And Can it Be?

1) And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior's blood!
Died he for me? Who caused His pain!
For me? Who him death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

2) 'Tis mystery all: th' Immortal dies!
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
to sound the depths of love divine.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.
'Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
let angel minds inquire no more.

3) He left his Father's throne above
(so free, so infinite his grace!),
emptied himself of all but love,
and bled for Adam's helpless race.
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for o My God, it found out me!
'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
for O my God, it found out me!

4) Long my imprison spirit lay,
fast bound in sin and nature's night;
thine eye diffused a quickening ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
my chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, wen forth, and followed thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

5) No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine;
alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach th' eternal throne,
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I apporach th' eternal throne.
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Today, I'm listening to "And Can It Be?" by Charles Wesley. The story goes that Wesley wrote this immediately after his conversion. This, according to John Lawson, is the best known/loved Methodist hymn of conversion. Looking through the stanzas, one can trace Wesley's amazement. First in Christ's sacrifice for the believer, second in the mystery of such love, third the magnitude of God's love, fourth our own bondage in sin, and finally fifth, the merciful work of the Savior.

This is a great hymn that shows just how staggering conversion can be. It truly is a great love that saves sinners such as us. Sometimes conversion happens because that love hits us all at once. Other times, and possibly more often, its gradual, with belief just sort of creeping into the heart. Either way, the love we receive is truly amazing.

Wayfaring Stranger

1) I'm just a poor wayfarin' stranger,
While travelin' through this world below.
Yet there's no sickness, no toil, nor danger,
In that bright land to which I go.
I'm goin' there to see my Father.
And all my loved ones who've gone on.
I'm just goin' over Jordan.
I'm just goin' over home.

2) I know dark clouds will gather 'round me,
I know my way is hard and steep.
But beauteous fields arise before me,
Where God's redeemed, their vigils keep.
I'm goin' there to see my Mother.
She said she'd meet me when I come.
So, I'm just goin' over Jordan
I'm just goin' over home.

3) I'll soon be free from every trial
This form shall rest beneath the sod.
I'll drop the cross of self-denial,
And enter in that home with God
I'm going home to see my Savior
Who spilled his precious blood for me.
I'm just goin' over Jordan
I'm just goin' over home.

This is a folk song from the 19th century. Many folks have recorded it and is probably most associated with Burl Ive's. I used Jack White's cover because it is the one that I'm most familiar with and I think he does an excellent job of capturing the tone of the lyrics. One of the many reasons I enjoy folk songs and bluegrass type music is that they tell stories. Most current pop and much of the current worship music is designed around a hook. It's catchy in order to be catchy. A lot of today's music miss that story telling aspect which, from reading his interviews and listening to his music, Jack White embraces.

There is a stanza missing from White's version that reads, "I want to wear a crown of glory/ when I get home to that good land / I want to shout salvation's story / In concert with the blood-washed band." There are many times in which we simply trudge through life. Trials and suffering seem without end. We become stranger not only to those around us, but to ourselves as well. It is tough. But the Lord never forgets who we are and He welcomes us with open arms when our journey comes to an end. That, is a glorious day.

Cleft For Me

1) Rock of ages, cleft for me
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

2) Not the labors of my hands 
can fulfill thy law's commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save and thou alone.

3) Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

4) While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

This hymn was written by Augustus Montague Toplady (1740-1778). Toplady was raised by his mother, with his father passing away at a young age. While sickly and neurotic, Toplady was extremely intelligent, beginning to preach at the age of 12. Though his demeanor turned away other clergymen (he was perceived as arrogant ... you know the young Calvinist stereotype) his writings indicated a humble heart. Sharefaith.com posted this as a journal excerpt when Toplady was 27, "O my Lord let not my ministry be approved only, or tend to be no more than conciliating the esteem and affections of my people to thy unworthy messenger; but to do the work of thy grace upon their hearts: call in thy chosen; seal and edify thy regenerate; and command thy everlasting blessing upon their souls! Save me from self-opinion, and from self-seeking; and may they cease from man, and look solely upon thee.

As I read through this hymn today, I realize that Toplady wants nothing of himself in the picture of the Gospel. He wrote this hymn in a letter on forgiveness in a rebuttal of John Wesley. Topladywas all about the Gospel and what Christ did for people. Look at the third stanza. Toplady describes himself as owning nothing, naked, helpless, and foul. At first glance, one would think the writer could teach Eeyore a thing or two about self pity. Toplady realizes how much we need Christ and how little we bring to our own salvation. Dig past the surface, this is a hymn of joy.

Here's Johnny Cash singing this wonderful hymn.

Help Lord

There is no music with today's hymn. It's written by Isaac Watts and published in The Psalms of David (1719). Dad and I were discussing a Psalm the other week in which David prays that his enemies be conquered. We pondered that for a bit before I realized that assaults on David were assaults against the Lord. David was king, the Lord's appointed and ancestor to the Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus occupies three offices, prophet, priests, and king. So rebellion or an attack against David (in that particular case: Absalom) was an attack on God.

Still, it seems odd to sing at a temple, which is probably why I'm posting this hymn by Isaac Watts. It's a bit counter-culture to us to sing that God vanquish His enemies and that deceivers fail. It didn't bother Watts in updating the Psalm to English poetry. It's good to remember that our God is a victorious conqueror. Now this isn't license to beat up on whatever political party we happen to disagree with. It is acknowledgment that we should ask the Lord to restrain and conquer those who oppose Him.

