****LOVE LIFTED ME

The hymn, LOVE LIFTED ME was written and published in 1912. James Rowe wrote the lyrics and his friend, Howard Smith composed the melody.

Rowe’s daughter recalled how they had worked together.  “I can see them now, my father striding back and forth humming a bar or two, and Howard playing it and then jotting it down.  The two huddled together, working line by line, bar by bar.  Howard’s hands were severely twisted with arthritis, yet he still managed to play the piano.”

The hymn is based on two biblical accounts. The first is in Matt. 8.  While Jesus was asleep in the boat, His disciples were terrified by a fierce storm.  They woke Him and appealed to Him for help.  Jesus rebuked the wind and raging sea and, at His command, everything was calm.

The second account is in Matt.14.  The disciples were out on the sea when they saw Jesus was walking toward them on the water.  When He came near, He commanded Peter to join Him.  Peter got out and walked toward Jesus but when he looked down at the water, he became frightened and began to sink.  He cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and lifted him out of the water and asked, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

 

When they got into the boat, the wind suddenly stopped. And all those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, “Surely, You are the Son of God!”

There is a simple Gospel message in this hymn.

The first verse describes our redemption.  In our natural condition, as lost sinners, we were in imminent danger and in need of a Savior to rescue us.

Verse two describes our new life.  Only in Christ can we live, serve, and praise, Him.

The third verse is evangelistic.  It is a warning to others and a plea for them to look up and trust Jesus Christ, the only One who can save them.

The refrain declares our testimony; "When nothing else could help, LOVE LIFTED ME."

**********************
Some are critical of this hymn only because the upbeat tempo seems unfit for the seriousness of the lyrics.  I really like this slower, more worshipful rendition by the Gaithers.

****NOW I BELONG TO JESUS

NORMAN CLAYTON was born in 1903 and died in 1992.

During his childhood, he learned to play the pump organ and the trumpet which he played in churches for over 50 years.  In his early adult years, he worked at various occupations including dairy farming, office help, construction work and, during the depression, he worked in a bakery.

It was in the early 1940s that Jack Wyrtzen recruited Norman to be the organist for his ‘Word of Life’ rallies.  Norman proved to be very helpful to Jack in several different ministry functions for about 15 years. 

When Word of Life publishing merged with the Rodeheaver business he joined them as a writer and editor.  During those years he published about 30 songbooks containing several hundred of his own hymns. 

One observation, from those who knew him well, was that Norman made a lifelong practice of memorizing Scripture.  It was said of him, that whenever he began to write a new hymn, he studied the Bible to ensure that each phrase, in his songs, was biblical and doctrinally correct. 

In his song, NOW I BELONG TO JESUS, Clayton is clear about our sin nature.  In the second and third verses he speaks of sin’s degradation, it’s sorrow and shame, and the enslavement and control it has over each of us.  But the text also proclaims the Good News, “He gave His life to ransom my soul, now I belong to Him.”

Even though there is very little information available about Norman Clayton, there is a moving anecdotal story about this hymn.  It was told by Lindsay Terry, in his book, ‘Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns.’

A missionary, Roy Gustafson, was once invited to preach at a prison in Jamaica.  He sang and preached the gospel to a thousand men that day.  After the service, he met with a small group of condemned prisoners who were to be hanged from the gallows in a couple days.

Roy started with his own testimony and then sang Norman Clayton’s song, NOW I BELONG TO JESUS. One of the men, a wicked, condemned killer, said, “I’m going to die on Tuesday morning, sir.  Can I be saved?”

Roy opened his Bible and read and explained several passages from the Word of God including Romans 3. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  …being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ  whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

The prisoner bowed his face to the dirt floor sobbing and called on the Lord to save him. Then, smiling through his tears, he asked Roy to sing the song again.  And with a little help, he began to sing along.  

When the guard returned to let the evangelist out of the prison, he looked back and saw the man still singing, “Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me, Not for the years of time alone, But for eternity.”

****JESUS SAVES

If you have lived here in So. California for any length of time, you’ve probably seen this historic landmark.  It is one of two giant red neon signs over Los Angeles that say, “JESUS SAVES.”

They were first installed on the downtown campus of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, (BIOLA) in 1935 by the congregation of the Church of the Open Door under the pastorate of Dr. Louis Talbot.

In 1959, during the pastorate of Dr. J. Vernon McGee, BIOLA was relocated to La Mirada.  The original location of the Church of the Open Door was taken over by Gene Scott, the arrogant, obnoxious, cigar-smoking pastor known as “The Cussing Preacher of Faith Church.”  The facility was torn down in 1988.

