I Love to Walk With Jesus

O I love to walk with Jesus
Like the publicans of old,
When He gathered them about Him
And the blessèd tidings told;
How He came to bring deliverance
To the captives in distress,
Take away our ev’ry burden,
Giving perfect peace and rest.

Refrain
I will follow where He leadeth;
I will pasture where He feedeth.
I will follow all the way, Lord.
I will follow Jesus ev’ry day.

O I love to walk with Jesus
Like the man of long ago
Who had tarried by the wayside
Near the gates of Jericho,
Jesus heard his cry for mercy,
Gave him back his sight that day,
And immediately he followed
Jesus all along the way.

O I love to walk with Jesus
All the way to Calv’ry’s brow,
Gaze upon that scene of suffering
While my tears of sorrow flow.
There He tells me how He loves me—
Takes my ev’ry sin away;
So I follow Him so gladly,
Lead me anywhere He may.

O sometime I’ll walk with Jesus
In that land of endless day,
When our journey here is over
And we’ve reached our home to stay.
Then I’ll walk with him forever,
Sing His praises o’er and o’er,
And with all the saints in glory
Love, and worship, and adore.

Although I was not familiar with this particular hymn, I am familiar with the author from another one of his great songs.  He was the author of the great song “No one ever cared for me like Jesus.”  Charles Weigle had a local connection to this part of Southeast Tennessee.  Although born in Indiana and trained at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Mr. Weigele spent the last 15 years of his life at the Tennessee Temple schools here in Chattanooga.  I came across Mr. Weigele’s testimony and, although it is somewhat long, I felt like it was worth sharing.  I found this testimony at wayoflife.org.

 “I was born and reared in a Christian home. Every member of our family attended church services and went to Sunday School. We had family worship in the home every morning. I suppose I was about as good as the average boy of my age. I had a bad temper, however; and by the time I was 12 years of age, I was fighting with my brothers and the neighbor boys. While having trouble with an older brother, I cut him with a knife very seriously. I knocked a neighbor boy down with a ball bat “because he didn’t play to suit me.” On another occasion, while ringing a heavy dinner bell in a political parade, a young fellow who did not like the crowd I was marching with ordered me to put down the bell; and I brought it down on top of his head, and they carried him home to recuperate. My parents punished me severely for these misdeeds and warned me to stop fighting lest I be arrested and sent to prison, but I paid little attention to them.

“There came a day when I was arrested for my misdeeds and taken to court. As I sat alone and saw the crowd in the room waiting to see what the judge would do with me, I realized the seriousness of the situation. It appeared as if I were doomed to go to prison, for I was guilty. When the judge came in and took his place behind the bench, he looked down at my shrinking form and said with a voice that sounded like the knell of doom to me, ‘Young man, have you an attorney?’ I said, ‘No sir, I haven’t got anybody.’ He looked over the courtroom and then motioned to a handsome young man to come forward, and said to him, ‘You will kindly act as his attorney.’ That handsome young lawyer came and sat down beside me and took charge of my case. “One thing that brought a little hope to my heart was the attitude of my attorney. He sat close to me and spoke to me with a voice that was full of tender sympathy. I felt that he was my friend and that he cared for me and wanted to help me. When I told him of all the mean things I had been doing and for which I had been arrested, he assured me that he would help me. All I had to do was to tell the truth and leave the rest with him. That seemed to relieve my mind some what.

“After the trial began, however, and one witness after another testified against me, I began to lose hope. One of them said I knocked him down with a ball bat and almost killed him. My attorney said to me, ‘Did you do that?’ I said, ‘Yes Sir’. The next witness accused me of having seriously injured him with a heavy dinner bell, and my attorney again said, ‘Did you do that?’ I said, ‘Yes Sir’. My own brother came to witness against me, declaring that I had used a knife on him and had almost taken his life. My attorney turned to me and asked, ‘Have you been guilty of all these acts?’ and I said, ‘Yes, Sir, and a lot of other things they don’t even know about.’ He tried to relieve my fears by saying, ‘Trust me – I’ll help you.’ “Finally, the prosecuting attorney rose up and, speaking to the judge, said, ‘Your Honor, according to the evidence brought by these witnesses, the defendant is guilty of all charges brought against him. He is a potential murderer and a menace to this community, and we ask that he be placed in prison for a long duration of time.’ Then my heart sank within me and I said to myself, ‘There is no hope for me.’

