Wondrous Grace – Hymns of Dawn No. 21

Wondrous Grace – Hymns of Dawn No. 21

Here is a recording of Hymn No. 21 from the “Hymns of Dawn” to aid God’s people in singing and making melody in their hearts unto God.

“(1) Come, let us shout joyfully to Jehovah! Let us shout in triumph to our Rock of salvation. (2) Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; Let us sing and shout in triumph to him” (Psalm 95:1,2).

“My mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips” (Psalm 63:5).

Lyrics

1.
Behold, what wondrous grace
The Father hath bestowed
On members of a fallen race,
To make them sons of God.

2.
By His dear Son redeemed,
By grace then purified;
What favor that we should be named
For Christ’s joint heir and bride!

3.
Nor doth it yet appear
How great we must be made;
But when we see our Saviour here,
We shall be like our Head.

4.
A hope so much divine
May trials well endure;
May purify our souls from sin,
As Christ, The Lord, is pure.

5.
Now in our Father’s love
We share a filial part;
He grants the spirit from above
To dwell within each heart.

6.
We can no longer lie
Like slaves beneath the throne;
Our hearts now Abba, Father, cry,
And He the kindred owns.

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The History Of This Hymn

Author Isaac Watts (1674-1748). Verse 2 in the “Hymns of Dawn” is not contained in the lyrics written by Isaac Watts and could not be found in any other Hymnal other than in the Hymns of Dawn.

ComposerNo information. From a Google search, the earliest record of the same tune as contained in the Hymns of Dawn, has been found in the “Songs for Social and Public Worship” published in 1863, on page 144.  Another tune arrangement (nearly identical to the “Hymns of Dawn” score) is found in “Every Sabbath: A new collection of music adapted to the wants and capacities of Sunday-Schools, the home circle, and devotional gatherings,” page 147 Hymn No. 145a published in 1874

 

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Bible Scriptures Associated With This Hymn

John 1:11-13 (ESV)—(11) He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. (12) But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (13) who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Acts 15:10, 11 (ESV) — “(10) Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? (11) But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

Romans 3:23, 24 (NIV) — “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Roman 5:1-2 (KJV) — “(1) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: (2) By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:13, 14 (ESV) — “(13) Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (14) For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

2 Corinthians 6:1 — “(1) We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (2) (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

Ephesians 2:8, 9 (ESV) — “(8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Titus 2:11-14 (ESV) — “(11) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, (12) training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (13) waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Hebrews 4:16 (KJV) — “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

1 John 3:1-3 (KJV) — “(1) Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (2) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (3) And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”

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The words below are from Reprint No. 2283, from the Original Watchtower and Herald of Christ’s Presence.

“BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED.”

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“For the grace of God that bringeth [leads to] salvation hath been manifested for all men—teaching us that renouncing ungodly desires we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age, waiting for the blessed hope, even the glorious manifestation of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, devoted to good works.”Titus 2:11-14.

[Note: The definition of “renouce” (or “say no to”— NIV Bible): formally declare one’s abandonment of (a claim, right, or possession). Synonyms: reject, refuse to abide by, refuse to recognize, desert, discard, disown, cut off, cast off, lay aside, refuse to fulfil, invalidate, nullify, disclaim, repudiate (which means reject, divorce from, refuse to accept).] 

“GRACE, ’tis a charming sound,” sang the poet, nor did he exaggerate; for to all who have learned the true meaning of divine grace, that word, like the word “gospel,” is a synonym for all the divine mercies which God’s people may now or ever enjoy…

The word grace signifies favor—particularly unmerited [not deserved] favor. Acts of grace are thus to be clearly distinguished from acts of justice and from obligations… Every testimony to the effect that God is extending his “grace” to humanity or to the Church is a testimony to their unworthiness to justly demand those favors or blessings.

The spirit of the world in general is that of self-sufficiency and independence; following their own wisdom and lacking the instruction and wisdom from above, the worldly-wise regard themselves with complacency; they believe themselves to be quite sufficiently righteous to merit a good deal of divine blessing and reward: true, they admit also that they have imperfections, but these they expect to pay for to the full according to some law of divine retribution. Hence they are undisposed to look for or to accept pardon, forgiveness, justification through the great sacrifice for sins which God has provided… And so they regard all of the laws governing humanity as merciless, graceless—strictly just.

The Scripture presentation of the matter does not overlook the law of retribution—that sin of any kind, the transgression of any law, will surely bring its penalty, whoever may be the sinner and whatever may be the conditions. And the propositions respecting divine grace, rightly understood, are not in conflict with this universal law of retribution: the proposition of grace is … not to prevent the wages of sin from following transgression, but to succor the repentant who desire to reform, and to help him back to divine favor and full recovery, along the lines of strictest justice;—by a willing ransom-price.

And since this succor is wholly unmerited on man’s part and without just obligation on God’s part, it is purely of divine favor—”grace.” Indeed, if it were not for sin and its retributive punishments, there would be no room for grace: it is man’s necessity for grace that constitutes the divine opportunity for its exercise. Grace, however, operates in harmony with the divine laws, and not in violation of them.

Remembering that divine grace signifies God’s unmerited mercy and favor, let us examine its operation in the light of Scripture:—

(1) The first movement of divine grace toward mankind was the exercise of benevolence, love and compassion toward mankind in his fallen and sinful condition. There was nothing in man to merit this compassion and sympathy; quite to the contrary: we were aliens from God and enemies of his righteous rule through wicked works,—the depravity wrought in us through sin voluntarily committed by father Adam.

(2) It was in harmony with this thought of grace on God’s part, or, as we might term it, God’s gracious plan, that he revealed something respecting his purpose of ransom and restitution to father Abraham;—thus preaching first, beforehand, to him the good tidings of a coming blessing or grace, saying, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blest.” Abraham, and others who believed God, rejoiced in mind under the influence of this gracious promise—altho even the beginning of its fulfilment was still nearly two thousand years off.

(3) The third step of grace was in the great gift of divine love, our Lord Jesus Christ. It included the gracious arrangement made with the only begotten Son of God, on account of which he joyfully laid aside his heavenly glories and conditions and humbled himself in death as the ransom or substitute for the first Adam and thus incidentally a “ransom for all” [1 Timothy 2:6] the race of Adam.

(4) It was a fourth step of grace when God, having determined to select a Church, a “little flock,” to be heirs of God and joint-heirs of Jesus Christ their Lord, in the dispensing of the divine favors or grace, promised through Abraham, began the work of selecting this Church—receiving at Pentecost the first installment, from the house of servants into the house of sons and joint-heirs. (John 1:12,13.) Altho tests were applied to those received into the family of sons, and altho character qualifications were imposed upon them and will be imposed upon all who will be called and accepted to this high calling [Philippians 3:14], nevertheless this also was a step of grace, because there were no obligations resting upon God to confer upon us such a “high calling,such “riches of his grace in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

(5) Throughout this Gospel age the same grace has been in operation doing a twofold work; (a) justifying repentant believers from the guilt of their moral obliquity, and giving them thus a standing before God in Christ’s imputed righteousness;—thus making them eligible to the “high calling” to divine sonship and to joint-heirship in God’s Kingdom to come, and (b) then extending to them that “high calling,” inviting them through the divine Word to become the “very elect.” True, there are conditions imposed, and not all the many “called” will be among the few “chosen;” but nevertheless it is an inestimable privilege to be “called” and to have put within our grasp the opportunity and all the needful helps, whereby we may make our calling and election sure.

(6) The grace of God will still further be manifested when the “elect” Church shall all have been sought, found, tried, disciplined, and “made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;” for the blessings which will be conferred upon this glorified Church will not only be such as were not merited, such therefore as were not of obligation upon God’s part, but according to the divine testimony they will be additionally great, super-abounding in grace, “exceedingly abundantly more than we know how to ask or expect;” for “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath in reservation for those that love him.”1 Cor. 2:9.

(7) Even then, God’s grace will not have exhausted itself;—even after having thus honored and blessed and exalted the Church, the body of Christ, whose only merit consisted first in an honest confession of sin and an acceptance of the divine favor, and second, in their “reasonable service” in rendering their lives in obedience to him who bought them and in and through whom the divine graces were extended.

Then divine grace will begin to be fully manifested—then all shall see it, all shall know it, and all who will may share it; for then will begin the glorious [R2284] “times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”the Millennial age of a thousand years; the time when the knowledge of the Lord shall graciously be caused to fill the whole earth; the time when all the sin-blinded eyes shall be opened; the time when all the prisoners of the pit (death) shall come forth, that they may be instructed in righteousness. Then, according to the grace of the divine promise, he who redeemed the world shall judge the world in righteousness, a trial, an opportunity, that whosoever will, with a knowledge of sin and its penalty, and with a knowledge of righteousness and its rewards, with a knowledge of the goodness and grace of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord, may then stand trial and be judged as to whether they will receive God’s grace and its provisions of eternal life, or whether they will reject these and die the second death.

Here we behold the wonderful steps of grace. No one can intelligently believe in divine grace who holds the theory of evolution or any other theory of salvation than the Scriptural one, which recognizes man’s original creation in the divine likeness, his fall into sin and death, his redemption therefrom by the death of our Redeemer, and his hope for recovery through divine grace extended now to the Church and to be extended by and by through the Church (under Christ its Head) to all the families of the earth.

Coming now to consider present manifestations of divine grace toward the Church, we note that many professed followers of the Lord fail … to appreciate this grace which it is their privilege to enjoy. This is attributable largely to false teaching and preaching… For instance, how common it is for people to hear and to believe that if they “do right” they will have divine rewards at the end of life’s race; but if they “do wrong” they shall have divine punishment at the end of the race. Such views ignore grace entirely…

If we are to be punished in proportion to our shortcomings and rewarded for our obedient deeds, where would be the grace? Where would be the mercy? Where would be the necessity of a Savior, a sin-offering, an atonement and a reconciliation with God? Where would be the peace through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? None of these mercies and blessings can be rightly recognized except as the grace of God (his unmerited favor) is seen in them.

The fact is that the divine standard of righteousness is much higher than men generally understand: with God righteousness is synonymous with perfection; and hence “all unrighteousness [all imperfection, however or whenever or wherever]—is [a proof of] sin. Thus all men are proved to be sinners,—because all are imperfect, un-right. And the divine law is that the sinner, the wrongdoer, the un-right, the imperfect, shall not live. “The wages of sin is death.” Whoever [R2285] understands this can see at once that man’s only hope of eternal life lies not in his own perfection, but in divine mercy, grace.

But, says someone, That is not a fair statement of the case. God made me as I am, imperfect; and justice requires that he shall not demand of me an impossible perfection, nor punish me for weaknesses and imperfections beyond my control. Such reasoning implies a misunderstanding of the case. It is a mistake to assume that God made us imperfect. All “his work is perfect.” (Deut. 32:4; Psa. 18:30; Matt. 5:48.) He neither created idiots nor other physical and mental malformations of humanity, but, as the Scriptures declare, we were “born in sin and shapen in iniquity—in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Our blemishes come to us from our parents, not from God.

