Lewis Hartsough – birth, Aug. 31, 1828

I hear Thy welcome voice
That calls me, Lord, to Thee,
For cleansing in Thy precious blood
That flowed on Calvary.

Refrain

I am coming Lord!
Coming now to Thee!
Wash me, cleanse me in the blood
That flowed on Calvary!

2. Though coming weak and vile,
Thou dost my strength assure;
Thou dost my vileness fully cleanse,
Till spotless all, and pure.

3. ’Tis Jesus calls me on
To perfect faith and love,
To perfect hope and peace and trust,
For earth and Heav’n above.

4. ’Tis Jesus Who confirms
The blessèd work within,
By adding grace to welcomed grace,
Where reigned the power of sin.

5. And He the witness gives
To loyal hearts and free
That every promise is fulfilled,
If faith but brings the plea.

6. All hail! atoning blood!
All hail! redeeming grace!
All hail! the gift of Christ our Lord,
Our Strength and Righteousness.

Lewis Hartsough was born this date, 8/31/1828 at Ithaca, NY.  He was a Methodist who graduated from Cazenovia Seminary (1852) and pastored churches in the Oneida Conference.  He requested transfer to the West, was appointed to the Utah Mission and later was pre­sid­ing el­der of the Wy­om­ing Dis­trict.  “I Am Coming, Lord” Sankey wrote “The words and mu­sic of this beau­ti­ful hymn were first pub­lished in a month­ly, en­ti­tled, Guide to Ho­li­ness, a co­py of which was sent to me in Eng­land.”  Hartsough died 1/1/1919 at Mount Ver­non, IA.

Read Full Post »

Josiah K Allwood – birth, Jul. 15, 1828

“The Unclouded Day”

 O they tell me of a home far beyond the skies,
O they tell me of a home far away;
O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.

Refrain

O the land of cloudless day,
O the land of an unclouded day,
O they tell me of a home where no storm clouds rise,
O they tell me of an unclouded day.

2.

O they tell me of a home where my friends have gone,
O they tell me of that land far away,
Where the tree of life in eternal bloom
Sheds its fragrance through the unclouded day.

3.

O they tell me of a King in His beauty there,
And they tell me that mine eyes shall behold
Where He sits on the throne that is whiter than snow,
In the city that is made of gold.

4.

O they tell me that He smiles on His children there,
And His smile drives their sorrows all away;
And they tell me that no tears ever come again
In that lovely land of unclouded day.

 

Josiah K Allwood was born this date, 7/15/1828, Harrison County, Ohio (Cadizo is the county seat).  He was a circuit riding preacher for the United Brethren in Christ.  About 1890 Allwood is said to have been returning home on a clear moonlit night when he wrote the words and composed the melody to the song “O They Tell Me of a Home Far Beyond the Skies.”  He died 1/13/1909, at Mo­ren­ci, Mi­chi­gan.

Read Full Post »

Lpost – John Darby (born Nov. 18, 1800)

John Nelson Darby was a British-Irish blooded, Dublin-trained, lawyer who turned Church of Ireland minister and then moved on (1828) to help establish the Plymouth Brethren.  He would perhaps be unknown today but for his meeting with eighteen-year-old Margaret MacDonald who is said to have had a vision regarding a “secret rapture” of the church.  Though this doctrine has other, older, questionable roots, Darby popularized it in the Isles and in America having a strong influence on C. I. Scofield.  Scofield in turn, placed the secret rapture idea in his Scofield Bible and today it has widely held acceptance among many evangelicals though the word rapture is non-biblical.  Many also have failed to atempt to reconcile their concept of “thief in the night” with the rest of Peter’s inspired words, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” 2Pe 3.10.  Three items are here which surely seem to not be secret.

Jesus is going to come! That is in the Bible.  The return of Christ is not in question! 

Too many are accepting the doctrine of a “secret rapture” without examining it.  Look up it origins (the “s” is purposeful) – it will surprise you.  The secret rapture appears to have catholic roots. It has also this visionary root in MacDonald. 

Conversely does a “secret rapture” have any roots in the actual Bible?  Do your homework.  Be willing to re-examine this doctrine.  Or for many – be willing to examine it for the first time.  Can (will) this doctrine play into the hands of the antichrist?

One source to see is Grace, Faith, and Holiness, (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1988), 586.

Read Full Post »