The Babe of Bethlehem

Henry Beer wrote the following Christmas hymn. Beer was an elder of the Apostolic Christian Church, and according to the historian Perry A. Klopfenstein, “The Babe of Bethlehem” “is one of the most popular ‘Christmas carols’ in the Apostolic Christian Church.” Of the hymn Klopfenstein wrote, “As a florist, [Henry Beer] noted how worldly people put up nativity displays at Christmas. To them the displays apparently had little meaning, and there was no representation of the Cross of Christ. So he wrote a song about it.” (Marching to Zion: a History of the Apostolic Christian Church of America, 1847-1982, Fort Scott, KS: Sekan Printing Co., 1984, p. 475) “The Babe of Bethlehem” is No. 36 in Hymns of Faith, a Sunday School song book which Beer helped compile. The music is ascribed simply to “M. Y. R.”

1. The blessed story of the Christ,
The babe of Bethlehem,
Is worthy of our song and praise,
And stirs the hearts of men.
The fullness of God’s love divine,
Surrounds the Christ so mild,
Alas! how many only know
The Saviour as a child.

2. Our saving hope is all in vain,
If here our love should cease,
For in the man of Galilee
We find the gift of peace.
’Tis not the babe, but Christ the man,
Who walked in Galilee:
’Tis not the manger, but the cross,
That sets the spirit free.

3. Be not content this babe to know,
Nor stay at Bethlehem,
But go with Christ to Calvary’s brow,
Beyond Jerusalem.
’Tis there men learn to know the Christ,
For there he bore man’s sin;
Then open wide the door of heart
And let the Saviour in. 

Henry Beer was born November 14, 1900 in Richland County, Ohio, the son of Simon Beer and Kathryn Meister. He married Alice Getz in 1924. Henry Beer died June 29, 1983, after over 50 years in ministry. Alice Beer died in 1985. She and Henry are buried at the Milford Cemetery in Milford, Kosciusko County, Indiana.

The Silver Lining, July 1983, Volume 33, No. 7, p. 1

Redemption

Redemption by John T. Hocutt is a favorite Sacred Harp song with a sound message of Jesus shedding his blood for our redemption. It was first written and published in the 1959 edition of The Original Sacred Harp, Denson Edition (page 480) and the Alabama edition of The Christian Harmony (page 349). He wrote the words as well as the tune.

 

John Tillman/Tilmon Hocutt was born February 28, 1916 in Walker County, Alabama to Elijah T. Hocutt and Phoebe Elizabeth Barton.[i] In 1958 he married Agnes Idell Wall. They had no children. John was taught in both four-shape and seven-shape in Alabama singing schools, and later taught himself how to compose songs. In addition to Redemption, John Hocutt has three more songs that appear in the 1991 Edition of The Sacred Harp (475 A Thankful Heart, 498 The Resurrection Day, 564 Zion), one in the 2012 Cooper Edition of The Sacred Harp (464 Hocutt), and eight in the 2010 Edition of The Christian Harmony (18 Praise Our Redeemer, 40a Mamie, 81b Eternal Joys, 120 Home in the Sky, 167b Come Along, 316 This Heavy Load, 349 Redemption). He also arranged Resignation (107 in The Christian Harmony).

John died February 16, 2005. He and Agnes are buried at Boldo Memory Gardens in Boldo, Alabama.

1. There upon the cross of Calvary
Our blessed Savior died;
There between two thieves our blessed Lord
For us was crucified.

2. Oh! He suffered there for guilty man,
His life so freely gave,
When He paid the debt we could not pay
And triumphed o’er the grave.

Chorus:
Oh, His blood was shed that we might live
With Him when life is o’er,
And upon the clouds of glory ride
Safe to that peaceful shore.

Philippians 2:8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Sacrifice - the offering of plants, possessions, or life & blood to a deity, as in propitiation, appeasement, homage.

Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

Hebrews 9:26 for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Ransom - the redemption of a person for a price; the sum or price paid or demanded.

