Vol. 621: Ten Thousand Angels

(Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

1. "They bound the hands of Jesus, in the garden where He prayed; They led him thro' the streets in shame.  They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin; They said, 'Crucify Him; He's to blame.'
2. "Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns; They laughed and said, 'Behold the King.'  They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name.  All alone He suffered ev'rything.
3. "When they nailed Him to the Cross, His mother stood nearby; He said, 'Woman, behold thy son!'  He cried, 'I thirst' for water, but they gave Him none to drink, Then the sinful work of man was done.
4. "To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry.  The Cross of shame He took alone.  And when He cried 'It's finished,' He gave Himself to die; Salvation's wondrous plan was done.

• Refrain:"He could have called ten thousand angels To destroy the world (the world) and set Him free.  He could have called ten thousand angels, But He died alone, (alone), for you and me."

(Words and music by Ray Overholt, Copyright 1959, Renewal 1987 by Lillenas Publishing Company)

As we once again begin with our Prime Directive "checkoff list", we can see that this is a psalm of praise to God (more specifically God the Son, the Messiah Jesus) giving high praise for His work in dying on the cross (along with all the preparation up to that point), as well as high praise for His power ("He could have called ten thousand [twelve legions of] angels") and the humble quality of His character (since He did NOT call those angels down to save Him but "died alone for you and me").

This song was written by Ray Overholt (1924-2008) who began his music career when, at an early age, living on a farm near Middleville, Michigan, he took two dollars, bought a guitar, and taught himself how to play.  By the age of ten he had written a tune called "The Lonesome Cowboy" ("Ray Overholt and His Grand River Boys").

He went on to become a cowboy-country music singer in the Grand Rapids area, even hosting his own "Ray's Roundup" TV show on WOOD-TV.  He went on to write more songs, much of his music having been covered by at least 100 artists including Loretta Lynn and Kate Smith ("Ray Overholt").

In 1958, however, at perhaps the pinnacle of his show-business career, he began writing the song we know today as "Ten Thousand Angels".  By his own account:

One day I thought to myself: I’ve written secular songs, I’d like to write a song about Christ. I opened the Bible. I knew a little about it from my mom. I began to read how Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane told Peter to put away his sword. Jesus told Peter that He could ask His Father and He would send twelve legions of angels. I didn’t know at the time that would have been more than 72,000 angels (cf: MATT 26:53). I thought a good title for a song would be “He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels”.... I wrote the first verse and put it in my guitar case. I then told the club [where I was performing] that I was quitting.  I finished the song and sent it to a publishing house, which reluctantly agreed to publish it (C. A. I.).

Now that we are familiar with some of the history behind this song, let's check it's scriptural integrity.  As I have been doing for the last few commentaries, I have reprinted the lyrics in outline form so we can hopefully stem some confusion.

