A different kind of outrage

Where is the outrage? It is God’s own; it is the wrath of God against all that stands against his redemptive purpose. It is not an emotion; it is God’s righteous activity in setting right what is wrong. It is God’s intervention on behalf of those who cannot help themselves.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 132 (emphasis original)

O To Be Like Thee

480 O To Be Like Thee

1 O to be like Thee! Blessed Redeemer,
   this is my constant longing and prayer;
   gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
   Jesus Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Refrain:
   Oh! to be like Thee! O to be like Thee,
   blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art!
   Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
   stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

2 O to be like Thee! Full of compassion,
   loving, forgiving, tender, and kind;
   helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
   seeking the wand’ring sinner to find. [Refrain]

3 O to be like Thee! Lowly in spirit,
   holy and harmless, patient, and brave;
   meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
   willing to suffer, others to save. [Refrain]

4 O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming
   now to receive th’anointing divine;
   all that I am and have I am bringing,
   Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine. [Refrain]

5 O to be like Thee! While I am pleading,
   pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
   make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
   fit me for life and heaven above. [Refrain]
                         Thomas O. Chisholm
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Tozer for Tuesday

Unfortunately, many Christians settle for less than God’s conscious, manifest presence in their daily walk. There is a strain of loneliness infecting many Christians, which only the presence of God can cure. Why do so many Christians shy away from the holy presence of God? God’s face (His realized, manifested and enjoyed presence) may be the treasure of all God’s people.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 146

Fill Thou My Life, O Lord My God

479 Fill Thou My Life, O Lord My God

1 Fill thou my life, O Lord my God,
   in every part with praise,
   that my whole being may proclaim
   thy being and thy ways.

2 Not for the lip of praise alone,
   nor e'en the praising heart
   I ask, but for a life made up
   of praise in every part:

3 Praise in the common things of life,
   its goings out and in;
   praise in each duty and each deed,
   however small and mean.

4 Fill every part of me with praise:
   let all my being speak
   of thee and of thy love, O Lord,
   poor though I be and weak.

5 So shalt thou, Lord, receive from me
   the praise and glory due;
   and so shall I begin on earth
   the song for ever new.

6 So shall no part of day or night
   unblest or common be,
   but all my life, in every step,
   be fellowship with thee.
                         Horatius Bonar
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Not a terribly popular hymn, only occurring in about 100 hymnals. Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

6 So shall each fear, each fret, each care,
   be turned into song;
   and every winding of the way
   the echo shall prolong.

</idle musing>

Injustice is real! Suffering is real! God is real!

The Dalai Lama has been an admirable symbol of courage around the world and continues to trouble the Chinese Communist regime with his steadfast presence and his hold on his people and their aspirations. His inability or unwillingness to integrate injustice and suffering with his worldview, however, limits him. It is interesting to contrast him with his friend Desmond Tutu. Both of them have famous laughs. As has been noted by several observers, however, the Dalai Lama often uses his laugh to deflect attention from unpleasant subjects. He and Tutu are friends, but Tutu never laughs in that way. His laugh is an eschatological sign of God’s triumph over evil. He has felt the intensity of the struggle in his bones in a way that does not appear either in the demeanor or in the writings of the Dalai Lama. For him, suffering is the way to compassion, which is the way to happiness and the cessation of suffering. His teaching often sounds as if suffering and compassion were not connected to actual suffering human beings at all, but are stages along the way to personal happiness and even “achieving one’s goals.” Dalai Lama, with Howard C. Cutler, The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living (New York: Riverhead Books, 1998), 128-30, 228, 310, and various other passages throughout.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 124 n. 40

More about Jesus Would I Know

477 More about Jesus Would I Know

1 More about Jesus would I know,
   more of His grace to others show;
   more of His saving fullness see,
   more of His love who died for me.

Refrain:
   More, more about Jesus;
   more, more about Jesus;
   more of His saving fullness see,
   more of His love who died for me.

2 More about Jesus let me learn,
   more of His holy will discern.
   Spirit of God, my Teacher be,
   showing the things of Christ to me. [Refrain]

3 More about Jesus in His Word,
   holding communion with my Lord,
   hearing His voice in ev'ry line,
   making each faithful saying mine. [Refrain]

4 More about Jesus on His throne,
   riches in glory all His own;
   more of His kingdom's sure increase;
   more of His coming, Prince of Peace. [Refrain]
                         Eliza E. Hewitt
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Take a minute to click through to the biography of the hymnwriter.
</idle musing>

Make Me a Blessing

473 Make Me a Blessing

1 Out in the highways and byways of life,
   Many are weary and sad;
   Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
   Making the sorrowing glad.

Refrain:
   Make me a blessing, Make me a blessing.
   Out of my life may Jesus shine;
   Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray.
   Make me a blessing to someone today.

2 Tell the sweet story of Christ and his love,
   Tell of his pow'r to forgive;
   Others will trust him if only you prove
   True, ev'ry moment you live. [Refrain]

3 Give as 'twas given to you in your need,
   Love as the Master loved you;
   Be to the helpless a helper indeed,
   Unto your mission be true. [Refrain]
                         Ira B. Wilson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

A Teacher's Prayer

471 The Teacher

Lord, who am I to teach the way
To little children day by day,
So prone myself to go astray?

I teach them knowledge, but I know
How faint they flicker,and how low
The candles of my knowledge glow.

I teach them power to will and do,
But only now to learn anew
My own great weakness through and through.

I teach them love for all mankind
And all God’s creatures, but I find
My love comes lagging far behind.

Lord, if their guide I still must be,
O let the little children see
The teacher leaning hard on Thee.
                         Leslie Pinckney Hill
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Forgiveness is complicated

We have ranged across a wide territory to show that forgiveness is not a simple matter. If we think of Christian theology and ethics purely in terms of forgiveness, we will have neglected a central aspect of God’s own character and will be in no position to understand the cross in its fullest dimension. God’s new creation must be a just one, or the promises of God will seem like mockery to those whose defenselessness has been exploited by the powerful. Furthermore, if we fail to take account of God’s justice, we will miss the extraordinary way in which it is recast in the New Testament kerygma.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 131

Higher Ground

469 Higher Ground

1 I'm pressing on the upward way,
   New heights I'm gaining every day;
   Still praying as I onward bound,
   Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

Refrain:
   Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
   By faith, on Heaven's table land;
   A higher plane than I have found;
   Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

2 My heart has no desire to stay
   Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
   Tho' some may dwell where these abound,
   My pray'r, my aim is higher ground.

3 I want to live above the world,
   Though Satan's darts at me are hurled;
   For faith has caught the joyful sound,
   The song of saints on higher ground.

