Jesus was a singer

JESUS WAS A SINGER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto
the mount of Olives.—Mark14:26.
GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE
When they had Sung a Hymn
1. With this statementthe first two of the Evangelists conclude their narrative
of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. Our blessedLord had actedas
Presidentin the observance ofthe JewishFeastofthe Passover, andhad
engraftedthe new Christian rite upon the Paschalcelebration. Thatvenerable
ordinance, commemorative of the redemption from the bondage of Egypt, has
now servedits purpose and found its full meaning. The lamb of which Jesus
and His disciples partook in the upper room was, as it were, its lastvictim: the
true Passover, “the Lamb of God,” is to be “sacrificedforus” to-morrow on
Calvary.
2. The Jews had long ago, with the change of outward circumstances,
departed from the original form of observing their greatfeast. On the night of
the Exodus they had eatenthe Paschalmealin haste,—sandals onfeet, staff in
hand,—and with the same eagerhurry as is shown in our day by passengers in
the restaurantof a railway station. But in our Lord’s time they partook of the
feastat leisure, reclining at the table upon couches. Onthe first occasionthe
lamb had been eatenonly with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; but now
there was red wine on the table, and the customwas for even the poorest
Israelite to drink four cups of it. In the Books of Moses there is no mention of
any service of praise at the Passover;but now all devout Jews sang atthe table

the series ofsix Psalms called“the Hallel” (that is, Hallelujah), from Psalms
113 to Psalms 118 inclusive,—verymuch as the ScottishChurch has been in
the habit of singing Psalms 103 atthe Communion Table.
There was no Divine authority for the changedobservance.It was simply that
the natural feeling of the nation brought into it this element of thanksgiving.
Even the Phariseesand Scribes, who strangled the Jewishreligion with red
tape, and literalness, and rigid precision, themselves thus kept the feast. And
the Lord Jesus fellin with the custom, and Himself thus celebratedthe
Passover.
Long years ago I happened to be crossing the Simplon on the day of some
greatChurch festival. The bell of the little chapelhad tolled for the service,
and the simple peasants were gathering for worship. I lookedinto the church
and stoodwith rigid Protestantdefiance. But as I watchedthe devout
congregation, I thought that they were worshipping my Lord and my God—
and I knelt with them and gave myself up to a seasonof communion with God.
Then I walkedawayalone over the Pass, yetnot alone; with such a joyous
sense ofGod’s presence that few places or days have come to be more
memorable than that June day amidst the glorious mountains. I have
sometimes thought that its influence has never died out of my life.1 [Note:M.
G. Pearse.]
I
Jesus Singing a Hymn
1. Jesus Singing.—Itis goodto think of our BlessedMastersinging. He who
taught us to pray, and who spake as never man spake, says, “Letus sing.”

Music has a new meaning and singing a richer charm since He sang. He who
sang at such an hour surely loves to hear us sing as we gather at His table.
Since the Mastersang a hymn, let us be like Him. I am sorry for those who
cannot sing, and sorrier still for those who can sing and do not. Whateverelse
you do, do sing. Prayeris needful, but prayer itself will one day die. And
preaching is needful, but let us thank God that there are no preachers in
heaven. But singing will lastfor ever and ever. Everybody there is in the choir.
And Heaven’s highest bliss will surely be to sing with Him, in sweeterstrains
than earth can hear, the new song at the marriage supper of the Lamb.2
[Note:Ibid.]
We sometimes think of Jesus as an austere man. In Quentin Matsy’s
masterpiece He is representedwith dishevelled locks, hollow cheeks, eyes
dimmed and brows overarchedwith anguish—a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. He was, however, no cynic, no anchorite, but a man among men. It
is not recordedthat He ever laughed, yet His heart must have been full of
laughter; for, seeing the sorrow of the world, He saw the joy beyond it. All
men laugh unless they are stolid or dyspeptic, and He was neither. On this
occasionHe was passing into the dark shadow of the cross, yet He joined in
the greatHallel, “Oh give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy
endureth for ever.”1 [Note:D. J. Burrell.]
Why should not Jesus sing?
(1) His heart was in sympathy with all things pure and lovely and of good
report. The town where He spent His boyhood is overlookedby a precipitous
hill six hundred feet above the level of the sea. It is not to be doubted that
oftentimes He climbed up yonder to commune with God. The mountain
flowers were about His feet, and every one of them was like a swinging censer
full of perfume. All about Him were orchards and vineyards and verdant
pastures, and every grass-blade was inscribedwith His Father’s name. He

watchedthe eaglespoising in the cloudless azure, and heard the hum of busy
life in the village below;saw Tabor to the eastwardclothed with oak and
terebinth, and beyond the westernhills the mists rising from the GreatSea;to
the south lay the plain of Esdraelon, scene ofa hundred battles, and far
beyond were the gleaming domes of the Holy City. His heart gave thanks with
the leaping of the brooks;the birds sang and He sang with them.
(2) Why should not Jesus sing? He had a clear conscience,ofall living men the
only one who knew no sin. He alone could go to His rest at eventide with no
cry, “Have mercy on me, O God! againstthee have I sinned and done evil in
thy sight.” ForHim there were no vain regrets, no “might have beens.” There
was no guile in His heart, no guile on His lips. He was conscious ofno war in
His members, His soul was seton the discharge of duty.
(3) Why should not Jesus sing? He clearlyforesaw the ultimate triumph of
truth and goodness.“Forthe joy that was setbefore him he endured the cross,
despising the shame.” He knew that, whateverrebuffs and reverses there
might be, truth and righteousness were sure to triumph in the end.
The eternalstep of Progressbeats
To that greatanthem, strong and slow,
Which God repeats.
There would be martyr-fires and persecutions, and the souls of the faithful
would tremble within them, but His trembled not.

Take heart, the wasterbuilds again;
A charmed life old Goodness hath.
The tares may perish, but the grain
Is not for death.
He knew that through all the vicissitudes of history the irresistible God would
sit upon His throne, that everything would be overruled to His ultimate glory.
Oh, if we could only perceive this! If only we had somewhatof the Master’s
faith!
God works in all things; all obey
His first propulsion from the night;
Wait thou, and watch, the world is gray
With morning light.
2. The Hymn.—The “hymn” here spokenof by Matthew and Mark was
probably the secondportion of the Hallel. The first part, consisting of Psalms
113, 114, was commonlysung before the meal; and the secondpart,
comprising Psalms 115-118, afterthe fourth cup of wine. The Jews chanted

these holy songs at the paschaltable as their eucharistic hymn; and to truly
devout souls they were laden with Messianic music.
What a peculiar interest gathers round these particular Psalms, when we
remember that they were sung on that memorable night by the human heart
and the human lips of Jesus!And how pregnant with meaning must many of
the verses have been both to Himself and the disciples! For example: “The
sorrows ofdeath compassedme, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I
found trouble and sorrow. Thencalled I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I
beseechthee, deliver my soul.” “Whatshall I render unto the Lord for all his
benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of
the Lord.” Again, “Thouhast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord
helped me. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.”
“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” “God is the Lord, which
hath shewedus light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the
altar.”1 [Note:C. Jerdan.]
The word “hymn” has a different meaning from “psalm.” In the margin we
have “psalm.” But according to the highest authorities, from Augustine down
to our day, there is a distinct difference—though it is not always easyto define
it—betweenthe word translated“psalm” and that translated “hymn.” We
have those two words and one other word used togetherin Paul’s Epistle to
the Colossians andhis Epistle to the Ephesians (Colossians 3:16;Ephesians
5:19)—“psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” or“odes.” The Apostle
attacheda specialsignificance to eachof these words. It has been noted as a
striking fact that in the Old Testament there is no generalHebrew word for
the Psalms;but the translators of the Old Testamentinto the Greek, in the
Septuagint, in referring to the songs ofDavid and others, use the word
“psalm.” That word denotes primarily a “touching” or “twanging”;then the
harp; and, finally, the song that was sung to the accompanimentof the harp
or lyre. Hence the word first of all means a “touching,” then that which is

touched, and then the music which comes out as a result of the touching with
the finger or the ancient plectron. Therefore, the word “psalm” denotes any
spiritual song that is sung to the accompanimentof an instrument. Then there
comes the word “hymn.” While the psalm, as Archbishop Trench reminds us,
may be a “De profundis,” the hymn is always a “Magnificat.” It is pre-
eminently a song of praise. The ancientGreeks sang hymns of praise of their
gods and heroes;hence apparently the long time that was allowedto pass
before the word “hymn” became a familiar one in the Christian Church. The
Greeks wouldnaturally understand it to be an ascriptionof praise to some
one other than the true God; but gradually it gaineda prominent place in
Christian phraseology. Augustine assertedthat a hymn first of all must be a
song;in the secondplace it must be praise; and in the third place it must be
praise to God. Accepting this definition, a hymn, while it may be a psalm, is a
psalm of a particular kind—it is an ascriptionof praise to God.2 [Note: D.
Davies.]
O to have heard that hymn
Floatthrough the chamber dim,
Floatthrough that “upper room,”
Hushed in the twilight gloom!
Up the dark, starry skies
Rolled the deep harmonies;

Angels, who heard the strain,
How ran the high refrain?
How rose the holy song?
Triumphant, clear, and strong
As a glad bird uplift
Over the wild sea-drift?
Or was its liquid flow
Reluctant, sad, and slow,
Presageand prophecy
Of lone Gethsemane?
Was it a lofty psalm,
Foretelling crownand palm?

Soaredit to heights of prayer
On the still, vibrant air?
When the last feastwas spread,
And the last words were said,
Sang the Lord Christ the hymn
In the old chamber dim?1 [Note: Julia C. R. Dorr.]
II
The Occasionofthe Hymn
It is a striking fact that here and in the parallel passagein the Gospel
according to St. Matthew we have the only recordedinstance of Christ and
His disciples singing. It is extremely probable that they sang on many
occasions;but it is specially recordednow because ofits exceptional
significance.

