Angels From the Realms of Glory

Angels From the Realms of Glory

Angels from the realms of glory; Wing your flight o’er all the earth;

Ye who sang creation’s story; Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

Come and worship, come and worship, come and worship;

Worship Christ the newborn King!

Shepherds in the fields abiding; Watching o’er your flocks by night;

God with man is now residing; Yonder shines the infant light.

Sages leave your contemplations; Brighter visions beam afar;

Seek the great desire of nations; Ye have seen His natal star.

Saints before the altar bending; Watching long in hope and fear;

Suddenly the Lord descending; In His temple shall appear.

All creation join in praising; Got the Father, Spirit, Son;

Evermore your voices raising, To th’eternal Three in One.

Come and worship, come and worship, come and worship;

Worship Christ the newborn King!

In 1777, when he was the tender age of six, James Montgomery’s parents, his father at the time the only Moravian pastor in Scotland, left their son in a boarding school while they sailed to Barbados as missionaries.  There, they perished and James found himself an orphan. 

James continued his schooling and later eventually dropped out of a couple of different apprenticeships set up for him by well-meaning friends, preferring instead to the writing of poetry.  In 1792, he was apprenticed in Sheffield to a bookseller and printer of a political newspaper named Joseph Gales.  Two years later, Gales fled the country in a wave of political persecution leaving James as Editor of the newspaper, a position he held for the next 31 years.  James continued the political bent of the paper, even being imprisoned twice for articles in it.

James’ deep faith constantly was at the forefront of what he did.  His paper railed against moral sins of the day: including the institution of slavery and the exploitation of children working jobs of very hard labor – such as chimney sweeps.  James championed the cause of foreign missions and raised a great deal of money for the British Bible Society.  James, later in his life, turned his talent for writing poetry to writing hymns.  In the Baptist Hymnal in our pews, there are six hymns written by Mr Montgomery – Angels from the Realms of Glory being probably the most prominent.  He wrote over 400 published hymns in his life, over 100 now are still being sung, to include the hymn “The Lord is my Shepherd”.  Though he is not remembered as well as them, his hymn-writing is often compared to Charles Wesley or to Isaac Watts.

John Montgomery, a bachelor his entire life, was well-respected in Sheffield, and he was given a public funeral upon his death in 1854.  A statue was erected in his memory which still stands today in front of Sheffield Cathedral.  That same cathedral also has a stained-glass window as a tribute to him.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Nelson Publishing, 2003.

https://hymnary.org/person/Montgomery_J

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Montgomery_(poet)

Sarah Josepha Hale

Sarah Josepha Hale

Sarah Jospeha Buell was born in New Hampshire in 1788, the daughter of a Revolutionary War veteran.  Her parents believed that both sexes should be educated, and her mother schooled her at home throughout her childhood.  At age 25, she married a lawyer named David Hale.  David died nine years later, leaving her a young widow with five children.  Sarah wore black the rest of her life in mourning for him.

While she had support from family and friends, Sarah turned to writing as a source of income, mostly poetry with some novels.  Her writing reflected her deep Christian faith, her disdain for the institution of slavery, and her desire for the education of women.  She ended up publishing 50 volumes of poetry and numerous novels over the course of her life, including the famous childrens’ poem Mary Had A Little Lamb. 

Sarah was asked to become the editor for a magazine called Godey’s Lady’s Book.  She agreed, and remained in the position for forty years, preferring the title ‘Editress.’  The magazine under her watch became the most popular magazine in the Unites States, numbering over 150,000 subscribers.  Topics in the magazine covered everything from child-rearing to women’s education to matters of fashion, style and taste.  She was also unique as an editor in her day in insisting on only American writers – many publications in her day relied heavily on British authors.  She has been described in modern days as a combination of Oprah and Martha Stewart.

Sarah believed strongly that it was women who shaped the morals of society, and she advocated for women to embrace this role.  Her advocacy for the advanced, high-quality education of women was essential to preparing women for “the most important vocation on earth…that of the Christian mother in the nursery.”  Her idea of the place of women in society was that her largest influence came through her work in the home.  She advocated for women to enter the workforce in certain professions such as education, medicine, and missionary work, but was opposed to the idea of women’s suffrage – believing that if women got involved in politics it would dilute her influence where it mattered most, with her children.  She is quoted as saying, “What has made this nation great?  Not its heroes, but its households.”

Sarah was also very active in philanthropy.  She was the driver for the current monument that stands at the Bunker Hill battlefield and was active in ensuring the preservation of George Washington’s Mount Vernon home.  She also helped to fund Vassar College, an all-women’s college, in 1861.

Sarah was also an early advocate for Thanksgiving as a national holiday.  President Washington had written during his tenure a non-binding Thanksgiving proclamation which was celebrated individually in some states on different days, or not at all.  Many in that day even considered Washington’s letter to be unconstitutional, violating the separation of church and state.  From her position as Editress, Sarah wrote Presidents Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln advocating the establishment of a national Thanksgiving holiday. 

