Sweet Hour of Prayer

 

Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer

That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne,

Make all my wants and wishes known.

UMC Hymnal, No. 496

There is a heartfelt story about this hymn being written in 1842 by William Walford, an obscure and blind lay preacher who was the owner of a small trinket shop in the little village of Coleshill, England.  A fellow clergyman visited his establishment, wrote down the words to the poem, and submitted them to The New York Observer where they were published in 1845.

“No one, however, has ever found a trace of a blind preacher named W.W. Walford in Coleshill, England.  There was a Congregational minister named William Walford who wrote a book about prayer containing striking similarities to this poem, and some believe he is the author.  But he was neither blind nor uneducated, and the author of this hymn poem remains a mystery.” – Robert L. Morgan, Then Sings My Soul

 

Alan Jackson – Sweet Hour of Prayer

Open My Eyes, That I May See

 

Open my eyes that I may see

Wonderful things in Your law.

Psalm 119:18

Clara Scott was born in 1841 in Chicago.  She was drawn to music at an early age, and became the music teacher at the Ladies Seminary in Iowa while still in her teens.  In 1861, she married Henry Clay Scott and began writing songs and hymns, instrumental music, and a book of choral anthems – the first to be published by a woman.

In 1895, Clara wrote the hymn Open My Eyes that I Might See.  The following year she published a book, Truth in Song for Lovers of Truth.

Open My Eyes, That I May See - Hayes Barton Baptist Church

We're Marching to Zion

Come we that love the Lord, and let our joys be known.

Join in a song with sweet accord. Join in a song with sweet accord,

And thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne.

We’re marching to Zion – beautiful, beautiful Zion.

We’re marching upward to Zion, that beautiful city of God.

UMC Hymnal No. 733 

Isaac Watts was born in 1674, the oldest of nine children.  An inquisitive and very smart child, he started learning Latin at age four, and biblical Greek and Hebrew after that.  At the age of 16, he enrolled in a private academy in London and graduated with high honors.  After graduation, he returned to his parents’ home, where he lived for the next two years.

Church attendance again became part of his life, and Isaac complained to his father about the poor quality of hymn singing by the congregation.  His father challenged him to write something better.  For over two years, Isaac turned out hymn after hymn for that small congregation.  Our hymn today was written when he was only 20 years old.

We're Marching to Zion - Gaither Music

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

 

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.

O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation.

All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near,

Join me in glad adoration.

UMC Hymnal, No. 139 

Joachin Neander was born in Germany in 1650.  His father, grandfather, great-gandfather and great-great-grandfather were all ministers of the Gospel.  Joachin spent his youth sewing his wild oats, but the Lord had different plans for him.  A visit to a local church for the purpose of disrupting the service was changed by the powerful preaching of the minister that morning.  A few years later, Joachin was on the preaching staff of the same church. 

Rev. Neander is considered one of the greatest German Calvinist hymn writers.  He wrote approximately 60 hymns, most of which  are based on praise to God as the Creator.  This hymn is a free paraphrase of Psalm 103:1-6. 

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty  Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but Thou art mighty,

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven,

Feed me till I want no more.

UMC Hymnal, No. 127 

William Williams was the son of a wealthy Welsh farmer, and graduated from university with a degree in medicine.  Shortly thereafter, the preaching of Howell Harris caused him to leave medicine and become a preacher. Through over 40 years of ministry, Williams traveled over 90,000 miles. 

During his travels, Williams passed the time writing hymns.  He was often called the Sweet Singer of Wales, and composed over 800 hymns, the best known of which is Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.  This great hymn of the church was sung at the funerals of President James Garfield and Princess Diana.

 

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah - Fountainview Academy

All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name

 

All hail the power of Jesus’ name,

Let angels prostrate fall.

Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.

UMC Hymnal, No. 154 

Edward Perronet came from a family of French Huguenots who fled Catholic France, going first to Switzerland and then to England.  His father became a vicar in the Anglican Church.  Edward soon felt his own calling to the ministry.  For several years, however, he was closely allied with the Wesley brothers, traveling with them and participating in their evangelistic endeavors. Eventually he left the Wesley's to pastor a small independent church in Canterbury, where he remained until his death in 1792.