1. We are apt to marvel, indeed, that the Redeemerwas able to sing at all at
such a time. He has bidden His sorrowful disciples farewell, and uttered the
words—“Arise, letus go hence.” He and they sing the Hallel immediately
after they have risen from the table, but before they go out into the night.
Jesus is on His way to Gethsemane, and Gabbatha, and Golgotha. He is about
to be betrayed by Judas and condemned by Pilate. He has immediately before
Him His agonyand bloody sweat, His cross and Passion, His physical anguish
and desolationof soulupon the accursedtree. He is the “Manof Sorrows,”
about to be “wounded for our transgressions, andbruised for our iniquities”;
and yet on the way to His doom He “sings a hymn”! This fact shows us how
pure His faith was, and how unflinching His courage. It proves to us how
whole-heartedHe was in His work, and how absolute was His devotion to His
Father’s will. He has been saying for some time past, “Forthis cause came I
unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.”
It is a singular incident in the life of the God-fearing Jehoshaphat, that he (2
Chronicles 20:21), before the commencementof a decisive engagement, placed
a band of singers at the head of his army, that they might “praise the beauty
of holiness,” and go forth to fight as to a festival; but what was this contest
compared with that which awaitedthe Saviour? Yet He too goes forth to meet
the insolentfoe with the hymn of praise upon His lips; and when the hymn
was ended, He calmly steps across the threshold which divides the hall from
the street, securityfrom danger, life from death.1 [Note:J. J. van Oosterzee.]
2. What did the singing of the hymn signify?
(1) It meant the fulfilment of the Law.—Becauseit was the settledcustom in
Israelto recite or sing these Psalms, our Lord Jesus Christ did the same;for
He would leave nothing unfinished. Just as, when He went down into the
waters of baptism, He said, “Thus it becomethus to fulfil all righteousness,”
so He seemedto say, when sitting at the table, “Thus it becomethus to fulfil

all righteousness;therefore let us sing unto the Lord, as God’s people in past
ages have done.”
(2) It meant surrender to the Father’s Will.—If you knew that at—sayten
o’clock to-night—youwould be led awayto be mocked, and despised, and
scourged, and that to-morrow’s sun would see you falsely accused, hanging, a
convictedcriminal, to die upon a cross, do you think that you could sing to-
night, after your last meal? I am sure you could not, unless with more than
earth-born courage and resignationyour soul could say, “Bind the sacrifice
with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.” You would sing if your spirit
were like the Saviour’s spirit; if, like Him, you could exclaim, “Notas I will,
but as thou wilt”; but if there should remain in you any selfishness, anydesire
to be sparedthe bitterness of death, you would not be able to chant the Hallel
with the Master. BlessedJesus, how wholly wert Thou given up! how perfectly
consecrated!so that, whereas othermen sing when they are marching to their
joys, Thou didst sing on the wayto death; whereas othermen lift up their
cheerful voices when honour awaits them, Thou hadst a brave and holy sonnet
on Thy lips when shame, and spitting, and death were to be Thy portion.
Thus the first thing Jesus did was to setHis greatsorrow and Passionto
music. Burdened, as the world’s Saviour, with the weight of the world’s sin,
He nevertheless made all His sorrow and even His agonyharmonious. We
have read in the Psalms about singing the statutes of the Lord in the days of
our pilgrimage. That is the highest spiritual attainment when we not merely
obey God but make obedience musical, when we getpraise out of our very
service and suffering for God’s sake. Itis there that the Saviour, as in so many
other instances, has become our greatexample.1 [Note:D. Davies.]
(3) It meant the sacrifice ofHimself on behalf of the work given Him to do.—
He has a baptism to be baptized with, and He is straiteneduntil it be
accomplished. The Masterdoes not go forth to the agonyin the gardenwith a

cowedand trembling spirit, all bowed and crushed in the dust; He advances to
the conflictlike a man who has his full strength about him. Takenout to be a
victim (if I may use such a figure), not as a worn-out ox that has long borne
the yoke, but as the firstling of the bullock, in the fulness of His strength, He
goes forth to the slaughter, with His glorious, undaunted spirit fast and firm
within Him, glad to suffer for His people’s sake, andfor His Father’s glory.2
[Note:C. H. Spurgeon.]
(4) It meant the assuranceofvictory.—The death-song of Jesus is a song of
triumph uttered before the agonycame. He knew absolutelythat the Father
would not fail Him, that evil could not prevail, and that the sacrifice would be
a greatvictory. But mark this: He could not see beyond Calvary. He knew,
but He could not see. Faithnever cando otherwise than that; it knows, but it
cannot see.
Two greatmysteries stand out here. First, the mystery of His agony. As a
Roman Catholic theologianhas put it, the agony in the garden and the
dereliction on Calvary present to the gaze an oceanof sorrow on the shores of
which we may stand and look down upon the wavelesssurface, but the depths
below no createdintelligence canfathom. Neverspeak lightly of the agonyof
Christ, for you do not know what it was, or how terrible, or how
overwhelming even to the Divine Son of God. The secondmystery is the
mystery of His deliverance. He saw through the first mystery, but not the
second. He saw the agony as we never can see it, but He did not see beyond.
We see the second, but not the first. We never can look on Calvary except over
the empty tomb. We see on this side of the Cross;Christ lookedon the other.
Think, then, of the grandeur and the magnificence of that augustFigure,
standing pathetic and lonely in the upper room, singing, “Bind the sacrifice
with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.… O give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good;for his mercy endureth for ever.”

About the close ofthe Civil War in America some Confederate officers were
once listening to some Union officers singing the songs that were most popular
in the camps of the Northern army during the Civil War. After the singing
had gone on for some time, one of the Confederate officers said, “If we had
had your songs we could have defeatedyou. You won the victory because you
had the best songs.”
A little while ago, when the most notorious infidel of this century lay dead in
his home on the shores ofthe Hudson, the telegraph which bore the message
to the ends of the earth, when telling of the kind of funeral service that would
be held over the body, said: “There will be no singing.”1 [Note:L. A. Banks.]
The hymn, “Fearnot, O little flock,” is knownas the hymn of Gustavus
Adolphus. In Butterworth’s The Story of the Hymns, the following graphic
incident is told of the battle of Lützen: As we read the stirring lines a vision
rises before us of two mighty hosts encampedover againsteachother, stilled
by the awe that falls on brave hearts when momentous events are about to be
decided. The thick fogs of the autumn morning hide the foes from eachother;
only the shrill note of the clarion is heard piercing through the mist. Then
suddenly in the Swedishcamp there is a silence. With a solemn mien Gustavus
advances to the front rank of his troops, and kneels down in the presence of
all his followers. In a moment the whole army bends with him in prayer. Then
there bursts forth the sound of trumpets, and ten thousand voices join in song:
Fearnot, O little flock, the foe
Who madly seeksyour overthrow,
Dreadnot his rage and power.”

The army of Gustavus moved forward to victory, an army so inspired with
confidence in God could not but be victorious: but at the moment of triumph
a riderless horse came flying back to the camp—it was that of the martyred
king.
III
The Disciples Singing with Him
It was wonderful that the disciples could sing on such a night as this. It had
been to them a night of perplexity, and awe, and wonder. Their Masterhad
been saying and doing things most solemn and strange. There had been the
feet-washing, the disclosure ofthe traitor, the institution of the Sacrament, the
eagerquestions, the deep discourse, and the farewellgreeting. What a night of
emotion and expectation!Only with sad countenances andin muffled tones
could the Eleven, when their Lord is on the point of leaving them, join in the
refrain of the Hallel—“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:for his
mercy endureth for ever.”
How much it meant for them! The solaceofthat song, and the voice of their
Lord blending with their voices, was the most tender and effectualway of
comforting them. It was as the mother soothes her little one by singing. Could
they fear since He sang? Forthem too the words were a strength as well as a
solace.
Take, Shepherd, take Thy prize,

For who like Thee can sing?
No fleece of mingled dyes,
No apples fair, I bring;
No smooth two-handled bowl,
Wrought with the clasping vine—
Take, take my heart and soul,
My songs, forthey are Thine!
Oh, sing Thy song again,
And these of mine may pass
As quick as summer rain
Dries on the thirsty grass.
Thou wouldst not do me wrong,

Thou wilt not silent be;
Thy one, Thy only song,
DearShepherd, teachto me!1 [Note:Dora Greenwell.]
1. They were Israelites.—Remembering the fact commemoratedby the
Paschalsupper, they might well rejoice. They sang of their nation in bondage,
trodden beneath the tyrannical foot of Pharaoh; they began the Psalm right
sorrowfully, as they thought of the bricks made without straw, and of the iron
furnace; but the strain soonmounted from the deep bass, and beganto climb
the scale, as theysang of Moses, the servant of God, and of the Lord
appearing to him in the burning bush. They remembered the mystic rod,
which became a serpent, and which swallowedup the rods of the magicians;
their music told of the plagues and wonders which God had wrought upon
Zoan; and of that dread night when the first-born of Egypt fell before the
avenging sword of the angel of death, while they themselves, feeding on the
lamb which had been slain for them, and whose blood was sprinkled upon the
lintel and upon the side-posts ofthe door, had been graciouslypreserved.
Then the song went up concerning the hour in which all Egypt was humbled
at the feetof Jehovah;whilst as for His people, He led them forth like sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron, and they went by the way of the sea, evenof
the RedSea. The strain rose higher still as they tuned the song of Moses, the
servant of God, and of the Lamb. Jubilantly they sang of the RedSea, and of
the chariots of Pharaohwhich went down into the midst thereof, and the
depths coveredthem till there was not one of them left. It was a glorious
chant, indeed, when they sang of Rahabcut in pieces, and of the dragon
wounded at the sea, by the right hand of the MostHigh, for the deliverance of
the chosenpeople.

2. They sang with a New Meaning.—ForJesus hadset ancient words to new
harmonies. The very words which had been sung often before, and which had
profound meaning on the lips of ancient saints, had never such a meaning on
human lips as they had this night. There are some words of God—some
extraordinary utterances—thatgo on disclosing new depths of meaning
throughout the ages,and are set to music now and again; but no music to
which they are setcan give expressionto the fulness of their meaning.
It was so with regard to the greatHallel and other inspired utterances. David
and others had first uttered them, and ancient saints had repeated them. As
the ages moved, they seemto have accumulatedmeaning; but not until the
Christ Himself came to utter the words did they find full and adequate
expression. Forinstance, “The stone which the builders refused is become the
head stone of the corner,” Christ had said in so many words before, but He
had not sung it until now. “The stone which the builders refused is become the
head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
This is the day which the Lord hath made”—so true of many other days, but
not so true of any day as this. “We will rejoice and be glad in it.” What! be
glad in it! Under the very shadow of the Cross, with all the agonyand the
shame before Him; and we know by the recordhow keenly He felt all.
In Wesley’s whole life there was perhaps nothing that made so deep an
impression on him as, when crossing the Atlantic in a greatstorm, the ship’s
sails blown away and the seas breaking overthe ship, and everybody else
screaming in terror, the simple Moravians gatheredtogetherwith their
women and children and sang a hymn of praise to God. It was what Luther
always did when evil tidings reachedhim and things lookedthreatening. He
rang out cheerily the words—
A safe stronghold our God is still,

A trusty shield and weapon.1 [Note:M. G. Pearse.]
IV
Let Us Sing
1. It is meet and proper that we should sing in the services ofthe sanctuary. In
Solomon’s temple, when the sons of Asaph in their white linen raisedthe tune,
accompaniedwith the greatorchestra of harps and cymbals and followedby
the mighty choirs shouting back from the galleries in antiphonal service, the
cloudy Presencecame forth from behind the fine-twined curtains and filled
the sacredplace;so, while we sing, the doors of the sanctuary move upon their
hinges and He enters whose presence brings to us fulness of life and joy.
When friends are few or far away,
Sing on, dear heart, sing on!
They rise to sing who kneelto pray,
Sing on, dear heart, sing on!
The songs ofearth to heav’n ascend,

