Some are calling it “Mask Diplomacy” – Chinese shipments of much needed medical equipment pouring into capitals around the world. Experts say it’s part of an unprecedented campaign to change the coronavirus narrative.
 
The Chinese government is working overtime to make the world forget that it was responsible for the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, and to sell the idea that China is the hero that is saving the world. 
 
A Chinese video making the rounds on social media says, “In many movies, one single American has saved the world. However, in reality, when the (sic) mankind (sic) facing a big crisis, it is China who stands out and save (sic) the world.”
 
Web analysis by the firm Alkemy shows China flooded Italy with Twitter bots in March claiming that Italy was grateful for Chinese help. One Chinese video distributed widely in China in which Italians were supposedly thanking China was actually video of Italians thanking Italian medical workers. 
 
But some in the western media have bought the Chinese propaganda, with NBC saying China has asserted “itself as the global leader.” 

Frank Gaffney at the Center for  Security Policy says China is “getting some help from American media outlets and others in amplifying and legitimating this false narrative.”
 
Alessandra Bocchi, a freelance journalist based in Rome wrote in the Wall Street Journal that at least some of China’s aid to Italy was actually sales of surplus supplies China doesn’t need anymore.  

“First of all, the reason why there’s a shortage of masks now in Western countries is because they were all shipped to China at the beginning of the outbreak,” Bocchi said, “And second of all, they’re not actually donating those masks in many cases.”
 
Bocchi blames China for the severity of the outbreak in Italy. 
 
“Why didn’t China, as the outbreak started, warn Italy of how severe this was going to be?” Bocchi asked. “Why did it only come to Italy’s rescue when it was so bad that the country had to plead for help?”
 
But emboldened by the success of its propaganda campaign, China is now lecturing the US on its response to COVID-19. In an English language commentary distributed globally, a Chinese news anchor says, “As of March 27, the US has overtaken China as the country with the most number of positive cases.”

“All this could have been avoided.”
 
 

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Welcome to the History Behind the Hymns podcast. This is episode #12

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 Hebrews 12:2 which reads: “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The History Behind the Hymns quote for today is from Charles Spurgeon. He said: “Praise is the rehearsal of our eternal song. By grace we learn to sing, and in glory we continue to sing. What will some of you do when you get to heaven, if you go on grumbling all the way? Do not hope to get to heaven in that style. But now begin to bless the name of the Lord.”

The quote in connection to today’s hymn is from Billy Graham. He said: “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, “I love you.”

Our hymn for today is “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts. It reads:

When I survey the wond’rous Cross
On which the Prince of Glory dy’d,
My richest Gain I count but Loss,
And pour Contempt on all my Pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the Death of Christ my God:
All the vain Things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his Blood.

See from his Head, his Hands, his Feet,
Sorrow and Love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such Love and Sorrow meet?
Or Thorns compose so rich a Crown?

His dying Crimson, like a Robe,
Spreads o’er his Body on the Tree;
Then am I dead to all the Globe,
And all the Globe is dead to me.

Were the whole Realm of Nature mine,
That were a Present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my Soul, my Life, my All.

Now here is the history behind the hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”. According to Umcdiscipleship.org:

One of the greatest hymn writers of all time composed the beautiful hymn, “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was born in England, the first son of a family of the Dissenting tradition. Though his training in Greek, Latin and Hebrew would have allowed him the opportunity to become an Anglican priest, he chose to pastor a Dissenting congregation.

At the time of Watts’ birth, churches in England sang only metrical psalms. But by the time of his death, he had planted the seeds of a much more complex hymnody. His 600 hymns found in seven collections made the transition from a rigid, metrical psalmody to a freer, theologically-based hymnody.

Watts’ hymns include complex theology in a format that is ideal for congregational singing. Hymns should echo the theme of the sermon. He insisted that songs in the church should be fully evangelical and not just supplements to the Psalms; that hymns should be freely composed and not just hold to the letter of Scripture; and that hymns should give straightforward expression to the thoughts and feelings of the singers and not merely recall events of the distant past.

He also wrote texts to fit the most common psalm meters, allowing them to be sung by any congregation to a variety of tunes in such a way that each line contained a complete thought. This was important since the hymns, like the metrical psalms before them, were lined out by a precentor, or song leader. The leader would sing a phrase and then the congregation would echo back what had been sung. If a thought were spread out over two phrases, it would be broken up by this teaching technique. Watts smoothed out the process by including a complete thought in a single phrase as much as possible.

Another example of the impact of his theology upon his hymns is that he edited texts based on the Old Testament to reflect the presence of Christ, causing his hymnody to view God the Father from the perspective of God the Son.

