ORSBORNAGAIN (33)
A devotional series by Major Rob Birks
ORSBORNAGAIN is meant to introduce the poetry of the first Poet General, Albert Orsborn (1886-1967) to a new audience and to reintroduce his works to dyed-in-the-(tropical)-wool Salvationists.
These are not new songs.
However, the lyrics are jam-packed with new life, which may be missed during corporate worship. Re-examined through scripture and experience, Rob Birks intends through an examination of these scared songs to renew the spiritual fervor of believers, and point seekers to their Savior.
Who the child of God shall sever
From the faith in which he stands?
Who shall wound or who shall pluck him
From the careful shepherd’s hands?
Not distress or persecution,
Neither peril nor the sword;
For in days of tribulation
Shines the glory of the Lord.
His abundant grace is given
To the heart resigned and meek,
Mercy moves the King of Heaven
To the penitent and weak;
Lowly paths our Lord has taken,
And he proved by word and deed,
For the lonely and forsaken
There is grace beyond all need.
Faith is not afraid of darkness,
Hope will triumph over loss,
Love is not afraid of hardness,
Patience helps to bear the cross;
These are all the gifts of Heaven,
Beautiful are they and free,
Graces that the Lord has given;
O that they may shine in me!
Works or wealth can never buy them,
Nor a single grace impart;
God himself has sanctified them
In the meek and lowly heart;
All besides is vain endeavor.
Failure every work of mine;
Saviour, let thy grace for ever
Cleanse and blend my will with thine.
Albert Orsborn
555 The Life of Holiness – Praise and Thanksgiving
It happened again. Another well known, formerly well-respected individual has been found out. We’ve been through this a thousand times, so everyone knows their role. The sordid details of the scandal are being sorted into two categories by the news media: “What juicy dish will we serve up today?” and “How can we spice it up tomorrow?”
Friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors are either standing with or against the doer of the dirty deed. Speeches are made, tears are cried, and resignations are tendered and accepted. Pictures and prose none of us needs to see or read are posted everywhere, so seeing and reading them are all but inescapable. Rights are sold for book and TV movie adaptations. In a day or two, the over-exposed individual will be on the “Today” show. Next week, it’s the People Magazine cover story, and the late night talk show circuit. “Celebrity Apprentice” can’t be too far down the road. Nobody is too sure if he or she will get hired or elected or married again. This person has fallen from grace. Or have they?
It sounds right at first, because we’ve heard the term so often. Referring to someone who used to have it all together, before it all came crumbling down, one might say: “That was before his fall from grace.” The phrase is used to describe the politician, the child star, the athlete, the man of the cloth, or the military leader who used to be someone people looked up to. Then something happened—an affair, an arrest, a tirade—and that’s it. All they had worked so hard to achieve (in most cases)—fame, respect, public trust—comes down hard, often taking a few others out as well. The problem is, the term comes straight from Scripture, and doesn’t describe someone who had it all together and lost it. It also doesn’t describe a person who used to be considered a good Christian, and now is considered a bad Christian (or worse).
In the fifth chapter of Galatians, the Apostle Paul is addressing a serious situation in which Jewish believers were demanding that Gentile believers be subject to the demands of the Jewish law. To the Gentiles who were trying to live a new life by observing old laws, Paul wrote: You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (v. 4).
So, to fall from grace really describes someone who is attempting to be justified by what they do and don’t do. A person who has fallen from grace, according to the Bible, is someone who has left Jesus out of their personal plan for holy living. Instead, they have replaced him with rules, rituals, regulations and rites. To this person, Paul says: You’ve missed the point. It’s all about Jesus! It’s all about grace! It’s not about how good we can be without Jesus. It’s about how good Jesus was and is to us, by saving us, cleaning us up, and keeping us saved.
This understanding turns the phrase on its end.
Two men: One a religious leader who looks perfect, smiles pretty, and preaches powerfully, but has little time for Jesus. The other, a man with a drug addiction, who lives on the streets, attends church when there’s a meal served, but clings to Jesus for dear life. Which man has fallen from grace? Exactly! I believe Orsborn would agree with Paul and me on this. In this song he writes about “abundant grace,” “grace beyond all need,” “graces that the Lord has given,” a grace which “works” or “wealth” could never buy, a grace that God has sanctified in the hearts of his followers, a Jesus-grace, forever cleansing us, and blending our will with his. Amazing grace!
For myself, for yourself, for our little part of the universal Christian church, I pray that we never fall from grace, and always fall into it!
All besides is vain endeavor. Failure every work of mine.