And with adoring anthems blend,
Whose ringing echoes ne’ershall end;
Sing on, dear heart, sing on!1 [Note:V. J. Charlesworth.]
2. Let us sing as we go about our tasks. The carpenterdoes better work if he
whistles as he drives his plane. The Puritan girl in The Minister’s Wooing,
humming the old Psalmtunes, might well make her lover think of heavenand
angels. The soldiers, a hundred lockedto every one of the greatguns, vainly
sought to climb the steepascentofSt. Bernard until the flutes struck up La
Marseillaise, “Ye sons of freedom, wake to glory!” We also lift our burdens
the more easily, meet our sorrows the more resignedly, perform our services
and tasks the more joyously, when God’s praises are ringing in our hearts.
Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and Thy ways.
Not for the lip of praise alone,

Nor e’en the praising heart,
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part.
Praise in the common words I speak,
Life’s common looks and tones;
In intercourse at hearth and board
With my beloved ones.
Not in the temple crowd alone,
Where holy voices chime,
But in the silent paths of earth,
The quiet rooms of time.
So shall no part of day or night

From sacrednessbe free,
But all my life in every step
Be fellowship with Thee.1 [Note:H. Bonar.]
3. Let us sing in times of trouble. Godgiveth His people “songs in the night.”
Paul and Silas at Philippi, their feetin the stocks, theirbacks tingling with the
pain of recent scourging, made the dungeon ring with song, insomuch “that
the prisoners heard them.” It was a most unusual sound. Those dark
corridors had rung with oaths and curses many a time; but who were these
that could uplift at midnight the melodies of thanksgiving? “The prisoners
heard them.”
Martin Luther, in the darkesttimes, used to sayto Melanchthon, his fellow-
labourer in the Reformation, “Come, Philip, let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm,
and let them do their worst.” One of Longfellow’s lyrics on American slavery
has for its subject“The Slave singing at Midnight”—
Loud he sang the Psalm of David!
He, a and enslaved,
Sang of Israel’s victory,

Sang of Zion, bright and free.2 [Note: C. Jerdan.]
I have heard of a young mother, whose means of livelihood was her gift of
song, and once when her only child was lying ill at home she had to sing for
bread before a gaping crowd, and refuse an encore that she might escapefrom
the footlights and getback to that suffering bedside. When she got there it was
only to hear that there was no hope. This was the last request of her dying
child—“Mother, sing to me!” Can you think of anything more terrible than
that midnight agony? In the very presence ofthe shadow of death the brave
little woman gathers her baby to her breaking heart and paces that death-
room, singing—
I think, when I read that sweetstoryof old,
When Jesus was here among men,
How He calledlittle children as lambs to His fold,
I should like to have been with them then.
The child was going home, the mother was to live, but it was she and not the
child who sang the death-song of Jesus, andsang it well for love’s sake.3
[Note:R. J. Campbell.]
Thou Heart! why dost thou lift thy voice?

The birds are mute; the skies are dark;
Nor doth a living thing rejoice;
Nor doth a living creature hark;
Yet thou art singing in the dark.
How small thou art; how poor and frail;
Thy prime is past; thy friends are chill;
Yet as thou hadst not any ail
Throughout the storm thou liftest still
A praise the winter cannotchill.
Then sang that happy Heart reply:
“Godlives, God loves, and hears me sing;
How warm, how safe, how glad am I,

In shelter ’neath His spreading wing,
And then I cannotchoose but sing.”1 [Note:Danske Carolina Dandridge.]
4. Let us sing as we meet Death. The Christian canrejoice even in the near
approachof death, and under the dark shadow of bereavement. John
Bunyan’s “Miss Much-Afraid” “wentthrough the river singing.” Dr. Thomas
Guthrie, when he was dying, askedthose who were about him to sing him “a
bairn’s hymn.” John Angell James was accustomedto read Psalms 103 at
family prayer on Saturday evenings;but on the Saturday of the week in which
his wife had died he hesitated for a moment, and then lookedup and said,
“Notwithstanding what has happened this week, I see no reasonfor departing
from our usual custom of reading Psalms 103;‘Bless the Lord, O my soul and
all that is within me, bless his holy name.’ ”2 [Note:C. Jerdan.]
I once heard of a young father who fought a battle with fate on this wise. He
was smitten with a deadly disease;he knew it, and was told that his only
chance of life was that he should suffer some one to minister to him, and for
the restof his days—shortdays, too—he should take things quietly and rest
and wait for death. “Let others suffer, and let others strive; be still,” said the
doctor, “that is your only chance of life.” But he had two little babes, so he
took another course. He might have turned bitter, and cursed and railed
againstfate, and, with it, God. Or he might have pitied himself and takenthe
easiercourse, andcalled upon others to provide for these his loved ones. But
he did not; he went out as if nothing had happened, back to his work with
double intensity. He could not leave his children to the mercy of the world. It
is not that the world is so very unkind, but it forgets. He determined they
should have their chance when he himself was gone. He uttered no complaint;
he never presentedto them any story of his own heroism. He just went on with
brave heart and cheerful face. Foryears that man sang the death-song of

Christ, and no martyr going to the stake eversang it better.1 [Note:R. J.
Campbell.]
There are many different ways in which brave men go forth to meet suffering
and death. Some face the last enemy with defiant front, some with reckless
abandonment, some with absolute gaiety. The Christian, no less brave than
the bravestof all, meets it in a way entirely his own—with a sacredsong upon
his lips. That was how MargaretWilsonmet it at the water of Blednochin the
days of the Covenant. Hoping that the sight of her comrade’s lastagony would
dismay her into submission, they bound the older woman to the stake farthest
out in the stream, and when the drowning waves ofthe incoming tide were
doing their pitiless work, they askedthe girl what she thought of her
companion now. But in that awful hour of trial she neither faltered nor failed.
Opening her New Testament, she read aloud the eighth chapter of the Epistle
to the Romans—the greatchapterwhich tells how the condemnation of sin is
cancelledby the Saviour; and how the spirit of adoption delivers from
bondage and fear; and how nothing, neither death nor life, can separate from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The chapter finished, she
sang her farewellpsalm—
My sins and faults of youth
Do thou, O Lord, forget;
After thy mercy think on me,
And for thy goodness great.

And so singing she went forth to be done to death by cruel and wickedhands.
Was she not treading the ancient track which the Lord had trod before her;
and in the same spirit and style too?2 [Note:A. Smellie, Men of the Covenant,
345.]
When Bishop Hannington was takenprisoner by Mwangu, he says:“Suddenly
about twenty ruffians fell on us, and threw me to the ground. Feeling that I
was being draggedawayto be murdered at a distance, I sang, ‘Safe in the
arms of Jesus,’and then laughed at the very agonyof the situation.” At the
same time three native Christian lads were takenprisoners. They were
tortured; their arms were cut off, and they were bound alive to the
scaffolding, under which a fire was made, and so they were slowlyburned to
death. Their enemies stoodaround jeering, and told them now to pray to
Jesus, if they thought that He could do anything to help them. The spirit of the
martyr at once entered into these lads, and togetherthey raisedtheir voices
and praised Jesus in the fire, singing till their shrivelled tongues refusedto
form the sound, Killa siku tunsifu—a hymn translatedinto the musical
language ofUganda. These were the words they sang—
Daily, daily, sing to Jesus,
Sing, my soul, His praises due;
All He does deserves our praises,
And our deep devotion too:
For in deep humiliation,

He for us did live below;
Died on Calvary’s Cross oftorture,
Rose to save our souls from woe!1 [Note: Hymns and their Stories, 188.]
When they had Sung a Hymn
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Biblical Illustrator
And when they had sung an hymn.
Mark 14:26
The best harmony
N. Macleod, D. D.
Jesus sung an hymn, and when before was heard music so pleasing to God, so
grand and beautiful to listening angels? We know not what harmonies from
the powerof sound the Creatorproduces for the ceaselessjoyof His
intelligent creatures who fill the vast amplitudes of the sky. We know not what
sublime, and to us, inconceivable realities are expressedby those descriptions
given by that apostle who leant on Jesus's bosom, and heard with prophetic
ear the voice as of many waters, as of a greatthunder, and the voices of

harpers harping with their harps; but sure am I that there was a harmony
and a glory in this hymn they never heard before. For the beauty of its
harmony was moral; it was harmony from the inner spirit of man; it was
harmony betweenman and Christ; it was the melody of meekness, of
obedience, ofpeace and joy; it was like the music of law and order from those
glittering stars of night beneath which they sung — such a harmony as the
characterof Christ forever sounds in the ears of God.
(N. Macleod, D. D.)
Value of forms of prayer and praise
S. Cox, D. D.
One of the commonestobjections to the constantuse of statedforms of
common prayer is, that at times they must inevitably jar upon our feelings,
compelling us, for example, to take words of joy and praise on our lips when
our hearts are full of grief, or to utter penitent confessions ofsin and
imploring cries for mercy when our hearts are dancing with mirth and joy.
But if we mark the conduct of our Lord and His disciples, we cannotsay that
even this objectionis final or fatal. He and they were about to part. He was on
His wayto the agony of Gethsemane and the shame of the cross. Theirhearts,
despite His comforting words, were heavy with foreboding and grief. Yet they
sang the Hallel, used the common form of praise, before they went out, — He
to die for the sins of the world, and they to lose all hope in Him as the Saviour
of Israel. No Divine command, nothing but the customof the Feast, enjoined
this form upon them; yet they do not castit aside. And this "hymn" was no
dirge, no slow and measuredcadence, no plaintive lament, but a joyous song
of exultation. Must not these tones of irrepressible hope, of joyous and
exultant trust, have jarred on the hearts of men who were passing lute a great
darkness in which all the lights of life and hope and joy were to be eclipsed? If
our Lord could look through the darkness and see the joy set before Him, the
disciples could not. Yet they too joined in this joyous hymn before they went
out into the darkestnight the world has everknown. With their example
before us, we cannot fairly argue that settledforms of worship are to be

