These
were the thoughts of a young man who was experiencing the wonders of growing
intimacy with the Creator. As Oswald Jeffrey Smith prepared to speak to a crowd
of believers, the tune for “Into the Heart of Jesus” presented itself
internally, but there were no words until years later to accompany the melody
that had come so easily. This 21-year old preacher was not discouraged, but
noted that the eventual words he wrote were worth the wait. Waiting on Him
affords one the opportunity to do just what Smith’s prose would express – the
believer explores the many facets of God, and grows more aware of his need for
Him. Smith’s words are therefore more than a moment’s reflection; they’re like
the audiotape of a multiyear journey.
Oswald
Smith had been asked to speak to a large church in Woodstock, Ontario, and he was
experiencing something that would endure for the rest of his life. It was a bright
day in 1911, and a tune had captured his heart, giving him two immediate sensations:
he was in high spirits, and he hoped that he’d remember the melody after the
worship service. Both of these would in fact remain with Oswald, for he wrote
out the music that very afternoon, and later said the hymn’s joyful effect
never grew old over the years. What a
gift, to be able to remember the joy God can place within oneself! Yet, if one
were a skeptic, you might ask why the words for “Into the Heart…” took another
three years to show themselves. Was Ontario the wrong setting for the words?
Was there something that Smith learned along the way between 1911 Woodstock and
1914 Chicago, where he finally crafted the words? The five verses that this preacher-hymnist
composed suggest he did indeed learn many things, or at least searched for answers
to many questions along that three-year path. God’s heart and love and His will
would be three elements of Smith’s focus. His words tell not what logic God
makes to the believer, but instead what his ultimate answer to Him was –
devotion. Smith also considered the opposite poles of Jesus’ human experience –
the cross and joy’s source. He has a guilty conscience at the cross – who of us
doesn’t? But, he also finds Divine joy that allows him to rise above earth’s miseries.
Smith would eventually write some 1,200 hymns over his life of ministry, so what
this 21-year old did in 1911 he evidently continued, investigating many other
facets of God and how he felt about Him.
How
deeply have I gone with Him? This was a search that Oswald Smith made for three
years, so I shouldn’t fret if my own, perhaps brief, quest has been so far
unexceptional. Smith doesn’t indicate he was afraid to go to difficult places, particularly
if God himself had gone there. But, I have the feeling that He understands if I’m
wary and unwilling to get close sometimes. Even the 12 resisted, sometimes. It
takes time…three years for the verses of the song to coalesce for Smith, and
three years for the Apostles to follow Him around. Is there something about
three years’ time? Try giving Him the three years, and see what happens.
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 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982.
See
following site for all five verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/d/e/e/deeperad.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment