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PODCAST: Abide With Me (History Behind the Hymns #11 with Daniel Whyte III
Welcome to the History Behind the Hymns podcast. This is episode #11
I am your host, Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International. I am one of many Christians who still loves the old hymns of the faith even more than many modern Christian songs. For the past 33 years, my wife and children and I have sung the old hymns during our family devotion time. Over the years we have used an Independent Baptist hymn book, a National Baptist hymn book, and a Southern Baptist hymn book to sing the old hymns of the faith. And we have sung the old hymns of the faith with traditional Methodist churches online. The old hymns of the faith have been a tremendous source of blessing and encouragement to my heart down through the years. The purpose of this podcast is to encourage you to dust off your old hymn book and experience the power and blessing of well-written hymns based upon sound doctrine for the glory of God that will strengthen your faith.
The History Behind the Hymns passage of Scripture is Luke 24:28-29 which reads: “And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.”
The History Behind the Hymns quote for today is from Martin Luther. He said: “Next to theology I give to music the highest place and honor. And we see how David and all the saints have wrought their godly thoughts into verse, rhyme, and song.”
The quote in connection to today’s hymn is from Matthew Henry. He said: “Those that would have Christ dwell with them must invite Him, and be importunate with Him; though He is often found of those that seek Him not, yet those only that seek can be sure to find; and, if He seem to draw off from us, it is but to draw out our importunity; as here, they constrained Him; both of them laid hold on Him, with a kind and friendly violence, saying, Abide with us. Those that have experienced the pleasure and profit of communion with Christ cannot but covet more of His company, and beg of Him, not only to walk with them all day, but to abide with them at night. When the day is far spent, and it is towards evening, we begin to think of retiring for our repose, and then it is proper to have our eye to Christ, and to beg of Him to abide with us, to manifest Himself to us and to fill our minds with good thoughts of Him and good affections to Him. Christ yielded to their importunity: He went in, to tarry with them. Thus ready is Christ to give further instructions and comforts to those who improve what they have received. He has promised that if any man open the door, to bid Him welcome, He will come in to him.”
Our hymn for today is “Abide with Me” by Henry Francis Lyte. It reads:
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell’st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.
Come not in terror, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Now here is the history behind the hymn, “Abide with Me”. According to Umcdiscipleship.org:
Some have cited Henry Francis Lyte’s poem as the quintessential Victorian hymn. It appears in virtually every hymn book in the English language.
Lyte was born in Kelso, Scotland, on June 1, 1793 and died in Nice, France, on Nov. 20, 1847. He was educated at Portora, the Royal School of Enniskillen (En-nis-kill-en) in Enniskillen (En-nis-kill-en), Ireland, and at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, where he graduated in 1814. During his tenure at Trinity College, Lyte was awarded the English Prize Poem on three occasions.
After graduating, he intended to study medicine but instead took holy orders in the Anglican Church in 1815. Lyte served the curacies at Taghmon, Marazion and Cornwell. His longest appointment was perpetual curate at Lower Brixham, Devonshire, in 1823, where he served for 24 years.
During Lyte’s lifetime, he published several works that were mainly religious poetry: Tales of the Lord’s Prayer in Verse (1826), Poems Chiefly Religious (1833), The Spirit of the Psalms (1834), and an edition of Poems of Henry Vaughan (1846). Most of the hymn texts that appear in today’s hymnals are taken from the collection The Spirit of the Psalms.
There is some controversy to the exact dating of the text to “Abide with Me.” An article in the Spectator, Oct. 3, 1925, says that Lyte composed the hymn in 1820 while visiting a dying friend.
However, in 1847, Lyte wrote a letter to his daughter Julia, where he referred to the hymn as “my latest effusion.” There is no clear evidence on when he actually wrote the hymn. According to Raymond Glover, editor to The Companion to Hymnal 1982, Lyte probably wrote the hymn in 1820, and recalled the hymn during the illness that led to his death in 1847.
The hymn is based on Luke 24:29, part of a post-Resurrection narrative telling the story of Emmaus: “But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.”
Hymnologist J.R. Watson notes, “Lyte’s genius takes the quotation and turns it into a metaphor for human life in all of its brevity. At the same time, by changing ‘Abide with us’ into ‘Abide with me,’ he deepens the feeling by making it speak to the individual, in prayer or meditation.”