Exodus 30:12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

1 Timothy 2:6 who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Propitiation - something that makes favorably inclined; appeases; conciliates.

2 Chronicles 29:24 and the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel

Romans 3:25 whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

1 John 2:2 and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Satisfaction – the cancelation of a legal obligation; satisfaction in terms of a penal substitution for sin.

Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Hebrews 10:12 but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

Substitution Leviticus 16:7-10

Colossians 1:19-22 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight

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[i] There is a question in my mind whether the correct spelling of John’s middle name is Tillman or Tilmon. His World War II draft registration has “Tillman” in the printed name entry, but he only signed it “John T. Hocutt.”

In Remembrance of our Lord

 ...in some hymns.

1. ’Twas on that dark, that doleful night

When powers of earth and hell arose

Against the Son of God's delight

And friends betrayed him to his foes.

2. Before the mournful scene began,

He took the bread and blessed and brake.

What love through all his actions ran!

What wondrous words of grace he spake!

3. “This Is my body, broke for sin;

Receive and eat the living food”;

Then took the cup and blessed the wine:

“Tis the new covenant in my blood.”

4. “Do this,” he said, “till time shall end,

In memory of your dying Friend.

Meet at my table and record

The love of your departed Lord.”

5. Jesus, thy feast we celebrate;

We show thy death, we sing thy name,

Till thou return and we shall eat

The marriage supper of the Lamb. (Isaac Watts)

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown? (Isaac Watts)

See the cross, the cross of Jesus,

Crimson with his own life’s blood;

Thus he died, lest we should perish,

Wondrous love! Thou Son of God. (Silas G. Odell)

Thou Man of grief, remember me,

Thou never canst thyself forget.

Thy last expiring agony,

Thy fainting pangs and bloody sweat. (Charles Wesley)

Alas, and did my Savior bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

Was it for sins that I had done

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity, grace unknown

And love beyond degree. (Isaac Watts)

As on the Cross the Saviour hung 

And wept, and bled, and died, 

He poured salvation on a wretch 

That languished at his side. (Samuel Stennett)

Agonizing in the garden,

Lo! your Master prostrate lies;

On the bloody tree behold him,

Hear him cry before he dies;

“It is finished!”

Sinners will this not suffice? (Joseph Hart)

There he bled and died, an off’ring

For the world of sinners lost;

Oh, what pangs his visage marring!

Sinner, this thy soul has cost. (Daniel S. Warner)

He the true David, Israel’s King,

Blessed and loved of God,

To save us rebels dead in sin,

Paid his own dearest blood. (Isaac Watts)

I’m not ashamed to own my Lord

Or to defend his cause;

Maintain the honor of his word,

The glory of his cross. (Isaac Watts)

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,

And all the world go free?

No, there’s a cross for everyone,

And there’s a cross for me. (Thomas Shepherd)

Lynching and Crucifixion

On June 3, 2020, Chance the Rapper Tweeted: “Jesus was lynched.” I did not spend a lot of time reading replies, but it appears he got fairly “mixed reviews.” A fellow member called attention to it in a Facebook group, and the statement received mixed reviews there as well (more in favour, it seems).

Perhaps the “shock value” of such a statement will cause us to “stop, look, and listen,” and learn. We can learn from the statement, even though I think Chance the Rapper is technically incorrect. We will find lynching and crucifixion merge and diverge at particular points. First, consider the definitions of “lynch” and “crucifixion.”

• Lynch, verb (used with object). To put to death, especially by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority.
• Crucify, verb (used with object). To put to death by nailing or binding the hands and feet to a cross (and in this discussion, specifically the putting to death of Jesus by nailing him to and hanging him on a cross).

