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Then sang Deborah and Barak the
son of Abinoam on that day, saying, 2 Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the
people willingly offered themselves. 3 Hear, O ye kings; give
ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I
will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. 4 Lord,
when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water. 5 The mountains melted
from before the Lord, even that
Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel. (Judges 5:1-5)
This lovely old hymn is another
favorite of the Korean Church, and it is one which, sung in the Korean
language, moved me to respond to the call to the ministry many years ago. The
lyrics are the work of Eliza E. Hewitt (1898), and the music is the composition
of William J, Kirkpatrick. It is a joyful hymn that will lift the most
depressed of Christian hearts. It reminds us of our absolute reliance upon our
Lord Jesus Christ under every circumstance of life. Not only must we rely upon
Him as our Fortress, Mainstay, and Rock of Salvation; but that reliance must be
supported by an absolute trusting faith. It has been omitted from the 1940
Hymnal.
The Trusting Heart
The trusting heart to Jesus
clings,
Nor any ill forebodes,
But at the cross of Calv’ry,
sings,
Praise God for lifted loads!
Refrain
Singing I go along life’s
road,
Praising the Lord, praising
the Lord,
Singing I go along life’s
road,
For Jesus has lifted my load.
The passing days bring many
cares,
Fear not, I hear Him say,
And when my fears are turned
to prayers,
The burdens slip away.
Refrain
He tells me of my Father’s
love,
And never slumb’ring eye,
My everlasting King above
Will all my needs supply.
Refrain
When to the throne of grace I
flee,
I find the promise true,
The mighty arms upholding me
Will bear my burdens too.
Refrain
The trusting heart to Jesus
clings, Nor any ill forebodes, But at the cross of Calv’ry, sings, Praise God
for lifted loads! If the
heart does not trust and cling to our Lord, then it stands alone; and apart
from our Lord Jesus Christ, there is only darkness and death. There is great
sorrow depicted in the suffering of our Lord on Calvary Mount; but please
consider the joy engendered at the Garden Tomb three days later! These worn and
tired bodies will likewise lie in a borrowed tomb at the time of the Lord’s own
choosing; but what joy comes on the morning of resurrection. Mary sought, while
it was yet dark, to find a dead body of her Lord at the Garden Tomb; but her
tears were turned from tears of deep morning into tears of inexpressible joy
when she recognized the Voice of her Lord through her profuse tears – a LIVE
BODY! The suffering of Christ bore the marks of many burdens which we have laid
upon His able shoulders. The cross was also illustrative of that fact.
The passing days bring many
cares, Fear not, I hear Him say, And when my fears are turned to prayers, The
burdens slip away. The
key to the beginning words of this verse is ‘passing days’. Every day has an
end – including the day of sadness and sorrow. The sun always rises again in
splendor. Our days under the sun are always mixed with goodness and wickedness.
We can only make effort to allay the wickedness of the day, and foster the
goodness thereof. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof.
(Matt 6:34)
He tells me of my Father’s love,
And never slumb’ring eye, My everlasting King above Will all my needs supply. Our Lord has spoken His Father’s
Love to us by His very life and Being. He is the personification of love. And
He never slumbers or sleeps. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole
earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose
heart is perfect toward him. (2 Chron 16:9) 1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh
my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy
foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth
Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is thy
keeper: the Lord is thy
shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite
thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he
shall preserve thy soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy
coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. (Psalm 121:1-8) Yea, God will supply all of the needs of His Elect people, but
not all of their foolish desires which can lead to ruin.
When to the throne of grace I
flee, I find the promise true, The mighty arms upholding me Will bear my
burdens too. The Mercy Seat is no longer
behind the Curtain of the Holiest of Holies – that curtain was ripped from top
to bottom at the final breath of Christ on the cross. Man could not remove it
by ripping it from bottom to top; so God ripped it from TOP to BOTTOM! So now
we need no high priest to make intercession for us. We may approach the Throne
of Grace by way of our Eternal High Priest which is Christ! Christ can, and
will, bear our burdens if we place our full trust in Him. Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt 11:28-30) He gives us complete rest since He is not only our Passover, but
our Sabbath (rest) as well. If we do the Lord’s will, it is He who is working
in us and not our own works of righteousness.
Refrain
Singing I go along life’s road,
Praising the Lord, praising the Lord, Singing I go along life’s road, For Jesus
has lifted my load. Bob Hope tells the story about driving down Sunset
Boulevard in Hollywood one sunny afternoon. He had his top down on his convertible
and felt very happy. He began to sing a popular song of the time and, when
stopped at a traffic light, noticed some burly fellows in a truck next to him
staring at him curiously. It was then he realized he was singing, I enjoy
being a girl! The same is true when we travel life’s rocky road with a song
on our lips. The world will believe we have lost our wits; but, in actuality, the
world has never had its wits to lose. When we are very joyous under desperate circumstances,
the world will consider us a peculiar people. Hopefully, we are just that. Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
(Titus 2:13-14) We are able to walk life’s road with a glad
heart and a light foot, for Jesus has lifted our load.