The story is told of E.P. Scott, a missionary to India, who was determined to reach the savage tribes on the subcontinent.  One day he was met by a group of warriors, who surrounded him and pointed their spears directly at him.  Lifting his violin from its case, he closed his eyes and began to play and sing All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.  When he finally opened his eyes, the tribal men were standing – every spear pointed down – some of them in tears.  Scott spent two years living with the tribe and sharing the Gospel.

 

All Hail the Power of Jesus Name  Maranatha Singers

 

 

Rock of Ages

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 a double cure, save from wrath and make me pure.

UMC Hymnal, No. 361

Augustus Toplady was born in England in 1740. His father was a Royal Marine and died on duty soon after his son’s birth, leaving the boy to be raised by his mother. Toplady was very interested in religion during his early years, but it was not until he was 15 that he felt a call to the gospel ministry.

There is a legend that Toplady wrote this hymn while taking refuge in the cleft of a rock during the midst of a fierce storm.  There is even a plaque in the Burrington Combe gorge in Somerset, claiming that it is the actual rock cleft in question.  Many scholars believe that the hymn was written by Augustus (a staunch Calvinist) in response to John Wesley (Arminian theology) – two good men, but bitter theological foes.

 

Rock of Ages – Chris Rice

 

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

 

Come, Thou fount of many blessings, 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 God’s unchanging love.

UMC Hymnal, No. 40 

After the death of his father, Robert Robinson’s mother send her already wayward son to London to be an apprentice for a barber.  During that time, he associated with a notorious gang of hoodlums and lived a reckless life. 

That all turned around when he was 17 and wandered into an evangelistic meeting held by George Whitfield.  The preacher’s words stayed with him – good and evil fighting within his heart, until he finally gave his life to Christ.    

Robinson wrote Come Thou Fount  in 1758, and it was published in 1759.  He was baptized that same year after taking on Baptist theological perspectives, and spent nearly 30 years as the pastor of the Stone Yard Baptist Church at Cambridge.

 

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessings

 

Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature

O Thou of God and man the Son.

Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,

Thou my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

UMC Hymnal, No. 189

This marvelous hymn came to us possibly through German Jesuits in the mid-1600’s, and originally had six verses..  Who actually wrote the hymn, and when, remains a mystery.  The identity of who translated it into English is also unknown.  

The most popular legend surrounding this hymn is that it was sung by the twelfth century German Crusaders, as they made their long, weary way to the Holy Land.  Another legend has the hymn being sung by followers of Jon Huss as they were driven out of Bohemia.

The hymn first appeared in print in 1842, in a German hymnbook, Schlesische Volkslieder.

Fairest Lord Jesus – Maranatha Celtic

Jesus loves me, this I know

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak, but He is strong

UM Hymnal, No. 191 

This children’s hymn was written in 1860 by Anna Warner, half of a book and hymn writing team with her sister, Susan.  This hymn has been translated into scores of languages and sung around the world.

When Mao Tse-tung founded the People’s Republic in 1949, the church in China went through severe persecution.  Friends in America received scarcely any news from the Chinese Christians, but in 1972, a message came through with this unusual sentence:  The “This I Know” people are well.  Because it made no sense to them, the authorities who censored the mail let the letter pass, but it brought great relief to the American Christians to know that their Chinese counterparts were well.. [Favorite Women Hymn Writers, Smith/Carlson] 

 

Jesus Loves Me – Gaither Vocal Band

 

The Word

 

Then I saw heaven wide open, and before

my eyes appeared a white horse,

whose rider is called faithful and true,

for His judgment and His warfare is just…

and the name by which He is known is the Word of God.

Revelation 19:11-13

Revelation is filled with scenes of worship, where Jesus is called by many symbolic names.  In this passage, John again echoes the words of his own gospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

And the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.

John 1:1-2, 14

We worship the One who was and is – the Alpha and Omega, the Lamb of God –

The Word.

 

O worship the King, all glorious above

O gratefully sing His power and His love.

Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of days,

Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

 

The Angel's Message

 

Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven,

holding the everlasting gospel to proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth,

to every nation, and tribe and language and people.

He was crying in a loud voice:

Reverence God and give glory to Him,

for the hour of His judgment has come.

Worship Him who made heaven and earth,

the sea and the springs of water.