4 I want to scale the utmost height,
   And catch a gleam of glory bright;
   But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found,
   Lord, lead me on to higher ground.
                         Johnson Oatman Jr.
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Giving a voice to the voiceless

It makes many people queasy nowadays to talk about the wrath of God, but there can be no turning away from this prominent biblical theme. Oppressed peoples around the world have been empowered by the scriptural picture of a God who is angered by injustice and unrighteousness. The humor and exuberance of a freedom fighter like Desmond Tutu are evoked, fueled, and sustained by the conviction that God is on the side of those who are defenseless and voiceless, who have no powerful friends, who are abused and oppressed by the system.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 129

Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord

467 Take Thou Our Minds, Dear Lord

1 Take thou our minds, dear Lord, we humbly pray;
   give us the mind of Christ each passing day;
   teach us to know the truth that sets us free;
   grant us in all our thoughts to honor thee.

2 Take thou our hearts, O Christ; they are thine own;
   come thou within our souls and claim thy throne;
   help us to shed abroad thy deathless love;
   use us to make the earth like heaven above.

3 Take thou our wills, Most High! Hold thou full sway;
   have in our inmost souls thy perfect way;
   guard thou each sacred hour from selfish ease;
   guide thou our ordered lives as thou dost please.

4 Take thou ourselves, O Lord, heart, mind, and will;
   through our surrendered souls thy plans fulfill.
   We yield ourselves to thee: time, talents, all;
   we hear, and henceforth heed, thy sovereign call.
                         William Hiram Foulkes
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The essence of Christianity

Forgiveness in and of itself is not the essence of Christianity, though many believe it to be so. Forgiveness must be understood in its relationsliip to justice if the Christian gospel is to be allowed its full scope. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has said, “Forgiveness is not cheap, is not facile. It is costly. Reconciliation is not an easy option. It cost God the death of his Son.”—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 115 (emphasis original)

Liberation from Materialism (prayer)

464 Liberation from Materialism

Forbid it, Lord, that our roots become too firmly attached to this earth, that we should fall in love with things.

Help us to understand that the pilgrimage of this life is but an introduction, a preface a training school for what is to come.

Then shall we see all of life in its true perspective. Then shall we not fall in love with the things of time, but come to love the things that endure. Then shall we be saved from the tyranny of possessions which we have no leisure to enjoy, of property whose care becomes a burden. Give us, we pray, the courage to simplify our lives.

So may we be mature in our faith, childlike but never childish, humble but never cringing, understanding but never conceited.

So help us, O God, to live and not merely to exist, that we may have joy in our work. In Thy name, who alone can give us moderation and balance and zest for living, we pray. Amen.
                         Peter Marshall
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Justice, mercy, and forgiveness

The well-known passage in Micah 6:8 (“What does the Lord require of you . . . ?”) declares that justice and mercy are two foundational aspects of God’s character. Working out the relation between the two is an essential task of Christian theology, preaching, and pastoral care. In our own time this has become a particularly pressing question. There is a widespread impression that Christian forgiveness can be construed separately from the question of justice — that, in fact, forgiveness can be offered without reference to justice. However, forgiveness is by no means as simple or expeditious as is often suggested; it is a complex and demanding matter. The question of forgiveness and compensation really should not be discussed apart from the question of justice. When a terrible wrong has been committed and an apology is offered, the person or persons wronged may be justified in feeling that too much is being asked of them. If the impression is given that the wronged parties are simply supposed to “forgive and forget,” the wrong will linger under the surface and cause further harm.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 114

Tozer for Tuesday

The ordinary Chtistian is satisfied to live just a little removed from the presence of God. God has always had His David, His Paul, His Stephen and those who would die to taste what one man calls the piercing sweetness of the love of God.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 145–46

Living for Jesus (Hymn)

462 Living for Jesus

1. Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
   Striving to please Him in all that I do;
   Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
   This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Refrain:
   O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
   For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
   I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
   My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.

2. Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
   Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
   Such love constrains me to answer His call,
   Follow His leading and give Him my all.

3. Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
   Doing each duty in His holy Name;
   Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
   Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

4. Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
   My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
   Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
   Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.
                         Thomas O. Chisholm
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Justice

This last verse [Deut 10:19] contains a key idea: the care given by the community to its weakest members, and even to those who are not members at all, is to be a mirror of God’s own care for the Israelites when they were enslaved. The activities of the community are not undertaken on general principles; they arise out of the lively remembrance of God’s just and merciful initiatives with them (“A wandering Aramean was my father” — Deut. 26:5).

Because justice is such a central part of God’s nature, he has declared enmity against every form of injustice. His wrath will come upon those who have exploited the poor and weak; he will not permit his purpose to be subverted.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 110

All for Jesus (hymn)

459 All for Jesus

1 All for Jesus! All for Jesus!
   All my being’s ransomed pow'rs,
   all my thoughts and words and doings,
   all my days and all my hours.

2 Let my hands perform his bidding,
   let my feet run in his ways;
   let my eyes see Jesus only,
   let my lips speak forth his praise.

3 Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus,
   I’ve lost sight of all beside;
   so enchained my spirit’s vision,
   looking at the Crucified.

4 O what wonder! How amazing!
   Jesus, glorious King of kings,
   deigns to call me his beloved,
   lets me rest beneath his wings.
                         Mary D. James
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

3 Worldlings prize their gems of beauty,
   cling to gilded toys of dust,
   boast of wealth and fame and pleasure;
   only Jesus will I trust.

</idle musing>

I'll Live for Him

453 I'll Live for Him

1 My life, my love I give to Thee,
   Thou Lamb of God who died for me;
   O may I ever faithful be,
   My Savior and my God!

Refrain:
   I'll live for him who died for me,
   How happy then my life shall be!
   I'll live for him who died for me,
   My Savior and my God!

2 I now believe thou dost receive,
   For Thou hast died That I might live;
   And now henceforth I'll trust in Thee,
   My Savior and my God! [Refrain]

3 O Thou who died on Calvary,
   To save my soul and make me free;
   I'll consecrate My life to Thee,
   My Savior and my God! [Refrain]
                         Ralph E. Hudson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

I Could Never Outlove the Lord

452 I Could Never Outlove the Lord

1 There've been times when giving and loving brought pain
   And I promised that I'd never let it happen again
   But I found out that loving is well worth the risk
   And that even in losing you win

Chorus
   I'm going to live the way He wants me to live
   I'm going to give until there's just no more to give
   I'm going to love, love till there's just no more love
   For I could never, ever out love the Lord

2 He showed us that only through dying we live
   And He gave when it seemed there was nothing to give
   He loved when loving brought heartache and loss
   He forgave from the old rugged cross [Chorus]
                         Gloria Gaither
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The irony of justice in this world

There is much irony here, for injustice is a threatening subject for the ruling classes who have the time and inclination for reading books like this one. Those who suffer most from injustice are the poorly educated, the impoverished, the invisible. Justice is involved with law and judges; the people most likely to suffer injustice cannot afford good lawyers, do not even know any lawyers, whereas lawyers and judges are the ones who have the money to buy books. In other words, those most likely to be affected by the issues raised in this chapter are least likely to be reading about them.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 107

I Need Jesus (Hymn)

450 I Need Jesus

1 I need Jesus, my need I now confess;
   No friend like Him in times of deep distress;
   I need Jesus, the need I gladly own;
   Tho' some may bear their load alone,
   Yet I need Jesus.