condemned simply because theyjar on the reigning emotion of the moment.
We must rather infer that, in His wisdom, God will not leave us to be the prey
of any unbalanced emotion; that, when our hearts are most fearful, He calls
on us to put our trust in Him; that when they are saddestHe reminds us that,
if we have made Him our chief good, our chief goodis still with us, whatever
we may have lost, and that we may still rejoice in Him, though all other joy
has departed from us. And when He bids us trust in Him in every night of loss
and fear, and even to be gladin Him howeversorrowfulour souls may be, —
O how comforting and welcome the command should be! for it is nothing less
than an assurance that He sees the gainwhich is to spring from our loss;it is
nothing short of a pledge that He will turn our sorrow into joy.
(S. Cox, D. D.)
Place offorms in religion
S. Cox, D. D.
Religionis a thing of principles, not of forms; spirit, not letter. It is a life, a life
which reveals itself in various ways under all the changes oftime, a life which
consecrateseveryfaculty we possessto the service of God and man. It uses
forms, but is not dependent on them. It may modify them in a thousand
different ways, to suit them to the wants, emotions, aspirations of the soul.
There was a most true and sincere religious life, for example, among the
Hebrews, and under the laws of Moses.Worshipthen took the form of
offerings and sacrifices,fasts and feasts. All these, in so far as they were
Hebrew, and were specially adapted to Hebrew life, have passedaway;but the
religious life has not passedwith them. It has clothed itself in simpler and
more universal forms. Our worship expresses itselfin prayers, hymns,
sacraments, andabove all in the purity and charity which bids us visit the
poor and needy in their affliction, and keepourselves unspotted from the
world. In due time, these forms may be modified or pass away. But the life
which works and speaks throughthem will not pass away. It will simply rise
into higher and nobler forms of expression. No man, therefore, canlive and
grow simply by adhering to forms of worship and service, let him be as

faithful and devoted to them as he will. They may feed and nourish life, but
they cannot impart it. They will change and pass, but the life of the soul need
not therefore suffer loss. If that life has once been quickenedin us through
faith and love, it will and must live on, for it is an eternallife, and continue to
manifest itself in modes that will change and rise to meet its new necessities
and conditions. Religionaccepts us as we are, that it may raise us above what
we are; it employs and consecratesallour faculties, that our faculties may be
refined, invigorated, enlargedin scope. If we can speak, it bids us speak. If we
can sing, it bids us sing. If we canlabour and endure, it bids us labour and
endure. If we can only stand and wait, it teaches us that they also serve who
only stand and wait. Whateverwe can do, it bids us do heartily, as unto the
Lord, and not unto men, and yet do for men, that it may be unto the Lord. If
we really have this life, it will revealitself in us as it did in Him who is our life
— in a love too profound and sincere to be repelled by any diversities of
outward form; in a spirit of praise too pure and joyous to be quenched by any
of the changes and sorrows oftime; and in an earnestconsecrationof our
every capacityand power to the service of Him who loved us, and gave
Himself for us, and for all.
(S. Cox, D. D.)
Singing in heaven
Prof. Austin Phelps.
For one I would not rid myself of the hope that we shall sometimes — perhaps
on great anniversaries commemorative of earthly histories — literally sing, in
heaven, the very psalms and hymns which are so often the "gate ofheaven" to
us here. It would be sadderparting with this world than we hope it will be
when our time comes, if we must forgetthese ancient lyrics, or find our
tongues dumb when we would utter them. How can we live without them? Are
they not a part of out very being? Take them away, with all the experiences of
which they are the symbol, and what would there be left of us to carry into
heaven?

(Prof. Austin Phelps.)
The JewishPsalms
J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.
The JewishPsalms, in which is expressedthe very spirit of the national life,
have furnished the bridal hymns, the battle songs, the pilgrim marches, the
penitential prayers, and the public praises of every nation in Christendom,
since Christendom was born. It is a sentence from the JewishPsalmbook,
which we have written over the portico of the chief temple of the world's
industry and commerce, the London Exchange. These psalms have rolled
through the din of every greatEuropeanbattlefield, they have pealedthrough
the screamofthe storm in every oceanhighwayof the earth. Drake's sailors
sang them when they clove the virgin waves of the Pacific;Frobisher's, when
they dashed againstthe barriers of the Arctic ice and night. They floated over
the waters on that day of days, when England held her Protestantfreedom
againstPope and Spaniard, and won the naval supremacy of the world. They
crossedthe oceanwith the Mayflowerpilgrims; they were sung around
Cromwell's camp fires, and his Ironsides chargedto their music; while they
have filled the peacefulhomes of England and of Christendom with the voice
of supplication and the breath of praise. In palace halls, by happy hearths, in
squalid rooms, in pauper wards, in prison cells, in crowdedsanctuaries, in
lovely wildernesses, everywhere these Jews have uttered our moan of
contrition and our song of triumph, our tearful complaints and our wrestling,
conquering prayer.
(J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.)
The love of singing sanctionedby Jesus
At a gathering of children one Christmas Day a gentleman present relatedthe
following very interesting incident: A little girl, only three years of age, was
very curious to know why Christmas evergreens were so much used, and what

they were intended to signify. So Mr. L — told her the story of the Babe of
Bethlehem, the child whose name was Jesus. The little questioner was just
beginning to give voice to the music that was in her heart; and after Mr. L —
concluded the narrative, she lookedup in his face and asked, "DidJesus
sing?" Who had ever thought of that? The text is almost conclusive proof that
our Lord did sing; it is, at any rate, quite conclusive proof that He sanctioned
the use of song on the part of His disciples.
Singing in prospectof death
A. W. Atwood.
, bound nakedto the stake, continued to sing hymns with a deep untrembling
voice.
(A. W. Atwood.)
Soothing influence of hymn singing
H. W. Beecher.
I remember a remarkable instance which occurredin my father's lecture
room during one of those sweetsceneswhichprecededthe separationof the
PresbyterianChurch into the old and new schools. At that time controversy
ran high, and there were fire and zealand wrath mingled with discussion;and
whoeversat in the chair, the devil presided. On the occasionto which I refer
an old Scotchman, six feet high, much bent with age, with blue eyes, large
features, very pale and white all over his face, and bald-headed, walkedup
and down the back part of the room, and as the dispute grew furious he (and
only he could have done it) would stop and call out, "Mr. Moderator, letus
sing 'Salvation';" and someone would strike up and sing the tune, and the
men who were in angry debate were cut short; but one by one they joined in,
and before they had sung the hymn through they were all calm and quiet.
When they resumed the controversy, it was in a much lowerkey. So this good
old man walkedup and down, and threw a hymn into the quarrel every few

minutes, and kept the religious antagonists from absolute explosion and
fighting. It is the nature of hymns to quell irascible feeling. I do not think that
a man who was mad could sing six verses through without regaining his
temper before he gotto the end.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The powerof a hymn
On one of the days that PresidentGarfield lay dying at the seaside, he was a
little better, and was permitted to sit by the window, while Mrs. Garfield was
in the adjoining room. Love, hope, and gratitude filled her heart, and she sang
the beautiful hymn, commencing, "Guide me, O Thou greatJehovah!" As the
soft and plaintive notes floated into the sick chamber, the President turned his
eyes up to Dr. Bliss and asked, "Is that Crete?" "Yes."replied the Doctor;"it
is Mrs. Garfield." "Quick, openthe door a little," anxiously responded the
sick man. Dr. Bliss openedthe door, and after listening a few moments, Mr.
Garfield exclaimed, as the large tears courseddown his sunken cheeks,
"Glorious, Bliss, isn't it?"
The powerof a hymn
A little boy came to one of our city missionaries, andholding out a dirty and
well-worn bit of printed paper, said, "Please,sir, father sentme to get a clean
paper like this." Taking it from his hand, the missionary unfolded it, and
found it was a paper containing the beautiful hymn beginning, "Justas I am."
The missionary lookeddownwith interest into the face earnestlyupturned to
him, and askedthe little boy where he gotit, and why he wanted a cleanone.
"We found it, sir," saidhe, "in sister's pocketaftershe died; she used to sing
it all the time when she was sick, and loved it so much that father wanted to
get a cleanone to put in a frame to hang it up. Won't you give us a cleanone,
sir?"

STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
The Biblical Illustrator
Mark 14:26
And when they had sung an hymn.
The best harmony
Jesus sung an hymn, and when before was heard music so pleasing to God, so
grand and beautiful to listening angels? We know not what harmonies from
the powerof sound the Creatorproduces for the ceaselessjoyof His
intelligent creatures who fill the vast amplitudes of the sky. We know not what
sublime, and to us, inconceivable realities are expressedby those descriptions
given by that apostle who leant on Jesus’s bosom, and heard with prophetic
ear the voice as of many waters, as of a greatthunder, and the voices of
harpers harping with their harps; but sure am I that there was a harmony
and a glory in this hymn they never heard before. For the beauty of its
harmony was moral; it was harmony from the inner spirit of man; it was
harmony betweenman and Christ; it was the melody of meekness, of
obedience, ofpeace and joy; it was like the music of law and order from those
glittering stars of night beneath which they sung-such a harmony as the
characterof Christ forever sounds in the ears of God. (N. Macleod, D. D.)
Value of forms of prayer and praise
One of the commonestobjections to the constantuse of statedforms of
common prayer is, that at times they must inevitably jar upon our feelings,
compelling us, for example, to take words of joy and praise on our lips when
our hearts are full of grief, or to utter penitent confessions ofsin and
imploring cries for mercy when our hearts are dancing with mirth and joy.
But if we mark the conduct of our Lord and His disciples, we cannotsay that
even this objectionis final or fatal. He and they were about to part. He was on
His wayto the agony of Gethsemane and the shame of the cross. Theirhearts,

despite His comforting words, were heavy with foreboding and grief. Yet they
sang the Hallel, used the common form of praise, before they went out,-He to
die for the sins of the world, and they to lose all hope in Him as the Saviour of
Israel. No Divine command, nothing but the custom of the Feast, enjoinedthis
form upon them; yet they do not castit aside. And this “hymn” was no dirge,
no slow and measured cadence, no plaintive lament, but a joyous song of
exultation. Must not these tones of irrepressible hope, of joyous and exultant
trust, have jarred on the hearts of men who were passing lute a greatdarkness
in which all the lights of life and hope and joy were to be eclipsed? If our Lord
could look through the darkness and see the joy set before Him, the disciples
could not. Yet they too joined in this joyous hymn before they went out into
the darkestnight the world has ever known. With their example before us, we
cannot fairly argue that settled forms of worship are to be condemned simply
because they jar on the reigning emotion of the moment. We must rather infer
that, in His wisdom, God will not leave us to be the prey of any unbalanced
emotion; that, when our hearts are most fearful, He calls on us to put our
trust in Him; that when they are saddestHe reminds us that, if we have made
Him our chief good, our chief goodis still with us, whateverwe may have lost,
and that we may still rejoice in Him, though all other joy has departed from
us. And when He bids us trust in Him in every night of loss and fear, and even
to be gladin Him howeversorrowfulour souls may be,-O how comforting and
welcome the command should be! for it is nothing less than an assurance that
He sees the gain which is to spring from our loss;it is nothing short of a
pledge that He will turn our sorrow into joy. (S. Cox, D. D.)
Place offorms in religion
Religionis a thing of principles, not of forms; spirit, not letter. It is a life, a life
which reveals itself in various ways under all the changes oftime, a life which
consecrateseveryfaculty we possessto the service of God and man. It uses
forms, but is not dependent on them. It may modify them in a thousand
different ways, to suit them to the wants, emotions, aspirations of the soul.
There was a most true and sincere religious life, for example, among the
Hebrews, and under the laws of Moses.Worshipthen took the form of
offerings and sacrifices,fasts and feasts. All these, in so far as they were
Hebrew, and were specially adapted to Hebrew life, have passedaway;but the

