A hymn for Thursday

For the next few weeks I am featuring hymns by Fanny Crosby, along with tid-bits of personal information about her.
"It may seem a little old-fashioned, always to begin one’s work with prayer, but I never undertake a hymn without first asking the good Lord to be my inspiration." Fanny Crosby
Her capacity for work was incredible and often she would compose six or seven hymns a day. Her poems and hymns were composed entirely in her mind and she worked on as many as twelve hymns at once. On one occasion Crosby composed 40 hymns before they were transcribed. Her lyrics would usually be transcribed by "Van" (her husband) or later by her half-sister, Carolyn "Carrie" Ryder or her secretary Eva C. Cleaveland, as Crosby herself could write little more than her name (she was blind from early childhood).

Praise Him! Praise Him!

You can sing along here

Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! hail Him! highest archangels in glory,
strength and honor give to His holy name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children;
in His arms He carries them all day long:

Praise Him! praise Him! tell of His excellent greatness!
Praise Him! praise Him! ever in joyful song!

Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins, He suffered and bled and died;
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! hail Him! Jesus the crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong:

Praise Him! praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heavenly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
crown Him! crown Him! prophet and priest and King!
Christ is coming, over the world victorious,
power and glory unto the Lord belong:

Music: Chester Allen (1869)

you can also hear it here

Just who does he think he is?

I saw this ad for a course offered by Great Courses:

It is striking that Jesus never makes any claims to be divine in any of these earlier Gospels or their sources. How could that be if John, the final Gospel, is correct that this was the very burden of his entire message? Historians of the Gospels have long concluded that the idea that Jesus called himself God is not historical. If it were, it would be in the earliest Gospels; this is a view that is distinctive to John, the last of the Gospels to be written. Learn about this and much more in "How Jesus Became God":

“In the earliest and most reliable traditions about Jesus, he does not call himself God but presents himself as a human prophet.” Bart Ehrman, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What? Is there any truth to this claim? No! I have nowhere near the education, reputation, or prestige of Bart Ehrman, but I do have a Bible, so I went through the first written gospel, Matthew, to see what it says about Jesus. Yesterday’s post was, Who is this man? What did Matthew and others say about Jesus? Today’s post, Who does he think he is? What did Jesus say about himself?

9:6  But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
This is the first time we see Jesus referring to himself, and he calls himself the Son of man. This is perhaps Jesus’ favorite title for himself. It is probably taken from Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. He uses it because this is a messianic prophecy, and by using this title he intentionally identifies himself as Christ; it also emphasizes his humanity.

“Son of man - A Hebrew phrase, expressive of humiliation and debasement; and, on that account, applied emphatically to himself, by the meek and lowly Jesus. It seems to be used to point out the incarnation of the Son of God. He seems studious to prove to them the certainty of his incarnation, because on this depended the atonement for sin. Indeed our Lord seems more intent on giving the proofs of his humanity, than of his divinity, the latter being necessarily manifested by the miracles which he was continually working.” Adam Clarke

Jesus referring to himself as “the Son of man”
11:19, 12:8, 12:40, 13:37, 13:41, 16:13, 16:27, 16:28, 17:12, 17:22, 18:11, 20:18, 20:28, 24:27, 24:29, 24:30, 24:44, 25:31, 26:2, 26:24, 26:64

11:2-15 Matthew clearly refers to Jesus as the Christ in v 2, Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ... Yet people often say that Jesus himself never claimed to be the Christ. But that is because having eyes they do not see, and having ears they do not hear, for this passage fairly screams, I am he.
In v 2-3 John sends two disciples to ask Jesus, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? In other words, Are you the Christ?
In 4-6 Jesus answered by telling them to compare what he was doing with a prophecy of what Christ was to do when he came. “I am doing the works of Christ. I am he.”

In 7-15 Jesus addressed the multitude and said two things about John:
(1) 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. In other words, John fulfilled this prophecy and he pointed to me!

(2) 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. The Jews understood that according to the prophets, Elijah had to come before Christ could come. Jesus said John was Elijah. (see also 17:10-13) The point being, Elijah has come, just as the prophets said he would, and he pointed to me. I am the promised Messiah, John is my proof and witness.

No wonder he finished this discussion with, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. He very clearly stated that he was indeed the Christ.

“As if our Lord had said, These things are so clear and manifest that a man has only to hear them to be convinced and fully satisfied of their truth. But neither the Jews of that time nor [scholars] of the succeeding times to the present day, have heard or considered, these things. When spoken to on these subjects, their common custom is to stop their ears. They are deeply and willfully blind. They will not come unto the light, lest their deeds should become manifest, that they are not wrought in God. They have ears but they will not hear.” Adam Clarke

11:27  All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
In this verse, Jesus refers to himself as the Son, and in the context he does not mean the Son of man, but the Son of God. As the Son of God he has the most intimate relationship with the Father. Did he present himself as merely a human prophet? No, “I am the Son of the Father. No man knows the Father except me.” He enjoys an intimate and unique relationship with the Father, because he is the Son of God.

