You shall Know the Truth!: MUST I AGONIZE?

You shall Know the Truth!: MUST I AGONIZE?: by an unknown Christian author PRAYER is measured, not by time, but by intensity. Earnest souls who read of men like Praying Hyde are t...

MUST I AGONIZE?

by an unknown Christian author

PRAYER is measured, not by time, but by intensity. Earnest souls who read of men like Praying Hyde are today anxiously asking, "Am I expected to pray like that?"

They hear of others who sometimes remain on their knees before God all day or all night, refusing food and scorning sleep, whilst they pray and pray and pray. They naturally wonder, "Are we to do the same? Must all of us follow their examples?" We must remember that those men of prayer did not pray by time. They continued so long in prayer because they could not stop praying.

Some have ventured to think that in what has been said in earlier chapters I have hinted that we must all follow in their train. Child of God, do not let any such thought -- such fear? -- distress you. Just be willing to do what He will have you do -- what He leads you to do. Think about it; pray about it. We are bidden by the Lord Jesus to pray to our loving Heavenly Father. We sometimes sing, "Oh, how He loves!" And nothing can fathom that love.

Prayer is not given us as a burden to be borne, or an irksome duty to fulfill, but to be a joy and power to which there is no limit. It is given us that we "may find grace to help us in time of need" (Hebrews iv. 16, R.V.). And every time is a "time of need." "Pray ye" is an invitation to be accepted rather than a command to be obeyed. Is it a burden for a child to come to his father to ask for some boon? How a father loves his child, and seeks its highest good! How he shields that little one from any sorrow or pain or suffering! Our heavenly Father loves us infinitely more than any earthly father. The Lord Jesus loves us infinitely more than any earthly friend. God forgive me if any words of mine, on such a precious theme as prayer, have wounded the hearts or consciences of those who are yearning to know more about prayer. "Your heavenly Father knoweth," said our Lord: and if He knows, we can but trust and not be afraid.

A schoolmaster may blame a boy for neglected homework, or unpunctual attendance, or frequent absence; but the loving father in the home knows all about it. He knows all about the devoted service of the little laddie in the home circle, where sickness or poverty throws so many loving tasks in his way. Our dear, loving Father knows all about us. He sees. He knows how little leisure some of us have for prolonged periods of prayer.

For some of us God makes leisure. He makes us lie down (Psalms xxiii. 2) that He may make us look up. Even then, weakness of body often prevents prolonged prayer. Yet I question if any of us, however great and reasonable our excuses, spend enough thought over our prayers. Some of us are bound to be much in prayer. Our very work demands it. We may be looked upon as spiritual leaders; we may have the spiritual welfare or training of others. God forbid that we should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray enough for them (1st Samuel xii. 23). Yes, with some it is our very business -- almost our life's work-to pray, Others -- Have friends who give them pain,

Yet have not sought a friend in Him.

For them they cannot help praying. If we have the burden of souls upon us we shall never ask, "How long need I pray?"

But how well we know the difficulties which surround the prayer-life of many! A little pile of letters lies before me as I write. They are full of excuses, and kindly protests, and reasonings it is true. But is that why they are written? No! No! Far from it. In every one of them there is an undercurrent of deep yearning to know God's will, and how to obey the call to prayer amid all the countless claims of life.

Those letters tell of many who cannot get away from others for times of secret prayer; of those who share even bedrooms; of busy mothers, and maids, and mistresses who scarcely know how to get through the endless washing and cooking, mending and cleaning, shopping and visiting; of tired workers who are too weary to pray when the day's work is done.

Child of God, our heavenly Father knows all about it. He is not a taskmaster. He is our Father. If you have no time for prayer, or no chance of secret prayer, why, just tell Him all about it -- and you will discover that you are praying!

To those who seem unable to get any solitude at all, or even the opportunity of stealing into a quiet church for a few moments, may we point to the wonderful prayer-life of St. Paul? Did it ever occur to you that he was in prison when he wrote most of those marvelous prayers of his which we possess? Picture him. He was chained to a Roman soldier day and night, and was never alone for a moment. Epaphias was there part of the time, and caught something of his master's passion for prayer. St. Luke may have been there. What prayer-meetings! No opportunity for secret prayer. No! but how much we owe to the uplifting of those chained hands! You and I may be never, or rarely ever, alone, but at least our hands are not fettered with chains, and our hearts are not fettered, nor our lips.

Can we make time for prayer? I may be wrong, but my own belief is that it is not God's will for most of us -- and perhaps not for any of us -- to spend so much time in prayer as to injure our physical health through getting insufficient food or sleep. With very many it is a physical impossibility, because of bodily weakness, to remain long in the spirit of intense prayer.

The posture in which we pray is immaterial. God will listen whether we kneel, or stand, or sit, or walk, or work.

I am quite aware that many have testified to the fact that God sometimes gives special strength to those who curtail their hours of rest in order to pray more. At one time the writer tried getting up very early in the morning -- and every morning -- for prayer and communion with God. After a time he found that his daily work was suffering in intensity and effectiveness, and that it was difficult to keep awake during the early evening hours! But do we pray as much as we might do? It is a lasting regret to me that I allowed the days of youth and vigor to pass by without laying more stress upon those early hours of prayer.

Now, the inspired command is clear enough: "Pray without ceasing" (1st Thessalonians v. 17). Our dear Lord said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" -- "and never lose heart" (Weymouth) (Luke xviii. 1).

This, of course, cannot mean that we are to be always on our knees. I am convinced that God does not wish us to neglect rightful work in order to pray. But it is equally certain that we might work better and do more work if we gave less time to work and more to prayer.

Let us work well. We are to be "not slothful in business" (Romans xii. 11). St. Paul says, "We exhort you, brethren, that ye abound more and more; and that ye. . . do your own business, and to work with your hands. . . that ye may walk honestly . . . and have need of nothing" (1st Thessalonians iv. 11, 12). "If any will not work, neither let him eat" (1st Thessalonians iii. 10).

