A Hymn Devotion for 13 October 2020 Anno Domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation. PSALM 91:19
This hymn of comfort and encouragement was composed by Civilla D. Martin (1904) of Nova
Scotia. The tune, GOD CARES, is the work of W.S. Martin in the same year. It picks up the hurting heart and mounts it upon eagles’ wings of comfort and solicitude. This hymn was written shortly after the death of the author’s husband, so it probable reflects a sad time in her life in which faith was required to carry on.
GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU
1 Be not dismayed whate’er betide,
God will take care of you;
Beneath his wings of love abide,
God will take care of you.
Refrain:
God will take care of you,
Through ev’ry day,
O’er all the way;
He will take care of you,
God will take care of you.
2 Through days of toil when heart does fail,
God will take care of you;
When dangers fierce your path assail,
God will take care of you. [Refrain]
3 All you may need he will provide,
God will take care of you;
Nothing you ask will be denied,
God will take care of you. [Refrain]
4 No matter what may be the test,
God will take care of you;
Lean, weary one, upon his breast,
God will take care of you. [Refrain]
1 Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you; Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you. I remember singing this in Church from my earliest age and wondering why God did not step in to ‘take care of me’ when I stepped on a wasp, or fell on my bike, or some other mishap. God takes care of us by making us stronger through the challenges of life – not removing them. He is forever right beside us in every sorrow and every victory. He preserves us day by day in spite of our careless mistakes, and even turns our mistakes into successes by and by. If He cares for the wild sheep of the mountains, certainly He will care for you. His protective wings stretch from horizons east and west to cover you.
2 Through days of toil when heart does fail, God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you. [Refrain] Even when the hardships of life result in physical death, that, too, is victorious to the believer. Remember poor old Moses who was led up Mt. Nebo from which God showed him a view of the Promise Land. After forty years of being the brunt of constant grumbling and complaining from the Children of Israel, God would not allow Moses to go into Canaan. Instead, he took his life there on Mt. Nebo and buried him in the Valley of Moab. That seems very tragic and heartless to the casual reader, however, if we continue to read we will find Moses mentioned again in Scripture – but where? In Matthew 17:1-3 we read of Moses appearing on another mountain – the Mount of Transfiguration with our Lord Jesus Christ and with Elijah. When the mournful and desolate mists of the battle field are their most intense, we can be certain that the the “Man of War” is with us to fight our battles and carry our line. “2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” Exodus 15:2-3
3 All you may need he will provide, God will take care of you; Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you. [Refrain] It is true that God will provide every need we have – but not every desire! “19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Our needs arise from a want of living resources while our desires arise from the carnal influences of the heart of man. So, how can it be true that ‘nothing we ask will be denied?” When we surrender the carnal desires of our hearts (self-will) and take upon us the Mind that is in our Lord Jesus Christ, all that we ask will be His perfect will to grant; but those things we ask are no long the same as we desired before our true conversion.
4 No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon his breast, God will take care of you. [Refrain] All of life, from birth to tomb, is a test. We are given a time-allocation here on earth to grow in the knowledge and truth of the Lord. As did John at the Last Supper, we need only lean upon the breast of our Lord Jesus Christ – the place nearest His mighty Heart – where we may know the security of divine protection, but also inquire earnestly of His will for us. We each have a calling in the work of the Lord, and each of us need to be inquiring of it. “10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” This in not only physical labors, but spiritual labor on behalf of the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul gives this counsel to worshippers, not brick layers!
REFRAIN:
God will take care of you, Through ev’ry day, O’er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Lily of the Valleys – not the singular Valley – but EVERY Valley. He is the fragrant and wild Rose of Sharon that graces every mountain slope we must climb. He is with us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death – the world itself is that shadow – but the shadow is not the reality. It is mere a marred image of its object. If will come to understand the meaning of this with perfect understanding when we come to believe the very words of our Lord: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? Please read the depth of this comment by our Lord. Though we die to this life, we live eternally in Him. But our faith must be made manifest in This life – while we yet live – for there is no salvation in the grave to which man goes.
Do you believe?
