Why supercessionism doesn't work

To believe in Christ is nothing other than to live from “the root.” If Israel’s identity was always derivative and “eccentric,” created and sustained by the calling of God, its nature is neither erased nor altered by its response in faith to God’s calling in Christ. The olive tree allegory renders impossible the claim that Israel has been superseded by Gentiles or absorbed into a non-Jewish realm known as “the church.” To the contrary, it is Gentiles who are “grafted in,” but what they join is a people and a mode of existence utterly dependent on “the gifts and the calling of God” (11:29).—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 553

When We Walk with the Lord (Trust and Obey)

223 When We Walk with the Lord

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
   What a glory He sheds on our way!
   While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
   And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain:
   Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
   To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

2. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
   But our toil He doth richly repay;
   Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
   But is blessed if we trust and obey.

3. But we never can prove the delights of His love
   Until all on the altar we lay;
   For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
   Are for them who will trust and obey.

4. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
   Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
   What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
   Never fear, only trust and obey.
                         John H. Sammis
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was very surprised to see that this hymn only occurs in about 450 hymnals. An interesting side note is that he pastored a Presbyterian church here in Red Wing for a while. He eventually ended up at BIOLA.

I mused on this hymn about ten years ago.

Hymnary.org inserts a verse, which I do recall singing, so my memory of this hymn must not be primarily from the Methodist hymnal:

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

</idle musing>

Standing on the Promises

221 Standing on the Promises

1 Standing on the promises of Christ, my King,
   Through eternal ages let His praises ring;
   Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
   Standing on the promises of God.

Refrain:
   Standing, standing,
   Standing on the promises of God, my Savior;
   Standing, standing,
   I'm standing on the promises of God.

2 Standing on the promises that cannot fail.
   When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
   By the living word of God I shall prevail,
   Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

3 Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord,
   Bound to Him eternally by love's strong cord,
   Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
   Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]

4 Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
   List'ning every moment to the Spirit's call,
   Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
   Standing on the promises of God. [Refrain]
                         R. Kelso Carter
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Surprisingly, this hymn only occurs in about 420 hymnals. Well, maybe not so surprisingly, as it's more a gospel song than a hymn, but YMMV.
</idle musing>

Jesus, Priceless Treasure

220 Jesus, Priceless Treasure

1 Jesus, priceless treasure,
   source of purest pleasure,
   friend most sure and true:
   long my heart was burning,
   fainting much and yearning,
   thirsting, Lord, for you.
   Yours I am, O spotless Lamb,
   so will I let nothing hide you,
   seek no joy beside you!

2 Let your arms enfold me:
   those who try to wound me
   cannot reach me here.
   Though the earth be shaking,
   every heart be quaking,
   Jesus calms my fear.
   Fires may flash and thunder crash;
   yea, though sin and hell assail me,
   Jesus will not fail me.

3 Hence, all worldly treasure!
   Jesus is my pleasure,
   Jesus is my choice.
   Hence, all empty glory!
   What to me your story
   told with tempting voice?
   Pain or loss or shame or cross
   shall not from my Savior move me,
   since he chose to love me.
                         Johann Franck
                         Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Hymnary.org adds a few verses:

2. Banish thoughts of sadness,
   for the Lord of gladness,
   Jesus, enters in;
   though the clouds may gather,
   those who love the Savior
   still have peace within.
   Though I bear much sorrow here,
   still in you lies purest pleasure,
   Jesus, priceless treasure!

3. Satan, I defy thee;
   Death, I now decry thee;
   Fear, I bid thee cease.
   World, thou shalt not harm me
   Nor thy threats alarm me
   While I sing of peace.
   God’s great pow’r guards every hour;
   Earth and all its depths adore Him,
   Silent bow before Him.

4. Evil world, I leave thee;
   Thou shalt not deceive me,
   Thy appeal is vain.
   Sin that once did bind me,
   Get thee far behind me,
   Come not forth again.
   Past thy hour, O pride and pow’r;
   Sinful life, thy bonds I sever,
   Leave thee now forever.

5. Hence, all earthly treasure!
   Jesus is my pleasure;
   Jesus is my choice.
   Hence, all empty glory!
   What to me thy story
   Told with tempting voice?
   Pain or loss or shame or cross
   Shall not from my Savior move me,
   Since He chose to love me.

