Blessed be the Name

Praise for the Lord #52

Words: William H. Clark, 1887; refrain, Ralph E. Hudson, 1887
Music: Ralph E. Hudson, 1887; arr., William J. Kirkpatrick, 1888

I can find no information about William H. Clark, and no other hymn texts under his name. The text was adapted and a refrain added by Ralph Erskine Hudson (1843-1901), similar to his setting of the Isaac Watts hymn "Alas! And did my Savior bleed?"(PFTL#12) The nature of William Kirkpatrick's contribution is unclear.

Stanza 1:
All praise to Him Who reigns above
In majesty supreme,
Who gave His Son for man to die,
That He might man redeem!

The first stanza sings the praises of God the Father, whose majesty is above all. King David phrases these sentiments beautifully in his public prayer at the coronation of his son Solomon, recorded in 1 Chronicles 29, verse 11:

"Yours, O Lord , is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord , and You are exalted as Head above all."

In "majesty", we see combined both immense power and serene dignity. We seldom see it among our fellow human beings; we get a better glimpse of it, perhaps, in the works of nature--in the whale, or an ancient oak, or the mountains. The problem with our fellow humans, of course, is the self-conscious concern that their power be recognized and their dignity respected; thus we seldom see the serene calm that is also necessary to the quality. With God, of course, this is no concern; He is the one who could flatly state, "I AM who I AM", with no need for further explanation.(Exodus 3:14)

Clark juxtaposes the royal majesty of God with His personal concern for His fallen creation. Majesty does not have to stoop down to redeem us; but love compels itself to do so. "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."(Romans 5:8)

Refrain:
Blessed be the Name! Blessed be the Name!
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Blessed be the Name! Blessed be the Name!
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Singers have at times wondered if it is appropriate to speak of us "blessing" the Lord, since "It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior."(Hebrews 7:7) But Psalm 113:2 proclaims, "Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!" It is important to note the difference between "blessing" in the sense of giving one's approval and favor (the usual sense, and the one used in Hebrews 7) and "blessing" in the sense of offering honor and worship. The Hebrew barak, usually translated "bless", literally means to bend the knees or to bow down.(Strong's H1288)

Usually it is done on behalf of another person; that is, one "blesses" the other by kneeling down and invoking God's favor for that person. God, of course, does not kneel to Himself, but the expression was extended to include God's blessing (invoking His own favor) to a person. Inherent in any blessing of another person, then, is the recognition of God's sovereignty in the affairs of this world, and an appeal to Him to do good for the person. When "blessing" God we do not ask for blessings to His welfare, of course, but instead we recognize His sovereignty and worthiness of praise.

In Nehemiah 9:5, at the restoration of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests said: "Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be Thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise." The name of God is to be kept holy, that is, recognized as special and deserving of respect. This is clearly taught in the second of the ten commandments (Exodus 20:7) and reiterated at the beginning of the Lord's Prayer.(Matthew 6:9) But how many times a day do we hear it used as a casual curse? Many people who would be shocked and outraged to see our country's flag desecrated, think nothing of dishonoring the name of our Creator. Where are our priorities?

Stanza 2:
His Name above all names shall stand,
Exalted more and more,
At God the Father’s own right hand,
Where angel hosts adore.
(Refrain)

The second stanza turns from God the Father to praise God the Son,

Who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(Philippians 2:6-11)

There are many names in this world that command respect and power, whether the names of individuals, the names of institutions, or the names of nations; but the day is coming when the name of Jesus will transcend them all, and they will all have to recognize (to their joy or dismay, as the case may be) that His is the name that truly matters. Until that day, "[He] has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him."(1 Peter 3:22)

Stanza 3:
Redeemer, Savior, Friend of man
Once ruined by the fall,
Thou hast devised salvation’s plan,
For Thou hast died for all.
(Refrain)

It is a matter of profound wonder that God devised the plan of salvation, even to the death of His Son, from before the time began; Jesus is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."(Revelation 13:8) We are quickly in over our heads, trying to understand the "definite plan and foreknowledge of God"(Acts 2:23) that sent Jesus to the cross. We must accept, however, that "in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross."(Colossians 1:19-20) C.S. Lewis summarized the philosophical debates over atonement thus in Mere Christianity:

We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity. That is what has to be believed. Any theories we build up as to how Christ's death did all this are, in my view, quite secondary: mere plans or diagrams to be left alone if they do not help us, and, even if they do help us, not to be confused with the thing itself.(Lewis, ch.4, para.5)

It is worthwhile to try to understand such things; but it is best to remember that all the theological understanding in the world is no substitute for an obedient faith.

There was originally a fourth stanza as well:

His Name shall be the Counselor,
The mighty Prince of Peace,
Of all earth’s kingdoms Conqueror,
Whose reign shall never cease.
(Refrain)

I have never encountered it before, and I'm not sure why it was dropped. It is clearly rooted in scripture:

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.(Isaiah 9:6)

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”(Revelation 11:15)

About the music: Having so little other music by Hudson, it is hard to form an opinion of him. His two extant musical settings--the other is "Alas! And did my Savior bleed!"(PFTL#12)--would seem to place him in the mainstream of 19th-century gospel. The repeated bass and tenor notes on the words "rolled away" in the chorus of "Alas!" are a typical feature of this style. But most gospel songs fit into a popular genre of their time; what is the genre of this one? "Blessed be the name" could almost be a Sacred Harp tune--compare it to "All hail the power of Jesus name"(PFTL#19).

A signature feature of this melody is found in the first three notes, outlining an inverted form of the tonic chord--SOL DO MI, or E,A,C-sharp in this key. This occurs at the beginning of the chorus as well, and within the stanza again as well. A little unifying "hook" can go a long way in making a melody that sings well and is easily remembered. The rhythmic shift at the chorus is also a welcome bit of variety (similar to what Hudson did in "Alas! And did my Savior bleed?").

References:

Strong's H1288. Blueletterbible.org. http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H1288&t=KJV

Lewis, Clive Staples. Mere Christianity. http://lib.ru/LEWISCL/mere_engl.txt

Arise! The Master Calls

Praise for the Lord #51

Words: Mary Brown, 1892
Music: Charles H. Gabriel, 1892

Mary Haughton Brown (1856-1918) was a native Canadian who moved to Connecticut to teach school, and served as a Sunday School teacher in the Baptist church. She wrote at least two hymn texts with a missionary emphasis, the other of which is "I'll go where you want me to go"(PFTL#314). Incidentally, she died from the Spanish influenza outbreak, a pandemic which recent events have brought back to our attention.(Cyberhymnal)

Stanza 1:
Arise! The Master calls for thee,
The harvest days are here!
No longer sit with folded hands,
But gather, far and near.
The noble ranks of volunteers
Are daily growing everywhere,
But still there's work for millions more!
Then for the field prepare.