1.  
• "They bound the hands of Jesus, in the garden where He prayed;
•  Confirmed in John 18 (particularly verse 12).
• They led him thro' the streets in shame.
•  This seems to be a little heavy in artistic license.  Three of the Gospels give account that the chief priests and elders were trying NOT to be conspicuous about this: they feared the people (Matthew 26:3-5; Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2).  The only times they would have had to walk Him through the streets would be from Gethsemane to the house of Annas (former high priest), from Annas' house to the house of Caiaphas (then current high priest and son-in-law to Annas), then from Caiaphas' house to Governor Pilate's headquarters (John 18:1-28).  The first two trips were at night, the last trip was in the early morning (John 18:28), presumably all times when there wouldn't have been much of a spectacle.  Even if you account their journey from the governor's HQ to where King Herod was lodging and then the return trip (Luke 22:5-11), all of this happened before His crucifixion at 9 o'clock in the morning (the third hour, Mark 15:25), and Pilate still had one more interrogation session with Him and the soldiers still had to make THEIR preparations for His walk to the cross.
• They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
• This they did at the house of Caiaphas after their interrogation and before sending Him to Governor Pilate (Matthew 26:67-68; Mark 14:65).
• The soldiers who took Him into the Governor's HQ, preparing Him for His crucifixion, also spit on Him (Matthew 27:27-30; Mark 15:16-19), but this took place during the events of the second verse.
• Considering Jesus truly was (is) "free from sin" (more accurately, He is "without sin", Hebrews 4:15), therein lies the shame: that He had to go through all this for our benefit and salvation (Isaiah 53:4,5).
• They said, 'Crucify Him; He's to blame.'
•  The mob definitely shouted for Him to be crucified (Matthew 27:23; Mark 15:13,14; Luke 23:21,23; John 19:15).
• The mob did not directly say, "He's to blame."
1. This statement seems rather vague to begin with.  To blame for what?  Actually, this vague quality seems rather parallel to one of the "accusations" brought against Jesus.  When Governor Pilate asked what accusation they had against Him, they answered, "If this Man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered Him over to you!" (John 18:29-30)
2. This could again be more poetic license.  Many times song writers will illicit sympathy from the audience by saying that the hero of their ballad was maliciously accused of something of which he was innocent and everybody says "He's to blame!!"
3. However, there were other "accusations" brought against Jesus that could fit the "He's to blame" motif, such as when they said, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay tribute to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Luke 23:2).  Apparently, according to them, He was the reason they weren't paying their duties to Caesar (would that WE could get away with an excuse like that before the Internal Revenue Service!).
2.  
• "Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns;
• They laughed and said, 'Behold the King.'
• They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name.
• All of this is well documented (Matthew 27:27-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:1-3) although each account says the Roman soldiers mocked Him.
• All alone He suffered ev'rything.
• Some commentators have stated this to be a false statement because Jesus was not alone, in fact at this point the whole battalion of the governor's soldiers was there with Him in the headquarters (Matthew 27:27)!  And yet, even in a crowd of people, one can feel so alone, especially when the rest of the group seems (is) pitted against you.
3.  
• "When they nailed Him to the Cross, His mother stood nearby; 
• He said, 'Woman, behold thy son!' 
• This, too, is well documented (John 19:26).
• He cried, 'I thirst' for water, but they gave Him none to drink,
• John 19:28 shows that Jesus said, "I thirst."  We can only assume that he meant water.
• In the Praise for the Lord hymnbook, the lyric is written, "He cried, 'I thirst' for water...", directly quoting Him and implying what He (and most normal people) would have been seeking in a situation like this.
• However, John points out in this verse that He made the request to "fulfill the Scripture".  In John 19:29, he points out that a jar full of sour wine was nearby; someone got a sponge loaded with it, placed it on a hyssop branch, and gave it to Him to drink.
• Apparently, the Scripture to be fulfilled was Psalm 69:21.
• However, in other versions of this song (such as the Paperless Hymnal), Jesus is quoted as saying, "I thirst for water."
• Some may find this matter to be more trifling, others may make a bigger deal out of this.  In the end, it seems certain that the Lord would have preferred water to drink.  Whether or not he truly wanted it, he still had a prophecy to finish and this was how He chose to do so.
• Then the sinful work of man was done.
•  It is at this point, in John 19:30, that Jesus said, "It is finished."
• One could make the point that the soldiers still had to check the body and not break His legs (John 19:33; Psalm 34:20; Exodus 12:43-48, emphasis on verse 46), He had to be buried (John 19:38ff, Isaiah 53:9); and so on; but in essence, it was over (with the exception of the resurrection!).
4.  
• "To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry. 
• Again, well documented, He never cried for mercy; in fact there were a few times He could have spoken, possibly even in His own defense, but chose not to do so. 
• The Cross of shame He took alone. 
•  Although one could make the argument that Simon of Cyrene was compelled to help Him carry the cross (Mark 15:21), but He still bore the brunt of everything that happened as He hung on that cross.
• And when He cried 'It's finished,' He gave Himself to die;
• Salvation's wondrous plan was done.
•  Again we can go by a strict interpretation of John 19:30 for this.  It is still up to us to respond correctly to this in order to receive His salvation!

Refrain:

• "He could have called ten thousand angels To destroy the world (the world) and set Him free. 
• He could have called ten thousand angels, But He died alone, (alone), for you and me."
• As was mentioned by the song's author, Jesus Himself mentioned that He could have called twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53).
• At the time, Mr. Overholt did not realize that a legion could consist of anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 people.
• That would range 36,000 to 72,000 angels!
• Considering how powerful ONE angel is (Numbers 22:22-35; Daniel 6:22) imagine how formidable an entire army of them would be (2 Kings 6:15-17), a comfort to those under their protection, torment and distress to their intended target!
• But he felt the lyric sounded good (and there is a certain poetic sense to it).

On a personal note, I have heard this song sung in two different ways: one where all four verses are sung before singing the chorus, the other where the chorus follows every verse.  Some songs lend themselves to the first version, such as "Low in the Grave He Lay" [#408 in PftL] ("Up from the grave, He arose" only once!).  I tend to believe the second version to be more fitting for this song, because there are many times throughout this event (at any "station of the cross", if you will) where the Lord could have said "I have had enough of this, I want to go HOME!!!"  All praise is due Him for His humility in going through all of it for the benefit of all of us, who were still sinners at the time (Romans 5:6-11, emphasis on verse 8[!])!

I must admit that I have had reservations about singing this song in worship before, particularly the third verse.  But as I study it more and take a closer look into each Gospel's account of the crucifixion, as we did here, I find it easier to sing in good conscience.

Of course, I welcome your comments or thoughts on this....

-bas4d

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Works Cited

• "Ray Overholt", c-2017, West Mich Musical Hysterical Society.
• "Ray Overholt and His Grand River Boys", http://www.hillbilly-music.com/artists/story/index.php?id=12856, c-2000-2017, Hillbilly-Music.com, Modesta, CA.
• "Samuel S. Wesley and Ray Overholt", Christian Assemblies International.