religious life has not passedwith them. It has clothed itself in simpler and
more universal forms. Our worship expresses itselfin prayers, hymns,
sacraments, andabove all in the purity and charity which bids us visit the
poor and needy in their affliction, and keepourselves unspotted from the
world. In due time, these forms may be modified or pass away. But the life
which works and speaks throughthem will not pass away. It will simply rise
into higher and nobler forms of expression. No man, therefore, canlive and
grow simply by adhering to forms of worship and service, let him be as
faithful and devoted to them as he will. They may feed and nourish life, but
they cannot impart it. They will change and pass, but the life of the soul need
not therefore suffer loss. If that life has once been quickenedin us through
faith and love, it will and must live on, for it is an eternallife, and continue to
manifest itself in modes that will change and rise to meet its new necessities
and conditions. Religionaccepts us as we are, that it may raise us above what
we are; it employs and consecratesallour faculties, that our faculties may be
refined, invigorated, enlargedin scope. If we can speak, it bids us speak. If we
can sing, it bids us sing. If we canlabour and endure, it bids us labour and
endure. If we can only stand and wait, it teaches us that they also serve who
only stand and wait. Whateverwe can do, it bids us do heartily, as unto the
Lord, and not unto men, and yet do for men, that it may be unto the Lord. If
we really have this life, it will revealitself in us as it did in Him who is our life-
in a love too profound and sincere to be repelled by any diversities of outward
form; in a spirit of praise too pure and joyous to be quenched by any of the
changes and sorrows oftime; and in an earnestconsecrationof our every
capacityand powerto the service of Him who loved us, and gave Himself for
us, and for all. (S. Cox, D. D.)
Singing in heaven
For one I would not rid myself of the hope that we shall sometimes-perhaps on
greatanniversaries commemorative of earthly histories-literallysing, in
heaven, the very psalms and hymns which are so often the “gate ofheaven” to
us here. It would be sadderparting with this world than we hope it will be
when our time comes, if we must forgetthese ancient lyrics, or find our
tongues dumb when we would utter them. How can we live without them? Are
they not a part of out very being? Take them away, with all the experiences of

which they are the symbol, and what would there be left of us to carry into
heaven? (Prof. Austin Phelps.)
The JewishPsalms
The JewishPsalms, in which is expressedthe very spirit of the national life,
have furnished the bridal hymns, the battle songs, the pilgrim marches, the
penitential prayers, and the public praises of every nation in Christendom,
since Christendom was born. It is a sentence from the JewishPsalmbook,
which we have written over the portico of the chief temple of the world’s
industry and commerce, the London Exchange. These psalms have rolled
through the din of every greatEuropeanbattlefield, they have pealedthrough
the screamofthe storm in every oceanhighwayof the earth. Drake’s sailors
sang them when they clove the virgin waves of the Pacific;Frobisher’s, when
they dashed againstthe barriers of the Arctic ice and night. They floated over
the waters on that day of days, when England held her Protestantfreedom
againstPope and Spaniard, and won the naval supremacy of the world. They
crossedthe oceanwith the Mayflowerpilgrims; they were sung around
Cromwell’s camp fires, and his Ironsides charged to their music; while they
have filled the peacefulhomes of England and of Christendom with the voice
of supplication and the breath of praise. In palace halls, by happy hearths, in
squalid rooms, in pauper wards, in prison cells, in crowdedsanctuaries, in
lovely wildernesses, everywhere these Jews have uttered our moan of
contrition and our song of triumph, our tearful complaints and our wrestling,
conquering prayer. (J. Baldwin Brown, B. A.)
The love of singing sanctionedby Jesus
At a gathering of children one Christmas Day a gentleman present relatedthe
following very interesting incident: A little girl, only three years of age, was
very curious to know why Christmas evergreens were so much used, and what
they were intended to signify. So Mr. L-told her the story of the Babe of
Bethlehem, the child whose name was Jesus. The little questioner was just
beginning to give voice to the music that was in her heart; and after Mr. L-
concluded the narrative, she lookedup in his face and asked, “DidJesus
sing?” Who had ever thought of that? The text is almost conclusive proof that

our Lord did sing; it is, at any rate, quite conclusive proof that He sanctioned
the use of song on the part of His disciples.
Singing in prospectof death
Jerome, of Prague, bound nakedto the stake, continuedto sing hymns with a
deep untrembling voice. (A. W. Atwood.)
Soothing influence of hymn singing
I remember a remarkable instance which occurredin my father’s lecture
room during one of those sweetsceneswhichprecededthe separationof the
PresbyterianChurch into the old and new schools. At that time controversy
ran high, and there were fire and zealand wrath mingled with discussion;and
whoeversat in the chair, the devil presided. On the occasionto which I refer
an old Scotchman, six feet high, much bent with age, with blue eyes, large
features, very pale and white all over his face, and bald-headed, walkedup
and down the back part of the room, and as the dispute grew furious he (and
only he could have done it) would stop and call out, “Mr. Moderator, letus
sing ‘Salvation’;” and someone would strike up and sing the tune, and the
men who were in angry debate were cut short; but one by one they joined in,
and before they had sung the hymn through they were all calm and quiet.
When they resumed the controversy, it was in a much lowerkey. So this good
old man walkedup and down, and threw a hymn into the quarrel every few
minutes, and kept the religious antagonists from absolute explosion and
fighting. It is the nature of hymns to quell irascible feeling. I do not think that
a man who was mad could sing six verses through without regaining his
temper before he gotto the end. (H. W. Beecher.)
The powerof a hymn
On one of the days that PresidentGarfield lay dying at the seaside, he was a
little better, and was permitted to sit by the window, while Mrs. Garfield was
in the adjoining room. Love, hope, and gratitude filled her heart, and she sang
the beautiful hymn, commencing, “Guide me, O Thou greatJehovah!” As the
soft and plaintive notes floated into the sick chamber, the President turned his
eyes up to Dr. Bliss and asked, “Is that Crete?” “Yes.”repliedthe Doctor;“it

is Mrs. Garfield.” “Quick, openthe door a little,” anxiously responded the
sick man. Dr. Bliss openedthe door, and after listening a few moments, Mr.
Garfield exclaimed, as the large tears courseddown his sunken cheeks,
“Glorious, Bliss, isn’t it?”
The powerof a hymn
A little boy came to one of our city missionaries, andholding out a dirty and
well-worn bit of printed paper, said, “Please,sir, father sentme to get a clean
paper like this.” Taking it from his hand, the missionaryunfolded it, and
found it was a paper containing the beautiful hymn beginning, “Justas I am.”
The missionary lookeddownwith interest into the face earnestlyupturned to
him, and askedthe little boy where he gotit, and why he wanted a cleanone.
“We found it, sir,” saidhe, “in sister’s pocketaftershe died; she used to sing it
all the time when she was sick, and loved it so much that father wanted to get
a cleanone to put in a frame to hang it up. Won’t you give us a cleanone,
sir?”
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
And when they had sung a hymn, they went out unto the mount of Olives.
When they had sung a hymn ... There is no way to convert the Greek word
here rendered "hymn" to "the Hillel," which was the song by the Jewish
worshipers at the conclusionof the paschalmeal. There is thus no support
here for the theory that this was that meal.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And when they had sung an hymn,.... The Hallell, used at the passover:
they went out into the Mount of Olives;Christ, and eleven of his disciples;for
Judas now separatedfrom them, and went to the chief priests to acquaint
them how things were, where Jesus was going, andwhere they might
apprehend him; See Gill on Matthew 26:30.

John Lightfoot's Commentary on the Gospels
26. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
[And when they had sung an hymn.] I. "What difference is there betweenthe
first Passoverand the second?" [that is, the Passoverof the first month and of
the second, Numbers 9]. "In the first, every one is bound under that law,
'Leaven shall not be seennor found among you.' In the second, 'Leavenand
unleavened bread may be with a man in his house.'In the first, he is bound to
a hymn when he eats the Passover.In the second, he is not bound to a hymn
when he eats it. In both, he is bound to a hymn while he makes or kills. Both
are to be eatenroast, and with unleavened bread, and bitter herbs, and both
drive awaythe sabbath." The Gemarists ask, "Whencethis is, that they are
bound to a hymn, while they eatthe Passover? R. Jochananin the name of R.
Simeon Ben Josedeksaith, The Scripture saith, 'You shall have a song, as in
the night when a feastis kept,' Isaiah30:29. The night which is setapart for a
feastis bound to a hymn: the night which is not set apart for a feast is not
bound to a hymn." The Gloss writes thus; "As ye are wont to sing in the night
when a feastis kept: but there is no night wherein they are obligedto a song,
besides the night when the Passoveris eaten."
II. That hymn is called by the Rabbins the Hallel; and was from the beginning
of Psalm 113, to the end of Psalm118, which they cut in two parts; and a part
of it they repeatedin the very middle of the banquet, and they reserveda part
to the end.
How far the former portion extended, is disputed betweenthe schools of
Shammai and Hillel. That of Shammai saith, Unto the end of Psalm 113. That
of Hillel saith, Unto the end of Psalm114. But these things must not stop us.
The hymn which Christ now sang with his disciples after meat was the latter
part. In which, as the Masters ofthe Traditions observe, these five things are
mentioned: "The going out of Egypt. The cutting in two of the RedSea. The
delivery of the law. The resurrectionof the dead: and the sorrows ofthe
Messias. The going out of Egypt, as it is written, 'When Israelwent out of
Egypt.' The cutting in two of the RedSea, as it is written, 'The sea saw it, and

fled.' The delivery of the law, as it is written, 'The mountains leaped like
rams.' The resurrectionof the dead, as it is written, 'I will walk before the
Lord in the land of the living.' And the sorrows of the Messias, as it is written,
'Not unto us, Lord, not unto us.'"
[They went out into the mount of Olives.] They were bound by traditional
canons to lodge within Jerusalem. "Onthe first Passover,everyone is bound
to lodge also on the secondPassoverhe is bound to lodge." The Gloss thus:
"He that keeps the Passoveris bound to lodge in Jerusalemthe first night."
But it is disputed, whether it be the same night wherein the lamb is eaten;or
the night first following the feastday. See the place:and let not the lion of the
tribe of Judah be restrained in those cobwebs [Pesach. fol. 95 .2.]
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Sung a hymn (υμνησαντες — humnēsantes). See note on Matthew 26:30 for
discussion.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
Matthew 26:30; Luke 22:39;John 18:1.
The Fourfold Gospel
And when they had sung a hymn1, they went out unto the mount of Olives.
GOING TO GETHSEMANE,AND AGONY THEREIN. (A garden between
the brook Kidron and the Mount of Olives. Late Thursday night.) Matthew
26:30,36-46;Mark 14:26,32-42;Luke 22:39-46;John 18:1