Lynching and crucifixion are both methods of execution, though the first is clearly without legal authority to do so – specifically in the U.S. it is without due process, without a trial. Crucifixion was once a preferred method of execution in the Roman Empire, and generally carried out under the authority of Roman officials.[i]

Similarities

• Lynching and the crucifixion of Jesus share the element of hanging. Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
• Lynching and the crucifixion of Jesus share the element of the bloodlust of a mob. Mark 15:14 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
• Lynching and the crucifixion of Jesus are murderous acts derived from deceitful and desperately wicked hearts. Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Differences

• A lynching is illegal and unlawful, whether or not the person lynched is innocent or guilty. The crucifixion of Jesus was carried out under legal authority, but the person convicted was innocent. Mark 14:15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
• Lynching breaks the laws of state, but Jesus’s crucifixion fulfilled the law of God. Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Romans 3:25 whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God
• The death of the lynched perpetuates anger, guilt, and sin. The crucifixion of Jesus makes peace by the blood of the cross. Colossians 1:20 and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

By comparing the death of Jesus to other deaths, including lynching, we learn. We hear notes that touch chords in our hearts. Yet, in the end, the death of Jesus Christ the Son of God is unlike any other.

• It is an offering made by free eternal determination, rather than by forced human intervention. Acts 4:27-28 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. John 10:17-18 I lay down my life...No man taketh it from me...
• It is the making of a sin offering by one who never sinned. 1 Peter 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
• It is the offering of the just in the place of the unjust. 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God... Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
• It is a one-time sufficient sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 9:26 ...but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Our sins are many, God’s mercy is more; He’s wash’d and cleans’d us, for this we adore.

As on the cross the Savior hung,

And wept, and bled, and died;

He poured salvation on a wretch,

That languished at His side. (Samuel Stennett)

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride. (Isaac Watts)

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[i] Experts differ on the legality of the trial of Jesus. José María Ribas Alba, one of the top modern scholars on Roman law, has concluded from his years of study that the trial of Jesus was perfectly legal [For example, Jesús es condenado a muerte: reflexiones sobre el contexto histórico y jurídico de la Pasión de Cristo (Jesus is sentenced to death. Reflections on the historical and legal context of the Passion of Christ), José María Ribas Alba, Mergablum, 2013]. On the other hand, in The Trial of Christ: From a Legal and Scriptural Viewpoint, David K. Breed argues that many legal errors were made. Many Christian scholars focus on the legality or illegality of the proceedings of the Sandhedrin.

A Lamb goes uncomplaining

Below is a lengthy hymn of ten stanzas – “A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth” – drawn from the German Lutheran tradition. The words were written by Paulus Gerhardt (1607-1676) circa 1648. The English translator is unknown to this blogger. Gerhardt’s hymn is often set to An Wasserflüssen Babylon written by Wolfgang Dachstein (1487-1553) and published in Strassburger Kirchenampt in 1525. The meter is somewhat uncommon – 8.7.8.7.8.8.7.8.8.7. The text presented here with few exceptions is the same as it appears in the Evangelical Lutheran Hymn-Book (Baltimore, MD: Lutheran Publication Board, 1893) Hymn 58, “Passion.”

1. A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of all men bearing;
’Tis laden with the sin of earth,
None else the burden sharing;
It goes its way, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
Its spotless life to offer;
Bears shame, and stripes, and wounds, and death,
Anguish and mockery, and saith,
“Willing all this I suffer.”

2. This Lamb is Christ, the soul’s great Friend
And everlasting Savior;
Him, Him God chose, sin’s reign to end
And bring us to His favour.
“Go forth, my Son!” He said, “and bail
The children, who are doomed to hell
But for Thine intercession.
The punishment is great, and dread
The wrath, but Thou Thy blood shalt shed,
And save them from perdition.”

3. “Yea, Father, yea, most willingly
I’ll bear what Thou commandest;
My will conforms to Thy decree,
I do what Thou demandest.”
O wondrous Love! what hast Thou done!
The Father offers up His Son,
The Son content descendeth!
O Love! O Love! how strong art Thou!
In shroud and grave Thou lay’st Him low
Whose word the mountains rendeth!