Chorus:
   I need Jesus, I need Jesus,
   I need Jesus every day;
   Need Him in the sunshine hour,
   Need Him when the stormclouds low'r;
   Every day along my way,
   Yes, I need Jesus.

2 I need Jesus, I need a friend like Him,
   A friend to guide when paths of life are dim;
   I need Jesus, when foes my soul assail;
   Alone I know I can but fail,
   So I need Jesus. (Chorus)

3 I need Jesus, I need Him to the end;
   No one like Him, He is the sinner's Friend;
   I need Jesus, no other friend will do;
   So constant, kind, so strong and true,
   Yes, I need Jesus. (Chorus)
                         George O. Webster
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Loosing sight of the cross

We have looked at passages from Paul’s Corinthian letters to show what happens to a church when it loses sight of the cross. Paul’s insistence on the “word of the cross,” then as now, causes offense, because a “Corinthian” church is self-congratulatory, certain of its own spiritual attainments, whereas the cross of Christ displays God’s leveling of all distinctions in his godless death.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 105

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness

444 Speak, Lord, in the Stillness

1 Speak, Lord, in the stillness
   speak your word to me;
   hushed my heart to listen
   in expectancy.

2 Speak, O gracious Master,
   in this quiet hour;
   let me see your face, Lord,
   feel your touch of power.

3 For the words you give me
   they are life indeed;
   living bread from heaven,
   now my spirit feed.

4 Speak, your servant listens,
   be not silent, Lord;
   let me know your presence;
   let your voice be heard.

5 Fill me with the knowledge
   of your glorious will;
   all your own good pleasure
   in my life fulfill.
                         Emily May Grimes Crawford
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Not a terribly popular hymn, only occurring in about forty hymnals. The biography link above is a bit strange, almost as if the person writing it had an axe to grind.
</idle musing>

Not ashamed?

The purpose of this chapter has been to show that God’s purpose is revealed not only in the fact of his Messiah’s death, but also in the mode of his death. We have attempted to say something about the depth of shame and ungodliness attached to crucifixion as a method, and to explain how much audacity and courage were required of the early Christians to proclaim a crucified Messiah to a world that could have been expected, then as now, to find such a message insupportable. Martin Hengel describes his research into “the constantly varying forms of abhorrence at the new religious teaching.” He shows us why such a highly educated, well-born person as Paul would feel constrained to say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.”—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 104 (emphasis original)

Tozer for Tuesday (on a Wednesday!)

The rank and file does not want to enter beyond the veil of self. It demands a life of holiness in order to enter.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 144

A poetic prayer

441 Prayer

More things are wrought by prayer
Than this world dreams of Wherefore, let thy voice
Rise like a fountain for me night and day,
For what are men better than sheep or goats
That nourish a blind life within the brain,
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer
Both for themselves and those who call them friends,
For so the whole round earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.
                        —Alfred Lord Tennyson
                         Hymns for the Family of God

In and through, not over and against!

Closely related is a striking passage in II Corinthians that begins: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself,” thereby nailing down the indispensable affirmation that the Father is acting, not over against the Son, but through and in the Son, whose will is the same as the Father’s. The awesome transaction is taking place within God.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 100 (emphasis original)

Psalm 144 (paraphrased)

438 Psalm 144

O God, it is difficult to understand how You can regard man with such high regard and show him so much concern.
His years upon this earth are so few. He is little more than a wisp of wind in the time and space of Your great universe.
You created him as the object of Your love—only to see him turn from You to play with his foolish toys.
You tried to teach him to love his fellowman—only to see him express his fear and suspicion and hate through cruel acts of violence and war.
You showered upon him Your abundant gifts—only to see him make them his ultimate concern.
Still You continue to love him and seek incessantly to save him from destroying himself and the world You have placed in his hands.
Even while he rejects You, You reach out to draw him back to Yourself.
Even while he suffers the painful consequences of his rank rebelliousness, You offer to him Your healing and demonstrate Your desire to restore him to love and joy.
And when he finally turns to You, he finds You waiting for him, ready to forgive his sins and to reunite him to Your life and purposes once more.
That man who returns to his God is happy indeed!
He will forever be the object of God’s love and blessings.
                         —Leslie Brandt
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Pitied, petted, and pampered

THE CHURCH WORLD IS FULL of Christian professors and ministers, Sunday school teachers and workers, evangelists and missionaries in whom the gifts of the Spirit are very manifest, and who bring blessing to multitudes. However, when known ”close up,” they are found to be full of self.

They may have ”forsaken all” for Christ and imagine they would be ready, like the disciples of old, to die for their Master, but deep down in their hidden, private lives there lurks that dark, sinister power of self.

Such persons may wonder, all the while, why they do not have victory over their wounded pride, their touchiness, their greediness, their lovelessness, their failure to experience the promised "rivers of living water.” Ah, the secret is not far away. They secretly and habitually practice “shrine worship” at the shrine of self. There they bow daily and do obeisance. They are fundamental. In the outward Cross they glory, but inwardly they worship another god—and stretch out their hands to serve a pitied, petted, and pampered self-life.—L. E. Maxwell, Born Crucified, 65–66

Almost Persuaded

437 Almost Persuaded

1 “Almost persuaded” now to believe;
   “Almost persuaded” Christ to receive;
   Seems now some soul to say,
   “Go, Spirit, go Thy way;
   Some more convenient day
   On Thee I’ll call.”

2 “Almost persuaded,” come, come today;
   “Almost persuaded,” turn not away;
   Jesus invites you here,
   Angels are lingering near,
   Prayers rise from hearts so dear;
   O wanderer, come.

3 “Almost persuaded,” harvest is past!
   “Almost persuaded” doom comes at last!
   “Almost” cannot avail;
   “Almost” is but to fail!
   Sad, sad, that bitter wail,
   “Almost,” but lost!
                         Philip P. Bliss
                         Hymns for the Family of God

For Those Tears I Died

436 For Those Tears I Died

1 You said You'd come and share all my sorrows,
   You said You'd be there for all my tomorrows.
   I came so close to sending You away:
   But just like You promised You came here to stay,
   I just had to pray.

Chorus
   And Jesus said come to the water, stand by my side;
   I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied.
   I felt every teardrop when in darkness You cried;
   And I strove to remind you, that for those tears I died.

2 Your goodness so great, I can't understand.
   And dear Lord I know that all this was planned.
   I know You're here now and always will be;
   Your love loosed my chains and in You I'm free,
   But Jesus, why me? [Chorus}

3 Jesus, I give You my heart and my soul.
   I know that without You, I’d never be whole.
   Savior, You've opened all the right doors,
   And I thank You and praise You from Earth's humble shores,
   Take me I'm Yours.
                         Marsha Stevens
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
An old standby from early CCM, written in 1969. It only occurs in about 12 hymnals, but I recall singing it multiple times in Bible studies and small groups. It was on an album by Children of the Day that Debbie owned. For our wedding, as the closing song, we used their song, "Children of the Day."
</idle musing>

Jesus Is Calling (Crosby)

434 Jesus Is Calling

1 Jesus is tenderly calling thee home-
   Calling today, calling today;
   Why from the sunshine of love wilt thou roam
   Farther and farther away?

