For Thee All the Pleasures of Sin I Resign

At 16 years of age, William Ralph Featherstone was living in Montreal. The year was about 1862 and he attended a Wesleyan church. At sometime, he heard the Holy Spirit reveal to him that Christ Jesus was alive indeed, and was offering him friendship and life. He believed.

Not long after, he wrote a poem that has inspired millions of people of all denominations.

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine.
For thee all the pleasures of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Saviour art thou,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.


I love thee because thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.


I will love thee in life, I will love thee in death,
And praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.


In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I'll ever adore thee and dwell in thy sight:
I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

At least, that's how it appears in old Wesleyan hymnals and The Song Book of The Salvation Army. I'm inclined to believe those are closer to the original words than what I am able to find anywhere on PlayList or iTunes. Where ever I look, and whenever I see the song being sung in churches, one difference jumps out at me; the second line reads: For thee all the follies of sin I resign.

Was it changed by someone that thought it would be a bad idea to describe sin as pleasurable? Maybe it would encourage 16 year old boys to seek it out, if it was pleasurable?

But that's the point. A young boy made the decision to forego the pleasures of sin because Jesus loved him, and he wanted to love Jesus. "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;" Hebrews 11:25

You know there's a difference between Pleasure and Folly. It is folly to sin. But we will do it. Will you choose to not enjoy it? Not like these guys Paul is describing in Romans...

"And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil ; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice ; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful ; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." Romans 1:28-32

 For thee all the foolishness of sin I resign? No problem. In fact, the line appeals to the self-elevating opinion I have of my ability to discern good from evil. Evil is foolishness, and I would never consider it wise to partake in it.  But for me to give up the pleasures of sin?  It's an admission that my sinful center has found sin pleasurable. Admit it. We have enjoyed seeing others humiliated and ourselves lifted up; we have dwelt hours on the desires of the flesh, superimposing our fantasies over others; we have amused ourselves with thoughts of perpetual wealth and grandeur. Enjoying that is what William wanted to give up for Jesus.  "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another." Titus 3:3

And you know,  it actually is more pleasurable to give ourselves, our work, our thoughts and hopes and desires and relationships to Christ; asking him to be Lord. He's not a thief. Pleasure sanctified is pleasure indeed.

"You will make known to me the path of life ; In Your presence is fullness of joy ; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalm 16:11

*The young man pictured is for illustrative purposes only; it is not a photograph of Featherstone.

The Tree of Life

Panis angelicus
fit panis hominum;
Dat panis caelicus
figuris terminum:
O res mirabilis!
manducat Dominum
Pauper, servus, et humilis.
Te trina Deitas
unaque poscimus:
Sic nos tu visita,
sicut te colimus;
Per tuas semitas
duc nos quo tendimus,
Ad lucem quam inhabitas.
Amen.
Bread of Angels,
made the bread of men;
The Bread of heaven
puts an end to all symbols:
A thing wonderful!
The Lord becomes our food:
poor, a servant, and humble.
We beseech Thee,
Godhead One in Three
That Thou wilt visit us,
as we worship Thee,
lead us through Thy ways,
We who wish to reach the light
in which Thou dwellest.
Amen.

My Play List includes a song sung by St. Phillips choir: "Panis Angelicus" or, Bread of Angels. A beautiful song; it sounds like we imagine it would sound if the angels themselves were giving voice to the words. It's originally inspired of course, by our Lord's own words: "For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." "Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:33-35

Jesus' audience hoped for a free hand-out. They really didn't understand that when they looked upon Jesus, they could see the Father. They didn't understand that the Father himself was inviting them to be reconciled with himself; that he was giving the invitation to rise above the mundane and the restrictions of the flesh and walk with him in light - as the sons of light they were created to be. They wanted supper.  Later, when Jesus told them in effect: "no, no, it's not supper - IT IS ME! IT IS ME YOU NEED!", they were even more offended. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat (and his blood to drink)?

"The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." John 6:63  You cannot receive life by eating the sanctified bread if you are not listening to the Word of God carried to your heart by the Holy Spirit.

Have you noticed our Lord gives us a "vegetarian" version of the same teaching?

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4,5

The Words, the Spirit! Jesus isn't recommending we search out the right tree and make cuts in it and our own flesh so as to receive the life sap of the tree into ourselves. No sect of the church (to my knowledge) has dedicated any type of tree or fruit that must be eaten in order for us to receive the life of Christ. But this is the same teaching, none the less. Christ's Spirit, the Holy Spirit of Christ must be welcome in our souls. His words tell about the life "blood" of the tree that must find its way into our own veins.

Don't be afraid to call out to the Son of God. Call to him: "Christ, have mercy. Be welcome; fill me with the knowledge of your presence."  He doesn't despise your humanness. He made you and he loves you.