****Come, Christians, Join To Sing

In the past few years, I have researched and written over 200 weekly hymn stories and commentaries. And I have been surprised to learn that a fair number of the hymns we sing were originally written for children.

COME CHRISTIANS, JOIN TO SING is one of them.

It was written in 1843 and was originally titled, “Come, Children, Join To Sing.”

The author, Pastor Christian Henry Bateman, published it along with several of his other children’s hymns, in a songbook called, Sacred Melodies for Children.

To be fair, the hymn didn’t originate with Bateman; it was a reworking of an 1836 hymn with the same music and meter, and similar lyrics written by William Hickson.

The hymn was very popular in Scotland and sold over 6 million copies. When Bateman discovered that adults also enjoyed singing it, he changed the word, Children, to Christians, to make it more universally functional.

The song is an invitation to sing praises to God; an act that is referenced about 60 times in the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 47, God’s people are called to: “Sing praises, sing praises to God! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding” (Ps. 47:6-7).

In the new testament, the Apostle, Paul, wrote to the Church instructing them to “Sing and make music in your heart for the Lord, always giving thanks.” (Eph.5:19-20)

The word, "Alleluia" (or Hallelujah) means “praise the Lord.”  The word, "amen," means assuredly or truly.  Those words, coupled together, are repeated at the end of each phrase, to remind and instruct the children (and all of us) to “Praise the Lord in Truth.”  

****ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

"And there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid."

The shepherds were gripped with extreme fear. But why?   After all, what is so scary about a few beautiful young angels?

Well, there is no scriptural indication that angels are beautiful, feminine beings like we see portrayed in most media.  In every biblical mention of them, they either had masculine names or there was no indication of gender. In fact, there is nothing in scripture that even suggests that there are male and female angels. 

Angels are terrifying creatures, especially when they appear in large numbers. The common reaction to angels in Scripture is fear; probably not because of their physical appearance, but because, when they come, they usually bring God’s judgment and justice. 

What we do know is that they are God’s messengers and when this one appeared to the shepherds, the glory of God lit up the sky with a bright light.  And if that were not frightful enough, “suddenly, the heavens opened and there was with the angel a mighty army of the heavenly host.” 

But on this night, "the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

They were not there to wage war or bring judgment; they came to announce the birth of the Savior. 

We know very little about the hymn, ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH. We don't know who wrote it but experts believe that it was probably written in the first century. 

Like several other Christmas hymns, the lyrics suggest that the angels were singing. But scripture doesn’t tell us that. It simply says that they were “praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” 

So, is it wrong to presume that they sang?  I think it's not unreasonable. From a literal point of view, the word, sing, is sometimes used as a synonym for “tell” or “profess” or “proclaim.” But the question is, did the angels sing songs of praise in harmonic chorus? 

God told Job that, at the time of creation, “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:4, 7).

The Hebrew writer of that text used a literary form called poetic parallelism, in which “the sons of God” and “the morning stars” most likely refer to the same things; they were angels.

Also, in the fifth chapter of the Revelation, we are told that four “living creatures” (elsewhere called cherubim) accompany the saints in heaven when they sing praises to God.

Luke wrote that these angels, who appeared that night, were “praising God and saying..." The Greek word for saying can also mean, to sing praises.

In other words, the verse could be translated to say, “There was…a multitude of the heavenly host singing praises to God, declaring, ‘Glory to God in the highest’…”

We don’t know if the angels were singing that night but we do know that they were praising God. And we know, from Paul’s letters to the churches at Ephesus and Colossae, that God wants us to “SPEAK, TEACH, and ADMONISH ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.”

Twice in his pastoral epistles, Paul tells us to "speak to ourselves in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs", so I think it is reasonable to presume that the Angels also sing praises to God.

****HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US

Stuart Townend is an English Christian composer who has written several modern worship songs.

In 2005, Cross Rhythms Magazine described Townend as "one of the most significant songwriters in the whole international Christian music field.”

Townend has been disturbed by the modern worship music movement that, he says, is characterized by its attempts to create an emotional “experience.”  He believes that emotion is an important part of worship, but it becomes problematic when the experience becomes the primary focus.

In a commentary posted on Crosswalk.com, A Christian website, they wrote, "the uniqueness of Townend’s writing lies partly in its lyrical content. There is both a theological depth and poetic expression that some say is rare in today’s worship writing."