The Scriptures not only point out to us father Adam’s sinless perfection, saying that he was created in the image of God, but they plainly declare that it was by his disobedience that the divine sentence of death passed upon him and passed as an inheritance, a legacy of evil, to his offspring, saying, “By one man’s disobedience sin entered into the world and death as a result of sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all are sinners [imperfect].” Truly also, “The fathers have eaten a sour grape [disobedience] and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”Rom. 5:12,17-19; Jer. 31:29; Ezek. 18:2.

The very basis of all our hopes, then, is this grace of God, operating toward us through Jesus Christ our Lord. God’s grace does not subvert or set aside God’s law, however, and he who would rightly appreciate and use the divine grace should recognize this fact. God’s grace was not intended to frustrate the spirit of his own law: it was not intended to clear the guilty, the wilful transgressor. It acknowledges the divine law, attests its justice, and has fully met its requirements in the person and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on behalf of Adam and all his race involved in his transgression and his penalty—death. Hence it was that “Christ died, the just for the unjust” in order “that God might be just and yet be the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.”

The only condition upon which God’s grace is offered is:

  • our acknowledgment of our sin, weakness and imperfection,
  • a sorrow for these and
  • a repentance and
  • reformation to the extent of our ability and
  • an acceptance of Christ Jesus as the personification of divine grace.

Upon no other condition can we step into this grace of God or walk in its way and inherit its rewards.

And even after we have received Christ and God’s grace in him, and are no longer recognized as strangers, aliens to God, but sons, as servants of righteousness and no longer servants of sin, being imperfect, we are not free from blemishes of word, thought and deed; yet, God’s grace … continues with us to cover our blemishes until perfected in the resurrection. Under its provisions whatever is contrary to our wills, and purely the result of hereditary weakness, may be forgiven; and our obliquity and blameworthiness be gauged only by the measure of wilfulness or assent connected with the wrongdoing. Nevertheless, to some extent, chastisements or natural penalties for violations of law may be expected: but to those under grace these will come as helps by the way, causing them more and more to detest sin, as corrections in righteousness, as chastisements and disciplines for their blessing. And even these sure penalties may be to some extent ameliorated in accordance with the wisdom of our great High priest, who, having borne all our sins in his own body on the tree, is freely empowered to abate for us so much of the penalty of our misdeeds as grace may be able to cover as un-wilful [accidental, not deliberate] transgressions.

There is a disposition in our day, as there was a disposition in the days of the apostles, for those who have once accepted of divine forgiveness, the grace of God through Christ, to turn aside therefrom and to attempt to justify themselves by works. Even while first experiences were those of humble dependence upon divine mercy, subsequent experiences sometimes lead to the rejection of the grace that at first was so thankfully received. The Apostle wrote to some thus affected, saying, “Christ has become of none effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” (Gal. 5:4.)

Judged from this same standard, how many Christians today have backslidden—fallen from grace—lost the trust in the merit of the precious blood and in divine favor extended to us through the great atonement sacrifice. Now, as then, the disposition is to trust to works of our own righteousness, which … our own consciences should prove to us are imperfect, “filthy rags” unfit and unable to cover us. Yes, we need a covering before we could in any manner or degree hope to be acceptable to God, and this covering of our imperfections with the imputed righteousness of Christ, is another statement of the grace of God extended to us. This tendency to depart from a recognition of God’s grace in Christ as our only hope for eternal life, and to take instead a hope of being able to walk righteously and to do justly, and thus to merit eternal life, is what the Apostle very properly calls “another gospel”a false gospel.—Gal. 1:6.

This thought of the divine grace as the basis of all our mercies is interwoven with all the promises of God’s Word. Thus the Apostle speaks of the gracious plan of God, and Christ as the exponent of that plan as “the grace of God and the gift by grace.”Rom. 5:15.

Our approach to God in prayer is spoken of as an approach, not to the throne of justice and equity, but as an approach to “the throne of grace,” where “we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time of need.”Heb. 4:16.

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Again we are exhorted that our hearts be established in grace; and again told that unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of our faith; and again the Apostle declares of himself, “By the grace of God I am what I am” [1 Corinthians 15:10].

According to the testimony of our text this grace is general, for ALL men,” and must therefore ultimately in some manner or other be extended to all men,—the dead as well as the living. The translation of our Common Version is manifestly faulty here; all men, even in this most enlightened day of the world’s history, have not yet beheld God’s grace in any degree, nor has it as yet brought them salvation. But since it has been provided freely for all, so ultimately it shall be extended to all, that all may avail themselves of it.

The teaching of this grace is not that we may continue in sin that grace may abound; for divine grace is intended to benefit only those who renounce sin and become servants of righteousness: and thus, as our text declares, God’s grace teaches us that we should repudiate sin and live separate from every ungodly desire, in righteousness, soberness and godlikeness. Furthermore, as our text declares, this grace of God does not claim to have reached its completeness, and to have accomplished in us and for us the grand designs of the God of all grace. On the contrary, it teaches us to WAIT for the consummation of this grace until the glorious manifestation of the Son of God in the majesty and power of his Kingdom, to unite his Church with himself as his Bride and joint heir, the channel of mercies and blessings through which God’s grace shall flow to all the groaning creation.—Rom. 8:18-22; 11:31.

“RECEIVE NOT THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN.”

“We then as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.”2 Cor. 6:1.

This exhortation is addressed to such as have already recognized God’s gracious character and the gift [R2285] of his grace toward mankind,—the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The Apostle has just been explaining this matter of how God’s grace had provided a reconciliation; “that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them [but unto him who died for them]. He declares himself an ambassador on behalf of God to declare this grace and exhorts his readers not only to accept of God’s grace in the forgiveness of sins through Christ, but additionally that they also should become fully reconciled or completely in harmony with the Lord, as would be represented by full consecration to him and his service, after the example of the Apostle himself.

We take it that this exhortation of our text is the equivalent of the same apostle’s exhortation elsewhere, namely, “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God [already brethren because already believers in Christ and partakers through him of divine grace], that ye present your bodies living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”Rom. 12:1.

The Apostle was here urging progress on the part of the believers, advancement from “justification by faith” to the next higher step in divine grace and privilege,—full consecration even unto death, in response to the “call” to joint-heirship with Christ in his Kingdom,—to suffer with him in the present time, and to reign with him by and by in glory. These two steps are contrasted by the same Apostle, who says of himself and others who had taken both steps, (1) “Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2) “By whom also [additionally] we have access by faith into this [further] grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of [sharing] the glory of God.”Rom. 5:1,2. [R2286]

In our text the Apostle distinctly implies the possibility that some may receive the grace of God in vain—to no purpose.  We see from the connection as we have examined it, that he refers to the grace of God in justification, the forgiveness of our sins, and not to the second step of grace, our acceptance to the new nature through the begetting of the spirit. This implies, therefore, that the only object of justification by faith in this present age, is to give us a footing, a standing of acceptableness with God, from which we may be able to advance and take the second step of self-sacrifice, and become joint-heirs with Christ in his Kingdom. Nevertheless, this first step and all the privileges and blessings connected with it would be “in vain,”profitless to us, if we fail to take the second step, the particular feature of the divine plan which belongs to this Gospel age.

We are not to add to the Word of God, and to say that to receive justification in vain (by not making use of it to progress to a complete consecration and newness of nature) would mean eternal torment, or even the second death: we are simply to understand it as it reads, that the intention of the grace of justification, the first step, being to qualify us for the second step, those who fail to take the second step will have no particular benefit accrue to them from the first step, which would thus have been taken in vain, profitlessly, without permanent results and advantages.

… Only those who take the “narrow way” will gain any prize offered during this Gospel age, which is specifically the age set apart for the development of the “royal priesthood,” devoted to good works—to self-sacrifices in the service of the Lord and his cause. Indeed, there is only one prize and one hope of our calling during this age—the other prize and other hope and other call will be in the age to come. We cannot therefore expect that any who take the first step of faith in Christ, and who are therefore temporarily justified because of their faith, will have a reward for a faith which did not work by love. The faith that works by love speedily goes on to full consecration and self-sacrifice, and is a sure indication of the kind the Lord is seeking for his “little flock,” the “royal priesthood,” the “joint-heirs.” The faith, therefore, which refuses to work by love, cannot be considered an acceptable faith in God’s sight. Nor can we expect that this class will be counted worthy to share in the earthly phase of the Kingdom with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets.

… While not favored with the “high calling” to the divine nature and jointheirship with Christ, because this “call” was not yet due to be proclaimed, nevertheless, these ancient worthies manifested a faith and a trust in the Lord and his promises which worked, and by their works manifested a love for the Lord and a loyalty to him which did not hesitate to sacrifice reputation, wealth and life itself, in obedience to the principles of righteousness revealed to them… [R2286]

A much misunderstood text respecting grace is the one used as a caption for this article, namely, “By grace are ye saved, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8.) The erroneous thought given by many is that our faith is not our own faith, not of our own volition, but an impartation, a gift from God. Of course, in one sense every gift and blessing which we enjoy is indirectly if not directly from God; “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” (Jas. 1:17.) But the proper understanding of the Apostle’s words, we believe, is this: It is of God’s grace and not of personal merit on our part that salvation is offered to us; and altho that salvation is offered to us as a reward of faith (including true faith’s obedience), yet we cannot even boast respecting our faith as tho it merited the Lord’s favor,—for our faith is something which is the indirect result of divine providence also; there are millions of others in the world who might exercise just as much faith as we if they had been favored of God with as much light, intelligence, knowledge, as a basis of faith: hence our faith is not to be credited as a meritorious condition but we are to be thankful to God for it, for the circumstances and conditions which have made it possible for us to exercise faith are of his grace.

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Hymn Book Purchase

The Hymns Of Dawn (hymn book) can be purchased at:

The Chicago Bible Students Online Bookstore: https://chicagobible.org/product-category/books/page/4/
The Dawn Bible Students Association: http://www.dawnbible.com/dawnpub.htm

Acknowledgment & References

  • Br. Charles Taze Russell

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Br. Charles Russell—the founder of the Bible Students movement, who is the compiler of “Poems and Hymns of Millennial Dawn” which was published in Allegheny, Pa., in 1890. This Bible Students’ devotional originally contained a total of 151 poems and 333 hymns.

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The following prefatory to the 1905 publication of Hymns of Millennial Dawn may be of historical interest to many of our readers.

We published in 1890, with several more recent editions, a volume entitled “Poems and Hymns of Millennial Dawn” without music. The same collection of hymns with the music is now urgently needed, and therefore appears in this volume. The poems, although highly prized, are omitted for greater convenience in size. We have preserved the same alphabetical order, because so many of our readers have the older book; and where a different tune is given from that originally suggested the latter is indicated by Alt. for alternative tune, with the number where that tune can be found.