16:13  When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
16:14  And they said, Some John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
16:15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16:16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
16:17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
“What are people saying about me?” They are saying that you are supernatural – a raised-from-the-dead John the Baptist, a returned-from-heaven Elijah, or a raised-from-the-dead prophet.
“What do you say?” Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
“Good. It was my Father who revealed this to you.” What did Jesus say about himself? He said he was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

16:20  Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Again, he told his disciples that he was the Christ.
But why did he not want it blazed abroad? “Jesus here says, Tell no man that I am the Christ, i.e. the Messiah; as the time for his full manifestation was not yet come; and he was not willing to provoke the Jewish malice, or the Roman envy, by permitting his disciples to announce him as the Savior of a lost world. He chose rather to wait, till his resurrection and ascension had set this truth in the clearest light.” Adam Clarke

19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
What does Jesus means here? Is Jesus denying that he is Emmanuel, God with us? If this is the case, then we have a genuine contradiction in the Gospel of Matthew, because everywhere else the gospel affirms this. No, Jesus is correcting this young man’s loose lips. He said, Good Master and good thing, with no apparent understanding of what he is saying. “If you call me good, then know what you are saying.” The rest of this encounter is no less shocking than its beginning.

22:41  While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
22:42  Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The Son] of David.
22:43  He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
22:44  The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?
22:45  If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
This time Jesus questions the Pharisees, "What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?”
They answered, “The son of David.”
Jesus then says,  “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”
This completely stumps them, “And no man was able to answer him a word.”
Is Jesus saying he is not the son of David and thus not Christ? Oh no! What he is saying is, He is the son of David and more – he is the Lord of David.

Son of David – the son promised to David, the Messiah. Frequently used title for Jesus (1:1, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:29, 20:30, 20:31, 21:9, 21:15). The Gospel opens with this designation, gives his genealogy from David, and his birth in the city of David.

26:63  But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
26:64  Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
26:65  Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.
26:66  What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
Jesus is asked point blank, “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?” For these Jewish leaders, Christ and Son of God are synonymous, the Christ is the Son of God.
How does Jesus answer this direct question? Thou hast said. Is this Jesus saying, “Hey, I never said that, you said that”? Or is it the more non-committal, “You said it, not me”?
Well, how did the high priest respond? Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. The high priest heard, “Yes.” And in fact, “thou hast said” was a common form of expression for yes. So, when asked directly if he was the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus said, Yes.

Did Jesus see and present himself as merely a human prophet? No. He said of himself that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Yes, his favorite title for himself was Son of man, to emphasize his full humanity, because our salvation depends on a man dying for us, in our place. But, as we have seen, he said outright he was the Son of God. What is the full significance of “Son of God”? John’s gospel explains this for us.

Did this idea of Jesus as God grow and develop over the centuries, so that we start with a merely human Jesus and not until 325 (the Nicene Creed) did the Church start to think of him as God? No. From the very beginning Jesus speaks of himself and is known as the Son of God, Emmanuel. The epistles of the apostles are clear and adamant with their declaration that Christ, the Son of God, is the creator God.

Who is this man?

A few weeks ago I saw this ad for a course offered by Great Courses:

It is striking that Jesus never makes any claims to be divine in any of these earlier Gospels or their sources. How could that be if John, the final Gospel, is correct that this was the very burden of his entire message? Historians of the Gospels have long concluded that the idea that Jesus called himself God is not historical. If it were, it would be in the earliest Gospels; this is a view that is distinctive to John, the last of the Gospels to be written. Learn about this and much more in "How Jesus Became God":
“In the earliest and most reliable traditions about Jesus, he does not call himself God but presents himself as a human prophet.” Bart Ehrman, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What? Is there any truth to this claim? No! I have nowhere near the education, reputation, or prestige of Bart Ehrman, but I do have a Bible, so I went through the first written gospel, Matthew, to see what it says about Jesus. This is Part 1, Who is this man? What did Matthew and others say about Jesus? 

1:1  The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
The first verse of Matthew starts off by calling him Christ. (Christ is Greek for the Hebrew word Messiah). This is stressed when Matthew calls him “the son of David, the son of Abraham”; this is set forth to reinforce his statement that Jesus is the Christ.

1:16  And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
1:17  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
The message of the Gospel According to Matthew is this, Jesus is the Christ.

1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
1:19  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
1:20  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
1:22  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Right here in the first chapter of the first gospel we find: this man Jesus, is the Christ, he was born to a virgin. How in the world did a virgin conceive? that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us – Who is Jesus?? He is Emmanuel, God with us. We’ve only gone 23 verses into the Gospel according to Matthew and we’ve already been told that this man Jesus is the Christ, and he is Emmanuel, that is, God with us. This is the incarnation. What is incarnation? Becoming flesh, becoming man. Who took on flesh and became a man? God.

2:1  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2:2  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
2:3  When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
2:4  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
2:5  And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
2:6  And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
the King of the Jews - as the Christ, Jesus is King of the Jews.
(In v 6 the chief priests and scribes quote Micah 5:2, saying this verse refers to the Messiah. While we may not be familiar with the rest of the verse, they and pretty much every other Jew certainly would have been: and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity. Even the prophetic anticipation of Messiah was of more than a mere man, he is from eternity.)

