[Biblemat] hymn study, "Lord, Speak to Me"

[Wayne S Walker]

Wayne Walker here with another weekly hymn study.

"LORD, SPEAK TO ME"
"And the things that thou hast heard of me...the same commit thou to
faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2.2)

     INTRO.:  A hymn which seeks to encourage us to take what we have
heard from the Lord and His servants and then teach others also is "Lord,
Speak to Me."  The text was written by Francis Ridley Havergal
(1836-1879).  It was produced in 1872 and first printed in leaflet form
as "A Worker's Prayer."  Later it was published in her 1874 Under the
Surface.  Miss Havergal is famous as the author of such hymns as "I Gave
My Life for Thee," "Is It For Me?", "True-Hearted, Whole-Hearted," "I
Bring My Sins to Thee," "Nobody Knows But Jesus," and perhaps her best
known, "Take My Life, and Let It Be."  The most commonly used tune
(Canonbury) is taken from a work by German Romantic composer Robert
Alexander Schumann, who was born at Zwickau in Saxon, Germany, on June 8,
1810.  His father was a bookseller and publisher who provided a literary
atmosphere in which Robert's unusual musical development was influenced. 


     Schumann's abilities became evident very early, since he began
composing at age seven and was writing for chorus and orchestra at age
eleven.  Following four years at a private school, he studied at the
Zwickau Gymnasium for eight years.  However, after his father's death in
1826, his mother wanted him to become a lawyer and sent him to be
educated at the universities of Leipzig and Heidleberg.  However, he
abandoned the study of law in 1830 in order to devote himself to music. 
Becoming a pupil of Friedrich Wieck, whose daughter, Clara, Schumann
married in 1840, he suffered a permanent injury to one of his fingers and
was forced to abandon his intended career as a pianist, so in 1834 he
founded a music journal, Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik, which he edited
until 1844. Through this medium, he championed the work of young
composers and performers such as Johannes Brahams and Joseph Joachim.  

     Also, Schumann continued composing, and his output includes four
symphonies, three concertos, and chamber music, but he is best remembered
for his piano works and songs.  In 1839 Schumann published his
"Nachtstucke" ("Night Piece" for piano), Op. 23, No. 4, from which this
tune was arranged.  In 1843, he was appointed to the faculty of the newly
founded Leipzig Conservatory until emotional problems forced him to
resign, and he and Clara moved to Dresden.  In 1850 he was named town
music director at Dusseldorf but his tendencies toward mental instability
became increasingly evident, and in 1854 he attempted to commit suicide
by drowning in the Rhine River.  Afterwards, he was voluntarily committed
to an asylum at Enderich near Bonn in Prussia, Germany, where he died two
years later, on July 29, 1856.  The adaptation of Schumann's "Night
Piece" as a hymn tune was made by John Ireland Tucker (1819-1895).  It
was first published in his 1872 Hymnal with Tunes, Old and New.

     Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord's church during the
twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, the song appeared in the
1963 Christian Hymnal edited by J. Nelson Slater.  The text, with a tune
(Holley) by George Hews usually associated with Joseph Grigg's "Behold A
Stranger At The Door," appeared in the 1921 Great Songs of the Church
(No. 1) and the 1937 Great Songs of the Church No. 2 both edited by E. L.
Jorgenson.  Today the text may be found in the 1971 Songs of the Church,
the 1990 Songs of the Church 21st C. Ed., and the 1994 Songs of Faith and
Praise all edited by Alton H. Howard; the 1986 Great Songs Revised edited
by Forrest M. McCann; and the 1992 Praise for the Lord edited by John P.
Wiegand.  Schumann's tune is found, with a text "Hail, Morning Known
Among the Blest" by Ralph Wardlow, in Great Songs Revised, and with a
text "O Grant Us Light" by Lawrence Tuttiett, in Praise for the Lord.

     The song makes several requests of the Lord to help us that we might
win others to Him.