4. Thou lay’st him, Love, upon the cross,
With nails and spear Him bruising;
Thou slay’st Him as a lamb, His loss,
From soul and body oozing;
From body ’tis the crimson flood
Of precious sacrificial blood,
From soul, the strength of anguish:
My gain it is; sweet Lamb to Thee
What can I give, whose love to me
For me doth make Thee languish?

5. Lord, all my life I’ll cleave to Thee,
Thy love fore’er beholding,
Thee ever, as Thou ever me,
With loving arms enfolding.
Yea, Thou shalt be my Beacon-light,
To guide me safe through death’s dark night,
And cheer my heart in sorrow;
Henceforth myself and all that’s mine
To Thee, my Savior, I consign,
From whom all things I borrow.

6. By morn and eve my theme shall be
Thy mercy's wondrous measure;
To sacrifice myself to Thee,
My foremost aim and pleasure.
My stream of life shall flow for Thee,
Its steadfast current ceaselessly
In praise to Thee outpouring;
And all that Thou hast done for me,
I’ll treasure in my memory,
Thy gracious love adoring.

7. Dilate, shrine of my heart, and swell,
To Thee shall now be given
A treasure that doth far excel
The worth of earth and heaven.
Away with the Arabian gold,
With treasures of an earthly mold!
I’ve found a better jewel.
My priceless treasure, Lord my God,
Is Thy most holy, precious blood,
Which flowed from wounds so cruel.

8. This treasure ever I’ll employ,
This ever aid shall yield me;
In sorrow it shall be my joy,
In conflict it shall shield me;
In joy, the music of my feast,
And when all else has lost its zest,
This manna still shall feed me;
In thirst my drink; in want my food;
My company in solitude,
To comfort and to lead me.

9. Death’s poison cannot harm me now,
Thy blood new life bestoweth;
My Shadow from the heat art Thou,
When noonday’s sunlight gloweth.
When I’m by inward grief opprest,
On Thee my weary soul shall rest,
As sick men on their pillows.
Thou art my Anchor, when by woe
My bark is driven to and fro
On trouble’s restless billows.

10. And when Thy glory I shall see
And taste Thy kingdom’s pleasure,
Thy blood shall then by purple be—

I’ll clothe me in this treasure;
It then shall be my glorious crown,
Thus I’ll appear before the throne
Of God, and need not hide me;
And shall, by Him to Thee betrothed,
By Thee in bridal garments clothed,
Stand as a bride beside Thee.

A Dying Savior

Anne Steele wrote the following long meter hymn, “A Dying Savior,” which was found in her Poems on Subjects Chiefly Devotional, 1760. It is often set to the tune Zephyr by William B. Bradbury (written 1844).

1. Stretch’d on the cross, the Savior dies;
Hark! his expiring groans arise!
See, from his hands, his feet, his side,
Runs down the sacred crimson tide!

2. But life attends the deathful sound,
And flows from ev’ry bleeding wound:
The vital stream, how free it flows,
To save and cleanse his rebel foes!

3. To suffer in the traitor’s place,
To die for man, surprising grace!
Yet pass rebellious angels by—
O why for man, dear Saviour, why?

4. And didst thou bleed? for sinners bleed?
And could the sun behold the deed?
No, he withdrew his sick’ning ray,
And darkness veil’d the mourning day.

5. Can I survey this scene of woe,
Where mingling grief and wonder flow,
And yet my heart unmov’d remain,
Insensible to love or pain?

6. Come, dearest Lord, thy pow’r impart,
To warm this cold, this stupid heart,
Till all its pow’rs and passions move,
In melting grief and ardent love.

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing

“Sweet the moments, rich in blessing” (or “Looking unto Christ”) was written by Walter Shirley, and appears as follows in A Select Collection of Hymns, Universally Sung in the Late Countess of Huntingdon’s Chapels (1820 printing).

193 Looking unto Christ. 8.7. (p. 293)

1. Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,

Which before the cross I spend;

Life and health and peace possessing

From the sinner’s dying Friend.

Here I’ll sit, forever viewing,

Mercy’s streams in streams of blood;

Precious drops, my soul bedewing,

Plead and claim my peace with God.