Jesus more than once spoke of the work of evangelism in terms of a harvest, and that imagery underlies Brown's text throughout.

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."(Matthew 9:36-38)

Certain things have always been true of harvesting. First, a harvest comes at its given time, and not necessarily when it is convenient for us. My mother remembers school being dismissed temporarily in her childhood community, because the cotton had to be picked at that time and all hands were needed. This raises a second point: the sudden need for more workers. Mechanization has changed this factor with some crops, but others are still picked the way they always were--by hand--and thus we still have the familiar economy of the migrant harvesters. Third, there is an urgency to the work of harvesting, because there is a limited time during which it can successfully be accomplished before the crop spoils, the weather turns, etc.

These are true of the spiritual harvest of evangelism as well. We cannot predict when people's hearts will be open to the gospel; there may be a spiritual malaise or hard-heartedness among one group, and a thirst and hunger for truth among another, even in the same community. There will always be needs--when have we ever had too many missionaries, evangelists, and personal workers? And just as we do not know when the harvest will be ready, neither do we know when it will come to an end. Every day, each soul on this earth is closer to eternity; and circumstances may intervene to close the doors formerly open.

One of the frequently recurring words in the gospel of Mark is "immediately"; in fact, it is used so much that it gives the impression that Jesus went everywhere in a hurry! It imparts a sense of urgency to His actions that should be noted by those who would pattern their lives after Him. At the age of twelve He declared to His parents, "I must be about My Father's business;"(Luke 2:49) and from the moment His adult ministry began, He was on the move. In a little under three years He started a movement that changed the world. Must we not emulate His single-mindedness?

Refrain:
Arise! Arise!
The Master calls for thee,
Arise! Arise!
A faithful reaper be,
The field is white,
And days are going by,
Awake, awake,
And answer "Here am I!"

When a "door is opened" for spreading the gospel (as Paul described it in 1 Corinthians 16:9 and elsewhere"), we need to walk through it while we can. Not all doors will remain open; we need only witness the surge of mission efforts that went into the former Soviet lands in the early 1990s, and the gradual tightening of restrictions that came in the years following. On an individual level, of course, there are doors that are open on one occasion, but may be closed the next.

The "white fields" referred to in this stanza are of course from Jesus' statement,
"Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."(John 4:35) He spoke this to His disciples by the well of Jacob in Samaria, even as the people of the nearby town were coming out to see Him at the urging of the adulterous woman He encountered at the well. It was an opportune time--at a later occasions, Samaritans in another village were not even willing to speak to Him (Luke 9:53) because of ethnic prejudices. When the opportunity to spread God's word presents itself, we need to answer with Isaiah 6:8, "Here am I! Send me."

Stanza 2:
Go seek the lost and erring ones,
Who never knew the Lord;
Go, lead them from the ways of sin,
And thou shalt have reward.
Go out into the hedges, where
The careless drift upon the tide
And from the highways bring them in--
Let no one be denied.

Bringing the gospel to lands unfamiliar with it is both challenging and rewarding. There is the opportunity to help fellow souls to discover the pure truth of the gospel for themselves, without having to "unteach" numerous false doctrines purporting to be Christian; on the other hand, there is a need for great delicacy in how the missionaries present themselves, as well as the word. Paul addresses this knowingly in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 1-7:

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Paul first asserts that he did not alter the gospel to fit the circumstances. He reminded the Corinthians, after a particularly strong directive, "This is my rule in all the churches."(1 Corinthians 7:17) In 1 Corinthians 14:33 he also mentioned that the worship practices he taught them were universal--"as in all the churches." The matters he directed them on--the marriage bond, and the role of women in worship--would not be opposed by Jewish converts, but were a real problem for the Gentile Christians who came from a culture with much looser attitudes on these issues. Paul would not and could not compromise on matters of doctrine, even if it meant clashing with the surrounding culture. Ultimately, God's truth will always clash with the cultures of this world at some point, because all of the cultures of this world are fallen in various ways.

At the same time it is necessary to adapt our means and manner to the local culture; Paul did this himself, claiming, "I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."(1 Corinthians 9:22) In his sermon at the Areopagus (Acts 17), Paul began with those areas on which he and many of his listeners agreed: that one all-powerful God had created the world and the human race. Paul even quoted their own philosophers and poets in verse 28--"In Him we live, and move, and have our being" is from the poem "Phainomena" by Aratus, and "we are all His offspring" is presumed to be from Epimenides of Crete.(ESV footnote)

Paul did not "proclaim himself", as he reminded the Corinthians in the passage above, but proclaimed Jesus, because "the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." In doing so, he laid aside his Jewish heritage and reached out to the Athenians in their own terms so far as possible. Many of them balked, of course, when confronted with the non-negotiable (and to them, utterly alien) doctrine of the resurrection of Christ; but many still responded with interest in hearing him again. May we always be sure in our efforts that we are preaching the gospel of Christ, and not the gospel of Americanism, or of free-market capitalism, or of democracy, however much we might value these things ourselves. We must shake off any vestige of a colonialist attitude; it is tantamount to imitating the "Judaizing" teachers who so damaged the Gentile churches during the days of Paul.

Stanza 3:
The message bear to distant lands
Beyond the rolling sea;
Go tell them of a Savior's love--
The Lamb of Calvary
Arise! The Master calls for thee!
Salvation full and free proclaim,
Till every kindred, tribe and tongue
Exalt the Savior's name!

The final lines of this stanza come from Revelation 14:6, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." John's vision saw the gospel continuing to spread throughout the world, even as "Babylon" was falling (which I interpret to be the Roman Empire, which sought to destroy Christianity but was itslef destroyed while the gospel continued to spread). The need for the continued spread of the gospel outlives individuals, congregations, and even nations. Jesus said, "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."(John 4:38) Someone taught the gospel to us; someone taught the gospel to them; and on it goes. Or does it? In every generation faithful Christians must decide to take up the responsibility of Christ's last earthly command, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."(Mark 16:15) Whether it is across the ocean or across the street, there is a need to wake up and rise to the occasion.

About the music: What can I say about Charles Gabriel? His musical output veers from the improbably quirky to the inspired. The fact that some of his songs were later recorded by gospel and country singers, such as "If I have wounded any soul today"(PFTL#320) and "His eye is on the sparrow"(PFTL#235), also speaks to his possible role as a transitional figure between the traditional gospel style and the commercial, soloist-focused gospel style of the mid-twentieth century and later.