The original fourth stanza of this hymn is usually omitted though it inspires quite powerful images:

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er his body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

The last two lines of the stanza form a chiasmus, as hymnologist J. Richard Watson notes, “a crossing over on the manner of the Greek letter chi: It is found . . . in the great fourth verse, which takes the idea from Galatians 6:14.” (Note the “cross” that is formed between the words “dead” and “globe” in those two lines.)

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is one of Watts’ finest poems and an excellent example of why he is considered a fulcrum in the transition to hymnody.

The Rev. Carlton Young, editor of the 1989 UM Hymnal, notes that this hymn is clearly something different than Watts’ earlier poems that might be characterized as devotional poetry or as psalm paraphrases. Several hymnologists have noted that this hymn, first published in Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1707), is an excellent example of many of his best techniques, such as his ability to write beginning lines which capture one’s attention, maintain a theme and build to a climax.

In the UM Hymnal, the text is set to two different tunes. The first, HAMBURG by American Lowell Mason, was written in 1824. This tune originated from Gregorian chant (presumably the Benedictus) and was first published in the third edition of the Boston Handel and Haydn Society Collection of Church Music (1825). The second tune, ROCKINGHAM, composed by Englishman Edward Miller in 1790, was first matched with this text in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).

This hymn is particularly powerful because it includes many poetic devices. For example, oxymoron is found twice in the first stanza: “my richest gain I count but loss” and “pour contempt on all my pride.” The third stanza contains a paradox in a crown of thorns, and there are two rhetorical questions in the second half of this stanza: “Did e’er such love and sorrow met, or thorns compose so rich a crown?” The piece ends with a climax, “Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

“When I Survey” is a hymn which is saturated with theology and a call for an emotional response from the singer. This hymn was transformed into a statement of faith that crosses denominational lines and generations. According to hymn scholar Lionel Adey, the lines “‘All the vain things that charm me most / I sacrifice them . . .’ have a meaning personal to each singer, one that might require either action or renunciation.” The three pledges at the climax of the hymn (“my soul, my life, my all”) are a sacrifice that had once been required only of those taking monastic vows.

The theology of this hymn functions powerfully in the context of a worship service. Adey continues: “About to receive the Sacrament, the poet meditates upon the love that turned that instrument of judicial torture and death into the channel of divine compassion.”

This hymn is a masterpiece that marks the genius of one man and his influence on millions of singers throughout the ages. As Dr. Young says, the hymn “successfully built a bridge from psalmody to hymnody and set the church free to create a living body of Christian praise in song.”

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.

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Welcome to the How to Stay the Coronavirus Plague Briefing Podcast #15. My name is Daniel Whyte III, president of Gospel Light Society International.

Numbers 25:8 said, “And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.”

Matthew Henry said, “God’s displeasure was just against them for this sin. Israel’s whoredoms did that which all Balaam’s enchantments could not do, they set God against them; now he was turned to be their enemy, and fought against them. So many of the people, nay, so many of the princes, were guilty, that the sin became national, and for it God was wroth with the whole congregation. A plague immediately broke out, for we read of the staying of it in verse 8, and of the number that died of it in verse 9, but no mention of the beginning of it, which therefore must be implied in those words, The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. It is said expressly, The plague broke in. Note, Epidemical diseases are the fruits of God’s anger, and the just punishments of epidemical sins; one infection follows the other. The plague, no doubt, fastened on those that were most guilty, who were soon made to pay dearly for their forbidden pleasures; and though now God does not always plague such sinners, as he did here, yet that word of God will be fulfilled, If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. The ringleaders are ordered to be put to death by the hand of public justice, which will be the only way to stay the plague. The judges must first order them to be slain with the sword and their dead bodies must be hanged up, that the Israelites, seeing their leaders and princes so severely punished for their whoredom and idolatry, without any regard to their quality, might be possessed with a sense of the evil of the sin and the terror of God’s wrath against them. Ringleaders in sin ought to be made examples of justice. The civil magistrate is the avenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil, and no private person may take his work out of his hand. Their weeping and praying prevailed not till this piece of necessary justice was done. If magistrates do not take care to punish sin, God will.”

Leonard Ravenhill said, “My goal is GOD HIMSELF. Not joy, not peace, not even blessing but HIMSELF…my GOD.”

NEWS

According to Reuters there are now over 1.2 million cases and 67,000 deaths from the coronavirus..

According to the AP there are now over 9,000 deaths from the coronavirus in America.

According to CNBC Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus represents a “potential global catastrophe” and “we need to get very prepared.

HOME CHURCH

Ephesians 5:26 says, “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,”

Thomas Constable said, “The purpose Jesus Christ had in mind when He sacrificed Himself for His bride, the church, was to set her apart (sanctify, make her holy) for Himself as His own forever. Logically cleansing comes before setting apart, but in reality these things occur simultaneously when a person trusts in Christ. The cleansing here is spiritual rather than physical. The Word of God cleanses us in the sense that when we believe the gospel it washes our sins away as water washes dirt away. Thus washing is a metaphor of redemption.”

