April 18, 2005

Have faith in God –
Who made the world and man;
Have faith in God –
For His salvation plan;
Have faith in God –
And seek Him while you can.
Have faith, dear friend, in God.

Jesus Paid it All

Elvina Mable Reynolds Hall, 1820-1889

    Come now, and let us reason together,  Says the LORD, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18.

    Mrs. Hall wrote these words one Sunday morning while seated in the choir loft of the Monument Street Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, supposedly listening to the sermon by her pastor, the Reverend George Schrick. One can imagine a conversation something like this following the service:
    Pastor Schrick, I must confess that I wasn't listening too closely to your message this morning. Because, you see, once you started preaching about how we can really know God's love and forgiveness, I began thinking about all that Christ has already done to provide our salvation. Then these words came to me, and I just had to get them down on paper. And the only paper I could find at the time was the flyleaf of this hymnal. So I scribbled the words on that.
    The pastor recalled that the church organist, John Grape, had just previously given him a copy of a new tune that he had composed, which he had titled All to Christ I Owe. To the amazement of all, they soon discovered that John Grape's tune fit perfectly with Elvina Hall's words scribbled on the flyleaf page of the hymnal. Since its first published appearance in 1874, this hymn has been widely used in churches, especially for the communion services.
     John Grape, who wrote the music for Jesus Paid it All, tells the story of the music:
    Our church was undergoing repairs, and the cabinet organ was placed in my care. Thus afforded a pleasure not before enjoyed, I delighted myself in playing over some of our Sunday school hymns. I determined to give tangible shape to a theme that had been running in my mind for some time, to write, if possible, an answer to Bradbury’s beautiful piece, Jesus Paid It All. I made it a matter of prayer and study and gave to the public the music now known as All to Christ I Owe. It was pronounced very poor by my choir and friends, but my dear wife persistently declared that it was a good piece of music and would live. Time has proved the correctness of her judgment. Soon after, the Rev. George W. Schreck called on me to select anything new that I had to offer. On hearing this piece he expressed his pleasure with it and stated that Mrs. Elvina M. Hall had writ­ten some words that would just suit the music. I gave him a copy of it and it was soon sung in several churches here in Baltimore, Mar­y­land and well received. At the suggestion of friends I sent a copy to Professor Theodore Perkins and it was published in Sabbath Carols. Under the providence of God it has been going ever since. I trust that it has not failed to accomplish some good to my fellowmen for the glory of God.
    Here’s a story about the song:

    On New Year’s night, 1886, some missionaries were holding open-air services in order to attract passers-by to a nearby mission, where meet­ings were to be held later. All to Christ I Owe was sung, and after a gentleman had given a short address he hastened away to the mission. He soon heard footsteps close behind him and a young woman caught up with him and said: “I heard you addressing the open-air meet­ing just now; do you think, sir, that Jesus could save a sinner like me?”
    The gentleman replied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anxious to be saved. She told him that she was a servant girl, and had left her place that morning after a disagreement with her mistress. As she had been wandering about the streets in the dark, wondering where she was to spend the night, the sweet melodies of this hymn had attracted her, and she drew near and listened attentively. As the different verses were being sung, she felt that the words surely had something to do with her. Through the whole service she seemed to hear what met her oppressed soul’s need at that moment. God’s Spirit had showed her what a poor, sinful and wretched creature she was, and had led her to ask what she must do. On hearing her experience, the gentleman took her back to the mission and left her with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night. A situation was secured for her in a minister’s family. There she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth. One day the gentleman whom she had met on New Year’s night was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, All to Christ I Owe and she seemed overwhelmed with the thought of coming to glory. Two hours afterward she passed away.

Have Faith in God by H.M.S. Richards, Used by Permission