It is perhaps the personal intensity of the text, the use of the metaphor of evening and the closing line, “In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me,” that makes this hymn a favorite at funerals.
Of the original eight stanzas, The United Methodist Hymnal uses five. The second stanza reflects much of the Victorian spirit:
“Swift from my grasp ebbs out life’s little day,
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away,
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me.”
A focus on death and the corresponding transience of life is characteristic of Victorian hymns. John Bell, troubadour of Scotland’s Iona Community and a liturgical reformer, traces some of the complacency of the church over the years and its inability to change to the theology embedded in the third line of this stanza: “Change and decay in all around I see.”
Ian Bradley, a leading scholar of Victorian hymns, names his book on this subject, Abide with Me: The World of Victorian Hymns. He notes, “John Bell, the leading contemporary Scottish hymn writer, has pointed to the damage done to the cause of reform and moving on in the life of churches by the deadening effect of [this line] from ‘Abide with me.’”
The text to “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide” first appeared in the famous Hymns Ancient and Modern, but it may be the hymn tune EVENTIDE by William Henry Monk, the musical editor of the hymnal, that has assured its continual use.
In our next episode we will look at the history behind the hymn, “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” by John Fawcett.
Let’s Pray —
Dear friend, this hymn honors God and the Lord Jesus Christ, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you want to get to know Him today here’s how.
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now this is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9-13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Pray and ask Him to come into your heart and He will.
May God bless you and keep you until we meet again.
Source Black Christian News
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Professor Who Declined to Use Student’s Transgender Pronouns Appeals Dismissal of Lawsuit
An Ohio philosophy professor, disciplined by Shawnee State University for declining to use a transgender student’s preferred personal pronouns, is appealing the dismissal of his federal lawsuit against the university.
Professor Nicholas Meriwether’s lawsuit argued that the Portsmouth, Ohio, university “denied him his right to exercise his religion under the Ohio constitution, and have breached their contract with him.” The lawsuit says that the university also denied “Meriwether’s fundamental and clearly established rights under the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment.”
Meriwether, a Christian, seeks to reverse a Cincinnati-based judge’s decision that quashed his original lawsuit filed on Nov. 5, 2018. Alliance Defending Freedom, which focuses on First Amendment and religious liberty cases, is representing Meriwether. ADF filed the appeal Thursday.
“This isn’t just about a pronoun; this is about endorsing an ideology,” said ADF Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom, in a statement posted Thursday on ADF’s website.
“The university favors certain beliefs, and it wants to force Dr. Meriwether to cry uncle and endorse them as well. That’s neither legal nor constitutional, and neither was the process the university has used to get to this point.”
ADF’s statement offered a…
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PODCAST: Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening #59 with Daniel Whyte III
This is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International with the Whyte House Family Devotional Reading of Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening podcast. This is Episode #59.
Charles Spurgeon was a prominent English Particular Baptist preacher. He was very influential among the Christians of various denominations during his age and even today, and is commonly called the “Prince of Preachers”. After some time of alternately searching for God and running from God, he had a powerful encounter which led him to give his life to Christ. Spurgeon was only 16 when he preached his first sermon and he began publishing books shortly afterward. At the time of his death, he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations and devotions. Spurgeon said, “encouraging thoughts are like honey to the heart”, and wrote this devotional in hopes that its uplifting messages for each day of the year would bring comfort and refreshment to our walk with God. He was inspired by Isaiah 50:4 which reads, “He wakeneth morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” and Psalm 63:5-6 which says, “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.”
2 Samuel 5:24 reads: “And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.”
The members of Christ’s Church should be very prayerful, always seeking the unction of the Holy One to rest upon their hearts, that the kingdom of Christ may come, and that his “will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven;” but there are times when God seems especially to favour Zion, such seasons ought to be to them like “the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” We ought then to be doubly prayerful, doubly earnest, wrestling more at the throne than we have been wont to do. Action should then be prompt and vigorous. The tide is flowing—now let us pull manfully for the shore. O for Pentecostal outpourings and Pentecostal labours. Christian, in yourself there are times “when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees.” You have a peculiar power in prayer; the Spirit of God gives you joy and gladness; the Scripture is open to you; the promises are applied; you walk in the light of God’s countenance; you have peculiar freedom and liberty in devotion, and more closeness of communion with Christ than was your wont. Now, at such joyous periods when you hear the “sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees,” is the time to bestir yourself; now is the time to get rid of any evil habit, while God the Spirit helpeth your infirmities. Spread your sail; but remember what you sometimes sing—
“I can only spread the sail;
Thou! Thou! must breathe the auspicious gale.”