Revelation 14:6-7 

From the beginning of time, human beings have found it difficult to worship a God they can not see.   Since the beginning, families and nations fashioned idols of stone and precious metals – images of what they imagined God looked like.  But worshiping a calf of gold or a stone altar is not worshiping God, it is worshiping the created.

Our idols today are different, yet still the same.  Mankind still worships things – things that are made by their own hands.  We take the raw materials of earth and mold them into monuments to our wisdom and power. Things that are created. The angel of Revelation calls us to worship the Creator – Jesus Christ – who spoke all things into existence.  As John stated in his Gospel, All creation took place through Him, and none took place without Him. [John 1:3]  

He alone deserves our worship and praise.

The Seven Churches: Laodicea

 

 

Write this to the angel of the Church of Laodicea…

Revelation 3:14 

WHO IS SPEAKING:  The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 

WHAT IS NOT GOOD:  This church is neither cold not hot, but lukewarm – complacent.  They believe that they are rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing. 

JUDGMENT:  God says that they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. 

ADVICE:  Buy from the Lord gold refined in the furnace [Faith], white garments to cover their nakedness [Christ’s righteousness], and eye salve so they can see [Holy Spirit].  Shake off your complacency and repent!

REWARD:  They will have the honor of sitting by Jesus on His throne, just as He sits by His Father’s throne.

LESSON:  God does not want fence-sitters.  He likens them to lukewarm water – not hot, not cold – which God spits out of His mouth.  Know what it is that you believe, and then live it!

The Seven Churches: Philadelphia

Write this to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia…

Revelation 3:7

WHO IS SPEAKING:  The Holy One and the true, who holds the key of David, who opens and no man shall shut, and who shuts and no man shall open.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The Church of Philadelphia have been faithful and have not denied the name of Jesus Christ.  They have obeyed God’s call to patient endurance.

WHAT IS NOT GOOD:  Those outside the church under Satan’s control who claim to be Jews but are liars.  God will deal with them.

JUDGMENT:  God will keep them safe in the hour of trial.  Jesus proclaims:  I am coming soon.  Hold fast to what you have so that no man will take your crown.

REWARD:  The victorious will be made a pillar in God’s temple and will never leave it.  God will give them the name of the city of God – New Jerusalem – and will write on them His own new name.

LESSON:  The Church of Philadelphia had no glaring sins.  They had been faithful under persecution and faithful to the name of Jesus.  God promises them protection when the world falls apart.

The Seven Churches: Sardis

Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis…

Revelation 3:1

WHO IS SPEAKING:  Him who holds the seven spirits and the seven stars – Jesus Christ.

WHAT IS GOOD:  There are a few in Sardis who have not stained their character.  They deserve to walk with God in white. 

WHAT IS NOT GOOD:  The church has a reputation for being alive, but in fact they are spiritually dead.  God has not found any of their deeds complete. 

JUDGMENT: Jesus admonishes them to strengthen what they have before it all dies.  Repent!  Remember what you were given and what you were taught.  If the church does not wake up, Christ’s coming will be as a complete surprise. 

REWARD:  The victorious will wear white robes (of Christ’s righteousness), and God will never erase their names from the Book of Life. Jesus will speak their name openly to God and the angels.

LESSON:  Isaiah reminds us that all of us have become like one unclean, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags.  We need the robe of Christ’s righteousness to cover our dirt and stains, and the only source of that white garment is Jesus.

 

The Seven Churches: Thyatira

 

Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira…

Revelation 218 

WHO IS SPEAKING:  The Son of God whose eyes blaze like fire and whose feet shine like the finest bronze – Jesus Christ.

WHAT IS GOOD:  God knows their love, loyalty, service and endurance, and that they are doing more now than they did at first.

WHAT IS NOT GOOD:  They tolerate “Jezebel,” a false prophetess, who deceives them into sexual immorality and idolatry. 

JUDGMENT: The judgments against “Jezebel” and her followers are severe.  God wants the churches to know that their deeds are as important as their words. For those who are not involved in sexual immorality and idolatry, God will place no further burden on them.   

REWARD:  The victorious will have power over the nations, and they will be given the morning star. 

LESSON:  Unfortunately, many people know how to talk the talk, but not walk the walk.  The way we live our lives is a testimony to what is in our hearts and minds.  Be sure that you are not all “talk” and no “do.”