And when they had sung a hymn. The shadow of the cross did not quench the
spirit of praise in Christ.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
Mark 14:26.Whenthey had sung a hymn. Our three Evangelists leave out
those divine discourses,(198)whichJohn relates to have been delivered by
our Lord, both in the house and on the road. For, as we have elsewhere stated,
their objectwas rather to embrace the history of our Lord’s actions than his
doctrine. They glance only at the fact, that he went out of his own accord
where Judas was to come;and their objectis to inform us that he made such
an arrangement of his time, as willingly to meet him who betrayed him.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Mark 14:26. They went out— At the conclusionof the supper, Jesus and his
disciples sung a proper Psalmor song of praise together, as was customary at
the close ofthe passover, and then he set out for the mount of Olives; choosing
to retire thither that he might prevent a riot in Jerusalem, and bring no
trouble upon the master of the house where he celebratedthe passover.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
See Poole on"Mark 14:22"
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
26. ὑμνήσαντες. They sang one or two Psalms, probably 136, or 115–118,
before leaving the room.
ἐξῆλθον. This perhaps corresponds with John 14:31 (see notes there), but
more probably with John 18:1. Going out of the city to the Mount of Olives
was His usual practice (Mark 11:1; Luke 22:39), and therefore would not

surprise the Eleven. Probably even St John did not know that Judas would
accomplishhis treachery that night.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
‘And when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives.’
The hymn would be Psalms 115-118, regularlysung at the end of the Passover
meal. The Passovermealnow being over Jesus led His disciples to the Mount
of Olives ‘as His custom was’(Luke 22:39). Judas had by now slipped away
(John 13:27-30)but he would know the place that they were heading for (John
18:2).
Mention of the Mount of Olives connects this incident with the entry into
Jerusalem(Mark 11:1) and His words concerning the destructionof
Jerusalemand His secondcoming (Mark 13:3). It was thus a fitting place for
the working out of His destiny.
Note on the Different Versions of the PassoverMeal.
Let us first considerthe breaking of the bread passages, putting in capitals the
words which are exactly the same.
Matthew 26:26 'And as they were eating, Jesus TOOKBREAD, and blessed,
and BROKE IT, and he gave to the disciples, and said, Take, eat;THIS IS
MY BODY.'
Mark 14:22 'And as they were eating, he TOOK BREAD, and when he had
blessed, he BROKE IT, and gave to them, and said, Take you, THIS IS MY
BODY.'
Luke 22:19 'And he TOOK BREAD, and when he had given thanks, he
BROKE IT, and gave to them, saying, THIS IS MY BODYwhich is given for
you. This do in remembrance of me.'
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 'ForI receivedof the Lord that which also I delivered
to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed TOOK

BREAD, and when he had given thanks, he BROKE IT, and said, "THIS IS
MY BODY, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." '
Common to all is that HE TOOKBREAD, BROKE IT AND SAID, 'THIS IS
MY BODY', stressing the essentialunity of the passages.Matthew adds to
Jesus'words, 'Take you, eat', Mark adds 'Take you'. Luke and Paul omit this
but it is clearlyimplied. Luke adds, 'Which is given for you, this do in
remembrance of me,' and Paul adds, 'which is for you, Do this in
remembrance of me'. Paul's 'which is for you' parallels Matthew's 'take, eat'
and especiallyMark's 'take you'. Luke's 'given for you' simply amplifies the
idea. Thus the basic idea is the same in all, with small differences of
presentationin order to bring out particular points (these are all translations
of the Aramaic so that we should expect differences if they did not copy from
eachother). The additional words, 'Do this in remembrance of me' are really
required to explain the perpetuation of the feastin the early church. Thus
even if we had not been told about it we would have had to assume it. Indeed,
while 'This is my body' would certainly be impressive standing alone, it
requires extra words for it to make sense to the hearers. It is possibly the
writers and ministers, not the original speaker,who wish it to stand in its
starkness,knowing that the readers/recipients wouldknow its deeper
significance. WhatHis exactwords in Aramaic were canonly be postulated.
The Greek in eachcase gives the true meaning.
Slightly more complicatedare the words about the cup.
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
The hymn was probably the secondpart of the Hallel (lit. praise, Psalm115-
118)that the Jews sang antiphonally at the end of the Passover. The other
evangelists recordedmore that Jesus saidand did in the upper room (e.g,
John 13-16). By the time they left, it was probably quite late at night.

"When Jesus arose to go to Gethsemane, Psalm118 was upon his lips. It
provided an appropriate description of how God would guide his Messiah
through distress and suffering to glory." [Note: Lane, p509.]
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Mark 14:26, exactly as in Matthew 26:30, states that after singing the paschal
hymn the company went forth towards the Mount of Olives.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Christ is seizedupon Mount Olivet, whence he ascendedinto heaven; that we
might know that the place on earth where we watchand pray, where we suffer
chains without resistance, is the place whence we are to ascendinto heaven.
(St. Jerome)
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
sung an hymn. See Matthew 26:30.
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
sung
Psalms 47:6,7;Acts 16:25;1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:18-20;Colossians
3:16; James 5:13; Revelation5:9
hymn

or, psalm. This was probably Ps 113-118,whichthe Jews term the great
Hallel, or praise, and always sing at the paschalfestivity.
Matthew 26:30; Luke 22:39;Judges 18:1-4
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
WILLIAM BARCLAY
THE SYMBOL OF SALVATION (Mark 14:22-26)
14:22-26 As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf and gave thanks for it, and
broke it and gave it to them and said, "Take this. This is my body." And, after
he had given thanks, he took a cup and gave it to them, and they all drank
from it. And he said to them, "This is the blood of the new covenantwhich is
being shed for many. Truly I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the
vine, until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God." And, after
they had sung the Psalm, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
We must first setout the various steps of the PassoverFeast, so that in our
mind's eye we canfollow what Jesus and his disciples were doing. The steps
came in this order.
(i) The cup of the Kiddush. Kiddush means sanctificationor separation. This
was the act which, as it were, separated this meal from all other common
meals. The head of the family took the cup and prayed over it, and then all
drank of it.
(ii) The first hand washing. This was carried out only by the person who was
to celebrate the feast. Three times he had to washhis hands in the prescribed
way which we have already describedwhen studying Mark 7:1-37 .
(iii) A piece of parsley or lettuce was then taken and dipped in the bowl of salt
waterand eaten. This was an appetizer to the meal, but the parsley stoodfor

the hyssopwith which the lintel had been smearedwith blood, and the salt
stoodfor the tears of Egypt and for the waters of the Red Sea through which
Israelhad been brought in safety.
(iv) The breaking of bread. Two blessings were usedat the breaking of bread.
"Blessedbe thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who bringest forth
from the earth." Or, "Blessedart thou, our Father in heaven, who givestus
to-day the bread necessaryforus." On the table lay three circles of
unleavened bread. The middle one was takenand broken. At this point only a
little was eaten. It was to remind the Jews ofthe bread of affliction that they
ate in Egypt and it was broken to remind them that slaves had never a whole
loaf, but only broken crusts to eat. As it was broken, the head of the family
said, "This is the bread of affliction which our forefathers ate in the land of
Egypt. Whosoeveris hungry let him come and eat. Whosoeveris in need let
him come and keepthe Passoverwithus." (In the modern celebrationin
strange lands, here is added the famous prayer, "This year we keepit here,
next year in the land of Israel. This year as slaves, next year as free.")
(v) Next came the relating of the story of deliverance. The youngestperson
present had to ask what made this day different from all other days and why
all this was being done. And the head of the house had thereupon to tell the
whole story of the history of Israel down to the greatdeliverance which the
Passovercommemorated. The Passovercouldnever become a ritual. It was
always a commemorationof the powerand the mercy of God.
(vi) Psalms 113:1-9;Psalms 114:1-8 were sung. Psalms 113:1-9;Psalms 114:1-
8; Psalms 115:1-18;Psalms 116:1-19;Psalms 117:1-2;Psalms 118:1-29 are
known as the Hallel (Hebrew #1984), whichmeans the praise of God. All these
psalms are praising psalms. They were part of the very earliestmaterial which
a Jewishboy had to commit to memory.
(vii) The secondcup was drunk. It was calledthe cup of Haggadah(compare
Hebrew #5046), whichmeans the cup of explaining or proclaiming.
(viii) All those present now washedtheir hands in preparation for the meal.

(ix) A grace was said. "Blessedart thou, O Lord, our God, who bringest forth
fruit from the earth. Blessedart thou, O God, who has sanctifiedus with thy
commandment and enjoined us to eat unleavened cakes." Thereaftersmall
pieces of the unleavened bread were distributed.
(x) Some of the bitter herbs were placed betweentwo pieces of unleavened
bread, dipped in the Charoshethand eaten. This was calledthe sop. It was the
reminder of slaveryand of the bricks that once they had been compelledto
make.
(xi) Then followedthe meal proper. The whole lamb must be eaten. Anything
left over must be destroyedand not used for any common meal.
(xii) The hands were cleansedagain.
(xiii) The remainder of the unleavened bread was eaten.
(xiv) There was a prayer of thanksgiving, containing a petition for the coming
of Elijah to herald the Messiah. Thenthe third cup was drunk, called the cup
of thanksgiving. The blessing over the cup was, "Blessedartthou, O Lord, our
God, King of the Universe, who hast createdthe fruit of the vine."
(xv) The secondpart of The Hallel (Hebrew #1984)--Psalms 115:1-18;Psalms
116:1-19;Psalms 117:1-2;Psalms 118:1-29 --was sung.
(xvi) The fourth cup was drunk, and Psalms 136:1-26 , known as the great
Hallel (Hebrew #1984), was sung.
(xvii) Two short prayers were said:
"All thy works shallpraise thee, O Lord, our God. And thy saints,
the righteous, who do thy good pleasure, and all thy people, the
house of Israel, with joyous song, let them praise and bless and
magnify and glorify and exalt and reverence and sanctify and
scribe the Kingdom to thy name, O God, our King. For it is good
to praise thee, and pleasure to sing praises to thy name, for from

