This
27-year old had just moved to a new position as a teacher, so one might expect
he’d feel rather sure of himself. Yet he knew enough to retain his humility. What
made William Reed Newell a gifted teacher was also what - -or whom, rather –
made him aware of his own condition, of the route he’d travelled, and of where
he was headed. Most of all, he knew whom he should thank for all of this
experience, and the hope of what lay ahead. It all comes across in the song
“Years I Spent In Vanity” that he composed in 1895.
Newell’s
song may be more commonly known as “At Calvary”, and the lines he wrote seem to
indicate this alternate title is probably more appropriate for the thoughts
that were apparently going through his mind during its composition, too. It is
said that Newell pondered his own conversion story for several weeks, and then
in the space of a few moments, while he walked to a class that he was scheduled
to teach one day at Moody Bible Institute, he penned the words. He’d just begun
teaching at this institute in Chicago, so perhaps he was giving himself a bit
of a self-exam, reviewing his own life as part of a new beginning at Moody. Ducking
into an empty classroom to jot down the words that day suggests he sensed he
had something special, something he wanted to be certain he recorded before he was
distracted by other pressing duties. What happened next must have confirmed for
him and his musical collaborator, Dan Towner, the school’s musical director,
that “At Calvary” was indeed extraordinary. Towner composed the music in just an hour
after receiving his friend’s words, so its quick development must have meant
the words were powerful and incisive for him too. Maybe Newell was thinking
about a lecture or a commentary on the Bible’s book of Romans, as someone has
noted the song’s verses seem to follow the general outline of that ancient work,
for which the composer was also a noted academic authority.
There
are lots of reasons to look at Calvary the way William Newell did in 1895. It
must have been personal for the composer, but he invites me to think along with
him about the shadow that piece of wood casts. Verses 1 and 2 tell me Newell
recognized his true nature, despite all of his notoriety, so I’m prompted to
reflect ‘Am I any different?’Verse 3 allows me to rejoice with the composer that
I can extend beyond my limits by accessing, of all things, another’s death. How
strange! But, it’s not supposed to be conventional. God is, after all unique,
and this cross-view perspective provides a window into His mind in verse 4.
Yes, ‘at calvary’ is necessary, if I want to tie myself to God. It’s the one
place on earth where I can see myself, ugly as I am, and Him at the same time
with open arms, literally and figuratively. Oh, wait. I think there may be
another moment somewhere out there when He’ll have open arms for me. For you,
too.
The
following website has a soundtrack for the song: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/a/t/c/atcalvry.htm
See more
information on the song discussed above in The Complete Book of Hymns –
Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen
and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006. Also, see Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring
Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications,
1990; and Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories,
Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
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