Townend explained in an interview, “The danger, now, is that when we are so focused on the experience, our worship can become self-seeking and self-serving.  When all our songs are about how we feel and what we need, we’re missing the point. There is a wonderful, omnipotent God who deserves our highest praise, and how we feel about it is, in many ways, irrelevant!  I want to encourage the expression of joy, passion, and adoration, but I want those to be the by-product of focusing on God – I don’t want them to become the subject matter.  I’m trying to write songs that refer to us as little as possible, and to Him as much as possible!”

Many people are surprised to learn that Townend’s God-centered hymns are contemporary because they sound more like classic hymns than modern praise songs.

On his own webpage, Townend noted that he had been meditating about what it cost the Father to give up His beloved Son to such a torturous death on the cross.  And then he was convicted by his own part in that horrible event.  That’s when he penned the line, “It was my sin that nailed Him there.”  That was the beginning of the hymn, HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE.”

The hymn’s three simple verses express the basics of our Christian faith.  Verse one causes us to consider the greatness and the depth of our Father’s love expressed in His giving His only Son.  So, we celebrate His birth.  But then verse two directs our attention to Calvary.  Christ suffered and died on the cross for our sin.

 

The last verse of the hymn reminds us of our helpless condition; there is nothing good enough in us to merit God’s forgiveness; we need a Savior.  So, the song ends with these great words of assurance, “But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.”

****TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS, was written by Helen Lemmel but the real story is about two remarkable women who had much in common; they were contemporaries; both with artistic talents that merged to create one of the most loved spiritual songs of the 19^th century.  But they had never met.

In 1875, at the age of 12, Helen’s family emigrated to the United States.  She was a gifted musician, songwriter, and singer.

In 1907, at the age of 43, she went to Germany, for four years of intensive vocal training, where she met and married her husband. They moved back to the United States in 1911 and she continued singing in the Gospel music circuits.  Eventually, she became the vocal music teacher at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

But then tragedy struck.  She developed an affliction that resulted in blindness. Her husband couldn’t cope with the thought of a blind wife, so he abandoned her.  She had nowhere to turn but to wholly trust in the Lord.

She retired from Moody and moved to Seattle, where she continued to write poems and set them to music. In complete blindness, she would pick out the notes on a small keyboard and call on friends to record her melodies before she forgot them.

 

Whenever her friends asked how she was, her frequent reply was, “I am fine in the things that count.”  She continued to write until she died at the age of 97 years.  In all, she authored about 500 hymns.

So, what about the other woman?  How did two women who never met, collaborate in the writing of this hymn?

In 1901, Lilias Trotter set off for a time alone With God.  As a result of her meditation that day, she authored a devotional pamphlet titled, “Focused.”

About twenty years later, one of her friends found the pamphlet and read it to her. Helen was impacted by one sentence: “Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.” 

Those words seemed to repeat over and over in her mind during the following days.  That was her inspiration to write both music and text for the song “TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS.” 

In 1926, Lilias Trotter, revised her original booklet, combined it with Helen Lemmel’s text and music, and published it with the new title, “Focussed:  A Story & A Song.”

(On a side note, I find the similarities between Helen Lemmel and Fanny Crosby to be interesting.  Both ladies were very prolific hymn writers and, being totally blind, both used the imagery of looking at and seeing their Savior through the eyes of faith.)

  

****WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD, OUR REDEEMER

  

WE PRAISE THEE, O GOD, OUR REDEEMER, was written by Julia Cory. Her father was a Sunday school superintendent who encouraged her, while she was still young, to write hymns. 

One day the music director, at her church, asked her to compose some new lyrics to be sung to the tune of the popular Thanksgiving hymn, "We Gather Together." 

About two weeks later, Julia had produced this new hymn.

In the new testament, the apostle Paul instructed the churches to speak to themselves with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. 

Paul’s instructions are beneficial to most Christians because there is so much doctrine that is learned and retained in the songs we sing.

But, on the other hand, Psalm 30:4 commands us, "Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy Name." 

We have many songs that remind us or encourage us to praise our God, but we often forget that He also wants us to sing praises directly to Him. This hymn is one of a few that does exactly that.

This simple hymn identifies eight activities that God desires from His people: 

• Our praises
• Our thanksgiving
• Our tributes 
• Our submission 
• Our love 
• Our worship 
• Our unity with other believers 
• And Our singing 

The hymn also identifies eight activities, of our God, that are worthy of our praises:

• He is our Redeemer 
• He is our Creator 
• He is the God of our fathers 
• He is our Guide 
• He is our Deliverer 
• He is our Defender 
• He is our Lord 
• And He is ever-present with us 

The third stanza concludes with a direct proclamation of praise; “To Thee, our great Redeemer, forever be praise."

