Precious Lord

For centuries in the church, the song of choice was the classic hymn. In the 1960's, a new type of song began to gain ground. Today we call it the chorus or praise song. And today it is the song preferred by most churches.

Choruses are often written straight from Scripture. Verses from the Psalms are particularly popular. Others express the writer's deep personal affection for God. They come in all varieties, all styles, and with an assortment of messages. They are, for the most part, easily learned, easily memorized, and easily sung.

Choruses have their place. They are quick to bring to mind a Scripture that we may have difficulty memorizing or to redirect our thoughts to God. But these songs tend to be brief, and, therefore, shallow. They don't deal deeply with the subjects they surface. Many lean toward feelings about God rather than truth, and toward what He can do for me rather than who He is. They tend to be, in the words of Hebrews, milk rather than meat.

Hymns are sometimes bulkier songs with more verses, harder words, and more complex melodies. They require deeper thought and closer attention. Many were written in a different time with a different language. But they seem to delve further into the truths of God, who He is, and how that would affect me. They are from a different culture than the modern day "ME generation," and seem to be less infected with that disabling malady. They aren't concerned with political correctness or the therapeutic conventions of modern society. They aren't troubled over my self-esteem or feelings. They aren't afraid to ask the listener to think or to stand in the presence of God and see truth.

We need this meat. The church is in disrepair largely because we in modern America won't think, won't take the time to look, listen, or hear the word of God. We have the right opinions of God, but we don't have the right heart, the right passion for Him. Hymns have the capacity to touch that passion.

Because of this, some years ago I started undertaking this little project to see what can be learned about God, truth, and all that it touches as displayed in hymns. I picked some of my favorite ones and examined what I saw there. I thought I'd write a book about it, perhaps. Well, being the self-disciplined (apparently not) guy that I am, I never finished it. And being the self-confident (obviously not) guy that I am, I figured "Who would actually want to read something like this?"

I personally enjoyed what I did finish and others who have read it enjoyed it as well, so perhaps I'll share some of it with you. The working title of the book was "Sound Bites" as I used this technique to fulfill the command to teach and admonish with hymns (Col. 3:16) Maybe you think hymns are boring and dry. Hopefully that might change. Maybe you have no use for hymns. Perhaps I can feed you some appreciation. You may be one who never quite understood them. I might offer some insight. If you find it of interest, let me know and I'll do more. If not, I can just keep it to myself. I have all these years anyway. So this is the first installment in a series that may follow that I call "Hymnody."

Precious Lord

Precious Lord, take my hand. Lead me on, help me stand.
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night,
Lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

When my way grows drear, precious Lord, lead me near,
When my life is almost gone.
Hear my cry, hear my call.
Hold my hand, lest I fall.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.

Thomas Dorsey was born in Georgia, the son of a Baptist minister, in 1899. As a young man, he played blues and jazz music in local clubs in Chicago. Then, in 1921, he met Christ. God led him to use his musical talents to minister to others. He became a renowned leader of music for revival meetings, and became known as “the father of gospel music”.

One evening, Thomas was scheduled to lead music in a revival in St. Louis. He was hesitant to go because his wife, Nellie, was not well and was pregnant with their first child. He felt a strong urge to stay home, but he felt he was obligated to go and set out for the meeting. The next night, after he finished the song service, he was handed a telegram telling him that his wife had died. He hurried home, but his newborn son died the night he arrived.

Thomas was deeply grieved and questioned God. He wandered about in a fog for some time, even considering returning to secular music. As he considered the events, he concluded that the urging he had sensed to stay home that night was God speaking to him, so he agreed to walk more closely with Him. Shortly thereafter he wrote this song.

A moving, extremely personal hymn, this song sees God in the role of Comforter. We all like to think of God in that light. His love, His comfort, His peace, these are all aspects of God we long for. They are, in fact, among those things He has promised to His children. But the author recognizes further aspects of truth.

There is the recognition of our utter helplessness outside of God's presence. We believe that generally we are capable individuals. God indicates that apart from Him we can do nothing. It is apart from God that we experience "burnout." It is away from Him that we stray into our own will, not His. All we can do is not good enough.

The second aspect is that trials happen. The hymn makes no attempt to avoid them. "Through the storm, through the night..." Human nature tends to flee difficulty. Our reflexes make us withdraw from pain. But God's presence allows us to actually go through difficulties and pain. (Isa. 43:2) The fact is, along with love, joy, and peace, Christians are promised suffering. But if God is reliable, capable, wise, and loving, suffering is a secondary issue, a joy in itself. (James 1:2-4) It is a demonstration of God's love. (Heb. 12:3-10) It is necessary and, with God at hand, bearable.

The third aspect is the recognition of more. Our mind set is here and now. Yesterday is just a memory. Tomorrow hasn't come. But the hymn writer's eyes are beyond all that. The hymn looks to home. An familiar proverb says, "Home is where the heart is." The hearts of those who know God long to be with Him and anticipate with joy that day when we get to see Him. We are citizens of heaven, just visitors here. It is home that we long for.

These are the aspects that sustain us here on earth. We see our utter helplessness but know God is completely capable. We endure hardship with our precious Master alongside, inside, following His paths, standing in His strength. We recognize that ultimately this world is not our home. This helps return perspective to all of life. It is in the presence of God here and ultimately at Home that we long to be.