Hymn: “Trusting Jesus” – Edgar Page Stites (1836-1921)
Tune:
TRUSTING JESUS
This hymn written by a
Methodist layman – riverboat pilot - from New Jersey, is much richer in its
depth of language than its rollicking melody indicates. Today's hymn-line from the
first stanza speaks loudly to this poor
heart of mine.
I consider myself a person of
great faith – that is, my faith in the Almighty One is solid, I turn to it
regularly, I find my strength there, etc. In other words, this sense of trust
is with me at all times. [I hope that doesn’t sound prideful or self-aggrandizing.
To the best of my understanding, it is just true.]
Some days, that conviction is
enormously huge… how’s that for overstatement?! Really. There are days when
that blessed assurance is overwhelming;
it gives me the confidence to step out and take risks, even in my spiritual
walk. I desire more of those kinds of days.
Other days, not so much.
Those are my small-faith days… those days when Jesus’ words “O ye of little
faith” seem to haunt me. We all have those, and we shouldn’t be afraid/ashamed
to admit it. We are no less Christian at those times – we are not in danger of
falling overboard from the Good Ole Gospel
Ship.* Our humanity is dragging us down; with the seed that fell among the
thorns, we are choked by the cares and riches and
pleasures of this life. (Luke 8)
I
remember when preparing Jane Marshall’s setting of Christina Rosetti’s text “None
Other Lamb,” I was struck by the line “My faith burns low. My hope burns low.”
The sentiment was so well-put that to myself I suddenly said, I know that
feeling. Now and again, I still do. The flame flickers. I fear there is not
enough wax and wick to go on.
Then, turning to my simple faith, I make it through every day. Another
hymn-line comes to mind from “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind”:
In
simple faith like those who heard beside the Syrian sea
The
gracious calling of the Lord --
Let
us, like them, without a word, rise up and follow thee. +
From
the lower levels of our faith, we rise up without a word to follow the gracious
calling of the Lord. Our faith once again burns brightly; we glow in our
devotion to the One who is the Eternal Flame.
How
about you? Having a small-faith day? Your faith burning low? You may need to sing the refrain of today’s
hymn:
Trusting
as the moments fly, trusting as the days go by;
Trusting
him whate’er befall. Trusting Jesus, that is all.
THAT
IS ALL.
With
Porky Pig, I stutter, “Th-th-th-that’s all, folks.”
* -
An old Carter Family song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2yn10rbB3Sg
+ -
We’ll revisit this one in a later Hymn-line!
No comments:
Post a Comment
You are welcome to comment on any of the posts. They are sent to ME directly. Thanks for any feedback you would like to make.