The first publisher of Uplook tells about a hymn ahead of its time (from the Dec 1994 Uplook)
In the summer of 1923, Mr. Fred Mehl pitched a gospel tent in Big Rapids, MI, his hometown. It was my privilege to join our brother in house-to-house visitation, open-air and tent services. “Grandma’s” open house became our “dwelling.” The elderly German couple received us kindly. There, in the upper room, we knelt together daily—sometimes more than once a day—on the painted gray floor, seeking help from above.
Grandma’s house was also a rendezvous for other members of the family who were vacationing at the time. Among the vacationers was a son-in-law—a professor from a theological seminary in a nearby state.
One evening, on coming home from the tent, we found the family gathered around the old reed organ, singing some of the great hymns of the Church from a German hymnbook. To the one, a German by birth, they were old familiar hymns. The other one, of Holland extraction, was able, because of the similarity between the two languages, to follow some of the words.
The chorus of one hymn especially thrilled us:
Tausand, tausand maal zij dier,
Liebste Jesu’ dank daarvuur.
Intrigued with the refrain, we made a sketch of the music. The words were written by Ernst C. Homburg (1605-1681). That interest so impressed the college professor that, on returning to his home, he kindly sent a copy of the hymnbook which contained the words and music.
Over and over again, the refrain came to mind. Then one day, while searching for material for publication, a translation of the hymn by Mrs. Frances Bevan was found in an old copy of Things New and Old. Excited over the discovery, we printed the words in the May 1932 issue of Assembly Annals (a previous name of Uplook). Our good friend, the late Mr. A. P. Gibbs, was visiting in the home at the time, and we suggested, “These words deserve a good tune.” In a short time brother Gibbs showed us a melody which has since been published and greatly enjoyed.
We love to sing, “A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings, I bring, blessed Saviour, to Thee.” That could mean one thousand or two thousand and is almost as much as we can readily comprehend. But the old German version, “Tausand, tausand maal” suggests a thousand times a thousand—a million.
So perhaps long before the world glibly was saying, “Thanks a million,” God’s people were gratefully rendering to Him their “Thanks a million.” A thousand, a thousand—even a million thanks falls far short of the praise of which He is so worthy. But we will have all eternity to praise and adore Him.
Thou Life of my life, blessed Jesus,
Thou death of the death that was mine,
For me was Thy cross and Thine anguish,
Thy love and Thy sorrow divine;
Thou suffered the cross and the torment,
That I might forever go free—
A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings,
I bring, blessed Saviour, to Thee!
For me Thou hast borne the reproaches,
The mockery, hate and disdain;
The blows and the spittings of sinners,
The scourging, the shame, and the pain;
To save me from bondage and judgment,
Thou gladly hast suffered for me—
A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings,
I bring, blessed Saviour, to Thee!
O Lord, from my heart I do thank Thee
For all Thou hast borne in my room,
Thine agony, dying, unsolaced,
Alone in the darkness of doom,
That I, in the glory of heaven,
Forever and ever might be—
A thousand, a thousand thanksgivings,
I bring, blessed Saviour, to Thee!