She succeeded in getting President Lincoln to declare a national day of Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of 1863, as a brief respite from the horrors of the Civil War, but the holiday did not become a permanent holiday until President Franklin Roosevelt signed it into law about 60 years later.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letter_to_Abraham_Lincoln_from_Sarah_Josepha_Hale

https://time.com/4577082/thanksgiving-holiday-history-origins/

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/sarah-hale

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Josepha_Hale

https://thisfamilyblog.com/7-sarah-josepha-hale-quotes/

George Mueller - How to Ascertain the Will of God

How to Ascertain the Will of God

George Mueller was born in Germany in 1805 and lived to 1898 – almost the entire 19th Century. As a young man, he was a bit of a rabble-rouser. At age 10, he regularly stole money from his father. At age 14, he was gambling and drinking with his friends while his mother lay dying. At age 16, he spent a short time in jail for theft.

George’s father hoped he would take a lucrative position in the clergy, in the state-sponsored church. He studied Divinity, where a fellow student invited him to a prayer meeting. Seeing people on their knees in prayer had a profound impact on him, and he received Christ shortly after.  George resolved to live a life of prayer and complete dependence upon God.  God led him to begin a ministry to orphans in England – a ministry he entirely relied on God to make provision for, never once voicing a need for the orphanages or for himself to anyone except God.  Over the course of his life, this remarkable man of faith became the foster father for over 10,000 orphans.  By way of comparison, when he began his ministry the total number of spaces for orphans in all of England totaled around 3,600 – much of that substandard.

At age 70, George began traveling the world as a missionary, a task he kept up with for 17 years, continuing to live every step of his life on faith.  He died at age 92, fittingly, after leading a prayer meeting at his church.

Late in his life, George Mueller was asked to write about how a Christian could determine the will of God in his or her life.  After reflection and prayer, the below is what he wrote:

1. I SEEK AT THE BEGINNING to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter.  Nine-tenths of the trouble with people is just here.  Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be.  When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.

2. HAVING DONE THIS, I do not leave the result to feeling of simple impression.  If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions.  

3. I SEEK THE WILL of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God.  The Spirit and the Word must be combined.  If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word I lay myself open to great delusions also.  If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.

4. NEXT I TAKE into account providential circumstances.  These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

5. I ASK GOD in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

6. THUS, THROUGH PRAYER to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly.

In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.

https://www.georgemuller.org/devotional/how-i-ascertain-the-will-of-god

Reformation Day

Reformation Day

In the Christian world, October 31st has a meaning much more significant than Halloween.  It was on October 31st, 1517, that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg, Germany, sparking the Reformation.  Historically, many factors were in motion.  The printing press was just then coming into its own as a way to reach the masses.  The corruption of the Catholic church, including the sale of indulgences, ecclesiastical abuse, and the thought among high members of the clergy that a person could literally buy their way into Heaven was widespread and obvious.  Germany was coming into its own as a nation.  Political circumstances existed which kept Catholic officials from prosecuting Luther before the spark could be fanned into a flame.  In short, the time was right for Reformation.

Martin Luther had been struggling with some of the taught doctrines of the church, especially the sale of indulgences.  An ‘indulgence’ was the teaching that an offering of money given by a penitent person could save an individual from some or all of his time in Purgatory.  An envoy from the Papacy named Johann Tetzel had a display of religious relics scheduled for November 1st, 1517, in Wittenberg, in an effort to raise more money - ultimately destined for the building of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Tetzel was a salesman, penning catchy jingles like: “the cross of the seller of indulgences has as much power as the cross of Christ,” and “when the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”  These practices roused the righteous wrath of the upstart Friar who penned the famed ‘95 Theses’ as an effort to drive debate on whether this practice, and others he found objectionable, should truly be practiced in the Church. “If the Pope can grant dispensation from sins,” Luther argued, “why, then, does he not grant that dispensation as an act of charity - even without a forced monetary contribution?”

Martin Luther intended to reform the Church from within - nailing his questions to the door of the church was a common way for a scholar to initiate debate on a topic.  It was only when his theses were translated from Latin into German and published for the masses to see that the drive for separation from Roman Catholicism took place.  Luther’s teaching of salvation by grace, through faith in Christ, was readily accepted by the masses.  They seem to have been looking for a central figure to rally around who could give an educated voice to the objections many observed within their local churches.

Martin Luther was a driven man, who could be very coarse and impolitely blunt in expressing his opinion.  He was known to be vulgar at times, but was the blunt object needed to make a break from the excesses and error into which the Catholic church of the day had fallen.

Gonzalez, Justo L, The Story of Christianity, Vol 2, Harper Collins Publishing, 1985.

https://www.luther.de/en/95thesen.html

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-is-reformation-day/

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth

Isabella Baumfree was born around 1797 in southeastern New York.  The exact date of her birth was not typically recorded for those born into slavery.  She was one of twelve children born to Elizabeth and James Baumfee, slaves of a Dutch-speaking couple.  Dutch was Isabella’s first language, only learning to speak English later.  In 1806, at age 9, Isabella’s owner died and his property, including the slaves, were sold at auction. Isabella was sold together with a flock of sheep for $100.  Over the next two years “Belle” was sold twice more, before ending up in the home of John Dumont.  There she married and had children.

