GOOD FRIDAY'S 'ALAS!'

The man who wrote the classic 18^th century Good Friday hymn, “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed,” was well-acquainted with rejection himself. His rejection, however, was from a woman's withdrawn love, not necessarily from his contemporaries. In fact, Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was what we'd today call a genius, a prolific and popular hymn writer (credited with some 750 hymns) and essayist.

Quickly, the backstory on his life. He was born in 1674 in Southampton, England, in a time of religious controversy. His father's dissenting views with the state church led twice to imprisonment. Biographers tell of Isaac's mother nursing baby Isaac as she sat outside the prison near his father's cell window.

As Watts grew, his genius unfolded. Even in early childhood he had a knack for rhyme which both amused and frustrated his parents. When scolded for keeping his eyes open during prayers, he replied: “A little mouse for want of stairs, ran up a rope to say its prayers.” Even after a spanking for his rhyming habit, he replied, “O father, father, pity take/And I will no more verses make.”

Because his family's theological stance was “non-conformist,” he couldn't attend the Anglican-restricted universities of Oxford or Cambridge, but instead was educated at the “Dissenting Academy.” He pastored a large independent chapel a few years, but poor health forced him to quit. Instead, he worked as a private tutor, eventually becoming a permanent resident at one of his clients' estate.

His prolific writing output included many books about the Bible, theology, logic and other topics. Add to that the huge output of hymns, including many still sung today: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “Joy to the World,” “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” “Jesus Shall Reign Wherever the Son,” and today's feature, “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed.”

He also wrote a book of songs that became the first hymnal ever published only for children. He loved children, but sadly never married or became a father. He did have a girlfriend, of sorts, a fan of his works whom he met by letter. When she finally traveled to meet him, she was put off by his less-than-handsome appearance. Small (five feet tall) and frail, he had a huge head and a long-hooked nose. Sadly, that ended her “crush” on him.

Frail in health, for his last thirty-plus years Watts lived with a nobleman friend (and later the friend's widow and daughter), never to know the centuries-long impacts of his hymn-writing. Notably, about 1850—a hundred years after Watts died—a 30-year-old blind woman went to a revival service in New York City. There, she heard a choir sing Watts' hymn, “Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?” The hymn stirred her heart, especially the last line, “Here, Lord, I give my life away.” That day, she gave her life to Jesus. Her name: Fanny Crosby. Living to age 95, she would become the greatest gospel lyric composer of her time—by some sources, writing more than 8,000 hymns.

FAIR MESSAGE

 

Our local county fair—like many—has one building dedicated to the community's agricultural life. We can always count on seeing at least one gargantuan pumpkin, plates of prime vegetables, and brilliantly-hued cut flowers. In past years, there were also displays by local Granges (associations of farmers), showing off their particular area's products and achievements. This year, there were just a handful of displays—perhaps victims of rural attrition and the clampdown of public events from Covid-19. But I had to take a picture of these Grange-sponsored folks who didn't need my reminder to smile. Their sign read, “Pride in the Past.” A smaller one to the side said, “Hope in the future.”

Because of my studies of hymn stories, the signs brought to mind this title: “O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” Sometimes, the historical circumstances behind classic hymns get quite complicated. This one, written by Isaac Watts in 1714, came at a time in English history when people were uneasy about the nation's political future. (Sound familiar?) Watts, a child genius who would write more than 600 hymns (some say as many as 700), had been born himself into a time of political turmoil. His father was imprisoned under the previous regime because of his political views, and his mother would nurse him on the prison steps so his father could could see his baby boy.

Now, another royal was in charge: Queen Anne. But she'd endured poor health all her life. She'd had twelve stillborn children, and five live births. But four of those died before age two and one died at eleven. She would die at 49 with no heirs. By a 1701 rule, she was succeeded by her second cousin, George I. Nobody knew if he'd be as strict and intolerant as previous kings.

In the midst of those politically trying times, Watts turned to Psalm 90 for inspiration: “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations” (v. 1). His quill began scratching the lyrics: “O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come; Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home!”