Both words and music are credited to the same class to whom the work is dedicated-to the Lord and His faithful people, “the Saints.” The authors of many of the best of them are unknown to us, and, besides, slight changes have been made in the phraseology and sentiment of quite a number, which we could not be sure their original authors would approve, and to give personal credit to less than one half would seem invidious. To all of these dear “Saints” of all ages we therefore give united and hearty thanks for the blessings which they, as the Lord’s servants and handmaidens, have bestowed upon their fellow-members of “the Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven.” Most of them died long ago: their abundant reward will be of the Lord in the resurrection.

That the collection is thoroughly undenominational, unsectarian, will be manifest to those recognizing the fact that it includes the choicest old hymns and tunes used by all denominations.

Although we have gathered far and near and winnowed carefully we cannot hope to have gotten all the golden grains, though we do hope that no chaff can be found. The collection is for the Church, for “believers” “reconciled,” and hence contains none of the “sinners” hymns, such as “Come, ye sinners poor and needy,” because willful sinners are in no sense members of the “Body” of Christ, nor are those who have not yet accepted the Lord as their Savior.

Those who will feel the deepest interest in this collection, and whose sentiments will be most fully voiced in its verses, will undoubtedly be those in fullest degree of sympathy with the divine plan of the ages, as set forth in the several volumes of Millennial Dawn—the eyes of whose understanding have been opened to the clearer, purer light now shining from our great Redeemer’s cross, showing the fulness and the completeness of his salvation.

In fact, this volume, while not numbered as one of the volumes of the Millennial Dawn series, is designed to be a companion volume, a melodious accompaniment to the “new song,” “the song of Moses and the Lamb” (the grand harmony of the Law and the Gospel), as presented in the regular Dawn series.

Let the music of God’s good and great plan ring through your hearts and lives, dear fellow-pilgrims and fellow members of the “royal priesthood,” so that every day and every hour shall be filled with joy and praise and thankfulness! And that this little volume may assist in deepening the work of grace in your hearts is our hope and prayer.

– Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, July, 1905, Allegheny, PA, USA

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Later on, the hymns from this book formed a basis for the hymnal titled “Hymns of Dawn” which was published by the Dawn Bible Students Association in East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA) and the 1999 edition contains a total of 361 hymns.

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Suggested Further Reading

Debtors To His Marvelous Grace, by J.J. Blackburn. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, July/August 1986.
http://www.heraldmag.org/archives/1986_4.htm#_Toc36907878

The Foreshadowing of Grace, by F.A. Essler. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, January/February 1986.
http://www.heraldmag.org/archives/1986_1.htm#_Toc36905444

A Special Calling by Br. David Rice. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July /August 2016.
https://herald-magazine.com/2016/07/01/the-bride-class/

The Bride and the Bridegroom by Br. Carl Hagensick. A Verse-by-verse Study of Psalm 45. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July/August 2004.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2004/04ja_4.htm

A Chaste VirginThe Herald of Christ’s Kingdom.
http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/chliv_38.htm

His Loving Kindness – Hymns of Dawn No. 19
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2018/06/19/his-loving-kindness-hymns-of-dawn-no-19/

Awake My Soul — Hymns of Dawn No. 20
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2018/06/27/awake-my-soul-hymns-of-dawn-no-20/

The Sacrifice
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/01/05/the-sacrifice/

Give Thanks In All Circumstances
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2018/01/03/1-thessalonians-518-thankfulness/

The Truth About Hell. A Dawn Bible Association Publication. http://www.dawnbible.com/booklets/hell.htm

Hope Beyond the Grave. A Dawn Bible Association Publication. http://www.dawnbible.com/booklets/grave.htm

Christ and His Bride. BIBLE Students DAILY.
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/06/25/christ-and-his-bride/

Our Beliefs — What Does the Bible Teach Us?
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/category/beliefs/

Bible Students’ Links and Bible Study Resources
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/category/links/

 

This post’s URL:
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2018/07/25/wondrous-grace-hymns-of-dawn-no-21/

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The Mighty To Save – Hymns of Dawn No. 9

The Mighty To Save – Hymns of Dawn No. 9

Bible Scriptures Associated With This Hymn

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“(18) … you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).

“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10).

 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10).

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, KJV).

Lyrics

1.
All glory to Jesus be giv’n,
That life and salvation are free,
And all may be wash’d and forgiv’n;
Yes, Jesus has sav’d even me.

Chorus
Christ Jesus is mighty to save,
And all his salvation may know
On his merit I lean, and his blood makes me clean,
Yes, his blood has wash’d whiter than snow.

2.
From the darkness of sin and despair,
Out into the light of his love,
He has bro’t me and made me an heir
To kingdoms and mansions above.

3.
O! the rapturous heights of his love,
The measureless depths of his grace.
My soul all his fulness would prove,
And live in his loving embrace.

4.
In him all my wants are supplied,
His love starts my heaven below,
And freely his blood is applied,
His blood that makes whiter than snow.

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST

(An article from “Reprints of the Original Watchtower and Herald of Christ’s Presence,” R1229 – R1231.)

All of God’s dear children trust in the precious blood of the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. They know, … that the blood of Christ is the principal topic of God’s revelation, and the foundation of his great plan of salvation. They know that the expression, “blood of Christ,” somehow stands for sacrifice of Christ, though they are sadly confused by false ideas on the so-called “trinity,” and consequently upon what our Lord Jesus gave as the sacrifice for sins.

In this “evil day” the great Adversary of God and his truth is taking advantage of this confusion, this lack of clearness of understanding, to overthrow faith in the ransom, the foundation doctrine of Christianity. The process is, to scoff at the idea of blood cleansing from sin, and to insinuate that most Christians believe in having literal blood sprinkled on their hearts, or that they are cleansed from sin by plunging into a literal fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins. Thus the idea of blood-cleansing is scouted as being on a par with the doctrine of everlasting torment, and belonging to the savage minds of the “dark ages.”

As a matter of fact, no sane Christian people have ever held this literal and absurd view of the meaning of the blood of Christ. It has always been recognized as synonymous with sacrifice. Any fair-minded person can readily see this to be true as well of the use of the word blood by the Apostles, as in the hymns of all denominations of Christian people. Take that grand old hymn—

“There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.”

What could more clearly express the very essence of the Bible doctrine; and how absurd for any to try to make out that those who thus express their sentiments believe in a river of literal blood. The hymn expresses well and beautifully the very thought of the Prophet (Zech. 13:1), “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David for sin and for uncleanness.”

There is surely an object in this misrepresentation of the general views of Christian people. Is it to confuse the mind, excite disgust at the thought of blood, and swimming in rivers of blood, etc., and then under the warmth of the denial: “Such is not my belief even if my fathers did believe it,” to point out to the confused one a theory which it is desired to impress? It looks very much that way. The theory then advanced is, that when Christ’s blood is mentioned, the word blood stands for carnal nature, and the understanding should be—Christ slew HIS carnal nature, as an example of how all his followers and the world in general should slay their carnal natures.

Ah! no wonder that, with such a theory to advance, the great Adversary first tried to excite disgust for any and every thing connected with “the blood.” He well knew that, unless disgust for “the blood” should be aroused and form a barrier of mental prejudice, some of God’s children would be sure to examine the forty-three places where the Scriptures mention the blood of Christ, and the many more where they mention the blood of animals which typified his blood. And if they would but investigate, they would find that which would prove fatal to the theory he wished to establish as new light.

The few who look to God’s word for instruction find that in these forty-three times that the blood of Christ is mentioned, neither our Lord nor the apostles once hint that the blood of Jesus represented the slaying of his carnal nature, nor that he had in or about him anything evil that required to be destroyed. They find, on the contrary, that there was no cause of death found in him except in the sight of the hypocritical Pharisees. And they find that, to the contrary of the theory we are criticizing, these forty-three inspired testimonies on the subject declare unitedly, not that our Lord shed his blood for himself and as an example to all men to shed their blood for themselves and thus reach perfection, but that, whatever blood symbolizes, it is his blood that cleanseth us from all sin.

Yes, his blood became the basis for the forgiveness of our sins, made peace for us, opened up the way to reconciliation, and transferred us from the domain of sentenced culprits, back to sonship in the family of God. So says the great Apostle Paul—Col. 1:20Heb. 9:1210:1913:12Rom. 3:255:9Eph. 1:72:13Col. 1:14 and Acts 20:28-31. So declares the great Apostle Peter—1 Pet. 1:2,19. So testifies the beloved Apostle John—1 John 1:7Rev. 1:55:97:14.

Truly the Word of God is sufficient that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished against all the wiles, glosses and sophistries of Satan. Even those who do not see clearly what the blood does signify or symbolize, can, without aid, quickly see that it means nothing at all like what this erroneous view would set forth. The idea of the blood of Christ signifying the slaying by him of his carnal nature is as far from the testimony of the above passages of God’s Word as the East is from the West.

But what is the true significance of the blood of Christ when used in reference to our cleansing from sin, as in the above citations? If it does not mean literal blood, what does it mean?

We answer by giving God’s definition of what blood represents or symbolizes. The blood is the life. (Gen. 9:4-6.) “For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have appointed it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls [lives, beings]: for it is the blood [sacrificed life] that maketh atonement for the soul [or being].”—Lev. 17:11,14.

By accepting God’s definition of what blood signified, in all the sacrifices, as well as in the case of the “one sacrifice for all” which our Lord Jesus presented, all confusion disappears.

As blood represents the life, the shedding of blood represents the loss of life—death

So then, the expressions—the Lamb slain, the cleansing blood of the Lamb, the precious blood of Christ, no more refer to literal blood than to a literal lamb, but to the death of Christ. True, our Lord’s side was actually pierced and blood flowed out, but the expression, “He hath redeemed us by his blood” (by his death), would have been equally true and proper, if not a drop of his literal blood had passed from his veins; for it merely signifies that he redeemed us by his death—by the sacrifice or loss of his life. Thus it is written, “He poured out his soul [being—life] unto death;” and again that he made “his soul [being—life] an offering for sin.”—Isa. 53:12,10.

So then, God’s people have always had the pith of the truth on this subject, when believing that the “blood of Christ” meant the sacrifice of Christ. That is the correct thought. Their difficulty is, that when they come in contact with errors their lack of a clear understanding of what sacrifice Christ did make for the sins of the world, combined with erroneous ideas of a trinity, make them liable to be led astray from the foundation doctrine of Christianity—”that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Finding that they cannot clearly analyze their own views, they are very susceptible to the false view we criticize, which first ridicules the idea which no one holds, that it is the literal blood of Christ which washes away our sins, and then offers the proposition, that Christ’s blood, when referred to in Scriptures, represents his slaying of his own carnal nature and desires, as an example to men, how they must each slay his own carnal nature and desires. According to this unscriptural theory each man would be his own Savior. And not only so, but if each would be a great Savior in proportion to the work accomplished, then the Lord Jesus would be the least of all; because, even those who claim that he had a carnal nature to crucify or slay cannot dispute that many men have far more of evil and sin working in their members to overcome than our Lord had. And if each slays sin in himself, the more degraded the man the greater the salvation, and the greater he is as his own Savior.

