By H. E. Singley, organist

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

(Ephesians 1:3, NLT)

Thomas Kelly was born in County Queens in Ireland and was preparing to be a lawyer when he recognized the call to become a pastor. He was ordained in the Church of Ireland (Anglican). However, his pastoral ministry in the Church of Ireland was rather short-lived because of his fervent preaching along the lines of the Reformation and, particularly, its emphasis on justification by faith. He established “dissenter” chapels which shared that concern in several locations around Ireland.

A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, Thomas Kelly was respected as a scholar, particularly in Hebrew. He wrote at least 765 hymns, four of which are included in Hymns for the Living Church. Three of those hymns are Ascension hymns, represented by this brief excerpt from “Hark! Ten Thousand Harps and Voice”:

. . . . Jesus reigns and heaven rejoices,

Jesus reigns, the God of love.

See, He sits on yonder throne:

Jesus rules the world alone.

Probably the best-known of his hymns is “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him,” a crisp, compact lyrical poem with five focused, four-line stanzas. The music is identified simply as a “Traditional German melody.” The hymn-tune name, Acclaim, comes from the hymn’s theme of praise and adoration to Christ.

Praise the Savior, ye who know Him!

Who can tell how much we owe Him?

Gladly let us render to Him

all we are and have.

Jesus is the name that charms us;

He for conflict fits and arms us;

nothing moves and nothing harms us

while we trust in Him.

Trust in Him, ye saints, forever;

He is faithful, changing never;

neither force nor guile can sever

those He loves from Him.

Keep us, Lord, O keep us cleaving

to Thyself, and still believing,

till the hour of our receiving

promised joys with Thee.

Then we shall be where we would be,

then we shall be what we should be;

things that are not now, nor could be,

soon shall be our own.

The hymn complements what we know of Thomas Kelly’s view of Scripture by poetry which mirrors the Bible. For example:

· “. . . . Who can tell how much we owe Him? . . . .”

“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much . . . . God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us . . . .”

(Ephesians 2:4, 7a)

· “ . . . . let us render to Him all we are and have. . . .”

“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.”

(Proverbs 3:9)

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”

(Romans 12:1)

· “ . . . . He for conflict fits and arms us . . . .”

“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”

(Ephesians 6:10b, 11)

Another phrase fraught with theological implications is this one from the third stanza:

“ . . . . He is faithful, changing never . . . .”

These words point to one of God’s attributes, His immutability. In lieu of often disquieting, unnerving change, our God is changeless!

Finally, I cannot help but notice the tongue-twisting mix of verb tenses in the final stanza. The verbs are all the same, “to be.” The certitude of future indicative “shall be” is juxtaposed with the conditional mood—would, should, could (with “not now” mixed in). This stanza (which, sadly, is eliminated in some later hymnals) uniquely and gracefully articulates the “already, not yet” in which we live by causing us to think of the “where,” the “what” and all the “things” which God has promised to His children in eternity!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

(Hebrews 13:8, NLT)

IDEAS FOR LISTENING

Listen for the melody of the hymn-tune throughout.
The music reflects four stanzas, all in a different key, all with a different stylistic approach.
You might think of the first, second, third and fourth stanzas as you hear the music, then simply read that final stanza—out loud!
Sing the hymn–words AND music–even if you’re by yourself!