——

Now, if you are with us today and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior, allow me to show you how you can place your faith and trust in Him for Salvation from sin and Hell.

First, please understand that you are a sinner and that you have broken God’s laws. The Bible says in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Please understand that because of your sins, you deserve punishment in hell. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death…” This is both physical death and spiritual death in hell.

But here is the good news. John 3:16 reads, “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.”

The phrase “For God so loved the world” means that if you are in this world, God loves you no matter what you have done.

The next phrase, “that He gave His only begotten Son” refers to Jesus Christ. He is God’s son who suffered, bled, and died on the cross for your sins and for mine, and He was buried and rose again.

Our next phrase is “that whosoever believeth in Him”. The word “whosoever” means anybody at anytime. The phrase “believeth in Him” means to trust in Him, to depend upon Him, to rely on Him, or to have faith in Him for your salvation.

Our next phrase, “should not perish”, refers to eternal punishment in a place called hell.

And, lastly, the phrase “but have everlasting life” means to live eternally in Heaven with God.

The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “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.”

Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. 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.

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COMMUNION

SING “Let Us Break Bread Together”

Let us break bread together on our knees, (on our knees)
Let us break bread together on our knees. (on our knees)
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.

Let us drink the cup together on our knees, (on our knees)
Let us drink the cup together on our knees. (on our knees)
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.

Let us praise God together on our knees, (on our knees)
Let us praise God together on our knees. (on our knees)
When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun,
O Lord, have mercy on me.

—PRAYER—

On the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread: And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: This do in remembrance of me.

PRAYER

John 6:58 says, “This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.”

TAKE AND EAT

“In the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, ‘This cup is the new testament in my blood: This do you as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me.’ For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.”

PRAYER

Hebrews 9:22 says, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

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

TAKE AND DRINK

After they had finished the first Supper, they sang a hymn and went out into the night.

Now, as we close this service, let us sing “There is a Fountain Filled With Blood”

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains

The dying thief rejoice to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I though vile as he
Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
Wash all my sins away
And there may I though vile as he
Wash all my sins away

E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be ’till I die
And shall be ’till I die
And shall be ’till I die
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be ’till I die

When this poor lisping stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave
Then in a nobler sweeter song
I’ll sing Thy power to save
I’ll sing Thy power to save
I’ll sing Thy power to save
Then in a nobler sweeter song
I’ll sing Thy power to save

—-

Now, as we close this service, let us sing “Blest be the Tie That Binds”

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that

Before our Father’s throne,
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
Our comforts, and our cares.

We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

—-

Now, as we close this service, let us sing “The Love of God”

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell
The guilty pair bowed down with care
God gave His Son to win
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from His sin

O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels’ song

When years of time shall pass away
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall
When men who here refuse to pray
On rocks and hills and mountains call
God’s love so sure shall still endure
All measureless and strong
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race
The saints and angels’ song

O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels’ song

Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky

O love of God how rich and pure
How measureless and strong
It shall forevermore endure
The saints and angels’ song

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First, locusts; now, disease. Problems of biblical proportions are plaguing East Africa.

The worst desert locust infestation in decades began spreading throughout the Horn of Africa last fall, affecting eight countries. Today, new swarms are starting to form in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, raising the crisis level even higher.  The coronavirus adds another monumental challenge.

Compassion International is doing all it can to help affected families in Ethiopia, but only the Lord can remove some obstacles. “All of us cannot [stop] the spread of the (coronavirus) disease,” Compassion’s Tewodros Meskel observes.

“So, I would like all Christians to pray for Ethiopia so that God may intervene in the situation.”

Meskel says farmers lost most of their crops to locusts in weeks past. Today, the threat posed by new hatchlings has everyone on edge.

“The local people were trying to prevent the locusts using traditional [methods] like smoking and using different kinds of noise to prevent them from landing on their area. But, the locusts [destroyed] the crops of the farmers in the rural area,” Meskel says.

Compassion provided immediate help in Jesus’ Name. More about that here.  Ruin wrought by the locusts left families “for the coming six months without food support, but Compassion, [thanks] to its sponsors, we have made an intervention that will sustain them for three months,” public relations specialist Girum Getachew explains.

Through its Disaster Relief Fund, Compassion staff identified families in greatest need and supplied them with essentials like rice, cooking oil, and pasta.  By partnering with more than 500 churches in Ethiopia, Compassion helps over 120,000 vulnerable children in Jesus’ Name. More about Compassion’s work in Ethiopia here.

Now, COVID-19 presents a new challenge for believers to overcome. See our global coronavirus coverage here.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

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