But are there not endless opportunities during every day of "lifting, up holy hands" -- or at least holy hearts -- in prayer to our Father? Do we seize the opportunity, as we open our eyes upon each new day, of praising and blessing our Redeemer? Every day is an Easter day to the Christian. We can pray as we dress. Without a reminder we shall often forget. Stick a piece of stamp-paper in the corner of your looking-glass, bearing the words, -- "Pray without ceasing." Try it. We can pray as we go from one duty to another. We can often pray at our work. The washing and the writing, the mending and the minding, the cooking and the cleaning will be done all the better for it.

Do not children, both young and old, work better and play better when some loved one is watching? Will it not help us ever to remember that the Lord Jesus is always with us, watching? Aye, and helping. The very consciousness of His eye upon us will be the consciousness of His power within us.

Do you not think that St. Paul had in his mind this habitual praying rather than fixed seasons of prayer when he said, "The Lord is at hand" -- i.e., is near (Weymouth). "In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians iv. 5, 6)? Does not "in everything" suggest that, as thing after thing befalls us, moment by moment, we should then and there make it a "thing" of prayer and praise to the Lord Who is near? (Why should we limit this "nearness" to the Second Advent?)

What a blessed thought: prayer is to a near-God. When our Lord sent His disciples forth to work, He said, "Lo, I am with you alway."

Sir Thomas Browne, the celebrated physician, had caught this spirit. He made a vow "to pray in all places where quietness inviteth; in any house, highway or street; and to know no street in this city that may not witness that I have not forgotten God and my Savior in it; and that no town or parish where I have been may not say the like. To take occasion of praying upon the sight of any church which I see as I ride about. To pray daily and particularly for my sick patients, and for all sick people, under whose care soever. And at the entrance into the house of the sick to say, 'The peace and the mercy of God be upon this house.' After a sermon to make a prayer and desire a blessing, and to pray for the minister."

But we question if this habitual communion with our blessed Lord is possible unless we have times -- whether long or brief -- of definite prayer. And what of these prayer seasons? We have said earlier that prayer is as simple as a little child asking something of its father. Nor would such a remark need any further comment were it not for the existence of the evil one.

There is no doubt whatever that the devil opposes our approach to God in prayer, and does all he can to prevent the prayer of faith. His chief way of hindering us is to try to fill our minds with the thought of our needs, so that they shall not be occupied with thoughts of God, our loving Father, to Whom we pray. He wants us to think more of the gift than of the Giver. The Holy Spirit leads us to pray for a brother. We get as far as "O God, bless my brother" -- and away go our thoughts to the brother, and his affairs, and his difficulties, his hopes and his fears, and away goes prayer!

How hard the devil makes it for us to concentrate our thoughts upon God! This is why we urge people to get a realization of the glory of God, and the power of God, and the presence of God, before offering up any petition. If there were no devil there would be no difficulty in prayer, but it is the evil one's chief aim to make prayer impossible. That is why most of us find it hard to sympathize with those who profess to condemn what they call "vain repetitions" and "much speaking" in prayer -- quoting our Lord's words in His sermon on the mount.

A prominent London vicar said quite recently, "God does not wish us to waste either His time or ours with long prayers. We must be business-like in our dealings with God, and just tell Him plainly and briefly what we want, and leave the matter there." But does our friend think that prayer is merely making God acquainted with our needs? If that is all there is in it, why, there is no need of prayer! "For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him," said our Lord when urging the disciples to pray.

We are aware that Christ Himself condemned some "long prayers" (Matthew xxiii. 14). But they were long prayers made "for a pretense," "for a show" (Luke xx. 47). Dear praying people, believe me, the Lord would equally condemn many of the "long prayers" made every week in some of our prayer-meetings -- prayers which kill the prayer-meeting, and which finish up with a plea that God would hear these "feeble breathings," or "unworthy utterings."

But he never condemns long prayers that are sincere. Let us not forget that our Lord sometimes spent long nights in prayer. We are told of one of these -- we do not know how frequently they were (Luke vi. 12). He would sometimes rise a "great while before day" and depart to a solitary place for prayer (Mark i. 35). The perfect Man spent more time in prayer than we do. It would seem an undoubted fact that with God's saints in all ages nights of prayer with God have been followed by days of power with men.

Nor did our Lord excuse Himself from prayer -- as we, in our ignorance, might think He could have done -- because of the pressing calls to service and boundless opportunities of usefulness. After one of His busiest days, at a time when His popularity was at its highest, just when everyone sought His company and His counsel, He turned His back upon them all and retired to a mountain to pray (Matthew xiv. 23).

We are told that once "great multitudes came together to hear Him, and to be healed of their infirmities." Then comes the remark, "But Jesus himself constantly withdrew into the desert, and there prayed" (Luke v. 15, 16, Weymouth). Why? Because He knew that prayer was then far more potent than "service."

We say we are too busy to pray. But the busier our Lord was, the more He prayed. Sometimes He had no leisure so much as to eat (Mark iii. 20); and sometimes He had no leisure for needed rest and sleep (Mark vi. 31). Yet He always took time to pray. If frequent prayer, and, at times, long hours of prayer, were necessary for our Savior, are they less necessary for us?

I do not write to persuade people to agree with me: that is a very small matter. We only want to know the truth. Spurgeon once said: "There is no need for us to go beating about the bush, and not telling the Lord distinctly what it is that we crave at His hands. Nor will it be seemly for us to make any attempt to use fine language; but let us ask God in the simplest and most direct manner for just the things we want. . . . I believe in business prayers. I mean prayers in which you take to God one of the many promises which He has given us in His Word, and expect it to be fulfilled as certainly as we look for the money to be given us when we go to the bank to cash a check. We should not think of going there, lolling over the counter chattering with the clerks on every conceivable subject except the one thing for which we had gone to the bank, and then coming away without the coin we needed; but we should lay before the clerk the promise to pay the bearer a certain sum, tell him in what form we wished to take the amount, count the cash after him, and then go on our way to attend to other business. That is just an illustration of the method in which we should draw supplies from the Bank of Heaven." Splendid!