Refrain:
   Calling today,
   Calling today,
   Jesus is calling,
   Is tenderly calling today.

2 Jesus is calling the weary to rest-
   Calling today, calling today;
   Bring Him thy burden and thou shalt be blest-
   He will not turn thee away. [Refrain]

3 Jesus is waiting; O come to Him now-
   Waiting today, waiting today;
   Come with thy sins, at His feet lowly bow-
   Come, and no longer delay. [Refrain]

4 Jesus is pleading; O list to His voice-
   Hear Him today, hear Him today;
   They who believe on His name shall rejoice-
   Quickly arise and away. [Refrain]
                         Fanny Crosby
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The Trinity did it!

The important thing for our discussion here is Paul's announcement (kerygma) that God, in the person of his sinless Son, put himself voluntarily and deliberately into the condition of greatest accursedness — on our behalf and in our place. This mind-crunching paradox lies at the heart of the Christian message.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 100

Let Jesus Come into Your Heart

433 Let Jesus Come into Your Heart

1 If you are tired of the load of your sin,
   Let Jesus come into your heart;
   If you desire a new life to begin,
   Let Jesus come into your heart.

Refrain:
   Just now your doubtings give o'er;
   Just now reject Him no more;
   Just now throw open the door;
   Let Jesus come into your heart.

2 If 'tis for purity now that you sigh,
   Let Jesus come into your heart;
   Fountains for cleansing are flowing near by,
   Let Jesus come into your heart. [Refrain]

3 If there's a tempest your voice cannot still,
   Let Jesus come into your heart;
   If there's a void this world never can fill,
   Let Jesus come into your heart. [Refrain]

4 If you would join the glad songs of the blest,
   Let Jesus come into your heart;
   If you would enter the mansions of rest,
   Let Jesus come into your heart. [Refrain]
                         Lelia N. Morris
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I don't know if anyone ever clicks through to the bibliography of the hymnwriters, but some of them are really interesting. This author started to go blind in her early 50s, so her son built a 28 ft. blackboard with oversized music staffs so she could continue to compose music!
</idle musing>

Cleanse Me (Search me, O God)

425 Cleanse Me

1 Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
   try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray.
   See if there be some wicked way in me;
   cleanse me from ev'ry sin and set me free.

2 I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin;
   fulfill Thy Word and make me pure within.
   Fill me with fire where once I burned with shame;
   grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

3 Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine;
   fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.
   Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;
   I now surrender, Lord— in me abide.

4 O Holy Spirit, revival comes from Thee;
   send a revival– start the work in me.
   Thy Word declares Thou will supply our need;
   for blessings now, O Lord, I humbly plead.
                         J. Edwin Orr
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Public theater

In a sense, crucifixion was a form of entertainment. Everyone understood that the specific role of the passersby was to exacerbate the dehumanization and degradation of the person who had been thus designated to be a spectacle. Crucifixion was cleverly designed — we might say diabolically designed — to be an almost theatrical enactment of the sadistic and inhumane impulses that lie within human beings. According to the Christian gospel, the Son of God Voluntarily and purposefully absorbed all of that, drawing it into himself.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 93

At Calvary

415 At Calvary

1 Years I spent in vanity and pride,
   Caring not my Lord was crucified,
   Knowing not it was for me He died on Calvary.

Refrain:
   Mercy there was great and grace was free,
   Pardon there was multiplied to me,
   There my burdened soul found liberty–
   At Calvary.

2 By God's Word at last my sin I learned–
   Then I trembled at the Law I'd spurned,
   Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary. [Refrain]

3 Now I've giv'n to Jesus ev'rything,
   Now I gladly own Him as my King,
   Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary. [Refrain]

4 O the love that drew salvation's plan!
   O the grace that brought it down to man!
   O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. [Refrain]
                         William R. Newell
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Nobody expected it!

The most radical of all perspectives on the cross will become clear to us if we reflect on the relation between the Old and New Testaments in this regard. To put it in the bluntest possible terms, no one expected a crucified Messiah. Isaiah 53 provided a clue of a suggestion of a hint of a prediction (“He was despised and rejected by men. . . . The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,” 53:3, 6), but virtually no one understood this to refer to the Messiah of Israel until after the resurrection.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 90 (emphasis original)

Tozer for Tuesday

I am afraid our lukewarmness about the person of Christ is a great proof that we do not know very much about Him in personal experience. I tell you, we cannot keep still about that which we love. That which we love supremely and above all else, we are going to talk about it a lot. I will never get over it; it is still a delight to me; it is still a pleasure I cannot get over. I do not try to get over it. I just enjoy it.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 141

Under His Wings

412 Under His Wings

1 Under His wings I am safely abiding.
   Tho' the night deepens and tempests are wild,
   Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me.
   He has redeemed me, and I am His child.

Refrain:
   Under His wings, under His wings,
   Who from His love can sever?
   Under His wings my soul shall abide,
   Safely abide forever.

2 Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
   How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
   Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
   There I find comfort, and there I am blest. [Refrain]

3 Under His wings, oh, what precious enjoyment!
   There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
   Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me.
   Resting in Jesus, I’m safe evermore. [Refrain]
                         William O. Cushing
                         Hymns for the Family of God

What's missing?

First Corinthians 1:18-25 draws us into the heart of the difficulty that third-millennium Christians share with those of the first century. It helps us remember that the Corinthian church was not unlike many burgeoning American congregations today. The church parking lot is always full, new services have been added, signs and wonders abound, testimonies are given about changed lives, and there seems to be no limit to the enthusiasm of the congregation. Paul, however, sees grave danger ahead, because the Corinthians’ life is oriented to the wrong center.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 85

<idle musing>
She's talking about the scandal of the cross. When was the last time you heard someone at a megachurch preach or teach about the cross? Right! The pews might be full, but without the message of the cross, it's just therapeutic deism. No cross, no real power.
</idle musing>

Am I a Soldier of the Cross

411 Am I a Soldier of the Cross

1. Am I a soldier of the cross,
   a follower of the Lamb,
   and shall I fear to own his cause,
   or blush to speak his name?

2. Must I be carried to the skies
   on flowery beds of ease,
   while others fought to win the prize,
   and sailed through bloody seas?

3. Are there no foes for me to face?
   Must I not stem the flood?
   Is this vile world a friend to grace,
   to help me on to God?

4. Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
   increase my courage, Lord.
   I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
   supported by thy word.
                         Isaac Watts
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I find it hard to believe that I haven't posted this one yet, but a search comes up blank. Apparently, even though it occurs in nearly 2000 hymnals, it didn't make its way into a (non African) Methodist one until 1989! Be that as it may, here are two more verses that are pretty common:

5. Thy saints in all this glorious war
   shall conquer, though they die;
   they see the triumph from afar,
   by faith they bring it nigh.

6. When that illustrious day shall rise,
   and all thy armies shine
   in robes of victory through the skies,
   the glory shall be thine.

</idle musing>

Who Is on the Lord's Side?