Gene Scott salvaged the signs and installed them on his newly acquired location in the former United Artists Theatre on Broadway.  After he died, his widow assumed his pastorate and moved one of the signs to her relocated facility in Glendale.  The other sign still shines from its current location on top of the United Artists’ newly renovated Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

In 1954, Pricilla Owens wrote the song, JESUS SAVES, for a missionary service in her church, in Baltimore.

That phrase, JESUS SAVES, is the heart of the Gospel.  Salvation is a gift from God.  You cannot be saved by your good works, your church membership, or your sacrificial offerings.  (Eph. 2:8,9)

 “…for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12

And Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

The first stanza of the hymn alludes to Jesus’ instructions to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mk. 16:15).

In the second stanza is a reference to the Year of Jubilee.  In the Mosaic Law, every 50th year, slaves were set free.  Spiritually speaking, that’s what happens where the Gospel is preached; sinners are set free from the bondage of sin.

If I tried to summarize the Gospel in just two words, I doubt that I could do better than the message of those neon signs.  And today, nearly eighty years later and despite an obnoxious preacher and a giant Hollywood corporation’s upscale hotel, the message, “JESUS SAVES,” is still boldly proclaimed in bright red neon lights over Los Angeles every night.

****ROCK OF AGES

Psalm 73 is a plea to God for protection. In it, David uses the metaphor of a rock to describe God’s ability to protect him from the evil deeds of his enemies.

  

Be my STRONG REFUGE, For You are my ROCK and my FORTRESS.  Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.  Let my enemies, who seek to harm me, be confounded and consumed.  

The metaphor is applied to God several other places in scripture.  It speaks of His strength and ability to rescue, protect and keep His people.  In Psalm 18:2, the Psalmist says, “The Lord is my ROCK and my FORTRESS and my deliverer; My God, my STRENGTH, in whom I will trust; My SHIELD and the horn of my salvation, my STRONGHOLD.” 

And Isaiah says, “the LORD God is an everlasting ROCK” (Isa 26:4).

So, God is pictured as a strong stone fort where we are safe from harm. We need the Lord’s protection from both human and demonic enemies.  

But more than that, we should never forget that we come into this world as sinners and enemies of God.  We need Him to protect us from Himself. And the only way to escape the wrath of His righteous justice is to find shelter in the Only One who can save us, the Rock of our Salvation; Jesus Christ alone. 

That is the metaphor Augustus Toplady used in his hymn, ROCK OF AGES.   In the first line, he personifies this cleft Rock; it is Jesus Christ.  

The word “cleft” is a noun that means a split or opening made by striking or cutting.  The allusion reminds us of the day when Moses asked the LORD to show him His glory.   But God said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”   “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the ROCK.  So, it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK, and (I) will cover you with My hand while I pass by.   Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”  (Ex 33:20-23). 

Did you see that?  Salvation is a work of the Lord.  It was God who put Moses in the Rock.  

And how is it that this Rock, Christ Jesus, is a cleft rock?   

We are reminded of how, after God saved His people and miraculously led them out of bondage, destroyed their enemies, and provided everything they needed in the wilderness, the people began whining and complaining that they were going to die of thirst.  So, the Lord told Moses to strike the ROCK with his staff and the water flowed out from the cleft of the ROCK.

That was a picture of the work of Christ at Calvary where Jesus, our Rock of salvation, was “smitten, stricken, and afflicted” by the LORD, “pierced for our transgressions… crushed for our iniquities” (Isa 53:4-5).

And from His side flowed His “precious blood” that cleanses our sins  (1 Pet 1:19), mixed with water “welling up into eternal life” (Jn 4:13-14).

Toplady’s hymn, ROCK OF AGES, is the prayer of a desperate man. In the second half of the first stanza, he continues his pleading with God, to wash him with the water and blood that flowed from Jesus’ side because, "without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin." 

And then he goes on to admit that he is completely helpless; If God doesn’t save him, he will die. He has nothing of value or virtue; no goodness, and no merit.  All he can do is beg for God’s mercy and trust in His grace.   

Another commentary on this hymn can be seen HERE.   

****TRUST AND OBEY

In my commentary last week, about the hymn, TRUSTING JESUS, I pointed out the necessity of trusting completely in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation.  There is nothing we can do to earn or merit God’s grace.   Jesus paid it all.  Ours is to repent and believe.

