Jesus Calls Us O’er the Tumult
Jesus Calls Us O’er the Tumult
Cecil Frances Alexander
1. Jesus calls us o'er the tumult
Of our life's wild, restless sea;
Day by day his sweet voice sounding,
Saying, "Christian, follow me."
2. Brothers Simon, Andrew heard it
By the Galilean lake,
Turned from home, and toil, and kindred,
Leaving all for His dear sake.
3. Jesus calls us from the worship
Of the vain world’s golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, “Christian, love me more.”
4. In our joys and in our sorrows,
Days of toil and hours of ease,
Still he calls, in cares and pleasures,
“Christian, love me more than these.”
5. Jesus calls us—By your mercies,
Savior, may we hear your call,
Give our hearts to your obedience,
Serve and love you best of all.
One How does a hymn written for a minor saint’s day by a Victorian hymn writer known for her pedagogical hymns for children become one of the most often sung hymns on Christian discipleship?
Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895) was one of the most beloved hymn writers of the nineteenth century. Born Cecil Frances Humphreys in Redcross, County Wicklow, Ireland, she married Irishman William Alexander at age 32. Alexander was an Anglican rector who became Bishop of Derry and Raphoe.
Hymnologist Alfred Bailey captures the context of Mrs. Alexander’s hymns: “Before her marriage she had been a member of the Evangelical wing of the Anglican Church. That fact shows in her intense devotion to the religious education of children” (Bailey, 1950, p. 352). By contrast, William Alexander was a Tractarian—what might be called a "high church" devotee today—following the ethos of the Oxford Movement. She authored more than four hundred hymns—most of which were written for children. These were published in several collections, the most popular being Verses for Holy Seasons (1846) and Hymns for Little Children (1848).
Like many Christian women of this era, Mrs. Alexander was devoted to children’s religious education, using hymns as a tool in their education. She included instructions on the seasons and feasts of the Christian year and prepared Verses for Holy Seasons (1846), a book for Sunday-school teachers. The purpose of this collection was to use hymns as “a Christian Year for Children, in which the attempt is made, by simple hymns, to express the feelings, and enforce the instructions, which, in her distribution of the year, the Church of England suggests” (Humphreys, 1846, p. vii).
From Hymns for Little Children, a hymnic companion to the Apostles’ Creed, we still sing “All Things Bright and Beautiful”—based on “I believe in God, the Father, maker of heaven and earth”—and “Once in Royal David’s City”—interpreting “(I believe) in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary.” Appearing less often in collections today is “There Is a Green Hill Far Away”—reflecting on the clause, “Suffered under Pontius Pilate.”
“Jesus Calls Us o’er the Tumult” is the exception in that it was not written as a children’s hymn. The hymn first appeared in a collection called Hymns for Public Worship (1852), as a hymn for St. Andrew’s Day, November 30, displaying her priority for the Christian year.
As found in Matthew, the hymn text focuses on the calling of the fishermen, Andrew and Peter. In stanza 1, the image of “life's wild, restless sea”—an allusion to Matthew 14:24—is a metaphor drawn from the apostles’ experience who, as fishermen, were always subject to the peril of sudden storms. In antithesis to the cacophonous sea, the “sweet voice” of Christ invites the fishermen—indeed all people—to follow him.
Stanza two paints a picture in our mind of calling the disciples “by the Galilean lake”—a specific place. This stanza, now omitted from or modified in many hymnals, contains the hymn’s only reference to St. Andrew:
As, of old, St. Andrew heard it
by the Galilean lake,
turned from home and toil and kindred,
leaving all for his dear sake.
When included, a common modification is “As of old apostles heard it.” In either case, following the call demanded severe sacrifice from the disciples, expecting that they leave all that was familiar and dear—“home . . . toil, and kindred . . . for [Jesus’] sake.”
As in a classic expositional sermon, the hymn writer provides the biblical context and then applies the biblical example to our lives in the remaining three stanzas. The poet calls us to turn from “the worship / of the vain world’s golden store” and “any idol that would keep us” (stanza 3).
Like the disciples, our lives will be full of “joys . . . and . . . sorrows, / days of toil and hours of ease.” Regardless of our circumstances, be they days of “cares [or] pleasures,” “still he calls us” (stanza 4).
The hymn is a straightforward, concise narrative of the account in Matthew 4. All but one of the original five stanzas conclude with Christ’s imperative to his followers, past and present—“Christian, follow me” (stanza 1); “Christian, love me more” (stanza 3); “Christian, love me more than these” (stanza 4). The hymn writer encourages the hymn singer to make a commitment to Christ in the final stanza. Stanza 5 is, according to Albert Bailey, “A prayer that we may hear the call and make it our heart’s desire to be loyal to the Savior” (Bailey, 1950, p. 355):
Jesus calls us! By thy mercies,
Savior may we hear thy call,
give our hearts to Thine obedience,
serve and love Thee best of all.
Blessings,
Dorene
Sources: https://penderumc.org/pender-blog/hymn-history-jesus-calls-us/
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-jesus-calls-us-oer-the-tumult