Learning From The Hymns Series #1
I am Thine, O Lord
[Verse 1]
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
[Chorus]
Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
[Verse 2]
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
[Verse 3]
O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!
[Verse 4]
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
About The Hymn
According to Wikipedia, “’I am Thine, O Lord’ is one of many hymns written by Fanny Crosby, a prolific American hymn writer. The melody was composed by William Howard Doane. The former was talking with the latter one night about the proximity of God and penned the words before retiring for the night. It has also been reported that Fanny Crosby, though blind, had a sunset described to her in words before writing the lyrics. Hebrews 10:22 is reported as being a source of inspiration for the hymn –
“let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
Lyrical Study
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
It is God’s love that draws us to Him. It is His love that is demonstrated in Jesus’ death. It is His love that draws out a response from us – “So you see, our love for him comes as a result of his loving us first.” (1 John 4:19, TLB). The revelation of His incredible love for us causes us to give our lives to Him in return.
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.
In the heart of the worshipper, there should always be a longing to know God more; to go deeper into His heart and ‘feel His heartbeat’; to experience His reality more and more.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” Psalm 68:1, NIV)
Draw me nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died.
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessèd Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
The foundation of our faith is the cross of Calvary. That’s where Jesus’ obedience was complete and His name was exalted above every other name and as the only name by which men can be saved (Philippians 2:6-11; Acts 4:12); that’s where the power of sin and of death were broken forever (Hebrews 2:14).
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the power of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
It is not enough to say that Jesus is Lord. The evidence in our lives that He is Lord is the surrender of our will to His and our consecration to His service. Now, service to Christ is not relegated to service within the four walls of a local assembly. While that is important because there is work to be done within those four walls to build up those who come therein, there is service to be carried out in the community – in our marketplaces, as it were. There are people to get saved; there are systems to be influenced by the light we shine so they may become more righteous and just systems; there are broken(hearted) people who need the loving, healing touch of Jesus through us; there is a need to be a blessing to those around us – to add flavour to their lives as salt.
O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!
One of the things that always baffles me is how the God of the Universe condescends so low as to relate with creatures He formed from dust. Yet He wants to live in us and relate with us as a Friend, despite being the ‘Boss of us’. This is incredible and humbling. Sometimes, the way we have made prayer look in this part of the world, it is no longer communion but us reeling out a shopping list of our needs and wants to God and quoting scriptures to Him to insist He has to do as we are asking/demanding; or us shouting at the devil. There is a place for warfare prayers but the real prayer that builds our relationship with God (which is the ultimate goal in our walk with Him) is two way conversation and just spending time with Him.
There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.
“In the same way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at his reflection in a poor mirror; but someday we are going to see him in his completeness, face-to-face. Now all that I know is hazy and blurred, but then I will see everything clearly, just as clearly as God sees into my heart right now.” (1 Corinthians 13:12, TLB)
My Prayer: May I never stagnate and get comfortable with where I am for too long; may I not be satisfied with dwelling in Haran when I can attain the Promised Land; may I always hunger and thirst to know God more and more intimately.