But let each compare this view briefly with the view presented in the above cited statements of the apostles respecting the blood of Christ—the life which he laid down on our behalf.

The life of the world in general was gone—forfeited in father Adam’s failure when on trial—all not absolutely dead were dying. They were under the execution of the just sentence of God, “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.” God had decreed a sentence which would most fully manifest the law of the universe—that no sinner shall live—and one which at the same time furnished an opportunity for revealing to angels and to men his unswerving justice, his great love, and his boundless wisdom and power. When God decreed death as the penalty for sin, so that a ransom (a corresponding price—a just one to die for [or instead of] the unjust one—Rom. 5:17) would be necessary to the release of mankind from the sentence, he did so in full view of the course he would pursue. His wisdom foresaw the results of leaving Adam to his own free will—that in his inexperience he would not submit his will to the will of his creator and would therefore get into sin and under the sentence of death—extinction. And his wisdom also foresaw how his love could work out a plan for the salvation of his creatures. And he foresaw that the well beloved and only begotten Son would humbly consent to carry out the divine plan—to leave the glory and honor of the heavenly nature, and as the man Christ Jesus give himself a ransom for Adam and his race.—Phil. 2:7,81 Tim. 2:5,6.

Since the penalty was death, the ransom necessary to release the dead and dying world from the sentence under which all were, and to secure them restitution—resurrection—and an individual trial for everlasting life, was the death of this perfect man whom God thus provided. And this simple and easily comprehended plan was carried out. The man Christ Jesus gave himself a ransom for all;—he died, the just for the unjust;—he died for our sins. The dying on the cross, the drops of bloody sweat in Gethsemane, the pierced hands and side and flowing blood were not necessary to our ransom. None of these things were the penalties of sin. God’s sentence against Adam—”dying thou shalt die”—did not specify what manner of death, nor what amount of suffering should be connected with it.

Death alone was the penalty, and had God’s will been such, for our Lord to have met death in any other form than crucifixion would have been equally our ransom price.

Many do not see that in our Lord two things were being accomplished at once. [1] Our ransom was being provided, and [2] our Lord’s extreme fidelity to the Heavenly Father was being tested and proved in the same sacrifice. As our ransom, death in any form would do; but as an unbounded proof of his humility and obedience to the Father’s plan, the shame of the cross was added.—Phil. 2:7,8.

The result of his death as it affects himself is that he is now highly exalted and made partaker of the divine nature, that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father.—Phil. 2:8,9John 5:23.

The result of his death as it affects mankind is that it places the world in his hands as the purchaser, to the intent that, without violating the law and sentence of God (which he satisfied with his own [life] blood), he may restore men to perfection and offer everlasting life to all who will come into harmony with God’s perfect law through him—under his direction and assistance.

THIS IS JUSTIFICATION

(An article from “Reprints of the Original Watchtower and Herald of Christ’s Presence,”  R1231.)

Thus we are justified by his blood [by the life which he laid down for us]: our sins and imperfections are passed over, forgiven, covered by the merit of the ransom which he gave.

Not only sins past and present, but also all future sins—all that are directly or indirectly the results of Adam’s transgression—all that are not our own, that our wills do not approve of, are not reckoned any longer to those who are in Christ Jesus.

No wonder these have joy and peace as they realize that there is now no longer any condemnation against them.—Rom. 5:18:1.

Here begins the work of sacrifice and crucifixion with Christ to which many are invited, but to which few respond. It is a mistake, however, to consider this sacrificing as a slaughter of our sins or as having anything to do with the “slaying of the enmity” mentioned by the Apostle. On the contrary (under the Law, which was typical), no sacrifice could be offered unto the Lord that had any blemish or imperfection—blemishes representing sin. So it is that no one is ever invited to become a sacrificer with Christ until he has first been justified from all things—cleansed from all sins—by the precious blood [sacrificed life] of Christ. And if these who are cleansed from sins—justified from all things—are told that they may present their bodies [“holy and acceptable unto God” through Jesus Christ] as living sacrifices, it must be their justified selves and not their sins that they present, and that the Lord proposes to accept.

The “enmity” which the Apostle declares Christ abolished (Eph. 2:15) was not sin in himself, nor anything in himself; but in or by the sacrifice of his flesh, the man Christ Jesus abolished the enmity or opposition of the Jewish Law Covenant, under which fleshly Israel labored. When that Covenant which they could not keep was fulfilled by our Lord Jesus and passed away (Col. 2:14), all who had been under it were released from its requirements of absolute perfection which opposed and condemned them all, that they might receive through Christ forgiveness of sins—through faith in his blood.

The privilege of becoming joint-sacrifices with Christ is limited, as truly as is the privilege of becoming joint-heirs with him. “Now is the acceptable time.” Both the privilege and the reward of sacrifice will end with this ageNow is the time when God will accept the living sacrifices of all who (after being justified from all sin by the blood of Christ) come unto God through him.

Such are not invited to sacrifice for their own sins, then, for their sins must be canceled before any sacrifice would be acceptable. But they are invited to sacrifice time, talent, influence, self-ease, and lawful self-gratification, in the service of the truth—in the general cause of God against the great enemy, Sin, and for the recovery of sinners out of it through Christ Jesus.

The sufferings of Christ, to a share in which all believers cleansed by his blood were invited during the Gospel age, will soon end. They will be filled up or completed. (Col. 1:24.) Then the glory will follow—the glory of Christ Jesus and also of all the members of his body, the church, those who suffered for the truth (not for their sins), sacrificing their justified selves with him and in the cause of God. Then the reign of righteousness will begin and none will have occasion to lay down his life for the truth’s sake thereafter.

Many have believed in the precious blood and have had joy and peace in believing and then heard the call to the privilege of self-sacrifice with Christ; but few have responded, and hence few are chosen to be with him and behold and share his glory and his throne, and his new nature—the divine nature—far above both the human and the angelic natures, even in their grandest perfections. Let us, acceptable to God through the precious blood, make our calling and election sure.Let us lay aside every weight and hindrance and run with patience the race of self-denial to the end—looking unto Jesus, the author of our faith, to finish it by receiving us to the heavenly mansion.

Suggested Further Reading

Here are some free ONLINE reading articles in relation to the Heavenly Father—Jehovah, his Son—Christ Jesus—“a ransom FOR ALL… to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:6), and about the holy Spirit (the understanding of God), with clear explanations about why the anti-Christ teaching of “the trinity”—introduced by the Roman Catholic Church system (the “Beast” in the Book of Revelation)—is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible Students Movement also does not support the false teaching about purgatory nor does it support the Roman Catholic System’s false teaching about people being sent to a place where they burning up forever as this certaining does not reflect Jehovah’s divine, perfect love, justice, power and wisdom … “who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8). For the interested Reader, we urge you to consider the following articles and posts:

The Doctrine of the Trinity – Mystery or Confusion by Br. David Rice.
http://www.heraldmag.org/1999/99nd_3.htm

The Origin of the Trinity – From Paganism To Constantine by Sr. Cher-El L. Hagensick.
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/doctrine/The%20Origin%20of%20the%20Trinity.htm

Facts About the Trinity
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/contents/doctrine/FACTS%20ABOUT%20THE%20TRINITY.htm

God and the Trinities
http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/doc_42.htm

Development of the “Trinity Doctrine” by Br. Tom Gilbert.
http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/2010d.pdf

Understanding John 1:1 by Br. Richard Doctor.
http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/2010d.pdf

Father, Son and Holy Spirit
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/06/23/father-son-and-holy-spirit/

What Is the Heavenly Father’s Name
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/06/27/gods-name-what-is-the-heavenly-fathers-name-that-we-are-to-hallow-and-why/

Jesus – The Name
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/07/05/jesus-the-name/

The Doctrine of Christ – Booklet
http://www.biblestudents.com/docs/DoctrineChrist.pdf

Who Is the World’s RANSOM and Why?
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/03/29/who-is-the-worlds-ransom-and-why/

Hymn Book Purchase

The Hymns Of Dawn (hymn book) can be purchased at:

The Chicago Bible Students Online Bookstore: https://chicagobible.org/product-category/books/page/4/

The Dawn Bible Students Association: http://www.dawnbible.com/dawnpub.htm

Acknowledgment & References

  • Br. Charles Taze Russell — the founder of the Bible Students movement, who is the compiler of “Poems and Hymns of Millennial Dawn” which was published in Allegheny, Pa., in 1890. This Bible Students’ devotional originally contained a total of 151 poems and 333 hymns.

POEMS-AND-HYMNS-OF-MILLENNIAL-DAWN

Later on, the hymns from this book formed a basis for the hymnal titled ““Hymns of Dawn” which was published by the Dawn Bible Students Association in East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA) and the 1999 edition contains a total of 361 hymns.

Hymns of Dawn.jpg

Links and Bible Resources
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/category/links/

Beliefs
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/category/beliefs/

 

This post’s URL:
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/12/02/the-mighty-to-save-hymns-of-dawn-no-9/

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All For Jesus – Hymns of Dawn No. 8

All For Jesus – Hymns of Dawn No. 8

Bible Scriptures Associated With This Hymn

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

“(1) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (2) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1, 2, ESV).

1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV)

“For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20, ESV).

Philippians 3:7-11 (KJV)

“(7) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. (8) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (11) that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:7-11, ESV).

*******

There are many names and titles of Jesus found in the Bible, and each of them contains a description or illustration of his life and work. Here is a post which examines some of those names in order to gain the lessons found in the deeper meanings in Jesus’ name: JESUS — The Namehttps://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/07/05/jesus-the-name/

Jesus is the world’s ransom — The following two references explain how and why:

(1) Who is the World’s Ransom and Why — https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/03/29/who-is-the-worlds-ransom-and-why/

(2) The Ransom” —
http://www.2043ad.com/journal/2007/02_ma_07.pdf%5D in Faithbuilders Fellowship (“Journal” section) March-April 2007.

Here is some brief content from the latter referenced article above (“The Ransom”) concerning the two applications of Christ’s blood:

1.  The first application — is for the consecrated class, those who accept Christ now, and accept Jesus’ invitation to self-denial and cross bearing (Hebrews 9:24).

2. The second application — the one for all the remainder of Israel, shows that after this age for the consecrated, another age of redemption follows. This will be for the remainder of the world those who will be blessed by the saints when, as a class, they are complete in glory with Christ.

Now we see that Jesus’ death, by itself, did not automatically bring release from the curse. Jesus was raised from the dead with the value of the Ransom price he provided, and by God’s design Jesus himself is the one who applies the value of the Ransom. He applies it first to us who consecrate our lives now, and later to the world during the Millennium. Jesus died for our offences to provide the Ransom value and was raised again for our justification to apply the Ransom (Romans 4:25).

