Those who knew him might have said he was a leader. Isaiah Baltzell did not necessarily see himself that way, since what he said in “I Want to Be a Worker” suggested that he was content serving in one of the everyday, routine roles where he found himself. And yet, he apparently also did not hesitate to be out front guiding the activities of others in the exercise of his faith. Precisely what works were on Isaiah’s mind in Reading, Pennsylvania in the latter half of the 19th Century is not known, but his inner resolve was the key factor. Isaiah didn’t care what the job was, but rather whose purpose he was serving, and he left no doubt about that with the words he penned, a poem that was among dozens that he authored.
Isaiah Baltzell had been busy at his work for over 30 years by the time he said what must have been plain in his life in 1880. Perhaps he just wanted to underscore who he felt God had made him to be when he reached his mid-to-late 40s. He’d been a converted believer in Christ since his mid-teens, and since that time had pursued various ways of living life as a ‘worker for the Lord’, as he would phrase his outlook some 30 years later in verse one of his poem. By early adulthood, Isaiah was a certified preacher, and then later served two stints as an elder in a regional church fellowship in eastern Pennsylvania. Along the way, he was also a delegate to three different conferences, as well as a trustee at Otterbein University in Ohio. So, despite the humble way Isaiah would describe himself and his position, he was obviously recognized by many others as someone they could trust. Could that have been because of his attitude? His poetry indicates he was willing to work, but not to gather others around his own feet. He wasn’t the owner of ‘the vineyard’, and though we don’t know the specific circumstances of what spawned ‘I Want to Be a Worker’, Isaiah made it clear for anyone to read what he thought about any elevation of his own personality. ‘Direct them toward the One above, while I busy myself here below’ – that might have been the way Isaiah would have summed up affairs. What did Isaiah see associated with the work? ‘Love’, ‘trust’, ‘sing’, and especially ‘pray’ were among the action verbs in Isaiah’s toolkit for this work. ‘Lead’ was also in his thoughts, but only insofar as bringing others to God. Part of Isaiah’s purpose might have also been to express that this work was not onerous; this labor led to a place where ‘all is peace and love’ (v.2), a ‘happy home’ (v.3), to ‘joys on high’ and never-dying ‘pleasures’ (v. 4). With such an exquisite goal, Isaiah coaxed others to be ‘strong and brave’ in the certainty of Jesus’ ‘saving power’ (v.3).
Isaiah Baltzell was not a wavering person, from what we can gather in the brief accounts of his 60 years on earth. And, though he might have been an unassuming person at heart, that didn’t mean he limited the expression of the gifts he’d been given. Preacher, elder, poet-lyricist, music-writer and publisher, educational trustee – Isaiah was blessed in a number of ways to serve. And yet, he remained grounded. How much of what Isaiah became was due to the sweat of his own brow, versus what he was given? That would be an interesting question to ask him, wouldn’t it? That one could spark probably several hours of conversation. Could ‘I Want to Be a Worker’ have been this poet’s own conversation and answer to himself on this topic? How would you answer the same question?
See all the verses here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/i/w/t/b/iwtbwork.htm
See the author’s biography here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/b/a/l/t/baltzell_i.htm
Also see here: https://hymnary.org/person/Baltzell_Isaiah
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