ORSBORNAGAIN (5)
A devotional series by Major Rob Birks
ORSBORNAGAIN is meant to introduce the poetry of the first Poet General, Albert Orsborn (1886-1967) to a new audience and to reintroduce his works to dyed-in-the-(tropical)-wool Salvationists.
These are not new songs.
However, the lyrics are jam-packed with new life, which may be missed during corporate worship. Re-examined through scripture and experience, Rob Birks intends through an examination of these scared songs to renew the spiritual fervor of believers, and point seekers to their Savior.
Many thoughts stir my heart as I ponder alone;
Many places attract me with charms all their own;
But the thought of all thoughts is of Christ crucified,
The place of all places, the hill where he died.
O the charm of the cross! How I love to be there!
With the love that shines from it, what love can compare?
The seal of my ransom in Calvary I see,
All my sin, O my Saviour, laid upon thee!
‘Tis the end of my sin and the source of all grace;
‘Tis the word of God’s love to a prodigal race;
‘Tis the greatest, the grandest gift God could impart,
Surpassing my reason but winning my heart.
For the sake of the Christ and the love of his cross
I have yielded my all and not reckoned it loss;
There’s a place in my heart which the Saviour must fill;
No other can take it, and none ever will.
Albert Orsborn
119 The Lord Jesus Christ – Atoning Work
The idea for this collection of devotional thoughts came to me on Good Friday 2012. Stacy and I spent a holy Holy Week in Northern Ireland with our good friends, who showed us the sights in that gorgeous part of that gorgeous country. Surely the first person to coin the phrase “God’s green Earth” did so while visiting County Down in Northern Ireland.
On Good Friday, we took a break from touristy sightseeing to focus our eyes and the eyes of our hearts on the cross of Christ. On our way to the Lurgan Corps, where our friends soldier, I suggested a game. We would all choose one song we thought would be used during the service as a congregational song, a vocal solo, or a songster or band piece: one player, one guess, one song. The winner(s) would be the lucky recipient of a “to be determined” prize. My wife and friends seemed up for it (if only to pacify me), and we each made our choice. I can’t remember who chose what, but there’s a good chance you are thinking of a few of those songs right now.
The visiting leader for that Easter weekend was Commissioner Keith Banks. He had planned the service, and he led it masterfully from a swivel stool in the front of the corps chapel. Woven through the service were songs, readings, and Scripture – all chosen to create a climate conducive to cross contemplation. We were all able to do exactly that. The commissioner presented his message in three segments: the pain of the cross, the pardon of the cross, and the power of the cross.
These words of Orsborn’s weren’t sung that night, but they convey accurately the theme and tone of that Good Friday service. It was a meaningful service (and not just because that’s what I tweeted later that night). By the way, my friend Eddy won the contest; I was a gracious loser, and gave him a Starbucks card the next day.
I must confess, with Orsborn, that many thoughts and places often distract me from the “thought of all thoughts” and the “place of all places.” All kinds of shiny charms worm their way into my heart and attempt to crowd out the “charm of the cross” and “the love that shines from it.” But in those moments when I look closely at the cross of Christ, like on that Good Friday night, I see something more beautiful and more mysterious than even the Giants Causeway we visited that week: “The seal of my ransom in Calvary I see, / All my sin, O my Saviour, laid upon thee!”
I want to regularly experience Good Fridays (through Good Thursdays). I want to experience 52 Holy Weeks a year. I want to yield my all and not reckon it loss, “for the sake of the Christ and the love of his cross.” I want to live a life that points to the pain, pardon and power of the cross of Christ. I want to live a cross-charmed life. (And I want to go back to Ireland someday.)
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).