I. Stanza 1 asks Him to speak to us
"Lord, speak to me that I may speak In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek Thy erring children lost and lone."
 A. Of course, the means by which the Lord speaks to us is by His written
word, the scriptures, which will furnish us completely to every good
work: 2 Tim. 3.16-17
 B. His word reminds us that Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the
lost: Lk. 19.10
 C. Therefore, as followers of the Savior, we also need to see the erring
children and convert the sinner from the error of his way: Jas. 5.19-20

II. Stanza 2 asks Him to lead and feed us
"O lead me, Lord, that I may lead The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed Thy hungering ones with manna sweet."
 A. The Lord leads us as we hear His voice and follow His word: Jn. 10.27
 B. The Lord feeds us as we feast upon His word with its bread of life:
Jn. 6.51, 63
 C. The leading and feeding that the Lord does for us then enables us to
go out to find the wandering and wavering feet and feed them with manna
sweet, even as the shepherd goes seeking the lost sheep: Lk. 15.4-7

III. Stanza 3 asks Him to strengthen us
"O strengthen me, that while I stand Firm on the rock, and strong in
Thee, 
I may stretch out a loving hand To wrestlers with the troubled sea."
 A. We certainly need the Lord to strengthen us with the power of His
might: Eph. 3.16
 B. However, He can strengthen us only as we stand firm on the rock,
which symbolizes hearing and doing His words: Matt. 7.24-25
 C. Having received strength from the Lord, we can then stretch out a
loving hand to wrestlers on the troubled sea and comfort them: 2 Cor.
1.3-4

IV. Stanza 4 asks Him to teach us
"O teach me, Lord, that I may teach The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach The hidden depths of many a
heart."
 A. The Lord wants us to be discipled by having us be taught all things
that He has commanded: Matt. 28.19-20
 B. We then teach the precious things that have been imparted to us unto
others: 2 Tim. 2.2
 C. Our aim in this is to plant the seed in a good and honest heart: Lk.
8.15

V. Stanza 5 asks Him to fill us
"O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord, Until my very heart o'er-flow
In kindling thought and glowing word, Thy love to tell, Thy praise to
show."
 A. Paul prayed that Christians would be filled with the fullness of God
by having the word of Christ dwell in us: Eph. 3.19, Col. 3.16
 B. When this happens, our hearts will overflow or abound in all
knowledge and discernment: Phil. 1.9
 C. Then, our hearts will show forth the praises of Him who called us out
of darkness into His marvellous light: 1 Pet. 2.9

VI. Stanza 6 asks Him to use us
"O use me, Lord, use even me, Just as Thou wilt, and when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see, Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share."
 A. The Lord can use us only if we are willing to be vessels of honor: 2
Tim. 2.20-21
 B. For this to happen, we must be ready, willing, and able to do what He
will, act when He wants, and go where He sends, as Isaiah said, "Here am
I, send me": Isa. 6.8
 C. We must continue to have this attitude until we come to the end of
life and realize the hope of seeing His blessed face and resting in His
glory: 1 Jn. 3.2-3

     CONCL.:  The song was originally in seven stanzas.  The most often
omitted one, actually number 5, is as follows:
"O give Thine own sweet rest to me, That I may speak with soothing power
A word in season, as from Thee, To weary ones in needful hour."
Effective service for God must always begin with prayer in which we ask
God to use us to accomplish His eternal purpose in the lives of others. 
Therefore, it should be my double resolve to hear what He has to say to
me and then to share His message with others.  This song admonishes me to
approach God and to beseech Him, "Lord, Speak to Me."

     Brotherly,
Wayne S. Walker
9024 Amona Dr.
Affton, MO  63123
home phone: (314) 638-4710
office phone: (314) 544-1612
e-mail: wswalker310 at juno.com
website: www.defenderoftruth.com
     Notes: Other hymn studies are available at the Defender of Truth
website.  Also, some of my previous hymn studies are now included in book
that I have written entitled Songs of Zion.  It can be ordered from the
publisher by calling 1-800-423-2484 or going to www.faith-facts.com.  And
if you would like to receive a similar daily hymn study by e-mail, you
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hymnoftheday/ .