Julia’s hymn was first used in her church’s Thanksgiving Day service just a few weeks after she wrote it. One month later, her father wanted to use it for a Christmas service at their church, so he asked her to add a stanza about the incarnation.

The new (fourth) stanza, which alludes to the message of John 3:16, is a song of thanksgiving to God for sending His Son to die for the salvation of those whom He loved.

The Christmas stanza says:

Thy love Thou didst show us, 

Thine only Son sending,

Who came as a babe and whose bed was a stall,

His blest life He gave us 

And then died to save us;

We praise Thee, O Lord, for Thy gift to us all.

****THE SOLID ROCK (2)revised

On Christ, The Solid Rock I Stand

Martin Luther was only 13 years old when he enrolled at the University of Erfurt to study law. He earned a baccalaureate and a master’s degree in the shortest amount of time allowed by university statutes. And he was so skilled at public debates that he earned the nickname, “The Philosopher.”

It was All Saints’ Eve in 1517 when he publicly objected to the church’s practice of selling indulgences. Those were documents whereby parishioners could have their sins forgiven. As Tetzel once preached, "Once the coin into the coffer clings, a soul from purgatory heavenward springs!"

Martin Luther was rude, crass, and obnoxious. And the older he became, the more cantankerous he was. He mocked the popes and other theological enemies with cutting sarcasm and vulgar language.  Nevertheless, he was God’s chosen man for the times, and he was on a mission to declare that SALVATION IS BY FAITH ALONE IN CHRIST ALONE.

Luther objected to so many of the church’s practices that he called for public debates to challenge the authority of the church and expose its blasphemous and heretical paganism.

At one debate, he declared that "a simple layman armed with the Scriptures was superior to both popes and councils without them.”

When the church leaders threatened to excommunicate him, he replied with his three most important treatises which are like these three Distinctives held by Baptists today:

In the first, he called for church reform, arguing that all Christians were priests.

The second treatise called for the reduction of the church’s seven sacraments to just two ordinances: baptism and the Lord's Supper.                                                             

In the third, he declared that Christians are free from the bondage of church laws, but instead, they were bound in love to their neighbors.

In the 1953 movie, MARTIN LUTHER, is a scene where his opposing superior asked, “If we removed all these ‘rituals and relics’ as you say, with what would you suggest we replace them?”

Luther’s answer was powerful and unapologetic; he simply shouted, “CHRIST!”

In 1521, the Holy Roman Emperor summoned Luther to an assembly at Worms, Germany. Luther believed he was going to another debate, but it was a trial demanding him to recant his 95 theses.

He replied, "Unless I can be instructed and convinced with evidence from the Holy Scriptures, I cannot and will not recant.” Then he added, "Here I stand. I can do no other.  God help me!  Amen.”

When the Roman church convicted him of heresy, Luther fled and hid for nearly a year. Yet he maintained his defiant determination to STAND FIRM with God’s Word against a corrupt religious system for the rest of his life.

I don’t know if Edward Mote was inspired by Martin Luther, but in his hymn, THE SOLID ROCK, are some similar declarations of truth that remind us that we too, must stand firm on Christ alone. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ Name. On Christ, the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

N

****IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE GOD ONLY WISE (2)

"The aim and final reason for all (our) music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit."  Johann Sebastian Bach 

One of the functional responsibilities of pastoral leadership is to guard the doctrinal purity and the truth of the Word of God whether spoken, written, or sung, in corporate worship.

Psalm 66: 1-4 says, "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!  Sing out the honor of His Name; Make His praise glorious. 

Say to God, '"How awesome are Your works!  Through the greatness of Your power, Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.  All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to Your Name." 

Unlike many other praise and worship songs, IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE is a classic example of a true, God-centered praise hymn. It was written by Walter Smith who, in the late 1800s, pastored the Free Church of Scotland for forty-four years.

His original hymn had five stanzas but, in most hymnbooks, the last two have been carefully combined and what we have today, is an amazing hymn of reverential praise to the greatness of our God. In four short stanzas, He is praised for at least 23 of His character traits.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light, inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish, but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of Glory, pure Father of Light
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render, O help us to see:
’Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.

The hymn’s opening line is a paraphrase of 1Tim. 1:17, "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen." 

