****AT THE CROSS

Throughout most of church history, some musicians have attempted to revive old hymns, make a few alterations, and reintroduce them to a new generation.

 

Sometimes writers make legitimate changes to correct doctrine or to clarify language difficulties.  And sometimes authors will add other stanzas that greatly improve the hymns.

  

That practice, however, is not without due criticism because sometimes those altered hymns border on plagiarism.

Probably the most notable hymn pirate today is Chris Tomlin who has earned an unseemly reputation by taking great hymns, changing the score, adding a refrain, renaming them, and then copyrighting them as his own creations.

But not all hymn changes are the result of piracy.

 

AT THE CROSS is one of those hybrid hymns.  It was originally written, without a refrain, in 1707 by Isaac Watts with the title, “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?”

In 1885, Ralph Hudson republished it, complete and intact, with his added refrain and the new title, AT THE CROSS.  In every hymnbook, the lyrics are still attributed to Isaac Watts.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of critics who complain that the added refrain breaks the serious mood of Watts’ hymn.

 

But I would argue that the structure of this altered hymn is similar to the structure of Christ Arose.  It starts with a dark and somber feel because Jesus was crucified and buried.  But then, suddenly, the song explodes in joyful gladness because He is alive.

AT THE CROSS begins with Isaac Watts’ vivid picture of the crucifixion of Christ at Calvary and the seriousness of our sin.  It is not uncomfortable for most people to think or talk about the crucifixion in universal and impersonal terms (eg. “Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world”).  It is much more difficult when it is personalized.  The lyrics of this hymn are deliberately painful and designed to convict us.

When I think about that cross, I see the Son of God who was crucified for me.   He took the humiliation and shame of being stripped naked and paraded through the mocking crowds; He endured the beatings and scourging that tore His flesh to shreds and laid it open to expose His bones.  He is the One who was forsaken by His Father.  And He did all that for me.

   

The truth is, there is nothing good in me.  I can do NOTHING to merit God’s mercy and grace. So, in the last stanza, Isaac Watts concedes, “Drops of grief can never repay the debt of love I owe.”

It grieves me that I stand here, alive, knowing that His punishment should have been mine.  I deserved that death sentence.

I love Watts' hymn but I praise God for the message of Ralph Hudson’s added refrain.  It proclaims our hope.  The Light of God has penetrated our hearts.  Because of Calvary, the burdens of our sin and guilt are gone.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and THAT not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  (Eph. 2.8-9)  

(My other commentaries on Watts' hymn, "Alas!  And Did My Savior Die? can be seen here, here, and here.)

****CHRIST AROSE

My pastor and I frequently discussed the music we used in our church and we were in total agreement. Things like style, instruments, and even the quality of the musical compositions were all secondary to the words; the message must be scripturally accurate and doctrinally sound because music is a great teaching tool and so much of what we believe about our faith, is often learned through our songs.

Robert Lowry held to that same conviction. He was a popular Baptist preacher and educator in New England during the late 1800s. Kenneth Osbeck, a noted hymnologist, wrote, “Lowry was recognized as a most capable minister of the gospel.  And he became known as a thorough Bible scholar and a brilliant and captivating orator; few preachers of his day had greater ability to paint word pictures and to inspire a congregation.  Music and... hymnology were his favorite studies, but always (and only) as a hobby.”

When asked about hymn writing, Lowry said, “It must be readily apprehended by the Christian consciousness, coming forth from the experience of the writer, and clothed in strong and inspiring words.”

"Music, with me, has been a side issue,” he said.  “. . . I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative audience than write a hymn.  I have always looked upon myself as a preacher and felt a sort of depreciation when I began to be known more as a composer."

Well, whether he liked it or not, it was his music, not his sermons, that made him famous.  Among his hymns are “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus,” and “Shall We Gather At the River.”   He also composed music scores for other writer’s texts, such as Isaac Watts’ hymn, “We’re Marching to Zion,” “I Need Thee Every Hour,” written by Annie Hawks, and Fanny Crosby’s hymn, “All the Way My Savior Leads Me.”

Robert Lowry wrote both the music score and the lyrics, of CHRIST AROSE, in one brief spontaneous setting one day while thinking about this account in Luke 24.  Some women had come to the tomb early Sunday morning and found the stone rolled away, and Jesus’ body missing.  The text says, “…And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  They said to the women, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here but is risen!’” 

Of all Lowry’s hymns, this is my favorite.  The dramatic contrast between the stanzas and the refrain is stunning.  The verse starts with a heavy, depressing feel.  Jesus had been crucified.   His body was sealed in the grave.  His weeping followers were in mourning.  Spiritual and physical darkness had covered the earth.

 

But then, suddenly, the refrain explodes with triumphant gladness.  Morning has come; Light penetrates the darkness.  The tomb is empty, He is not here! Jesus has risen from the dead and He is alive! 

After three days in that sealed tomb, Jesus rose just like He said He would.  And we know that to be true.  He really did rise from the dead.  Acts 1:3 records for us how, “after His suffering and resurrection, He appeared to His followers by many infallible proofs.”

