This morning in my devotions I was brought back to an old hymn I hadn’t seen in a while. It was written in the 19th century by a British clergyman, John E. Bode. The hymn “O Jesus, I Have Promised” is one that used to be sung a great deal in the Baptist churches of my youth. But I would venture to guess that many Christians today have never heard of it. And while I never really liked the traditional tune used with it because I found it slow and almost dirge-like, as I look beyond the music and the 19th century English, I find myself resonating with the images and prayer of this old hymn.
It is a hymn that takes the call to discipleship and the decision to follow Jesus seriously; and equally seriously it recognizes the struggles and temptations that beset the professed follower of Jesus. It recognizes that the decision to follow Jesus begins with a promise, an open-ended promise to “serve…to the end.” The discipleship journey can be a challenging and difficult one and there will always be a temptation to wander or shrink back from these challenges and the demands of following Christ. The hymn writer knows that following Jesus isn’t a cake walk, there are real enemies out there and inside us that contrive to subvert us and make us fail. It is especially those inner foes, the obsessions and infatuations and self-centered desires that can really sidetrack us and trip us up. When faced with these realities, we recognize that if our following Jesus is going to mean anything significant we need the nearness of Christ and to be attentive to his voice as he speaks above “the passion, the murmurs of self will.” We need grace to follow. We need God’s guidance, call, strength, and the awareness of his presence if we are going to stay focused on the goal of becoming like Christ. And while Jesus is described as Master, Guide, Guardian, Savior, it is the word “friend” that is used in this hymn more than any other description of who Jesus is and what he does. Maybe it is the realization that, like a good friend, Jesus is with us on the journey, he doesn’t desert us.
David Rensberger, a modern day follower of Jesus, writing in the journal Weavings (Volume XXV, Number 4, p. 46) on the topic of commitment, reminds us: “Make a commitment, Jesus says, and you will find that God is also committed to you and will not let you lack what you require to carry out your commitment. Step forward without knowing where the resources will come from, without having all your birds of the air in a row, and the resources will find you.”
Do we believe that? If we have heard the invitation of Jesus to “come and follow me” and have responded with a promise to follow, we are on a journey. We have been invited to make that journey in the company of Jesus who does indeed go before us, so that we can follow in his footsteps. The journey is not always easy and it isn’t always a straight one, but Jesus walks with us and gives us the resources we need to be faithful and complete the journey. His request? Stick close.
Some things to reflect on:
1. As you reflect on the hymn below, think about its imagery. What images speak to you? Why? To what do they correspond in your own life? Can you feel the hymn writer’s desire? Can you sense his longing?
2. Of the terms “Master,” “Guide,” “Guardian,” “Savior,” and “Friend”, which one speaks more to you and your situation at this moment? Why?
3. What foes, around and within you, tempt you and keep you from fulfilling your promise to follow Jesus? How can the friendship and companionship of Jesus as he journeys with you help you, reassure you?
“O Jesus, I Have Promised”
O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me, my Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my Guide.
O let me feel Thee near me! The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me, around me and within;
But Jesus, draw Thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin.
O let me hear Thee speaking in accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self will.
O speak to reassure me, to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen, Thou Guardian of my soul.
O Jesus, Thou hast promised to all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory there shall Thy servant be.
And Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow, my Master and my Friend.
O let me see Thy footprints, and in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly is in Thy strength alone.
O guide me, call me, draw me, uphold me to the end;
And then in Heaven receive me, my Savior and my Friend
