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old time power

Old-Time Power

Words: Daniel Paul Rader (b. Aug. 24. 1879; d. July 19, 1938)
Music: Daniel Paul Rader

Note: Paul Rader’s daughter claimed he was born in 1878, a year earlier than published reports state.

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

Paul Rader was a prominent pastor and evangelist, in the early part of the twentieth century. He also wrote a number of gospel songs. Only Believe is one of his, as is the present hymn, Old-Time Power, published in 1917.

With the coming of the industrial revolution, and the many inventions of the nineteenth century, new kinds of power were adopted, and old ones were less frequently used. Lamps and candles were replaced with electric lighting. The horse and buggy gave way to the automobile. And ships, no longer equipped with sails, were driven by powerful engines.

The avalanche of discoveries and inventions caused some to think that science and human ingenuity would one day bring paradise on earth. The launching of the great ocean liner Titanic in April of 1912 typified the optimism of the age. The ship was considered unsinkable, and there were only enough lifeboats to accommodate about one third of the passengers. But it sank on its maiden voyage, and now it lies, a rusting hulk, two and a half miles down in the cold Atlantic.

More than fifteen hundred people died that night, and a little of man’s confidence in his own technology dissolved as well. No human invention can make us absolutely safe and secure. More than that, no source of earthly power can save lost sinners or transform a life. The answer is the “old-time power,” spoken of in the Scriptures. Among other things, the dynamic power of God saves sinners through the preaching of the gospel (Rom. 1:16; I Cor. 1:18; I Thess. 1:5), and it energizes Christians for their life and service for Christ (Acts 1:8; II Cor. 3:5; 4:7; Eph. 3:6-7, 16-17, 20; Col. 1:10-11).

Pastor Rader’s hymn is a prayer for the Lord to empower His people. With that petition I have no disagreement (cf. Heb. 4:16). However, the song seems to represent a theological position called crisis sanctification that I do not believe is biblical. The idea is that there is a further work of the Holy Spirit which must be sought after salvation. Sometimes this is called the “second blessing,” and believers who have never had this alleged experience may be looked down upon by some as second-class Christians.

Space in this short blog does not allow me to explore the subject fully, but this theology is based on a misinterpretation and misapplication of the Word of God. It confuses the filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18-19) with the Spirit’s baptizing work (I Cor. 12:12-13), and tries to make Pentecost (the historical and one-time event described in Acts chapter 2) the norm for everyone throughout the Church Age.

(3) suggests we “claim, by faith, the promise of the Holy Ghost and fire.” This refers to a prophecy of John the Baptist that “[Christ] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). The second blessing folks take this to refer to the crisis experience they seek. However, it is more likely John, similar to the Old Testament prophets, is combining events related to Christ’s first and second coming, passing over the interval between.

Christ, at His ascension, sent the Holy Spirit to begin a new work. The baptizing work of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion, uniting the new believer to Christ and to His spiritual body, the church (I Cor. 12:12-13; Gal. 3:26-28). The baptism of fire most likely speaks of Christ’s coming in judgment at the end of the age (II Thess. 1:7-9). This is made clear in the context of Matthew 3:11 (see vs. 10 and 12). It is further indicated by the fact that when the Lord Jesus predicts the soon commencement of the Holy Spirit’s Church Age ministry, nothing is said of “fire” (Acts 1:5).

Are we able to obtain a “second blessing” of divine power? Certainly. And a third, and a fourth–as many and as often as needed (Matt. 7:11; Phil. 4:6; I Pet. 5:7). But that is not limited to a one-time crisis event. If the last lines of this hymn were changed to “Till we claim, by faith, the promise / Of the Holy Spirit’s power,” I suppose it would be suitable as a plea for supernatural enablement. I know some will disagree, but otherwise I cannot recommend this song.

Links:

Today in 1795 – Samuel Stennett Died

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Samuel Stennett was a pastor in England who came from a long line of Baptist clergyman. He had a personal friendship with King George III, and with the famous philanthropist John Howard, a member of his congregation. Stennett was also an author of considerable skill who wrote books on a variety of spiritual topics, and produced 38 hymns. Two of them deserve at least a brief comment.

Majestic Sweetness Sits Enthroned, published in 1787, is a beautiful hymn of worship. The author’s original title was “Chief among Ten Thousand; or, The Excellencies of Christ,” with a reference to the Song of Solomon 5:10-16, where Solomon’s betrothed describes him as “Chief among ten thousand.” Stennett takes the bridegroom in the story as a picture of Christ.

Majestic sweetness sits enthroned
Upon the Saviour’s brow;
His head with radiant glories crowned,
His lips with grace o’erflow.

No mortal can with Him compare
Among the sons of men;
Fairer is He than all the fair
Who fill the heav’nly train.

To Him I owe my life and breath
And all the joys I have;
He makes me triumph over death
And saves me from the grave.

Since from His bounty I receive
Such proofs of love divine,
Had I a thousand hearts to give,
Lord, they should all be Thine.

The other song of Samuel Stennett’s found in many hymn books is On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand.

On Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan’s fair and happy land,
Where my possessions lie.

I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
Oh who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.

It was the Jordan River that the nation of Israel crossed to enter the promised land of Canaan. And it is a fitting symbol of death–death to the old life of slavery and of wandering in the wilderness. However, Canaan does not make the most appropriate symbol of heaven. Canaan was full of wicked people, and warfare with the forces of evil lay ahead. In spite of a few hymns that identify Canaan with heaven, it is better to see it as a picture of abundant spiritual life, with the Jordan typical of conversion or dedication to Christ, and leaving the old life behind.

Having said this, we can still appreciate the sentiment of the hymn, and see Canaan as an imperfect foretaste of a more perfect dwelling place and greater blessings yet to come.

(2) Today in 1879 – Paul Rader Born

As a college athletics coach, Daniel Paul Rader knew what physical strength and ability could accomplish. Rader trusted Christ as his Saviour at an early age, but then he seemed to lose his way spiritually. And, in his own strength, he was able to do a lot of things. He once described himself as an “ex-bellboy, ex-cowboy, ex-prospector, ex-football player, and ex-pugilist”!

Then he went to New York and found a job that he believed would make his fortune. He wired his wife with the news, a bold telegram that said, “We are fixed for life.” But an error was made in the transmission, and the message received was “We are fixed for like.” Imagine his wife’s puzzlement. She immediately sent a reply asking, “Fixed for what?” And God used that message to change Paul Rader’s life.

He says, “There I was, standing on Wall Street, with a telegram held in my trembling hand. Three little words. Yet the question they asked shook me to my soul’s boots! They showed me up. They challenged all my philosophy of life. They challenged all my plans.” Fixed for…what? It was as he pondered that innocent query that God touched his life in a new way.

When Paul Rader came back to the Lord, he put the same kind of energy and commitment into serving Him that he had into his other pursuits. He became one of the most dynamic gospel preachers of his day. He pastored some large churches, headed up a whole denomination, toured the mission fields of the world, founded a Christian music publishing company, and pioneered Christian broadcasting in the earliest days of radio.

But through all of his many endeavours, Paul Rader never again lost sight of the real source of power. It wasn’t in radio waves, or printer’s ink, or even in his preaching. With another Paul long before, he would say, “Your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (I Cor. 2:5). It was out of that conviction Pastor Rader wrote the hymn Old-Time Power around 1916.

We are gathered for Thy blessing,
We will wait upon our God;
We will trust in Him Who loved us,
And Who bought us with His blood.

Spirit, now melt and move
All of our hearts with love,
Breathe on us from above
With old time power.