Wordwise Hymns

Englishman Harold Green was a pastor’s son. He served with the South Africa General Mission in Pondoland, a region on the eastern coast of South Africa. In 1920, when another missionary, Emily May Grimes Crawford wrote a hymn called The Quiet Hour, Green provided the tune for it. As far as I know, it is the only music we have from him.

The Quiet Hour (also known as Speak, Lord, in the Stillness) is a fitting hymn to use before the Bible message in a worship service. It also relates to our need to have a daily time in God’s Word and in prayer. It is important to draw aside from the busy bustle and noise of our routine to commune with God and listen to Him speak to our hearts through the Scriptures.

The hymn recalls Eli’s instructions to the boy Samuel: “If He [God] calls you…you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears’” (I Sam. 3:9). And David’s testimony: “Truly my soul silently waits for God” (Ps. 62:1). And the promise of the Lord Jesus to His disciples: “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life [i.e. they are spiritually life-giving]” (Jn. 6:63).

May I take a moment to encourage you to have some kind of daily Bible reading and prayer plan for the coming year. We each need that time with the Lord for spiritual nourishment. The little diagram here suggests four specific things you can look for in your reading. It also places Christ at the centre of the Bible’s message–which He is (Lk. 24:27; Jn. 5:39).  

Speak, Lord, in the stillness
While I wait on Thee;
Hushed my heart to listen,
In expectancy.

For the words Thou speakest,
“They are life” indeed;
Living Bread from heaven,
Now my spirit feed!

(2) Today in 1941  – Henry Ostrom Died
Born in Canada, Henry Ostrom was a Methodist pastor who also served on the extension staff of Moody Bible Institute. He wrote several books, and a number of hymns as well. Moody president, James M. Gray, said of him that he “has been accorded a place in the confidence and affection of Christians of all denominations in the United States.”

A humble man, Dr. Ostrom used the pen name George Walker Whitcomb. It enabled him to ask for the singing of a hymn he had written without calling undue attention to himself. When he preached, he often reminded his listeners of the need to get the gospel out, because of the soon return of Christ. Most who heard him say, “This may be the crowning day,” were unaware that he had written the stirring gospel song on that theme called Is It the Crowning Day?

Jesus may come today
Glad day, glad day!
And I would see my Friend;
Dangers and troubles would end
If Jesus should come today.

Glad day, glad day!
Is it the crowning day?
I’ll live for today, nor anxious be;
Jesus, my Lord I soon shall see.
Glad day, glad day!
Is it the crowning day?

Faithful I’ll be today,
Glad day, glad day!
And I will freely tell
Why I should love Him so well,
For He is my all today.