Jesus is often called the King of the Jews - 21:15, 27:11, 27:37, 27:42
and calls himself King - 25:34, 40

3:1   In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3:3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
John the Baptist came, preparing the way. Preparing the way for who? Prepare ye the way of the Lord. This man Jesus is Christ, he is Emmanuel, he is also the Lord.
(make his paths straight – Matthew has abbreviated the second half of Isaiah 40:3, make straight the paths of our God. Who is this man Jesus? He is the Christ, the Lord, our God.)

16  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
This is my beloved Son - Now we have the witness from heaven, Jesus, this man born to the virgin, is the Son of God.

4:1-10 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God... 
Even the devil calls him the Son of God. But why does he say “If”? Is there doubt and uncertainty? No, this is the way the devil works: “If you are the Son of God, you can turn stones to bread by a creative act; if you are the Son of God, throw yourself from the temple heights because God has promised to protect you.” He is tempting Jesus, trying to get him to act improperly and impetuously.

8:26  And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.
8:27  But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
What manner of man is this? – He was a man, he didn’t look special. Then he did this! Their understanding is being opened - this is the Son of God.

8:28  And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
8:29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
The demons knew exactly who he was, the Son of God.

14:33  Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
The disciples confess him to be the Son of God. Somebody was claiming this for Jesus and this miracle confirms it for them. The somebody was Jesus himself.

17:1-5 The transfiguration of Jesus. ...behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”
Once again the Father bears witness from heaven, This is my beloved Son.

21:4  All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
21:5  Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Matthew is being as clear as he can be: this man Jesus has fulfilled the prophecies of the Coming One – he is Christ.

27:17  Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

27:40  And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
27:42  He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
27:43  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
It seems clear to me that Jesus taught he was the Son of God and King of Israel, for they mock him with his own words.

27:54  Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

28:6  He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Angels call him Lord. He was no mere man.

The whole point of the Gospel According to Matthew is to tell us, This man Jesus is the Christ, the King of Israel, the Son of God. This was not some development centuries later. Matthew was a disciple of Jesus and he learned these things from Jesus himself. He is not asking questions or entertaining different opinions of who Jesus is, he is setting forth, he is declaring. And somehow the Jewish people got the impression that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of David, the King of Israel, the Son of God. How?? The works and words of Jesus himself.

Next: Who does he think he is? What did Jesus say about himself?

Another good word

I am reading ‘The Holy Spirit’ or ‘Power from on High’ (Volume II, 1895) by A.B. Simpson. This is from Chapter 19 – The Holy Spirit in the Epistles of Paul to Timothy. Good stuff!

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The Holy Spirit as the Christian’s enduement for life and service. 2 Tim. 1:6, 7, Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, that is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Here we have, first, a distinct recognition of the Holy Spirit, definitely given. God hath given the Spirit not of fear, but of power, etc.

The tense employed here in the Greek is always emphatic; it is the aorist tense, and it expresses an act that has been definitely done at a fixed moment in the past. It is not a progressive experience; it is not a gradual approach to something, but it is something done, and done at once, and done once for all. In this sense the Spirit is given. It is the crisis hour in the life of the believer, when the Holy Spirit is thus received as the enduement for life and power in all our spiritual need, and according to all the fullness of the Master’s promise.

Beloved, have you thus definitely received the gift and the promise of the Father? Many promises you have claimed, but has the promise been thus made real to you? What reason can you give that it is not so? Oh, do not let another hour pass until at His feet you definitely surrender yourself, and receive Him according to His Word!

But again, we notice that even after receiving the Holy Spirit there is much for the believer to do. And so Timothy is entreated and reminded to stir up the gift of God, which is in him. The word here used is a metaphor, and describes the rekindling of a sinking fire. The flame of divine life and power is declining, or, at least, it is undeveloped and incomplete, and it is to be revived, rekindled, and stirred up.

The Holy Spirit may thus be stirred up and developed or He may be neglected and left to decline and languish, until, instead of being God’s mighty dynamo, and all sufficient power, He becomes but a protest against our unfaithfulness and our negligence.

Beloved, let us stir up the gift of God that is in us. Let us take away the ashes from the declining fire. Let us put on the coal and the fuel of living truth. And, as we stir up the gift of God that is in us, it becomes to us the Spirit of power, of love, of courage, and of a sound mind. And so we have the fourfold fullness of the Holy Spirit represented in these strong words.

First, He is not the Spirit of fear, which is just another way of saying that He is the Spirit of courage. We must have courage to begin with, or we shall never be able to press on to any of His other gifts. We must have courage to deny ourselves and suffer, to say “No” to our wills and our craving self-indulgence, and to let go everything that hinders His highest will and our highest blessing.

We must have courage to believe what God says, and to confess that we believe; and we must have courage to go forward and obey His bidding and enter into all fullness.

Secondly, He is the Spirit of power. Courage without power would but throw our lives away. Courage combined with power will make us invincible.