****CALVARY COVERS IT ALL

   

From his early childhood, Walter MacDonald was a naturally talented dancer. Eddie Cantor, the famous actor, singer, and dancer, once said that Walter had the fastest feet in the world.  

In the early 1900s, Walter was discovered by the renowned dancer, John McCurchy, who nicknamed him “Happy Mac” because he had happy feet.  

But Happy Mac wasn’t really very happy. He was addicted to alcohol and was in bondage to his sinful lifestyle.

One night in the early 1930s, he found his way into a revival meeting at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago where he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time. He was fascinated by the message so he returned every night for several consecutive meetings.

Pretty soon, some of the workers became aware of his continuing presence. The directors of the mission, then, were Walter Taylor and his wife, Ethel. They were affectionately known as Pa and Ma Taylor. Ethel was the pianist at the revival meetings and, from the bench, she began to take notice of this strange guy named Mac. Every evening, when she saw him, she prayed that the Lord would help them reach Mac with the message of the gospel and that he might be saved.

 

Finally, one evening Walter MacDonald approached them for their counsel. Ma Taylor listened quietly as he struggled to confess his miserable past life. Then, in his own words, Mac cried out to God, “You don’t understand, You don’t know how bad I am, Lord.  Really, I’m the worst man in the world. You can’t save me; I’m too bad.”

When Ma Taylor heard his prayer, she recalled a message she had heard a few weeks before. An evangelist who had been a rebellious sinner in his youth and felt he was unworthy of God’s love, had come to understand that Jesus Christ, by his death, paid the penalty for all his sin. In his testimony, he said, “Calvary covers all of it.” Ethel Taylor explained the meaning of those words to Walter MacDonald that night.

Walter asked her to tell him the story again. As she spoke, suddenly the light of the gospel penetrated Walter's heart and he exclaimed. “Oh! Mrs. Taylor, I’m so glad you told me that.  It’s true; Calvary does cover it all!  My whole past of sin and shame.”

Walter MacDonald trusted the Savior that night in 1934 and he lived to become an outstanding servant of Christ.

That single event in Walter's life inspired the hymn.  A few days later, as she was remembering Mac’s conversion, Ethel Taylor went into the mission chapel, sat down at the piano, and composed the words and music for this gospel song; CALVARY COVERS IT ALL.

****A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD (2)

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD

At the age of 21, during a severe thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning struck the ground within a few feet of Martin Luther. In fear he cried out, “Help me Ste, Anne; I will become a monk!”

Soon after that, he gave away everything he owned and entered a monastery. As a monk, he devoted himself to long hours of prayer, fasting, and other ascetic practices. He deprived himself of sleep and he refused a blanket for the cold nights. And he often beat his body.

He thought he had to do all those things to find favor with God and to know His love. But he never found rest. He became increasingly terrified of God’s wrath and eternal punishment.

During his studies in the scriptures, he was disturbed by the word “righteous” in Rom. 1:17. He rightly understood that, according to the text, only people who were already made righteous could live by faith. The text was clear; "the JUST shall live by faith."

In his own words, Luther remarked, "I hated that word, 'the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God,' by which I had been taught according to the custom and use of all (my) teachers ... [that] God is righteous and (He) punishes the unrighteous sinner." 

He reasoned that he could not live by faith because he was not righteous.

Later in life, in a testimony similar to that of the Apostle Paul, he remarked that "If anyone could have earned heaven by living the disciplined and sacrificial life of a monk, it was I."

While he was lecturing a series of studies in Romans, the the Word of God pierced his heart and God saved him. He wrote, "At last, meditating day and night, by the mercy of God I ... began to understand that the righteousness of God, through which the righteous (shall) live, is a gift of God (acquired) by faith (alone)… Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open."

Luther realized, then, that Roman Catholicism was contrary to biblical Christianity. His studies in Scripture revealed that salvation doesn’t come by the sacraments, but by faith. The idea that all human beings have a spark of goodness sufficient to seek God, was not a foundation of biblical theology but was taught only by "fools." Humility was not a virtue that earns grace but a necessary response to the gift of grace.

Luther’s faith no longer consisted of accepting and trusting the church's teachings but of trusting the promises of God and the merits of Christ.

Those revelations were the beginning of the Protestant Reformation that started over 500 years ago and spread throughout all of Europe and abroad to America.

Martin Luther wrote the hymn, A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD, which has been called the Battle Hymn of the Reformation.

Here is an old video recording of Steve Green's acapella rendition of this hymn.  Years ago, I heard him sing this live.  It is one of my favorites.