********

HOSEA-13-14

Lyrics

1.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
All my being’s ransomed pow’rs;
All my thoughts and words and doings,
All my days and all my hours.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
All my days and all my hours.

2.
Let my hands perform his bidding;
Let my feet run in his ways;
Let my eyes see Jesus only;
Let my lips speak forth his praise.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
Let my lips speak forth his praise.

3.
Since my eyes were fixed on Jesus,
I’ve lost sight of all beside—
So enchained my spirit’s vision,
Looking at the crucified.
All for Jesus! all for Jesus!
All for Jesus crucified.

The History Of This Hymn

Author – Mary D. James (1810-1883)

MARY-D-JAMES-ALL-FOR-JESUS

When Mary D. James was 13 years old, she began teaching Sunday school in the Methodist Episcopal church. She became a prominent figure in the Wesleyan Holiness movement, assisting Phoebe Palmer, and often leading meetings at Ocean Grove, New Jersey, and elsewhere. She wrote about 50 hymns, and articles by her appeared in various journals and newspapers.

 

 

Composer – Asa Hull (1828 – ?)

Asa-Hull-All-For-Jesus-All-For-Jesus

As of 1895, Hull was a music publisher in New York City; his company was still operating as of 1910.

Suggested Further Reading

Here are some free online articles in relation to the Heavenly Father—Jehovah and his Son—Christ Jesus—“a ransom FOR ALL… to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:6), as well as, about the holy Spirit (the understanding of God) with clear explanations about why the anti-Christ teaching of “the trinity”—introduced by the Roman Catholic Church system (the “Beast” in the Book of Revelation) is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible Students Movement does not support the teaching of purgatory nor does it support the Roman Catholic System’s teaching about people being sent to a place where they burning up forever which certainly does not reflect the perfect love of God — the Almighty Creator of all things.

For the interested Reader, we urge you to consider the following articles and posts:

The Doctrine of the Trinity – Mystery or Confusion by Br. David Rice.
http://www.heraldmag.org/1999/99nd_3.htm

The Origin of the Trinity – From Paganism To Constantine by Sr. Cher-El L. Hagensick.
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/doctrine/The%20Origin%20of%20the%20Trinity.htm

Facts About the Trinity
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/contents/doctrine/FACTS%20ABOUT%20THE%20TRINITY.htm

God and the Trinities
http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/doc_42.htm

Development of the “Trinity Doctrine” by Br. Tom Gilbert.
http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/2010d.pdf

Understanding John 1:1 by Br. Richard Doctor.
http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/2010d.pdf

Father, Son and Holy Spirit
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/06/23/father-son-and-holy-spirit/

What Is the Heavenly Father’s Name
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/06/27/gods-name-what-is-the-heavenly-fathers-name-that-we-are-to-hallow-and-why/

Jesus – The Name
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/07/05/jesus-the-name/

The Doctrine of Christ – Booklet
http://www.biblestudents.com/docs/DoctrineChrist.pdf

Hymn Book Purchase

The Hymns Of Dawn (hymn book) can be purchased at:

The Chicago Bible Students Online Bookstore: https://chicagobible.org/product-category/books/page/4/
The Dawn Bible Students Association: http://www.dawnbible.com/dawnpub.htm

Acknowledgment & References

  • Br. Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916)

2.jpg

Br. Charles Russell — the founder of the Bible Students movement, who is the compiler of “Poems and Hymns of Millennial Dawn.”  With the assistance of Maria Frances Russell (1850 – 1938) — the former Maria Frances Ackley (whom Russell had married in 1879) — this Bible Students’ devotional was published in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (USA) in 1890. It originally contained a total of 151 poems and 333 hymns.

 

 

 

POEMS-AND-HYMNS-OF-MILLENNIAL-DAWN

Later on, the hymns from this book formed a basis for the hymnal titled “Hymns of Dawn” which was published by the Dawn Bible Students Association in East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA) and the 1999 edition contains a total of 361 hymns.
Hymns of Dawn.jpg

  •  Br. David Rice — For the article “The Ransom.” Faithbuilders Fellowship (“Journal” section) March-April 2007. http://www.2043ad.com/journal/2007/02_ma_07.pdf
  • “Hymnary.org” and “Wikipedia” — hymn history content.

——-

Links and Bible Resources. BIBLE Students DAILY.
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/category/links/

Beliefs. Bible Students DAILY.
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/category/beliefs/

 

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Christ’s Parousia (Second Presence) In 1874

CHARLES-RUSSELL-CHRIST'S-PAROUSIA-1874-6.jpg

“Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth” (2 Peter 1:12).

Three “stepping stones” to understanding the time of Christ’s invisible presence and “parousia” which IS (part of) our present inheritance of “the truth,” are the 1260, 1290, and 1335 “days” of Daniel. The first of these is found twice in Daniel, and five times in Revelation. This provides a foundation for the other two.

The 1260 years are expressed in Daniel as 32 “times.” The meaning of this is clarified by the references in Revelation, which refer to the same period not only as 32 “times,” but also as 42 “months” and 1260 “days” (Revelation 11:2,3, 12:6,14, 13:5). This makes it apparent that a “time” is a prophetic year of 12 months, of 30 days each — for in this way the three descriptions are equal to each other. In prophecy a “day” is fulfilled as a year. We know this, because it is the key that makes the 70 weeks of Daniel chapter 9 take us to the time of the first advent. (See also Ezekiel 4:5,6, Numbers 14:34.)

These three prophetic periods (1260, 1290, and 1335 years) begin “from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up” (Daniel 12:11). This text points back to Daniel 11:31, which describes the setting up of Papacy (with their false doctrine of the mass). Papacy received political authority in a sense in AD 538 when the Pope was left in control of Rome, but more fully in AD 539 when Ravenna, the political capital of Italy at the time, fell to the forces of the Roman Emperor Justinian (ruling then from Constantinople).

Justinian had only a few years earlier decreed that the Pope be recognized the religious head of all Christian churches. With the Gothic power thus subdued, this left the Pope the effective authority for the region. Papacy had now entered the field of political authority. Papacy, with its doctrine of the mass, had now been “set up” in authority.

*******

1260 years: AD 539 to AD 1799 = The Period of Papal power.

(See Daniel 7:25, 12:7, and compare with Revelation 12:14, 17:3.)

During this period the true Church is depicted as symbolically fleeing into the wilderness. This is represented also, in the Old Testament, as a period of 3 1/2 years of drought during the time of the prophet Elijah (Luke 4:25, James 5:17).

In 1798 the Pope was taken prisoner out of Rome, and died in 1799 as a prisoner of Napoleon, who for a time refused to allow the election of a successor. Papacy never again regained their status as an authority directing the policy of nations. Their 1260 years allowed for that had closed. Subsequently Bible Societies sprang up that distributed the Bible by the millions, fulfilling Revelation 10:10,11.

*******

1290 years: AD 539 to AD 1829 = Prophecies Clarify.

Daniel 12:10,11 indicates that at this time “the wise shall understand” the prophecies of Daniel in a clearer way.

In Daniel 12:11 we read about the 1290 years. “(11) And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

In 1829, a notable series of prophetic studies in England made good progress in understanding the prophecies of Daniel, and clarifying expectations for the approaching Kingdom of Christ. (See www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_5.htm, subhead “Meanwhile, in England.”) Subsequently, in New England, The Adventist Movement was spawned by the time prophecies of Daniel. This movement coalesced around the studies of Bro. William Miller, and expanded widely through the Protestant Christian world.

It is interesting to note the following:

“In 17 BC King Herod, in the 18th year of his reign, began to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem (John 2:20). “This was 45 years before the year our Lord was baptized at Jordan to commence his First Advent ministry. In like manner, 1829 was a beginning in rebuilding the Church, the spiritual temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16)—45 years before 1874, when the work of Christ’s Second Advent commenced” (Br. David Rice, “Daniel: Conclusion,” Faithbuilders Fellowship, p.10).

*******

1335 years: AD 539 to AD 1874 = Return of Christ.

Daniel 12 begins by referring to the second advent work of Christ when “Michael” (Jesus) would “stand up” in royal authority. This would precipitate a deliverance for Daniel’s people. There would subsequently be an unprecedented “time of trouble,” and also a resurrection of the dead (verse 2).

The 1260 and 1290 years are markers toward that time, but the 1335 years lead us directly to that time. We know from Luke 12:36,37 that there would also be a blessing of Truth, spiritual nourishment, for the saints of God from this time forward.

CHARLES-RUSSELL-CHRIST'S-PAROUSIA-1874-1.jpg

1874 marks the end of the 1335 years. It also marks the time beginning the works described earlier. With the return of Christ came the time for raising the sleeping saints to glory, quietly, unobserved by the world.

Since that time, one by one, the gathering proceeds until the end of the harvest, or ending period of this Gospel Age (See Matthew 13:39, as included in the passage below, and Matthew chapter 24).

“37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels” (Matthew 13:37-39, KJV).

The restoration of Israel commenced soon thereafter. The Jewish settlement Petah Tikvah was formed in 1878, and 70 years later the nation of Israel became independent. In 1914 began a time of trouble with two World Wars in succession.

“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days” (Daniel 12:12). This text compares to Luke 12:37, “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching.” What proceeds thereafter is a spiritual feast — the Divine Plan of the Ages. This opened up to the Bible Student world through the service of Br. Charles Russell, who was baptized about the year 1874.

In Revelation chapters two and three, Jesus gave a message to each of seven churches of Asia Minor, which represent the Church class in seven stages through the Gospel Age. To Church Four, Jesus said “hold fast till I come.” To Church Five he said, “I will come as a thief.” To Church Six, “I come quickly.” But to Church Seven — Laodicea — our period in history –— Jesus says “I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 2:25, 3:3, 11, 20). That time has come. Today, our understanding of the Truth is a fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.

The saints have waited long, and now the blessed time is here. Jesus has knocked at the door of our hearts with the rap of prophecy, and we have the honor to sup with him on a rich spiritual feast of truth.

Those who have come into the light of Present Truth recognize it as from our master.

The Divine Plan is sparkling with hope for everyone.

Christ died to redeem both the Church of the present age, and the world to be blessed during the approaching Millennial Age.

(For more information and specifics, please see the article “Daniel: Conclusion,” pages 10-12, Faithbuilders Fellowship, May-June 2009 edition, at 2043ad.com / button “Journal.”)

Other signs marking Christ’s return:

Evils exposed as never before — Luke 12:2, 1 Corinthians 4:5

All of this shaking and turmoil is because Christ is tearing down this old order and ushering in his Kingdom. Psalm 72 speaks of this as dashing the old civil, social, financial and corrupt religious systems of this world.

