October 26, 2005

Have faith in God –
Today! Today! Today!
Have faith in God –
That is the heavenly way;
Have faith in God –
And so then let us pray.
Have faith, dear friend, in God.

O For a Faith that will not Shrink

William Hiley Bathurst, 1796-1877

    The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. Luke 17:5, 6.

    This hymn text, which is an exposition of Luke 17:5, is from William Bathurst's Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Use. The song was originally titled "The Power of Faith". The first three stanzas describe a victorious faith amidst some of the most difficult circumstances in life. The final stanza affirms the believer's desire to have such trust that even now life becomes a foretaste of heaven itself.
    William Hiley Bathurst was an Anglican minister who wrote more than 200 hymn texts.

O, for a faith that will not shrink,
Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly woe!

That will not murmur nor complain
Beneath the chastening rod,
But, in the hour of grief or pain,
Will lean upon its God.

A faith that shines more bright and clear
When tempests rage without;
That when in danger knows no fear,
In darkness feels no doubt.

That bears, unmoved, the world’s dread frown
Nor heeds its scornful smile;
That seas of trouble cannot drown,
Nor Satan’s arts beguile.

A faith that keeps the narrow way
Till life’s last hour is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray
Lights up a dying bed.

Lord, give me such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
I’ll taste, e’en here, the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal Home.

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