The Seven Churches: Pergamum

 

Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum…

Revelation 2:12

WHO IS SPEAKING:  Him who has the sharp two-edged sword – Jesus Christ.

WHAT IS GOOD:  God knows how they live.  They held fast to His name  and never denied their faith, even in the face of the murder of one of their own, which they witnessed.

WHAT IS NOT GOOD:  Some of the Pergamum church promoted the teaching of Baalam – a false prophet who led others into idolatry and immorality.  Some promoted the teaching of the Nicolaitans - a sect combining Christianity with paganism.

JUDGMENT:  Repent, or God will make war with them with the two-edged sword.

REWARD:  The victorious will receive the “hidden manna,” and a white stone with a new name written on it.

LESSON:  Not everything preached in church is, in fact, the truth.  God offers us the two-edged sword – the Word of God – to enable us to ascertain what is biblical and what is not. 

The Seven Churches: Smyrna

Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna…

Revelation 2:8

WHO IS SPEAKING:  The First and Last, who died and came to life again – Jesus Christ.

WHAT IS GOOD:  God knows of their tribulation and their poverty – but in fact they are rich!  God knows that they are slandered by the Jews. 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN:  Some will be cast into prison where their faith will be tested.

REWARD:  Those who are faithful in the face of death will be given a crown of life. 

LESSON:  This church is not doing anything wrong; rather, this is the persecuted church, This church is steeped in poverty, but rich in faith.  No matter what the enemy throws at them, they remain steadfast.  May God also find us faithful.

 

The Seven Churches: Ephesus

 

Write this to the church in Ephesus…

Revelation 2:1

WHO IS SPEAKING:  The One who holds the seven stars and walks among the seven candlesticks – Jesus Christ.

WHAT IS GOOD:  The church has worked hard and endured much.  They will not tolerate wicked men.  They have suffered for the sake of Jesus’ name and have not grown weary.  They hate the practices of the Nicolaitans (a sect that combined Christianity and paganism).

WHAT IS NOT GOOD:  The church does not love as they did at first – the love they had for others and for each other.

JUDGMENT:  Repent and return to their first love, or God will remove their lampstand completely. 

REWARD:  The victorious will eat from the Tree of Life in heaven.

LESSON:  Jesus spent much of His ministry talking about LOVE.  He compressed the law into two commands:  LOVE God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength – and LOVE your neighbor as you love yourself.  The Apostle John proclaimed:  This is the message you heard from the beginning:  we should LOVE one another.  God’s Word proclaims the same message to us today:  LOVE.

Three Important Symbols

 

I saw seven golden lampstands, and among these lampstands,

I saw someone like a Son of Man.

I saw that in His right hand He had seven stars.

A sharp two-edged sword came out of His mouth…

Revelation 1:12-16 selections 

THE GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS

The speaker in Chapter 1 gives us the key to this symbol.  The seven lampstands, reminiscent of the lampstand in the sanctuary, represent the seven churches.  They were to be the light of the world, a light that never went out.

THE SEVEN STARS

Our narrator also gives the meaning of the stars in Jesus’ right hand.  The seven stars represent the messenger angels to the seven churches.

THE TWO-EDGED SWORD

Some commentators state that the sword coming from Jesus’ mouth is justice or divine retribution.  I believe that we can find the meaning of this symbol in Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Revelation: Introducing...

 

I turned to see whose voice it was that was speaking to me

and when I turned, I saw someone like a Son of Man.

He was dressed in a long robe with a golden girdle around His breast;

His head and His hair were white as snow-white wool;

His eyes blazed like fire, and His feet shone like the finest bronze

glows in the furnace.  His voice had the sound of a great waterfall.

Revelation 1:12-16

Poor John!  When this magnificent Being appeared before him, he fainted dead away at His feet.  Jesus lifted him up, and said, “Do not be afraid!”  He then introduced Himself further:

I am the First and the Last

I am the Living One

I was dead, and behold, I am alive!

I hold the keys of death and hell 

This is Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Hope of mankind.  He wants John (and us) to know exactly who is giving the messages to the Seven Churches.  This is the risen Savior who had walked and talked with John by the Sea of Galilee.  We do not need to be afraid.  Our Friend is still walking with us.