Only be sure you have the sail up. Do not miss the gale for want of preparation for it. Seek help of God, that you may be more earnest in duty when made more strong in faith; that you may be more constant in prayer when you have more liberty at the throne; that you may be more holy in your conversation whilst you live more closely with Christ.
PRAY.
Thank you for listening to the Morning and Evening podcast. If you do not know the Lord as your Savior, here is how you can be saved from Hell and walk with the Lord morning and evening until you go to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die:
First, accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Second, accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
Third, accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:8: “Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.” Also, the Bible states in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Now that is bad news, but here’s the good news. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Just believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead by the power of God for you so that you can live eternally with Him. Pray and ask Him to come into your heart today, and He will.
Romans 10:9 & 13 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved… For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your Salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and today I choose to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Jesus Christ as my Savior and I choose to follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
If you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior today, please email me at [email protected] and let us know. There is some free material that we want to send you. If you have a prayer request, please e-mail that to us as well, and we will pray for you until you tell us to stop.
God loves you. We love you. And may God bless you.
Source Black Christian News
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PODCAST: The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #445: Amos 4:11 with Daniel Whyte III
This is Daniel Whyte III president of Gospel Light Society International with The Scripture & the Sense Podcast #445, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary or Matthew Henry Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.
Today we are reading Amos 4:11.
11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
________
That was Amos 4:11. Now here is the sense of it.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:
Finally, God totally overthrew some of their cities with the same burning devastation He had wreaked on Sodom and Gomorrah. So thorough had been the destruction from a military siege that certain cities had ceased to exist. The whole nation had come perilously close to obliteration, barely escaping like a burning stick snatched from the fire. But this too had proved futile.
____________
Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.
Source Black Christian News
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First Batch of Coronavirus Vaccines Sent for Human Testing
Biotech company Moderna, based out of Massachusetts, has shipped its first batches of the COVID-19 vaccine for testing to the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
According to Fox News, the vaccine will be tested on a group of 45 young, healthy human volunteers at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. Volunteers cannot be infected from the shots, and the purpose of the trial is to ensure that no worrisome side effects emerge.
The company originally believed it would start testing in April, but recent discoveries made from Chinese scientists encouraged a faster turn-around time.
“The speed with which we have [produced these candidates] builds very much on the investment in understanding how to develop vaccines for other coronaviruses,” said Richard Hatchett, CEO of a Norwegian-based company developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
Scientists in China shared the virus’s genome sequence, which is called SARS-CoV-2, which has enabled other countries to continue the development of a vaccine. Though “prototype” pathogens had been researched in previous years, the work was shelved after SARS and MERS epidemics were contained.
According to The Guardian, “SARS-CoV-2 shares between 80% and 90% of its genetic material with the virus that caused SARS—hence its name.”
Despite this speed, releasing a vaccine to the public will still take some time. The…
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All 16 Dead Sea Scroll Fragments at Museum of the Bible Are Forgeries, Investigation Finds
The Museum of the Bible announced Friday that an extensive independent investigation into the 16 fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls housed in the Washington, D.C.-based museum concluded that the fragments, believed by experts and museum leadership to be authentic, were in fact, forgeries.
According to National Geographic, the modern forgeries initially duped outside collectors, leading biblical scholars and the museum’s CEO, Harry Hargrave.
After five of the museum’s fragments were found to be forgeries in 2018, however, museum leadership decided to enlist the help of art fraud investigator Colette Loll and her company, Art Fraud Insights.
Loll assembled a team of five experts in February 2019, and with complete autonomy, they conducted thorough physical and chemical investigations on all 16 fragments.
Loll told Nat Geo that she insisted on independence during the investigation and the museum was more than willing to oblige.
“Honestly, I’ve never worked with a museum that was so up-front,” Loll shared.