Beloved, have you this power? Is your life telling? Are your purposes accomplished? Are your prayers effectual? Are your lives victorious, or are you baffled and thrown back by waves on every shore and by every billow or opposing rock? God hath given us the Spirit of power. Stir it up. It is not your power; it is the Spirit of power. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Thirdly, He is the Spirit of love. Courage without power is ineffectual frenzy, and courage and power without love would be despotic and monstrous cruelty. It needs love to give beneficence to the power and direct it for the good of others. So the Holy Spirit gives us the Spirit of love, which turns all our purposes and all our accomplishments into benedictions. It is not our love. We come to the place continually where we cannot love, but it is His love. It is Almighty love; it is love to the unlovely and distasteful; it is the love which in Him forgave His enemies and prayed for His murderers.

But there is yet another element needed in this four-fold enduement. We need the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of a sound mind, or, as some have translated it, the Spirit of discipline. This is the Spirit that holds all our powers in equilibrium, keeps us in perfect balance, and enables us to turn all forces, all resources and all opportunities to the best account.

Mere power and courage without wisdom might throw themselves away, and even love, without a sound mind, might become a misguided sentiment, and at last defeat its own purpose. And so the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of practical wisdom, restraining, directing, and controlling all our thoughts and purposes and actions, so that we shall accomplish the highest and best results.

Now this is not our wisdom. It is not common sense. It is not a sound judgment and a level head, as men speak. But it is the indwelling Holy Spirit, training us, and disciplining us, restraining us, and educating us to understand His thought, to follow His leadings, and to walk in His will.

It is sometimes different from the counsels of human wisdom; but it is always safe, always best to obey God. The wisdom of Paul and Silas would have led them to stay in Ephesus, Bythinia, and Asia; but the wisdom of the Holy Spirit sent them into Greece and Europe, for God foresaw what it meant to evangelize that great continent of the future. The wisdom of the flesh would have held back almost every bold enterprise of faith and courage which the Church of God has ever made; but the wisdom of God was justified in His children, as they went forward at her bidding, and were strong in God’s command.

The Holy Spirit is equal to all our situations. Let us trust Him. Let us obey Him. Let us follow His wise and holy training, and He will lead us in a safe way wherein we shall not stumble.

Now the essence of this enduement consists in the proportion of all its parts. It is not courage alone, nor love alone, nor wisdom alone, nor power alone. Mere wisdom would make us hard and cold, but wisdom set on fire with love and energized by power will enable us to bless the world.

The lion is the emblem of courage; the ox is the symbol of strength; the man is the emblem of love; and the eagle with her soaring vision is the type of wisdom, all blended in the one Spirit of courage and love and of a sound mind.

With such a divine provision, beloved, why should we be afraid? Why should we be feeble? Why should we be harsh, or tried? Why should we be foolish or fail? Let us stir up the gift of God which is in us, and put on the strength, the life, the might of the Holy One, and go forth, insufficient in ourselves but all-sufficient in His boundless grace.

A hymn for Thursday

I will be offering Fanny Crosby hymns for the next few weeks, along with some interesting tidbits about her. I hope you enjoy singing her songs!

Frances Jane Crosby (March 24, 1820 – February 12, 1915), more commonly known as Fanny Crosby, was an American mission worker, poet, lyricist, and composer. She was one of the most prolific hymnists in history, writing over 8,000 hymns and gospel songs. By the end of the 19th century, she was a household name. Because some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, she used nearly 200 different pseudonyms during her career. My favorite one is Ella Dare. See many of them here

To God Be The Glory

To God be the glory, great things he has done;
so loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
and opened the lifegate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory; great things he has done.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
to every believer the promise of God;
the vilest offender who truly believes,
that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things he has taught us, great things he has done,
and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
but purer and higher and greater will be
our wonder, our gladness, when Jesus we see.

Music: William Howard Doane

This song was first published in 1875, but appears to have been written around 1872. It was already popular in Great Britain before publication because Ira Sankey had introduced it there during D.L. Moody's 1873-1874 evangelistic campaigns. Despite this, the song was not sung often in the United States and was included in very few hymnals. In 1954 Cliff Barrows, song leader for Billy Graham, included it in the song book for the London Crusade. It was so popular that he included it again later that year in the Crusade in Nashville, TN. The audience responded enthusiastically and from that time on, he used it regularly. With this exposure, the song rapidly became familiar to Christians worldwide and is included in most modern hymnals.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly

I am currently reading through ‘The Holy Spirit’ or ‘Power from on High’ (Volume II)  by A.B. Simpson. The portion below is from the chapter, The Holy Spirit in Timothy. This was written in 1895, yet I was struck with the prophetic nature of his exposition.
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The Holy Spirit's message for our own times. All this Word is the Spirit's message, but He has given some messages in these epistles explicitly for our own times. And so we read, 1 Timothy, 4:1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons.

This is more elaborated in the second epistle, third chapter, the first to the fifth verses. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, . . . having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

When we want to print a passage with peculiar emphasis we underline it, and our printer sets it up in italics. When we want to emphasize it a little more, we put two or three lines under it and then he sets it up, not in italics, but in capital letters, and sometimes in large capitals.

