SOP Sabbath 2005: Hymns

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Opening Hymn:
"We Would See Jesus"
(SDAH 494, CH 29)

Verse One:
We would see Jesus;"
for the shadows lengthen
Across the little
landscape of our life;
We would see Jesus,
our weak faith to strengthen
For the last conflict,
in this mortal strife.

Verse Two:
"We would see Jesus,"
Rock of our salvation,
Whereon our feet were set
with sovereign grace;
Not life, nor death,
with all their agitation,
Can thence remove us,
gazing on His face.

Verse Three:
"We would see Jesus;"
other lights are paling,
Which for long years
we did rejoice to see;
The blessings of this
sinful world are failing;
We would not mourn them,
in exchange for Thee.

Verse Four:
"We would see Jesus;"
this is all we're needing—
Strength, joy, and willingness
come with the sight;
We would see Jesus,
dying, risen, pleading,
Soon to return
and end this mortal night!

Anna Bartlett Warner (1820-1915) wrote this hymn of seven stanzas in 1852. It appeared in her novel Dollars and Cents under her pen name, Amy Lothrop. The theme is based on the request of the Greeks who came to the Temple at Jerusalem after the Lord’s triumphal entry and expressed their desire to Philip: “Sir, we would see Jesus” (John 12:21). The hymn first appeared with six stanzas in Hymns of the Church Militant, which Warner edited in 1858.

Anna Bartlett Warner was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of a New York lawyer. When she was 17, she and her family moved to Constitution Island, near West Point, New York. She wrote several novels under the name Amy Lothrop and two books of hymn verse. She is the author of the words to the children’s song, “Jesus Loves Me.” For many years she and her older sister held Sunday school classes for the cadets at West Point Military Academy. Their home, named Good Crag, was willed to the academy and is now a national shrine. When Anna died in 1915 at the age of 95, the military academy gave her a funeral as though she had been one of the soldiers.

The tune to “We Would See Jesus” was composed in 1899 by Franklin Edson Belden (1858-1945), a nephew of Ellen G. White and a prolific song writer. It appeared first in his Christ in Song, 1900.

Adapted from Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White, Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988).

Closing Hymn:
"Open My Eyes, That I May See"
(SDAH 326)

Verse One:
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.

Refrain:
Silently now I wait for thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit divine!

Verse Two:
Open my ears, that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear;
And while the wave-notes
fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear.

Refrain:
Silently now I wait for thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my ears, illumine me,
Spirit divine.

Verse Three:
Open my mouth, and let me bear
Gladly the warm truth everywhere;
Open my heart, and let me prepare
Love with Thy children thus to share.

Refrain:
Silently now I wait for thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my heart, illumine me,
Spirit divine.

First published in 1895, both the words and the music of this hymn were written by Clara H. Scott, who was born December 3, 1841, at Elk Grove, Illinois. She went to the first musical institute held in Chicago by C. M. Cady, in 1856. For a time she taught music in the Ladies’ Seminary at Lyons, Iowa. Horatio R. Palmer encouraged her in creative writing, and she furnished a number of songs for his collections. She also published The Royal Anthem Book, 1882, which was the first anthem collection by a woman. Tragically, while visiting Dubuque, Iowa, she was killed June 21, 1897, when thrown from a buggy pulled by a runaway horse.

Adapted from Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White, Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988).

Alternate Closing Hymn:
"Take Time to Be Holy"
(SDAH 500, CH 603)

Verse One:
Take time to be holy,
Speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always
And feed on His word;
Make friends of God's children,
Help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing
His blessing to seek.

Verse Two:
Take time to be holy,
The world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret
With Jesus alone;
By looking to Jesus,
Like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct
His likeness shall see.

Verse Three:
Take time to be holy,
Let Him be thy Guide,
And run not before Him,
Whatever betide;
In joy or in sorrow,
Still follow thy Lord,
And, looking to Jesus,
Still trust in His word.

Verse Four:
Take time to be holy,
Be calm in thy soul
Each thought and each motive
Beneath His control;
Thus led by His Spirit
To fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted
For service above.

William Dunn Longstaff, a wealthy Englishman, heard a sermon preached by Griffith John, a missionary returned from China, on the text: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16). The verse is a direct quotation from the Old Testament (Lev. 11:44), where it appears as a description of a future event rather than an imperative command. Longstaff was a friend of D. L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey, and when this evangelistic duo visited the northeastern part of England he showed them the poem he had written as a result of hearing the sermon.

The poem was written in 1882 and given to Sankey. He passed it on to George Coles Stebbins, who laid it aside for further attention. Not until eight years later, in 1890, when Stebbins was in India, did he remember its existence. He was leading the music in an evangelistic revival meeting and the subject of holiness was mentioned, triggering his memory. He searched for the poem among his papers, found it, and set the words to this tune, “Holiness.” He sent the complete hymn to Sankey, who published it later that same year.

Longstaff was born on January 28, 1822, in Sunderland, England, the son of a wealthy ship owner. He was a faithful steward of his riches and was known to be a most philanthropic and generous individual. He was a friend of Moody and Sankey, and also of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army. He died on April 2, 1894, in his hometown of Sunderland.

Adapted from Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White, Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988).

SDAH = Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal
CH = Church Hymnal