Soul-Stirring Songs and Hymns has this titled simply
“Ashamed of Jesus,” but a look at the words shows
that the song speaks of the exact opposite. Joseph
Griggs’s four verses are as follows:
1. Jesus, and shall it ever be,
A mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise,
Whose glories shine thro’ endless days.
2. Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far
Let evening blush to own a star;
He sheds the beams of light divine
O’er this benighted soul of...(+)
Soul-Stirring Songs and Hymns has this titled simply
“Ashamed of Jesus,” but a look at the words shows
that the song speaks of the exact opposite. Joseph
Griggs’s four verses are as follows:
1. Jesus, and shall it ever be,
A mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise,
Whose glories shine thro’ endless days.
2. Ashamed of Jesus! sooner far
Let evening blush to own a star;
He sheds the beams of light divine
O’er this benighted soul of mine.
3. Ashamed of Jesus! that, dear Friend,
On Whom my hopes of Heav’n depend?
No! when I blush be this my shame,
That I no more revere His name.
4. Ashamed of Jesus! yes, I may,
When I’ve no guilt to wash away,
No tear to wipe, no good to crave,
No fears to quell, no soul to save.
Chorus: Ashamed of Jesus, I never, I never will be;
For Jesus, my Saviour, is not ashamed of me.
The verses do a great job portraying the foolishness of
being ashamed of our Lord and Saviour, particularly
with the powerful evening star metaphor. Jesus is our
greatest treasure, after all, and we should put Him on
display for all the world to see. That said, the
chorus is a little too optimistic in saying that we
will never be ashamed of Christ again in our lives. I
know personally that I’ve been ashamed of Him when
I’ve chosen to pray silently for a meal, when I’ve
deliberately struck church from my conversation, when
I’ve failed to tell the lost about the hope that is
in me. This is not uncommon among believers; Peter,
whom God used to write two books of the Bible, denied
Jesus three times! Yet Griggs’s chorus does give us
an ideal to follow, and the last line of it conveys a
powerful truth. Jesus Christ, God incarnate in the
flesh, the only person ever to live a sinless life, is
unashamed of sinners such as us. We are left with no
excuse when we fail to revere our perfect Saviour.
This particular arrangement, perhaps the only one that
has been made of this obscure hymn, should be rather
Chopinesque. The introduction, in fact, is courtesy of
Chopin’s Valse Brilliante, op. 34, no. 1. All the
rest is merely written in Chopin’s style, hopefully
bringing some of his genius out of the concert hall and
into the church to serve in worship. I hope you enjoy
this arrangement.