New York has begun the process of abolishing slavery some years before, finally outlawing the practice in 1827.  Seeing the end of slavery coming, Mr Dumont promised Isabella her freedom a year early if she ‘worked hard.’  She did, and Dumont reneged on his promise, so she escaped to a friendly Quaker’s home with her infant daughter - unfortunately leaving her other two children, a son and a daughter, behind.  It was at the home of this Quaker couple, and under their influence, that she found faith in Christ.

Just before the official end of slavery in New York, she found out that her son, then age 5, had been illegally sold to a slaveholder in Alabama.  She filed a lawsuit and won, rescuing her son and making her mark as the first black woman to successfully challenged a white man in a US court.  She was eventually reunited with her son.

In 1843, Isabella sought a fresh start for her life and asked God to give her a new name.  She said that God gave her the name ‘Soujourner’ - “because I was to travel up an’ down the land, showin’ the people their sins, an’ bein’ a sign unto them.”  She then asked God to give her a second name, “cause everybody else had two names; and the Lord gave me Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people.”  Soujourner Truth.

A Methodist, she became an itinerant speaker - preaching the Gospel and advocating for abolition and womens’ suffrage.  In her mind, the two causes were linked - and she feared for the Suffrage movement being concerned that, once slavery was abolished, that the cause of womens’ rights would be forgotten.  Advocating strongly for both, she was seen as a radical in her time.  Being controversial, she was once physically attacked by a mob, and injured to the point that she had to walk with a cane for the rest of her life.

Sojourner spoke to Harriet Beecher Stowe at a reception she held for a number of prominent clergymen.  All were fascinated by her demeanor and her stories.  One clergyman asked her if she preached from the Bible, to which she replied, “No, ‘cause I can’t read.  When I preaches, I has just one text to preach from, an’ I always preaches from this one.  My text is, ‘When I found Jesus.’”  One preacher remarked to her that she couldn’t have found a better text.

During the Civil War, Sojourner recruited black troops for the Union Army.  Her own grandson, James Caldwell, enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, depicted in the 1989 movie ‘Glory’.

Sojourner continued to advocate for the rights of Black citizens after the Civil War and for womens’ rights.  She traveled the country speaking and advocating.  She met with at least two Presidents (Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant).  She later retired to Battle Creek, Michigan, where she died in 1883.

Quotes:

"Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

"If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, [and] the men better let them." 

“Religion without humanity is very poor human stuff.”

“I am not going to die, I'm going home like a shooting star.”

References: 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, Packer, J. I., Holman Publishing, 2000.

https://www.biography.com/activist/sojourner-truth

Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson, the author of the hymn Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, was born in 1735, and lost his father at age 8.  His widowed mother struggled and eventually apprenticed him to a barber, hoping to give him a profession to sustain him.  Robert was prone to read more than practice his trade, however, and had a difficult time.  Without a father’s guidance, he fell into bad company and did some things he was later very ashamed of.

He was shaken by the words of a fortune-telling gypsy his group was making fun of, and rethought the direction of his life.  Seeking direction, he went to hear the great evangelist George Whitfield, who preached that day on the words of John the Baptist in Matthew 3:7, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  Whitfield’s words bothered him greatly for over three years before he came to peace with God, and a saving faith at age 20.  Two years later, he wrote his famous hymn.

Robert became a Methodist, and pastored a church three years after his salvation.  “Prone to wander”, he later became a Baptist where he authored a detailed history of Baptists in England.  He switched from there to an Independent church, and later to a Congregationalist pulpit. 

Robert, later in his life, became close friends with a popular Unitarian pastor named Joseph Priestly.  He was accused of converting to Unitarianism, which holds to the doctrine that Jesus was not fully Divine.  This was very likely a false charge, but there is little doubt he was influenced and confused by Priestly and his teaching.

In his confusion and subsequent depression, there is a widely-told story that Robinson was in a stagecoach with an elderly lady who began humming the tune to that hymn.  She stopped and asked him if he knew what she was humming.  Robert replied, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.”  The woman thought on his words then replied, “Sir, the ‘streams of mercy’ are still flowing.”  He was touched, and restored by the woman’s words – ministered to by the words of his own hymn.

The word ‘Ebenezer’ is unusual to us.  It refers specifically to the stone in I Samuel 7:12, “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ‘Ebenezer’, saying ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us.” (NASB)

The words of the hymn are different in different hymnals.  I believe the below to be the original text:

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Sorrowing I shall be in spirit,
Till released from flesh and sin,
Yet from what I do inherit,
Here Thy praises I'll begin;
Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Here by Thy great help I've come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.

Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

O that day when freed from sinning,
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in blood washed linen
How I'll sing Thy sovereign grace;
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Take my ransomed soul away;
Send thine angels now to carry
Me to realms of endless day.

https://www.godtube.com/popular-hymns/come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing/

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/did-robert-robinson-wander-as-he-feared-11630313.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Robinson_(Baptist)

Polycarp

One of our very early church fathers, Polycarp, was the Bishop of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir in Turkey) in the second century.  Born around AD 70, tradition tells us he was personally discipled by the Apostle John and was appointed by the Apostles as leader of the church in Smyrna – one of the cities noted in Revelation Chapter 2. 

Not much is known about Polycarp’s ministry, other than it being long and fruitful.  It is known that he was a fierce opponent of heretical teaching, including Marcionism and Gnosticism.  Some letters from him to the church in Philippi survive, instructing them to persevere in the faith and some practicalities in how to avoid financial dishonesty in the church. 

Bishop Polycarp is most noted for his death.  At the very old age of 86, during one of the Roman persecutions, some friends encouraged him to flee.  He reluctantly fled to an estate outside the city.  While in hiding, he claimed to have received a vision.  He did not reveal the details of the vision, but simply declared to his friends, “I must be burned alive.”  When the Romans caught up to him, he went willingly.

During his trial, the Roman Proconsul conducting the trial felt sorry for him because of his advanced age.  Polycarp was offered immunity if he would just speak the words, “Caesar is Lord” and offer a pinch of incense to a statue of Caesar.  Polycarp responded, “Eighty-six years I have served Him and he has never done me wrong.  How, then, can I blaspheme my King who saved me?”  Polycarp’s refusal greatly angered the official, and he condemned the elderly Bishop to be burned at the stake.  Polycarp replied, “Come, do what you will.  Why do you delay?”  When the soldiers carrying out the execution moved to nail the bindings in his hands to the stake he refused, stating that God would give him the strength to remain in the fire.

Polycarp died while praying aloud.  The early accounts of his death indicate that many people who witnessed his death came to faith.

Packer, J.I., 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, Holman Publishing, 2000.

https://www.polycarp.net/

What A Friend We Have In Jesus

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

Joseph Scriven was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1819.  In 1842 he graduated from Trinity College in Dublin.  The following year his fiancée accidentally drowned a few hours before their wedding.  In grief, he moved to Canada, in a little town called Port Hope, Ontario, where he tutored children and tried to live a quiet life of charity and Christian witness.  It was said that a person would be hard-pressed to find a person in the vicinity of Port Hope who had not had a conversation with Mr Scriven about his soul.  He seemed eccentric to many people, but was also very given to perform charitable works – often cutting firewood for widows or delivering milk for the elderly crippled with rheumatism.  He gave much of his clothes and money away to those in need – a practice he kept up with his entire life.

In 1855, when Joseph was about 35 years old, he got word that his mother was ill.  He was unable to visit, but penned a poem he called “Pray Without Ceasing” and sent it to her.  Unbeknown to him, his mother gave the poem to a friend who published it and set it to music.  It was published as “Author Unknown” under the title from the first line of the poem: “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Joseph fell in love again, but again was taken by tragedy in 1860 when his intended, Miss Eliza Catherine Roche, died of Tuberculosis just prior to the wedding.

A short time prior to his death in 1896, a friend was sitting with him and came upon a copy of the hymn and read it to him.  Joseph said to him in amazement, “That’s the poem I wrote for my mother years ago!”  He had never intended it to go beyond her.

Shortly after then, Joseph passed away.  He was buried next to his lost love, Eliza, with his feet facing her so that at the Resurrection they would arise facing each other.

What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear.

All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?  Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged; Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful, Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness; Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior still, our refuge, Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake Thee?  Take it to the Lord in prayer.

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; Thou wilt find a solace there.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Nelson Publishers, 2003.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_M._Scriven

https://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/biographies/scriven.html

David Livingstone

David Livingston

David Livingston was born in Scotland in 1813.  He was born in a building housing the families of workers of a cotton mill.  He grew, as expected, to work in that same cotton mill – often working 14 hour shifts as a child – but found time to study theology and science on weekends and evenings as he could find the time.  A faithful Congregationalist, he was moved as a young man by an appeal for medical missionaries.  He added medicine to the list of subjects he was studying.

At first he thought to go to China as a missionary, and was accepted by the London Missionary Society for this work.  The Opium Wars of 1839-1842 put an end to that dream, and he was persuaded by the great British Missionary Robert Moffatt to consider Africa as a mission field.  He accepted the call and arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1841 at age 28 to support Rev Moffatt.  Within four years, David married his mentor’s daughter, Mary Moffatt.  They eventually had six children.  David grew restless tending mission stations on the coast, and developed a vision for exploring Africa, desiring to open “God’s Highway” – a planned 1,500 mile route to the interior of Africa to bring “Christianity and civilization” to unreached peoples.  During the course of his missions work, he traveled East to West across Africa, then back again, crossing the Kalahari Desert each way as well.  He was the first recorded European to find Lake Ngami and the beautiful Victoria Falls, which he named for his beloved Queen.