409 Who Is on the Lord's Side?

1. Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will serve the King?
   Who will be His helpers, other lives to bring?
   Who will leave the world’s side? Who will face the foe?
   Who is on the Lord’s side? Who for Him will go?
   By Thy call of mercy, by Thy grace divine,
   We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

2. Not for weight of glory, nor for crown and palm,
   Enter we the army, raise the warrior psalm;
   But for love that claimeth lives for whom He died:
   He whom Jesus saveth marches on His side.
   By Thy love constraining, by Thy grace divine,
   We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

3. Jesus, Thou hast bought us, not with gold or gem,
   But with Thine own lifeblood, for Thy diadem;
   With Thy blessing filling each who comes to Thee,
   Thou hast made us willing, Thou hast made us free.
   By Thy grand redemption, by Thy grace divine,
   We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!

4. Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe,
   But the King’s own army none can overthrow;
   ’Round His standard ranging, vict’ry is secure,
   For His truth unchanging makes the triumph sure.
   Joyfully enlisting, by Thy grace divine,
   We are on the Lord’s side—Savior, we are Thine!
                         Frances R. Havergal
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I'm surprised this one isn't in any of the Methodist hymnals I own. It occurs in about 465 hymnals. Hymnary.org includes a fifth verse:

5. Chosen to be soldiers, in an alien land,
   Chosen, called, and faithful, for our Captain’s band;
   In the service royal, let us not grow cold,
   Let us be right loyal, noble, true and bold.
   Master, wilt Thou keep us, by Thy grace divine,
   Always on the Lord’s side—Savior, always Thine!

</idle musing>

I Surrender All

408 I Surrender All

1 All to Jesus I surrender,
   All to Him I freely give;
   I will ever love and trust Him,
   In His presence daily live.

Refrain:
   I surrender all, (I surrender all)
   I surrender all. (I surrender all)
   All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
   I surrender all.

2 All to Jesus I surrender,
   Humbly at His feet I bow;
   Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
   Take me, Jesus, take me now. [Refrain]

3 All to Jesus I surrender,
   Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
   Fill me with the Holy Spirit,
   Truly know that Thou art mine. [Refrain]

4 All to Jesus I surrender,
   Lord, I give myself to Thee;
   Fill me with Thy love and power;
   Let Thy blessings fall on me. [Refrain]
                         Judson W. Van de Venter
                         Hymns for the Family of God

It's irreligious!

The crucifixion marks out the essential distinction between Christianity and “religion.” Religion as defined in these pages is either an organized system of belief or, alternatively, a loose collection of ideas and practices, projected out of humanity’s needs and wishes. The cross is “irreligious” because no human being individually or human beings collectively would have projected their hopes, wishes, longings, and needs onto a crucified man. In a PBS television series, The Christians (1981), a studiously impartial narrator said this: “Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central focus the suffering and degradation of its God. The crucifixion is so familiar to us, and so moving, that it is hard to realize how unusual it is as an image of God” (emphasis added [by Rutledge]). The description of the cross as “moving” is noteworthy, but not the point. We focus on the narrator’s (or screenwriter’s) perception of the wrenching unsuitability of a crucifixion as an object of faith. He has come closer than many Christians to understanding not only the abhorrent and irreligious nature of crucifixion as a method of execution but also the unlikelihood of it arising out of religious imagination.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 75 (emphasis original)

Lead Me to Calvary

407 Lead Me to Calvary

1 King of my life I crown Thee now -
   Thine shall the glory be;
   Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,
   Lead me to Calvary.

Refrain:
   Lest I forget Gethsemane,
   Lest I forget Thine agony,
   Lest I forget Thy love for me,
   Lead me to Calvary.

2 Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid,
   Tenderly mourned and wept;
   Angels in robes of light arrayed
   Guarded Thee whilst Thou slept. [Refrain]

3 Let me like Mary, thru the gloom,
   Come with a gift to Thee;
   Show to me now the empty tomb -
   Lead me to Calvary. [Refrain]

4 May I be willing, Lord, to bear
   Daily my cross for Thee;
   Even Thy cup of grief to share -
   Thou hast borne all for me. [Refrain]
                         Jennie Evelyn Hussey
                         Hymns for the Family of God

It was a skandalon!

The New Testament witnesses had to fight with all their strength to keep the Lord’s death at the forefront of the preaching, worship, and ethics of the new faith. Paul’s term skandalon (“stumbling block,” “pitfall”) well conveys the perverse nature of the cross. Forces within and without the early church exploited every opportunity to minimize or set aside the absurdly irreligious claim that a degrading, state-sponsored execution had secured the salvation of the entire cosmos. But all four Evangelists resisted these pressures to move in the direction of something more spiritually familiar, and instead made the long, continuous passion narrative the climax of their work.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 69

Tolstoy's Confession of Faith

403 Confession of Faith

I believe in God, who is for me spirit, love, the principle of all things.
I believe that God is in me, as I am in Him.
I believe that the true welfare of man consists in fulfilling the will of God.
I believe that from the fulfillment of the will of God there can follow nothing but that which is good for me and for all men.
I believe that the will of God is that every man should love his fellow men, and should act toward others as he desires that they should act toward him.
I believe that the reason of life is for each of us simply to grow in love.
I believe that this growth in love will contribute more than any other force to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
                         —Leo Tolstoy
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The world was changed!

The cross, incomparably vindicated by the resurrection, is the novum, the new factor in human experience, the definitive and world-changing act of God that makes the New Testament proclamation unique in all the world. The claim of the early church was that the historical death of Jesus “under Pontius Pilate,” followed by the metahistorical event of the resurrection, had changed everything for all time.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 61

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night

401 Jesus, I Come

1 Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into thy freedom, gladness, and light,
   Jesus, I come to thee.
   Out of my sickness into thy health,
   Out of my want and into thy wealth,
   Out of my sin and into thyself,
   Jesus, I come to thee.

2 Out of my shameful failure and loss,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into the glorious gain of thy cross,
   Jesus, I come to thee.
   Out of earth's sorrows into thy balm,
   Out of life's storms and into thy calm,
   Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
   Jesus, I come to thee.

3 Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into thy blessed will to abide,
   Jesus, I come to thee.
   Out of my self to dwell in thy love,
   Out of despair into raptures above,
   Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
   Jesus, I come to thee.

4 Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
   Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
   Into the joy and light of thy home,
   Jesus, I come to thee.
   Out of the depths of ruin untold,
   Into the peace of thy sheltering fold,
   Ever thy glorious face to behold,
   Jesus, I come to thee.
                         William T. Sleeper
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Too offensive!

The central event of Christianity is too offensive and too much against the grain of religious thought as we know it ever to have emerged out of human religious imagination, no matter how philosophically subtle or humanly moving that religion might be. I personally find parts of the Qur’an and the Bhagavad-Gita quite stirring, but no one has been able to persuade me that there is anything in them equal to “the word of the cross.” Islam teaches that Jesus was not really crucified at all (Qur’an 4:157). John Stott has written, “I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth. . . . But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross . . . plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. . . . There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering” (The Cross of Christ [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986], 335–36).—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 57–58 n. 40

Tozer for Tuesday

When a Christian breaks through the religious routine and experiences God’s presence for the very first time, he no longer wishes to go back. He has found something so utterly satisfying that he loses his former attraction to the world and the things around him.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 137

A General Thanksgiving

396 A General Thanksgiving

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all Your goodness and loving-kindness to us
and to all men.