To me, "Arise" is on the border between quirky and inspired. Things are pretty normal through the stanza until the basses and tenor go into unison with their trumpet calls, "A-rise!" The D above middle C is not an unreasonable note for basses in a chorus, but it is stretching it for congregational bass singers, many of whom are uncomfortable singing in full voice at the top of their range. Couple that with the uncertainty the singers feel in holding that high note across two measures, and it is a setup for failure. But the refrain has even more pitfalls, the worst of which is the tenor soli entry on "A-rise!" immediately following "the Master calls for thee". If you have strong, confident tenors, well and good; otherwise it is another moment of awkward silence. Finally, the end of the second phrase, "a faithful reaper be", inserts a quick "A-rise!" instead of holding out "be" for the expected two beats established by the end of the preceding phrase on "thee". Coming on the heels of a likely stumble at the tenor entry previously mentioned, many singers tend to stumble again at this lack of delivery of the expected phrasing.

None of this is to condemn the song; it is exciting and effective when it comes off. But I rarely lead it, because of the potential problems just mentioned. It needs a large number of rock-solid tenors and basses, preferably music-readers. I have a strong feeling that Gabriel wrote it for choral, rather than congregational singing. He certainly knew how to write a good, easy-singing congregational song: look for example at "The way of the cross leads home"(PFTL#653).

References:

"Mary Haughton Brown." Cyberhymnal. http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/b/r/o/brown_m.htm

Are You Washed in the Blood?

Praise for the Lord #50

Words & Music: Elisha A. Hoffman, 1878

Hoffman, though lacking formal musical training, had a good ear for the popular song styles of his day and incorporated them into his numerous gospel songs. "Are you washed in the blood?", for example, is written in the style of a military march (of the pre-Sousa days). It became quite popular, in fact, among the Salvation Army brass bands. This association was once so strong that the hymn was referenced in this context by Vachel Lindsay in his poem "General William Booth Enters Heaven", later set to raucously fun music by the eccentric American composer Charles Ives, who quoted liberally from Hoffman's tune.(McNeil)

Stanza 1:
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

People often mistakenly believe that the proverb, "Cleanliness is next to godliness", is in the Bible. It is not in so many words, but the Bible frequently uses the concept of cleanliness--in a spiritual sense--throughout both testaments. In the Old Testament the separation of clean from unclean, and the need for God's people to maintain "cleanness", was focused on certain outward and ceremonial aspects related to diet and health. In the New Testament, however, Jesus makes it clear that true cleanness is a matter of behavior:

"There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. ...For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."(Mark 7:15,20-23)

This is an uncleanness that none of us can wash away on our own, for "there is none righteous, no, not one."(Romans 3:10) If you have watched your child trying to clean up a mess and only making it worse, perhaps you have a picture of humankind's efforts to rid itself from its spiritual uncleanness. We are just moving the dirt around, at best.

The situation is dire, because it is clear that heaven is a place of spiritual cleanness; "nothing unclean will ever enter it."(Revelation 21:27) But "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."(Hebrews 10:4) What could be done? Malachi 3:2 prophesied of One who would come to cleanse His people: "For He is like a refiner's fire and like a launderer's soap."(Malachi 3:2) Even today, we use intense heat to refine materials by burning away the impurities from the desired substance. Likewise, we use powerful detergents to remove stains.
Christ is the most powerful Refiner and Cleaner of all--His blood has the power to "take away the sins of the world."(John 1:29)

Refrain:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Throughout the Bible, white robes are indicative of holiness and purity. Angels appear in white, and Jesus in His transfiguration was also in dazzling white. In the Revelation the "white robes" take on an added significance, as they symbolize those who are counted worthy to enter Christ's heavenly home; stains and spots on the robes indicate unworthiness.(Revelation 3) How do we acquire, and maintain, such spiritual attire? In Revelation 7:14 we learn that the white-robed saints in heaven "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." We read of Christ's desire for this in Ephesians:

Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.(Ephesians 5:25-27)

Salvation requires washing away of spiritual uncleanness: "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."(1 Corinthians 6:11) How do we engage in this washing? In Acts 22:16 the apostle Paul, recounting his process of conversion to Christianity, gives us the words that Ananias spoke to him in Damascus: "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name." Paul had come to believe in Christ, felt the conviction of his sins, and was earnestly praying to know what to do; but up until this point, he had not washed away his sins. Baptism was the final step in which he "called on the name of the Lord" and let the blood of Jesus cleanse his soul.

Stanza 2:
Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
(Refrain)

If only a one-time cleansing were enough! We try to walk in the right way, but sometimes we are not much better than the sow that after being washed "returns to wallow in the mire."(2 Peter 2:22) "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."(1 John 1:7) Not that we would ever take His forgiveness for granted, or treat it as license; but we are reassured that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."(1 John 1:9) Rather than an encouragement to license, it is an encouragement to even greater love and devotion to such a wonderful Savior.

Stanza 3:
When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?
(Refrain)

In this stanza Hoffman seems to reference the Ephesians 5:25-27 passage, in which Christ is the Bridegroom preparing His bride, the church, by washing her clean of any stain; but there is also a sense of our active responsibility to be prepared. Hoffman may also have had in mind the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14, in which a man was found in the banquet hall without a wedding garment and ejected from the presence of the king. There has been a great deal of debate over the significance of the wedding garment, particularly whether it was customary for guests to provide their own attire, or to receive it from the host. Since we are not told in the parable, it seems a bit much to try to make a point of this; there is plenty to learn from the facts as Jesus presented them. There was an expected "holy" attire for the occasion, and those who did not have it were not allowed to enjoy the king's hospitality. The repeated references to robes in the Revelation indicate the same is true for admission to Christ's hospitality in eternity. Jesus said to the church in Sardis:

"Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."(Revelation 3:3-5)

Stanza 4:
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
O be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
(Refrain)

Fortunately it is not up to us to provide the cleansing of the garments of righteousness, for Isaiah 64:6 truly says, "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." Even to the church at Laodicea, for whom Christ reserved His most scathing rebukes in the Revelation, He also said, "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself."(Revelation 3:18) Near the conclusion of the Bible we also read, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates."(Revelation 22:14) The invitation is clear and open to all who will take advantage of it.