2-PETER-1-12.jpg

More about Christ’s PAROUSIA (presence) can be read about in the following booklet:

i-will-come-again

Suggested Further Reading – With Direct Online Reading Reference Links —

“Three and a Half Years” by Br. David Rice. The Beauties of the Truth Journal,http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/BOTAUG08.PDF

“Daniel: Conclusion” by Br. David Rice. Faithbuilders Fellowship — “Journal” section, May-June 2009 edition (at 2043ad.com / button “Journal.”) Here is the direct link to this article:

Click to access 2009c.pdf

“The Prophetic Date — 1874”. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_5.htm

“Coming Blessings” by Br. David Rice (www2043ad.com). The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Sept-Oct. 2012 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2012/12so_9.htm

“An Important Greek Word – Parousia” by Br. David Rice. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_8.htm

“Every Eye Shall See Him” by Br. Gilbert Rice. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_4.htm

“The Harvest — The End of the Age” by Br. Carl Hagensick. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_2.htm

“A Secret Coming – A Thief In the Night.” The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_9.htm

“Times and Seasons — The Seventh Trumpet” by Br. Michael Brann. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_3.htm

“Chronos and Kairos – Times and Seasons.” The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2003 issue.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2003/03nd_7.htm

Epoch Periods In God’s Plan. BIBLE Students DAILY.
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/08/16/epoch-periods-in-gods-plan/

Is the “Sabbath Day” a Saturday, Sunday or any Day of the Week? BIBLE Students DAILY.
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/10/19/is-the-sabbath-day-a-saturday-sunday-or-any-day-of-the-week/

 

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Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed? – Hymns of Dawn No. 5

Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?

Bible Scriptures Associated With This Hymn

“7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:7-8, ESV).

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people” (Psalm 22:6, ESV).

“44 It was now about the sixth hour [12 noon], and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour [3 p.m.], 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent!’ 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things” (Luke 23:44-49, ESV).

“12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.’ 18 ‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’” (John 15:12-25, ESV).

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Lyric

1.
Alas! and did my Saviour bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?

Chorus
Jesus died for you,
And Jesus died for me;
Yes, Jesus died for all mankind;
Bless God, Salvation’s free!

2.
It was because we were undone
He groaned upon the tree.
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree.

3.
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut his glories in,
When Jesus, God’s Anointed, died,
For man, undone by sin.

4.
Thus might I hide my blushing face,
While his dear cross appears;
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness
And melt mine eyes to tears.

5.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
‘Tis all that I can do.

The History Of This Hymn –

Author – Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Isaac-Watts-hymn-author
The father of Isaac Watts was a respected Nonconformist, and at the birth of the child, and during his infancy, twice suffered imprisonment for his religious convictions.
Isaac was the eldest of his nine children, who’s taste for verse showed itself in early childhood and he was taught Greek, Latin, and Hebrew by Mr. Pinhorn, rector of All Saints, and headmaster of the Grammar School, in Southampton. At the age of 16, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister.
Leaving the Academy at the age of 20, he spent 2 years at home; and it was then that the bulk of the Hymns and Spiritual Songs (published 1707-9) were written, and sung from manuscripts in the Southampton Chapel. At the age of 24 years, he became assistant minister of an Independent Church in London, and 4 years later, he became pastor. In 1712, he accepted an invitation to visit Sir Thomas Abney, at his residence of Abney Park, and at Sir Thomas’ pressing request, made it his home for the remainder of his life. It was a residence most favourable for his health, and for the prosecution of his literary labours. He did not retire from ministerial duties, but preached as often as his delicate health would permit. The number of Watts’ publications is very large and embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His published hymns number more than 800. It is as a writer of psalms and hymns that he is everywhere known. Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. 

ComposerNo information found.

Hymn Book Purchase

The Hymns Of Dawn (hymn book) can be purchased here:

The Chicago Bible Students Online Bookstore: https://chicagobible.org/product-category/books/page/4/
The Dawn Bible Students Association: http://www.dawnbible.com/dawnpub.htm

Acknowledgment & References

Br. Charles Taze Russell

pastor-russell-in-his-study.jpg

Br. Charles Russell—the founder of the Bible Students movement, who is the compiler of “Poems and Hymns of Millennial Dawn” which was published in Allegheny, Pa., in 1890. This Bible Students’ devotional originally contained a total of 151 poems and 333 hymns.

POEMS-AND-HYMNS-OF-MILLENNIAL-DAWN

Later on, the hymns from this book formed a basis for the hymnal titled ““Hymns of Dawn” which was published by the Dawn Bible Students Association in East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA) and the 1999 edition contains a total of 361 hymns.

Hymns of Dawn.jpg

Hymnary.org.

 

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Remember Me – Hymns of Dawn No. 2

Remember Me – Hymns of Dawn No. 2

Lyrics

1.
According to thy gracious word,
In meek humility,
This will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember thee.

2.
Thy body, broken for my sake,
My bread from heav’n shall be;
Thy testamental cup I take
And thus remember thee.

3.
When to the cross I turn mine eyes
And rest on Calvary,
O Lamb of God, my Sacrifice,
I must remember thee.

4.
Remember thee and all thy pains
And all thy love to me;
Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains,
I will remember thee.

5.
Then of thy grace I’ll know the sum,
And in thy likeness be,
When thou hast in thy kingdom come
And dost remember me.

Author

James Montgomery (1771-1854)

UNK

James Montgomery was the oldest son of John Montgomery, an Irish minister of the Moravian Church, and was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, on November 4, 1771. At the age of seven he was sent to school at Fulneck in Yorkshire to prepare for the ministry.

It was during his years at Fulneck that his parents were sent to the West Indies as missionaries. Both of his parents died there. He left Fulneck in 1787 and received work as a merchant in Mirfield. Despite his great dislike for the work, Montgomery worked in Mirfield for a year and a half. Then he took a similar position at Wath only to find it quite as unsuited to his taste as the former. He finally set out for London with a copy of his poems in the hope of finding a publisher for them. In this he failed. He did, however, get in touch with Mr. Robert Gales of Sheffield, the owner and editor of the Radical Sheffield Register. Since Montgomery soon shared the views of Mr. Gales, he became co-editor.

When Mr. Gales was forced to leave England to avoid prosecution, in 1794, Montgomery took over the paper and became its owner and editor. Montgomery changed the name of the paper to the Sheffield Iris. During the first two years of his editorship Montgomery was imprisoned twice in the Castle of York and fined, once for three months for commemorating the fall of the Bastille and again for six months for reporting a riot in Sheffield. But Montgomery did not remain a strict radical all his life. At the age of forty-three he returned to the Moravian congregation at Fulneck and became an active member.

He was a zealous worker for missions and was an active member of the Bible Society. Montgomery was also a bitter opponent of slavery. He could not forget that his parents had given their lives as missionaries to the wretched blacks of the West Indies. His father’s grave was at Barbados, and his mother was sleeping on the island of Tobago.

Besides contributing poetry and hymns to the world for a period of fifty years, Montgomery lectured on poetry and literature. In 1833 he received a royal pension of $1,000.00 per year. James Montgomery never married. He reached the ripe old age of 83. He died at Sheffield, April 30, 1854, and was honored with a public burial.

He wrote 400 hymns, of which 100 are still in common use. A perusal of almost any English evangelical hymn-book will probably reveal more hymns by this gifted and consecrated man than by any other author, excepting only Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley. Among his longer poems are The West Indies, a poem in honor of the abolition of the African slave trade by the British Legislature in 1807; The World before the Flood, 1813; The Pelican Island, 1828.

Composer

Henry W Greaorex (1816 – 1858)

Henry W Greaorex was an English-American musician. He was born in Burton upon Trent, England. He received a thorough musical education from his father, Thomas Greatorex, who was for many years organist of Westminster Abbey, and conductor of the London “concerts of ancient music.” He came to the United States in 1839. In 1849, he married the artist Eliza Pratt. Prior to settling in New York City as a teacher of music and organist at Calvary Church, he played at churches in Hartford, Connecticut, including Center Church and St. John’s Episcopal Church in the adjacent city of West Hartford, Connecticut. Greatorex frequently sang in concerts and oratorios. For some years he was organist and conductor of the choir at St. Paul’s chapel. He died in Charleston, South Carolina, aged 42 years.

Greatorex published a Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Chants, Anthems, and Sentences (Boston, 1851). One of Greatorex’s best-known compositions is a setting of the Gloria Patri, widely used in Protestant denominations for the singing of the doxology in services to this day. The words of “Gloria Patri” are:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
Both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Bible Students’ fellowship does not agree with the false teaching of the Trinity—introduced by the anti-Christ Roman Catholic Church system—that is reflected as the “Beast” in the Book of Revelation. This false teaching that God, Jesus and the holy Spirit are one and the same personification, is not what the Bible teaches. Here is what the Bible teaches about the Heavenly Father—Jehovah, his Son—Christ Jesus and the holy Spirit—the understanding of God—:

The Doctrine of the Trinity – Mystery or Confusion by Bro. David Rice.
http://www.heraldmag.org/1999/99nd_3.htm

The Origin of the Trinity – From Paganism To Constantine by Sr. Cher-El L. Hagensick.
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/Contents/doctrine/The%20Origin%20of%20the%20Trinity.htm

Facts About the Trinity
http://www.heraldmag.org/olb/contents/doctrine/FACTS%20ABOUT%20THE%20TRINITY.htm

God and the Trinities
http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/doc_42.htm

Development of the “Trinity Doctrine” by Bro. Tom Gilbert.

Click to access 2010d.pdf

Understanding John 1:1 by Bro. Richard Doctor.

Click to access 2010d.pdf

Father, Son and Holy Spirit
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/06/23/father-son-and-holy-spirit/

What Is the Heavenly Father’s Name
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/06/27/gods-name-what-is-the-heavenly-fathers-name-that-we-are-to-hallow-and-why/

Jesus – The Name
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/07/05/jesus-the-name/

The Doctrine of Christ – Booklet

Click to access DoctrineChrist.pdf

Hymn Book Purchase

The Hymns Of Dawn (hymn book) can be purchased here:

The Dawn Bible Students Association: http://www.dawnbible.com/dawnpub.htm
The Chicago Bible Students Online Bookstore: https://chicagobible.org/product-category/books/page/4/

Reference

The above content about this hymn’s author, comes from an article based on the public domain material from the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary Handbook and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.

Wikipedia was used to access the above information about the Composer, Henry W Greaorex. 

Acknowledgment

  • Br. Charles Taze Russell

pastor-russell-in-his-study.jpg

Br. Charles Russell—the founder of the Bible Students movement, who is the compiler of “Poems and Hymns of Millennial Dawn” which was published in Allegheny, Pa., in 1890. This Bible Students’ devotional originally contained a total of 151 poems and 333 hymns.

POEMS-AND-HYMNS-OF-MILLENNIAL-DAWN

Later on, the hymns from this book formed a basis for the hymnal titled ““Hymns of Dawn” which was published by the Dawn Bible Students Association in East Rutherford, New Jersey (USA) and the 1999 edition contains a total of 361 hymns.

Hymns of Dawn.jpg

  • The authors of the non-denominational articles listed above.

