As a child I joined the Brownies and as part of my preparation to become a fully fledged Brownie I had to learn and then make a promise to ‘do my best, to do my duty to God’. I can remember being taught the difference between saying I would do something and promising to do it. A very valuable lesson for life which I have carried with me throughout my life since.
As Christians we have a wealth of beautiful hymns to draw on and recently while preparing a service with a focus on ‘Loving God as he loves us’ I came across the hymn Standing on your promises in the Mission Praise Hymn Book (No. 932), a hymn I didn’t previously know, with a lovely ‘catchy’ tune and heartfelt words of commitment to serving God, which resonated with me. The words of the hymn reminded me of my commitment as a 7-year-old to do my best to fulfil my duty to God, reaffirming my commitment to stand firm on the promise I made all those years ago.
The hymn was written by Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928), a native of Baltimore, Maryland, who was known for the many things that he achieved in his life. The hymn is based on the bible verse “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.” Hebrews 10:23, reminding us to ‘hold fast’ whether life is running smoothly, or the road ahead is bumpy.
Having discovered the hymn my curiosity had been peaked so I set about finding out more about the hymn and its creator, Russell Kelso Carter. I learnt that he was a star athlete of a military academy, a successful teacher of chemistry, natural science, civil engineering, and mathematics. He was also the author of textbooks in his subjects as well as writing several novels.
Carter was a Christian, and he wrote the lyrics and the music for the hymn in 1886 before becoming an ordained Methodist minister in 1887. After a serious health scare, aged 30, which seriously damaged his heart, doctors said there was nothing more they could do to fix his heart. He was then forced to understand the reality of God’s promises more fully, when he turned to God for help and healing. At that time, he made a promise to God that whether he was healed or not he would give his life to serving God. When his health improved, and his heart began to heal he continued to live by that promise, living a further 49 years.
So, why do we need to stand on God’s promises? God’s promises are there to help us in times of need to encourage us and remind us how amazing God is. It is also a good reminder for us to pray without stopping, especially when we are not sure that He is listening, and when He doesn’t appear to be answering or His answer isn’t what we are expecting. The hymn reminds us that God’s promises will last forever.
Kathy Shaw
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