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 (Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

Vol. 526: "Pass Me Not"

(Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

1. "Pass me not, O gentle Savior, Hear my humble cry; While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by.
2. "Trusting only in Thy merit, Would I seek Thy face; Heal my wounded, broken spirit, Save me by Thy grace.
3. "Thou, the Spring of all my comfort, More than life to me, Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in Heav'n but Thee?

Chorus-- "Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry; While on others Thou art calling, Do not pass me by."

(Words by Fanny J. Crosby; Music by William H. Doane)

Once again, as we begin with our Prime Directive "checkoff list", we can see that this is a psalm of praise to God giving high praise for His work as well as a hymn demonstrating praise and supplication as well as teaching (or reminding us of) our dependence on God.

This song was written by Fanny J. Crosby and is one of at least 2,000 that she wrote in her lifetime (some biographies credit her with writing as many as 8,000!). Due to an error on the part of the doctor attending to her, she lost her sight at the age of six weeks (!), but she seemed to feel it was all part of Divine Providence, since she is quoted as saying:

• It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me (from http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/c/r/o/crosby_fj.htm).

When one considers not only the sheer quantity of hymns she produced, but also the fact that she is still one of the most well known women in these United States, it's no wonder that the vast majority of American hymn books contain a portion of her work.

There are a lot of Biblical allusions in this song, thus indicating Miss Crosby was fairly well versed in the Scriptures. But, then again, so were Saul and Apollos, and both started in bad positions for Christ. Fortunately both were corrected (Saul in Acts 9 and Apollos in Acts 18:24ff). Is there a need for correction in this song?

As the first verse and the chorus share many lyrics in common (and may be the sticking point for me), I will proceed in reverse order for this song and begin with the last verse. "Thou, the Spring of all my comfort," it begins; this seems to allude to Isaiah 61 where it starts,"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...."  And as Isaiah lists the many good things that the Anointed One was going to do, in verse two of that chapter he lists, "to comfort all who mourn" (incidentally, this is the same passage the Anointed One reads in the Nazareth synagogue in Luke 4 to the fulfillment in the ears of the people who were there!).  One could also make the case for quoting Jesus in some of His final words to His disciples, before He goes to the cross, in John 14:27 when He says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.... Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."  The final verse of the song ends by saying, "More than life to me, Whom have I on earth beside Thee? Whom in heav'n but Thee?"  This is very similar to what Asaph the psalmist writes in Pslam 73:25: "Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You."  Similar sentiments were made by King David, the man after God's heart, in 2 Samuel 7:22 and 1 Chronicles 17:20 (his prayer of gratitude that, although the Lord refused to allow him the honor, his progeny would build the temple in his stead), and Peter in John 6:68-69 when Jesus asks the remaining disciples if they want to leave Him as well.

The second verse of the song says, "Trusting only in Thy merit, Would I seek Thy face."  One can find many examples in the New Testament of people who sought to see or meet with Jesus based on His merits (the fact that He healed so many). We see ten lepers in Luke 17:13ff; Zacchaeus in Luke 19; and the blind beggar (Bartimaeus) in Matthew 20:30ff, Mark 10:46ff, and Luke 18:35ff.  The verse continues, "Heal my wounded, broken spirit," similar to what King David writes in Psalm 34:18: "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."  And this second verse of the song ends, "Save me by Thy grace." Paul (formerly Saul before his earlier mentioned correction) makes the point many times of how we are saved by the grace of God through faith (Rom 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).  And although we work to demonstrate our faith (James 2:14-26, emphasis on verses 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26), it is not the work that saves us.  Were it not for the grace of God, none of us would be saved!

There is another verse that was originally written for this song as the second verse (thus, de facto, we have just covered the fourth and third verses [?]).  Although it is not included in the Praise for the Lord hymn book we are covering, I still want to make mention of it as it reads, "Let me at Thy throne of mercy Find a sweet relief."  This seems to concur with what the inspired writer says in Hebrews 4:14-16: "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  The song verse continues, "Kneeling there in deep contrition" (as we see in Proverbs 22:4, the Lord rewards those who demonstrate humility and fear), "Help my unbelief" (this echoes the feelings demonstrated by the father of the young man with the unclean spirit in Mark 9:23-24).

This brings us to the final matter, the first verse and chorus, the only difference of which is their respective openings.  "Pass me not, o gentle Savior (the chorus substitutes "Savior, Savior,"), Hear my humble cry."  Of course, we know from King David's statement in Psalm 34:15 that "[t]he eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry."  But the verse and chorus continue, "While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by."  Granted, this closing statement is reminiscent of what Abraham tells three men who were standing before his tent in the oaks of Mamre in Genesis 18:3, "'O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.'"

