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| Composer : | Excell, Edwin Othello (1851 - 1921) | ||
| Instrumentation : | Piano solo | ||
| Style : | Hymn - Sacred | ||
| Arranger : | Zisi, Matthew | ||
| Copyright : | Copyright © Matthew Zisi | ||
| Added by crosby3145, 27 Aug 2016 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. | |||
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