Throughout Church history, there have been many who have distorted that Doctrine of salvation by Grace Alone, in ways that are destructive and heretical.  The official word for the heresy is antinomianism which is literally translated, “against law.”  That is the teaching that says, “We are now in an age of grace and are no longer under the law.”

You might recognize some other names for the heresy such as ”Easy Believism,” or  “Free Grace.”  It’s the practice of encouraging people to repeat a simple, anemic, unrepentant prayer to ask Jesus into their lives and then convince them that they are saved and safe and eternally secure when there has been no real new birth.   

It is offensive to the Gospel and destructive to people when we allow them to believe that they can be positionally right with God while continuing in their sins without consequence; that Jesus paid the penalty for all their sins without telling them that God expects them to stop sinning.

I’m sure you have heard many variations of that, especially today, when so many churches, in the name of political correctness or tolerance, are welcoming and celebrating all kinds of gross unrepentant immorality into their memberships because, “after all, that’s the way God created them and who are we to judge?”

One man, I know, after leaving his wife and shacking up with another woman, said to me, “I don’t care, I accepted Jesus into my heart when I prayed that prayer and I know I’m going to heaven anyway so it doesn’t matter what I do.”

So I need to make a statement, here, which may seem like a paradox.   "While it is true that no one will ever get to heaven by their good works, it is also true that no one will get to heaven without them."

One night at a D. L. Moody evangelistic meeting a young man stood up to testify about the uncertainty of his salvation.  He said, “I am not quite sure, but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.”

That statement was the inspiration for the hymn, TRUST AND OBEY.  It emphasizes two aspects of our salvation—first, our faith and then, our willingness to subject ourselves to God’s Word in obedience. 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”  Eph 2:10

That’s what we were redeemed for; to walk in good works.   Salvation is just the beginning.  When God saves us, He begins the process of cleansing us and making us fit to live with Him forever.  With the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit of God to convict us, we begin to see ourselves as God sees us.  If our sins don’t bother us; if we are not changed, and if we are not turned from our old ways to walk in obedience to Him, then there is a good reason to question the reality of our salvation.

“TRUST AND OBEY, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, But to TRUST AND OBEY.”

****TRUSTING JESUS

There’s an old story about a tightrope walker who walked a line across Niagara Falls.  When he reached the other side, he turned around and pushed a wheelbarrow back across.  The crowd cheered and marveled at his ability.  Then he turned to the crowd and asked, “Who believes I can push this across with someone sitting in the wheelbarrow?” 

They all raised their hands.  Then he asked, “Who believes enough to get in the wheelbarrow and go with me?"

All the hands went down and no one would volunteer.

In 1989, for our 20th anniversary, our daughter, Dawn, gave us a gift that we have never forgotten.  She arranged for us to experience the exhilarating thrill of bungee jumping.

When our friends heard about it, some of them thought we were careless, irresponsible, and foolish.  We've all heard stories of fatal accidents.  Shortly after our jumps, a veteran bungee jumper fell several hundred feet to his death when he jumped from a hot air balloon.   He had fastened his own ankle straps and checked his own equipment and when he was confident in all his preparations, he jumped.  He no doubt had great faith but his faith was in his own works; no one had checked to ensure that the other end of his cord was secured to the gondola.

For Kathy and me, jumping from that cage was an act of faith that required a complete commitment but we weren’t afraid.  We had seen others go before us and we had heard their own accounts of their experiences.  Before we entered the cage, the attendants worked, systematically, through a written checklist of procedures to ensure that everything was right.  They selected the properly sized cords that were calculated for our weights.  Then they fastened them to our ankles with primary attachments and secondary attachments as a failsafe.  They passed every inch of the cords through their hands as they visually examined them for flaws, cuts, or breeches.  When they reached the end of the cords, they attached them to the cage with a primary attachment and a secondary backup.  They explained each step of what they were doing as they worked through their checklist.  And every detail of the preparation was carefully executed and double-checked by the attendant’s supervisor.

So, the faith we placed in the equipment was not a foolish, ignorant kind of “hope so” faith.   Based on the experiences and testimonies of others, the integrity of the equipment, and the qualifications of the operators, we had substantial assurance for our faith.   

For Christians, saving faith is not a matter of how much or how great our faith is.  People with great faith make deadly commitments all the time.  My own grandmother was one.  She was a practitioner, with great faith in a false religion that is not anchored in Truth.   When she became very ill, she exercised her faith by rejecting needed and available medical attention.  Not only did she die physically, but she also died in her sins and is condemned to eternal judgment.  