Now this is the way the Holy Ghost has written these verses. It is His emphatic, italicized, all caps message to the men of today, to the closing days of the nineteenth century and the first moments of the twentieth century. He speaketh expressly." It is His message to us, and it is His emphatic message that we do well to hear.

It is not a sentimental and rose-colored message, glowing with poetry and complacency; it is a solemn warning of danger and holy fear. It speaks in no ambiguous tones. Its voice is, "Take heed," "Look out," "Beware." It tells us not of days of universal liberty and Christian influence; it speaks not in the eloquent language of our modern apostles of progress, recounting the spread of the Gospel, the increase of the professors of Christianity and the advent of the speedy Millennium of our age; but it tells us that, as the days hasten to their close, they shall get darker and more dangerous still; not glorious times, but "perilous times"; times of seducing spirits; times of strong delusion that would believe a lie; times when the light within us shall be darkness; times when the most dangerous elements will be in the very Church of God, and on the part of those who have "a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof"; times when the men that seem to be the most upright shall be the very leaders of Satanic delusion and monstrous iniquity.

These times are upon us already. The vista is opening; the century is closing with lurid clouds on every side. Was there ever a spectacle so humbling and so heart-breaking as the heavens are looking upon today? Thousands and tens of thousands of helpless Christians butchered like cattle in the shambles, and outraged by brutal lust, at the bidding of a sovereign ruler of Europe, and with the tacit consent of six great powers who control ten millions of soldiers!* All this going on for weeks and months and years, under the light of heaven and the eyes of diplomacy, and men threatening to go to war about every trifle, and not a sword raised, nor a protest uttered, against these outrages and butcheries! Surely, human government is an utter failure. Surely, the best of our kingdoms and kings are as the potter's clay. Surely, weakness and wickedness have joined hands. Surely, God is showing the utter incapacity of man to rule this earth, and the utter need of the coming of the Prince of Peace and the mighty King, who shall judge the people with righteousness and the poor with judgment. He shall judge the poor of the people, and save the children of the needy, and break in pieces the oppressor. He shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their souls from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood be in His sight.

Oh, for that blessed King to come! The whole creation groans, the persecuted Armenian cries, and the saints under the altar plead, "How long, oh Lord, how long?" The Spirit speaketh expressly that these things are to be so, and the very fact that they are becoming so is light even in the darkness, and the first streak of dawn in the black sea of night.

Thank God the morning is at hand. Let us listen to the Spirit's voice, let us watch and pray and be ever ready.
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*The Hamidian massacres, also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896 and Great Massacres, were massacres of Armenians of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s, with estimates of the dead ranging from 80,000 to 300,000, resulting in 50,000 orphaned children. The massacres are named after Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who, in his efforts to reinforce the territorial integrity of the embattled Ottoman Empire, reasserted Pan-Islamism as a state ideology. Although the massacres were aimed mainly at the Armenians, they turned into indiscriminate anti-Christian pogroms in some cases, such as in Diyarbekir Vilayet, where some 25,000 Assyrians were killed.

No rules. Yeah, right

Outback has been offering this slogan for years. It sounds so good and echoes the heart of the culture today. “No rules, man, no rules.”

We recently went to a “brew and burger” restaurant and I noticed their coaster:

Doesn’t that sound so rebellious? And rebellious is so popular these days, so fashionable - the really cool people don’t follow no stinkin’ rules.

And yet it’s all such a lie, a mere façade. In fact, one of the strongest rules is to appear to have no rules.

Consider Outback. They have plenty of rules for their cooks and servers, including some kind of dress code. And what about the “brews and burgers” joint? When it comes to brewing beer, you can’t just use any amount of any ingredients and hope to get a good product. There are rules.

No rules, just right? if your going too get it rite, you haf to foller sum rools. And some are much more important than grammar and spelling! Why, I remember one year, many years ago, I had this majestic flower garden along my front sidewalk. My prize was the Mexican sunflowers, which must have been 5 to 6 ft tall. I decided to save some money on water, so when I took a shower I didn’t let the water drain out, I kept it in the tub. When I finished my shower, I carried that water out in buckets and watered my garden. Everything died rather quickly. You see, I didn’t know the rule – gray water is not good for plants.

I like peanut butter cookies. The recipe calls for one cup of peanut butter. My philosophy is damn the rules, so instead of one cup of peanut butter I use one cup of unshelled peanuts. Or shelled peanuts. It won’t matter, whatever it is, I won't get peanut butter cookies.

You are in a boat in the middle of a lake.  You don't know how to swim but your philosophy is damn the rules, so you jump off the boat into the water. Hey, here's a rule, “If you can't swim you're gonna drown.”

Damn the rules, right? Who needs to stop at this red light? let’s just plow through.

I like baking cakes, too. There are instructions on the box, y’know, rules, for baking this cake. Yeah, well, I don’t follow no stinkin’ rules, so instead of baking it for 28 minutes at 350º, I bake it at 450º for 10 minutes. Will it come out “just right”? (Hint: No.)