 

And in his letter to the Church at Corinth, Paul records how Jesus was “seen alive by over 500 of his followers.”

They saw Him, they spoke with Him, and they touched Him.  He is the Son of God, He is alive.  And He is our Savior.  HALLELUJAH!  CHRIST AROSE!

****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.

****O, The Deep, Deep Love Of Jesus

(This commentary was not written by me but by my daughter, Dawn King who was inspired by the hymn, O THE DEEP, DEEP LOVE OF JESUS.)

I cannot read the Scripture passages about the death of Jesus Christ without my heart breaking for so very many reasons; too many to list.

One thing that stood out to me from the start was the silence of Jesus in the midst of the loudest, most vile shouting and terrifying screaming in all of history: "CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!"

We all know what it feels like to be wronged.  Though we are sinful and unjust at the core, we know how we love to stake our claim on the "I'm right" side of a circumstance. 

But the One who, alone, is truly just, pure, and holy -the all-powerful King of Kings who is also the perfect Lamb of God, remained silent in the greatest act of humility as the full spectrum of terror, pain, and, anguish swelled over Him -- liars, evil schemers, brutal soldiers, religious leaders, political rulers, those who had been healed and had shouted forth praises to Him, those who ate the loaves He multiplied, the young, the old, the strong Roman soldiers in His reach, the thieves hanging behind Him, the crowd looking on from below all weighed in to make these hours horrifying. The Holy Spirit comforting Him, the will of the Father driving Him, the plan of my redemption to the praise of His glory holding Him there - silently.

Then, the final cry of agony filled the earth and changed history past, present, and future as the full measure of the wrath of God was poured out, and the Father turned away from His beloved Son. The once impenetrable veil of the Temple was torn by God from top to bottom and full access to the God of Heaven becomes available... to me.

Thinking about Christ on the cross--my stomach wrenches at these thoughts. They are too lofty for me to comprehend. They take away my breath and fill my eyes with tears even as I am writing.  I know He did not deserve an ounce of wrath until God put my sin upon Him. I am silenced before the Father who has willed my redemption, before Jesus who has purchased my soul with His blood, and before the Holy Spirit who has opened my eyes to see these eternal truths before I close my eyes in death and awaken before the Judgment seat in Heaven to hopelessly bear my sin alone.

Jesus on the cross is both terrible and wonderful. He purchased the souls of many that very sad, darkened Friday, but three days later, He burst forth from the grave that tried to contain His dead corpse. He appeared and spoke to many who witnessed this "unbelievable" act of glorious triumph-the silent Lamb now displaying that He is indeed God and is the King He claimed to be.

I cannot imagine how a person can hear of Jesus - God, who took on flesh and became sin so that He might give His righteousness to a sinner to have eternal freedom from guilt and punishment; God who penetrated history and by His undeserved murder now offers undeserved atonement and eternal peace between Himself and His creation.  How can everyone who hears not fall down before Him in worship, adoration, and grateful praise?

I have this salvation. It is mine in Christ; not because I am anything, not because I have done anything, for it is all of Him.

I realize that many of my friends and family members who are reading this have known the joy of salvation, but for those who have never considered what it is that Christ has done, I plead with you to think deeply upon these things. This gift of being made right before God in Christ is possible and available to any who will humbly recognize his sinfulness before the One, True, Holy God, and who will ask that the wrath he deserves, be forgiven based upon the only acceptable payment to God for sin which is that made by Jesus Christ upon the cross. It is available to you. Humble yourself before God. Confess your sin. He will forgive you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!

Dawn King

****THERE IS A FOUNTAIN

William Cowper (pronounced Cooper) was a brilliant, highly educated man and one of England’s most revered Poet Laureates. But he was a fragile and emotionally, unstable mess. 

He was born in 1731 in England. Before the age of six, three of his siblings died, and then, his fifth sibling died at birth, along with his mother.

His father, a pastor, sent him to a boarding school where William learned very little about the Christian faith. He suffered with feelings of anxiety, isolation, disappointments, and a cold, weak relationship with his father, who pushed him into an education and law career for which he had no interest. 

At the age of 21, he began experiencing severe attacks of depression. His father died; his stepmother died, and his best friend drowned. He failed several suicide attempts and the woman he loved dumped him.

Facing a public bar examination, he suffered a mental breakdown and slipped into full clinical insanity. 

His brother committed him to a mental asylum. 

It was there he met a therapist who was reading one day. William asked him what he was reading and the therapist read to him, these words from Romans 3; …being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 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, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

When he finished that passage, the therapist explained the gospel to William. That was when Cowper understood that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient to cover all his sin. 

After 18 months, he was released from the asylum, and he met a minister, Morley Unwin, who invited him to live with him and his family. Pastor Unwin died two years later so, Cowper and the Unwin family moved to the village of Olney where he became a friend and ministry assistant to John Newton.

