Episode Transcript
Hello, I'm Doctor Kylie Fisher. Welcome to heavenly harmonies. John 3:19 says, and this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world.
And men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. The Reformation presented to the world an open bible, unsealing the precepts of the law of God and urging its claims upon the consciences of the people. Infinite love unfolded to men, the statutes and principles of heaven.
Some nations welcomed the light of the Bible. They welcomed it with gladness, while in other lands its truths were almost entirely excluded. In one country, though the light found entrance, it was not comprehended by the darkness.
For centuries, truth and error struggled for the mastery. At last, evil triumphed, and the truth of heaven was thrust out. The nation was left to reap the results of the course which she had chosen.
Now we find that the world as a whole is following in the footsteps of that nation. From its experience, we can see the end to which our planet is hastening, and also discover what we need to do in order to maintain our allegiance to the right in this time of intense peril. Our hymn for today powerfully brings us face to face with the choices that we as individuals must make every day and the eternal consequences of those decisions.
Stay with me to discover how once to every man and nation can hold you near to the heart of God. Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood for the good or evil side, some great cause, God's new messiah, offering each the bloom or blight. And the choice goes by forever twixt that darkness and that light.
Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust, ere her cause bring fame and profit, and tis prosperous to be just. Then it is the brave man chooses, while the coward stands aside till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied by the light of burning martyrs. Christ, thy bleeding feet we track toiling up New Calvary's ever with the cross that turns not back.
New occasions teach new duties. Time makes ancient good uncouth. They must upward still and onward.
Who would keep abreast of truth? Though the cause of evil prosper? Yet tis truth alone is strong, though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong, yet that scaffold sways the future. And behind the dim unknown standeth God within the shadows, keeping watch above his own powerful, powerful words in that hymn, once to every man and nation. So let's consider how this song fits into our theme.
The great controversy, the war between Christ and Satan. And so, so far in this season, we have looked at three songs that have direct battle imagery. We then looked at two songs on key issues in the great controversy, which was the trustworthiness and the value of the Bible.
And secondly, how we find salvation full and free in Christ. And what I would like to do is to read for you now from one of my most treasured books, one of my most treasured possessions. So last time, last episode, we were speaking about William Tyndale, and so I just feel so privileged and honoured to have this 1526 New Testament that's actually a facsimile of the manuscript that was published by Tyndale.
And so I thought that I would read a section from revelation that describes the persecution of the church during this time by the devil, by Satan, the dragon, the serpent. So I'll read this. Now, this is in the black letter type, which is surprisingly easy to read, but it is a little bit more tricky than just the standard type that we have today.
So I probably will stumble over some words, hope that you'll forgive me. So this is what in our modern Bibles is marked as revelation, chapter twelve, and verses 13 to 16. So, and reading from Tyndale's 1526 translation, and when that the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman, which brought forth the man child, and to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, times and half a time, from the presence of the dragon and the serpent cast out of his mouth water after the woman, as it had been a river, because she should have been caught off the flood.
And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the river, which the dragon cast out of his mouth. Yeah. So that is a brief summary in those, what, four verses that describes the persecution of the church by Satan during this time.
And that's what we have been tracing through in song. And so that brings us to our song for today, as we've said once to every man and nation. And in this song, we're brought face to face with how the decisions we make every day are determining our destiny and our future.
And we are going to look at how these words apply to one specific nation during the time of the Reformation, and we're going to see the lessons of this event for our lives today, because this actually has reference to Bible prophecy in revelation, chapter eleven. Now, we've only got a certain amount of time in this programme, and we're sort of mainly focusing on songs and tracing through the songs, and so we don't have time to look in detail at this Bible prophecy. But if you do want to understand this prophecy better, I would encourage you to read what is probably my second favourite book after the Bible.
You can see my copy is extremely well worn. Those that are watching on the podcast the great controversy, and I would encourage you to read two chapters in particular. The French Reformation and the Bible and the French Revolution.
And the Bible and the French Revolution focuses particularly on the prophecy in revelation, chapter eleven. But the chapter of the French Reformation kind of does set the scene for that. So, yeah, I would encourage you, you know, if you're wanting to understand the words of this song more deeply.