****STANDING ON THE PROMISES

In high school, I became aware of a couple whose daughter was terminally ill.  When her death was imminent, they began to pray, fervently, to God; “You have promised to heal all our diseases!  You have said, ‘Whatever we ask in faith, believing, you will do it!”  And then it got really scary; their prayers became angry and demanding.  They commanded God to keep her alive.

Their prayers must have worked because God granted their petitions; the girl lived for several more years, but she never recovered from her illness.  She remained bedridden and required constant care and she was often comatose. 

  

There are at least two lessons to learn from that incident:

1. Don’t make demands or attempt to manipulate God.  Contrary to the errant lyrics of another song about God’s promises, Every Promise In The Book Is NOT Mine.  God has made many promises that were specific and unique to certain people at certain times and we are not to presume that, just because those are recorded, He must grant us the same promises.                                                                                                        
2. Standing on God’s promises is not a physical thing.  It’s not about a comfortable best life now.  It is a peaceful assurance that comes when we rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross.  And it is a determined act of trusting the certain and immutable truths and principles of God’s Word. 

God saved Russell Carter in a prayer meeting at a military academy he attended in the late 1800s.  He was a star athlete and a top student.

After graduating, he returned to become an instructor and athletics coach in the academy.

He joined a Methodist church and later became an ordained minister.

He spent the last years of his professional life as a medical doctor. 

And through all those diverse occupations, he had time to become a musician and a songwriter.  

In 1886, he produced a hymnbook in which he published his hymn, STANDING ON THE PROMISES.

Russell Carter was just 30 years old when he was diagnosed with a critical heart condition and faced imminent death.  That condition humbled him; “He made a promise (to God) that, healing or no, his life was finally and forever, consecrated to the service of his Lord.

From that time on, he learned to lean on the promises he found in God’s Word.  He committed himself to trust his Savior whether or not he was healed.  In the end, he concluded that his life or death was God’s prerogative.

 

As it turned out, God granted Carter another 49 years.   His hymn was a personal testimony to his faith. 

The biblical inspiration, for the song, might have been Peter’s opening salutation in his second epistle – he wrote specifically,

“To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ...His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises...”

The hymn is simple yet profound.  After an opening stanza of praise to God, verse two reminds us that His promises cannot fail and that those, whose trust is in the Living Word (Jesus), will prevail.

Verse three assures us that we can overcome our spiritual battles every day because the Spirit of God indwells us and has provided us with the sword of protection which is the Word of God.

The last verse encourages us to be constantly listening to the Spirit of God as He applies the written Word of God to our hearts.

 

And that is how we can Stand firmly on the Promises of God.  

****WONDERFUL PEACE

In his early adult years, he was a teacher in an all-black school in the Dallas public school district.  Later he was ordained and spent about 25 years pastoring several churches.

But the threat of destructive cultural movements led him in other directions.

In the secular world, he became an activist in the political and social issues of the times.  For a while, he served as an officer in a powerful labor union and he led an “Anti-Tramp Movement” (not to be confused with the anti-TRUMP movement).  He was focused on the unlawful activities and social problems in the vagrant community.

But that wasn’t the full extent of his activism. Progressive populism had crept into our nation’s politics. Left-leaning people were electing Socialist Party members to Congress.  So, he formed The Anti-Socialist Constitutional Defense League and spent much of his time in the struggle to preserve our republican form of government.

In short, people were gripped with fear; it seemed like America was on the verge of an all-out war on our values and culture.

 

That was over one hundred years ago but it sounds like current events. We are living in tumultuous times where wrong is now considered right and evil is good.  And, regardless which side you are on, millions of people are fearful of the future.

Solomon wrote, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.” (Ec.1:14)

With all his wealth and power, he looked back on his life and repeated, “I hated life because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for all is vanity and a striving after wind.” (Ec. 2:17)

Today, fear is gripping multitudes of people who are worried about our rights, our livelihoods, our freedoms, and our economy.  But, as Christians, we can have peace in the midst of chaos and danger.

Biblical peace is not an absence of worldly conflicts or struggles.   It is a fruit of the Spirit; it comes from God.   Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give to you. NOT as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn. 14:27).

And a little later he said, “...in Me, you may have peace.  In the world, you WILL have tribulation” (Jn. 16:33).

     

Peace comes from knowing that God is not asleep; He is in control of all things and He works all things for our good and His glory.  Someone once reminded us that God is not much interested in our happiness; He is more concerned with our holiness.