2. Truly blessèd is the station,

Low before his cross to lie;

While I see divine compassion

Floating in His languid eye;

Here it is I find my heaven,

While upon the Lamb I gaze;

Love I much? I’ve much forgiven,

I’m a miracle of grace.

3. Love and fear my heart dividing,

With my tears his feet I’ll bathe:

Constant still in faith abiding,

Life deriving from His death.

May I still enjoy this feeling,

In all need to Jesus go,

Prove his wounds each day more healing,

And himself more deeply know!

We often sing this in The Sacred Harp and The Christian Harmony, with Shirley’s first stanza and a second stanza that was added to The Christian Harmony 1958 revision:

2. Had I heart to hold its pleasure,

Had I tongue to tell its bliss;

Could I share with all my treasure,

O that all my friends were his.

Nothing else could quite so charm me,

Nor my ev’ry idol hold.

Satan now no more can harm me,

I’ve a home in realms of gold.

Listen to Palmetto HERE (tune by William Hauser, 1859; 54t in The Sacred Harp, Revised Cooper Edition, 2012).

Another stanza that sometimes appears with Shirley’s “Sweet the moments” is:

Lord, in ceaseless contemplation

Fix my heart and eyes on Thee,

Till I taste Thy full salvation,

And unveiled Thy glories see.

For Thy sorrows I adore Thee,

For the griefs that wrought my peace;

Gracious Savior, I implore Thee,

In my heart Thy love increase.

Shirley’s hymn is an adaptation of “While my Jesus I’m possessing” by James Allen. It is printed in A Collection of Hymns for the Use of Those that Seek, and Those that Have Redemption in the Blood of Christ, by James Allen and Christopher Batty; commonly known as the Kendal Hymn Book (1757).

LIV, p. 60

1. While my Jesus I’m possessing,

Great's the happiness I know;

And while him I am caressing,

Sweetest odours round me flow:

Happy I’m in his embraces,

Proving all his kisses sweet;

Singing never-ceasing praises,

Mary-like before his feet.

2. Oh! how liappy are the moments,,

Which I here in transport spend;

Life deriving from his torments,

Who remains the Sinner’s Friend:

Here I’ll sit for ever viewing,

How the blood flows from each vein,

Ev’ry stream, my soul bedewing,

Mortifies the carnal flame.

3. Really blessèd is the portion

Destin’d me by sov’reign grace;

Still to view divine compassion

In the Saviour’s bruisèd face:

’Tis my fixèd resolution

Jesus Christ my Lord to love;

At his feet to fix my station,

Nor from thence a hair’s breadth move.

4. Here it is I find my heaven,

While upon my Lamb I gaze;

Love I much, I’ve more forgiven;

I’m a miracle of grace:

Filled with sinner-like contrition,

With my tears his feet I’ll bathe;

Happy in the sweet fruition

Of my Saviour’s painful death.

5. From his pierc’d and wounded body

Issued streams of sacred gore;

From his hands and feet so bloody

Flow’d a med’cine for each sore:

From his side, that fountain precious,

Pardons with the blood did flow;

This to taste is most delicious,

Causing all within to glow.

6. May I still enjoy this feeling,

In all need to Jesus go;

Prove his wounds each day more healing’

And from hence salvation draw:

May I have the Spirit’s unction

Filling me with holy shame;

Still retain a close connection

With the person of the Lamb.

Carl Price tells the following concerning Walter Shirley’s writing of “Sweet the moments.”

In its present form this hymn was wrought out of a bitter experience in the life of Sir Walter Shirley, who was at the time Rector of Loughrea in the County of Galway, Ireland. His brother, the Earl of Ferrars, a man of evil habits, engaged in a quarrel with one of his servants, who had long been in his employ, and in the passion of his anger he murdered the old man. He was at once imprisoned; and Shirley, though mortified by the terrible disgrace which the revolting crime had brought upon his family, journeyed to his brother’s prison and remained near him during the distressing weeks that followed. The Earl was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be hanged at Tyburn. After the execution Shirley, worn out by his long vigil and humiliated in spirit, returning to his parish, finding comfort only in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Discovering an imperfect expression of his emotions at that time in a hymn, “O How Happy Are the Moments,” by the Rev. James Allen, he adapted and revised the hymn so completely that it became practically a new composition, truly poetic in language and form, and tenderly eloquent of his own experience.