1) Help, Lord, for men of virtue fail,
Religion loses ground,
The sons of violence prevail,
And treacheries abound.

2) Their oaths and promises they break,
Yet act the flatterer's part;
With fair, deceitful lips they speak,
And with a double heart.

3) If we reprove some hateful lie,
How is their fury stirred!
"Are not our lips our own?" they cry;
"And who shall be our Lord?"

4) Scoffers appear on every side,
Where a vile race of men
Is raised to seats of power and pride,
And bears the sword in vain.

5) Lord, when iniquities abound,
And blasphemy grows bold;
When faith is hardly to be found,
And love is waxing cold;

6) Is not Thy chariot hastening on?
Hast Thou not giv'n this sign?
May we not trust and live upon 
A promise so divine?

7) "Yes," saith the Lord, "now will I rise,
And make oppressors flee;
I shall appear to their surprise,
And set My servants free."

8) Thy Word, like silver sev'n times tried,
Through ages shall endure;
The men that in Thy truth confide
Shall find the promise sure.

My Father's World

1) This is my Father's world, and to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world: I rest me in the thought
Of rock and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.

2) This is my Father's world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world: He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

3) This is my Father's world, O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world; the battle is not done:
Jesus Who died shall be satisfied, 
And earth and Heav'n be one.

4) This is my Father's world, dreaming I see His face.
I ope my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, "The Lord is in this place."
This is my Father's world, from the shining courts above,
The Beloved One,His onlynSon,
Came - a pledge of deathless love.

5) This is my Father's world, should my heart be ever sad?
The lord is King - let the heavens ring. God reigns - let the earth be glad.
This is my Father's world. Now closer to Heaven bound,
For dear to God is the earth Christ tro.
No place but is holy ground.

6) This is my Father's world. I walk a desert lone.
In a blush ablaze to my wondering gaze God makes His glory known.
This is my Father's world, a wanderer I may roam.
Whate'er my lot, it matters not,
My heart is still at home.

This hymn was written by Matlbie Babcock (1858-1901). Babcock was a Presbyterian pastor who was renowned for his metaphors and overall oratory skills. From what I've read about him, he was pretty Renaissance man who probably could have done anything artistic, yet the Lord called him to shepherd His people and write gorgeous hymns. I needed a hymn of comfort today and this one came to mind. I'm not sure there is a greater comfort than proudly proclaiming that God is in control. This is His world.

On Stormy Banks

1) On Jordan's stormy banks I stand, and cast a wishful eye,
To Canaan's fair and happy land, where my possessions lie.

2) O'er all those wide, extended plains shines one eternal day;
There God, the Son, forever reigns, and scatters nights away.

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

3) No chilling winds nor pois'nous breath, can reach that healthful shore;
Sickness and sorrow; pain and death, are felt and feared no more.

Refrain:

4) When Shall I reach that happy place, and be forever blest? 
When shall I see my Father's face, and in His bosom rest?

This hymn was written by Samuel Stennet (1727-1795), who had never seen the Jordan. Apparently folks who had seen the Jordan wanted to change the name to "muddy banks" or "rugged banks." I suppose all of those work, but Stennet wasn't exactly going for geographical accuracy. Instead, he is referring to what the Jordan represents, which is the boundary of the promised land. For us, the promised land is God's eternal rest. Our life is in the wilderness, to extend the metaphor, and when God calls us home, we have a seat with Christ who "scatters night away."

I know I haven't been exactly doing a hymn a day. Lately it has been a few hymns a week. This week has been a difficult one, as the Lord called home a close friend of the family. I love and miss Uncle Al. It is comforting to know that he is with the Lord and the rest of the saints looking down, but comfort doesn't mean there is no sorrow. In the last stanza, Stennet asks, "When shall I see my Father's face, and in His bosom rest?" We never know when the Lord will call our journey to an end, but when we finish, He is there to greet us. That is our hope, that is our joy.

Before the Awful Throne

1) Before Jehovah's awful throne,
Ye nations, bow with sacred joy:
Know that the Lord is God alone,
He can create and he destroy.

2) His sovereign pow'r, without our aid,
Made us of dust, and formed us men;
And when like wandering sheep we strayed,
He brought us to his fold again.

3) We are his people, we his care,
Our souls, and all our mortal frame;
What lasting honors shall we rear,
Almighty Maker, to my name?

4) Wide as the world is thy command,
Vast as eternity thy love;
Firm as rock thy truth must stand,
When rolling years shall cease to move.

I'm not sure what drew me to this hymn today (sorry, for the delay between posts, I have some excuses, but none for not doing one yesterday, other than it was Sunday and I was tired and didn't think about doing one.) I think it has to do with the archaic use of "awful." As opposed to "fearful" or "terrifying," the hymn writer is using it to mean "full of awe." I say hymn writer, because John Wesley updated Isaac Watts' poem, so I don't know who wrote what.

This is a good hymn that celebrates God's complete sovereignty over all. It's hard for us to relinquish control of our lives. Especially to an all powerful being that we've never seen face to face. But as we come to know the Lord more and more, as the Spirit indwelling fills the crevices of our soul, we realize that we have never had any control. Without God, we are, at best, slaves to our passions and desires. Passions and desires can be topsy-turvy things, shifting back and forth. Going through life, we are untrained sea captains dropped into the middle of the ocean. How do we find the shore? Our Savior takes care of us. He takes the wheel. He created us, He created life. He is in control, always has, and always will be. So, as we sing "We are his people, we his care," we may take great comfort knowing that the God who Loves Us will lead us and keep us.