But he could never stop slipping back into his episodes of mental darkness. To help him through, John Newton suggested they work together on hymn writing.

Even though Cowper struggled his entire life with the feeling of being under God’s wrath, he held on to the assurance that one day he would finally be free. 

In 1770, he wrote a hymn based on of Zech.13:1: “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.”

The hymn paints a vivid picture of Christ’s atoning blood and God’s forgiveness. 

“THERE IS A FOUNTAIN filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” 

****WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS?

There is a myth about the origin of many of our hymns that goes something like this:

"The melodies for some of our great hymns of the Christian faith were originally bar tunes."

Even though that's been debunked many times, it just won't go away.   The problem is a misunderstanding of musical terminology.  

Hymnwriters did, and still do use bar tunes, but that doesn't mean what we think.  The correct terminology is a “bar form,” which is a specific musical form where there are two identical or similar lines followed by a contrasting one.  That form would be noted musically, as AAB or in some cases, AABA.  (An example of that form would be the hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.")

Today’s Hymn was not written in a pure, classic bar form, but the tune was associated with a well-known old song, “The Ballad of Captain Kidd,” the infamous Scottish pirate.

That 18-verse ballad tells a very dark and stunning story about an arrogant man who, in the late 1600s, rejected his godly upbringing, thumbed his nose at God’s laws, and terrorized and murdered a lot of people.  Ultimately, he was hanged, publicly, in a cage and left to rot along the River Thames.

The first stanza says:

My name was William Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed,

My name was William Kidd when I sailed,

My name was William Kidd; God’s laws I did forbid,

So wickedly I did, as I sailed.

In contrast to that ballad of a ruined sinful life, is an American Folk Spiritual, that shares the same tune and structure.  WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS? is a song of praise to God for His great grace and mercy.  It originated in the revivalist camp meetings of the American South.

Written music was rare in the early 1800's, and spiritual songs were passed down orally.  So, for ease of memorization, the writers kept their texts simple and used a lot of repetition.

This is a personal, introspective hymn that addresses our souls.   And, even though it’s simple, it is not shallow. 

It starts with a profound question and a fearful sense of overwhelming awe.  What kind of love is this that would cause the Lord to “bear the dreadful curse for my soul?”

It’s reminiscent of another hymn, written by Charles Wesley.  The first stanza of, And Can It Be, ends with similar language, "Amazing love!  How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?"

WHAT WONDROUS LOVE IS THIS?  is a simple and biblical summary of the gospel.  It was God’s love that sent His Son to earth to bear the punishment for our sins.  Therefore, we should praise Him in this life and we look forward with assurance that we will sing His praises for eternity.

(the entire 18 verses of The Ballad of Captain Kid can be viewed HERE.)

****JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL

The three greatest and most prolific writers of English language hymns are Isaac Watts, Fanny Crosby, and Charles Wesley.  Each of them wrote thousands of hymns.

Some of Charles Wesley’s best-known hymns include "Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim," "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus," "A Charge To Keep I Have," "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," "Soldiers Of Christ, Arise," "Oh, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing," and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

But many scholars of Christian hymnody have labeled his hymn, JESUS, LOVER OF MY SOUL, the greatest hymn ever written and even where there is disagreement, almost all of them agree that it is the best of Wesley's hymns.  He wrote it shortly after his conversion in 1738. 

The hymn had many early critics who considered it unsuitable for public worship.  His own brother, John, disliked using terms of endearment to address God; he thought the use of phrases like, “Jesus, Lover of my Soul,” and “let me to thy bosom fly,” were too intimate and, so, he would not allow it to be used for congregational singing.  It was not published in any hymnbooks until six years after John’s death.

Unlike most of Charles Wesley’s songs, this one has very little verifiable, historical context.  There is no particular event linked to it but there are several, often repeated, sentimental legends.  Some of them seem too fantastic to be believable.

  

One story that is most often repeated is that, in one of his many open-air evangelistic meetings in Ireland, Charles Wesley preached a convicting message that was not very well received.  A mob of angry attendees assaulted him and intended to kill him.  Wesley ran for his life and came to a nearby farmhouse. 

The farmer’s wife, Jane Moore, hid him in the milk house.  Within a few minutes, some of the mob arrived looking for him.

Mrs. Moore stalled their search by offering some refreshments.  She told them she needed to go to the milk house to get something cold to drink. 

 

Then, in the milk house, she told Wesley to climb through the rear window, and hide under the hedge.  Outside, he found branches overhanging a little brook that was flowing beside the hedge.  That gave him a safe hiding place.

While he waited for the angry mob to give up their search and leave, Wesley pulled a pencil and paper from his pocket and began to write the lyrics to this song. 

Whether or not any of the stories are true, there is no doubt as to the hymn’s skillfully applied allusions to scripture, its doctrinal integrity, and its universal influence in the Christian church.

The great American preacher, Henry Ward Beecher, once said: “I would rather have written this hymn of Wesley’s than to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat on earth.”