About the music: This hymn first appeared in Hoffman's publication Spiritual Songs for Gospel Meetings and the Sunday School.(McNeil) The title of the publication itself is an interesting commentary on the role gospel songs played in an earlier era: they were not necessarily accepted in, or intended for, the regular services of the church. Much in the fashion of "devotional songs" or "praise songs" of the last few decades, they were used in youth gatherings and other special meetings. There was a certain amount of controversy in singing something so obviously connected to a popular secular style (the military march, in this case) in worship. Gradually they were accepted, and with the familiarity of long use and the shifting of popular music styles they have acquired a "sacred" sound that they might not have had to their original singers.

References:

McNeil, W.K. "Hoffman, Elisha Albright." Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. New York: Routledge, 187-188.

As the Life of a Flower

Praise for the Lord #49

Words: Laura E. Newell, 1904
Music: G. H. Ramsey, 1904

Laura Newell (1854-1916) knew whereof she spoke. She was orphaned as an infant and taken in by an aunt and uncle;(Cyberhymnal) she then lost her uncle and father figure when she was six years old, just two years after the family moved to the Kansas Territory. Her aunt, one of the first schoolteachers in Topeka, Kansas, held the family together through their personal loss and through the hardships of the Civil War era.(Connelley)

This is another of those songs that at first hearing might strike one as somewhat odd, even morbid; but if you think about it in the context of the times, it is not at all unusual. In the 19th century, most people died at home and were kept there until the funeral. Infant and child mortality rates were much higher, and deaths from disease and work-related accidents were more common. Especially on the frontier, death was a familiar part of life. The modern U.S. attitude of denying the reality of death--of keeping it at a safe distance, behind the walls of a hospital or funeral home--is a much more recent aberration. "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."(Hebrews 9:27) It may be considered socially objectionable to mention that fact, but it is no less true. We may as well face it and determine what we need to do to prepare for it.

Stanza 1:
As the life of a flower, as a breath or a sigh,
So the years that we live as a dream hasten by;
True, today we are here, but tomorrow may see
Just a grave in the vale, and a memory of me.

Refrain:
As the life of a flower,
As a breath or a sigh,
So the years glide away,
And alas, we must die.

Newell's poetry was most likely inspired by this passage from Psalm 90, attributed to Moses:

You carry them away like a flood;
They are like a sleep.
In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers...

For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.(Psalm 90:5-6,9-10)

The brevity of life--especially in comparison to eternity--is unarguable. As a child, and then as a young man, I heard older people talk about how the years fly by. I am beginning to notice the acceleration. Months seem like weeks, years seem like months, and before you know it another decade passes into history. Consider also the inherent uncertainty of life; nearly every day, the news media will bring us a story of a life ended tragically early.

This focuses our attention on the last line of the first stanza--"a memory of me." Memories are all most of us will leave behind to our loved ones, and our interaction with people while we are here is our only legacy of eternal consequence. How will we be remembered? The second stanza addresses this question:

Stanza 2:
As the life of a flower, be our lives pure and sweet,
May we brighten the way for the friends that we greet;
And sweet incense arise from our hearts, as we live
Close to Him who doth teach us to love and forgive.
(Refrain)

In 2 Chronicles 21:20 we read the following chilling indictment of the life of Judah's King Jehoram: "He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret." Let that sink in: the man died, and no one was sorry that he was gone. Now consider this statement about King David from Psalm 132:10, "For the sake of Your servant David, do not turn away the face of your anointed one."

Why would the later kings of Judah appeal to God on behalf of their ancestor David? Because David "served the purpose of God in his own generation."(Acts 13:36) His example of single-minded devotion to God and repentance from his sins became the yardstick by which later kings were evaluated. 2 Kings 22:2 is typical, where we are told King Josiah "walked in all the way of David his father."

Many of us have those Christian examples that we treasure in our hearts, of family members or friends who have now gone on to their reward. In times of trial or temptation, their memory often calls us back to duty and encourages us to continue in the way that they walked. But there are generations rising after us, right now, who need those examples as well--are we giving them that same blessing?

Stanza 3:
While we tarry below let us trust and adore
Him who leads us each day toward the radiant shore
Where the sun never sets, and the flowers never fade,
Where no sorrow or death may its borders invade.
(Refrain)

The Christian's great blessing, in considering the certainty of our mortality, is that we can be equally certain of our reward. Paul said, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day."(2 Timothy 1:12) Paul's confidence in his salvation was matched by his desire to see it finally consummated:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. (Philippians 1:21-24)

Like Paul, therefore, we should be "making the best use of the time."(Ephesians 5:16) Let us do what good we can, like David "serving the purposes of God in our generation." And may we all have the confidence to say with Paul, "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing."(2 Timothy 4:8)

About the music:

I have been unable to find any more information about G.H. Ramsey, and cannot find any other songs by him. The song is in the mainstream of the 19th-century gospel style. One prominent feature is the extent to which the alto harmonizes against the soprano in the intervals of thirds and sixths. (Harmony in thirds, or three notes apart, is seen when the alto is matching the soprano on the next line or space below the soprano notes, as in the opening phrase; harmony in sixths, six notes apart, begins the refrain.) This kind of harmonizing is very natural, and most altos will fall into it naturally if they are improvising harmony. As a result, the song works fairly well as a soprano-alto duet; for an interesting folk rendition of this song as a duet, visit the Wolf Folklore Collection, provided by Lyon College of Batesville, Arkansas.

Ramsey inserted a nice bit of harmonic variety in the refrain; the first measure of B-flat major is followed by a G minor chord (on "flower"), then by an E-flat major chord on "breath", and finally back to B-flat major on "sigh". The minor chord is rather unexpected in the gospel style; also, the succession of these harmonies outlines the subdominant chord of the key (E-flat, G, B-flat). This emphasis on the subdominant chord, and the downward cycle through its notes (B-flat, G, E-flat) creates a sense of relaxation or resignation that is particularly appropriate to the text. I don't know, of course, whether Ramsey was thinking of that deliberately or hit upon it by chance, but it works.

References:

Connelley, William E. "Mrs. Laura E. Newell." A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1918. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1918ks/bion/newellle.html

"Laura E. Pixley Newell." Cyberhymnal. http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/n/e/w/newell_lep.htm

Anywhere with Jesus

Praise for the Lord #48

Words: Jessie Brown Pounds, 1887; 3rd stanza, Helen Alexander Dixon, 1915
Music: Daniel B. Towner, 1887

Jessie Brown Pounds (1861-1921) is best remembered today for her hymns, though she was actually a prominent journalist and novelist in her time. For more about her career, see the discussion of her text, "Am I nearer to heaven today?"

Stanza 1:
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go,
Anywhere He leads me in this world below;
Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade;
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid.

