Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4).

This verse is part of the lovely Psalm 27 by David, and the whole psalm is an exuberant declaration of faith. David knows that the Lord is his only salvation and defender, and because of that he said in verse 4, “to behold the beauty of the Lord.” The key point of this verse is that David has one desire, one goal, one ambition, to live in God’s presence and by His purpose.

Because of this phrase, “the beauty of the Lord,” a lovely hymn was created, “Fairest Lord Jesus.” This is a beloved hymn that has a powerful message with a lovely melody, very easy to learn and to follow. But its origin is obscure. We know that this hymn came from a German Roman Catholic Jesuit collection and originally had six stanzas. This hymn is dated in 1677, but some people say that this hymn existed fifteen years earlier. Who wrote this hymn? Nobody knows. But this is very appropriate that no human author draws attention from the great theme of this song, Jesus the Savior who is more beautiful that anything.

“Fairest Lord Jesus,
Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son;
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul's glory, joy, and crown.”

This hymn emphasizes the beauty and wonder of Christ, and it alludes to His dual nature, that He was both human and divine, God made flesh, the God-Man.

The lyrics of this hymn remind us of the words by John Chrysostom, in a sermon in the fourth century. He said, “I do not think of Christ as God alone, or man alone, but both together. For I know He was hungry, and I know that with five loaves He fed five thousand. I know He was thirsty, and I know that He turned the water into wine. I know He was carried in a ship, and I know that He walked on the sea. I know that He died, and I know that He raised the dead. I know that He was set before Pilate, and I know that He sits with the Father on His throne. I know that He was worshiped by angels, and I know that He was stoned by the Jews. And truly some of these I ascribe to the human, and others to the divine nature. For by reason of this He is said to have been both God and man.”

Please, use this hymn as a tool for your worship time, alone or with other saints, and praise the name of Jesus, who is a “Beautiful Savior.”

“Beautiful Savior,
Lord of all nations,
Son of God and Son of man!
Glory and honor,
Praise, adoration,
Now and forevermore be Thine!”
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In His service,
Israel