I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the old hymns.
Today’s song is Give Me a Sight, O Saviour from 1878.
Katharine A. M. Kelly — the writer— was from Ireland, and her work is most closely associated with Dublin and the broader Anglican (Church of Ireland) community of the late 19th century. It was initially written as a children’s’ hymn, but it’s widely sung by people of all ages – at least it was before all the new worship songs came along in recent years.
In Ireland, we grow up hearing about Jesus dying on the cross, and it can become so familiar that people might end up giving it little thought. But sometimes, when someone from a particularly sinful or difficult background comes to Christ, they put the rest of us to shame with their deep love for Christ. You can even see this in the New Testament, before the crucifixion actually happened. Think of the lady who washed the feet of Jesus.
Luke 7:45-48
45 You gave me no kiss, but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” 48 He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
And even if we’re not from a notorious background, we pray that God would show us how much our sin offends him and how much he must love us to send His one and only Son into the world to die for us:
Romans 5:5-8
6 For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a good person someone would even dare to die. 8 But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Give me a sight, O Saviour,
Of Thy wondrous love to me,
Of the love that brought Thee down to earth,
To die on Calvary.
Refrain:
Oh, make me understand it,
Help me to take it in,
What it meant to Thee, the Holy One,
To bear away my sin.
2 Was it the nails, O Saviour,
That bound Thee to the tree?
Nay, 'twas Thine everlasting love,
Thy love for me, for me. [Refrain]
3 Oh, wonder of all wonders,
That through Thy death for me,
My open sins, my secret sins,
Can all forgiven be. [Refrain]
4 Then melt my heart, O Saviour,
Bend me, yea, break me down,
Until I own Thee Conqueror,
And Lord and Sovreign crown. [Refrain]
Different denominations have different views on how Jesus is present when we have communion on Sundays. I’ve been a Roman Catholic and an evangelical Christian (since I was 18). But from a personal point of view, however people explain it philosophically or theologically, I go in the spirit of this hymn and I celebrate the love of Jesus with my fellow believers. And whenever you draw near to God, He draws near to you. You don’t need to be in church to do it, but it does feel special when you gather in His name, and He does remind us that He will be present with us when we do just that:
Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
And He ordained the Lord’s Supper/Communion so that we would regularly remember and celebrate His love for us.
Here are some other versions of today’s hymn – I didn’t see many on YouTube, but I hope that this hymn will never be forgotten:
Hibernia Gospel 