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The Hope of a
Victorian Schoolmaster
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"God is working His purpose out." We would all agree with that, it is what Paul said in Ephesians, "the purpose which He has cherished in His own mind of restoring the whole creation to find its one Head in Christ" (1:10, Weymouth). The same purpose is expressed in Isaiah 11 - a time when human beings would not hurt or destroy. They would be under the control of One who is termed 'a shoot from Jesse's roots' - a ruler who is wise, powerful, perfectly informed, just, capable of eliminating all that is hurtful. The earth will become as full of the knowledge of God's glory as the sea is full of water. This is the theme of the notable hymn by Arthur Campbell Ainger. Ainger, born in 1841 and son of a clergyman, went to Eton, the elite public school. It was at the same school he made his career. He became a housemaster there in 1870, and remained until 1901, when he retired (and Queen Victoria died). He was involved in setting up the Old Etonians Association, in publishing an English/Latin verse dictionary, in writing a book about his early days at Eton 60 years previously, and he wrote hymns. The best known one is, "God is working His purpose out", with its last line "When the earth shall be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea." Many, many Christians have cherished this promise, found in Isaiah 11:9. For example, there was an elderly sister, her faculties beginning to fail, who whenever you met her could be guaranteed to repeat these words which meant so much to her. And then there was the prophet Habakkuk. Why did he suddenly insert these same words right in the middle of five woes of condemnation against wicked oppressors? Perhaps to remind us that the wickedness in the world is not God's fault, and He has something much better in mind for everybody. Where Ainger is wrong in his hymn is in the way and the time he expected this hope to be fulfilled. He said, a hundred and more years ago, 'The time is drawing near'. He expected that the spread of the glorious gospel of truth over every continent, by means of willing missionaries, would have the effect of bringing God's purpose to fruition, that the fight against sorrow and sin would be victorious. There have indeed been victories, the host of faithful Christians continues to increase, but the end is not yet. Ainger himself lived until the time of the 'Great War' (1914-18), which must have tested his faith, and a hundred years on we are still waiting for his hope to be realised. Ainger could see that all the missionary effort was worth nothing unless God gave His blessing. The seed would produce no harvest unless He put life in it. There is no doubt there has been a blessing - the blessing of His Spirit upon those whom He is calling, and a blessing upon the people around them whom they in turn have been able to help and influence. But the time for the universal kingdom is not yet - we still wait for the King to come. Yet the time is nearer than when any of us first believed. "Nearer and nearer grows the time, the time that shall surely be....." Among the other hymns that Ainger wrote is a harvest hymn, not often sung today. The tune is by Joseph Barnby (with whom Ainger also collaborated on the Eton School Song. Barnby also wrote tunes which are still sung, such as the marriage hymn 'O perfect love', and the tune to 'When morning gilds the skies, my heart awakening cries, may Jesus Christ be praised'.) While this harvest hymn gives thanks for the flowers and fruit which crown the year, it also has the theme of 'the harvest of bygone ages' - all those faithful people in the past who passed on to us their knowledge of God and His ways. God's faithful dealings with His people in the past are a sure foundation for our faith now, just as His faithfulness also gives hope for coming days. Let all our brethren join in one For the harvest of bygone ages, The tale our fathers told, Man sowed the seed and watered it All praise to Him whose bounty crowns |