However, it bears to be noted what the prophet foretells about how people would be called by God in the last days in Joel 2:32-- "it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls."  Peter mentions this passage in the first Gospel sermon given on that Pentecost in Acts 2 and it points out a doctrinal error that many espouse in Calvinism: it is those who call upon the name of the Lord (calling upon His authority) who are saved.  Those "who escape", those "among the survivors" (two variant ways of mentioning people who have been saved) are the ones "whom the LORD calls."  Unlike the error of "Unconditional Election" (the "U" in Calvinism's "TULIP", with God allegedly choosing whom He calls according to His own intention without any consideration of an individual's merit), we see that the Lord calls upon those who call upon Him, further punctuating what the inspired writer tells us in Hebrews 11:6, that "He rewards those who seek Him."  Therefore, the Lord is NOT going to pass somebody by if they are calling upon Him.  This makes the song smack of Calvinism and should either be revised or not sung at all.  It has a catchy tune and all, just like "Jesus is Coming Soon", which draws us in to want to sing it, but this is why we should check the scriptural integrity of the songs we propose to sing either to God in praise or to each other in encouragement and thus avoid spreading false doctrine.

[Calling upon the name of the Lord and being called by God have some overlapping thoughts with another topic I wanted to expand upon, drawing near to God, from Volume 436's commentary on "Nearer, Still Nearer". As before, once I have completed this separate piece, I hope to provide a link to it from here.]

Although I end every commentary with this, as always, I do welcome your thoughts…

(Back to Introductory Volume)

Vol. 348: "Jesus is All the World to Me"

(Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

1. "Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all; He is my strength from day to day-- Without Him I would fall.  When I am sad to Him I go; No other one can cheer me so; When I am sad, He makes me glad: He's my Friend.
2. "Jesus is all the world to me, My friend in trials sore; I go to Him for blessings and He gives them o'er and o'er.  He sends the sunshine and the rain; He sends the harvest's golden grain; Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain: He's my Friend.
3. "Jesus is all the world to me, And true to Him I'll be; O how could I this friend deny, When He's so good to me?  Following Him I know I'm right, He watches o'er me day and night; Following Him, by day and night: He's my Friend.
4. "Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better friend; I trust Him now, I'll trust Him when Life's fleeting days shall end.  Beautiful life with such a Friend, Beautiful life that has no end; Eternal life, eternal joy: He's my Friend."

(Words by Will L. Thompson)

Beginning with our Prime Directive "checkoff list", we can see that this is a psalm of praise extolling God's power and work and a hymn that teaches our dependence on Him and His willingness to bless.  

Will L. Thompson (1847-1909) earned a degree in business from Alliance College in Alliance, Ohio (no doubt influenced by his father who was a successful merchant), but had shown an interest in music from an early age, having written several songs before graduating high school.  He furthered his musical education, graduating from the New England Conservatory of Music as well as studying music in Leipzig, Germany.

As a young man, Thompson sent a package of four songs to a publisher, requesting payment of $100 for the entire package.  When the publisher responded with a counter-offer of $25, Thompson declined.  Since he couldn't get what he considered to be a fair price for his music, he decided to go into business for himself and started a music store in East Liverpool in association with his father's business.  He also went into the mail order business, selling sheet music and music books.  He became successful with this, so much so that he became known as the millionaire "Bard of Ohio."

While attending an evangelistic meeting, he decided to devote himself to writing, selling, and promoting Christian music.  In 1880, he wrote "Softly and Tenderly", which became popular rather quickly as a hymn of invitation.  "Jesus is All the World to Me" achieved similar popularity soon after it's writing in 1904.

This song does seem to make some rather lofty claims, so we should see how well they match with Scripture.

Every verse begins with "Jesus is all the world to me," and the first verse continues with "my life, my joy, my all."  I believe we can assign this as artistic license, demonstrating how important the Lord is (or at least should be) in one's life.  The verse continues, "He is my strength from day to day, Without Him I would fall."  First of all, it is safe to say that Jesus is God (John 17:11; Philippians 2:5-6) and as we learned from the song "Let Him Have His Way with Thee", we learn from Jude 24 and 2 Peter 1:5-10 (emphasis on verse 10) that He is able to keep us from falling.  The verse goes on to say, "When I am sad, to Him I go; no other One can cheer me so; When I am sad, He makes me glad!"  As we also discussed in "Follow Me," Jesus does still speak to us through the Bible (John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:15-16), so we can "go to Him" through His Word to receive encouragement (cheer).

The second verse describes the Lord as, "My friend in trials sore," and goes on to say, "I go to Him for blessings and He gives them o'er and o'er.  He sends the sunshine and the rain; He sends the harvest's golden grain; Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain."  As was mentioned earlier, since Jesus is God, He also sends sunshine and rain (Matthew 5:45-46) [I'm not certain if "[going] to Him for blessings" is akin to prayer; as I understand it, we pray to God the Father by the authority of and through Jesus (John 14:6; 15:16); this is part of the problem I have with songs like "Have a Little Talk with Jesus" and "Tell It to Jesus Alone"; if I am mistaken on any of these points, I do ask for clarification, please].