Refrain:
Anywhere, anywhere! Fear I cannot know;
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.

"And he went out, not knowing where he was going." Thus Hebrews 11:8 describes Abraham setting out from his home in Chaldea, never to return. Abraham's thoughts on this are not related, only his actions; but we can surmise that he felt some uncertainty. Often in life we have to make journeys--literal or metaphorical--that take us away from the comfortable and familiar, and thrust us into the unknown. As children we move to new grades, new schools, sometimes new cities; as adults we move into new family relationships, new jobs, and new responsibilities; but all of us have experienced that sense of "going out, not knowing where we are going." A happy few enjoy living life in that vein, more of us do not, but all of us must make these journeys.

Pounds embraced this theme wholeheartedly in the first line--"Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go." Not that Jesus always leads in ways that are "safe"; "safety" hardly describes, for example, the career of the apostle Paul! But we can also see in Paul's life the providential care of God for a man who dared to put his trust in Him. Paul's first preaching engagement, in Damascus, ended with a nightime escape over the wall in a basket.(Acts 9:25) On his first preaching tour he was driven out of Antioch of Pisidia,(Acts 13:51) fled a plot against his life in Iconium,(Acts 14:5) and received a stoning and was left for dead at Lystra.(Acts 14:19)

Surprisingly, one would think, he made a second tour. This time he was beaten and imprisoned at Philippi,(Acts 16:23) had to flee a mob uprising in Thessalonica,(Acts 17:10) was charged with sedition before the proconsul in Corinth,(Acts 18:12) fled Ephesus after a near-riot,(Acts 20:1) and returned to Jerusalem knowing full well that his life might end there.(Acts 21:11)

Back in Judea he was nearly lynched,(Acts 21) was imprisoned and tried in assorted mockeries of justice,(Acts 23-26) and was finally bound over for trial at Rome.(Acts 27) Along the way he suffered shipwreck,(Acts 27) near execution,(Acts 27:42) and snakebite.(Acts 28:3) He ended his days, so far as we know, in a Roman prison. We could say that his preaching career was somewhat checkered!

It is tempting to think of Paul as some sort of superman, and he was certainly an outstanding specimen. But we need to remember, too, that he was the one who told the Corinthians, "I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling."(1 Corinthians 2:3) It was not his courage or strength that made him able to do all these things; it was the courage and strength of the One on whom he faithfully relied.

Stanza 2:
Anywhere with Jesus I am not alone;
Other friends may fail me, He is still my own;
Though His hand may lead me over drearest ways,
Anywhere with Jesus is a house of praise.
(Refrain)

The end of 2 Timothy relates one of the saddest aspects of Paul's troubles. He was a man who cared deeply for the churches he had served, and who invested himself heavily in the cultivation of young ministers. But in 2 Timothy 4:10 Paul had to say, "Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." There were times when he felt abandoned by earthly friends; yet that bitterness was always softened by one assurance:

At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.(2 Timothy 4:16-18)

Paul had learned to see the unseen, as great people of faith do. Elisha, for example, when his village was surrounded by the armies of Syria, could respond in confidence because he could see by faith the limitless hosts of God's army encamped in his defense.(2 Kings 6) Perhaps the rest of us relate better to Jacob, though, when he encountered God and His angels in a dream in the wilderness. Jacob, a natural-born homebody, went to sleep that night with a stone for a pillow, none of the comforts of home, and with fear of going back and fear of going forward. But when he awoke he had to say, "Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it."(Genesis 28:16)

We will find ourselves in places where we feel utterly alone and abandoned, emotionally if not actually physically. Remember Jacob's lesson, and make even these darkest hours "a house of praise," because "the Lord is in this place" also.

Stanza 3:
Anywhere with Jesus, over land and sea,
Telling souls in darkness of salvation free;
Ready as He summons me to go or stay,
Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way.
(Refrain)

This stanza was added in 1915 by Helen Cadbury Alexander (1877-1969), heiress of the famed chocolate-makers of Birmingham, England. It has a much more overt missionary emphasis, though that topic might be inferred from Pounds's text as well. The expansion of the global empires during the late 19th century had brought a new awareness of the world, and overseas missions boomed during the latter decades of that century and well into the 20th.

Acts 16:6-9 tells the interesting story of how the Holy Spirit sometimes guided Paul in one direction when Paul would have chosen another. Paul was forbidden to preach in Asia; prevented from going into Bithynia; and then directed into Macedonia. Did the Spirit not want these people to hear the gospel? Of course; but it was not in God's providence for Paul to go there at that time.

Sometimes our plans and desires in ministry don't pan out, and there may be a number of reasons. The fault may be in us, if the plans are not according to God's revealed will, or are pursued for wrong reasons. (In that case, we are much better off failing!) But it might also be that the time is not yet right, for us or for others; God may foresee a better opportunity some years in the future. It may even be that God hinders our plans because He has something completely different in mind. Our most grandiose plans may come to nothing, and yet in the course of living a Christian life we may influence one person for good, who goes on to do far more than we ever dreamed.

None of this is meant to deemphasize the importance of overseas missions. One of the most impressive things I see in the generation coming up behind me is the greater willingness to do mission work, at least on a short-term basis. There are just as many "souls in darkness" as ever (actually there are many more than in 1915); and when we hear of countries where people will close their businesses, travel for days, and sit for hours in hot, un-airconditioned buildings to attend a gospel meeting, it makes one wonder, where better could our efforts be spent?

Stanza 4:
Anywhere with Jesus I can go to sleep,
When the darkening shadows round about me creep,
Knowing I shall waken nevermore to roam;
Anywhere with Jesus will be home, sweet home.
(Refrain)

The third line of this stanza must certainly indicate that the subject is death, represented euphemistically by "go to sleep". Death is still the great unknown. We have lifted the veil of time and distance a bit in the last few generations, and peered out into space around us; we know considerably more (we think) about the "what" and "how" of the universe; but we know no more about death than did our ancestors. In fact we in the United States know considerably less. Our culture wants to treat death as an unpleasant side effect of life, something that happens to other people when they aren't careful enough. We go to great lengths to shield ourselves from its realities.

