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hich hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into
that within the veil (Heb 6:19)
This
is a slight departure from our usual hymn devotion. Today’s selection is not a
hymn in the classical sense, but rather a Gospel Song. The Difference? A
classical hymn teaches biblical doctrine whereas a Gospel song evokes
devotional emotion and expresses joy in the promises of God.
Whispering
Hope was composed by Septimus Winner in 1868. The author is sometimes
referred to as Alice Hawthorne – an understandable pseudonym
for a man with such a name as Septimus Winner. Mr. Winner is also
the composer of the musical score of the song.
There
are some interesting particulars regarding the author of this song. He is most
noted for his folk ballads one of which is “Oh Where, Oh Where has my Little
Dog Gone.” Another is a War Between the States favorite entitled, “Listen
to the Mocking Bird.” Another added matter of interest is the fact that
Septimus Winner was once charged by the Lincoln Administration with Treason for
merely writing a song criticizing Lincoln’s firing of the gallant General
George B. McClellan.
Whispering
Hope
Soft as the voice of
an angel,
Breathing a lesson
unheard,
Hope with a gentle
persuasion
Whispers her
comforting word:
Wait till the
darkness is over,
Wait till the
tempest is done,
Hope for the
sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is
gone.
Refrain
Whispering hope, oh
how welcome thy voice,
Making my heart in
its sorrow rejoice.
If, in the dusk of
the twilight,
Dim be the region
afar,
Will not the
deepening darkness
Brighten the
glimmering star?
Then when the night is
upon us,
Why should the heart
sink away?
When the dark
midnight is over,
Watch for the
breaking of day.
Refrain
Hope, as an anchor
so steadfast,
Rends the dark veil
for the soul,
Whither the Master
has entered,
Robbing the grave of
its goal.
Come then, O come,
glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary
heart;
Come, O Thou blest
hope of glory,
Never, O never
depart.
Refrain
“Soft
as the voice of an angel, Breathing a lesson unheard, Hope with a gentle
persuasion
Whispers her comforting word: Wait till the darkness is over, Wait till the tempest is done, Hope for the sunshine tomorrow, After the shower is gone.” During the most desperate moments of this life, the Christian believer has a resource to call upon of which the world knows little – HOPE! Hope is silent in its approach, but bears with its sweet savor a promise of tomorrow. When the believer is faced with insurmountable problems, he dares to hope, and that hope grows moment by moment. Every dark night has its brilliant sunrise morning. Storms of life have short life, and the peace of nature always follows in their paths. Even the chastening of God will pass into a wonderful day of rejoicing: “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) But for those who forget their Lord will see only clouds and more clouds after the dark night passes: “1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain (Eccl 12:1-2)
Whispers her comforting word: Wait till the darkness is over, Wait till the tempest is done, Hope for the sunshine tomorrow, After the shower is gone.” During the most desperate moments of this life, the Christian believer has a resource to call upon of which the world knows little – HOPE! Hope is silent in its approach, but bears with its sweet savor a promise of tomorrow. When the believer is faced with insurmountable problems, he dares to hope, and that hope grows moment by moment. Every dark night has its brilliant sunrise morning. Storms of life have short life, and the peace of nature always follows in their paths. Even the chastening of God will pass into a wonderful day of rejoicing: “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) But for those who forget their Lord will see only clouds and more clouds after the dark night passes: “1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain (Eccl 12:1-2)
Refrain
“Whispering hope, oh how welcome thy
voice, Making my heart in its sorrow rejoice.” It is no contradiction
for the Christian to experience rejoicing in the midst of staggering sorrow.
This, the world cannot comprehend.
“If,
in the dusk of the twilight, Dim be the region afar, Will not the deepening
darkness Brighten the glimmering star? Then when the night is upon us, Why
should the heart sink away? When the dark midnight is over, Watch for the
breaking of day.” Regardless of the smothering darkness of the road
ahead, when we walk with Christ, we bear with us the Light of the World. Where
He is, there can exist no darkness. The stars of heaven twinkle with light by
means of contrasting darkness and light. The stars cover the canopy of heaven
during the bright sunshiny day, but we cannot see them for the sun’s
brightness. But the purple canopy of the night sky provides the contrast to see
those points of light to guide us through our dark moments. The Evening Star
brightens our dark night as a sure promise of coming morn. IT is the Morning
Star at daybreak – the last Star of Heaven to by vanquished by the rising Sun.
That Bright Morning Star symbolizes the Presence of Christ in the darkness of
our earthly walk; and the Sun represents the same Jesus Christ as our Sun of
Righteousness to come at the End of Days.
“Hope,
as an anchor so steadfast, Rends the dark veil for the soul, Whither the Master
has entered, Robbing the grave of its goal. Come then, O come, glad fruition,
Come to my sad weary heart; Come, O Thou blest hope of glory, Never, O never
depart.” An anchor will not hold tight when dropped in the
swamps and wilderness waters of the world; but when dropped into the
stone-strewn depths of the sea or harbor, it adheres to a Rock and will not
budge. When our Anchor of Hope is fastened upon the Rock of our Salvation, our
bark will not drift. Instead, we turn the ship’s bow into the storm, drop
anchor, and weather the storm until it passes. Life is like that. The ‘dark
veil’ of the soul may be compared to the Temple Veil which was ripped asunder
from top to bottom at the moment of Christ’s death on the cross. It opened the
Holiest of Holies to you and me so that we need none other High Priest as an
intercessor other than our Lord. Our private souls, also, are a Temple unto the
Lord whose veil needs to be rent from top to bottom that we may enter into
eternal life with God the Father. The grave is thus robbed of its captive, and
the tomb becomes merely a borrowed one like unto that of the Lord’s Garden
Tomb. Once we are called and chosen of God, our hope can never depart even
under the gravest of circumstances.
See with what
courage the reformers went to the burning stake refusing to recant their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Some, such as the Bohemian Reformer, John Hus. “The
executioners undressed Hus and tied his hands behind his back with ropes, and
his neck with a chain to a stake around which wood and straw had been piled up
so that it covered him to the neck. Still at the last moment, the imperial
marshal, Von Pappenheim, in the presence of the Count Palatine, asked him to
save his life by a recantation, but Hus declined with the words ‘"God
is my witness that I have never taught that of which I have been accused by
false witnesses. In the truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and
preached I will die to-day with gladness."’ There upon the fire was
kindled with John Wycliffe’s own manuscripts used as kindling for the fire.
With uplifted voice Hus sang, "Christ, thou Son of the living God,
have mercy upon me." Among his dying words he proclaimed, “In
100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be
suppressed.” His ashes were gathered and cast into the nearby Rhine
River. Almost exactly 100 years later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed
his famous 95 Theses of Contention (a list of 95 issues of heretical theology
and crimes of the Roman Catholic Church) into the church door at Wittenberg.
The prophecy of John Hus had come true!