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41 And he was
withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be
willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there
appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in
an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of
blood falling down to the ground. Luke 22:41-44 (KJV)
Rather
than a classical hymn, today’s presentation is a Gospel Song by the noted
gospel song writer of a century ago – Charles H. Gabriel. Instead of focusing
on deep, doctrinal issues of Scripture, the gospel song focuses on simple
emotion and the celebration of life in Christ. The song was written in 1905 to
the tune, Praises, by Edwin O. Excell. Gabriel was the foremost
gospel song writer of the late 19th, and early 20th, century and also
authored the missionary call Send the Light.
I Stand Amazed in the Presence
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.
Refrain
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
For me it was in the garden
He prayed: Not My will, but Thine.
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.
Refrain
In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.
Refrain
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary,
And suffered and died alone.
Refrain
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.
Refrain
I
stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene, And wonder how He could
love me, A sinner, condemned, unclean. At the sound or prospect of
amazing news, most men and women will abruptly stand. Amazement evokes an
attitude of Stand at the Ready! I feel certain that at the return of Christ,
none will remain lounging in their easy chairs. They will stand and then immediately
kneel. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee
shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every
one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:11-12) In Anglican worship we sit during preaching or the reading of the
Epistle, but we stand when the Gospel is read. Why? 9 Wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth; 11 And thatevery
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father. (Phil 2:9-11) So, likewise, at
every worship hour, we say the General Confession. The great wonder of grace is
not that our Lord loves us after we have been drawn to His saving grace, but
rather long before – even before we were conceived in our mother’s wombs. His
love drew us to Him – our love did not draw Him to us. We love him, because
he first loved us. (1 John 4:19) While were yet dead
in trespasses and sin – unable to see, hear, feel, or think – He loved us and
made us alive through the agency of His Holy Ghost. (Eph 2)
The Refrain
O how marvelous! O
how wonderful! And my song shall ever be: O how marvelous! O how wonderful! Is
my Savior’s love for me! Moses was amazed at the sight of the Burning Bush on Mt. Horeb;
the same Moses was amazed in the presence of a Holy God on the heights of
Sinai; Mary was amazed at the sight of Gabriel, the Archangel, at the
Annunciation; Peter, James, and John were amazed at the appearance of the Lord
with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration – the Presence of the
Divine is always amazing! Once we have heard the Lord call our name, out of the
billions of names on this earth, we must be amazed that He would elect our
sorry souls from among that multitude. The Love of God surpasses every other
force or power known in the physical world. It is far stronger than death and
darkness. In fact, it is the one thing that survives death. 38 For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans
8:38-39)
For
me it was in the garden He prayed: Not My will, but Thine. He had no tears for
His own griefs, But sweat drops of blood for mine. The Garden is
a place of life and fruit. Our Lord prayed that we would become ONE with Him as
He was ONE with the Father. That means ONE in every sense of the Word – one in
purpose, one in intent, one in desire, and one in action. When churches divide
over the color of the carpet, it may be that those of that church who profess
Christ are not genuine professors. His whole purpose in coming from the Realms
of Glory to the Ruins of this World was to save us from ourselves. It is our
own so-called free wills (in servitude to Satan) that has caused every misery
known to mankind; but Christ came to wash us clean of those miseries and to die
in our stead in remission of our sins.
In
pity angels beheld Him, And came from the world of light To comfort Him in the
sorrows He bore for my soul that night. What a contrast were the
creatures of God (Angels) who came from the Kingdom of Light to comfort our
Lord, the rightful Heir of that Kingdom, who dwelt in the darkest domain of
earth on our behalf. With what wrenching sorrow did He pray – not for relief of
His own miseries – but for the love and forgiveness of the Father upon ours.
He
took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own; He bore the burden to
Calvary, And suffered and died alone. Yes, He took our sins upon
Himself at Calvary; and what did He do with them? He will turn again, he
will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast
all their sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19) As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm
103:12)
As they say in the Tennessee mountains, “That is a right smart distance!” One
cannot get any further away from the East by traveling West. He was the only
One who was worthy to die for our sins since the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Therefore, we all are subject, under the law, to die for our own
sins. If any would die in our place, that One must be guiltless of any shadow
of sin – that One is Jesus Christ!
When
with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see, ’Twill be my joy
through the ages To sing of His love for me. John Jasper was a
remarkable negro preacher whose service to God predated the Civil War and
extended to the 20th century (1901) and who could neither read
or write, yet he had a profound understanding of Holy Scripture. He had the
largest church in Richmond following the Civil War. His final sermon related to
a question of one of his parishioners who wondered what would John want first
when he got to heaven – those golden slippers, his crown of righteousness, or
his clean white robe? Without hesitation, Jasper said, “When I gets to them
Pearly Gates, I wants my golden slippers, I wants my crown of righteousness,
and I wants that clean white robe – but not Fust – Fust I wants to see the face
of my glorious Savior who bled and died for me.” Jasper fell asleep in death in
that very pulpit at age 89 years. We shall see the smiling face of our Lord,
and even the blind shall see Him such as Fanny Crosby. We will then receive a
better rest than we have ever known – a rest from sinful desires, from pain and
suffering, from all manner of hurt – because Jesus is our Sabbath Rest forever!