We bless You for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for Your incomparable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

And, we pray, give us such an awareness of Your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts
we may make known Your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up ourselves to Your service,
and by walking before You in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with You and the Holy Spirit,
be all honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.

—Standard Book of Common Prayer
Hymns for the Family of God

It's still radical

The Christian gospel—when proclaimed in its radical New Testament form—is more truly “inclusive” of every human being, spiritually proficient or not, than any of the world’s religious systems have ever been, precisely because ofthe godlessness of Jesus’ death. In fact, the “word of the cross” is far more sweeping in its nullification of distinctions than many by-the-book conservative Christians are willing to admit. The Christian gospel, in slicing away all distinctions between “godly” and “ungodly” (Rom. 4:5), spiritual and unspiritual, offers a vision of God’s purpose for the whole human race, believers and unbelievers alike, so comprehensive and staggering that even the apostle Paul is reduced to temporary speechlessness (Rom. 11:36).—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 54 (emphasis original)

Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

394 Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart

Rejoice, ye pure in heart,
   Rejoice, give thanks and sing;
   Your festive banner wave on high,
   The cross of Christ your King.

Refrain:
   Rejoice, rejoice,
   Rejoice, give thanks and sing.

2 Go on through life's long path,
   Still chanting as ye go;
   From youth to age, by night and day,
   In gladness and in woe. [Refrain]

3 Then on, ye pure in heart,
   Rejoice, give thanks and sing;
   Your glorious banner wave on high,
   The cross of Christ your King. [Refrain]
                         Edward H. Plumptre
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Cyberhymnal adds some verses:

2 Bright youth and snow-crowned age,
   All those for truth do seek;
   Raise high your free, exulting song,
   God's wondrous praises speak. [Refrain]

4. With all the angel choirs,
   With all the saints of earth,
   Pour out the strains of joy and bliss,
   True rapture, noblest mirth. [Refrain]

5. Your clear hosannas raise;
   And alleluias loud;
   Whilst answering echoes upward float,
   Like wreaths of incense cloud. [Refrain]

6. With voice as full and strong
   As ocean’s surging praise,
   Send forth the hymns our fathers loved,
   The psalms of ancient days. [Refrain]

8. Still lift your standard high,
   Still march in firm array,
   As warriors through the darkness toil,
   Till dawns the golden day. [Refrain]

9. At last the march shall end;
   The wearied ones shall rest;
   The pilgrims find their heavenly home,
   Jerusalem the blessed. [Refrain]

</idle musing>

Sing . . . with enthusiasm!

393 Thanksgiving and Praise

Thanksgiving and praise are to be the major elements in our singing. It is possible to give thanks and praise God individually but if any congregation took time to let everyone do that, it would take all day. . . . Singing is something we can do together. So through the ages the believers in God both of the Old and New Testament have sung their praises and thanksgiving. . . . It is the reason we should be careful not to sing in a desultory manner. There is nothing more conducive to dullness in a service than half-hearted singing. So the exhortation here is most appropriate. “O, come, let us sing to the Lord: "let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.”
                         Ray Stedman
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Thanks to God for My Redeemer

386 Thanks to God for my Redeemer

1. Thanks to God for my Redeemer,
   Thanks for all Thou dost provide!
   Thanks for times now but a mem’ry,
   Thanks for Jesus by my side!
   Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,
   Thanks for dark and stormy fall!
   Thanks for tears by now forgotten,
   Thanks for peace within my soul!

2. Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,
   Thanks for what Thou dost deny!
   Thanks for storms that I have weathered,
   Thanks for all Thou dost supply!
   Thanks for pain, and thanks for pleasure,
   Thanks for comfort in despair!
   Thanks for grace that none can measure,
   Thanks for love beyond compare!

3. Thanks for roses by the wayside,
   Thanks for thorns their stems contain!
   Thanks for home and thanks for fireside,
   Thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!
   Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow,
   Thanks for heav’nly peace with Thee!
   Thanks for hope in the tomorrow,
   Thanks through all eternity!
                         August Ludwig Storm
                         Tr. by Carl E. Backstrom
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
We know nothing about the translator, but the author was no stranger to pain, which makes the words more powerful. He was speaking from lived experience.
</idle musing>

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

385 Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

1. Holy God, we praise thy name!
   Lord of all, we bow before thee!
   All on Earth thy sceptre claim,
   All in Heav'n above adore thee;
   Infinite thy vast domain,
   Everlasting is thy reign.

2. Hark! the loud celestial hymn
   Angel choirs above are raising!
   Cherubim and seraphim,
   In unceasing chorus praising,
   Fill the heav'ns with sweet accord;
   Holy, holy, holy, Lord!

3. Holy Father, holy Son,
   Holy Spirit, Three we name thee,
   Though in essence only one,
   Undivided God we claim thee;
   And adoring bend the knee,
   While we own the mystery.
                         Attr. to Ignaz Franz
                         Tr. by Clarence A. Walworth
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
This hymn actually has seven verses; Hymnary.org has the rest:

3. Lo! the apostolic train
   Join thy sacred name to hallow!
   Prophets swell the loud refrain,
   And the white-robed martyrs follow,
   And from morn to set of sun,
   Through the Church the song goes on.

5. Thou art King of glory, Christ!
   Son of God, yet born of Mary;
   For us sinners sacrificed,
   And to death a tributary;
   First to break the bars of death,
   Thou hast opened Heav’n to faith.

6. From thy high celestial home,
   Judge of all, again returning,
   We believe that thou shalt come
   On the dreadful doomsday morning,
   When thy voice shall shake the earth,
   And the startled dead come forth.

7. Spare thy people, Lord, we pray,
   By a thousand snares surrounded;
   Keep us without sin today;
   Never let us be confounded!
   Lo! I put my trust in thee;
   Never, Lord, abandon me.

</idle musing>

Is it in our power?

Allowing for all of gnosticism’s varieties, we can safely say this, in summary: in gnosticism’s portrayal of salvation, the power to redeem (God’s power) has been subsumed into our capacity for being redeemed. Therefore the crucifixion becomes unnecessary.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 52

It ain't egalitarian, folks!

Gnostic emphasis on esoteric knowledge has a number of ramifications. Where there is gnosticism, there is spiritual hierarchy. This is not always obvious at first, because the gentle spiritual paths typical of many gnostic programs promise well-being, personal enrichment, and access to the divine for all, often with special emphasis on women, gay people, people with disabilities, and others who may feel marginalized. Sooner or later, though, the hierarchy will make itself known, for in gnosticism higher reality is “spiritual,” so that religious advancement depends on achieving degrees Of spiritual enlightenment. Masters (of either gender) lead disciples through various stages of evolved consciousness. Naturally, this results in stratification, with adepts at the top. Those who do not find meditation, spiritual exercises, or consciousness-raising congenial find themselves left behind.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 47–48

Praise the Lord, His Glories Show

373 Praise the Lord, His Glories Show

1 Praise the Lord; His glories show, Alleluia,
   Saints within His courts below, Alleluia,
   Angels round His throne above, Alleluia,
   Praise Him, all who share His love, Alleluia.