In the third verse, the promise is made that "true to Him I'll be."  However, when the line is sung, "Oh, how could I this friend deny, When He's so good to me?" I hope it is rhetorical; after all, we do have the example of Peter (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:54-62; John 18:15-18, 25-27).  But the verse goes further: "Following Him, I know I'm right; He watches o'er me day and night; following Him by day and night."  Again, Jesus is God, so He does not sleep (Psalm 121:4) and He is constantly praying to the Father for us, interceding on our behalf (John 17:9, 20-21). 

The final verse makes an exceptionally good promise: "I want no better friend.  I trust Him now, I'll trust Him when Life's fleeting days shall end."  It also looks forward to a "Beautiful life with such a friend, Beautiful life that has no end; Eternal life, eternal joy."  The promise can be verified by what Jesus told John in Revelation 2:7, 10, 17 and Revelation 21:1-7: eternal joy awaits us if we have been faithful.

This brings me to the final statement which closes every verse of this song, and considering we are singing about Someone who helped create all that there is, it is quite a lofty claim: "He's my friend."  This could seem presumptuous, possibly bordering on arrogance, as anyone can claim to be a friend of somebody else.  But can that claim be reciprocal, particularly in this case?  Can Jesus call us friend?

Fortunately, the Messiah Jesus Himself gives this answer in John 15:14: "You are my friends if you do what I command you."  And as we saw in our analysis of the last stanza, if we do as He commands us and we are faithful to the point of death, we will get to see "eternal life, eternal joy" with Him, our Friend.

As always, I welcome your thoughts…

--updated 8/31/2015

(Back to Introductory Volume)

Vol. 197: ”Have Thine Own Way”

(Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

1. "Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay! Mold me and make me After thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.
2. "Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Search me and try me, Master, today! Whiter then snow, Lord, wash me just now, As in Thy presence Humbly I bow.
3. "Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Wounded and weary, Help me, I pray! Power, all power Surely is Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.
4. "Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Hold o'er my being Absolute sway! Fill with Thy Spirit Till all shall see Christ only, always, living in me.

(Words by Adelaide A. Pollard; Music by George C. stebbins)

Yet another classic hymn that has been sung among the brotherhood for several years.

First of all, as we go by our Prime Directive "checkoff list", we see a unique situation (at least unique for all the commentaries that have been done here so far) where this song fits all three categories! It is a psalm (for extolling God's power [particularly in the 3rd verse] and His work), a hymn (being a song of supplication), and a spiritual song (intended to inspire or cultivate feelings of spiritual devotion and bring the spirit of man under control of the Spirit of God).  That seems to be quite a bit to pack into one song!

Adelaide Pollard wrote many hymns during what is referred to as the the Moody-Sankey era (something this author needs to research further) but never desired recognition for them.  No one is certain how many hymns she wrote, because she very seldom signed her name to them.  As Warren Shiver writes in his work "Stories Behind the Hymns":

• Adelaide Pollard was forty-five years old when in 1907 she visited a prayer meeting, where she was inspired to write her most famous hymn. It was a simple phrase from a simple but sincere prayer that impressed her. For in offering her prayer, an elderly woman omitted the usual beseeching of the Lord to shower blessings upon her and the prayer meeting group, but instead she told God that it didn’t matter what he brought into their lives, but “Just have your own way with us”. As Adelaide left the prayer meeting that night the phrase from that prayer, “Have Thine own way”, rang in her mind. On the way home she formed the lyrics in her mind and before going to bed that night, she wrote the words on paper.  Shortly afterwards, George Coles Stebbins set the words to music, and “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” was ready for the Christian world, and all because of a simple phrase in a simple prayer.

Every verse begins with the simple supplication that is also the title of the song: "Have Thine own way, Lord!  Have Thine own way!"  The first verse goes further to state that "Thou art the Potter, I am the clay!"  This is reminiscent of when the prophet was commanded to go to the potter's house where the Lord would speak to him in Jeremiah 18.  While there, he sees a potter working on a vessel that had been spoiled during its crafting and begins to rework it into another vessel "as it seemed good to the potter to do" (Jer 18:4).  God then tells Jeremiah that when He promises destruction or some other judgment on any rebellious people, if they repent and change their hearts and minds, then He too will repent and spare them (unfortunately, the opposite is true for any people promised good tidings if they become rebellious!).  The apostle Paul goes further with this parable illustration when he asks, "Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me like this?'  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?" (Rom 9:20-21).  So it only makes sense when the hymn writer continues by requesting the Lord to "Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still."  Would that we could all be molded by Him into vessels of honorable use!

In the second verse, after the title introduction, the song writer makes certain requests of the Lord similar to King David's requests in the 51st and 139th Psalms.  "Search me and try me, Master, today (Psalm 139:23-24-- "Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!")!  Whiter than snow, Lord, Wash me just now (Psalm 51:2, 7-- "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!...  wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."), as in Thy presence humbly I bow (Psalm 51:16, 17-- "For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.")."

