4/11 Hymn - "So Send I You"

So send I you to labor unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing,
So send I you to toil for Me alone.

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,
O'er wand'ring souls to work, to weep, to wake,
To bear the burdens of a world aweary-
So send I you to suffer for My sake.

So send I you - to loneliness and longing,
With heart a-hungering for the loved and known;
Forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one,
So send I you - to know My love alone.

So send I you - to leave your life’s ambitions,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labor long and love where men revile you,
So send I you - to lose your life in Mine.

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,
To eyes made blind because they will not see,
To spend, tho' it be blood, to spend and spare not-
So send I you to taste of Calvary.
As the Father hath sent Me, So send I you.


BIBLE REFERENCE:
Isaiah 6:8
John 20:21
Mark 16:15
Romans 10:14-15
Jeremiah 1:7-9

Lyrics: E. Margaret Clarkson, 1915-
Composer: John Willard Peterson, 1921-2006

HYMN HISTORY:

The text of “So Send I You,” sometimes called “the finest missionary hymn of the twentieth century,” was written by a young Canadian, then just twenty-two. Born in Saskatchewan, Margaret Clarkson grew up from age five in Toronto, graduating as a teacher in 1935. Jobs were so scarce that she had to spend seven years in the far north of Ontario, first in a lumber camp, then in a gold-mining area, before returning to teach her remaining 31 years in Toronto, retiring in 1973.

For over 50 years she has been known for her poems and articles in Christian periodicals, for her many hymns, and for her books. Of the writing of this text Miss Clarkson has written: "In the north I experienced deep loneliness of every kind — mental, cultural and particularly, spiritual — I found no Bible-teaching church fellowship, and only one or two isolated Christians, in those years. Studying the Word one night and thinking of the loneliness of my situation, I came to John 20, and the words 'So Send I you.' Because of a physical disability I could never go to the mission field, and this was where He has sent me. I had written verse all my life, so it was natural for me to express my thoughts in a poem..."

John W. Peterson was born in Lindsborg, Kansas on November 1, 1921, and spent his early days in Salina, Kansas. In 1939 he began a radio evangelistic work with two brothers and at that time began writing his first gospel songs. In 1942 Mr. Peterson entered military service and served as a pilot in the Chinese-Burma theater. Commenting about this period of his life, he says, "I had many precious spiritual experiences during those days, and many of my songs now in print had heir beginnings somewhere in India or Burma or high above the Himalayan Mountains."

In his book The Miracle Goes On, Mr Peterson often mentions his conviction about the power of a gospel song to change a person’s life. He cites the following example: "'So Send I You' was used by God in the life of an actress who had come to know Christ and who faced a agonizing decision: Should she maintain her professional contracts or give up her career and dedicate her life completely to the Lord for service, wherever He might lead? In the midst of her dilemma she sat listening to a recording of this song, and its challenge came through with stunning impact. The actress fell to her knees and made a total commitment of her life to God, and in due time He resolved the question of her vocation." More...

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