But death will come to every one of us, unless Jesus returns first; the question is not, "Will we die?", but "How will we die?" Will we follow the secularist reading of Dylan Thomas's "Do not go gentle into that good night"? (To be fair, it was Thomas's father's imminent passing that inspired the poem, which puts a different face on things.) But far too many in this world see nothing for it but to "Rage, rage, against the dying of the light." Compare this to Paul's words about his passing: "I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."(2 Timothy 1:12)

Looking back to Pounds's text, we take final note of the all-important adverbial clause that appears so often in this hymn: "with Jesus". Alone, Paul was just another political prisoner awaiting death in Rome. Alone, Paul an outcast from his people and even shunned by some of his brethren. Alone, Paul might well have asked, "Was it worth it?" But "with Jesus", Paul could say:

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.(Philippians 4:11-13)

Here was his secret. Paul was "untouchable", because he had already given up, in his mind, whatever the world had to offer; and he clung to the one thing that no one, not even the mighty Roman empire, could take away from him--Jesus Christ, his Lord.

About the music: Towner (1850-1918) was an aspiring vocal student at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music when the famous revivalist Dwight L. Moody recruited him as a songleader and paired him with traveling evangelists who spoke in the urban revivals of the late 19th century.(Wilhoit)

The urban revival movement gathered steam following the U.S. Civil War during an era when industrialization, immigration, and a series of economic crises swelled the populations of the cities to hitherto unimagined numbers. With these numbers came new problems of urban poverty and crime, and this era also saw the rapid growth of two institutions newly imported from Great Britain, the Salvation Army and the Young Men's Christian Association.

The evangelistic response to this new mission field was seen in the emergence of highly organized mass revival meetings and the type of revival preacher who often become an international celebrity. Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899) was essentially the founder of this tradition, and Billy Graham is the most recent example. Along with the preacher went the songleader, who led congregational singing and a choir, as well as singing solos himself. The songleader was an integral part of the team, and often the same preacher and songleader were teamed together over a period of years. Moody's best-known songleader was Ira Sankey ("Faith is the victory",PFTL#134), and the most recent example is George Beverly Shea, Billy Graham's partner for several decades.

The urban revivals were conducted along highly organized lines, and in 1886 Moody established a school in Chicago to train men specifically for urban mission work (after his death it was renamed the Moody Bible Institute). In 1893 Moody appointed Daniel Towner to organize a music department for training revival songleaders, and as a teacher Towner influenced a generation of gospel songwriters, including the prolific Charles H. Gabriel ("Higher ground",PFTL#234; "His eye is on the sparrow",PFTL#235; "I stand amazed",PFTL#299; "Jesus, Rose of Sharon",PFTL#363, "Just a few more days",PFTL#378; and many others).(Wilhoit)

Towner's style is mainstream 19th-century gospel, as seen in his other hymn settings, such as "At Calvary"(PFTL#53), "Grace greater than our sin"(PFTL#189), and what is probably his most memorable tune, "Trust and obey"(PFTL#714). His tunes work well, with simple, repetitive melodic structures, but are fairly generic (unlike Gabriel's). The phrase structure of the tune of "Anywhere with Jesus" is a-b-a-c in the stanza (where "a" represents the opening melodic phrase, "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go"), and repeats the "a" phrase at the end of the refrain.

An interesting feature of this tune in actual practice among the Churches of Christ in the U.S. is the tendency to slow down significantly in the refrain during the line "fear I cannot know", then return to the original tempo for the final line. I have never seen a version of this song that actually indicated these tempo changes, but I have never heard this song when this was not done to some degree.

What should a songleader do when a congregation has a habit of singing a song differently than it is written? Correcting a musical problem during a worship service (as I saw someone do once!) is certainly not the answer, and in my opinion suggests a lack of respect for what is, after all, the congregation's service of worship to God--not the songleader's service. To me a singing class, or a special singing night, is the appropriate time to take care of musical matters that have no direct bearing on worship.

But before making the effort to change a musical habit that may be deeply ingrained (such as slowing down on the next-to-last phrase of "Anywhere with Jesus"), I always try to answer the question, "Does it make a difference?" Some are real problems--such as the conflicting versions of the melody in "Abide with me"(PFTL#7), on the words "Lord with me abide" in the first stanza. Listen carefully to the notes on the syllables "Lord" and "a-"; the first should be an A, and the other an A-sharp. This is a little difficult to sing, however, and many singers will make both of them A-sharps, anticipating the harmony leading into the last note of the phrase. Either version would work; but when some in the congregation are singing one and some the other, both an A and an A-sharp will occur on the same note--a pretty jarring discord in the context of a quiet hymn. This, to me, would be worth the trouble to fix.

The slow-down in "Anywhere with Jesus", however, is not unpleasant (if it is not overly exaggerated, and if the tempo is not dragging to begin with). In fact, it adds a bit of variety to a fairly mundane tune. Musical literacy is a highly desirable thing, but we should never feel enslaved to the notes; even in the classical tradition, there are optional notes and unwritten rules. In the arena of congregational singing, also, there is a kind of collective wisdom that tends to smooth over the rough spots in the music for the better.

References:

"Helen Cadbury Alexander." Cyberhymnal. http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/a/l/alexander_hc.htm

Wilhoit, Mel R. "Towner, Daniel Brink." Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, ed. W. K. McNeil. New York: Routledge, 2005, p. 401.

Art thou weary?

Praise for the Lord #47

Words: Stephen the Sabaite, c. 800; trans. John Mason Neale, 1862
Music: Henry W. Baker, 1868; harmonized by William Monk, 1868

Stephen the Sabaite (725-794) was born in Palestine, and being orphaned at the age of nine followed his uncle Zechariah into the monastery of Mar Sabas.(Lamoureaux,8) Reaching adulthood, Stephen chose the monastic life and followed his natural scholarly bent. He was known to spend the weekdays in study in his cell under a vow of silence, speaking to others only on weekends. He was particularly noted for his encouragement to those struggling in their faith.(Lamoureaux,12) As a man who loved solitude, he nonetheless divided his time in later years between his brethren in different areas of Palestine, alternating with months spent alone in the wilderness.(Lamoureaux,18)

One of the chief distinctions between the liturgies of East and West is that the early liturgies of Catholicism underwent a process of unification and standardization from the time of Pope Gregory (from whom the term "Gregorian chant") through the era of Charlemagne, then a further redaction by the Council of Trent in the 16th century. The Orthodox churches, however, having no such single central authority, continued to add to their heritage of worship music with many overlapping layers of practices from different times and place and much regional variation. During the 19th century English hymnologists began to tap into this rich vein of poetry, one of the chief among them being John Mason Neale (1818-1866), discussed more fully in the post on All Glory, Laud, and Honor. Neale's translation "Art thou weary?" is loosely inspired by Stephen's Kopon te kai kamaton, as tended to be his practice. Neale's work, on the other hand, has the advantage of his deep understanding and appreciation of the style of the medieval Orthodox hymnists.(Wellesz,176n.)