“When my attorney arose to speak in my defense, I wondered what He could do for me. Looking at the judge, he said, ‘Father.’ That one word brought hope for me. Looking at his father, the judge, he said, ‘Father, the defendant pleads guilty to every charge brought against him. He asks for mercy; and as his attorney, I plead for him. I believe that if the court will grant my plea, this young man will live a new and a better life.’ “I saw the judge rise to his feet as my attorney spoke. There was a look of love and kindness as he said, ‘But my Son, the defendant is guilty. There is a penalty that must be paid, according to the law.’

“I’ll take care of that and suffer the penalty,’ said my attorney. And then, to my joy and amazement, the judge said, ‘It is the decision of the court that, in response to the plea made by the attorney for the defendant, he be pardoned and set at liberty, with the understanding that he show by his manner of life a due respect for the law and a kindness toward his neighbors.’ “I was free! My heart was filled with joy as I clasped the hand of my attorney and, with moist eyes, tried to express my gratitude. He placed his arms about me and, in a voice that sounded like the music of an angel’s harp, he said, ‘You and I will be friends forever. We’ll be brothers; and whenever you need any help, you may come to me and I’ll help you.’ Since that day he has never forgotten me. We’ve been as close as brothers can be down through the years.

“Let me explain to you the fact that the courthouse where I had this wonderful experience was a little frame church during the progress of a revival, where the great truths of the Bible were being preached. One night, as I sat on a rear seat, the Holy Spirit, the High Sheriff of Heaven, arrested me and led me to the front in sight of all the people present. I was convicted and condemned, and confessed my guilt to Almighty God. There seemed no hope for me. My sins towered up before me. Then Jesus came and quieted my fears. He paid the penalty for all my sins and guilt. He pleaded my case in the high court of heaven and won my pardon. When this great truth dawned upon my mind, my heart was filled with gratitude and praise. There came a great love into my heart for my Saviour. That love has grown until He has the chief place in my life. Some day I expect to see Him face to face. That will be heaven for me. “We sing at times, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.’ You will find this to be a reality when you put your trust in Him as your Saviour. He came into the world to save us from our sins and to bring peace and joy into our lives. He is the Friend you need.”

I think this is an awesome testimony of the grace of God, and I am thankful that Mr. Weigle shared his testimony along with over 1,000 hymns during his lifetime.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “How He came to bring deliverance” – Deliverance and Deliverer have a special connotation in a Jewish world.  After hundreds of years of suffering under Egyptian slavery, the people cried out for and needed a deliverer.  Through the providence of God, Moses’ life was spared and he became that Deliverer.  He freed the people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.  But Moses was not the ultimate deliverer.  His deliverance was physical, not spiritual.  His deliverance was from a place (Egypt – a picture of sin), but not from sin.  Even after Moses led them out, the people still sinned.  They still worshipped idols.  They still rebelled against God.  Jesus came, however, to be the deliverer from sin no matter where our physical bodies might be found.  One can be in prison, and Jesus can deliver them.  One can be surrounded by sin, but be delivered from sin completely.  Jesus is the one and only Great Deliverer.

• “I will pasture where He feedeth” – Do you ever wonder if God has you in the wrong pasture?  In a place of where you do not feel your giftings and talents are being used for the Lord?  This is probably one of the toughest places to be.  To understand and accept that He has placed you or led you to a pasture to feeds and you are not sure why.  Maybe He needs us to feed on a different spiritual food.  Maybe He needs to wean us off of certain things in our spiritual diet.  Or maybe, He wants us to learn to trust Him so much that we reach the point where we can testify “I will pasture where He feedeth.”  Not an easy view to take in the midst of uncertainty, but a proper view of God’s Hand leading and ordering our steps.

• “Gaze upon the scene of suffering while my tears of sorrow flow” – I hope that the image of the Cross still causes tears to flow.  If the brutality, the reality, and the cruelty of the Cross doesn’t cause us to well up, then I pray the certainty and assurance that our sins have been washed away by the power of this Cross does cause tears to flow.  It is the greatest display of love and forgiveness that there ever will be.  Romans 5:6 says “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  Not for the “pretty good.”  Not for the “not too bad.”  But for the “ungodly.”  Romans 5:8 tells us “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The picture of the Cross and the power of salvation found there should cause the “tears of sorrow” to flow.

I hope that this song today is your testimony – that you love to walk with Jesus.  That He is your guide.  That you trust Him wherever He leadeth.  And that you will pasture where He feedeth.  What a powerful testimony that is!!!