Revelation: Introducing...

 

“I am Alpha and Omega,” says the Lord God,

Who is, and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.

Revelation 1:8

Before laying out His message to the seven churches, Jesus made it clear who is speaking:

THE ALPHA & OMEGA

The first and last letter of the Greek alphabet, it means beginning and ending – first and last.  Jesus is eternal – always was, always will be.  Everything else in the vast universe came from His hand.  He is the Creator God who spoke all things into existence.

THE ALMIGHTY

In Hebrew – shadday (Almighty) or el shadday (God Almighty) – having complete power; omnipotent.

The Presence that filled the chamber or cave where John was writing proclaimed Himself to be the beginning and end of all things having all power.  As the visions were reveals, they had to be beyond confusing to this ancient man of God, yet Jesus gave John the assurance that the One who was speaking would make all things plain.  We have that same assurance today as we place our lives in His hands.

 

The Seven Churches

John, to the seven Churches in Asia:  Grace and peace be

to you from Him who is, and who was and who is coming.

Revelation 1:4 

Revelation is clearly meant for the seven churches of Asia.  But the message of the book is for all Christians, particularly those under persecution.  J.B. Phillips lists the following as its themes for the modern day reader:

• The absolute soverignty of God, and His ultimate purpose to destroy all forms of evil.
• The inevitable judgements of God upon evil, and upon the worship of false gods, including riches, power and success.
• The necessity for patient endurance - the ultimate security being the knowledge that God is in control of history,.
• The glimpses of adoration and worship, constantly offered to God and to the Lamb.

For each church, we will look at who is speaking, what message is given, and what is the ultimate reward promised.

 

 

Revelation: The Isle of Patmos

This is the Revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him

So that He might show His servants what must

Very soon take place.  He made it known by

Sending His angel to His servant John,  

Who is the witness of all that he saw –

The message of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:1-2

The Isle of Patmos is a barren volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, about 10 miles long and 6 miles wide at its widest part.  The Romans used it to house a penal colony.  The Apostle John was banished to this island in the time of Domitian, about A.D.95, but is thought to have been released in A.D.96 under a change in Roman leadership.  According to tradition, after his release, John resided in Ephesus until his death..

John and his brother, James, were the sons of Zebedee,  Because James is usually mentioned first when the names of the two disciples appear together implies that John was the younger of the two.  Regardless of age, he and his brother were in the close inner circle of Jesus, and became leaders in the new Christian church. 

Imagine finding shelter in a cave on a barren island, then receiving from God the visions that make up the bulk of the book of Revelation.  How he managed to write them down and then take them with him when he was released is a story for the ages to come.  God’s Word will go where He sends it – regardless of the difficulty involved.

The Gospel of Light

 Here, then, is the message which we heard from Him,

and now proclaim to you:  

GOD IS LIGHT

and no shadow of darkness can exist in Him.

1 John 1;5

It is fascinating to me the similarity between the opening chapters of the Gospel of John and the first letter of John to the churches:

In Him appeared life, and that life was the light of mankind.

The light still shines in the darkness  

and the darkness has never put it out.

A man called John was sent as a witness to the light, so that

all that heard his testimony might believe in the light.

This man was not himself the light:

he was sent simply to witness to that light.

that was the true light which shines upon every man...

John 1:4-8

I am the Light of the World.

The one who follows Me will never walk in darkness,

but will live his life in the light.

John 8:12

Throughout the books that John authored, there runs two themes, over and over again:  God is love and God is light.  May His light and love flood your life today.

Watch Your Mouth!

 

It is of the highest importance, my brothers,

that your speech should be free from oaths

(whether they are “by” heaven or earth or anything else).

Your yes should be a plain yes, and your no a plain no,

and then you cannot go wrong in the matter.

James 5:12

 

If I were to embroider a sampler (which I will never do, because I have not a clue on such matters), this is the verse that I would create and hang on the wall.  The older I get, the more I realize that the less I say, the better – especially with my children.  

My brain puts one interpretation on my words, and my kids will often have a very different construct in mind when they are processing those words.  I have found that the simpler I speak – the closer to plain “yes” or “no” without being rude, the clearer and less fraught my communication will be. 

Concentrate on the one you are speaking to, do more listening than talking, and keep your speech concise and simple.