This hymn, whether from the hand of Stephen or Neale, poses and answers a series of questions between faith and doubt in the mind of a believer:

Stanza 1:
Art thou weary, art thou languid,
Art thou sore distressed?
“Come to Me,” saith One, “and coming,
Be at rest.”

The first stanza is inspired by Christ's statement of invitation:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

On the face of it, this statement might seem to be at odds with some of Christ's other comments on the price of following Him. Take for example His "limited commission" to the apostles in Matthew chapter 18:

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles...(v.16-18)

"Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake...(v.21-22)

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me."(v.34-38)

This is tough, no-nonsense language about the challenges and opposition a Christian must expect to face. But interspersed within the very same passage we find some of Christ's most comforting and uplifting promises as well.

"When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour...(v.19)

"But the one who endures to the end will be saved...(v.22b)

"So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known...(v.26)

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven...(v.28-32)

Here is the reality, in capsule form, from our Savior's own lips. The Christian life is tough--but it has blessings, as well, that cannot be felt or understood by those who chose the other path in life.

Stanza 2:
Hath He marks to lead me to Him,
If He be my Guide?
In His feet and hands are wound-prints
And His side.

What do we look for in a leader? No one (in his right mind) would attempt a mountain climb without the guidance of an experienced climber who will go first and pick out the safe way. Even professional sea captains know they must turn over their ships to a "harbor pilot" who will come aboard and bring the ships to dock, because the harbor pilot's practiced eye knows every current, every turn, and every distance by long familiarity.

Jesus' qualifications are self-evident; He is the only One who could say, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; and no one comes to the Father, except through Me."(John 14:6) He is our "forerunner" into the presence of God.(Hebrews 6:20) And whereas the master of those on the "broad road"(Matthew 7:13) whips and drives and ultimately consumes his charges, those who would try to walk the "narrow, difficult way" have instead a Leader who encourages and comforts us, all the more so because He has traveled the worst of the road Himself.(Hebrews 4:15)

The following two stanzas are omitted from Praise for the Lord:

Hath He diadem, as monarch,
That His brow adorns?
Yes, a crown in very surety,
But of thorns.

If I find Him, if I follow,
What His guerdon here?
Many a sorrow, many a labor,
Many a tear.

The first of these continues the thought of stanza 2, that Jesus deserves our trust in His promise; but here His authority, rather than experience, is debated. The mark of His command is a crown unlike any other. The crowns of earthly royalty are made of gold and jewels, usually given by their subjects or captured from their enemies, and represents the splendor, wealth, and majesty of the monarch. The thorny crown of Christ is made of the hateful sins of those He came to save, forced upon Him by enemies and the spite of His own people, and represents the suffering and shame He came to bear on behalf of those who did not accept Him.

The second of these omitted verses addresses again the question of what our lot will be if we accept His invitation. (The "guerdon" is a "reward".) The answer is true and frank--but it is only part of the truth. The rest is found in the next stanza:

Stanza 3:
If I still hold closely to Him,
What hath He at last?
Sorrow vanquished, labor ended,
Jordan passed.

In the second and third chapters of the Revelation, Jesus spoke directly to the beleaguered churches of Asia Minor, both to correct and to encourage. He concluded His address to each with a promise of reward to those who "overcome" the trials of this life:

"To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God...(2:7)

"He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death...(2:11)

"To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat...(2:17)

"He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations ... and I will give him the morning star...(2:26-27)

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels...(3:5)

"He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name...(3:12)

"To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."(3:21)

The victory will not come all at once--many battles will be fought, and some lost--but He has assured us that we can ultimately "overcome" the world, because He already has: "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."(John 16:33)

Stanza 4:
If I ask Him to receive me,
Will He say me nay?
Not till earth and not till Heaven
Pass away.

In Revelation 3:20, Jesus states, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." The unadorned present tense of the Greek verb krouō is profoundly reassuring: He "knocks". He was knocking then, is knocking now, and will continue to knock as long as this world lasts. Couple this to the little Greek word tis in the next sentence--a gloriously indefinite pronoun that, standing alone, declares the invitation open to "anyone".(Lexicon/Concordance) But preceding this is another powerful little Greek word, ean--the mighty conjunction, "if". If we hear His voice over the din of this world and our own desires. If we open the door through obedience to all that He commands.

The following stanza was originally the conclusion, omitted in Praise for the Lord:

Finding, following, keeping, struggling,
Is He sure to bless?
Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs,
Answer, Yes!

The wonderful news is that even though Christ will not force the door open into our hearts, many who have gone before have shown us wonderful examples of surrendering to His invitation and walking the difficult road with Him to eternal life.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.(Hebrews 12:1)

About the music: Sir Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) was one of the founders behind the famed Anglican hymnal, Hymns Ancient & Modern. The Church of England did not officially endorse it, this hymnal so overshadowed its competition that it became the de facto hymnal of Anglicans around the world for generations. First appearing in 1861, it still survives in the "2000 edition" and is without doubt one of the most influential hymnals in the English language. Baker was the first chairman of the committee that produced Hymns Ancient & Modern, and his moderating influence probably kept it from falling prey to the "worship wars" then ensuing between the traditionalist supporters of the Watts/Wesley genre and the diversifying influence of the Oxford Movement.

Baker himself wrote relatively little music; but the harmonization of this tune comes from one of the most influential music editors of the era, William Monk (1823-1889). Monk's ability to accurately gauge what the average parish congregation and choir could handle musically was invaluable to the selection of tunes for Hymns Ancient & Modern. (Music editorship in a hymnal is often underappreciated--many a great hymn text would have passed into oblivion had it not been for a wise pairing of text and tune.) Though Monk was not regarded as a great composer by his peers, he certainly had a shining moment with his timeless music for "Abide with me".

The almost childlike simplicity of this tune is created through the repetition of 1-measure ideas in the melody. The first three measures are essentially sequences of the same simple idea: repeated notes with a descending note at the conclusion, and the second half of the tune employs a 1-measure sequence of the 5th measure to the 6th measure (the notes rise and fall in exactly the same pattern in measure 6, only starting on a different pitch). The harmony parts are relatively simple as well (for this style of hymn). The bass and tenor move around the scale by step, or by leaping to notes within the tonic chord of the key (DO, MI, SOL). The alto is practically immobilized on a D throughout. This was the style Monk knew would work: simple, logical, and singable. A MIDI file of this tune is available at http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/r/artthouw.htm

References:

Lamoureaux, John C., trans. The life of Stephen of Mar Sabas. Louvain: Peeters Publishers, 1999.

Wellesz, Egon. A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography. Oxford: Clarendon, 1949.