But -- ? By all means let us be definite in prayer; by all means let us put eloquence aside -- if we have any! By all means let us avoid needless "chatter," and come in faith, expecting to receive.

But would the bank clerk pass me the money over the counter so readily if there stood by my side a powerful, evil-countenanced, well-armed ruffian whom he recognized to be a desperate criminal waiting to snatch the money before my weak hands could grasp it? Would he not wait till the ruffian had gone? This is no fanciful picture. The Bible teaches us that, in some way or other, Satan can hinder our prayers and delay the answer. Does not St. Peter urge certain things upon Christians, that their "prayers be not hindered"? (1st Peter iii. 7.) Our prayers can be hindered. "Then cometh the evil one and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in the heart" (Matthew xiii. 19, R.V.).

Scripture gives us one instance -- probably only one out of many -- where the evil one actually kept back -- delayed -- for three weeks an answer to prayer. We only mention this to show the need of repeated prayer, persistence in prayer, and also to call attention to the extraordinary power which Satan possesses. We refer to Daniel x. 12, 13: "Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to humble thyself before God, thy words were heard: and I am come for thy word's sake. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days. But lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me."

We must not overlook this Satanic opposition and hindrance to our prayers. If we were to be content to ask God only once for some promised thing or one we deemed necessary, these chapters would never have been written. Are we never to ask again? For instance, I know that God willeth not the death of a sinner. So I come boldly in prayer: "O God, save my friend." Am I never to ask for his conversion again? George Muller prayed daily -- and oftener -- for sixty years for the conversion of a friend. But what light does the Bible throw upon "business-like" prayers? Our Lord gave two parables to teach persistence and continuance in prayer. The man who asked three loaves from his friend at midnight received as many as he needed "because of his importunity" -- or persistency (Weymouth), i.e., his "shamelessness," as the word literally means (Luke xi. 8). The widow who "troubled" the unjust judge with her "continual coming" at last secured redress. Our Lord adds "And shall not God avenge his elect which cry unto him day and night, and he is longsuffering over them?" (Luke xviii. 7, R.V.)

How delighted our Lord was with the poor Syro-Phoenician woman who would not take refusals or rebuffs for an answer! Because of her continual request He said: "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt" (Matthew xv. 28). Our dear Lord, in His agony in Gethsemane, found it necessary to repeat even His prayer. "And he left them and went away and prayed a third time, saying again the same words" (Matthew xxvi. 44). And we find St. Paul, the apostle of prayer, asking God time after time to remove his thorn in the flesh. 

"Concerning this thing," says he, "I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me" (2nd Corinthians xii. 8).

God cannot always grant our petitions immediately. Sometimes we are not fitted to receive the gift. Sometimes He says "No" in order to give us something far better. Think, too, of the days when St. Peter was in prison. If your boy was unjustly imprisoned, expecting death at any moment, would you -- could you -- be content to pray just once, a "business-like" prayer: "O God, deliver my boy from the hands of these men"? Would you not be very much in prayer and very much in earnest?

This is how the Church prayed for St. Peter. "Long and fervent prayer was offered to God by the Church on his behalf" (Acts xii. 5, Weymouth). Bible students will have noticed that the A.V. rendering, "without ceasing," reads "earnestly" in the R.V. Dr. Torrey points out that neither translation gives the full force of the Greek. The word means literally "stretched-out-ed-ly." It represents the soul on the stretch of earnest and intense desire. Intense prayer was made for St. Peter. The very same word is used of our Lord in Gethsemane: "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became as it were great drops of blood falling down upon the ground" (Luke xxii. 44).

Ah! there was earnestness, even agony in prayer. Now, what about our prayers? Are we called upon to agonize in prayer? Many of God's dear saints say "No!" They think such agonizing in us would reveal great want of faith. Yet most of the experiences which befell our Lord are to be ours. We have been crucified with Christ, and we are risen with Him. Shall there be, with us, no travailing for souls?

Come back to human experience. Can we refrain from agonizing in prayer over dearly beloved children who are living in sin? I question if any believer can have the burden of souls upon him -- a passion for souls -- and not agonize in prayer.

Can we help crying out, like John Knox, "O God, give me Scotland or I die"? 

Here again the Bible helps us. Was there no travail of soul and agonizing in prayer when Moses cried out to God, "O, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin --; and if not, blot, me, I pray thee, out of thy book"? (Exodus xxxii. 32.)

Was there no agonizing in prayer when St. Paul said, "I could wish" -- ("pray," R.V. margin) -- "that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake"? (Romans ix. 3.)

We may, at all events, be quite sure that our Lord, Who wept over Jerusalem, and Who "offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears" (Hebrews v. 7), will not be grieved if He sees us weeping over erring ones. Nay, will it not rather gladden His heart to see us agonizing over the sin which grieves Him? In fact, may not the paucity of conversions in so many a ministry be due to lack of agonizing in prayer?

We are told that "As soon as Zion travailed she brought forth her children" (Isaiah lxvi. 8). Was St. Paul thinking of this passage when he wrote to the Galatians, "My little children, of whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you"? (Galatians iv. 19.) And will not this be true of spiritual children? Oh, how cold our hearts often are! How little we grieve over the lost! And shall we dare to criticize those who agonize over the perishing? God forbid! No; there is such a thing as wrestling in prayer. Not because God is unwilling to answer, but because of the opposition of the "world-rulers of this darkness" (Ephesians vi. 12, R.V.).