</idle musing>

The future and present hope of ingrafting

Paul’s stress on the root, and on the rationale of election, is a sign that he presses to explain how Israel came to be, and in that explanation desires to understand its present crisis, its future hope, and the extraordinary supplementation to the stock of God’s “inheritance” in the form of believing Gentiles. If its source of life (its “root”) is the creative call that “raises the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (4:17), one can readily explain both the ingrafting of Gentiles and the hope that, by the power of God (11:23), Israel will be reconstituted and complete again.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 552

There is a Balm in Gilead

212 There is a balm in Gilead

Refrain:
   There is a balm in Gilead
   To make the wounded whole;
   There is a balm in Gilead
   To heal the sin-sick soul.

1 Sometimes I feel discouraged
   And think my work’s in vain,
   But then the Holy Spirit
   Revives my soul again. [Refrain]

2 If you cannot preach like Peter,
   If you cannot pray like Paul,
   You can tell the love of Jesus
   and say, “He died for all!” [Refrain]
                         American Folk Hymn
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was very surprised to see that this hymn only occurs in about 125 hymnals. Hymnary.org inserts a verse:

2 Don’t ever be discouraged,
For Jesus is your friend;
And if you lack for knowledge,
He’ll ne'er refuse to lend. [Refrain]

</idle musing>

Grafted in

But God is grafting Gentiles not into the tree (Israel) but into the root, whose richness sustains both natural and unnatural branches, both Jews and Gentiles. Thus, for Paul, heritage is created by grace: offspring are born by promise to be children of God (9:8). It is because Israel was formed in this way from the beginning that it is first in time, with a “natural” afliliation to divine mercy. Gentiles are brought into relation not to an ethnic deity … but to the God of whom Israel is a product and a witness.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 551n75 (emphasis original)

If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

210 If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee
   And hope in Him through all thy ways,
   He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
   And bear thee through the evil days.
   Who trust in God’s unchanging love
   Builds on the rock that naught can move.

2. Only be still, and wait His leisure
   In cheerful hope, with heart content
   To take whatever the Father’s pleasure
   And all discerning love have sent;
   Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
   To Him who chose us for His own.

3. Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways,
   But do your part in conscience true;
   Trust His rich promises of grace,
   So shall they be fulfilled in you;
   God hears the call of those in need,
   The souls that trust in Him indeed.
                         Georg Neumark
                         Trans. by Catherine Winkworth
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

This one's a real mess when it come to variations—the line from the translator's biography sums it all up: "Though often altered, these translations continue to be used in many modern hymnals." Seems the original translation went as follows (per Cyberhymnal):

1. If thou but suffer God to guide thee
   And hope in Him through all thy ways,
   He’ll give thee strength, whate’er betide thee,
   And bear thee through the evil days.
   Who trust in God’s unchanging love
   Builds on the rock that naught can move.

2. What can these anxious cares avail thee
   These never ceasing moans and sighs?
   What can it help if thou bewail thee
   O’er each dark moment as it flies?
   Our cross and trials do but press
   The heavier for our bitterness.

3. Be patient and await His leisure
   In cheerful hope, with heart content
   To take whatever thy Father’s pleasure
   And His discerning love hath sent,
   Nor doubt our inmost want are known
   To Him who chose us for His own.

4. God knows full well when time of gladness
   Shall be the needful thing for thee.
   When He has tried thy soul with sadness
   And from all guile has found thee free,
   He comes to thee all unaware
   And makes thee own His loving care.

5. Nor think amid the fiery trial
   That God hath cast thee off unheard,
   That he whose hopes meet no denial
   Must surely be of God preferred.
   Time passes and much change doth bring
   And set a bound to everything.

6. All are alike before the Highest:
   ’Tis easy for our God, We know,
   To raise thee up, though low thou liest,
   To make the rich man poor and low.
   True wonders still by Him are wrought
   Who setteth up and brings to naught.

7. Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,
   Perform thy duties faithfully,
   And trust His Word: though undeserving,
   Thou yet shalt find it true for thee.
   God never yet forsook in need
   The soul that trusted Him indeed.

