Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling, LBW 381
1 Hark, the voice of Jesus calling,
"Who will go and work today?
Fields are white and harvests waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves today?"
Loud and long the master calls you;
Rich reward he offers free.
Who will answer, gladly saying,
"Here am I.
Send me, send me"?
2 If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus;
You can say he dies for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked
With the judgment's dread alarms,
You can lead the little children
To the Savior's waiting arms.
3 If you cannot be a watchman,
Standing high on Zion's wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Off'ring life and peace to all,
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what God demands;
You can be like faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet's hands.
4 Let none hear you idly saying,
"There is nothing I can do,"
While the multitudes are dying
And the master calls for you.
Take the task he gives you gladly;
Let his work your pleasure be,
Answer quickly when he calls you,
"Here am I.
Send me, send me!"
Devotion
So what’s next?
In the hymn, Hark, the voice of Jesus calling, the author, Daniel March, challenges us to let go of our excuses and let Jesus lead us where he wants us to go.
Moses could have written this hymn. He was a master of excuses. He felt ashamed of his past. He lacked confidence. He could not speak well. Aaron had to recruited and he is mentioned in verse 3, “holding up the prophet’s (Moses) hands.”
But God’s grace had laid hold of Moses and would not let him quit.
And God has laid hold of you. And God won’t let you go. And the grace of God promises that in everything that happens, the outcome will eventually be good.
Who could ask for anything more than that? So what are you waiting for? Verse 4 ends with this call:
Take the task he gives you gladly;
Let his work your pleasure be,
Answer quickly when he calls you,
"Here am I. Send me, send me!"
Prayer
OK, Jesus, I get the message. Here am I. Send me, send me. Amen.