My mother taught me these simple steps for washing dishes: (1) organize everything, (2) glasses, (3) silverware, (4) plates & bowls, (5) pots & pans. In my opinion, this is the right way to wash dishes, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. (OK, so not everything is a matter of life and death!)

I could go on an on, but this attitude of rules be damned really refers to morality. What they are saying is, “I can do whatever I want, with whoever I want, whenever I want, and you can’t make no rules to stop me.” In fact, our society is so committed to this idea that they make rules enforcing it. Isn’t that a-not-funny-joke?

“Rules be damned, I can do what I want. And we hereby make a rule declaring it is illegal for you to say what I do is wrong.”
“I thought you said there were no rules.”
“New rule: Shut up!”

God has rules. They're not called rules, they're called commandments, but this is exactly what we hate and are angry about. God is the Creator and He knows best what is good for us, yet people look at God’s rules as shackles, and they want to throw off these 'restrictions.'

Wherefore did the heathen rage, and the nations imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers gathered themselves together, against the Lord, and against his Christ; saying, Let us break through their bonds, and cast away their yoke from us. (Psalm 2:1-3)

So, Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Jane Edwards

I saw this photo posted on Facebook by The Edisto News following Hurricane Matthew. I sent it to my granddaughter and suggested she write a story to go with it. She never responded, so I thought I would. Rather audacious, don't you think? I mean, she's an actual, for real, author, who has actually written a book or two, and I'm...well, I'm just a granddaddy with a weird sense of humor and an imagination!

Jane. Jane Edwards. Everyone she met thought it was funny she had the same name as the elementary school.* But she was not that Jane Edwards.

Our Jane Edwards was from upstate South Carolina. She had been going to Edisto every fall for 10 years before she finally moved down there. She used the money she inherited when her parents died to buy a house on the corner of Lee and Baynard, about 3 blocks from the ocean.

Jane loved living in Edisto Beach. She walked all around town, loved the beach, and explored the whole island. She never met a stranger, was a beloved "Edistonian", and was famous for her pink flip flops, She wore them unless it snowed, and since it never snows on Edisto, she wore them all the time.

She was also quite eccentric. You would see her out and about every day for a month or two, then nobody would see her for a week. And she never explained! "Where ya been, Jane? We missed you!" "Oh y'know how it is, every 30 days there's a new moon." Everyone laughed, but no one ever knew what she meant.

One day they heard rumblings about Matthew. No one thought much about it at first, but then it grew, and grew, and kept coming. Everyone was glued to the Weather Channel, wondering if Jim Cantore would be visiting their beloved island. It was a sobering day when Governor Haley issued the evacuation order. Everybody packed up and headed inland. Well, not everyone. A few hardy souls remained, determined to ride out the storm.

The Governor made the right call. Matthew hit Edisto. Hard.

Now everyone was trying to get information: What happened? How bad is it?? When can we go home???

Then they saw the photo. And they knew. That was Jane's shoe. Phone calls, emails, texts, "Has anyone seen Jane?" "When was the last time you talked to Jane?" No one knew anything and they couldn't call Jane - she didn't have a phone. So they called each other and the Edisto News, the newspaper which posted the photo. "Where's our Jane?"

Such sadness filled the hearts of Edistonians. Their island, their beach, their houses had been severely damaged by Hurricane Matthew, and their friend was missing. Where was Jane Edwards?

About a week after the storm, the Mayor of Edisto Beach, Jane Darby, got a phone call. "Hey, Mayor! It's me!" Jane Edwards always called Jane the Mayor 'Mayor' because, well, they were both named Jane. "Can I come back yet?"

"Jane? Is that you? Where are you? What happened?"

And Jane explained that she had gone up to southern Ohio to visit her sister, and when she heard about the hurricane and evacuation, she just stayed up there. "My sister showed me the photo of my flip flop in the middle of the road. Isn't that too funny? I left my flip flops home because you never know when it's gonna snow up here. Isn't that hilarious?"

Mayor Jane was quiet for a moment as tears of joy and relief rolled down her cheeks, then she explained everything to our Jane. "I'm so glad you're OK. Yes, you can come home. And Jane, I don't care what you say, you're gettin' a cell phone when you get back!"

Jane Edwards returned to Edisto Beach. She repaired the minor damage to her house and eventually found another pair of pink flip flops. Oh yeah, she got a cell phone.

The moral of our little story is this: Whenever you leave home for more than one night, secure your flip flops, 'cause you never know what might happen while you're gone!


* Jane Edwards Elementary School, Edisto Island

A hymn for Thursday

I realized I may have been featuring rather obscure hymns so here are some I think are well known, and you can start singing them right away! These five songs are from one of my favorite hymn writers, Elisha Hoffman. 

Elisha Albright Hoffman (1839-1929) was a Presbyterian minister, composer of over 2,000 hymns and editor of over 50 song books.

According to Hoffman, a hymn is "a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshipper's attitude toward God or God's purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it."

Glory to His Name

Down at the cross where my Savior died,

Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,

There to my heart was the blood applied;

Glory to His Name!

Glory to His Name, glory to His Name:

There to my heart was the blood applied;

Glory to His Name!