Looking at the various incarnations of it at Hymnary.org, you can see how the hymnals have changed some verses and chosen ones they want.

You should take a couple of minutes to read the biography of the German author of the hymn. He knew a bit about hardship and trusting.
</idle musing>

"Required to live the life they have been given"

Paul does not perfect the efficacy of grace as a form of monergism, because it is clear for him from the baptismal event that the very life in which the believer acts and decides is a life sourced, established, and upheld by Christ (a “life from the dead”). Within this frame, and on this basis, plenty of statements can be made regarding believers as responsible agents who are required to present their bodies in one direction rather than another. Christian obedience is thus vital, but only ever in a responsive mode: it arises in conjunction with faith and gratitude as the answer to a prior gift. The gift is entirely undeserved but strongly obliging: it creates agents who are newly alive, required to live the life they have been given.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 518

<idle musing>
I really like that: "Required to live the life they have been given." That sums up discipleship and Christianity, doesn't it?
</idle musing>

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

208 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

1 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   and to take him at his word;
   just to rest upon his promise,
   and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

Refrain:
   Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him!
   How I've proved him o'er and o'er!
   Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
   O for grace to trust him more!

2 O how sweet to trust in Jesus,
   just to trust his cleansing blood;
   and in simple faith to plunge me
   neath the healing, cleansing flood! [Refrain]

3 Yes, 'tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
   just from sin and self to cease;
   just from Jesus simply taking
   life and rest, and joy and peace. [Refrain]
                        Louisa M. R. Stead
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was surprised to find that this only occurs in about 450 hymnals. Granted, the theology isn't very deep, but it's a solid gospel hymn. We could use more people trusting in the final verse, "from sin and self to cease," that's for sure! Especially in our narcissistic world of social media.

You should take the time to read the biography of the author.
</idle musing>

One gift

Hence, the obligation now incumbent on believers is not to “gain” grace (or salvation), nor to win another installment of grace. There is a single χάρισμα of eternal life ([Rom] 6:23) that runs from the Christ-event to eternity (cf. 8:32), not a series of “graces” won by increases in sanctification. Paul certainly expects that the moral incongruity at the start of the Christian life will be reduced over time, as the believers’ slavery to righteousness draws them toward holiness (6:19). In that sense, what began as a morally incongruous gift will be completed as a morally congruous gift.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 517–18

Burn the bridges! (Tozer for Tuesday)

If we become worshipers of God, God will honor us in the hour in which we live. I think we ought to insist that we adore God and that we cannot adore Him until we are purged from our sins, illuminated by a fiery baptism, have renounced the world and all of its deceptions and then offer ourselves on an altar, ready to die. If we burn the bridge and give it all up, then there will be born in our hearts adoration—worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 174

Be Not Dismayed (God Will Take Care of You)

207 Be Not Dismayed

1 Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
   God will take care of you;
   Beneath His wings of love abide,
   God will take care of you.

Refrain:
   God will take care of you,
   Through ev'ry day,
   O’er all the way;
   He will take care of you,
   God will take care of you.

2 Through days of toil when heart does fail,
   God will take care of you;
   When dangers fierce your path assail,
   God will take care of you. [Refrain]

3 All you may need He will provide,
   God will take care of you;
   Nothing you ask will be denied,
   God will take care of you. [Refrain]

4 No matter what may be the test,
   God will take care of you;
   Lean, weary one, upon His breast,
   God will take care of you. [Refrain]
                         Civilla D. Martin
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
This hymn is better known by its chorus than the verses. It occurs in about 425 hymnals, which surprises; I thought it would be more popular. This was her first hymn, written in 1904. She is also the author of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." She is reputed to have written several hundred hymns, but she only put her initials on them, so it is difficult to chase them.
</idle musing>

Live in what's already true!

