This little Gospel song is the work of Mrs. Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (pseudonym: Lidie H. Edmunds) in 1897. It is a dreamy little ballad fit for both adult and youth participants. The composer of the tune, I AM THINKING TODAY OF THE BEAUTIFUL LAND, is unknown to me. The words to this song should evoke thought and reflection on one’s life and ultimate claims to eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
I am thinking today of that beautiful land
I shall reach when the sun goeth down;
When thro' wonderful grace by my Savior I stand,
Will there be any stars in my crown?
Chorus:
Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown
When at evening the sun goeth down?
When I wake with the blest in the mansions of rest,
Will there be any stars in my crown?
In the strength of the Lord let me labor and pray,
Let me watch as a winner of souls;
That bright stars may be mine in the glorious day,
When His praise like the sea-billow rolls. (Chorus)
Oh, what joy it will be when His face I behold,
Living gems at His feet to lay down;
It would sweeten my bliss in the city of gold,
Should there be any stars in my crown. (Chorus)
1. I am thinking today of that beautiful land I shall reach when the sun goeth down; When thro' wonderful grace by my Savior I stand, Will there be any stars in my crown?Only a minimal imagination is required to understand the metaphoric implications in the words of this verse. The Christian often may consider in deep thought the destiny to which he is bound in the security of His Savior. Heaven – what will it be like, how shall we fit in, are the streets truly paved with gold? What will Heaven be like? Well, first of all, we can be assured that its beauty surpasses all the natural beauty of the physical Universe in which we now abide. It will be a land of beauty, grace, trust, and peace. But the one thing that will make Heaven more perfect than any other consideration is the fact that in Heaven, we shall be together with our Lord forever. Where He is, there is unimaginable joy and peace. We will get there, not by our good deeds, but by His all-consuming grace toward us. Of course, the sunset referred to in this verse is that curtain of death that will end the earthly lives of each of those reading this devotion. But that form of death, to the Christian, is a mere gossamer curtain so thin as silk through which one passes to behold the greatest joy of the new Creation.
Of course, we all must come face-to-face with our Lord in that day before that ‘glassy sea’ that is the estuary of the River of Life. Both the Elect and the reprobate (many of whom erroneously consider themselves righteous) will stand before the Lord and hear the words that will either welcome, or banish, them from the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done itunto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matt 25:31-46)
When we stand before the Lord, how will we feel if we have no brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, or daughters standing with us? What of those to whom the Lord opened the door for us to teach the deeper truths of the Gospel which we neglected to do? Will we wear crowns with many stars, or a cap made of dog hair eaten away with moth and mange?
2. In the strength of the Lord let me labor and pray, Let me watch as a winner of souls; That bright stars may be mine in the glorious day, When His praise like the sea-billow rolls.Labor is an important aspect of the life of the Christian. Our Lord labored daily from before sunrise ‘til after sunset. We follow in His footprints. Labor will not save us, but labor for the Lord is evidence of our election in Him. We may be required to do labor which we consider beneath our dignity, but honest labor is honorable in all ways. We may be required to go where we are not minded to go, but go we must if the Lord calls us to the place. All those faces of the young and old whom we have loved in act and deed smiling back at us on that day will be like stars in heaven lighting our countenance. What wonderful words we will hear from our Lord. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. What a glorious thought to be reminded that He knew us and called us from before the worlds were made, and prepared a place for us from the foundation of the world!
3. Oh, what joy it will be when His face I behold, Living gems at His feet to lay down; It would sweeten my bliss in the city of gold, Should there be any stars in my crown. (Chorus) We may find many in Heaven whom we have avoided, but God has sent someone in our stead to them to share the Gospel and prepare their hearts for the irresistible drawing of the Holy Ghost. But how much more joyful if we had obeyed the Lord in teaching those ourselves!
Chorus:
Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown
When at evening the sun goeth down?
When I wake with the blest in the mansions of rest,
Will there be any stars in my crown?
The fact that we make it into the GATES OF SPLENDOR will be reward enough for the elect; but joy is multiplied by familiar company with whom we labored, witnessed, and bore many burdens.
When I was a child, I had a dream that almost materialized before I fully awoke, but not quite. In my early childhood following the end of World War II, pennies still had value. With three of them, you could buy a stamp for mailing a letter, or even a small candy bar. Five of them would buy a large Baby Ruth candy bar, or a coke. One night, I dreamed that there was a mountain of pennies in the middle of my bed. Suddenly, I felt myself about to wake up, so I grabbed both handfuls of pennies and hung on for dear life. But as I fully awoke, I realized that I was only grasping a handful of sheets. That was a disappointing dream which ended with a nightmare; but the dreams of the blessed are more substantial. Instead of a mountain of pennies, we will awaken to a mountain of glorious light and love. When I reflect on my life, I realize it has been a beautiful dream – not because I was always so good and righteous, in fact, I was a disgusting sinner, but because my Lord was always good and righteous. His righteousness was enough to cover my sins of commission and omission. Even the times when I walked in darkness, God was there with me and saw me through. He turned my acts of careless sinfulness into a better way of adventure. My life has been rich with blessing which I could never merit. My errors and accidents were all turned to my advantage. I am still mystified that the Lord would show such mercy on one such as me who was totally undeserving and without merit – but He has done so to my continual amazement. He has done the same for all who are the called according to His purpose – even you, my friend.