Are You Washed In The Blood

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?

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?

Is Your All On The Altar

You have longed for sweet peace,

And for faith to increase,

And have earnestly, fervently prayed;

But you cannot have rest,

Or be perfectly blest,

Until all on the altar is laid.

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?

Your heart does the Spirit control?

You can only be blest,

And have peace and sweet rest,

As you yield Him your body and soul.

Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms;

What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What A Wonderful Savior

Christ has for sin atonement made

What a wonderful Savior!

We are redeemed, the price is paid

What a wonderful Savior!

What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Jesus!

What a wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord!

The Lord is

My last post was verses that contain the phrase, “God is…” This post is verses that contain the phrase “the Lord is ...” I offer no commentary, just the Word of the Lord, with this one explanation: LORD and GOD, in all caps, is the name of God, Yahweh.

Exodus 9: 27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

Exodus 18:11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

Numbers 14: 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

Joshua 22: 34 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.

1 Samuel 2:3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.

2 Samuel 22: 31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.

1 Kings 8:60 That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.

1 Chronicles 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

2 Chronicles 12:6 Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.

Psalm 9:16 The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

Psalm 10:16 The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalm 36:5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.

Psalm 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 93:1 The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.

Psalm 95:3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 99:2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people.

Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;

Psalm 111:4 He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

Psalm 113:4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.

Psalm 129:4 The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.

Psalm 135:3 Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

Psalm 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
 9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
 18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

Proverbs 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

Isaiah 30:18 And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

Isaiah 33:5 The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.

Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Jeremiah 33: 11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

Lamentations 1:18 The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity.

Lamentations 3: 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

Joel 2:11 And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
 7 The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.

Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Luke 24:34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

1 Peter 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

God is

I thought I would post verses that contain the phrase, God is... and let the Scriptures define God. I offer no commentary, just the Word of the Lord, with this one explanation: LORD and GOD, in all caps, is the name of God, Yahweh. (Tomorrow, the Lord is...)

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 4:31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Deuteronomy 6:15 (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 7:21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

2 Chronicles 30:9 For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

Job 31:2 For what portion of God is there from above? and what inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

Job 33:12 Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than man.

Job 36:5 Behold, God is mighty, and despiseth not any: he is mighty in strength and wisdom.

Job 36:26 Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 47:7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

Psalm 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.

Psalm 68: 20 He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

Psalm 71:19 Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!

Psalm 75:7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

Psalm 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.

Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

Psalm 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Psalm 118:27 God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Daniel 2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

Daniel 9:14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.

Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.

Matthew 22:32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

John 3:33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Hebrews 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

A hymn for Thursday

All hail the power of Jesus' name!

All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all!

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
ye ransomed from the Fall,
hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him who saves you by His grace,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball,
to Him all majesty ascribe,
and crown Him Lord of all.
To Him all majesty ascribe,
and crown Him Lord of all.

Oh, that with yonder sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song
and crown him Lord of all.

Edward Perronet (1780, while serving as a missionary in India)

This hymn is sung to three different tunes:
Coronation (Oliver Holden) – written for this song; this may well be the original tune
Miles Lane (William Shrubsole) – also written for this song, shortly after Coronation
Diadem (James Ellor) – very elaborate. This one is fun to sing! And is the tune I chose for the hymn, which you can hear here 

A hymn for Thursday (part 1)

What! Never Thirst Again?

This hymn is linked to my last Encounter at the Well post about John 4 and the woman at the well. It is most likely only found in Alliance hymnals and I'll be surprised if anyone reading this even remembers it! So why include this? I like the first stanza and really like the chorus and how it captures Jesus' words to the woman at the well. And the story of May Agnew Stephens is great!
You can hear it here.  The words are different until you get to the chorus, but you can hear the tune. And about the different lyrics, what I have provided below is the original, but it would appear someone has written new lyrics.

There flows from Calvary a stream
For every sinner’s pain,
And he that drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never thirst again.

What! never thirst again?
No, never thirst again;
What! never thirst again?
No, never thirst again,
For he that drinketh, Jesus said,
Shall never, never thirst again.

Earth’s fountains fair but mock our souls,
Like desert phantoms lure,
And they that drink, the fainter grow,
The keener thirst endure.

This stream from Calvary still flows,
To bless and cleanse and heal,
And he that drinketh, Jesus said,
New life and rest shall feel.

Oh, blessèd stream of pure delight!
Oh, balm for every pain!
To thee I haste, for Jesus said,
I’ll never thirst again.

May Agnew Stephens (1865-1935)
Refrain words and music by anonymous

Mary Agnew joined the Salvation Army in 1890. Around 1897, she began serving as song leader and pianist at the Gospel Tabernacle with A.B. Simpson. In 1899 she helped found the Eighth Avenue Mission, and in 1902 married Harold Stephens. For the next two and half decades she and her husband were traveling evangelists in America, Canada and Britain. This hymn was first published in 1903.

As I said earlier, this is found in the Alliance hymnal, Hymns of the Christian Life (all three editions in my possession). This is one of three of her songs in the hymnal. She also wrote the music for two others, both A.B. Simpson songs, including Living in the Glory (I really like this one!).