Lexicon/Concordance for Revelation 3:20. Blueletterbible.org. http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=3&v=20&t=KJV#conc/20

Arise, My Soul, Arise

Praise for the Lord #46

Words: Charles Wesley, 1742
Music: Daniel B. Towner, arr., 1909

Charles Wesley's founding role in English hymnody is discussed in an earlier post. Suffice it to say that it is always a pleasure to engage his hymn texts; they are consistently rich and thought-provoking.

Stanza 1:
Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding Sacrifice in thy behalf appears:
Before the throne my Surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

There are times when, as imperfect and sinful beings, we feel unworthy to come before God. Certainly the Communion is one of the chiefest of those occasions, because in it we are reminded of the awful seriousness of sin, and what Christ did to deliver us from it. Perhaps we should feel unworthy every single time. But this hymn shows us the other side of the coin--that in fact, regardless of our unworthiness, in Christ we have a Redeemer and an Advocate who can bring us before God's throne in good standing.

After a call to "shake off" these fears and doubts about our salvation, we are called to look at Christ, in the mind's eye, standing as our Advocate before the Father. He is a "bleeding Sacrifice", but He is glorious; as John describes Him in Revelation 5:6, "I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain..." The injuries Christ received on the cross were meant as humiliation, but only amplify His glory.

He stands as our "surety" ("pledge" or "collateral") before the throne of the Father, as Hebrews 7:22 says, "Jesus [was] made a surety of a better testament." It is almost as if Wesley represents Christ first "making our bail"; no matter how sinful we are, Christ's good standing before the Judge is a guarantee that our case will be heard favorably for His sake. Our Attorney is also a Friend of the Court!

Isaiah 49:16 is the source of the final line of this stanza, where the Lord promises that no matter what happens to His people, "Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands; your walls [i.e. Jerusalem? DH] are continually before Me." If I write something on the palm of my hand, it is because I am anxious to be certain that I remember it. I will see it throughout the day and be constantly reminded of it. God does not need reminding because God does not forget--but this is a heart-warming picture of Jesus' concern for His children. We are always before His eyes, always in His thoughts.

Refrain:
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

These lines are a little puzzling at first reading, but Wesley's writing is theologically rich as always, and he expected a high degree of familiarity with the Scriptures. Ephesians 5:25-26 tells us that "Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word;" but Revelation 1:5 clarifies that He "loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." The blood of Christ, then is the effective power in the water of baptism. The coming of Christ into the believer's heart by baptism is also called the "washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit."(Titus 3:5)

The Spirit's role of regeneration is intimately connected with the blood, for without the ransoming blood of Christ there would be no clean slate from which to begin. Acts 2:38 promises "the gift of the Holy Spirit" to those who repent and are baptized; and repeatedly we are told that the saved are "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit."(2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 4:30) 2 Corinthians 1:22 adds that the Spirit's sanctifying work within us is our "guarantee" ("earnest", KJV; "deposit", NIV); thus the indwelling Spirit is a testimony to the effectiveness of the water and the blood.

Wesley also certainly refers to Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Here I must part ways, however, with Wesley's doctrines. We need not look for a feeling or an experience; Hebrews 10:15 and the passage following teach that the Spirit "bears witness to us" in the words of the Scriptures. The Spirit's witness in the Word, by which we first come to faith in the power of Christ's blood, is always before us--even in (or especially in) moments of spiritual doubt.

The refrain is taken from the last two lines of what was originally the next-to-last (4th) stanza:

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

One cannot be certain, but it is possible that people have objected over the years to the lines stating that God "cannot turn away" from the "presence of His Son", since God did in fact turn His face away from Christ for a period of time on the cross.(Matthew 27:46) Wesley could hardly have meant to contradict that, but for the sake of avoiding confusion it is sometimes better simply to leave something out.

Stanza 2:
He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.
(Refrain)

Romans 8:33-34 paints this wonderful scene of heavenly justice and mercy:

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the One who died--more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Wesley also references the high priesthood of Christ. The high priests of Israel came into the Most Holy Place, into the presence of God, once a year to make atonement for the sins of the nation.(Leviticus 16) But Aaron and his sons were a line of imperfect men like us, who had to be forgiven of their sins before they could appear before God on behalf of others.(Hebrews 7:27) Jesus Christ, however,

holds His priesthood permanently, because He continues forever. Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.(Hebrews 7:24-25)

And not only do we have a lasting Advocate and High Priest of peerless character, but He is able to offer His own sinless blood for our atonement. "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins,"(Hebrews 10:4) but Christ offered Himself "once for all."(Hebrews 10:10) What more assurance could we ask?

The following verse is omitted from Praise for the Lord:

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

"Five wounds" simply refers to the piercing of Christ's hands, feet, and side during the crucifixion. Nonetheless this is an odd verse--especially the personification of the wounds as "crying" on our behalf.

Stanza 3:
To God I'm reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.
(Refrain)

In the final verse, Wesley portrays the end of the proceedings in the imagined "heavenly courtroom". Our Advocate has interceded with the Judge on our behalf, pleading His own special standing with the court and offering His own matchless blood in our place. Now the "trial" is over, and God is "reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them."(2 Corinthians 5:19) Instead of being viewed as criminals before the bar of justice, we are embraced as "have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!'"(Romans 8:15) With this understanding of our new relationship, we can let go of the fear and guilt of the past, and we can "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."(Hebrews 4:16)

About the music: This music first appeared in Towner's Ideal Song & Hymn Book, published 1909. Looking at Towner's other songs, though, such as "Anywhere with Jesus"(PFTL#48), "At Calvary"(PFTL#53), "Grace greater than our sin"(PFTL#189), or "Trust and obey"(PFTL#714), I really doubt that this is original music by Towner. Praise for the Lord attributes it only to one of his publication; and the songs that are definitely written by Towner are all very much in the late 19th-century gospel mainstream.

This music, on the other hand, has a peculiar complexity similar to that of the music of "Awake, my soul, in joyful lays"(PFTL#38). It is complicated and even somewhat fussy, yet charming in overall effect. The rather counter-intuitive rhythm of dotted eighth-note, sixteenth-note on the downbeat is odd, yet becomes a strong unifying factor. The style is not homespun enough to be campmeeting or Sacred Harp music, is too sophisticated in tone to be gospel, but neither is it truly classical. It seems rather to fit into the sphere of the amateur choral society, similar to works of Lowell Mason such as "Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore Him"(PFTL#531).

Click here to hear a different tune for "Arise, my soul, arise" (this would be sung without a refrain, and with the third line repeated each time).