When Paul turns from description to exhortation ([Rom] 6:11–13; 8:12–13), what he expects from believers is not that they create a new existence, but that they express what has already been created by and in Christ. Whatever may be said in the indicative is true of them only because it is true already of Christ; that primary reality can be neither created nor revoked. The secondary reality, their derivation from Christ, exists in a form that is contrary to its surrounding habitat: life in the midst of death. And such a life only subsists to the extent that it is active. To “present yourselves as alive from the dead” (6:13) and to “put to death the deeds of the body” (8:13) are the positive and negative poles of a demand to practice or exercise the new life that has been given. That new life cannot be said to be active within believers unless it is demonstrably acted out by them.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 503 (emphasis original)

God of the Ages, by Whose Hand

206 God of the Ages, by Whose Hand

Elizabeth Burrowes
The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
This hymn, written in 1958, only occurs in five hymnals. It's still under copyright and so I can't legally post it here. Take a look at the bio linked to above; she was involved in interracial work back in the early 1960s. She died in 1975.
</idle musing>

All the Way My Savior Leads Me

205 All the Way My Savior Leads Me

1. All the way my Savior leads me
   What have I to ask beside?
   Can I doubt His tender mercy,
   Who through life has been my Guide?
   Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
   Here by faith in Him to dwell!
   For I know, whate’er befall me,
   Jesus doeth all things well;
   For I know, whate’er befall me,
   Jesus doeth all things well.

2. All the way my Savior leads me,
   Cheers each winding path I tread,
   Gives me grace for every trial,
   Feeds me with the living Bread.
   Though my weary steps may falter
   And my soul athirst may be,
   Gushing from the Rock before me,
   Lo! A spring of joy I see;
   Gushing from the Rock before me,
   Lo! A spring of joy I see.

3. All the way my Savior leads me,
   Oh, the fullness of His love!
   Perfect rest to me is promised
   In my Father’s house above.
   When my spirit, clothed immortal,
   Wings its flight to realms of day
   This my song through endless ages:
   Jesus led me all the way;
   This my song through endless ages:
   Jesus led me all the way.
                         Fanny J. Crosby
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I was surprised to learn that this hymn only occurs in 324 hymnals—and that it didn't appear in the earlier Methodist hymnal. I remember singing a lot as a kid; maybe it was in one of the Sunday school songbooks?
</idle musing>

We Thank Thee, Lord

203 We Thank Thee, Lord

1. We thank Thee, Lord, Thy paths of service lead
   To blazoned heights and down the slopes of need;
   They reach Thy throne, encompass land and sea,
   And he who journeys in them walks with Thee.

2. We’ve sought and found Thee in the secret place
   And marveled at the radiance of Thy face;
   But often in some far off Galilee
   Beheld Thee fairer yet while serving Thee.

3. We’ve felt Thy touch in sorrow’s darkened way
   Abound with love and solace for the day;
   And, ’neath the burdens there, Thy sovereignty,
   Has held our hearts enthralled while serving Thee.

4. We’ve seen Thy glory like a mantle spread
   O’er hill and dale in saffron flame and red;
   But in the eyes of men, redeemed and free,
   A splendor greater yet while serving Thee.
                         Calvin W. Laufer
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Can't say as I remember ever singing this hymn, and it only occurs in 31 hymnals. The bio linked to above contains this interesting statement: "His books were popular in their time but today are seen as somewhat superficial." Hymnary.org adds a verse:

5. Show us the paths in which Thou wouldest lead
   To blazoned heights or down the slopes of need;
   For both alike encompass land and sea,
   And he who journeys in them walks with Thee.

</idle musing>

Thought for the day

"Being a book evangelist is an occupational hazard when you're a bookseller."—Shelf Awareness

<idle musing>
Ain't that the truth!
</idle musing>

Luther's bad exegesis of Romans 6–8

Luther attempted in several ways to express the permanent, and structurally basic, incongruity of grace in the life of a believer, most famously in the phrase simul justus et peccator. The strongest exegetical base for that notion comes from Romans 6-8, but it draws on what now seems to most a faulty reading of Romans 7-8 as a dialectical depiction of two dimensions of the Christian life. If, to the contrary, 7:7-25 describes life “in the flesh” before becoming a believer (cf. 7:5), not a continuing aspect of the believer’s life, Luther’s simul . . . peccator looks less convincing.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 501–2

<idle musing>
Personally, I never bought into Luther's bad exegesis. A book was recently published that takes a look at the exegesis of Romans 7 over the years: Conquerors Not Captives: Reframing Romans 7 for the Christian Life, by Joseph R. Dodson. Take a look at it.
</idle musing>

O thou who art the Shepherd

201 O thou who art the Shepherd

O thou who art the Shepherd
   of all the scattered sheep,
   who lovest all thy lost ones
   on every mountain steep,
   create in us a yearning
   for those whom thou dost seek,
   the hopeless and the burdened,
   the helpless and the weak.

