May 7, 2019 (Tuesday)
I have a poem to share with you today. It is really a song, but I have searched in vain for a recording of it. It is a song that I sang many times through the years. Back in the days when I sang for revival meetings, I sang it anywhere I could, working with evangelists. At times, the preachers would comment on my songs. I remember being in a church in Abilene , working for the week with Harlan Harris. He was an interesting man. Whenever he arrived in a city to conduct a revival meeting, if he was being housed for a week in a motel, he requested a room on the top floor. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he unloaded his amateur radio equipment, created an antenna with wire, and contacted his wife, who was also an amateur radio operator. They talked with each other at least every day. He was a good friend and college roommate of Billy Graham, who asked him to become a part of his team when he was beginning as an evangelist. Harlan, a talented musician as well as a preacher, declined. He was a great preacher and I enjoyed working with him. As soon as I finished singing, “He Gave Himself for Me,” Harlan commented, “Charles, you sing some meaningful songs that we have not heard before. Thank you.” The song was written by Judson W. Van DeVenter, who wrote “I Surrender All” and a hundred more hymns.* The author was born in 1855, so it was an old song at the time (1960s), and even older today. I cannot find a recording of it, because, for some reason, it never became popular. When you read the words below, I’m sure you will agree with me that its words describe Christ’s giving of Himself on the Cross very beautifully. If I ever find a recording of it, I will share the music, which I believe you will love as I do.
Words, Judson W. Van DeVenter
Music, Winfield S. Weeden
1896
1 The debt I owed I could not pay,
For I was helpless from the fall;
Yet still I heard the Spirit say
That Jesus paid it all.
Chorus:
He paid my debt upon the cross,
He died to set me free;
When nothing else could pay the loss,
He gave Himself for me.
2 The way was dark, I could not see,
My hope was gone, my faith was small,
Until the Word revealed to me
That Jesus paid it all. [Chorus]
3 By faith I saw Him bleed and die!
That dreadful day I now recall,
When nothing else could satisfy,
Then Jesus paid it all. [Chorus]
4 He saved my soul that once was lost,
He rescued me, a worthless thrall
I wonder, when I count the cost,
Why Jesus paid it all. [Chorus]
5 I found a place within His care,
The gates of death cannot appall;
His grace will keep me ever there,
For Jesus paid it all. [Chorus]
*Click here to read a blog about “I Surrender All” and hear the Isaacs sing it.