During his trips into the interior of Africa, Dr Livingston was exposed to the slave trade at its source, and was greatly burdened by it.  He wrote of the “inefficient” slave economy, desiring to replace it with the “efficient” economy of capitalism.  He hoped that developing a commercial economy would expose the slave trade to the world and cut off the slave trade at its source.

Dr Livingston spent the next 15 years exploring Africa, keeping detailed notes as to the geography, peoples, and landmarks he saw.  He was very faithful to report his detailed notes to his mission board and eventually returned home to a hero’s welcome in England, finding that the Society publishing the results of his exploration had turned him into a celebrity.  He published a book detailing his mission exploits, and made enough money from that book to fund the rest of his missions work.

He returned to Africa under the sponsorship of the Royal Geographic Society, with the stated desire of solving what was then one of the great mysteries of the world, finding the source of the Nile River.  Practically, he had hoped that this would inspire other British explorers and businessmen to follow his footsteps and begin to open up Africa to commercial and missions work and begin the construction of his “God’s Highway.”  It was during this trip that the extreme hardship resulted in the death of his wife, among many others in his entourage.

It was during this last journey that Dr Livingstone disappeared from the public eye.  Nothing was heard from him for two years – and his disappearance added to his mystique.  It was later learned that David had fallen gravely ill during that time.  In 1871, the New York Herald sent journalist Henry Stanley with instructions to locate Dr Livingstone and tell his story.  Stanley located him in the interior of Africa in October of that year, uttering the famous line (which he admitted to having rehearsed prior to meeting him), “Dr Livingston, I presume?”  Stanley brought food, supplies, and medicines, which had the effect of saving the life of David who was still very ill.

Stanley stayed with David for five months before returning to New York to publish the stories he had recorded.  Livingstone refused Stanley’s pleas to accompany him, insisting on the missions work yet to be done.  It was less than 2 years later, that Dr David Livingstone was found dead, kneeling by his cot in the posture of prayer.  His friends arranged for his body to be brought back to England, where he was buried in Westminster Abbey after an arduous nine-month journey, but they first removed his heart and buried them in Africa, in present-day Zambia.

David Livingstone came to Africa when it was called the “Dark Continent” or “The White Man’s Graveyard”.  Contemporary maps of Africa had large blank spots marked “unexplored”.  He suffered many hardships, including the death of his wife, desertion by many friends and fellow missionaries, his own illnesses, opposition from slave traders which sometimes physically threatened him, and the ever-present dangers of Africa – he was mauled by a lion once, which permanently damaged his left arm.  Despite this, he redrew the map of Africa, helped to expose the horrors of the slave trade for what it was in his day, and established many missions works in the interior of Africa.

His tombstone in Westminster Abbey reads, “Brought by faithful hands over land and sea, David Livingstone: missionary, traveler, philanthropist. For 30 years his life was spent in an unwearied effort to evangelize the native races, to explore the undiscovered secrets, and to abolish the slave trade.”  One present-day author likened him to a mixture of Mother Teresa, Neil Armstrong, and Abraham Lincoln.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/missionaries/david-livingstone.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/David-Livingstone/The-Zambezi-expedition

Rock of Ages

Augustus Toplady

Augustus Toplady is best known today as the writer of the hymn “Rock of Ages.”  He was born in 1740 in Farnham, England.  His father was a Major in the Royal Marines and died in wartime service when his only son was still an infant.  Augustus’ widowed mother enrolled him in a private school and later moved to Ireland.

An intelligent and energetic boy, he preached sermons at the age of 12, began writing hymns at age 14, and listened to a Wesleyan sermon at age 16, solidifying his call to Christ’s service.

Despite his foundation in the Arminian theology of Wesleyanism, Augustus switched his allegiance to Calvinism and exchanged a number of fiery letters, both public and private, with John Wesley arguing the point.  Wesley eventually wrote him off, declaring him intractable.  Toplady wrote, “Wesley is guilty of satanic shamelessness, of acting the ignoble part of a lurking, shy assassin.” 

Despite his rancor toward Wesley’s theology, Augustus had a fruitful ministry.  He was known to pray, “God, keep me from being a mere scholar.”  His true love, however, seemed to be writing hymns.  He died of tuberculosis at the young age of 37, but in his day had published over 800 hymns in numerous hymnals.  “Rock of Ages” is rumored to have been inspired by his seeking shelter under a rock overhang during a particularly violent storm in 1776, about 2 years before he died.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me;  Let me hide myself in thee.

Let the water and the blood; From thy wounded side which flowed;

Be of sin the double cure.  Save from wrath and make me pure

Could my tears forever flow?  Could my zeal no languor know?

These for sin could not atone; Thou must save and thou alone.

In my hand no price I bring.  Simply to the cross I cling.

While I draw this fleeting breath.  When my eyes shall close in death.

When I rise to worlds unknown; And behold thee on thy throne.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me; Let me hide myself in thee!

