Beauty For Ashes

Beauty for ashes God hath decreed!
Help He provideth for ev’ry need;
What is unlovely He will restore;
Grace all-sufficient: what need we more?

God gives for sadness “garments of praise”;
Stars for our twilight, strength for our days;
Hope for tomorrow, care for today,
Light for our footsteps all of life’s way.

Beauty for ashes, gladness for tears,
Sunshine for darkness, faith for our fears;
Peace for our turmoil, concord for strife,
Heaven at evening–then endless life!

Based upon the scripture found in Isaiah 61, I saw this hymn in an old hymnal and remembered these words from Scripture. I thought it might be good to be reminded of these powerful words from Scripture. The Bible says in Chapter 6 verses 1-3:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”

You may have also remembered that Jesus quoted from this passage in Luke Chapter 4.

I like the mental picture of Jesus Himself giving us His beauty for our
ashes, pouring His oil of joy for our mourning, and putting on us His garment praise for our spirit of heaviness. These are things the Lord promised, and I like the picture of Him personally doing that for me and you.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “What is unlovely, He will restore” – I am a big fan of shows like “This Old House.” Shows where these master carpenters take a dilapidated, run-down, old home, and transform it into a showcase. These folks can see the beauty in something that most others cannot. When I look at those kinds of houses, I think to myself, “why not just tear it down? It’s not worth the effort.” People in the restoration business see those houses and say “Look at the potential.” God is in the restoration business. Over and over in the Bible, God’s people cry out for a restored relationship with Him, and God answers those prayers. He takes what is broken, tired, worn-out, and restores to new life. He takes what is “unlovely” and through the restoration power of the Holy Spirit, He turns those ashes into something beautiful.

• “Concord for strife” – To be honest, I was familiar with the word “concord” as a city in New Hampshire or a type of grape, but I had not seen it before in this context. According to the dictionary, “concord” can mean “agreement between things; mutual fitness; harmony.” It can also mean “peace.” Do you have any strife in your life? Is there any relationships in turmoil that you would like see repaired? I hope you know today that God can bring harmony, and unity, and peace to your situation. He can exchange strife with concord. That is His desire for His people. The Bible says in Psalm 133 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”

Now to the background behind the author of this hymn. This hymn was written by Grant Colfax Tullar in 1948. Mr. Tullar was born in 1869 and was named after a President and Vice President – Ulysses S. Grant and Schulyer Colfax. His upbringing was a rather tragic one. His father was not able to work due to an injury from the Civil War battle at Antietam. His family split up after his mother’s death when he was just 2 years old. He had no permanent home until he reached young adulthood.

He was saved at the age of 19 at a camp meeting service in Connecticut. He went on to become an Ordained minister in the Methodist church, an evangelist, and the co-founder of the Tullar-Meredith music publishing house in New York. In my opinion, his life echoes the truth found in Isaiah 61. God took what the world might call “the ashes of his life” – the loss of his mother and an unstable childhood – and made something beautiful out of it. He was saved, and became a minister of the Gospel proclaiming the Good news of God’s salvation.

So let me ask you. Is there a part of your life that seems like it is in “ashes?” If so, have you given those “ashes” to the Lord, and asked Him to make them beautiful? Or maybe you have a have a spirit of heaviness today. Can I encourage you to put on the garment of praise? The same God who inspired the prophet Isaiah to write those words thousands of years ago, also wrote those promises for you. The same Jesus that picked up the scroll, and read this passage 2,000 years ago, knows your heart and your needs today, and He can exchange your ashes for something beautiful. The same God that turned Mr. Tullar’s life into something beautiful can, and will do the same for you.

I’d like to close this week with the words from 1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”