In the third verse, the writer oscillates between supplication and praise.  Request: "Wounded and weary, Help me, I pray!" (see notes for this in the last line, "Touch me and heal me....")  Praise: "Power, all power Surely is Thine!" (Psalm 62:11; 1Tim 6:15-16)  Request: "Touch me and heal me, Savior divine." (There are many examples of the Lord healing people, and as John says in closing his own book, if every one of them was recorded this world could not contain such a book [John 21:25].  But perhaps the sentiment born out by the writer of this song is best described by then-blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:47 when he cries out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!")

The last verse makes two final requests.  The first one, "Hold o'er (over) my being Absolute sway!" means to have complete rule of me.  Paul even goes so far as to implore that we present ourselves as living sacrifices (our "reasonable service", Romans 12:1).  By sacrificing ourselves, we are giving ourselves completely to God.  The second request is "Fill with Thy Spirit Till all shall see Christ only, always, Living in me."  Although being filled with the Spirit seems to take on a miraculous connotation, one can read in Ephesians 5:17 onward and other supporting verses that such is not the case (and God told us through Paul that miracles[e.g.-- prophecies, tongues, etc.] would end when that which is perfect had come, 1 Corinthians 13:10).  He begins by warning us not to be "foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."  And he continues to caution us "not [to] get drunk with wine,...but be filled with the Spirit."  Paul reminds us that it is written:

• "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"- these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:9-13).

During the first century, the Spirit imparted the will of God directly to the Apostles and anyone else whom He decided to inspire (2 Peter 1:19-21). Now that the Word of God is complete (1 Corinthians 13:10), men are not inspired with new revelation anymore, no longer being filled with the Spirit in that way.  Instead, we have the Word to read and by which to receive revelation, this Word being written by these inspired men (2 Peter 1:19-21) who wrote these things being given dictation, as it were, by the Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Therefore, we receive a filling of the Spirit through the reading of the Word.

And of course, our goal as Christians is for all to see Christ living in us.  When we put on Christ via water immersion (aka- baptism), we are immersed into His death (Rom 6:3), as such we are "crucified with Christ" as Paul reminds us in Galatians 2:20; "nevertheless, [we] live, yet not [we] but Christ lives in [us]"!

Again, I welcome your thoughts…

(Back to Introductory Volume)

Vol. 150: ”Follow Me”

(Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

1. "I travelled down a lonely road and no one seemed to care/  The burden on my weary back had bowed me to despair/ I oft complained to Jesus how folks were treating me/ And then I heard Him say so tenderly,/ 'My feet were also weary upon the Calv'ry road;/ The cross became so heavy, I fell beneath the load,/ Be faithful weary pilgrim, the morning I can see, /Just lift your cross and follow close to Me.'
2. "'I work so hard for Jesus,' I often boast and say,/ 'I've sacrificed a lot of things to walk the narrow way,/ I gave up fame and fortune; I'm worth a lot to Thee,"/ And then I hear Him gently say to me,/ 'I left the throne of glory, and counted it but loss,/ My hands were nailed in anger upon a cruel cross,/ But now we'll make the journey with your hand safe in Mine,/ So lift your cross and follow close to Me.'
3. "O, Jesus, if I die upon a foreign field some day,/ 'Twould be no more than love demands, no less could I repay,/ 'No greater love hath mortal man than for a friend to die'/ These are the words He gently spoke to me,/ 'If just a cup of water I place within your hand,/ Then just a cup of water is all that I demand.'/ But if by death to living they can Thy glory see,/ I'll take my cross and follow close to Thee."

(Written by Ira F Stamphill; Copyright 1953 Singspiration/ASCAP)

This is another classic hymn that has been sung among the brotherhood for several years.

First of all, as we go by our Prime Directive "checkoff list", we can see that this is a spiritual song that it is intended to cultivate feelings of spiritual devotion, and also admonishes by urging us to duty and reminding us of the duty we have to take up our crosses and follow the Savior.

 The format is simple enough.  Each verse begins with the singer giving an example of his/her own life, whether it be maltreatment being suffered as a Christian, the allurement to boast about how well one is carrying out his/her duties to God and Christ, or even a restating of one's commitment to "be faithful until death" as John tells us to do in Revelation 2:10.

Those introductions are followed by an "answer" from Jesus in regards to all of these.  Granted, Jesus does not speak to us directly today (hasn't for the last nineteen centuries or so), but He does speak to us by the Word of God through the dictation of the Holy Spirit (John 16:12-13) to the inspired writers (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 3:15-16).  Now that we have that cleared up, we can verify if what the composer writes for each answer is in tune either with what Jesus actually said or with Scripture.

