Hymn of the Week: January 18, 2021

Hymn of the Week:

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Hymn 182 in Glory to God

Horatius Bonar, text 1846
Music English Country Song

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

I heard the voice of Jesus say
"Come unto Me, and rest
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast"
I came to Jesus as I was
Weary and worn and sad
I found in Him a resting place
And He has made me glad

I heard the voice of Jesus say
"Behold, I freely give
The living water-thirsty one
Stoop down, and drink, and live"
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived
And now I live in Him

I heard the voice of Jesus say
"I am this dark world's Light
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright"
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun
And in that Light of life I'll walk
Till trav'lling days are done.

Horatius Bonar was born just before Christmas in 1808, one of 11 children, Some refer to him as “the prince of Scottish hymnists.” His father, two of his older brothers, John and Andrew, and himself were outstanding preachers in their day. Horatius had a small country parish in Kelso, Scotland. Kelso is located on the eastern side of Scotland near the England/Scotland border next to the North Sea. He wrote this hymn for his Sunday School children to sing in church. It is interesting to note that on the page he wrote the lyrics, he also doodled pictures of four faces and a man wearing a hat. He based his three verses on three wonderful promises of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, John 4:14, and John 8:12. The first half of each stanza echoes our Lord’s promise and the last half of each stanza reflects our response to that promise.

Matthew 11:28 from NRSV Come unto me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens; and I will give you rest.

John 4:14 from NRSV but those that drink from the water I will give them will never be thirsty. The water I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.

John 8:12 from NRSV, Again Jesus spoke to them saying “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.