 

 

The URL of this post: biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/09/09/remember-me-hymns-of-dawn-no-2/

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Epoch Periods In God’s Plan

Hosea-6-1-2-bible-students-daily-website.jpg

The Light In The First Day

In Genesis 1:1‑5 (KJV) we are first introduced to the “light” of the sun.

“(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (5) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 

The Sun

“Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) evidently refers to the light of the sun, which was sufficient for general illumination, but not sufficient to break through the mists to become an identifiable object in the heavens, until the fourth day when it was “appointed” (as the word there can mean), together with the moon and stars (Genesis 1:16). Genesis 1:11 shows that there were already plants and trees on day three, which required sunlight to grow. The sun was in place and burning before the earth was suitable for life.

Genesis-1-11.jpg

The Length of Each Day of Creation

The days of creation recorded in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 were epoch days of creative activity, of undefined length.

The word “day” customarily describes a normal day of 24 hours, but very often has a broader usage for any defined period of whatever length. For example, Genesis 2:4 says “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” Here “day” is a period that includes all of the seven days reported earlier.

In Hebrews 3:8, Paul refers to the “provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness” — which refers to a period of years, not a single day.

When we speak of Jesus’ day, we mean a period of history long ago, not a single day.

The work involved in these “days” of creation required lengthy periods of time for the natural processes to reach maturity, or completion.

Zechariah 14:7-9 provides another example, this time from prophecy, of the greater use of the term “day.”

“(7) It shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time [at the close of the Millennial day that spans 1000 years] it shall be light. (8) And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (9) And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

The metaphorical use of the word “day” is usually apparent from the context.

The Third Day

In John 2:19-22 we read about Jesus being raised on the literal third day:

“(19) Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (20) Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? (21) But he spake of the temple of his body. (22) When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”

However, if we take the above passage to refer to the metaphorical body of Christ, that is, the body of believers in Jesus, then it is apparent that any application of the three days would be on a larger time frame. In this case the saints are raised on the third millennium from the time of Christ.

In Hosea 6:1-3 (KJV) we read about this “third day.”

“(1) Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (2) After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. (3) Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

In both of these cases — John chapter two and Hosea chapter six — the three days involved are evidently millennial days 4, 5, and 6 as counted from Adam. On the sixth millennium, which includes our day, Israel has been under process of restoration. Jesus’ first advent was in the fourth Millennial day, counting from Adam. Here are those “days”

(1) 3958 B.C. to 2958 B.C.
(2) 2958 B.C. to 1958 B.C.
(3) 1958 B.C. to 958 B.C.
(4) 958 B.C. to 43 A.D.
(5) 43 A.D. to 1043 A.D.
(6) 1043 A.D. to 2043 A.D.

The words of Hosea 6:1-3 is thus about natural Israel (not about Spiritual Israel — the Bride of Christ) because in verse one, we read that God has “smitten” them. God has not smitten the Church. But Israel was “smitten” following their rejection of Christ. God did smite Israel during the Roman wars that closed the Jewish Age. They were cast off in 33 A.D., in day “four” from Adam. After the close of day four, and the close of day five, thus “after two days,” they began to be restored in 1878 and forward, on day “six” from Adam.

Hence Israel is now being restored — presently as a nation, and later, in the Kingdom, to individual life after they recognize Jesus as their Redeemer.

Three Dispensations in the Divine Plan

3 dispensations

There are three large periods of time in the Divine Plan. Sometimes these are termed “Dispensations,” because the administration of these three periods varied. Sometimes they are called three “worlds,” drawing from these three scriptures —

  • World that Was 2 Peter 3:6 — Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water [the Flood], perished.
  • Present Evil World Galatians 1:4 — “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.”
  • World to ComeHebrews 2:5 — “For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.”

Epoch 1 – The World That Was

This epoch lasted from the time of Adam and Eve until the flood. In this period some of the angels were allowed to exercise influence in a way that was later restrained. It was not subdivided into ages because God’s method of dealing with men did not vary from Adam’s fall to the flood. God had given man his law, the law of conscience written into his nature. However, after he sinned God left him measurably to his own downward course, that man might learn through experience the wisdom of God in requiring obedience. The disastrous effects of sin were manifested showing that the tendency of sin is downward to greater degradation and misery, showing the necessity of Jehovah’s interposition, if the recovery of “that which was lost” — man’s first estate — would ever be accomplished.

Epoch 2 – The Present Evil World

The second great epoch (Galatians 1:4, 2 Peter 3:7) spans from the flood to the establishment of the kingdom of God. It is under the limited control of Satan, the usurper, “the prince of this world,” who has no interest in Christ’ followers except to oppose, tempt, annoy, and buffet them (John 14:30, 2 Corinthians 12:7, Malachi 3:15).

In this present evil world, or epoch, whoever will live godly shall suffer persecution, while the wicked flourish like a green bay tree (2 Timothy 3:12, Psalm 37:35).

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,” and until the era or “world to come” does come, Christ’s kingdom will not control the earth. For this we are taught to hope and pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth.” Satan is the “ruler of the darkness of this world,” and therefore “darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people.” Satan now rules and works in the hearts of the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2, 6:12).

The current epoch is divided into three “ages.”

(a) The Patriarchal Age. God’s dealings and favors were with various patriarchs, such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. At Jacob’s death his descendants were called “the twelve tribes of Israel.” They were together recognized of God as his “peculiar people,” and through typical sacrifices they were typically “a holy nation,” separated from other nations for a particular purpose, and therefore to enjoy certain special favors.

(b) The Jewish Age (or the Law dispensation). God specially blessed the nation of Israel during this age from Jacob’s death until Christ’s death, as evidenced in the following:

  • Giving the Israelites His law,
  • Making a special covenant with them,
  • Giving them the Tabernacle, whose shekinah glory in the Most Holy represented Jehovah’s presence with them as their Leader and King,
  • Sending them prophets,
  • Sending them His Son, Jesus, who performed his miracles and taught in their midst. Jesus ministered to the Israelites, and instructed his disciples the same during the time that he was with them. “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5,6). Jesus explained, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).

This national favor ended with their rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, as shown by Jesus’ words five days before his crucifixion, “Your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38).

(c) The Gospel Age. From Jesus’ death, the good tidings of justification have been heralded for nearly 2000 years not only to the Jewish people, but to all nations; for Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man. During this Gospel age there is a class called to special favor, to whom special promises are made. Namely, to those who by faith accept Christ Jesus as their Redeemer and Lord and follow in his footsteps.

The aim of this age is not to convert nations, but to call out a “little flock” as Jesus foretold (Luke 12:32), to whom it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the Kingdom in an age to follow this.

Epoch 3 – The World to Come

The third epoch is to be a “world without end” (Isaiah 45:17) under divine administration, the kingdom of God. It is called “The World to Come, wherein dwelleth righteousness,” and during this period, all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Hebrews 2:5, 2 Peter 3:13, 2 Corinthians 12:2‑4, Revelation 21:1).

The thousand years of Christ’s reign is the first age in the “world to come” (Revelation 20:4). During the Millennial age, there will be a restoration of all things lost by the fall of Adam (Acts 3:19‑21). Then, all tears, sorrow, pain, and death resulting from the fall of Adam in Eden shall have been wiped away (Revelation 21:4). Following this 1000 year Millennium, there will be “a little season” of final testing time for the world of mankind (Revelation 20:3,7-10).

Revelation 11:15 says that when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, “the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord [Jehovah] and His Christ [Jesus].” Thereafter our Lord Jesus exercises his power to remove present powers, and establish his Millennial Kingdom in order to bless the world in righteousness.

There are seven trumpet periods in Revelation. The seventh of these commenced in 1874 with the return of Christ and his subsequent parousia, or presence. Acts 3:21 connects this to the beginning of the “times of restoration.” There the process of restoring Israel commenced.

At the end of the Millennium will come the close of the seventh millennial “day,” introducing day number eight. At this time there will be “a little season” for the testing of mankind. Those found unfaithful and rebellious, disobedient to God and His principles, will not continue further. Thus the world is cleansed, purged, “circumcised” as it were, on the eighth day — evidently represented by circumcision of old being on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12).

Revelation 11:18, part of the description of the seventh trumpet, refer to the raising of the sleeping saints. “The time … that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets [Jesus’ New Testament spokesmen, compare Ephesians 3:5], and to the saints [holy ones of the Gospel Age].” The Millennium will be introduced subsequent, at the close of 6000 years, which we anticipate about a generation future, with the year 2043.

When that kingdom is established, all of the Bride class will have been gathered to glory, ready to serve as priests and kings with Christ to uplift the world (Revelation 20:6). Gradually all will be raised to life again, and have an opportunity to gain life everlasting.

Revelation 11:18,19 shows that the transition period into the Kingdom involves a general time of trouble. Evidently this commenced in 1914 with World War I. Jesus said, “No man can enter into a strong man’s house and spoil [plunder] his goods, except he will first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house” (Mark 3:22‑27). Jesus has entered the house of the strong man, Satan, and is in process of disrupting his affairs, incident to removing the influence of Satan altogether.

Satan is the “strong man” of the Present Evil World. The disruption of his “house,” and the binding of that strong usurper, is the necessary predicate for the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom. Satan will remain bound for “a thousand years,” allowing the world to grow and learn without the adversary’s deceptions.

We read of this in Revelation 20:2,3

“2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.”

The blotting out of evil will be gradual, requiring all of the first thousand years. Evil will not rule then. It will not prosper; it will no longer be the wicked that will flourish; but “the righteous shall flourish” (Psalm 72:7). Then the obedient shall eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19), and “the evil doer shall be cut off” (Psalm 37:9).

Heavens and Earth – Not Literally Destroyed

This earth is the basis of all these “worlds” and dispensations. Though ages pass and dispensations change, still the earth continues “The earth abideth forever (Ecclesiastes 1:4).

In 2 Peter 3:12, Peter refers to the dissolution of the present heavens and earth. “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” Here “the heavens” symbolize the higher or spiritual controlling powers, and “earth” (verse 10) symbolizes human government and social arrangements.

The first heavens and earth, or social arrangement, ended at the flood, “being overflowed with water” (2 Peter 3:6). “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). The order and arrangement of things then existing ended at the flood. But the physical heavens (sky and atmosphere), and the physical earth, did not pass away.

Likewise, the present social structure, political and ecclesiastical, will pass away in deference to the Kingdom of Christ. The beginning of this work occurs in the “Day of the Lord” which “shall burn as an oven” (Malachi 4:1). But the complete integration of mankind into the new arrangement, the “new heavens” and “new earth” (2 Peter 3:13) will require time, as the work of the Kingdom proceeds.

Society will become reorganized in harmony with earth’s new Prince, Christ Jesus. Righteousness, peace, and love will rule among men when present arrangements give place to the new and better kingdom, based on justice and equity. The more we examine God’s plan of the Ages, the more we will find in it perfect harmony, beauty and order.

