Robert J. Morgan - Devotions for Lent: Meditations Based on Best-Loved Hymns

2010 by Robert J. Morgan Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com ISBN 978-1-4412-4044-6 This ebook is comprised of excerpts from Robert J. Morgan, Near to the Heart of God: Meditations on 366 Best-Loved Hymns (Grand Rapids: Revell, 2010). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher.

The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked HCSB is taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers.

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Day 1
Footprints of Jesus

On many occasions, we sang this hymn in the mountain church where I was raised. Mary Bridges Slade was an educator by trade, a pastors wife by marriage, and a hymnist by grace. Footprints of Jesus, her best-known hymn, follows the footsteps of Christ through the three years of His ministry and on to heaven, reminding us that were to follow in His steps. Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling, Come, follow Me! And we see where Thy footprints falling Lead us to Thee.

Though they lead oer the cold, dark mountains, Seeking His sheep; Or along by Siloams fountains, Helping the weak. If they lead through the temple holy, Preaching the Word; Or in homes of the poor and lowly, Serving the Lord. Then at last when on high He sees us, Our journey done, We will rest where the steps of Jesus End at His throne. Footprints of Jesus, That make the pathway glow; We will follow the steps of Jesus Whereer they go. He said to him, Follow Me.
So he arose and followed Him. Matthew 9:9

Day 2
Trusting Jesus

Simple, daily faith saves us from chronic worry.

When we abide in Christ and rest in His promises, no alarm can overwhelm us for long, and no anxiety can sustain its attack. Thats the theme of this beloved song written by Edgar P. Stites, a Civil War veteran and riverboat captain. Stites was converted in the revival of 1857 and became a Methodist preacher. He wrote Trusting Jesus in 1876. L. L.

Moody saw the words in a newspaper and handed the clipping to his music director, Ira Sankey, who wrote the melody and popularized it in the Moody-Sankey campaigns. Simply trusting every day, Trusting through a stormy way; Even when my faith is small, Trusting Jesus, that is all. Singing if my way is clear, Praying if the path be drear; If in danger for Him call; Trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting Him while life shall last, Trusting Him till earth be past; Till within the jasper wall, Trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting as the moments fly, Trusting as the days go by; Trusting Him whateer befall, Trusting Jesus, that is all. My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped.

Psalm 28:7

Day 3
Anywhere with Jesus

In the early 1800s, John Cadbury, a Quaker and teetotaler, opened a coffee and tea shop in the center of Birmingham, England. He soon became known for his cocoa, giving rise to the Cadbury Chocolate Company. Johns granddaughter, Helen, became an heir of the Cadbury fortune. A dedicated Christian, Helen married the famous song leader Charles M. Alexander, and the two traveled the world for Christ and founded the Pocket Testament League. Charles died of a heart attack in 1920 at age fifty-three.

Helen labored for Christ until her death in 1969 at age ninety-two. She isnt primarily known as a hymnist, but she did contribute the last two stanzas to this great old hymn by Jessie Pounds. Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go, Anywhere He leads me in this world below; Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade; Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid. Anywhere with Jesus, over land and sea, Telling souls in darkness of salvation free; Ready as He summons me to go or stay, Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way. Anywhere with Jesus I can go to sleep, When the darkening shadows round about me creep, Knowing I shall waken nevermore to roam; Anywhere with Jesus will be home, sweet home. Wherever you send us we will go. Wherever you send us we will go.

Joshua 1:16

Day 4
All the Way My Savior Leads Me

Blinded at infancy, Fanny Crosby grew up to be a renowned poet. In early 1864, her pastor, Rev. Peter Stryker, suggested she visit the famous hymn publisher William Bradbury. On February 2, 1864, she met Bradbury in his office in New York. Fanny, he said, I thank God that we have at last met; for I think you can write hymns. Fanny, age forty-four, took up the challenge, and three days later she gave him the first of the approximately eight thousand hymns that she would compose.

While that first hymn, We Are Going to a Home Beyond the Skies, is seldom sung today, my favorite Crosby hymn, written in 1875, is still sung around the worldAll the Way My Savior Leads Me. All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who through life has been my Guide? Heavnly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whateer befall me, Jesus doeth all things well; For I know, whateer befall me, Jesus doeth all things well. All the way my Savior leads me O the fullness of His love! Perfect rest to me is promised In my Fathers house above. When my spirit, clothed immortal, Wings its flight to realms of day This my song through endless ages: Jesus led me all the way; This my song through endless ages: Jesus led me all the way. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Psalm 73:24

Day 5
The Lords Prayer

Americas first Protestant foreign missionary was Adoniram Judson.

He and a group of fellow students at Andover Seminary became inflamed for missions in the early 1800s, sparking a revival that led to the establishment of several American mission boards. On February 5, 1812, Adoniram married an indomitable young lady named Ann Hasseltine, and the next day they were commissioned as missionaries. Space wont permit the telling of their tragic but triumphant story (everyone should read a biography of Judson), but one of the lesser-known aspects of Judsons ministry is that he wrote a handful of hymns, some of them during a torturous imprisonment. His son, Dr. Edward Judson, later commented on one of themThe Lords Prayersaying: It illustrates the nature of the subjects which occupied the thoughts of the missionary during this long protracted agony. It is comprised in fewer words than the original Greek, and contains only two more than the common translation.