The very word used for "striving" in prayer means "a contest." The contest is not between God and ourselves. He is at one with us in our desires. The contest is with the evil one, although he is a conquered foe (1st John iii. 8). He desires to thwart our prayers.

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians vi. 12). We, too, are in these "heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians i. 3); and it is only in Christ that we can be victorious. Our wrestling may be a wrestling of our thoughts from thinking Satan's suggestions, and keeping them fixed on Christ our Savior -- that is, watching as well as praying (Ephesians vi. 18); "watching unto prayer."

We are comforted by the fact that "the Spirit helpeth our infirmities: for we know not how to pray as we ought" (Romans viii. 26) How does the Spirit "help" us, teach us, if not by example as well as by precept? How does the Spirit "pray"? "The Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (Romans viii. 26). Does the Spirit "agonize" in prayer as the Son did in Gethsemane?

If the Spirit prays in us, shall we not share His "groanings" in prayer? And if our agonizing in prayer weakens our body at the time, will angels come to strengthen us, as they did our Lord? (Luke xxii. 43.) We may, perhaps, like Nehemiah, weep, and mourn, and fast when we pray before God (Nehemiah i. 4). "But," one asks, "may not a godly sorrow for sin and a yearning desire for the salvation of others induce in us an agonizing which is unnecessary, and dishonoring to God?"

May it not reveal a lack of faith in God's promises? Perhaps it may do so. But there is little doubt that St. Paul regarded prayer -- at least sometimes -- as a conflict (see Romans xv. 30). In writing to the Colossian Christians he says: "I would have you know how greatly I strive for you . . . and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts may be comforted" (Colossians ii. 1, 2). Undoubtedly he refers to his prayers for them.

Again, he speaks of Epaphras as one who is "always striving for you in his prayers, that ye may stand perfect, and fully assured in all the will of God" (Colossians iv. 12).

The word for "strive" is our word "agonize," the very word used of our Lord being "in an agony" when praying Himself (Luke xxii. 44).

The apostle says again, Epaphras "hath much labor for you," that is, in his prayers. St. Paul saw him praying there in prison, and witnessed his intense striving as he engaged in a long, indefatigable effort on behalf of the Colossians. How the Praetorian guard to whom St. Paul was chained must have wondered -- yes, and have been deeply touched -- to see these men at their prayers. Their agitation, their tears, their earnest supplications as they lifted up chained hands in prayer must have been a revelation to him! What would they think of our prayers?

No doubt St. Paul was speaking of his own custom when he urged the Ephesian Christians and others "to stand," "with all prayer and supplication, praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and on my behalf . . . an ambassador in chains." (Ephesians vi. 18-20). That is a picture of his own prayer-life, we may be sure.

So then prayer meets with obstacles, which must be prayed away. That is what men mean when they talk about praying through. We must wrestle with the machinations of Satan. It may be bodily weariness or pain, or the insistent claims of other thoughts, or doubt, or the direct assaults of spiritual hosts of wickedness. With us, as with St. Paul, prayer is something of a "conflict," a "wrestle," at least sometimes, which compels us to "stir" ourselves up "to lay hold on God" (Isaiah Ixiv. 7). Should we be wrong if we ventured to suggest that very few people ever wrestle in prayer? Do we? But let us never doubt our Lord's power and the riches of His grace.

The author of The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life told a little circle of friends, just before her death, of an incident in her own life. Perhaps I may be allowed to tell it abroad. A lady friend who occasionally paid her a visit for two or three days was always a great trial, a veritable tax upon her temper and her patience. Every such visit demanded much prayer-preparation. The time came when this "critical Christian" planned a visit for a whole week! She felt that nothing but a whole night of prayer could fortify her for this great testing. So, providing herself with a little plate of biscuits, she retired in good time to her bedroom, to spend the night on her knees before God, to beseech Him to give her grace to keep sweet and loving during the impending visit. No sooner had she knelt beside her bed than there flashed into her mind the words of Philippians iv. 19: "God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Her fears vanished. She said, "When I realized that, I gave Him thanks and praised Him for His goodness. Then I jumped into bed and slept the night through. My guest arrived the next day, and I quite enjoyed her visit.

No one can lay down hard and fast rules of prayer, even for himself. God's gracious Holy Spirit alone can direct us moment by moment. There, however, we must leave the matter. God is our judge and our Guide. But let us remember that prayer is a many-sided thing. As Bishop Moule says, "True prayer can be uttered under innumerable circumstances." Very often

Prayer is the burden of a sigh

The falling of a tear,

The upward glancing of an eye

When none but God is near.

It may be just letting your request be made known unto God (Philippians iv. 6). We cannot think that prayer need always be a conflict and a wrestle. For if it were, many of us would soon become physical wrecks, suffering from nervous breakdown, and coming to an early grave.

And with many it is a physical impossibility to stay any length of time in a posture of prayer. Dr. Moule says: "Prayer, genuine and victorious, is continually offered without the least physical effort or disturbance. It is often in the deepest stillness of soul and body that it wins its longest way. But there is another side of the matter. Prayer is never meant to be indolently easy, however simple and reliant it may be. It is meant to be an infinitely important transaction between man and God. And therefore, very often . . . it has to be viewed as a work involving labor, persistence, conflict, if it would be prayer indeed."

No one can prescribe for another. Let each be persuaded in his own mind how to pray, and the Holy Spirit will inspire us and guide us how long to pray. And let us all be so full of the love of God our Savior that prayer, at all times and in all places, may be a joy as well as a means of grace.

Shepherd Divine, our wants relieve

In this and every day;

To all Thy tempted followers give

The power, to watch and pray.

The spirit of interceding grace

Give us the faith to claim;

To wrestle till we see Thy face

And know Thy hidden Name.