Unknowingly to him, Toplady's most famous hymn is amazingly similar to words in a hymnal preface published by John Wesley nearly 30 years before, “O Rock of Salvation, Rock struck and cleft for me, let those two streams of blood and water which gushed from thy side, bring down pardon and holiness into my soul.”

Then Sings My Soul, Morgan, Robert J., Nelson Publishers, 2003.

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/hymn-writer-augustus-toplady-11630290.html

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-rock-of-ages-cleft-for-me

Toyohiko Kagawa

Toyohiko Kagawa

Toyohiko Kagawa was born in 1888, the son of a wealthy businessman and a concubine.  Both parents died when he was four years old and the young boy bounced between relatives who didn’t seem to actually want him.  His childhood was very lonely. 

As a teenager, he took some English classes through some Presbyterian missionaries and was converted to Christianity.  His conversion resulted in his extended Buddhist family disowning him and his having to move in with the missionary families.  As a young man, he enrolled in Tokyo Presbyterian college and later in a local Seminary.  He went to Princeton University for further studies from 1914-1916.  His theological studies, while beneficial, left a bad taste in his mouth.  He was turned off by all the discussion and debate over theological fine points and the relatively minor discussion over how to apply those doctrines, and the Christian faith in general, to a struggling world – pointing often to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

He returned to Japan, in the city of Kobe, and moved into a 6x6-foot shack in order to minister to the poor there.  Japan at the time was going through an internal struggle with its attempt to adopt Capitalism as an economic system, and the poor ended up suffering greatly.  As a result of being immersed in this suffering, Toyohiko advocated a form of Socialism based on Christian principles – an alternative to State-run Socialism, Capitalism, and Communism he called “Brotherhood Economics.”

Toyohiko was a driving force in organizing labor strikes and forming the first labor unions in Japan.  For these activities, he was arrested twice: in 1921 and in 1922.  During his time in prison, he wrote two novels, the second of which detailed his life among the destitute of Kobe.

In 1923, a devastating earthquake hit Tokyo, leveling much of the city.  He moved there, sensing an opportunity to minister to those affected.  From here, he advocated for universal male suffrage in Japan, which he succeeded in achieving, and made great strides in universal female suffrage.

With the rise of militarism in Japan in the 1930s, Toyohiko advocated for Pacifism.  After Japan invaded China, he gave a speech in China where he apologized on behalf of the Japanese people for the invasion.  This led to his arrest in 1940.  He was released in early 1941, and he traveled to the United States to advocate for peace.  He spent the duration of World War 2 in the United States, returning to Japan soon after its defeat, then achieving his long-held goal of universal women’s suffrage.  He continued to write on social issues, receiving a nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947 and in 1948 and later a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1955.  All this time, he continued to evangelize the forgotten poor of Japan.  He established hospitals, schools, credit unions and churches.

Though evangelism was the primary impetus for his works, he is better known as a Christian social reformer.  Toyohiko died in 1960, at age 71, of heart failure.  His final words were from his deathbed, “Please do your best for world peace and the church in Japan.”

Quotes:

[to Emperor Hirohito in 1946] “Whosoever will be great among you…shall be the servant of all.  A ruler’s sovereignty, Your Majest, is in the hearts of the people.  Only by service to others can a man, or nation, be godlike.”

“I read that in a book that a man called Christ went about doing good.  It is very disconcerting to me that I am so easily satisfied with just ‘going about’.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyohiko_Kagawa

https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/toyohiko-kagawa-japanese-original-11630620.html

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/143.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kagawa-Toyohiko

He Lives!

He Lives!

What is the true evidence of our risen Savior?  There are many books on Christian Apologetics that give great evidences for the resurrection of Jesus – and those books are valuable.  The ultimate evidence, however, lies in a changed life.

Alfred Ackley was the younger brother of Bentley Ackley, pianist for Homer Rodheaver, song leader for the Billy Sunday campaigns ongoing in the first couple decades of the 20^th Century.  Alfred initially studied music himself, before turning to the study of Scripture and becoming a pastor.

Alfred was at a pastorate in California when two events in two days absolutely incensed him.  The day before Easter, in 1932, Alfred was witnessing to a Jewish man who resisted the faith saying, “Why should I worship a dead Jew?”  Alfred pondered this question all night, and was up early the next morning preparing to go to Easter services.  While getting ready, the radio was on and Alfred heard the preacher on the radio say, “Good morning – it’s Easter!  You know, folks, it really doesn’t make any difference to me if Christ be risen or not.  The main thing is, His truth goes marching on!”

Hearing this preacher, Alfred shouted, “It’s a lie!”  His wife came running into the room, exclaiming “Why are you shouting so early in the morning?”  Flustered, Alfred said, “Did you hear what that good-for-nothing preacher just said?”  That evening, Alfred continued to grouse over what he had heard until his wife had to tell him to do something with his anger.

Alfred went into his study that Easter evening and re-read the resurrection story from Mark’s Gospel.  As he read, he began to write, and ended up composing a song.

I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today.

I know that He is living, whatever men may say.

I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,

And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.

He lives!  He lives!  Christ Jesus lives today!