2 Earth, to heav’n exalt the strain, Alleluia,
   Send it, Heav’n, to earth again; Alleluia,
   Age to age, and shore to shore, Alleluia,
   Praise Him, praise Him evermore, Alleluia.

3 Praise the Lord; His goodness trace; Alleluia,
   All the wonders of His grace; Alleluia,
   All that He hath borne and done, Alleluia,
   All He sends us thro’ His Son, Alleluia.
                         Henry Francis Lyte
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org adds a final verse:

4 Strings and voices, hands and hearts, Alleluia,
   In the concert bear your parts; Alleluia,
   All that breathe, your Lord adore, Alleluia,
   Praise Him, praise Him evermore, Alleluia.

</idle musing>

Sentimental love vs. agape love

Sentimental, overly “spiritualized” love is not capable of the sustained, unconditional agape of Christ shown on the cross. Only from the perspective of the crucifixion can the true nature of Christian love be seen, over against all that the world calls “love.” The one thing needful, according to Paul, is that the Christian community should position itself rightly, at the juncture where the cross calls all present arrangements into question with a corresponding call for endurance and faith.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 45

What a Wonderful Savior

372 What a Wonderful Savior

1 Christ has for sin atonement made,
   What a wonderful Saviour!
   We are redeemed! the price is paid!
   What a wonderful Saviour!

Chorus:
   What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Jesus!
   What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, my Lord!

2 I praise Him for the cleansing blood,
   What a wonderful Saviour!
   That reconciled my soul to God;
   What a wonderful Saviour! [Chorus]

3 He cleansed my heart from all its sin,
   What a wonderful Saviour!
   And now He reigns and rules therein;
   What a wonderful Saviour! [Chorus]

4 He gives me overcoming pow'r,
   What a wonderful Saviour!
   And triumph in each trying hour;
   What a wonderful Saviour! [Chorus]
                         Elisha A. Hoffman
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org adds a couple of verses:

4 He walks beside me all the way,
   What a wonderful Saviour!
   And keeps me faithful day by day;
   What a wonderful Saviour! [Chorus]

6 To Him I've given all my heart,
   What a wonderful Saviour!
   The world shall never share a part;
   What a wonderful Saviour! [Chorus]

</idle musing>

a comfortable society

As a general rule, the theologia gloriae (theology of glory) will drive out the theologia crucis (theology of the cross) every time in a comfortable society. We will often observe that this is particularly true in America, where optimism and positive thinking reign side by side.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 43–44

Tozer for Tuesday

I believe, and I could be wrong here but I do not think I am, that God’s people are hungry for the real spiritual food. They have had it with artificial light and hard, stale bread and odorless incense. They have had it with the cheap imitations imported from the world; they long for the reality of God’s presence among them.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 135

To God be the Glory

363 To God Be the Glory

1 To God be the glory - great things He hath done!
   So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
   Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
   And opened the life-gate that all may go in.

Refrain:
   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 hath done.

2 O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood!
   To ev'ry believer the promise of God;
   The vilest offender who truly believes,
   That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. [Refrain]

3 Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
   And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
   But purer and higher and greater will be
   Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. [Refrain]
                         Fanny Crosby
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I was very surprised to see that this standard Crosby hymn only occurs in about 230 hymnals. I was also surprised to see that I hadn't posted it yet. Apparently it doesn't occur in any of the three Methodist hymnals I own! I grew up singing it, so I'm not sure where I learned it, unless it was in a hymnal/songbook my parents owned—or maybe in a Sunday School songbook.
</idle musing>

The centrality of the passion in the early church

The portions of the four Gospels dealing with the life and teachings of Jesus were divided into short, discrete units (pericopes) suitable for reading and exposition in the context of worship in the early church. Once the Last Supper begins, however, the method changes. The portions describing the arrest, trial, suffering, and execution of Jesus are quite unlike the rest of the Gospels. These sequences are staged as long dramatic narratives, differing noticeably from the division of the earlier material into brief pericopes. The passion stories take up one-fourth to one-third of the total length of the four Gospels, and biblical interpreters generally agree that the material was shaped by the church’s oral traditions prior to being put into written form, in a way that forever indicates the surpassing importance of the suffering of Christ for the life of the earliest Christian communities.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 42

Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him

362 Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him

1 Praise the Savior, ye who know Him!
   Who can tell how much we owe Him?
   Gladly let us render to Him
   all we are and have.

2 Jesus is the name that charms us;
   He for conflict fits and arms us;
   nothing moves and nothing harms us
   while we trust in Him.

3 Trust in Him, ye saints, forever;
   He is faithful, changing never;
   neither force nor guile can sever
   those He loves from Him.

4 Keep us, Lord, O keep us cleaving
   to Thyself, and still believing,
   till the hour of our receiving
   promised joys with Thee.
                         Thomas Kelly
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org adds a fifth verse:

5 Then we shall be where we would be,
   then we shall be what we should be;
   things that are not now, nor could be,
   soon shall be our own.

</idle musing>

I Will Praise Him!

359 I Will Praise Him!

1 When I saw the cleansing fountain,
   Open wide for all my sin,
   I obeyed the Spirit’s wooing
   When He said, Wilt thou be clean?

Chorus:
   I will praise Him! I will praise Him!
   Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
   Give Him glory, all ye people,
   For His blood can wash away each stain.

2 Tho' the way seems straight and narrow,
   All I claimed was swept away;
   My ambitions, plans, and wishes,
   At my feet in ashes lay. (Chorus)

3 Then God’s fire upon the altar
   Of my heart was set aflame;
   I shall never cease to praise Him,
   Glory, glory to His name! (Chorus)

4 Blessed be the name of Jesus!
   I’m so glad He took me in;
   He’s forgiven my transgressions,
   He has cleansed my heart from sin. (Chorus)

5 Glory, glory to the Father!
   Glory, glory to the Son!
   Glory, glory to the Spirit!
   Glory to the Three in One! (Chorus)
                         Hymns for the Family of God
                         Margaret J. Harris

O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth

344 O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth

1 O could I speak the matchless worth,
   O could I sound the glories forth
   Which in my Savior shine,
   I'd soar and touch the heavenly strings,
   And vie with Gabriel while he sings
   In notes almost divine,
   In notes almost divine.

2 I'd sing the precious blood He spilt,
   My ransom from the dreadful guilt
   Of sin and wrath divine!
   I'd sing His glorious righteousness,
   In which all perfect heavenly dress
   My soul shall ever shine,
   My soul shall ever shine.

3 I'd sing the characters He bears,
   And all the forms of love He wears,
   Exalted on His throne.
   In loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
   I would to everlasting days
   Make all His glories known,
   Make all His glories known.