 

That’s the kind of peace Warren Cornell wrote about in his hymn.

The soul, that trusts in God, is a soul at peace with God.  And that peace is WONDERFUL PEACE.

(Here is a very nice rendition of the hymn as sung by Bill Gaither and Friends Homecoming Reunion)

**** A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC AND FAITH OF THOMAS CHISHOLM

(A Tribute to the music and faith of Thomas Chisholm)

Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was a poor, simple man.

He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky in 1866 and educated in a little, one-room country schoolhouse where, at the age of 16, he became the teacher.

At the age of 36 years, with no formal college education or seminary training, he was ordained as a Methodist pastor but had to resign after only one year because of his fragile health.

There were many, extended periods of time when he was confined to his bed but, whenever he was able, he pushed himself to work extra long hours at various odd jobs just to make ends meet.

About his meager and difficult life, Thomas Chisholm said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of His providing care which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”

Thomas loved to write and during his lifetime, he wrote hundreds of poems and songs. One of them was inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning:  GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS.”

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul, the apostle, said, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma” (Eph. 5:1-2).

That was the inspiration for Thomas Chisholm’s hymn, O TO BE LIKE THEE. He also wrote another hymn with a similar theme; I WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS.

The apostle, Paul, wrote to the church at Corinth, that they (and we) should desire “...that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor. 4:10).

And to the church in Galatia, he said, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (2:20)

He encouraged the Colossian church to “...walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Col. 1:10)

Thomas Chisholm must have had those verses, and probably many others, in mind when he wrote LIVING FOR JESUS, which is a call to live, willingly and joyfully, in submission and obedience to the Lord.

****A tribute to the music and faith of Philip Bliss

 

A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC AND FAITH OF PHILIP BLISS

 In last week's column about the hymn, I WILL SING OF MY REDEEMER, I noted the tragic train wreck that ended the life of the writer at the age of 38 years. 

Philip Bliss was more than just a hymn writer. He was also a composer, a singer, and an evangelist. His multiple talents are reflected in several other well-known hymns.

He wrote WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE for D.L. Moody’s brother-in-law who was about to launch a Sunday School publication. The name of the paper was to be WORDS OF LIFE and he wanted a song that would emphasize the importance of studying the Word of God.

The song was inspired by Peter’s response when Jesus asked him, “Do you also want to go away?” 

Peter answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn. 5:24).

In another great hymn, HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR, Philip described our human condition; we are vile, guilty of sin, and utterly helpless. And there is nothing we can ever do to merit God’s forgiveness and grace.

But the Man of Sorrows came and willingly subjected Himself to the shame and scoffing and agony of the cross at Calvary.
Isaiah. said, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:6)  
One day, when the Lord returns for those whom He bought, we will sing a new song around His throne, “Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God.”  (Rev. 19:1).  

I GAVE MY LIFE FOR THEE is a song that I rarely used for congregational singing because the lyrics are often misunderstood to imply that we must do something to earn our salvation. But in the proper biblical context, that is not the case.

Frances Havergal wrote the lyrics, but the music score was composed by Philip Bliss. The song poses four questions that center around four action verbs – Give, Leave, Bear, and Bring. 

God’s Word gives us instructive examples as to how we should respond:

God expects us to give to others the same way He has given to us – "freely, abundantly, and running over." (Luke 6:38)

Jesus told the women caught in adultery, “Go now and LEAVE your life of sin.”  (John 8:11)

Since we have been forgiven, we are commanded to “BEAR with each other and... forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Col. 3:13) 

And what does God expect us to bring? Malachi is clear; God is not pleased with our sacrifices.  Instead, our responses to His grace should be willful, loving sacrifices of praise that come from grateful hearts because of all that He has done. 

So, this song doesn’t really suggest that we must do something to earn God’s favor. That would be an insult to Him. We are saved by grace through faith and now, He wants us to go out into the world to serve Him.

Philip Bliss also wrote the music score for the hymn, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL, but the words were penned by Horatio Spafford after the tragic death of his children.

We often think of this hymn in the context of comfort for those who are grieving but in the first stanza, we get a glimpse of Spafford’s faith during a time of unbearable grief; “When sorrows, like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’”

But the hymn has another important dimension. Like Bliss’s, "Hallelujah!  What a Savior," it also addresses our sinful nature. 

In the third stanza, Spafford, in his desperate condition, finds comfort and joy in God’s mercy and grace. “My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought; My sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more.  Praise the Lord; praise the Lord, O my soul.”