By John BJ Hall
How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7
Katherine Hankey’s original poem included 58 stanzas. It told the whole story of the Gospel. It resulted in two songs, “Tell Me the Old, Old Story” which came from the first eight stanzas, and This hymn which comes from the remaining 50 stanzas. The missing verses speak of Christ’s birth, death, resurrection, and commission. The poem was written during a time of personal illness while she was a missionary nurse in Africa.
As believers in Christ, we should be passionate about telling the story of salvation, as Miss Hankey wrote, “It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.” Each time we tell the story of Jesus and His love it should remind us of the day of our own salvation and the hope and joy it brought to us.
How long has it been since you told “the story of Jesus and His glory, Of Jesus and His love?” As the old chili commercial used to say, “Well, that’s too long.”
Father, thank You for giving us the story of Jesus’ glory and love. Remind me of the joy of Your salvation so that I will remember to tell it to others. Show me open doors that You give for me to tell the story. Amen.
This blog post is an excerpt from the book "Hymns of Praise Vol 3: A Devotional Guide to the Hymns of Our Faith" by John BJ Hall, which will soon be available on Amazon.com.