It has been several days since I have posted anything. I notice that the reception of my blog is spotty at best. My prayer is that this particular blog will be read by many because it shares an important comment on who this psalm is addressed to as well as a personal insight I was given while I was praying that night.
September 6, 2015
Worship: I Need Thee Every Hour by Annie S. Hawks
Annie
Hawks wrote:
One
day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with
my
regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of
nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either
in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” were ushered into my
mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me.
After
writing the lyrics, Hawks gave them to her pastor, Robert Lowry, who added
the tune and refrain. The hymn was first published at the National Baptist
Sunday School Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1872. Some
years later, after the death of her husband, Hawks wrote:
I
did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing
heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over
my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting
power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my
hour of sweet serenity and peace.
I Need Thee Every Hour
Author: Mrs. Annie S. Hawks; Chorus:Robert Lowry
Composer: Rev. Robert Lowry
Tune: Need (Lowry)
Scripture: John 15:5
1 I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like thine
Can peace afford.
2 I need Thee every hour;
Stay Thou near by;
Temptations lose their
power
When Thou art nigh.
3 I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide
Or life is vain.
4 I need Thee every hour;
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill.
5 I need Thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
Oh, make me thine indeed,
Thou blessed Son.
Chorus I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my
Saviour!
I come to Thee.[1]
Video as sung by Selah - https://youtu.be/V-LkUTjYSUs
Witness: Sunday more than oft is a
busy day for me. Work, then prayer, then sleep, then awake, shower, shave and
make dinner, then off to church, then home again, then more chores and
devotions in between the up and down when the load in the dryer is done and the
frequent rearrangement of the load in the wash because it is off balance. Phew!
And now I have finally been able to put thought to writing.
As my custom is after prayer and worship, I read a previous day of
writing. Today I read my entry from August 15, 2015. The words to a song in the worship section of
my journaling spoke to me. I quote two portions of it here:
Father knows best, father knows best
If he hadn't been lookin' out for me I'd be in such a mess
I swore from then on I would do just what he said
'Cause father knows best, father knows best.
Father knows best, father knows best
I'm always lookin' out for you so your heart can be at rest
I'll see you through the bad times, just remember what I said
Father knows best, father knows best.
It reminded me that no
matter what happens in life it is in God’s sovereign hands and He knows best.
This truth is declared and confessed in Psalm 23. The Lord, our Shepherd, knows
what’s best for us.
WORD:
|
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet
waters,
3he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the
right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the darkest
valley,a
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my
enemies.
You anoint my head with
oil;
my cup overflows.
6Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord
forever.
|
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. A Psalm of David. KJV |
Our Shepherd knows what’s
best for us. But who is the “us” I am referring to. As has been said, this
psalm is a favorite of believer and unbeliever alike. The Believer’s Bible Commentary puts it this
way:
23:1 Despite its worldwide
popularity, the Psalm is not for everyone. It is applicable only to those who
are entitled to say, “The Lord is my
Shepherd.” It is true that the Good Shepherd died for all, but only those
who actually receive Him by a definite act of faith are His sheep. His saving
work is sufficient for all, but it is
effective only for those who actually
believe on Him. Everything therefore hinges on the personal pronoun my. Unless He is my Shepherd, then the rest of the Psalm does not belong to me. On
the other hand, if He is really mine and I am really His, then I have
everything in Him!
MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New
Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 580). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
We
have looked at what “I shall not want” means. If we read this phrase in the KJV
we may get the idea that we are not to want anything but of course we know that
this verse is about being “in want” or “need”, thus the NIV(2011) says “I lack
nothing”. The NLT puts it positively “I have all that I need”. God’s Word
translation says, “I am never in need”. The World English Bible says, “I shall
lack nothing”. The Message says, “I don't need a thing”. This may sound wrong
at first, but if we realize that this is a paraphrase and Eugene Peterson is
using a modern American idiom here it makes perfect sense and is a very apt
rendering.
What
do we mean when we say, “I don’t need a thing”? We usually mean that we don’t
need anything because we have all that we need at the moment. And isn’t that what
the psalmist is claiming. He has all he needs at any moment in his life because
the LORD is his Shepherd!
I
want to visit this phrase one more time tomorrow, Lord willing. However, I want
to share something the Lord gave me while I was praying today. I wish I could
put it in the words I used when I was praying, but my poor memory keeps me from
doing that. Nevertheless, I do remember the gist of it.
I
was praying and it came to me to ask for the Lord to make me “want what He
wants”. Let me illustrate it this way. I have two dogs. One will eat about
anything you put before him. He is satisfied very easily. My other dog is more
finicky. She will only eat certain brands of dog food and sometimes she won’t
eat them either. I may try to force her to eat them but she will just turn her
head away. Now the Lord has some finicky sheep as well. They will eat when they
want to and only what they want. They may only like to eat a verse a day or a
little devotional a day, or only eat once a week at church, nothing too
nourishing. For some it’s “just give me a little, I can’t stomach any more than
that”. For others it’s “let me gorge once a week please”. Try to give them more
and they just “turn their head away”. There are a lot of lean sheep in God’s
pasture. It’s not just the finicky that are lean but the busy as well― too
engrossed in their own busyness to lie down in green pastures―too rushed to be
led to restful waters―too tied up to sit at the table prepared by the LORD.
This
of course applies to more than food (i.e. God’s Word), but to anything the Lord
supplies us with to meet our needs. That’s why I prayed for the Lord to make me
want what He wants. I don’t want to desire anything but what He gives or I will
soon stray away. If one has no desire for the things the Lord wants to provide
them, they should question whether they are really one of God’s sheep. Matthew
Henry says,
The
greatest abundance is but a dry pasture to a wicked man, who relishes in it
only what pleases the senses; but to a godly man, who by faith tastes the
goodness of God in all his enjoyments, though he has but little of the world,
it is a green pasture.
Henry, M., & Scott, T.
(1997). Matthew Henry’s Concise
Commentary (Ps 23:1). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.
Lord not my will but Thy will
Lord not my way but Thine
Let Thy sweet manna be my fill
Let Thy Word be my wine
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