Maybe not “pride” in the past, but faith based on God's faithfulness and trustworthiness. And yes, because He is God, hope in the future. Four hundred years since Watts' hymn, that message hasn't changed. From everlasting to everlasting, He is God (90:2).

When the fair was over, these smiling stuffed folks were either disassembled or taken to somebody's porch for autumn décor. But for whatever smiles they provided the fair's visitors, they offered this message for me. Without God, we're no better than stuffed clothes in a display. With Him, there's truly hope in the future He has planned.

From the fair, go to historic Westminster Abbey in London, for congregational singing of this hymn:

Westminster Abbey - Oh God Our Help in Ages Past (glitch free) - Bing video

TREASURES IN A SMALL BOX

Born premature, as an adult he stood barely five feet tall and had an unseemly big head, hooked nose and sallow complexion from often being sick. He might have been called “ugly” by today’s beauty-obsessed culture.  But oh how he could rhyme! Songs and poetry flowed from his pen into publication. His brilliance extended to essays on theology, psychology, logic and astronomy.

A young lady read his works and felt stirrings of love, sight unseen. This was long before Facebook, internet matchmaking, or even photos. She traveled to his home. He was so excited—somebody might love him, even marry him. But when she saw him in person, things changed.  She said that although she loved the jewel, she could not admire the “casket,” meaning the case, containing it.

He would never marry during his 74 years on earth. Yet his nation esteemed him so highly that a bust of his image was posthumously placed in Westminster Abbey. We still sing some of the 600 hymns he wrote during his life: “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” “Joy to the World,”  “Join All the Glorious Names,” “Oh God Our Help in Ages Past,” “Jesus Shall Reign Wherever the Sun,” “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” and “Come We That Love the Lord.”

ROUGH START

He started life with a father in jail for holding religious views at odds with the established church. His mother nursed him on the jail steps just so his father could hear his son’s cries. The father was later released and soon realized his growing baby was gifted, taking to books almost from infancy. He learned Latin at age 4, Greek at 8 or 9, French at 11 and Hebrew at 13.  He loved rhyming words, a trait that sometimes irked his father. One time the exasperated father threatened to spank the child if he continued. The boy replied, “O Father, do some pity take, and I will no more verses make.”

He grew up, went away to college, and returned home disturbed over his church’s boring “singing,” which consisted of dull poetic paraphrases of psalms.  His father challenged him to write something better. He did, and it was so well received that he wrote a new hymn every week for the next two years. 

Then he was hired as a tutor for a wealthy Christian family in London. He joined their church, was asked to teach, and in 1698 was hired as associate pastor.  At age 24 he preached his first sermon. Church members considered him a brilliant Bible student, and within a few years asked him to become senior pastor.

PUSHING THROUGH ILLNESS

He struggled with his health, so a wealthy couple in church invited him to visit their estate for a while to recover. His “health visit” would turn into 36 years.  He enjoyed their children, and from that time published a children’s hymn that sold 80,000 copies in a year. He adapted most of the 150 psalms into new hymns with Christian truths.

At about age 65, he suffered a stroke. Still able to speak but unable to write, he continued working with a transcriber for several years. Declining health led to his death at age 74. He wrote his own epitaph of two verses: 2 Corinthians 5:8 (“Absent from the body, present with the Lord”) and Colossians 3:4 (“When Christ, who is my life, shall appear, then shall I also appear with Him in glory”).

But his music lived on. Almost 150 years after it was written, one of his hymns, “Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed” was sung at a revival service in the United States. When the choir sang the final line, “Here, Lord, I give myself away,” the truths about Jesus Christ touched the heart of a 30-year-old woman. She later said that “My soul was flooded with celestial light.”  At that, she decided to give herself away to Jesus. Her name: Fanny Crosby. This blind woman went on to become America’s greatest Gospel song writer of the past century.

The name of the composer whose music inspired her?  Isaac Watts.

SOMETHING TO PONDER
The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:27 observed that God can choose the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. As an illustration of that, we just need to open a hymnbook.  Or, look in a mirror and see ourselves as God sees us: beloved, full of potential.