1. As the singer complains about how ill-treated he/she is by the folks around him or her, Jesus answers "so tenderly", "My feet were also weary upon the Calv'ry road;/ The cross became so heavy, I fell beneath the load (although He didn't actually state this, it is an accurate account of what happened during His crucifixion: John 19:17-18; Matthew 27:32; Luke 23:26),/ Be faithful weary pilgrim, the morning I can see (another allusion to what Jesus told John in Revelation 2:10: "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life"), / Just lift your cross and follow close to Me."
2. As the singer brags this time about his service to Christ, even going so far as to say, "I'm worth a lot to Thee," Jesus retorts ("gently" as the verse states), "I left the throne of glory, and counted it but loss,/ My hands were nailed in anger upon a cruel cross (this is definitely in keeping with what we are told in Heb 2:9, that "we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels...because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone"),/ But now we'll make the journey with your hand safe in Mine (although it is not phrased exactly this way, Philippians 4:13 does remind us that we can do "all things through Christ Who strengthens [us]"),/ So lift your cross and follow close to Me."
3. The singer begins by stating that he or she has no fear of death for His cause, even quoting the Lord from John 15:13 when He said,"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."  Then Jesus answers:
• This is where I have personally had problems.  I doubt that there is a search engine for any web browser that will locate a book/chapter/verse location where Jesus is quoted as saying,"If just a cup of water I place within your hand, then just a cup of water is all that I demand."  Obviously, the writer of this song took some artistic license with this, so now we are left to determine if the scriptural integrity of this song holds out.
• I have the church of Christ in Fremont, CA to thank for much of what I have written here.  They wrote rather extensibly on this song and a copy of that can be found at http://fremontchurchofchrist.org/Follow%20Me.pdf.  In this particular part of the song, they show that one way we could look at this would be from Mark 9:41 where Jesus says,"For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward."  This seems to parallel Matthew 10:42 where Jesus says that "whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  In Matthew's account, Jesus prefaces that statement by saying that "whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives me receives Him who sent Me.  The one who receives a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward."  I find it a stretch to link these verses with Jesus' alleged statement in the song of Him giving you a cup of water and would have to disagree with them here.
• On the other hand, Jesus did say,"For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.  But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away (Matthew 25:29)," and, "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more (Luke 12:48)."  Jesus' alleged statement of "just a cup of water is all that I demand" seems more in tune with these actual statements of His, but seems...too delicate for what Jesus would tell us today.  In Mark 10:39, Jesus told James and John, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized (and they both saw that fulfilled, in Acts 12:1,2 and Revelation 1:9)."  In essence, it can be said that "Everyone to whom [a cup of water] was given, of him [a cup of water] will be required," but since Jesus promised us that we would see persecution for His cause (John 15:20), I have a feeling that "just a cup of water" is the same cup from which He drank (in essence, the "Holy Grail" is to suffer persecution for the One Whose Name we wear!).  So, if we do take that cup, then we, too, can sing, that "if by death to living, they can Thy glory see, I'll take my cross and follow close to Thee (Luke 9:23; 2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Note also that each verse of the song closes with the thought of taking up our crosses and following Him (verses 1 & 2, by commandment; verse 3, by following the command).  Jesus did say, "If anyone would come after me, let Him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23)."  As a slight antithesis, Jesus says that "whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:38)".

Let us, then, be ready to take up the cross, drink the cup with which He has entrusted us, and follow Him!

Again, I welcome your thoughts…

(Back to Introductory Volume)

Vol. 111: "Come We That Love the Lord" ("We're Marching to Zion")

(Introductory Volume/Table of Contents link)

1. "Come we that love the Lord/ And let our joys be known/ Join in a song with sweet accord/ Join in a song with sweet accord/ And thus surround the throne/ And thus surround the throne. (Chor) 
2. "Let those refuse to sing/ Who never knew our God/ But children of the Heavenly King/ But children of the Heavenly King/ May speak their joys abroad/ May speak their joys abroad. (Chor)
3. "The hill of Zion yields/ A thousand sacred sweets/ Before we reach the heavenly fields/ Before we reach the heavenly fields/ Or walk the golden streets/Or walk the golden streets/.(Chor)
4. "Then let our songs abound/ And every tear be dry/ We're marching through Immanuel's ground/ We're marching through Immanuel's ground/ To fairer worlds on high/ To fairer worlds on high.(Chor)

Chor) "We're marching to Zion/ Beautiful, beautiful Zion/ We're marcing upward to Zion/ The beautiful city of God."

(Words by Isaac Watts; Music by Robert Lowry)

This, too, is a classic hymn and has been sung for the better part of just over a century (under this arrangement). And considering it was written by two people who have become famous for their contributions to hymn writing (Isaac Watts and Robert Lowry), now may be a good time to start a sub-section in this series of commentaries denoting some of these famous writers.

Going to our Prime Directive "checkoff list" (and for future reference, I probably should create a "checkoff list" version of this), this seems to be a hymn that teaches us about God's willingness to bless us and thus reminding or admonishing us of such.