4 Soon, the delightful day will come
   When my dear Lord will bring me home,
   And I shall see His face;
   Then with my Savior, Brother, Friend,
   A blest eternity I’ll spend,
   Triumphant in His grace,
   Triumphant in His grace.
                         Samuel Medley
                         Hymns for the Family of God

The importance of the incarnation

The incarnation is the other essential pole of the Christian confession. God’s own self is totally, unreservedly, unconditionally invested in the self-offering “even to death on a cross” of the man Jesus. If God is not truly incarnate in Jesus as he accomplishes his work on the cross, then nothing has really happened from God’s side and we are thrown back on ourselves. If there is no incarnation of the Godhead in Jesus’ sacrifice, then there is no salvation apart from what human nature can contribute.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 32

Come, Christians, Join to Sing

342 Come, Christians, Join to Sing

1. Come, Christians, join to sing
   Alleluia! Amen!
   Loud praise to Christ our King;
   Alleluia! Amen!
   Let all, with heart and voice,
   Before His throne rejoice;
   Praise is His gracious choice:
   Alleluia! Amen!

2. Come, lift your hearts on high;
   Alleluia! Amen!
   Let praises fill the sky;
   Alleluia! Amen!
   He is our guide and friend;
   To us He'll condescend;
   His love shall never end:
   Alleluia! Amen!

3. Praise yet our Christ again;
   Alleluia! Amen!
   Life shall not end the strain;
   Alleluia! Amen!
   On heaven's blissful shore
   His goodness we'll adore,
   Singing forevermore,
   "Alleluia! Amen!"
                         Christian Henry Bateman
                         Hymns for the Family of God

Why the weak church?

The drift away from the Bible has weakened the church. Many people are ready to believe but have been intimidated into thinking that no educated person with any pretense to cultural sophistication could actually take the testimony of the Bible seriously. The one antidote to this is a robust exposition of the apostolic gospel.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 30

We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer

334 We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer

1. We praise You, O God, our Redeemer, Creator,
   In grateful devotion our tribute we bring.
   We lay it before You, we kneel and adore You,
   We bless Your holy name, glad praises we sing.

2. We worship You, God of our fathers, we bless You;
   Thro' life's storm and tempest our Guide You have been.
   When perils o'er-take us You will not forsake us,
   And with Your help, O Lord, our battles we win.

3. With voices united our praises we offer,
   And gladly our songs of thanksgiving we raise.
   With You, Lord, beside us, Your strong arm will guide us.
   To You, our great Redeemer, forever be praise.
                         Julia C. Cory
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
Not a terribly popular hymn, only occurring in abour 175 hymnals. Cyberhymnal notes that she later added a fourth verse for Christmas:

Thy love Thou didst show us, Thine only Son sending,
   Who came as a babe and whose bed was a stall,
   His blest life He gave us and then died to save us;
   We praise Thee, O Lord, for Thy gift to us all.

</idle musing>

Jesus of History?

The key to Jesus is now, as it has always been, his crucifixion and resurrection. Nothing whatever is known from first-century extrabiblical sources about Jesus as a historical figure. The New Testament is the only witness we have. Any modern reconstruction of the “historical Jesus,” therefore, is certain to be a product of the cultural environment that produced it, whereas the Jesus proclaimed as Lord in the New Testament comes closer than any other figure known to human history to being universal, transcending time and historical location, belonging to all cultures and all people everywhere and forever.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 29

Psalm 92 (hymn version)

330 It Is Good to Sing Thy Praises

1 It is good to sing Your praises
   and to thank You, O Most High,
   showing forth Your lovingkindness
   when the morning lights the sky.
   It is good when night is falling,
   of Your faithfulness to tell,
   while with sweet, melodious praises
   songs of adoration swell.

2 You have filled our hearts with gladness
   at the works Your hands have wrought;
   You have made our lives victorious;
   great Your works and deep Your thought.
   You, O LORD, on high exalted,
   reign forevermore in might;
   all Your enemies shall perish,
   sin be banished from Your sight.

3 But the good shall live before You,
   planted in Your dwelling place,
   fruitful trees and ever verdant,
   nourished by Your boundless grace.
   In His goodness to the righteous,
   God His righteousness displays;
   God, my Rock, my Strength and Refuge,
   just and true are all Your ways.
                         Psalm 92
                         Hymns for the Family of God

It's still a skandalon

The case of Jesus is in a class by itself. We can study the historical facts, ponder the motives of Pilate, debate the role of “the Jews,” and propose alternative interpretations until the fourth millennium, and we will be no closer to the reasons for the utter uniqueness of this death. Paul writes in Romans 1:17 that the gospel is “revealed through faith for faith.” This has never been an easy presupposition to defend. Like the “word of the cross” itself, the uncompromising nature of the Scriptures is a roadblock, a skandalon (I Cor. 1:23). Yet we cannot allow ourselves to be reduced to mumbling, “Well, you just have to take it on faith.” We have evidence from within Scripture itself that scholarship, reflection, and wrestling with the text are part of our calling as God’s people; the profound engagement of the Evangelists and apostles with their own received Hebrew Scriptures bears witness to this.—Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion, 21

Tozer for Tuesday

Our worship services should be so holy and so filled with a sense of God’s presence that unholy men will be very uncomfortable. Now we have done it the other way around. The most unholy person in town can come into the church and feel quite comfortable. People should come to a church worship service not anticipating entertainment but expecting the high and holy manifestation of God’s presence.—A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God, 134

Begin, My Tongue, Some Heavenly Theme

328 Begin, My Tongue, Some Heavenly Theme

1 Begin, my tongue, some heavenly theme,
   And speak some boundless thing;
   The mighty works, or mightier name,
   Of our eternal King.

2 Tell of his wondrous faithfulness,
   And sound his power abroad;
   Sing the sweet promise of his grace,
   And the performing God.

3 His very word of grace is strong
   As that which built the skies;
   The voice that rolls the stars along
   Speaks all the promises.

4 O might I hear the heav’nly tongue
   But whisper, Thou art Mine!
   Those gentle words shall raise my song
   To notes almost divine.
                         Isaac Watts
                         Hymns for the Family of God

<idle musing>
I wasn't familiar with this Isaac Watts hymn, which occurs in about 300 hymnals. And, oh my!, the variations. As usual, Cyberhymnal has the fullest listing of verses:

3. Proclaim salvation from the Lord
   For wretched, dying men;
   His hand has writ the sacred Word
   With an immortal pen.

4. Engraved as in eternal brass
   The mighty promise shines;
   Nor can the powers of darkness rase
   Those everlasting lines.

5. He that can dash whole worlds to death,
   And make them when He please,
   He speaks, and that almighty breath
   Fulfils His great decrees.

7. He said, Let the wide heav’n be spread,
   And heav’n was stretched abroad:
   Abram, I’ll be thy God, He said,
   And He was Abram’s God.

9. How would my leaping heart rejoice,
   And think my heav’n secure!
   I trust the all-creating voice,
   And faith desires no more.

</idle musing>