Happy Birthday, Isaac

Isaac Watts was born on this day, 344 years ago.

Watts was born in Southampton, England on this day July 17, 1674. He fell under conviction in 1688 and learned to trust Christ in a personal way a year later.

Watts preached his first sermon on this day, 320 years ago.

After attaining his education under more difficult circumstances, Watts became a preacher. He gave his first sermon on this day, his birthday, July 17, 1698, at Mark Lane in London.

Watts remains one of the most influential hymn writers of the English-speaking world – so much so that he is often referred to as “the Father of English Hymnody.”

Psalm singing had fallen into a sad state and church leaders were seriously questioning what to do. Watts boldly called for a new kind of psalm, rewritten in light of the New Testament gospel. “We preach the gospel and pray in Christ’s name, and then check the aroused devotions of Christians by giving out a song of the old dispensation.”

One of Watts’s most well-known hymns is Crucifixion to the World by the Death of Christ, which he related to Galatians 6:14 (But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.). It is purported that Charles Wesley said that he would give up all his own hymns for this one.

1. When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory dy’d,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God:

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to thy blood.

3. See from his head, his hands, his feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

4. His dying crimson, like a robe,

Spreads o’er his body on the tree;

Then am I dead to all the globe,

And all the globe is dead to me.

5. Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

• When I Survey Wondrous Cross, lined version, led by Elder Otis Buell.
• When I Survey Wondrous Cross, sung at Mars Hill Primitive Baptist Church in Hoboken, Georgia in 2007.
• When I Survey Wondrous Cross, sung at Temple Baptist Church in Powell, Tennessee.

My faith has found a resting place

1. My faith has found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the Ever-living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain: I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

2. Enough for me that Jesus saves,
This ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him,
He’ll never cast me out. [Refrain]

3. My heart is leaning on the Word,
The written Word of God,
Salvation by my Savior’s name,
Salvation through His blood. [Refrain]

4. My great Physician heals the sick,
The lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed,
For me His life He gave. [Refrain]

Author Eliza Edmunds Hewitt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 28, 1851. “She was educated in the public schools and after graduation from high school became a teacher. However, she developed a spinal malady which cut short her career and made her a shut-in for many years. During her convalescence, she studied English literature. She felt a need to be useful to her church and began writing poems for the primary department. She went on to teach Sunday school, take an active part in the Philadelphia Elementary Union and become Superintendent of the primary department of Calvin Presbyterian Church.” According to Hymnary.Org, some of her songs were written under the pseudonym Lidie H. Edmunds. Find-A-Grave says she was a cousin of hymn writer Edgar Page Stites. He wrote the hymn “Trusting Jesus” used on page 573 in the Cooper Edition of The Sacred Harp.

I used words by her for a tune I titled HEWITT in her honor:

1. O come and walk the pilgrim way.
Beside the cross an open door!
Tho’ millions come there’s room for more.
Tis Christ who calls you, calls today,
“O come and walk the pilgrim way.”

2. O come and walk the pilgrim way.
From Calv’ry’s blessed starting place
Begins a walk of faith by grace.
Tis Christ who calls you, calls today,
“O come and walk the pilgrim way.”

3. O come and walk the pilgrim way.
In fellowship with Christ the King
We walk, and loud his praises sing.
Tis Christ who calls you, calls today,
“O come and walk the pilgrim way.”

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt died April 24, 1920, and is buried in the Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was surprised to find out after I had chosen her words for my tune, completed it and titled the tune HEWITT (I thought about calling it “Pilgrim Way”), that this song was finished on the anniversary of her death.

[Much of the bio from Hymnary.Org]