Our salvation is not based on the quantity or greatness of our faith nor is it earned by anything we have done. A Christian's faith is a complete trust in Jesus Christ only.  Saving faith is a “know so” faith because He is reliable, trustworthy, and all-powerful.  

TRUSTING JESUS was written by Edgar Stites put to music by Ira D. Sankey. In the first stanza is this phrase that particularly caught my attention:  "Even when my faith is small, Trusting Jesus, that is all."

He can be trusted in all things.

Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Jn. 6:37-40

Our Savior is able and reliable and His resurrection is proof of His power over sin and death.  If you want to get to the other side, you must “get in the wheelbarrow,” and Trust only Jesus for your salvation.

****AND CAN IT BE?

I had a brief conversation with a friend, one day, about the Gospel. Jack professed to be a Christian but there was no evidence of it in his speech, his actions, or his life. When I began to question him about his faith, he said, “Hey! You don’t have to worry about me.  I’m okay with God; I did that thing years ago.”

That “thing” he referred to was a one-time event in his life when someone talked him into repeating a prayer and accepting Jesus into his heart. 

And so he had no interest in hearing the gospel. He believed that he was a good person and that he had done all the things necessary to ensure his favor with God. Jack passed away shortly after that.

The question each of us should ask ourselves is, What part did I have in my salvation?  What did I do to merit forgiveness and eternal life? What good have I done that God should show favor toward me?

For those of us who are saved, the answer to all those questions is, “NOTHING.”  We were depraved. We were destitute. We were spiritually DEAD. There was nothing any of us could do to merit God's favor. There was no good that we could do to satisfy Him. 

The Good News of the Gospel is NOT that "God Loves You."  It's NOT that "He has a wonderful plan for your life."  It's NOT that "He is standing and knocking at the door of your heart” hoping that you might invite Him in.

So, what is the Gospel?  In summary, it starts with the bad news; we are all sinners worthy of God’s judgment and wrath, and there is nothing we can do to erase our sin or buy our pardon. We need a Savior. We need a Redeemer.

The good news is that Jesus is the only substitute in every aspect of a believer’s salvation. He lived a perfect, sinless life of obedience to His Father and He did it for us.  He died a horrible death on the cross and endured the wrath of His Father, for us. He was victorious over sin and death for us. Our only right response, then, is to turn from our sin and trust Him for our salvation.

AND CAN IT BE? Was written by Charles Wesley and it is one of our greatest Gospel Hymns. It starts with a series of introspective questions: Is Jesus’ blood of any concern to me? Am I the cause of His pain? Did I cause His death? And then, as though the lights suddenly came on, the songwriter asks, “What is this amazing love? How is it that You, my God, should die for ME?”

The whole plan of redemption was decreed, by God, the Father before we were even created. It was secured by the Son of God, who is our Substitute, while we were yet dead in sin.

And verse two tells us that Jesus, in an act of mercy and grace, left the glory that was His and humbled Himself to become a man. And He suffered a horrible death for the sins of His people. 

Verse three describes our miserable, helpless condition; we were bound in sin and spiritual darkness without hope until God intervened. He broke the chains that imprisoned our souls, He shed His Light in our hearts, and He rescued us from the penalty of sin and death.

Finally, verse four is the glorious Good News; There is now, no more condemnation for those who believe. Jesus paid the penalty for us. God’s justice is satisfied. He imputed His Son’s righteousness to our account and He gave us new life. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Rom. 5:8)

  

This hymn should humble us when we realize that there is nothing we have done or can do to merit God’s amazing love, forgiveness, and salvation. “(This) is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  (1 John 4:10)

The song doesn’t do much for our egos but it does magnify and glorify our Savior.

AMAZING LOVE!  HOW CAN IT BE THAT THOU, MY GOD SHOULDST DIE FOR ME?    

****HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION (2)

If you were to Google Search for lists of the greatest Hymns of the Christian faith, HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION, would be on almost all of them.  The title of this song is also its theme- We have a Rock Solid Faith that is built on a Firm Foundation which is God’s Word.  

Some other hymns with similar themes, come to mind like Christ Is Made The Sure Foundation, or how about, “On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand; all other ground is sinking sand.”  

This is the kind of stuff that builds confidence.  Authentic Biblical Faith isn’t fuzzy; it’s not iffy; it’s not uncertain.   When someone asks, “Are you sure you’re going to be with the Lord when you die?” we don’t have to offer meek, squishy-sounding, answers like, “I think so," or "I hope so.”   We can respond with absolute assurance, “I Know That My Redeemer Lives, and because He lives, I too shall live.”   Those of us whom God has redeemed can rest assured that our salvation is solid and unshakeable. 