We would be thy disciples
   and all the hungry feed,
   nor seek our own salvation
   apart from other's need.
   These, Father, are thy children
   thou sendest us to find;
   help us by deeds of mercy
   to show that thou art kind.

Awake in us compassion,
   O Lord of life divine;
   create in us thy spirit;
   give us a love like thine.
   Help us to seek thy kingdom
   that cometh from above,
   and in thy great salvation,
   show forth thy boundless love.
                         John W. Shackford
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Not exactly a popular hymn. It only occurs in 4 hymnals and is the only hymn the author ever wrote. It is definitely a social gospel hymn; it's first appearance was in a publication entitled Seven New Social Welfare Hymns. I don't recall ever singing it, and it didn't make the cut into the newer Methodist hymnal.
</idle musing>

The gift is inseparable from the Giver

The gift which is being bestowed here [in salvation] is never at any time separable from its Giver. It partakes of the character of power, in so far as God himself enters the arena and remains in the arena with it. Thus personal address (Anspruch), obligation (Verpflichtung) and service (Dienst) are indissolubly bound up with the gift. When God enters the arena, our experience is that he maintains his lordship even in his giving; indeed it is his gifts which are the very means by which he subordinates us to his lordship and makes us responsible beings.—Kaesemann, “The Righteousness of God,” 174, cited in J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 499

What Shall I Render to My God

196 What Shall I Render to My God

1. What shall I render to my God
   For all His mercy’s store?
   I’ll take the gifts He hath bestowed,
   And humbly ask for more.

2. The sacred cup of saving grace
   I will with thanks receive,
   And all His promises embrace,
   And to His glory live.

3. My vows I will to His great name
   Before His people pay,
   And all I have, and all I am,
   Upon His altar lay.

4. The God of all redeeming grace
   My God I will proclaim,
   Offer the sacrifice of praise,
   And call upon His name.

5. Praise Him, ye saints, the God of love,
   Who hath my sins forgiven,
   Till, gathered to the church above,
   We sing the songs of Heaven.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing
Not one of Wesley's better-known hymns; this one only occurs in 25 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it. Cyberhymal inserts two verses:

4. Thy lawful servant, Lord, I owe
   To Thee whate’er is mine,
   Born in Thy family below,
   And by redemption thine.

5. Thy hands created me, Thy hands
   From sin have set me free,
   The mercy that hath loosed my bands
   Hath bound me fast to Thee.

</idle musing>

A good reason to refuse payment

It is probably because he did not want to be seen as the donor of the gospel (putting its recipients under obligation to him, rather than to God) that he refused to take fees while founding a church.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 498n7

Lord, speak to me (Havergal)

195 Lord, speak to me

1 Lord, speak to me that I may speak
   In living echoes of your tone.
   As you have sought, so let me seek
   Your erring children, lost and lone.

2 Oh, lead me, Lord, that I may lead
   The wand'ring and the wav'ring feet.
   Oh, feed me, Lord, that I may feed
   Your hungry ones with manna sweet.

3 Oh, teach me, Lord, that I may teach
   The precious truths which you impart.
   And wing my words that they may reach
   The hidden depths of many a heart.

4 Oh, fill me with your fullness, Lord,
   Until my very hearts o'erflows
   In kindling thought and glowing word,
   Your love to tell, your praise to show.

5 Oh, use me, Lord, use even me,
   Just as you will, and when, and where
   Until your blessed face I see,
   Your rest, your joy, your glory share.
                         Frances Havergal
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

This is no license to sin

Already in [Romans] 5:12–21 there are indications that the Christ-gift is not morally vacuous, an unconditional gift that winks at human sin: it contains transformative power. The recipients of this grace are said to receive the gift of righteousness (5:17) and to be constituted righteous (5:19): where sin once reigned, now grace reigns “through righteousness” to bring about eternal life (5:21). The language of “reigning” (βασιλεύω) figures grace as a counteracting power whose authority replaces that of sin; far from offering a license for sin, the Christ-gift establishes an alternative regime of power.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 497

Popularity vs. discipleship (Tozer for Tuesday)

When a man is converted, he ought to renounce his old life. We are members of a new creation, born from above, sons of the Father, joint heirs with the Son. Heaven is our home, hallelujah is our language, and we belong to a little company—a minority group despised and rejected of men.