The museum’s willingness and eagerness to find the truth led to several key discoveries that debunked the fragments’ authenticity.
According to Nat Geo, the first red flag was raised, when on further inspection, it was found that 15 of the MOTB fragments were made of leather instead of tanned or lightly tanned parchment like the authentic fragments…
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Trump Urges Americans to Pray: ‘With God’s Help, We Will Overcome This Threat’
President Trump on Saturday asked Americans to pray for God’s protection and healing during the coronavirus pandemic, borrowing words from Scripture and saying in a proclamation, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
“In our times of greatest need, Americans have always turned to prayer to help guide us through trials and periods of uncertainty. As we continue to face the unique challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, millions of Americans are unable to gather in their churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship,” the proclamation said.
“But in this time, we must not cease asking God for added wisdom, comfort, and strength, and we must especially pray for those who have suffered harm or who have lost loved ones. I ask you to join me in a day of prayer for all people who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic and to pray for God’s healing hand to be placed on the people of our Nation.”
Trump named Sunday (March 15) a “National Day of Prayer” and urged Americans to pray for the “health and well-being of your fellow Americans and to remember that no problem is too big for God to handle.”
“Let us pray that all those affected by the virus will feel the presence of our Lord’s protection and love during this time,” Trump wrote. “With God’s help, we will overcome this threat.”
The proclamation quoted 1 Peter…
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White Evangelicals Say Trump Fights for Their Beliefs, Pew Survey Finds
As progressive Americans continue to express bewilderment about white evangelical Protestants’ support of President Donald Trump, a new Pew Research Center survey offers findings that help explain this important electoral community’s commitment.
As the 2020 presidential election cycle accelerates, Pew released results Thursday about its recent research which explores the links between religion and politics, including perceptions of evangelical Protestants and other faith groups’ views of Trump.
“White evangelicals largely see Trump as fighting for their beliefs and advancing their interests …,” the Pew report said, “… and they feel their side generally has been winning recently on political matters important to them.”
However, the report continued, “when it comes to Trump’s personal qualities and conduct, many express mixed feelings.” Most of those “among this strongly supportive constituency … do not view Trump as a very religious, honest or morally upstanding person (though many white evangelicals say he is somewhat religious, fairly honest or fairly morally upstanding).”
Overall, Pew said it found that “Americans care more about having a president who stands up for their religious beliefs than having one who personally shares those beliefs.” Almost seven out of ten “say it is either very (38 percent) or somewhat (31 percent) important to have a…
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Pastor Miles McPherson Urges Christians to Have Faith, Not Fear, on Coronavirus in Online Service
California’s Rock Church went solely online for its Sunday worship services due to the coronavirus scare, and the megachurch’s pastor, Miles McPherson, said in his sermon that carefulness was needed, but with faith and not fear. He also interviewed a health official and two mayors about the pandemic.
We have to be careful in the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis, which is “serious and real,” McPherson stressed in his sermon.
In California alone, there are so far 335 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and six deaths.
But “God doesn’t want you to be filled with fear,” he said. “He wants you to be filled with faith.”
He cited 2 Timothy 1:7, which reads, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” and explained each key term.
“Fear” means having “a heart filled with dread and panic.” Power means “the ability to exert the spiritual force necessary for change.” Love means “affection towards God and others.” And having a sound mind means making “sensible, intelligent and reasonable decisions.”
We need to walk around with the faith that God can not only keep us safe but also help us to help others, the pastor said.
We don’t need to pray for the coronavirus to go away, but for God’s presence, he added.
He asked one of the special guests, Dr. Wilma Wooten from San Diego County Health and Human Services, about the symptoms of COVID-19.
Wooten said the symptoms include fever, cough and an acute respiratory syndrome that could include pneumonia. Additionally, doctors would also ask if the person showing these symptoms has been to one of the affected regions like Wuhan in China or Italy or Iran, or has been in contact with someone who has the disease.
If you don’t have the symptoms, she noted, that means “you cannot transmit it to other individuals.”
Pastor McPherson said he had heard that you could transmit the virus even before you develop symptoms. The health official called it a rumor.
“That makes me feel good,” he said.
But, she added, that’s what’s known as of now, as the research is still going on.
Source: The Christian Post
Source Black Christian News
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