The Evening Light Legacy of Hymns and Spiritual Songs

By Harlan Sorrell

     One of the most outstanding and priceless treasures the Lord has given us through the instrumentality of D. S. Warner and other pioneers of the “evening light” reformation has been the legacy of hymns and spiritual songs. Judging from my perspective as a musically inclined person and a lover of hymns and spiritual songs, and having examined hundreds of them from various sources, I do not hesitate to say that there has never been a movement in Christian history that has ever produced a volume of hymns and spiritual songs of greater excellence. D. S. Warner was an accomplished poet. After embarking upon his career as a reformer, he wrote hundreds of lyrics, most of which were set to music by his colleagues. D. S. Warner, however, created the melodies to a few of his lyrics. In the earliest days of the movement he was blessed with the assistance of music writers Joseph C. Fisher and his wife, Allie, and H. R. Jeffrey. By the year 1885 the Gospel Trumpet Company was preparing to publish its first songbook, titled “Songs of Victory.” The preface of the songbook read, in part, as follows:

      “ ‘UNTO JESUS WHO LOVED US, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and His Father,’ and to all His saints, are these SONGS OF VICTORY consecrated forevermore. AMEN!

      “It is a fact well known, and felt by the saints, that the hymns of the past fail to express the glorious light and liberty, grace, truth and power, the free and holy Church has attained in this blessed evening light. Hence the Lord has marvelously given us these NEW SONGS, that we may more fully sing the joy and victory we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

     This but marked the beginning of the new songs this movement was destined to produce. So great was the volume that a new songbook was introduced about every 3 to 7 years. This movement of Christians who had discarded their various denominational identities and had found heavenly fellowship and unity by earnestly following in the footsteps of Jesus were a people whose hearts were overflowing with the joy of the Lord and songs. Among their favorite scripture quotations was Isaiah 35:10: “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” In fact, beautiful harmonious a cappella singing became an outstanding feature of the movement.

     By July, 1888, another new songbook was coming off the Gospel Trumpet press. Noah Byrum tells about his arrival as a new worker and member of the “Trumpet family” in the spring of 1888, when the new songbook was being prepared for printing. He says, “When the family, together with the evangelistic company, was assembled, Brother Warner read a chapter from the Bible and as we all kneeled he offered prayer. And what a prayer! He prayed so earnestly for everyone present and called each one by name. When he prayed for me and called me by my name and asked God to bless my young life, I felt that I had been in the very presence of the Lord. Then he prayed for the publishing work, oh, so earnestly, thanked God for the printing press that we already had, and asked God to speed the day when there would be a whole row of presses thundering forth the gospel messages. His prayers have been answered, but he did not live to see the answer come to pass. We are enjoying now the fruits of his prayers and labors.

     “Some members of the evangelistic party remained only a few days at the Trumpet office and then took their departure for their respective homes. D. S. Warner and B. E. Warren remained. They were both spending all their spare time on a new songbook, the second one to be published, which was called Anthems From the Throne. … After the printing of the book had started D. S. Warner, who had written the words to many of the songs, left his desk and came to the pressroom to see the printed sheets. As he watched them accumulate he raised his hand heavenward and shouted, ‘Praise the Lord for the glorious message in song that will be sung around the world!’” – Quote from The Book Of Noah, pages 55, 70.

     Indeed the message has been sung around the world! And I must personally add, “Praise the Lord that the message in the songs reached me!” What would my life have been like without the influence of those beautiful, heavenly, heart-touching songs? One cannot be exposed to them without realizing they came from writers whose hearts were in close communion with God. Their messages are powerful and heart gripping, and seem to carry the same force and conviction as the Word of God upon which they are based. Many have been the testimonies given of the deep and lasting impressions that were made by the songs and the singing people heard when they first attended a camp meeting or other gathering of the “evening light” saints. The following testimony was written by the late May (Jackson) Carver from Louisiana.

            “Papa had heard about the Hammond, Louisiana camp meeting, and had gone and taken my brother John with him in 1909. The following year he began to make plans to go again. I remember one night after we were all in bed, begging to let me go with him. I was twelve. He finally figured a way to pay my fare – sold some pumpkins – and so we went on the train. My sister Susie met us at the train and we walked out to the campground. We arrived at the gate as the evening service was beginning. We heard them singing “What Will It Be To Be There?” It was the most beautiful singing I have ever heard. It truly sounded heavenly. During those years the large tabernacle was filled with people. The singers were divided into sections, soprano, alto, tenor and bass, and the whole congregation sang. The singing in the ‘Spirit’ of hundreds of people without any musical instruments was really wonderful to listen to … .” – May DeLee (Jackson) Carver, written in her family “History” in 1967, the year of her death.

     I got saved on that very same campground in November 1967, and neither will I ever forget the singing I heard there that year. Evidently, the singing had not changed since Sister May Carver heard it there in 1910. I can say with her, “it truly sounded heavenly,” especially the night I got saved! I’ll never forget how I felt that night as I walked back from the altar to my seat, having just received the first burst of heavenly glory from the Holy Spirit’s infusion of Jesus’ love into my bosom. The saints were singing, “Oh, how sweet is thy abiding! Oh, how tender is the love thou dost shed abroad within me from the Father-heart above!” – Evening Light Songs #292, verse 2.  I felt that everything within me was resonant to the words and music of that song.

     In the January 1950 issue of the Faith and Victory, Bro. Fred Pruitt wrote: “The Lord willing, the new song book, Evening Light Songs, will be ready for distribution December 27^th [1949]. Single copy $1.50, plus 15 cents for postage and wrapping.” As the new songbook was in the process of being printed, he had written in the November 1949 issue, “It was quite a joy to our souls to see those good inspired songs rolling off the press.” Although the Evening Light Songs hymnal actually contains less than half the volume of songs that the “evening light” reformation movement produced, how I thank God for this excellent collection that is still rolling off the press and available to us today!

