Once For All (#337 in Hymns for Worship Revised, #552 in Sacred Selections for the Church). The text was written and the tune was composed both by Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876). It was first published in his 1873 book Sunshine for Sunday Schools. Daniel Webster Whittle in his Memoirs of Philip P. Bliss wrote, Just before Christmas, 1871, Mrs. Bliss asked a friend, ‘What shall I get my husband for a Christmas present?’ and, at the suggestion of this friend, purchased and presented him with the bound volume of a monthly English periodical called Things New and Old. Many things in these books of interpretation of Scripture and illustrations of Gospel turth were blessed to him, and from the reading of something in one of these books in connection with Romans 8 and Hebrews 10, suggested this glorious Gospel song. George C. Stebbins, who was a musical associate of Dwight L. Moody, as was Bliss, stated that this hymn is conceded to be the clearest statement of the doctrine of grace in distinction from the law to be found in hymnology. Indeed, it was said at the time of Moody and [his primary music director Ira D.] Sankey’s first visit to Scotland in 1873 that the singing of that hymn had more to do in breaking down the prejudice that existed against Gospel hymns up to that time than anything else, as its teaching was so scriptural and in such perfect accord with the teaching of the Scottish divines. The music setting of it, too, could not have been improved upon. In fact, Sankey himself wrote in My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns that he was most concerned about the presence of Scottish hymn writer Horatius Bonar in the audience. He was, indeed, my ideal hymn writer, the prince among hymnists of his day and generation. And yet he would not sing one of his beautiful hymns in his own congregation…because he ministered to a church that believed in the use of the Psalms only. With fear and trembling I announced…the song, ‘Free from the Law, oh, happy condition’….At the close of Mr. Moody’s address, Dr. Bonar turned toward me with a smile on his venerable face, and reaching out his hand he said, ‘Well, Mr. Sankey, you sang the gospel tonight.’ And thus the way was opened for the mission of sacred song in Scotland. The song’s popularity in America is undoubtedly the result of its being included in Bliss’s Gospel Songs in 1874, from which it passed into the Bliss and Sankey series of Gospel Songs and Hymns beginning in 1875. Stanza 1 says Free from the law, O happy condition, Jesus has bled and there is remission; Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Grace hath redeemed us once for all. Some have objected to the opening line, Free from the law, affirming that while we are not saved simply by law, we are not free from law; however, Paul does say that we are free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2). Keeping the phrase in its context, it seems reasonable that if Paul could say that we are free from the law of sin and death, then we ought to be able to sing that we are free from the law. Stanza 2 says Now we are free, there’s no condemnation; Jesus provides a perfect salvation. ‘Come unto Me,’ O hear His sweet call; Come, and He saves us once for all. In Sacred Selections, Ellis Crum changed Come, and He saves us to Come unto Jesus, because he probably thought that the original sounded like once in grace, always in grace. However, there is a sense that Jesus saves us once for all when we obey the gospel, then He keeps us saved as we repent of our sins, confess them to Him, and pray for His forgiveness. Stanza 3 (omitted in most of our books) says There on the cross your burden upbearing, Thorns on His brow your Savior is wearing. Never again your sin need appall; You have been pardoned once for all. Stanza 4 says ’Children of God,’ O glorious calling! Surely His grace will keep us from falling. Passing from death to life at His call, Blessed salvation once for all. Ellis Crum made another change, from will keep us from falling to will help us from falling; however, the Bible says that God is able to keep you from falling IF we keep ourselves in His love (Jude vs. 20-24), The chorus says Once for all, O sinner, receive it; Once for all, O brother, believe it. Cling to the cross, the burden will fall; Christ hath redeemed us once for all. Again, Crum changed the word brother to sinner, to avoid the possibility of a lost person somehow thinking that he is already a brother in Christ, although in former times the word brother was often used as a common title like mister as in Brother, can you spare a dime? He also changed Cling to the cross, the burden will fall to Cling to the Savior, obey His call, for reasons that I do not understand except that he possibly misunderstood the figurative nature of clinging to the cross and that he just felt that he had to stick the word obey somewhere into any song that asks a sinner to come to Jesus.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:05:44 +0000
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