He walks with me and talks with me, along life’s narrow way!

He lives!  He lives!  Salvation to impart!

You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart!

In all the world around me I see His loving care;

And tho’ my heart grows weary, I never will despair.

I know that He is leading thro’ all the stormy blast.

The day of His appearing will come at last.

Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian, life up your voice and sing.

Eternal Hallelujahs to Jesus Christ the King.

The hope of all who see Him, the help of all who find.

None other is so loving, so good and kind.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-he-lives

Arius the Heretic

Arius the Heretic

One of the intellectual centers of early Christianity, after its legitimization by the Roman Emperor Constantine, was the city of Alexandria, Egypt.  He was well-respected for his intellect and his scholarly abilities.  After hearing a long sermon by a young scholar named Athanasius on the subject of the Trinity, Arius interrupted and announced, “If the Father begat the Son, then He who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows that there was a time when the Son was not.”

The debate: was Jesus a created being, or does the New Testament teach that He is co-equal with God.  In one sense, the argument is over a single Greek letter, the iota.  Simply put, does the term homo-ousios (exact same ‘stuff’) or does the term homoi-ousious (close to, but not exactly the same ‘stuff’) apply to Jesus’ relation to the Father.

We understand today that Arius was completely in the wrong, Biblically.  In the fourth century, though, with the spectre of persecution finally being lifted from the church, these doctrines were still in the process of being defined and this was a foundational debate that was sorely needed.  The central issue to Athanasius was salvation itself.  If only God could save us from sin, then only one who was fully God could pay the price required for our sins.

As the debate spread, Emperor Constantine, very concerned for the peace of his Empire, called a council in the city of Nicea in the year 325 to resolve the issue.  Over 300 bishops attended to come to a resolution on this vital doctrinal issue.  The aged Arius had a number of followers supporting him, but they were overwhelmed by the brilliant debating skills of Athanasius – not to mention that the latter had truth on his side!  At Nicea, the doctrines of Arius were refuted in their finality and Arius was exiled.  All but a couple of the bishops in attendance at Nicea signed on to the final agreement of the doctrine of the Trinity.

It is interesting to note that, at one point in the deliberations, a bishop from the city of Myra named Nicholas, actually got so flustered that he actually punched Arius in the face!  Nicholas is “Saint Nicholas” – the man from whom the legends of Santa Claus had their genesis.

The teaching of Arianism plagued the church for the next few centuries, even reaching to future emperors of the Roman empire.  It took the fall of the Roman Empire and the ascendance of the Roman Catholic Church to squash the false doctrine with a finality.  Today, cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses point to Arius as an ‘early church father’ who taught what they believe – that Jesus was a created being and is lesser than God the Father.

131 Christians Everyone Should Know, J.I. Packer, Holman Reference, 2000.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-85/how-arianism-almost-won.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arius

Marcion - Early Church Heretic

Marcion

Heresy in the early church led to the church having to examine its crucial teachings and provide definition to its basic doctrines.  One such teacher was Marcion (ca. 85-160 AD).  Marcion was independently wealthy and gave 2,000 silver coins to the church in Rome, apparently in an attempt to buy some influence within the church.  His unique doctrines and attempts to change the teachings of the church compelled the church to return his sizeable donation and excommunicate him.

We do not have today the direct writings of Marcion.  What we know about Marcion comes from some writings of the early church fathers, especially Tertullian who wrote a treatise entitled “Against Marcion.”  From these rebuttals, historians have pieced together the doctrines of Marcionism.

Marcion believed and taught that the God of the Old Testament (Yahweh) was incompatible with the God of the New Testament.  He believed that the God taught by the Old Testament was on a higher, somewhat transcendent level and that Jesus in the New Testament was a lower world creator and ruler.  What he accepted of the Old Testament, he read very literally to prove his point.  As an example, when he read in Genesis of God walking through the Garden of Eden asking where Adam was, that proved to him that Yahweh had a physical body and had limited knowledge.  The God of the Old Testament was angry, capricious, genocidal.  The God of the New Testament (as he edited the books) was loving, benevolent, and merciful.  To Marcion, these two ‘gods’ were incompatible with each other.  Jesus was sent to reveal the merciful New Testament God. 

Marcion also taught that Jesus had only an imitation of a physical body, and thus denied Jesus’ physical birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection.  Jesus was crucified because of his opposition to Yahweh, but he wasn’t really harmed because he did not actually have a physical body (a teaching of the Gnostics of his day).

To support his views, Marcion instituted a canon – an authoritative list of books he deemed proper.  These books numbered eleven: a highly edited version of the Gospel of Luke (removing His birth account, for example) and ten of Paul’s epistles (removing the Pastoral Epistles).  To Marcion, Paul was the only apostle not corrupted in his teaching.

Marcion’s heresy was actually beneficial to the church in the long term.  The development of a specific set of books by Marcion was the impetus for the early church to come to an understanding of what books were authoritative as Scripture.  While this essay does not purport to examine precisely how that happened, it can be summed up by saying that God miraculously moved in the early church to bring them to consensus on the 27 books of the New Testament as currently stated.  At the time of the early church father Athanasius (AD 367), there was no dispute as to the canon of the New Testament.

