ORSBORNAGAIN (15)
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.
The Saviour of men came to seek and to save
The souls who were lost to the good;
His Spirit was moved for the world which he loved
With the boundless compassion of God.
And still there are fields where the laborers are few,
And still there are souls without bread,
And still eyes that weep where the darkness is deep,
And still straying sheep to be led.
Except I am moved with compassion,
How dwelleth thy Spirit in me?
In word and in deed
Burling love is my need;
I know I can find this in thee.
O is not the Christ ‘midst the crowd of today
Whose questioning cries do not cease?
And will he not show to the hearts that would know
The things that belong to their peace?
But how shall they hear if the preacher forbear
Or lack in compassionate zeal?
Or how shall hearts move with the Master’s own love,
Without his anointing and seal?
It is not with might to establish the right,
Nor yet with the wise to give rest;
The mind cannot show what the heart longs to know
Nor comfort a people distressed.
O Saviour of men, touch my spirit again,
And grant that thy servant may be
Intense every day, as I labor and pray,
Both instant and constant for thee.
Albert Orsborn
626 Our Response to God – Holiness, Devotion
Jesus movement singer/songwriter Larry Norman was one of the founding fathers of what is now referred to as contemporary Christian music. Whether he deserves the blame or credit for that depends largely on your view of that particular genre and industry. Still, in the 70s at least, he had a knack for weaving biblical truths into songs that could’ve received radio airplay alongside his contemporaries in the mainstream music market.
I grew bored and suspect of his work as I entered adulthood, but in my formative years, his songs provided a Monday-to-Saturday soundtrack to my faith journey. (Sundays were reserved for Fanny Crosby, Charles Wesley and Albert Orsborn, among others.). Here’s an example of his songwriting from the 1976 song “Righteous Rocker #3”:
You can be a righteous rocker or a holy roller,
You can be most anything.
You can be a child of the slum or a skid row bum,
You can be an earthly king.
Without love, you ain’t nothing, without love.
It’s not Shakespeare, right? But in the spirit of Shakespeare, Norman did attempt to speak of lofty truths in earthly terminology. In essence, this song is a retelling of the apostle Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 13.
In that iconic portion of Scripture, Paul makes it crystal clear that it matters little (i.e., nothing) what any of us speak, have, give or do – unless LOVE is behind it, in it, through it and all over it.
It seems to me that this is precisely what Orsborn is saying here. Considering the Christ-centric poetry of Orsborn, it’s no surprise that he begins this song with a reminder that Jesus’ ministry was motivated by the love of God (as is our ministry, according to The Salvation Army’s mission statement). He then masterfully brings Christ’s purpose in our world from the past to the present: “O is not the Christ ‘midst the crowd of today, / Whose questioning cries do not cease?” Of course it’s a rhetorical question, but the answer has to be YES! Not only is he “’midst the crowd,” but his deep desire is to answer their cries and offer them peace. And what is one of God’s main strategies to be present in and offer peace to the “crowd of today”? Right. You and me. But that won’t happen if we aren’t reaching out to others out of an overflow of being IN LOVE. And that will only happen if our spirits are touched again by the Spirit of love.
I currently serve in the city in Northern California named after St. Francis. I have the opportunity every day to walk “’midst the crowd of today.” In fact, today, while walking back to the office from lunch, I saw a man lying right in the middle of the sidewalk. He was sleeping soundly, if not securely. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I knew that walking by wasn’t the right response. Plus, I didn’t want Jesus to use me as a bad example some day in a story about neighbors.
I tried to wake him by saying, “Sir, is there anything I can do to help you?” He snored his reply. I tried again, but as I mentioned, he was sound asleep. As I walked away (knowing I was going to write about this Orsborn classic today), I was struck by the realization that in most cases, it’s often those of us who claim membership in the 2,000-plus-year-old Jesus movement who need to be woken up.
The “souls without bread,” the “eyes that weep” and “staying sheep,” the “people distressed,” they are wide awake – often through the night. To borrow a phrase from Keith Green, another musical missionary from the Jesus movement, it’s those of us “asleep in the light” that need to wake up:
Open up open up
And give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries
So how can you delay?
Incidentally, the “burning love” Orsborn is praying for in his chorus should be be confused with “hunk of, hunk of burning love” Elvis popularized in 1972. (Orsborn was promoted to glory five years prior to this Presley hit.). The world has no shortage of that type of “love.” Orsborn is describing the kind of love that emanates from a different king, the one true king – a love that can appear to be in short supply these days. It’s the “Master’s own love,” the “boundless compassion of God” that must mark our Army, our ministry, our lives. If not, if we forsake our first love (and those he loves), our lamp stands will be removed (Rev. 2:4-6).
Fortunately, Orsborn’s writings point us to Jesus. Jesus’ love points us to OTHERS!
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13)