Reproach of Men

I really don’t know what to say. It’s Welsh, very Baptist, and very beautiful. It is known as the “Love song of the Welsh Revival.”

You can listen to the midi file by clicking on the player below or the hymn title below the player.

Here is Love

Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Lovingkindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heav’n’s eternal days.

On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heav’n’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.

Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.

In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.

If there is ever a divisive issue among born-again believers today, it has to be the issue of music. Whether it is music in the church services, or in the life of the child of God outside of the services, it is a touchy subject today. The reason for this is that individuals set their own standards above the standards of the Scripture. Regardless of what background the individual believer comes from, music forms some part of that background. However, we can be assured that whatever the background, it will not meet the standards the Lord has set for proper music. In the following verse, the Lord has set several standards for proper music for His children. Seriously consider the following passage. In fact, ponder it at length.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)

Now, there is not a whole lot in the New Testament concerning music. There is considerably more concerning the rest of the conduct of a born-again child of God. However, we should consider this fact: The music in a believer’s life, particularly in the church, ought to be in concert (no pun intended) with the rest of what Scripture describes is appropriate for the believer.

This can be easily seen by the following statements in Scripture.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. (I Thessalonians 5:21-22)

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (I John 2:15-16)

Thus, the music in the believer’s life, and particularly in the church ought to meet certain criteria. This criteria is not difficult, and neither is it burdensome. If it is, then something is wrong in the life of the believer. Why? Again, the Scripture, which is the only authority we should go by, is express:

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (I John 5:2-3)

If godly, spiritual hymns are grievous to you, then something is terribly wrong with where you are in relationship to the LORD God. If you are offended, then you also ought to consider this particular statement in the word of God:

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. (Psalm 119:165)

With that, let us consider what the Scripture teaches about the hymns and music in the life of the believer.

1. Hymns and music ought to teach solid, sound Scriptural doctrine. In Colossians 3:16, it is very plain that hymns and music ought to teach about doctrine and conduct. Moreover, this doctrine and conduct will not be at variance with the rest of Scripture.

2. We ought to be admonished, or corrected by the hymns and music we have in our lives. If a hymn does not properly express sound doctrine, then it cannot admonish. Personally, I don’t know anyone on this earth who is above the correction found in Scripture. Since the hymns and music are to express sound doctrine, admonishment should come right along with the teaching.

3. We should sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. The hymns and music we partake of ought to be fully concordant with the grace that has been bestowed upon us by the Lord. Thus, this grace is not the ‘cheap’ grace that allows one to claim Christ, but be of the world. Rather, it is the grace spoken of in Titus, chapter two, which states:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 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 2:11-14)

4. The hymns and music ought to move us to desire to serve the Lord Jesus Christ more fully than what we do. Every one of us, myself included, could do far more than what we do for our Lord and Saviour. The hymns should move us to do so. If they do not, then something is wrong.

So where does this leave us? Without good, wonderful music?

No, not at all. The believer’s hymns and music do not have to incorporate worldly styles, and music to accomplish their end. In fact, the worldly styles, such as Country, Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock & Roll, etc., all negate the message of the words, and steal the blessings the Lord would bestow upon both the believer and the church.

I think you will find that the hymns found in modern hymn books are not the only hymns in existence. In fact, the hymns that have been deliberately left out and intentionally forgotten are some of the best hymns one would ever hear (or sing). Moreover, along with sound lyrics, the music stirs the soul to glorify the LORD God.

With that, I leave you with a final admonition from the Scripture concerning proper music. Please enjoy the hymns found on this page. I pray they will bless you always.

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:18-21)

In Christ,

Paul W. Davis

There are some hymns that are very simple, yet they capture the true perspective of their particular subject. One such hymn is Fanny Crosby’s Jesus My All, which is set to the melody “Bethany (Mason) composed by Lowell Mason.

Repentance is one of the great gifts that the LORD God bestows upon man. Without the LORD bestowing this gift upon us, we would have no hope of salvation. In and of ourselves, we will never repent. The Jews of old knew this as they replied to Peter after he rehearsed the conversion of Cornelius and the bestowing of the Holy Ghost upon them:

When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. (Acts 11:18)

We are also reminded by the Lord Jesus Christ that repentance is utterly necessary for salvation:

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:1-5)

Even after salvation, repentance is still necessary as we are not freed from this flesh and all its wickedness. We are reminded that we are to continually grow in Christ, else we are subject to lose the ability to repent, and will then be set on a shelf, totally unused of the LORD.

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. (Hebrews 6:1-6)

What a terrible way to stand before our Lord and Saviour — to suffer the loss spoken of in I Corinthians, chapter 3:

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (I Corinthians 3:11-15)

With that, I leave you with the words and a link to the melody.

