Voice of Jesus

Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’
John 8:12

 I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say ELW 611; LBW 497

 1    I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest;
     lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast."
      I came to Jesus as I was, so weary, worn, and sad;
      I found in him a resting-place, and he has made me glad.

2    I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold, I freely give
      the living water, thirsty one; stoop down and drink and live."
      I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream;
      my thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in him.

3    I heard the voice of Jesus say, "I am this dark world's light;
      look unto me, your morn shall rise, and all your day be bright."
      I looked to Jesus, and I found in him my star, my sun;
      and in that light of life I'll walk till trav'ling days are done.

 Text: Horatius Bonar, 1808-1889

             Horatio Bonar doodles as he wrote hymn lyrics.  Many of his lyrics came to him as he walked the woods of his native Scotland or while riding a train. He wrote over 600 hymns in this way.  He was also a brilliant Bible scholar and an active layman in the church, He began his career writing hymns for children, and was one of the earliest proponents of the “Sunday school” movement in Britain.  So he knew how to communicate profound truths to children, and while doing that how to help adults ‘come along’.  He wrote this hymn as a way of explaining the three great promises of Jesus in a 2way that children and adults could understand; 1) “Come unto me all ye who are weary and heavy laden” from Matthew 11, “I am the living water…whoever drinks from me will never thirst,” from John 4, and “I am the light of the world” from John 12.

Prayer:  Lord, lead call us, open our ears to hear you and then open our hearts to follow and obey you.  Let us know the great promises of joy and love you have given, and help us to share them so that all might stand before your throne of grace forgiven, redeemed and fulfilled.  Amen.