smiled to hear their song.

(3) Today in 1871 – Frank Huston Born

Though we commonly use only one hymn that he wrote, Frank Claude Huston had an interesting history. After graduation from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, he taught school for a year, then became a singing evangelist, work he pursued for nearly two decades. He also pastored a number of churches. Then, in 1899, an evangelist named Charles Scoville engaged him as a singer, and he participated in 180 evangelistic campaigns from Nova Scotia to Florida.

While still in Christian ministry, Huston founded the Frank C. Huston Publishing House which produced some of the most popular patriotic songs of the First World War (many of them written by Huston himself). He also published a collection of 100 hymns, including 84 of his own. In the First World War he became known as the “Singing Chaplain.” During the Second World War (at the age of 74!) he volunteered his services to the Coast Guard Auxiliary. He was made a boatswain’s mate and served as a recruiter. He died in 1959.

The only hymn of Huston’s still in many hymn books is, It Pays to Serve Jesus.

The service of Jesus true pleasure affords,
In Him there is joy without an alloy;
’Tis heaven to trust Him and rest on His words;
It pays to serve Jesus each day.

It pays to serve Jesus, it pays every day,
It pays every step of the way,
Though the pathway to glory may sometimes be drear,
You’ll be happy each step of the way.

The following rendering is a little drawn out, and I’m not a fan of clapping for a ministry in music, as many of you know. However, this is without question a powerful rendition of the song.