Jesus, My All
Bethany (Mason)

Lord, at Thy mercy seat, humbly I fall;
Pleading Thy promise sweet, Lord, hear my call;
Now let Thy work begin, oh, make me pure within,
Cleanse me from every sin, Jesus, my all.

Tears of repentant grief, silently fall;
Help Thou my unbelief, hear Thou my call;
Oh, how I pine for Thee! ’Tis all my hope and plea:
Jesus has died for me, Jesus, my all.

Still at Thy mercy seat, Savior, I fall;
Trusting Thy promise sweet, heard is my call;
Faith wings my soul to Thee; this all my song shall be,
Jesus has died for me, Jesus, my all.

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1866.
Music: Bethany (Mason), Lowell Mason, 1856.

I have added 6 new hymns to the hymns page. They are:

How Hurtful was the Choice of Lot
The Love of God
Lord Thy Word Abideth
At the Name of Jesus
A Clean Heart
Abba Father, We Approach Thee

I have also corrected an error in the code of ”Holy and Reverend is His Name” which allowed the midi file to start twice.  It sounds considerably better having only one instance of the midi file running.

The following is extracted from William Tyndale’s 1534 New Testament¹

It is posted so that rabid Calvinists can read it and get bent trying to warp it into “unconditional, sovereign election.” I am not worried as the language will stand. Though the language and grammar are very plain that the predestination pertains to what the born-again believer will be AFTER they are saved, those holding Calvinist/Reformed doctrine are always intellectually dishonest enough to throw out the rules of English grammar and sentence structure, and contort the passage into saying “predestined to salvation.“

How do I know? I have dealt with several Calvinists, with the last “conversation” abruptly ending after about 6 months. During this time I found him to be more dishonest and unstable than most who hold Calvinist doctrine (he is a “charismatic Calvinist” (Extreme emotionalism plus hateful doctrine — what a combination!)), but right along the same lines as the rest of them. He used the same intellectually disingenuous arguments, and pulled the same shenanigans they all pull. He acted utterly superior, condescending, arrogant, bullying, and lied through his teeth, contradicting himself several times. When called on it, he changed subjects, bullied, and brought up questions that had nothing to do with the current discussion, and tried to seize control of the discussion. In short, typical Calvinist/Reformed behavior.

If you have been so abused by a Calvinist, you could drop a comment. I will gladly post it. The wickedness of Calvinist doctrine and the behavior it engenders needs to be seriously exposed.

With that, I leave you to the most excellent William Tyndale, the father of modern English and originator of the lineage of Bibles which culminated in the King James Version of the Holy Scriptures.

Ephesians, Chapter One:

Blessed be God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which hath blessed us with all manner of spiritual blessing in heavenly things by Christ, according as he had chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world was laid, that we should be saints, and without blame before him, through love. And ordained us before through Jesus Christ to be heirs unto himself, according to the pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace wherewith he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

By whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which grace he shed on us abundantly in all wisdom, and perceivance. And hath opened unto us the mystery of his will according to his pleasure, and purposed the same in himself to have it declared when the time were full come, that all things, both the things which are in heaven, and also the things which are in earth, should be gathered together, even in Christ: that is to say, in him in whom we are made heirs, and were thereto predestinate according to the purpose of him which worketh all things after the purpose of his own will: that we which before believed in Christ should be unto the praise of his glory.

1. Modern Spelling Edition, edited by David Daniell, Yale University Press, 1989, ISBN 0-300-04419-4, pg. 282↩

Citation, lyrics and music are copied from The Cyber Hymnal and are public domain. Midi file is modified by Anvil Studio 2011 and is piano only. Lyrics may be modified for doctrinal accuracy. This version is not copyrighted. If you find it a blessing, please feel free to use it. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.  Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.  If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.  My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.  Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.  And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130)

Citation, lyrics and music are copied from The Cyber Hymnal and are public domain. Midi file was modified using Anvil Studio 2011. It is piano only. Lyrics are not modified. This version is not copyrighted. If you find it a blessing, please feel free to use it. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

Citation, lyrics and music are copied from The Cyber Hymnal and are public domain. Midi file was reproduced in Music Publisher 8 and modified using Anvil Studio 2011. It is piano only. Lyrics are not modified. This version is not copyrighted. If you find it a blessing, please feel free to use it. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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 8:35-39)

Citation, lyrics and music are copied from The Cyber Hymnal and are public domain. Midi file is modified by Anvil Studio 2011 and is piano only. Lyrics may be modified for doctrinal accuracy. This version is not copyrighted. If you find it a blessing, please feel free to use it. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis

Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:5-7)

Citation, lyrics and music are copied from The Cyber Hymnal and are public domain. Midi file is modified to piano only. Lyrics may be modified for doctrinal accuracy. This version is not copyrighted. If you find it a blessing, please feel free to use it. — In Christ, Paul W. Davis

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) 
 
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)