Some people would say (and there are whole denominations that say), that kind of attitude is proud, or arrogant, or boastful; that we can’t possibly know for sure.  And they would be right if our confidence was in ourselves.  

But our confidence is not in anything we do; it’s not in our self-righteousness, our works, or our religious devices.  In fact, this might come as a surprise to you, –-  If you’re saved, it’s not because your walked down an aisle or repeated a prayer.   Salvation is of the Lord. You are saved if you are trusting, totally, in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone.   

Every line, of these lyrics, has a sense of power and authority as though God, Himself, is actually speaking.  And that's because almost all of these lyrics are paraphrases of, allusions to, or quote from some text from God’s immutable Word. 

 

And so, in verse one, we see that the foundation for our faith is laid in the excellence of His unchanging Word.  The Apostle Paul tells us that we are “members of the household of God, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets;” that foundation being the very Words of God.  And then he anchors that figurative building on the Living Word, Jesus Christ, Himself, being the chief cornerstone.   What more can He say?  We don’t need any new revelation from God.  He has spoken!

The second verse, then, assures us that we have no need to fear anything.  It’s almost an exact quote from Isaiah 41:10: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

Aren’t you glad that your salvation is not dependent on your own works of righteousness?    The God who saves us is always with us.  The Spirit of God indwells us.  He helps us; He strengthens us, and He hold us up with His own all-powerful hand.

The third verse contains God’s promise that His grace is completely sufficient for every need.  Even when He takes us through extreme trials and persecutions, He does it to refine us and to purify us for our good and His glory.    

We are weak but God is Strong.  Sometimes we might wonder and question, but we can be confident that the foundation of our faith is Sure.  It cannot fail because Jesus never fails.  And God’s Word is on the record.  “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread…, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.   He will not leave you or forsake you.”

 

So the song ends with one of the most powerful promises of assurance ever put to music;  

          The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,

                    I will not, I will not desert to its foes;

          That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

                   I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

5/29/2016

****AT CALVARY

The story behind this hymn was told by Dr. Torrey, who was the President of Moody Bible Institute in the mid-1800s.  He told how he had received a letter from a pastor with a troublesome and rebellious son.  The father hoped that attendance at Moody would help. 

Dr. Torrey advised him that, even though he sympathized with him, his responsibility was to run a Bible school and not a reform school, and so he had to deny the father’s request. 

After many letters of relentless pleading, Dr. Torrey finally gave in with the stipulations that the son must meet with him every day and must abide by the rules and requirements of the Institute.

After months of private counseling, the father’s prayers were answered.  The boy, William Newell, was saved.  He eventually became a minister and later returned to Moody Bible Institute as a teacher.

It was a fascinating story but I want to focus on the text of the hymn.  It makes an excellent presentation of the gospel of grace which he originally wrote as a chronological account of his personal testimony in the form of a poem.

Verse 1 starts with his wasted past.  Note the first phrase, “Years I spent in vanity and pride.”  He was self-absorbed, self-sufficient, arrogant, and, even though he was a preacher’s kid, he was unconcerned about God and unreceptive to the message of the Gospel.

 

And that is the sinful condition of every man.  We are all born with depraved natures, incapable of doing good and bound for judgment and the eternal wrath of a holy God.  BUT GOD sent His Son to die for our sins AT CALVARY.

In verse 2, are the words, “At last, Then, and Until.”  They follow all those “years in the author’s “past.”

  

Then there came a turning point in William’s life and it wasn’t of his own efforts or good works.  In the words of his poem, it happened when, “By God’s Word, at last, my sin I learned.” That’s when the Spirit of God opened his ears to hear, and the Word of God penetrated his heart.

It’s through the preaching of the Gospel that men are saved.  We aren’t saved simply by warm fuzzy messages about how much God loves us.  A true Gospel message must bring us to a clear understanding that the law, God’s moral standard, has been broken and we are guilty and deserve judgment.

“Then, he said, I trembled at the Law I’d spurned.” Once William Newell realized his guilt, the Spirit of God convicted him and made him aware of his need for a Savior.  And the result of that was his turning to the Only remedy; the Only way to salvation; the Cross of Jesus Christ AT CALVARY

In verse three William describes the result of his new faith in Jesus Christ.   He expressed it this way, “Now I’ve given to Jesus, everything, Now I gladly own Him as my King.”

