Lord’s Day, Vol. 10 No. 27
He Leadeth Me
- Joseph Gilmore (1834-1918)
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom
By waters calm, o’ver troubled sea,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, wherever lot I see,
Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When, by thy grace, the victory’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
Refrain
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
By His own hand he leadeth me:
His faithful follower I would be,
For by his hand he leadeth me.
He Leadeth Me
- Joseph Gilmore (1834-1918)
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom
By waters calm, o’ver troubled sea,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, wherever lot I see,
Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When, by thy grace, the victory’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
Refrain
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
By His own hand he leadeth me:
His faithful follower I would be,
For by his hand he leadeth me.
He Leadeth Me
- Joseph Gilmore (1834-1918)
He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Sometimes ‘mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom
By waters calm, o’ver troubled sea,
Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine,
Nor ever murmur nor repine;
Content, wherever lot I see,
Since ‘tis my God that leadeth me.
And when my task on earth is done,
When, by thy grace, the victory’s won,
E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
Since God through Jordan leadeth me.
Refrain
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;
By His own hand he leadeth me:
His faithful follower I would be,
For by his hand he leadeth me.
This is a meditative or reflective poem, as the opening line signals when it identifies the subject as a blessed thought or idea. The doctrine that is held up for our meditation is divine providence.
The poet quickly narrows the focus to a specific aspect of God’s providence, namely God’s guidance of those who trust in Him.
Then, to concentrate our meditation even more, the poem is phrased in the singular rather than the plural, making it a personal and intimate statement. Of course, the poem is universal as well as individual so that, as we follow the poet’s prompts, we allow his voice to say what we, too, believe and feel.
The poem was written in 1862, at the height of the American Civil War, and this context of national uncertainty functions as a foil that heightens the unshaken confidence in God’s leading that the poem asserts.
The writer was both a Baptist minister and a professor of English. On the evening of the poem’s composition, Gilmore had led a Wednesday evening Bible study on Psalm 23, after which he further discussed the idea of God’s leading with several people who had attended the meeting. As the conversation unfolded, Gilmore took out a pencil and began writing a poem on the back of his lesson notes, finishing the poem in his room before sleeping.
The poem is in no sense a paraphrase of Psalm 23. Rather, as the author himself is said to have explained, the verse reads “he leadeth me beside the still waters” (v2, KJV) “became the theme of the song.”
As we look closely at the text, we see the following outline emerge. The opening clause announces the theme, and the rest of that line and the next line exclaim an emotional response. The reminder of this stanza, and the next stanza as well, asserts that God’s leading is present in all circumstances of life, both good and bad. The third stanza is a prayer addressed to God, and it expresses contentment in “whatever lot I see” because God leads.
The final stanza predicts that what the poet has asserted about God’s leading on the journey of life will also be true at the moment of death. As we look back over the poet’s meditation, we can see that two ingredients converge in its stanza:
- assertions about God’s leading as a reliable fact
- personal responses by the speaker to what has been asserted.
The refrain enacts this same twofold content, and it conveys the feeling of being a personal testimony. The poem is written in the couplet verse form. What we know about the composition of this poem confirms that everything stated with Psalm 23:2-4:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
… He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness… Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. (KJV)
[Extracted and edited from 40 Favourite Hymns of the Christian Faith by Leland Ryken]
- Yea – An Affirmation in the Heart (v4a)
4 Yea, …
In Jesus Christ, death has lost its sting – 1 Corinthians 15:55-56 (KJV) O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead on the third day, to defeat sin and death. The Apostle Paul affirms that death has lost its sting. It does not bite Christ with utter despair but pain, suffering and death are overcome for us by our Great Shepherd Jesus Christ. Therefore, death is but a shadow. Seem frightening with its snare but it’s just a mirage. There is a resurrection life that awaits the believer. Therefore, we can face the valley of sickness, and weakness of the body because our Saviour is with us! We can walk through the valley trusting in the Lord’s presence and power and protection. In other words, we pass through the valley strengthened in faith that dispels all fear.
- Faith Dispels Fear
… though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
The fear of evil can bring a snare, but the believer is fortified with the armour of God, this armour of light, that dispels the darkness of evil that threatens us in this pilgrimage in the wilderness that leads us to the Promised Land. May the Lord strengthen His people to know that He yet leadeth! Amen.
Yours lovingly
Pastor Lek Aik Wee