Instead of that, Christianity has become popular. Evangelicalism has become popular and consequently, it is dead.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 171

In Christ there is no east or west

192 In Christ there is no east or west

1 In Christ there is no east or west,
   in him no south or north,
   but one great fellowship of love
   throughout the whole wide earth.

2 In Christ shall true hearts ev’rywhere
   their high communion find.
   His service is the golden cord
   close binding humankind.

3 Join hands, then, people of the faith,
   whate’er your race may be.
   All children of the living God
   are surely kin to me.

4 In Christ now meet both east and west,
   in him meet south and north.
   All Christly souls are joined as one
   throughout the whole wide earth.
                         John Oxenham
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I had forgotten that John Oxenham was a penname for William Arthur Dunkerley. He had several children, at least one of whom also wrote under the Oxenham penname. This hymn occurs in about 330 hymnals. It was always a favorite of mine growing up—and remains so to this day. It speaks of the universalness of the faith.
</idle musing>

Transformation

God’s grace is displayed in the midst of human unrighteousness, not because God is morally indifferent (that would undermine his capacity to judge the world, [Rom] 3:6), but because he intends to transform the human condition. As apostle to the Gentiles, Paul is perpetually conscious of the incongruity of grace as gift to the ungodly and disobedient; but his goal is not their continuing disobedience, but “the obedience of faith” (1:5). Deriving from faith, this obedience is the product of a life created through God’s incongruous gift; as obedience, it is committed to patterns of behavior that befit its new allegiance. That the life of a believer thus remains an incongruous gift at the same time as it conforms to the holiness of God is a paradox we shall carry into the study of Romans 5-8.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 492

At Length There Dawns the Glorious Day

189 At Length There Dawns the Glorious Day

1 At length there dawns the glorious day
   By prophets long foretold;
   At length the chorus clearer grows
   That shepherds heard of old.
   The day of dawning Brotherhood
   Breaks on our eager eyes,
   And human hatreds flee before
   The radiant eastern skies.

2 For what are sundering strains of blood,
   Or ancient caste and creed?
   One claim unites all men in God
   To serve each human need.
   Then here together, brother-men,
   We pledge the Lord anew
   Our loyal love, our stalwart faith,
   Our service strong and true.

3 One common faith unites us all,
   We seek one common goal,
   One tender comfort broods upon
   The struggling human soul.
   To this clear call of Brotherhood
   Our hearts responsive ring;
   We join the glorious new crusade
   Of our great Lord and King.
                         Ozora S. Davis
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

>idle musing
A powerful postmillennial hymn, which makes sense when you discover that he was president of Chicago Theological Seminary from 1909–1929. I don't recall ever singing it. It occurs in a mere 62 hymnals. Some insert a chorus:

To this clear call of brotherhood
Our hearts responding sing:
We join the glorious new crusade
Of our great Lord and King.

</idle musing>

Servant of all, to toil for man

186 Servant of all, to toil for man

1. Servant of all, to toil for man
   Thou didst not, Lord, refuse;
   Thy majesty did not disdain
   To be employed for us.

2. Son of the carpenter, receive
   This humble work of mine;
   Worth to my meanest labor give,
   By joining it to Thine.

3. End of my every action Thou,
   In all things Thee I see;
   Accept my hallowed labor now,
   I do it unto Thee.

4. Thy bright example I pursue,
   To Thee in all things rise;
   And all I think or speak or do
   Is one great sacrifice.

5. Careless through outward cares I go,
   From all distraction free;
   My hands are but engaged below,
   My heart is still with Thee.
                         Charles Wesley
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
I don't recall ever singing this Wesley hymn and it only occurs in a dozen hymnals. That's an amazingly low number for a Wesley hymn! Even Hymnary.org doesn't list any variants to it.
</idle musing>