everlasting unto everlasting thou art God."
"The breath of all that lives shall praise thy name, O Lord, our
God. And the spirit of all flesh shall continually glorify and
exalt thy memorial, O God, our King. For from everlasting unto
everlasting thou art God, and beside thee we have no king,
redeemeror saviour."
Thus ended the PassoverFeast. Ifthe feastthat Jesus and his disciples sat at
was the Passoverit must have been items (xiii) and (xiv) that Jesus made his
own, and (xvi) must have been the hymn they sang before they went out to the
Mount of Olives.
Now let us see whatJesus was doing, and what he was seeking to impress
upon his men. More than once we have seenthat the prophets of Israel
resortedto symbolic, dramatic actions when they felt that words were not
enough. That is what Ahijah did when he rent the robe into twelve pieces and
gave ten to Jeroboamin tokenthat ten of the tribes would make him king (1
Kings 11:29-32). Thatis what Jeremiahdid when he made bonds and yokes
and wore them in token of the coming servitude (Jeremiah 27:1-22 ). That is
what the prophet Hananiah did when he broke the yokes that Jeremiah wore
(Jeremiah 28:10-11). Thatis the kind of thing that Ezekielwas continually
doing (Ezekiel4:1-8, Ezekiel5:1-4). It was as if words were easilyforgotten,
but a dramatic actionwould print itself on the memory.
That is what Jesus did, and he allied this dramatic action with the ancient
feastof his people so that it would be the more imprinted on the minds of his
men. He said, "Look!Just as this bread is brokenmy body is broken for you!
Just as this cup of red wine is poured out my blood is shed for you."
What did he mean when he said that the cup stoodfor a new covenant? The
word covenantis a common word in the Jewishreligion. The basis of that
religion was that God had entered into a covenantwith Israel. The word
means something like an arrangement, a bargain, a relationship. The
acceptanceofthe old covenantis setout in Exodus 24:3-8;and from that

passagewe see that the covenant was entirely dependent on Israel keeping the
law. If the law was broken, the covenant was brokenand the relationship
betweenGod and the nation shattered. It was a relationship entirely
dependent on law and on obedience to law. God was judge. And since no man
can keepthe law the people were ever in default. But Jesus says, "Iam
introducing and ratifying a new covenant, a new kind of relationship between
God and man. And it is not dependent on law, it is dependent on the blood
that I will shed." That is to say, it is dependent solelyon love. The new
covenantwas a relationship betweenman and God not dependent on law but
on love. In other words Jesus says, "Iam doing what I am doing to show you
how much God loves you." Men are no longersimply under the law of God.
Becauseofwhat Jesus did, they are forever within the love of God. That is the
essenceofwhat the sacramentsays to us.
We note one thing more. In the last sentence we see againthe two things we
have so often seen. Jesus was sure of two things. He knew he was to die, and
he knew his Kingdom would come. He was certain of the Cross, but just as
certain of the glory. And the reasonwas that he was just as certain of the love
of God as he was of the sin of man; and he knew that in the end that love
would conquer that sin.
Mark 14:26-31
NEVER SAY NEVER!
Intro: Did you know that it is possible to find hypocrisy in any forest? In any
greatforestyou will find many huge trees. They towerabove the other trees
and they appearto be the very picture of strength and maturity. Still,
experiencedloggers sometimes willnot even bother to cut down these huge
trees. To look at them, you would think this makes no sense. After all, the big
tree must have two or three times the woodof the smaller trees around it.
The reasonis simple. Huge trees are often rotten on the inside. They are
the hollow trees that raccoons live in. They are the trees that are often blown

over in a strong windstorm because, while they appear to be the picture of
strength, their hollowness makesthem very weak.
There is an old saying that goes like this: “The biggerthey are, the
harder they fall.” That truth applies to trees and it applies to Christians too!
A lot of us are like those big trees in the forest. We like to think that we
have made greatstrides in our walk of faith. We would not want to admit it,
but we often judge others by measuring their lives againstthe life we live.
You know it’s true! We look at others and we see the things they do, the
places they go and we hear the things they say. We look at them and we say, “I
would never do that!”
Yes, we would not own up to it, but we think there is something special
about us. We often act as if we really believe that we are the true standard of
faith.
The problem with most of us, however, is this: we, like the trees I
mentioned before, are rotten on the inside! We are just not what we think we
are. We don’t live the kind of lives we like to think we do. In truth, we spend
our days deceiving ourselves and trying to deceive those around us.
In this passage Jesus deals with some men who saw themselves as big
trees in the Christian forest. If you had askedany of them, they would have
told you that they were sold out for Jesus. Theywould remind you how they
had left everything to follow Him. They would tell you, as they are about to
tell Jesus, thatthey would never fail Him or forsake Him. Jesus, onthe other
hand, is about to revealto them the truth about themselves and their fickle
hearts.
The verses before us today give us a small taste of the conversationJesus
had with His men as they walkedfrom Jerusalem, down through the Kidron
Valley, on their wayto the Garden of Gethsemane. It was during this
conversationthat Jesus revealedto His men that they would all forsake Him
before the night was over. It was also during this conversationthat His men
made their adamant declarations that they would never do something like
that.

If you had come to any of these men and askedthem, “Do you think you
will ever fail the Lord?” They would have lookedat you and said, “Never!”
They were about to learn the truth that “never” wasn’t as long as they
thought it was!
These verses remind us that self-righteousness, hypocrisyand spiritual
failure are a possibility for any of us. These verses teachus that we should live
every day with an honest understanding of our true spiritual condition. These
verses teachus that we should “NeverSayNever”. Notice the truths contained
in this text that showcasethe dangers of thinking we have arrived.
I. v. 27 SOME PROPHESIES
(Ill. As I saidearlier, Jesus and His disciples are on the way to Gethsemane.
When they arrive there, Jesus willpray the greatprayer of John 17. Later, He
will be arrestedand carried awayfor trial by His enemies.
On the way to Gethsemane, Jesus has some things to say to His men that
they need to hear. We also need to hear what Jesus had to sayto His men that
night.)
A. A ProphecyOf A Fall – Jesus says, “All ye shall be offended because ofme
this night...” The word “offended” means “to make to stumble, or fall away”.
Jesus is clearly telling His men that they will “stumble and fall”, because of
Him, that very night.
We get our modern word “scandal” from the word translated
“offended”. The Lord’s disciples would be “scandalized” by the things that
would happen to Jesus that night. Like all Jews, theywere offended by the
thought of anyone dying on a cross, much less, anyone they knew and were
associatedwith, 1 Cor. 1:23.
The events of that night would cause them rethink their associationwith
Jesus and their allegiance to Him. Before the night ended, every one of His
disciples would abandon Jesus out of fear for their own lives, Mark 14:50.

B. A ProphecyOf A Fulfillment – Jesus tells them that their failure would be
the fulfillment of an Old Testamentprophecy, Zech. 13:7. Just as the betrayal
of Jesus by Judas Iscariothad been a part of the divinely ordained plan, so
would be their abandonment of the Lord.
Jesus was their Shepherd. When He was takenawayfrom them, they
quickly lost their way. They wandered from the path of closenessand they
strayed farther than they ever thought possible.
(Note:This verse showcasesthe Lord omniscience. We serve a Savior Who
knows all things. The disciples surely thought that they were close to the Lord
and secure from failing Him. His words were designedto show them that He
knew them far better than they knew themselves!
The same is true with us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He
knows what we are capable of. He knows the depths of the sin that resides
within our hearts.
We deceive ourselves into thinking that because we are saved, we have
reacheda place where we are no longertempted to fail. We seemto think that
others may fail, but we never will.
The truth is, it’s just the grace ofGod that we are not out of God’s will
and out of church today! It’s just the grace ofGod that keeps us in His will
from moment to moment!
Don’t miss this! Godknows you better than you know yourself! He
knows the problems you have with the flesh. He knows the potential you have
to sin, He knows the pull of temptation and evil. He knows the full possibilities
of sin in your life.)
I. Some Prophesies
II. v. 28 SOME PROMISES

(Ill. On the heels of His shocking prophecy, the Lord gives His men some
precious promises. When Jesus told them they would forsake Him, they were
shakento the core. Theywere upset and they needed something to bring peace
to their hearts. What He said to them next spoke peace to their troubled
hearts. His words still bring peace today!)
A. A Promise Of Resurrection – “After I am risen” – Jesus has just told His
men that He is going to die for their sins, vv. 22-25. His body is about to be
broken and His blood is about to be shed. Jesus is on His wayto the cross to
give His life a ransom for many, Mark 10:45. Surely, they are startled to
hear that Jesus will die, but they are comforted by the promise that He will
rise from the dead.
The cross was not our Lord’s final stop! He would die on that cross, pay
for sin and satisfyall the righteous demands of God toward sin. He would give
His life, the innocent for the guilty, so that lostsinners would have the
opportunity to be savedby God’s grace, 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18.
His body would be takendown from the cross and buried in a borrowed
tomb. His body would lie in that ground for three days, and then He would
rise from the dead, and walk out of that grave in victory. His resurrectionis of
supreme importance, Rom. 4:25; Ill. 1 Cor. 15:12-20!(Ill. This is a promise
that gives hope for today, for tomorrow and for all eternity!)
B. A Promise Of Restoration – “I will go before you into Galilee” – Jesus has
just told them that they are going to forsake Him. He has told them that they
will be scandalizedby Him and they will leave Him, even falling awayfrom
Him for a time.
However, His words here promise them restorationand forgiveness
on the other side of failure. These men would fail God and they would fail
Him in a big way. Peterwould deny Him, but all would forsake Him. Yet,
Jesus would restore them, and use them to literally turn “the world upside
down” for the glory of God, Acts 17:6.
I can’t speak for you, I canonly tell you how I feel. I do not want to fail
my Savior!He died for me and He savedme when I calledon Him by faith.

He has blessedme, used me and done more for me that I will ever understand.
His grace has been sufficient for every valley. His love has never wavered. His
Word has always proven itself to be true. He has given me everything and I
owe Him absolute love and devotion in return. I do not want to fail Him!
But, I know that I have failed Him and that I know that I will fail Him in
the future. When I do, He convicts be of my sin. He chastens me, because He
loves me and desires to draw me back to Him. When I repent of my sins and
return to Him, He responds in complete forgiveness andrestoration, 1 John
1:9. I will have to face the consequencesofmy actions, Gal. 6:7, but God offers
complete forgiveness to those who will come back to Him! (Ill. Jer. 33:8; Eze.
36:25;37:23.) Thank God for restorationand forgiveness!
I. Some Prophesies
II. Some Promises
III. v. 29-31 SOME
PRONOUNCEMENTS
A. v. 29 A Denial – When Peterhears the Lord’s prophecy, he responds with
a cleardenial of the Lord’s words. Petersay, “These otherfellows might fall
away, but I never will! You can’t trust them, but you can trust me Lord. I will
never fail you. Lord, You can depend on me! Others might leave you, but I
will always be there!” Peter probably believed every word he spoke that
night! He had no intention of failing the Lord. He did not leave his old life to
fail; he left his old life to succeedin the service of the Lord Jesus.
B. v. 30 A Declaration– When Jesus hears whatPeterhas to say, He gets real
personalwith Peter. The Lord tells him that before the sun comes up in the
morning, Peterwill deny Him three times. As we will see in a few weeks, that
is exactly what happened, vv. 66-72.