When God saves a man, there will be evidence of a changed life that surrenders to His Lordship and a heart that is naturally filled with His praises.

  

William Newell finished his poem with a great song of praise:

“Oh, the love that drew salvation’s plan!

Oh, the grace that brought it down to man!

Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span AT CALVARY!”

5/8/16

*ROCK OF AGES (2)

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”  Psalm 18:2

It was a terrible and unusual lightning storm followed by deafening thunder and merciless, torrential rain.  Augustus Toplady had been traveling on foot, where steep, high cliffs rose up along the roadside.  When the storm came, rushing streams of mud and rainwater were pouring down the craggy slopes and rolling across the road.  He was fortunate enough to find protection in a small cave in the rocks where he waited out the storm.  That’s where he began to muse over the concept of the “rock of faith” as a shelter from the “storms of life.”

That’s the popular legend about the inspiration for the hymn, ROCK OF AGES.  And the legend may have some elements of truth.  But beyond just the first lines, there is a backstory that, I think, is far more important and revealing about the great faith of a man who was humbled by God’s grace and mercy.

Toplady’s father died when he was very young and he was raised by an indulgent and permissive mother who pretty much spoiled him.   But by God’s grace, he had a good but strict, uncle who guided and disciplined him. 

He was exceptionally intelligent; some would call him precocious.  He was saved at a very young age and began to strive for a deeper relationship with God.  By the age of 12, he was preaching sermons, and at age 14 he began writing hymns.  He was ordained to the ministry in 1762 at the age of 22.   He died at the age of 38.

He wasn't well liked while he was alive and there are plenty of critics even today.  He was a very outspoken opponent of questionable and errant doctrines.   In fact, he once published an article to rebut some statements made by John Wesley.  That article concluded with the words of his original poem, ROCK OF AGES. 

One critic has described that hymn as "strange, unlike any other, and one that is certainly a muddle of images and excessively egocentric in its self-flagellation and abnegation – perhaps because it was the product of a slightly deranged mind.”

But, even though some people thought him to be arrogant and unlikeable, excerpts from his writings, including his personal journal, reveal that he was deeply devoted to His Savior.

In this hymn, he wrote some of the greatest declarations about the doctrine of salvation and our helpless condition that have ever been set to music.

In verse two, he could not be more clear; salvation is not achieved by our works, our goodness, our zeal, our remorse or our tears.  We can bring nothing to God that will ever merit His grace.  We can only come to Him empty-handed, naked, helpless, and dirty. 

And then verse three affirms our ONLY hope; that salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone and it is all for HIS glory alone.  If God doesn’t save us, we can’t be saved.

Rock of Ages cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands

Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,

When my eyes shall close in death,

When I rise to worlds unknown,

And behold Thee on Thy throne,

Rock of Ages cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee.

*HE LIFTED ME

There is a tendency, today, to disregard those stuffy old hymnbooks. People are drawn to more contemporary Christian music.  Some of it is not bad but there are lots of poorly written and doctrinally weak "7-11" and "Jesus-is-my-girlfriend" type songs that stir emotions and make us feel all warm and fuzzy about ourselves.

Not long ago, I rediscovered the great, old classic treasure, HE LIFTED ME.  The song exposes our human condition and inability to present ourselves worthy of God's grace.

It doesn't do much for my self-esteem, but it does make me feel all warm and fuzzy about my Savior.

  

In loving-kindness, Jesus came,

My soul in mercy to reclaim,

And from the depths of sin and shame

Through grace, He lifted me.

He called me long before I heard,

Before my sinful heart was stirred,

But when I took Him at His Word,

Forgiv’n, He lifted me.

His brow was pierced with many a thorn,

His hands by cruel nails were torn,

When from my guilt and grief, forlorn,

In love, He lifted me.

Now on a higher plane, I dwell,

And with my soul I know ’tis well;

Yet how or why, I cannot tell,

He should have lifted me.

Refrain

From sinking sand He lifted me,

With tender hand, He lifted me;

From shades of night to plains of light,

Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!

I was discussing this with a friend and theologian, Ron Livesay, who explained it something like this:

“It's not like we were in danger of drowning and God threw us a lifeline to grab so that we could save ourselves.  NO!  

"We were hopelessly buried in the deepest sea, helplessly mired in the sand and mud.  We were dead.  

"With no way to save ourselves, God reached down, picked us up, brought us up, set us on a firm foundation, and breathed new life into us.”  

The Psalmist put it like this, "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."  (Psa. 40:2)

HE LIFTED ME was written by Charles H. Gabriel in 1905.