Articles
“He Gives Us More Grace”
He gives us more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sends us more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He adds His great mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
Fear not that your need shall exceed His provision,
Our God ever yearns His resources to share;
Lean hard on the arm everlasting, availing;
The Father will carry both you and your cares.
His love has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He blesses, and blesses, and blesses again.
The poem above was written by Annie Johnson Flint (1866-1932). Annie was born on Christmas Eve in a small town in New Jersey but was orphaned in her early childhood after her mother died giving birth to her sister and her father passed away from an incurable disease. Upon graduating high school Annie took a position as a teacher but by her second year began to suffer from severe arthritis. Shortly thereafter, Annie and her sister were orphaned again losing both their adoptive parents within a few months of each other.
Despite these challenges, Annie retained her cheerful and optimistic demeanor and found solace in writing poetry. Her work exhibits a deep trust in God and offers comfort and hope to the weary. Annie was also known for corresponding with others who suffered similar trials, always encouraging them with poetry she entitled ‘What God Hath Promised.’ She wrote over 6,000 poems including ‘The World’s Bible’ and ‘He Giveth More Grace’ which others have set to music and are used in hymnals today. In her obituary published in the New York Times she was called the “poet of helpfulness.”
Matthew Bassford reminds me of Annie Flint. Matthew is a gifted hymn writer and poet who preached the gospel for many years in Illinois and Tennessee. He has long championed hymns that are rich with Scriptural content and beautiful in their arrangement. He is a prolific writer on Christian topics and has contributed greatly to our modern hymnals by penning such moving songs as ‘Exalted,’ ‘A Foretaste of Your Rest,’ ‘Be Strong and Courageous’ and ‘You Do Not Change,’ hymns we sing together at Dulles.
Matthew was diagnosed with ALS and, at the age of forty-five, is now in its final stages. He is wheelchair-bound and dependent on others to help him with simple daily tasks most of us take for granted. Matthew is spending his last moments with us wisely by writing (I should say dictating, as he cannot physically write any longer) on the brevity of life and preparing for the end. Like Annie, Matthew is using his present condition of weakness to manifest the strength of God and the sufficiency of his grace (2 Cor. 12:9-10). With every hymn and article, he is pointing us to Jesus. His words are all the more poignant to me now that his time is almost up.
A few weeks ago, Matthew posted Annie Flint’s hymn, ‘He Gives More Grace’ and wrote, “When I first encountered this hymn about five years ago, I thought it was beautiful. Now, I know from experience that it is true. It glorifies God and equips the Christian to face intense trial.” I encourage you to pray for Matthew and his family during his final months but also to read his articles and hymns seriously. We are all going to be in his position eventually. We all have to face our own mortality. The only question is, will we do so with confidence in the God who gives more grace?