C. v. 31 A Debate – Peter’s response is typical Simon Peter. He refuses to
listen to what the Lord is saying and he reaffirms his promise to stand with
the Lord.
This time, Peterstates that he is even willing to die for the Lord if it
comes to that. We are told that he makes this assertion“more vehemently”.
The phrase means “out of measure”. I get the picture that Peter’s voice is
raised, his eyes are bulging, his jaw is setand he is doing everything he can to
make his point. The other disciples join in with Peterand they all voice their
determination to stand with the Lord come what may!
After this night, they would all back awayfrom their commitment to
Jesus to a certain degree. Some would briefly abandon His call on their lives
and try to return to their old life as fishermen, John 21:3. Regardlessofwhat
they believed in their hearts, they would fail Him because they refused to heed
His warnings and deal honestly with their flesh.
(Note:These men would all abandon the Lord, v. 50. They would forsake
Him. Only two, Peterand John, would be there for some of His trials and for
His crucifixion, and one of these would concealhis identity out of fear. The
rest would be in hiding until after His resurrection.
Why did their walk with the Lord turn out this way? Why did over three
years of intimate communion with Jesus endwith them abandoning Him?
Why did they run away in fear that night?
I think the reasons they failed Him lie behind all of our failures as well.
Let me suggesta few reasons whyI think these men failed. As I mention these
things, take a moment to look into your own heart. It may be that some of
these things have takenroot in you.
· Pride – They never thought they could fail! They believed that they
were above all of that. Ill. Pro. 16:18;Pro. 28:14;Rom. 11:20. The factis, the
best among us is only one heartbeatawayfrom denying the Lord; only one
step awayfrom the far country.

· Self-Deception– The disciples had convincedthemselves that they loved
Jesus more than anything in life. They were about to find out that they still
loved themselves more than they loved Him. (Ill. Gal. 6:3) You are capable of
anything! Never let yourself believe that you are not. (Ill. Paul – Rom. 7:14-
25)
· Fear– These men were confident that they would go with Jesus even to
the death. They were about to be brought face to face with the powerof fear.
Fearhas causedmany of God’s children to back awayfrom their
testimony. Fearhas causedmany to be silent when they should have spoken
up. Fearhas causedsome fall in with the crowdinstead of taking their stand
with the Lord. Fearhas magnified the power of Satanand minimized the
powerof Almighty God. Neverunderestimate the power of fear.
(Ill. Fearis a greatmotivator. However, we should not fear people, Satan, or
demons. We should fear God alone, Matt. 10:28; Eccl. 12:13;Heb. 12:28-29.
The reasonmany people live like they do is because they do not fear God,
Rom. 3:18.)
· Ignorance – The disciples were ignorant of the powerof Satan and of
their own weakness.Satanwas behind this failure, Luke 22:31-34. They
thought they could stand in their own power. Such self-confidence is deadly, 1
Cor. 10:12. We can stand in the evil day, but we must stand in Him, Eph.
6:10-13.
Conc:Never saynever! There are people in this room who never thought they
would be living the life they are living today. When you were saved, you
promised the Lord that you would live for Him and that you would be faithful
to Him, His house and His Word.
Now, you have little more than a passing acquaintance with the things of
God. You don’t pray, you don’t read your Bible, you don’t live for Jesus like
you used to, you don’t come to church like you know you should. Sunday

School, Wednesdayevening and Sunday Night are almostthings of the pastin
your life. You never thought it would happen, but it has. You are doing things,
and allowing things in your life, that would have been off limits before.
What should you do? Exactly what Jesus told the church at Ephesus to
do when they failed Him, Rev. 2:1-7. You need to come home. You need to
confess your failures. You need to repent of sin. You need to renew your vows
and commitments to the Lord; you need to get right with God. Come home!
Others have been flirting with things that you know are dangerous. You
are headedfor trouble! You need to come back to the Father today and ask
Him to help you stay close andclean. Come home!
Others have witnessedthe falls and failures of believers around them and
have said, “I will never do that,” as you lookeddown your nose at them. Be
careful! If you have that attitude, you need to get to God and repent of that
sin! If you hold someone’s past overtheir head, just because theydid
something you haven’t done yet, you need to get that right with God! It might
be you tomorrow, Gal. 6:1-2.
Still others have never been saved. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the
cross to make a wayof salvationfor whosoeverwill. If you will come to Him
today, He will save you and cleanse youfrom all your sins.
Has the Lord spokento your heart today? If He has, please come to Him
right now. Trust Him and let Him do His work in your heart and life. Will you
come as He calls?
http://www.sermonnotebook.org/mark/Mark%2071%20-
%20Mark%2014_26-31.htm
[Prayer] Father, we are grateful to Thee againthat we can turn to the
Scriptures and anticipate Thy blessing as we considerthe teaching that
concerns Jesus Christ. We pray that he may direct us through his Spirit and
that we may come to a deeperunderstanding of him and to be lead thereby

into a closerwalk with Thee. We thank Thee for these who are here and for
the interests that they have. And we pray that through the Scriptures Thou
wilt speak in a very meaningful way to us. We commit the hour to Thee. In
Jesus’name. Amen.
[Message]Tonightour subject is “On the Way to the Garden” as we turn
againto the Gospelof Mark and considersome aspects ofthe passionof our
Lord. And againas we have been following in all of our meetings this spring,
first a few words of introduction.
The ancient ritual of the Passoverif the background of the sectionin the since
that we have just concluded the last Passoverand the first Lord supper. And
so now in the singing of the hymns, as Jesus and the disciples make their way
from the Upper Room, we come to the actualconclusionof those greatrituals.
In the Passoverritual, Psalm113 and Psalm114 were sung at the beginning of
the Passover. And then Psalms 115, 16, and 17, the total comprising the
famous hallel or the Hallelujah were sung at the end. In the middle they did
not sing “Do Lord.” [Laughter] The medieval hymns that were often
composedused this greatevent as their incentive in motivation, and they often
pictured Jesus Christ as singing like a nightingale, and drew some interesting
comparisons betweenthe work of our Lord and the singing of the nightingale.
Now as we all know, or if you do not know I will tell you, the nightingale’s
song is a song which the male sings in the spring of the year. And we think of a
nightingale as singing at night, actually I think they sing in the day and the
night, but singing in the night and singing of love for they always sing only at
the breeding season. So the intent of the comparisonof our Lord singing the
hymns of the Passovernight with the nightingale was designedto stress the
love that Jesus Christhad for his own as he himself went to the cross at
Calvary.
Now, this figure is very interesting and in some ways enlightening. But as far
as the chief stress ofthe saving work of Jesus Christ is concerned, it obviously
is incomplete because it fails to do justice to the justice of God in the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ. I have no doubt that the love of our Lord Jesus and the will to
live causedhis holy heart to beat faster. But the finger of God’s justice caused

his holy heart to stop. And we must remember when we think of our Lord
going to the cross that it is not only a matter of the love of God but also of the
justice of God. And furthermore, I think that this comparisonof our Lord
singing, as he left the Passoverroom, to a nightingale singing in the night,
aside from the fact that the kind of love that the nightingale sings about is
erotic love, aside from that fact it fails to show that the songs that Jesus sang
were songs that fulfilled the word of God and explained the word of God. We
make a greatdeal over the sevenlast sayings that Jesus Christ uttered on the
cross. But so far as I know we never make anything over these hymns that he
sang as he made his way toward calvary.
And so tonight in the opening part of the message itself, I want to lay a little
stress on the hymns that our Lord sang and what they meant. Childers’
beautiful title of the sectionis “The Author Sings His Own Songs.” And that
gives us a clue and a hint into the significance of the fact that we read in verse
26 of Mark 14, “And when they had sung an hymn, they went out to the
Mount of Olives.”
Now, there is one other greatsubject in our sectionfor tonight and that is the
subject of the denial of Peter. One of the signs of the inspiration of the
Scriptures is the pitiless portrayal of its heroes that we find within it. If this
book were not inspired we might expectit to be a book in which the heroes of
the Scriptures were lauded and their blind spots overlooked. Butthe Bible is
not like that. Generallyspeaking the biographies of men tell us the goodabout
the men. Very rarely do they tell us the evil unless someone may be writing a
biography of man like Richard Nixon. Then, of course, things may be
different. But very rarely do biographers tell us the truth, the goodand the
bad. And one of the interesting things about the Bible is its capacityfor telling
us the truth, or in the words of 1974, “Telling it like it is.” And that is what we
find in the case ofPeter.
I happen to be a greatadmirer of StonewallJacksonas a number of you know
I don’t think there was evera generallike StonewallJacksonunless, perhaps,
Moshe Dayanin the 1967 War. But I have a hunch that he really probably
copied StonewallJackson’s strategyin order to win that war so well.
[Laughter] And I’m quite sure in my own mind that had StonewallJackson

lived we might have been a free country in the South of the United States.
[Laughter] But as it is we are not. But someone saidthat God knew that in
order for the North to win the Civil War it was necessaryto getrid of
Jackson. And so he arranged by a fortuitist concatenationofcircumstances
that his own men should slay Jacksonandthus enable the North to win.
I read a biography of StonewallJackson. I look out over the audience here
and I’m afraid they’re probably some Yankees in the audience from the way
you are responding tonight. [Laughter] But I read a biography of Stonewall
Jacksonby Burk Davis once who was a professorofhistory at the University
of Rice and when I finished the lastpage of that book I put it down and said,
“Well, it is hopeless to attempt to follow a man like StonewallJacksonin the
way that Burk Davis presented him because he practicallyperfect.” And of
course as you might expect, I also admired him because he was a Calvinist.
And so here was a greatgeneral, and a Southerner, and a friend of Robert E.
Lee, and on top of it he was a Calvinist. And there was really nothing wrong
with that man so far as I cantell exceptthat he gotin the way of one of the
bullets of one of his soldiers.
Now, Peteris a man who is not so presentedin the Scriptures. He is presented
with all of his blind spots and all of his wonderful characteristics. His denial
actually was a kind of theologicallecture, whichour Lord delivered him on
Romans chapter 7 verse 14 through verse 25. And he was taught through this
experience that in him there dwells no goodthing. It was a costly experience
for Peterbut it is included in the word of God that you and I might learn from
his experience and not make the same mistake. But first we’re going to look at
the man of sorrows singing psalms in chapter 14 and verse 26 and read verse
26 through verse 31,
“And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.
And Jesus saithunto them, all ye shall be offended because ofme this night:
for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheepshall be scattered.
But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Petersaid unto
him, although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saithunto him,
Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crows
twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I

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