The early church developed the Apostles’ Creed in response to heretics, including Marcion, to succinctly state basic Christian doctrine.

Moody Handbook of Theology, Paul Enns, Moody Bible Institute, 1989.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcion-of-Pontus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism

At Calvary – testimony of a wayward son

At Calvary – testimony of a wayward son

Dr R.A. Torrey was the first superintendent of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for a number of years.  While serving in that capacity, he received a letter from a very concerned pastor.  This pastor told him of a troubled son of his that was causing problems in his family and pleaded with Dr Torrey to allow him to Moody Bible Institute.  Torrey replied that he was leading a Bible College, not a reform school.  The father continued to plead with Torrey, however, and Torrey finally consented provided the boy meet with him every day and that he follow the rules of the Institute.

To Torrey’s surprise, the boy latched on to him and scrupulously followed the rules and found great fruit with his daily meetings with Torrey.    After many meetings, the boy, named William Newell, found answers to the questions that had been plaguing him for years and received Christ, answering the fervent prayers of his father. 

Newell became a minister, and later returned to Moody Bible Institute as a professor.  He authored a number of Bible commentaries, including a very famous verse-by-verse commentary on Romans.  He often said that, had he not gone through the years of difficulty, he would not know God’s grace as intimately as he did.

One day in 1895, he was reflecting on his life during some free time prior to class and penned a poem on the back of an envelope reflecting his testimony.  As he hurried to his lecture, he handed the envelope to Dr Daniel Towner, head of the music ministry for the university, for his evaluation.  By the time the lecture was over, Dr Towner had completed the tune and the men sang it together.  Dr Towner told him, “Bill, I think this may be the best song we have ever written in our lifetime.”

Years I spent in vanity and pride, Caring not my Lord was crucified;

Knowing not it was for me He did at Calvary.

Mercy was there was great, and grace was free.

Pardon there was multiplied to me.

There my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary!

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.

Now, I’ve gi’en to Jesus everything; Now I gladly own Him as my King;

Now my raptured soul can only sing, of Calvary!

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!

Then Sings My Soul, Morgan, Robert J., Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

http://dianaleaghmatthews.com/at-calvary/#.XMTuYGhKjIU

Thomas Ken

Thomas Ken – a man who was both rewarded and punished for his convictions

Thomas Ken was born in 1637 and died in 1711.  His parents died when he was a child and he was taken in by his half-sister and her husband, who sent him to a boarding school where he eventually was trained for the ministry.  He had a firm attachment to the Church of England.

He returned to his hometown near London as a chaplain.  To encourage the devotional habits of the young boys he was in charge of, he wrote three hymns, one of each meant to be sung at morning, at evening, and at midnight if the boys woke up in the middle of the night.

The morning hymn had thirteen stanzas, beginning with:

                Awake, my soul, and with the sun the daily stage of duty run;

Shake off dull sloth and joyful rise, to pay thy morning sacrifice.

The evening hymn included this verse:

                All praise to Thee, my God, this night, for all the blessings of the night!

                Keep me, O keep me, King of Kings, beneath Thine own might wings.

Singing hymns was fairly revolutionary in England.  At this time, the only signing in churches was singing of the Psalms.  Thomas continued to write hymns, later publishing a hymnal.

Thomas was later appointed as chaplain to Princess Mary of England, wife of the Dutch King William.  He lasted a year, then was sent home after publicly rebuking the King for his treatment of Mary.  Thomas was then appointed as a royal chaplain to King Charles II, a rather thankless job as the King shamelessly indulged in a variety of immoralities.

During this time, Charles had an official mistress, Nell Gwynne.  For his convenience, Charles directed Thomas to lodge her in his residence.  Thomas replied that he was the King’s chaplain, not the King’s pimp.  Fortunately for Thomas, Charles took the rebuke in stride and later, when a Bishop’s position became open, said that the man who should have it must be, “that little man who refused lodging to poor Nellie.”  When Charles was on his deathbed, it was Thomas that he requested be at his side.

Charles was succeeded by James II, a royal proclamation which opened the door to an official sanction of Roman Catholicism.  Charles, along with six other bishops, refused to publish the order and instead drafted a statement opposing it.  James threw them in the Tower of London as prisoners.  Public pressure, including rioting in London, resulted in a verdict of acquittal.  After release, Thomas was taken in by a friend and spent the rest of his life writing and tutoring.

Thomas is known for his steadfast conviction in the light of authority, but perhaps more so for those little hymns he wrote those boys so early in his career.  Each of those hymns, meant to be sung morning, evening, and night, had a common refrain – a refrain we today call the Doxology:

                Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  Praise Him all creatures here below.

                Praise Him above, ye Heavenly host.  Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Morgan, Robert J., Then Sings My Soul, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.

https://hymnary.org/person/Ken_Thomas

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Ken

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Ken