Jesus, I Come

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair, into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.

Written by William Sleeper in the 1800’s, I really like the theme of this song which could be summed up in one word – Contrast.  Over and over again, the song reminds the reader of the contrast between what we have in Christ, and what we have if left to our own sin and devices.  The contrast between bondage and freedom, sorrow and gladness, night and light.  The contrast between want and wealth, sickness and health, and fear and joy.  There is a subtly that I noticed in reading this hymn that is also important to acknowledge.  It, too, is a contrast.  The contrast of “My” and “Thy.”  The writer reminds us that so many of the places we find ourselves comes from our own selfish desires – the “me, my, mine” of this life.  But when we are focused on the “Thy – the He, His, and Him” our lives are filled with so many more blessings.

Here’s a few Scriptures that reinforce the contrast we find in this song:

• Jeremiah 31:13b – “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5  “You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”
• Exodus 20:2  “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
• Psalm 107:29  “He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”

For many of you, you will remember the television show “M*A*S*H” which was popular in the late 70’s and the 80’s.  One of it’s main characters was a doctor known as “Hawkeye.”  Hawkeye was one of those characters that always had a sarcastic one-liner, and who enjoyed giving people a hard time.  One of his main targets, and roommates, was another doctor named Frank Burns.  Frank was easy to pick on, and Hawkeye enjoyed giving Burns a hard time.  There was one episode I remember where they had gotten into an argument about the tent they shared.  Hawkeye decided to carve the tent up into sections, and of course, he sectioned off the door to the tent so Frank couldn’t get out of his section.  I remember distinctly Hawkeye looking at Frank as he came and went through the door saying “I can go in…. and I can go out.” “In..Out… In…Out.”  Over and over he repeated this to aggravate Frank and to show Frank that he had a free choice to go where he wanted to go.

That scene has always stuck with me, and I wonder if it has some application to this hymn.  This hymn reminds of where Jesus wants to take us – “out of” certain things and “into” better things – into a life lived of freedom, gladness, light, health, wealth, calm, and love.  But I wonder how often we choose to stay in bondage, sorrow, night, failure, loss, dread and fear.  I wonder if we sometimes choose to go to the “in” places, but then also choose to dwell in the “out” places.  The Hebrews did this in the Exodus.  God delivered them out of Egypt, but after they spent some time in the wilderness, they wanted to go back and grumbled and complained.

I hope today that we can acknowledge that God is wanting to lead us into better things.  I hope we also recognize that the journey from the “out of” places to the “into” places may take some time.  God called the Hebrews “out of” Egypt and “into” the Promised Land.  The journey was long in distance, and unfortunately, long in time due to disobedience.  But along that journey, God provided.  God led them with a pillar of fire and smoke.  God performed great miracles, and ultimately, He had a better place for them to dwell. 

Like this hymn reminds us, Jesus is calling us “out of” some things and “into” better things.  I hope your response today is like the author’s, and that you come in faith and obedience saying “Jesus, I come.”