“Each age has its part to accomplish, necessary to the complete development of God’s plan as a whole. The plan is a progressive one, gradually unfolding from age to age, upward and onward to the grand consummation of the original design of the Divine Architect, “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11). Not one of these great periods is an hour too long or too short for the accomplishment of its object. God is a wise economist of both time and means, though his resources are infinite; and no power, however malicious, for a moment retards or thwarts his purposes. All things, evil as well as good, under divine supervision and overruling, are working together for the accomplishment of his will” (Br. Charles T. Russell, The Divine Plan of the Ages, page 74).

Acknowledgement

Br. Charles Russell — for content shared from his book titled “The Divine Plan of the Ages,” which is Volume One (of six) of “Studies in the Scriptures.” This can be read from the Harvest Truth Data Base website. Here is the direct link: http://www.htdb.one

Br. David Rice — for content & editing assistance.

Further Suggested Reading

The Stream of Time by Br. David Rice. http://2043ad.com/streamoftime.PDF

Booklet titled: “I Will Come Again – John 14:3”

Click to access I-WILL-COME-AGAIN.pdf

God’s Millennium. A Dawn Bible Students Association Publication (booklet).
http://www.dawnbible.com/booklets/Gods1k.htm

Israel in History and Prophecyhttp://www.dawnbible.com/booklets/israel_hp.htm

The Approaching End of The Harvest
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/03/19/the-approaching-end-of-the-harvest/

1 CORINTHIANS 15:45 – How Long Until the Millennial Reign of the ‘Last Adam’?
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2017/06/06/1-corinthians-1545-how-long-until-the-millennial-reign-of-the-last-adam/

The Book of Revelation: A 2016 Perspective
https://biblestudentsdaily.com/2016/06/30/the-book-of-revelation-a-2016-perspective/

 

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“Be Thou Faithful Unto Death”

REVELATION-2-10.jpg

FAITHFUL when with tears thine eyes are dim,
Faithful when Joy’s cup o’erflows its brim;
Faithful when God seems to veil His face,
Faithful when He crowns thy work with grace.
Faithful, though thy loved ones turn aside,
Lips that praised thee once, in harshness chide;
Faithful, though success enwreathe thy brow,
Faithful, should the world before thee bow.
Faithful till hath fled life’s fleeting breath,
Eager hands lie folded still in death.

“Faithful unto death!” Lord, day by day,
Help me thus to keep the narrow way!
Strengthen me to bear the scorn and shame –
Portion of all those who take Thy name.
“Faithful unto death!” When all is done,
Cross is changed to Crown, the victory won,
Let me hear Thee say, O blessed Lord,
“Child, come enter into thy reward!
Faithful thou hast been, come share with Me
Glory, Honor, Immortality!”

Gertrude W. Seibert

REVELATION-14-12.jpg

Here is an excerpt from “Harvest Gleaning II” by Br. Charles T. Russell, page 121-124—

FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH
“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

It will not be very long, dear fellow soldiers of the cross, until the battle will be over, the victory won; for the “King’s own” are called to victory and not to defeat. Our enlistment is in accord with the great plan of the ages which our Father previously mapped out, and we know that all His purposes shall be accomplished, that His Word which went forth for the calling of this little flock to joint-heirship with Jesus in the kingdom which is promised to be established and to bless all the families of the earth —that word cannot be broken, its fulfillment is sure. Yea, its fulfillment is nigh, even at the door.

Though we are in the world, but not of the world, we, nevertheless, are more or less affected by every matter which affects our neighbors; and hence in the great battle that is now impending between truth and error, between princes and people, between money and labor, and with more or less of right and wrong on both sides of all questions, the “King’s own,” the soldiers of the cross, will have some very trying experiences. It is the present time that the apostle emphasizes as “that evil day” — the period of special trial in the end of this age, saying, “Take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand in that evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” Analyzing these words, we see them to signify that in the end of this age there would be special trials of severe testing; but the apostle’s language also implies that the Lord will make special provision for the protection of His faithful ones, and that this will be an armor of truth, of knowledge, of information granted to them from the great armory, His Word, the Bible. The exhortation that we should take it implies that the Lord will not force it upon any, but to those who are in the right attitude of heart the doors of the armory will be open, and the proper armor supplied in due season, and that they must demonstrate their loyalty and obedience to the Captain by seeking this armor and putting it on. Those who do not thus yield obedience to the Captain’s word will not have the protection necessary for this time, and, as intimated in the text by the apostle, they will not be able to stand in this evil day.

Soldiers of the cross in previous times had not so much of the armor supplied, neither did they need the special armor that is needed now. They did not live in “this evil day.” The head knowledge that our grandfathers had respecting the divine plan will surely prove insufficient in this day of so-called higher criticism of the scriptures, evolution theories, theosophy and Christian Science. Whoever has not the proper armor necessary for the present time will be pretty sure to fall in this evil day, this day of special trial and testing; but he who puts on the armor of God, he who possesses the fruits of the Spirit, the Apostle Paul assures us shall never fall, but so doing an entrance shall be abundantly administered unto him into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Many of the tests of this evil day are already upon us, and, as the prophets have foretold, “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand.” (Psa. 91:7) These are falling away from the faith because in many instances they were not spiritual Israelites indeed, but as the Lord declares through the prophet, “Wherefore, because this people draw nigh to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me.” The Lord wants as members of the “King’s own” those who are at heart loyal to Him, loyal to all who have His Spirit and loyal to righteousness and truth. If we are ashamed of Him, ashamed of His brethren, or ashamed of His Word, we are not of the kind that He is seeking now. Those who are to be with Him, to share His throne and glory and to join with Him in the great work of emancipating the world from the power of sin and death during the millennium, must all be loyal at heart, to the core, and the various trials and testings now permitted will demonstrate the degree of loyalty. Let us, dear brethren, be loyal; and even if the time should come when we shall be misunderstood by our neighbors and friends, the children of this world, let us put our confidence in the Lord; let us fight the good fight of faith against sin and error and selfishness within and without, and thus doing lay hold upon eternal life.

* * * *

There is never a path so hidden,
But God will show us the way,
If we seek for the Spirit’s guidance,
And patiently wait and pray.

 

Suggested Further Reading

The Letter To Smyrna by Br. David Skein. The Beauties of the Truth. February 2007. Volume 18. No. 1. http://www.beautiesofthetruth.org/Archive/Library/Doctrine/Mags/Bot/90s/BOTFEB07.PDF

A Special Calling by Br. David Rice. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July /August 2016. https://herald-magazine.com/2016/07/01/the-bride-class/

Old Testament Portrayals of the Church by Br. Homer Montague. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July/August 2004. http://www.heraldmag.org/2004/04ja_2.htm

The Song of Solomon by Br. Frank Shallieu. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July/August 2004. http://www.heraldmag.org/2004/04ja_3.htm

The Bride and the Bridegroom by Br. Carl Hagensick. A Verse-by-verse Study of Psalm 45. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July/August 2004. http://www.heraldmag.org/2004/04ja_4.htm

New Testament Portrayals of the Church by Br. Michael Nekora. A Precious Treasure. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. July/August 2004. http://www.heraldmag.org/2004/04ja_5.htm

A Chaste VirginThe Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. URL: http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/chliv_38.htm

 

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“Are You Able?”

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ARE ye able to walk in the narrow, strait way,
With no friend by your side, and no arm for your stay?
Can ye bravely go on through the darkening night?
Can ye patiently wait till the Lord sends the Light? 

Are ye able to crush your soul’s longing for Love,
Will ye seek for no friendship save that from above?
Can ye pass through this world, lone, unnoticed, unknown,
While your faith faintly whispers, “He knoweth His own?” 

Where the feet of the Blessed One stood, can ye stand?
Can ye follow His steps to a wilderness land?
Are ye able to cast aside pleasure and fame?
Can ye live but to glorify His precious name?

Can ye smile as His dear voice says tenderly “No,
When “the field is so white,” and your heart yearns to go?
Can ye rest then in silence, contented and still,
Till your Lord, the Chief Reaper, revealeth His will?

Are ye able to lay on the altar’s pure flame
That most treasured possession, your priceless good name?
Can ye ask of your Father a blessing for those,
Who see naught in your life but to scorn and oppose?

When the conflict twixt Error and Truth fiercer grows,
Can ye wield the strong “Sword” against unnumbered foes?
Can ye lift up the “Standard” e’en higher and higher,
While His praises ye sing in the midst of the fire?

When ye see the Lord’s cause going down to defeat,
Will your courage endure in the seven-fold heat?
Will your faith keep you steadfast, though heart and flesh fail,
As the New Creature passes beneath the last “Veil?”

Ah, if thus ye can drink of the Cup He shall pour,
And if never the Banner of Truth ye would lower,
His Beloved ye are, and His crown ye shall wear,
In His Throne ye shall sit, and His Glory shall share!  – Gertrude W. Seibert

Consecration

Here is an extract from an article titled “Present Truth” by Bro. Carl Hagensick in the Nov. /Dec. 1998 issue of “The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom” Magazine.

The acceptance of Christ as a personal Savior and a dedication to the principles of
righteousness are seen by nearly all Christians as an essential to salvation. For many,
however, this means no more than a simple belief: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3; 8:3,7). Many Christians connect this with the concept that once one has been saved there is no chance of losing that salvation: “once in grace, always in grace.”

Quite to the contrary, the Bible’s view of belief is not mere passive acceptance. It
includes an active commitment to the service of God, a complete consecration of one’s
life to doing God’s will (Psalm 40:8). Consecration is seen as a voluntary surrender of one’s benefits under the ransom, the prospects of an earthly resurrection; thus one is in “jeopardy” of losing life forever if unfaithful to one’s consecration vows (1 Corinthians 15:30).

Even Paul did not “consider to have made it his own” (Philippians 3:13 RSV), but feared that he himself might become a “castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27). It is little wonder that the Christian is admonished to be faithful “unto death” (Revelation 2:10).

The Christian commitment is not only to faithfulness but to learning from each of life’s
experiences those lessons which will be helpful to him in his future work of blessing the
human race. They are assured that they will have no temptation “but such as are common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Commonality of temptation with their fellow men’ will qualify them to work side by side with their Master in his kingdom, for he has become a sympathetic high priest by the experiences he shared with his fellow man (Hebrews 2:17, 18; 4:15, 16).

Suggested Further Reading

Be Strong And of A Good Courage.  The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. Reprinted from February 1961 HERALD, article by Br. John Ensoll, England.
http://www.heraldmag.org/literature/chliv_17.htm

Teachableness by Br. Richard Suraci. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. May-June 2002.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2002/02mj_4.htm

The King and His Kingdom. The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. Jan-Feb. 2005.
http://www.heraldmag.org/2005/05jf_2.htm

A Christian’s Privilege of Fellowship. “Fellowship with Jesus by being His yoke fellow.” The Herald of Christ’s Kingdom. August 1931. 
http://www.heraldmag.org/archives/1931_8.htm#_Toc23239886

 

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