Encounter at the well

The pastor who started me on this journey said, “If you take all of the stories about things that happened at the well out of the Bible, the Bible would be a lesser book for it.” I looked into it was surprised by the number of references to wells. While there are many more references we could consider, this will be my final post on encounters at the well. But I saved the best for last . . .

John 4 The woman at the well

1-4   This is the background for this story - he must needs go through Samaria...

5  Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6  Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
It’s like we are in Genesis: he’s journeying and stops at a well.
About the sixth hour - noon.

7  There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8  (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Jesus had to wait for someone to come to the well. Someone? He was there for her.
Give me to drink - sounds rude to our ears but I don’t believe it is, for she takes no offense to his manner.

9  Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
She is surprised that he spoke to her at all! She recognized him right off as a Jew.

10  Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
This is precisely why Jesus sat down at this well, to speak to her.
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee – If you only knew. He could’ve just said, “Hey, I’m Messiah and I have eternal life for you” but He is stirring her curiosity.
he would have given thee living water – the term refers to running water but this is clearly a play on words, he means water that gives life.

11  The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12   Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
from whence then hast thou that living water? – her curiosity is aroused as well as her sarcastic wit – You have nothing to draw with, just how do you plan to get me water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob – this well has served us for many generations and you, a helpless man who has to ask me for water, you have better water??

13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
In a word, Yes! What a wonderful promise! Just reading this is like a drink of cold water. “I asked you for a drink from this well, if you ask me I will give you a well on the inside, it will give you everlasting life and you will never thirst again.”

15  The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
“I’m in!” But she has missed something, her thinking is still carnal.

16  Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
What?? What does this have to do with living water? Rather than correct her misunderstanding he changes subjects. Somebody needs to talk to Jesus about how to witness, instead of ‘reeling her in’ he changes subjects? What??

17  The woman answered and said, I have no husband. 
Oooh, the entire tone of this conversation has just changed. Can you hear the surliness in her voice? She was interested, but not any more. What is Jesus after?

17  Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
18  For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
And here it is! What is he doing? He is pointing out her sin, but not in a mean, hurtful way, he is letting her admit it herself. He is also telling her that he knows her heart.

19  The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
20  Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
She is impressed – this is not just some wandering Jew, he is a prophet. But what does she do here? She quickly moves the spotlight from her life to religion: “Where is the real place to worship?” People do this all the time.

21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Now Jesus begins to talk plainly: “Your question is irrelevant. Worship is not tied to a place.”

22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Why does Jesus press the point? He is eliciting repentance - her thinking about spiritual things has been wrong so she must have a change in her thinking.

23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
the hour cometh, and now is – ‘where’ doesn’t really matter, only ‘how’
in spirit and in truth – in spirit as opposed to a place; worship involves external things (singing, praying, giving, preaching etc) but begins on the inside, in the heart. in truth, according to the revelation of God in Christ: we approach the Father through the Son; and according to His Word: He has told us what constitutes acceptable worship; we are not free to just make up whatever we want. Sincerity is no substitute for truth, nor is form for spirit.

24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
This is a powerful truth, God is a spirit. But this probably means, God is spirit. This is His essence. I am spirit, soul, and body. God is spirit.

“God is a Spirit - This is one of the first, the greatest, the most sublime, and necessary truths in the compass of nature! There is a God, the cause of all things - the fountain of all perfection - without parts or dimensions, for he is Eternal - filling the heavens and the earth - pervading, governing, and upholding all things: for he is an infinite Spirit! This God can be pleased only with that which resembles himself: therefore he must hate sin and sinfulness; and can delight in those only who are made partakers of his own Divine nature. As all creatures were made by him, so all owe him obedience and reverence; but, to be acceptable to this infinite Spirit, the worship must be of a spiritual nature - must spring from the heart, through the influence of the Holy Ghost: and it must be in Truth, not only in sincerity, but performed according to that Divine revelation which he has given men of himself. A man worships God in spirit, when, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, he brings all his affections, appetites, and desires to the throne of God; and he worships him in truth, when every purpose and passion of his heart, and when every act of his religious worship, is guided and regulated by the word of God.” (Adam Clarke)

25  The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Jesus has confronted her with her lack of living water, her failure to worship the right way, and her misunderstanding of God. This is her last refuge – “Well, I know that Messiah is coming.” Which being translated is, “I’m not a dummy.”
He will tell us all things – “I known what you’ve said, but when Messiah comes he will settle this [question of where to worship] once and for all.”

26  Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
“Yes, he will. And I am he.” Isn’t it neat that while Jesus spoke in parables to so many in Israel, to this woman he speaks plainly, “I am the Messiah.”

What an encounter she had at the well that day! She went to get water, just like she did every day, and

she meets the Messiah!!





This is truly the best encounter at a well in the whole Bible!!! Jesus told her plainly who he was (I that speak unto thee am he, the long awaited, promised Messiah) and what he offered (whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life). Amen! And in this encounter he tells us a lot about God: God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. This is awesome!!