 The lyrics come from a song that was included in book 2 of Hymns and Spiritual Songs written between 1707-1709 by Isaac Watts (who is considered the father of English hymnody [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/637744/Isaac-Watts]) under the title "Heavenly Joy on Earth" (Book 2, incidentally was entitled Hymns. Composed on Heavenly Subjects).  The original version differs in a number of ways from the song we sing today.  First, the last two lines of each verse was only sung once (instead of repeating them, making each verse four lines instead of the six we have now).  Second, there is a total of ten verses with no chorus or refrain (versus the four that we sing today).  Lastly, some of the words from the verses that were retained were changed as well.

Interestingly enough, reading all ten of the original verses may shed some light on some of the verses we currently sing:

1. Come, we that love the Lord,
   And let our joys be known;
   Join in a song with sweet accord,
   And thus surround the throne.
2. The sorrows of the mind
   Be banish'd from the place!
   Religion never was design'd
   To make our pleasures less.
3. Let those refuse to sing
   That never knew our God,
   But favourites of the heavenly King
   May speak their joys abroad. [emphasis added; not certain, but this seems to mark some Calvinist tenet as well, and it may have been good for Robert Lowry to substitute "children" instead.]
4. The God that rules on high,
   And thunders when he please,
   That rides upon the stormy sky
   And manages the seas. [This reminds me of another verse from "O Worship the King" that we do not usually see or sing; as a second verse it reads "O tell of His might, o sing of His grace/ Whose robe is the light, Whose canopy space/ His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form/ And dark is His path on the wings of the storm"; I understand the writer of "O Worship the King" had his Bible open to the 104th Psalm when he penned those words; apparently Mr Watts had his Bible on a similar page.]
5. This awful God is ours, [I'm pretty certain that Mr Watts meant "full of awe", as in "awesome" and as a term of reverence, as opposed to "awful" as we currently use to mean "horrible"]
   Our Father and our love,
   He shall send down his heavenly powers
   To carry us above.
6. There we shall see his face,
   And never, never sin;
   There from the rivers of his grace
   Drink endless pleasures in. [allusions to 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 21 I do believe.]
7. Yes, and before we rise
   To that immortal state,
   The thoughts of such amazing bliss
   Should constant joys create.
8. The men of grace have found
   Glory begun below,
   Celestial fruits on earthly ground
   From faith and hope may grow. [This explains the next verse, currently our 3rd verse, where it talks about the "thousand sacred sweets" yielded by the hill of Zion "before we reach the heavenly fields...."]
9. The hill of Sion yields
   A thousand sacred sweets,
   Before we reach the heavenly fields,
   Or walk the golden streets.
10. Then let our songs abound,
    And every tear be dry;
    We're marching thro' Immanuel's ground
    To fairer worlds on high.

Apparently over the centuries, we have softened over time to where we tend not to sing songs that have more than three verses (sometimes we can have a fourth, maybe a fifth, highly infrequently will we tolerate a sixth verse).  But there is a wealth of information and praise that is included in the full ten verses of this hymn that it's a shame that the musical arranger winnowed it down to only four verses (but added a chorus!).  The fourth verse of this version, at least, would have made this work a psalm that gives high praise to Jehovah's character and power and not simply left it a hymn to remind us of His willingness to bless.

Speaking of the one who composed the music, perhaps my biggest complaint for this song stems from the musical arrangement for it (and this becomes the realm of opinion, and we all know what they say about opinions-- they're like noses: everybody has one and they usually smell).  It is written in a 6-8 time signature.  There is nothing wrong with that, in and of itself, since 6-8 time could be used for either a waltz beat or a marching beat.  However, we usually sing it at such a tempo that it seems more like we are waltzing to Zion.  And although it is possible to sing with a marching beat, some of the words may get slurred from singing so quickly.

Picture if you will singing the song AND marching; in the first verse, a foot would come down for "we", "that", "love", "Lord", "let", "joys", "known" (two steps), "in", "song", "sweet", "[ac-]cord" (foot would come down only for the second syllable), "in", "song", "sweet", "[ac-]cord", "thus" "sur-round" (one step for each syllable), "throne", "thus", "[sur-]round" (second syllable only), "throne" (two steps).  The chorus might be even worse: "march-ing" (one step for each syllable), "Zi-on" (one per syllable again), "Beau[-tiful]" (only for first syllable), "beau[-tiful] (ditto), "Zi-on" (one per), "march[-ing] (first syllable only), "up[-ward] (ditto), "Zi-on" (one per),   It may be that, having been singing it in waltz tempo for so many years, I find it disconcerting (at best) to try singing it in a march tempo.  If someone could make a new arrangement for this in a 4-4/"common" time march beat, we might have an improvement (in fact, if anyone knows about such a version in existence already, please let it be heard!)

Again, I welcome your thoughts…

(Back to Introductory Volume)