The Christian Legacy of A Cappella Music In Divine Worship

The Christian Legacy of A Cappella Music In Divine Worship

By Harlan Sorrell

     Did you know that instrumental music was not introduced into so-called Christian worship until quite late in the Roman Catholic apostasy, and even then the Catholic Church accepted it reluctantly? The Greek Orthodox Church never accepted mechanical instruments into their worship at all, and it is evident that the Protestant reformers removed them from worship. The word “a cappella” is an Italian word, coming from two Latin words, “a” meaning “according to,” and “cappella” meaning “chapel.” Webster defines “a cappella” thus: “In the style of church or chapel music; especially in the old style, without accompaniment.” It is a fact of history that this was the style of church music from apostolic times. The proof can be found in the writings of the early church fathers.

     There are very few people of the present generation who realize that the general use of mechanical instruments, even in the worship services of so-called “evangelical churches,” is something that has evolved, for the most part, over the past 150 years. Prior to this, the use of instrumental music in worship was almost unknown to Protestantism, and could only be found among the most liberal and “worldly” classes of Protestant congregations. Charles Spurgeon, a renowned Baptist minister of the 19^th century has been quoted as saying, “Israel was at school, and used childish things to help her to learn; but in these days when Jesus gives us spiritual food, one can make melody without strings and pipes. We do not need them. They would hinder rather than help our praise. Sing unto Him. This is the sweetest and best music. There is no instrument like the human voice. What a degradation to supplant the intelligent song of the whole congregation by the blowing off of wind from inanimate bellows and pipes! We might as well pray by machinery as praise by it.” It is said that Spurgeon preached to 20,000 people every Sunday for 20 years in the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle and never were mechanical instruments of music used in his services. When asked why, he quoted 1 Cor. 14:15: “I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.” He then declared, “I would as soon pray to God with machinery as to sing to God with machinery.”

     It is a fact that mechanical instruments serve as “crutches” for singing. I have found it interesting in visiting the worship services of different kinds and brands of “churches” to note that, where mechanical instruments are used the most, the singing is generally the poorest and the shallowest. But among those groups where mechanical instruments in worship have been omitted, the quality of the singing usually seems better, being enhanced by vocal harmony. Even children learn to sing in harmony and make beautiful music with their voices at a young age when they are able to hear all the harmonizing parts sung. And naturally so: would children ever learn to walk properly if we taught them from childhood that in order to walk they must use crutches? No, they learn to balance themselves and walk better without using crutches. It works the same with singing. A better ear is developed for the balance of harmony without the crutch of an instrument. The old-time Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, spoke correctly and accurately when he said mechanical instruments “hinder rather than help our praise.” The sweetest music that has ever been heard on earth is the voices of saints blending in rich, harmonious tones as they sing in the Spirit. Such music has a heavenly ring that charms and thrills the pure in heart as well as draws the attention of sinners. It actually sounds angelic!  [Note: to experience a taste of this, I highly recommend attending the national camp meeting of the Church of God, held annually at Monark Springs, (Neosho), Missouri, starting each year on the third Friday in July.]

     With the exception of some that may have lacked understanding of this issue from their beginning, it appears that most Protestant movements adopted mechanical instruments into their worship services after they lost the fundamental vision of their earliest leaders and degenerated from their original spiritual environment. The degeneration has progressed to the point that today, it seems, most so-called worship services consist of little more than “entertainment” and fleshly appeal, leaving the present generation of people with no clue to what the music of real spiritual worship is like. This is especially unfortunate for the youth of our time. The loss of fundamental, wholesome church music that has taken place over the past 100 years, and especially the past 50 years has stifled the influence of genuine Christianity in the earth. A few conservative minority groups, however, still hold the original Christian tradition of a cappella music in worship. On occasions when today’s youth do get the rare opportunity to hear it they are usually amazed, and often say, “I’ve never heard singing like this!”  I remember a woman who, after attending the Monark Springs camp meeting (mentioned above) for her first time, stated that the singing sounded to her like angels. There is indeed something very unique and special about the harmonious blending of human voices singing praises to God out of the depths of pure hearts that no other kind or style of music can come close to imitating. It carries a heavenly aura.

The Dispensational Difference

     All who study the scriptures and church history in depth know why the apostolic church never used mechanical instruments and why the Anabaptists as well as reformers like Martin Luther, John Wesley, and many others, including D. S. Warner, rejected their use in spiritual worship. They used musical instruments to aid the composing of written music for their songs, or for personal or social enjoyment, but they rejected their use in “worship” because they understood the principles taught in John 4:23-24 and Acts 17:24-25, etc. To them, worship was the outpouring of the “inner man,” whether in prayer, preaching, or song. Mechanical instruments in spiritual worship were considered out of place. As history states concerning the primitive Christians, they “were of too spiritual a fiber to substitute lifeless instruments for, or use them to accompany, the human voice.” There is no sweeter music on earth than the perfect blending of human voices in four-part harmony. Unfortunately, the majority of the populace of today’s world has never had the opportunity to hear this kind of superb, heavenly music. It touches and inspires the soul like no other.

   But some have supposed that because the Jews used musical instruments in their worship and, because it is even commanded in various places in the Psalms of David, that the early Christians, therefore, must have used them too. But in this they lack insight. All scripture must be interpreted and applied according to its dispensational context. In Psalm 144:1, David says, “Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” It is true that God blessed David in all his wars and fighting, and helped him to kill and destroy his enemies. But that is foreign to the Gospel dispensation. God now requires us to cease from wars and fighting and to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us and despitefully use us, and to “resist not evil.” (Matt. 5:38-45). God allowed David to also have multiple wives, and blessed him and the offspring he brought forth by those wives. But God condemns such a practice in the present dispensation and will never bless any man who should follow David’s example. Therefore all scripture must be interpreted and applied according to its dispensational context. This holds true relative to Psalm 150:3-8, and other Psalms that command the use of musical instruments or dancing in worship to God. No Old Testament text can annul any New Testament doctrine or principle. The New Testament is the “better testament,” and is the one God requires us to live by today.

