In a previous post (My Lord Draws Nigh), I shared my attempt to put a poem by the hymn writer, DW Whittle, to music. Having sung the second verse, my nephew asked me if I would sing the rest so that he could hear how it sounds.
Understanding Mr. Whittle’s words requires a knowledge of Scripture. Specifically, he refers to bells spoken of in Exodus 28:33-35: “You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the Lord, so that he will not die.” “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31), so that the priests had to approach an holy God with much reverential fear and caution.
But the text turns this fear to a joy, because our gracious “Heavenly High Priest”, “Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:22) This high priest of Hebrews is superior, as it says, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
In the words of Mr. Whittle’s poem I have inserted dashes where two notes are needed to sing the word and braces for words that I have dropped out in the singing because they don’t fit the meter. I believe that these deletions do not significantly change the meaning of the text.
“Swift, with melodious feet,
The midnight hours pass by;
As with each passing bell so sweet,
I think, ‘My Lord draws nigh.’
“I see Hea-ven’s open door,
I hear God’s gracious voice;
I see the blood-washed ’round the throne,
And with them I rejoice.
“It may be – that these sounds
Are [the] golden bells so sweet
Which tell me of the near approach
Of [the] Heavenly High Priest’s feet.
“Not every night is thus;
Some nights with pain are drear.
[Then] I join my moan with crea-tion’s groan
[And] the chimes I do not hear.
“[But] the Lord remains the same;
Faithful He must abide;
And on His word my soul I’ll rest,
For He is by my side.
“Some midnight sleepless saints,
Made quick by pain to hear,
Shall join the glad and welcome cry,
‘The Bridegroom draweth near.’
“Then I shall see His face
His beauteous image bear;
I’ll know His love and wondrous grace,
And in His glory share.
“So sing my soul in praise,
As bells chime o’er and o’er,
The coming of the Lord draws near,
When time shall be no more.”
Major D. W. Whittle died March 4, 1901, at Northfield, Massachusetts.
I am greatly encouraged by courageous Christians of the past and commend to you the reading of biographies of past Christians. I re-watched the movie, “The Hiding Place”, with my wife a few nights ago. Betsy and Corrie ten Boom became deep in the faith because of how they entrusted their very lives to God in the midst of suffering. We may learn much from these faithful ones concerning how to live for Christ. I was struck by two things about DW Whittle’s story: 1) He was so focused on Christ that in the midst of pain that would lead to his death in two weeks, he could compose such deep trust and worship of God, and 2) “In speaking of his hymns he once said, “I hope that I will never write a hymn that does not contain a message — there are too many hymns that are just a meaningless jingle of words; to do good a hymn must be founded on God’s word and carry the message of God’s love.”” (by Jacob Henry Hall). Let us seek to write and speak and sing act in every way based in God’s word with the message of God’s love.
If you would like to hear my singing of this poem to the tune that I wrote, click on My Lord Draws Nigh.
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