      Yes, David, in his dispensation was “a man after God’s own heart.” But he who would be a man after God’s own heart in this dispensation must rise to a much higher plane than David ever knew or had the privilege of knowing. We must now be raised up to sit with Christ in heavenly places in the Spirit. This is the plane where all true and acceptable worship now takes place. This kind of worship can neither be ceremonially nor mechanically produced, but only takes place by the interaction of the human spirit with the divine Spirit. We sing, pray, and prophesy (preach) in the Spirit, having New Testament authority to include all this in our worship. But we find no New Testament injunction for “playing” in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit only anoints the music that flows from the inner human spirit and soul. God has no interest or delight in that music we may produce by skillful hands. It is the vibrations and incense of the melodies of our hearts that He desires to hear and smell.

“The Lord once dwelt in temples made with hands,

And had one people, Israel’s chosen bands;

And at Jerusalem, in formal ways,

Was worshiped by the just of olden days.”

But better things than these God had in store,

When ordinances of old should be no more [Heb. 9:10],

And He should dwell within man’s inward parts,

And worship be the incense of our hearts.

     There are those who feel that to remove the use of musical instruments from their worship services would negate the quality of their worship services. But that is not the case at all, if the services are led and inspired by the Holy Spirit. The quality of a worship service is actually enhanced when the mechanical element is removed from it and the service becomes the outflow of a spiritual communion flow between the spirits of the worshipers and the Spirit of God. It is then that we get to hear the sound that God is interested in hearing – the melody and harmony that pours forth from hearts tuned to His Spirit and vibrating with chords of divine life and glory. God didn’t remove the formality and ceremonialism of the Old Testament to leave us with something inferior. He gave us something MUCH BETTER! A cappella music in divine worship should never be viewed as an imposition, but rather as a priceless legacy from the purest days of primitive Christianity.

     Consider the following quotations:

     “There can be no doubt that originally that music of the divine service was everywhere entirely of a vocal nature.” – Emil Numan, The History of Music.

     “We have no real knowledge of the exact character of the music which formed a part of the religious devotion of the first Christian congregation. It was, however, purely vocal.” – Dr. Frederic Louis Ritter.

     “Only singing, however, and no playing of instruments was permitted in the early church.” – Hugo Leichtentritt.

     “The music they used, reproduced the spirit of their religion – an inward quietude. All the music employed in their early services was vocal.” – F. L. Humphrey’s Evolution of Church Music.

     “It (instrumental music) was only permitted to the Jews, as sacrifice was, for the heaviness and grossness of their souls. God condescended to their weakness, because they were lately drawn off from idols; but now, instead of organs, we may use our own bodies to praise him withal. Instruments appertain not to Christians.” – John Chrysostom (345 – 407 A.D), Church Father, Eastern/Greek. (Homily on Psalm 149 & Comments on Psalm 150.

     “Music in churches is as ancient as the apostles, but instrumental music not so.” – Joseph Bingham, Works Vol. III, page 137.

     “The Christian community held the same view, as we know from the apostolic and post-apostolic literature: instrumental music was thought unfit for religious services; the Christian sources are quite outspoken in their condemnation of instrumental performances. Originally, only song was considered worthy of direct approach to Divinity.” – The New Oxford History of Music (The Music of Post Biblical Judaism, Vol. I, Page 135).

     “The general introduction of instrumental music can certainly not be assigned to an earlier date than the fifth century – the first organ is believed to have been used in Church service in the thirteenth century. The early reformers, when they came out of Rome, removed them as monuments of idolatry.” – McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia.

     “Pope Vitalian is related to have first introduced organs into some of the churches of western Europe about 670 A.D.” – The American Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, page 688.

     “In the Greek (Catholic) Church the organ never came into use. But after the eighth century it became more and more common in the Latin Church, not, however, without opposition from the side of the monks. … The Roman Catholic Church began adopting musical instruments during the Middle Ages, but the Greek church in the East continued to reject them; and even as late as the sixteenth century there was enough protest within the Roman church that the Council of Trent (1545) came very close to abolishing their use. Catholic churches finally began using instrumental music (usually an organ) during the Middle Ages, but it was largely opposed as unscriptural and was slow to gain acceptance. Not until the 1200’s could it be found in widespread use” – Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia, Vol 2, page 1702.

     “The organ in the worship is the insignia of Baal. The Roman Catholics borrowed it from the Jews.” – Martin Luther (1483 – 1536 A.D.) [McClintock & Strong’s Encyclopedia, Vol. I, page 762].

     “Musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting of lamps, and the restoration of other shadows of the law.” – Presbyterian founder.

     “I am an old minister and I here declare that I never knew them (musical instruments) to be productive of any good in the worship of God, and I have reason to believe they are productive of much evil. Music, as a science, I esteem and admire, but instrumental music in the house of God I abominate and abhor.” – Adam Clarke.

     “… Those who know the church of God best, and what constitutes its genuine spiritual state, know that these things (mechanical instruments of music) have been introduced as a substitute for the life and power of religion; and that where they prevail most, there is least of the power of Christianity. Away with such portentous baubles from the worship of that infinite Spirit who requires His followers to worship Him in spirit and truth, for to no such worship are these instruments friendly.” – Adam Clarke, Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. II, pp. 690-691.

     “I have no objection to instruments being in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen.” – John Wesley, 1729.

     “But one may ask, ‘Is there anything really wrong with one washing his hands before he eats his food?’ Morally, no; religiously yes. An activity can be morally right and yet be religiously wrong. Consider the following: (1) It is morally right to eat ham and eggs, but it is wrong to do so as a religious rite, as an act of worship. (2) It is morally right to apply water to an infant’s body for the purpose of bathing it, but it is wrong to do so as a religious rite. (3) It is morally right to play an instrument of music for recreation and entertainment, but it is wrong to do so in the worship of God.” – Author & date anonymous.

     Question:  “Is it right to have an organ or other instrumental music in church services?  Answer: ““No. Jesus never introduced instrumental music into the worship of Christians. And the burden of the evening light is to bring the worship of God in every particular back to the standard Jesus lifted up. Appeals are often made by those who would justify the use of instruments in public to the various texts throughout the Old Testament, which speaks of the Jews worshipping God on various kinds of musical instruments. But let it be remembered, that although the Jews worshipped God upon instruments, such worship was no part of the original Levitical worship, and was not commanded by Moses. Hence it appears that instrumental music in the Old as well as the New Testament does not properly belong to the public worship of God. We believe that musical instruments are alright in their place, but their place is outside of the public worship of the saints.”  -- William G. Schell [songwriter, author, and co-laborer with D. S. Warner], The Gospel Trumpet, January 30, 1896, page 2, Questions.

     “Having been a fond lover of instrumental music, I have always protested against the idea of abandoning our organ in the Missions. Many dear brethren have admonished me on the same, but I have resisted by quoting the Psalmist’s expressions on music, and felt it was not only right but [also] scriptural. But while in England, I came across this letter, written by a godly man of his time, which I send to the Trumpet. After reading it I have become thoroughly convinced that we must worship God with our voices, and not with instruments; and I feel that the following will be a benefit to the rest of God’s little ones. I thank God for the truth and light, and I shall never use an instrument in our worship again. This letter is copied from a book entitled ‘Controversy of Zion,’ by Dr. T. Christe:

     “ ‘Things insignificant in themselves often involve great principles. Your correspondent at the little Independent chapel at Parton thinks that matters there never looked so cheerful as at present, and amongst the sources of his joy he tells us, that on Sabbath last the notes of a flutina-concertina gave him great assistance in making a joyful noise unto the Lord. This is a melancholy admission, that the notes of a dead musical instrument, composed of wood and air, and elicited by the fingers of another, are needful to help his infirmities and teach his soul to worship the living God. But he goes further, and assuming that his concertina-flutina is of divine warranty, raises the whole question of instrumental music in Christian worship, as though it had never before been discussed, and wonders that any should be so insensate to melody, and so ignorant of scripture as to differ from him. He says, ‘It seems strange to us that David should say, Praise the Lord with harp; sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument with ten strings; sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise: and that there should be those who object to the instrumental music in a place of worship.’

     “ ‘Is the writer aware that this was precisely the position taken by Archbishop Land and the Star Chamber against the Puritans, Independents, etc., in the days of the first Charles, and in that fearful struggle for freedom of speech and of person which we now enjoy? Is he aware that a lawyer, a physician, and a minister – Burton, Prynne, and Bostwick – were seized and tried by that Romanizing prelate and that wicked tribunal for, amongst other things, their exposal of the unscriptural character of church music? …

     “ ‘I now condense a few thoughts on the scriptural view of the subject, and at once meet your correspondent’s question by asking another – Would it seem strange to him if his new pastor slew bullocks and rams, sheep and oxen, turtle doves and pigeons, next Sabbath in the little chapel at Parton and then proceeded to sprinkle with blood, the book and the people, and the concertina-flutina, as well as to burn incense from his pulpit of wood? Yet this would be just as reasonably founded on the scripture he quotes as can the use of instruments of music in Christian worship.’” – Submitted by G. Tufts, Jr., Published in The Gospel Trumpet, November 25, 1897, page 2, under the heading, Church Music, (Abbreviated Quote).

     Question: “Have we a right to worship with drums and horns? – W. H. C. Answer: “No; it is not right to use drums or horns, or any other musical instrument in religious worship. The Jewish people used to blow horns sometimes in worship, but that is done away with the law of Moses. The use of musical instruments was never instituted by Christ, and never practiced by any of his apostles; hence forms no part of Christian worship. It belongs to the worship of formalists, and is never used except where worship is drifting into formalism. It is the Spirit of God that puts the sweetness in our singing, and truly spiritual people want nothing but the Spirit of God to help them make a joyful sound in singing the praises of God.” – William G. Schell, The Gospel Trumpet, September 15, 1898, page 5, Questions Answered.

     Question:  “Is it right to worship God with organ and choir? Did Jesus teach any such thing in the New Testament?  Answer: No. Jesus never taught anything in favor of musical instruments and choir in divine worship. The entire New Testament is silent on this subject. Not one word indicates any mechanical worship in the church of God. The church is God’s organ; each individual member is a key; the Holy Spirit is the operator. When he touches a key it gives its individual and distinct sound, which blends in beautiful harmony and praise and true heart worship to God, expressed in inspired living words. Worshiping by machinery is certainly foreign to the church of God.” – J. W. Byers, The Gospel Trumpet, September 29, 1904, Questions Answered, pages 4 & 5.

     “Ministers who are full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom and miracle-working faith and power, will not need such things [as superfluous articles of dress], neither pianos, nor stringed instruments to get an audience and to convert souls. Worldliness in dress, theater-going, fashions, and pride, have robbed or helped to rob many a spiritual church of its glory and power, and then followed the substitution of musical instruments for the thanksgiving and praises and psalms of the lips unto God.”  -- J. E. Forrest, contributing editor for The Gospel Trumpet, December 19, 1912, page 5, article The Christian’s Dress.

     “He (D. S. Warner) taught plainly and forcibly against the use of musical instruments in the worship of God. None of the congregations [of the Church of God] used them in his day.” – C. E. Orr, in Not a New Movement.

          D. S. Warner’s teaching on this subject, as well as all other doctrines, was no novelty, but was simply in keeping with the mainstream of fundamental, orthodox Christianity.  Other quotations from early Gospel Trumpet publications could be given, but these sufficiently reveal the original stance of the Church of God on this subject.