Well, I'd encourage you to think about the history of all the nations in Europe during the Dark Ages, but, yeah, particularly the history of the nation of France, because it's a very sad and tragic history, you know, and it could have almost as easily happened in any other country had they made the same choices. So it's not like one country was, like, fated above another, or that God doesn't love the french people as much as the other nations, but it just depends on the choices that the people in those nations make. And so, sadly, the french nation, in the choices that they made, was left to reap the consequences of that.
I feel that the words of this hymn, this song, really portray that so graphically, and they have such depth of meaning for our lives as well. I do not think I could choose a favourite hymn, but I would have to say this would be amongst my top ten favourite hymns. So, yeah, it's a very solemn message.
It's in a minor key. The versions that we're going to listen to today is in a minor key, and, yeah, so that, I don't know, to my heart always has really a tremendous amount of pathos. And so, yeah, it has a really deep and solemn message.
It's not a message that is maybe easy for us to think about, but it's so important because the ideas in this hymn, which is quite abstract, it takes a bit to understand, you know, considerable thought. To understand. It takes effort, it takes energy.
I think that's certainly been my experience in studying through it. But it brings really powerfully to mind and to view these aspects of worldview, like origins, identity, purpose and future. Those are the aspects of worldview, and it leads us to think really carefully about what is our purpose in life and what is our future.
So, and that the worldview that you choose to hold shapes every decision that you, as an individual, choose to make. That I, as an individual, choose to make. So let's have a look.
I've spoken through the words of the whole song because I felt like it really gives you an overview of where we're going. So we're now going to go back and look at each verse before we listen to this song sung and played by fountain view. So let's begin with the first verse, which says once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide in the strife of truth with falsehood for the good or evil side.
And so out of this first verse, there's a couple of points that I really want to highlight. So the first point is, well, you know, it's really clear that we're looking at decision making in this opening stanza. Yeah, because it says, comes the moment to decide.
So we're looking at decision making. And this song brings out important aspects of this decision. This key, I guess, decision in our life, you know, will we choose to follow good or will we choose evil? You know, that's the ultimate decision that we have to make.
Not every decision that we make in life is necessarily right. I mean, you know, if you, you know, as long as you're choosing, like, healthy food, you know, it's not wrong to choose an apple over a banana or anything like that. So, you know, there's some choices where, you know, it's not evil to choose one or the other, necessarily, unless you're in the Garden of Eden and there's a fruit that's been forbidden, I guess, then it's wrong.
So. But, you know, do we. What is that final decision? The overall tendency, I guess, of our life, which is being determined not just by one decision, but by all the little decisions that we make in our life.
And so there's some decision between, you know, will we choose for good or evil? Will we choose for Christ or Satan? And this first verse of the song brings out that there are two options. We only have two options in this great decision. Third option, there's no sitting on the fence.
So it's either good or evil. It's the bloom or the blight. It's the narrow road or the Broadway.
It's blessing or cursing. Are we going to follow Christ the good shepherd? Or are we going to follow the devil, the serpent? Are we going to choose, ultimately, life or death? There are only two options. So that's the first point.
And this song brings that out really powerfully. The second point is that we only have one lifetime. We only have one probation in which to make this decision.
And that's something that is, are largely unique to true Christianity and to what the Bible actually truly teaches about this. So let's look at. Look, there's many verses that we could look at, but let's look at the verse that I think explains this the most clearly, because, as I've said, we've only got limited time in this programme.
If you do have questions about it and you've heard different things, please write to us. We would love to answer your questions and hopefully we might even be able to answer them by incorporating them into songs. Because song is one of the best means to help us to fix our minds on Bible truth.
It can help to bring the words of the Bible to our minds in poetic phrases at the very time when we most need them. You know, when we're tempted or when somebody might ask us a question. If we know these hymns, even if you feel like you can't sing the hymns, practise speaking them.
You can use them as prayers, you can use them in your devotional life. And hymns are just so powerful. And, you know, even when I'm singing, you know, practising for singing an item, I practise the words by speaking them, as I did a little earlier in our programme today.
So I would encourage you, speak the words of these hymns, speak them aloud to yourself, speak them aloud to others. And let's encourage each other's hearts with. With hymns and with these amazing sacred poems, even if you feel like you can't sing them.
Like my husband, he will not sing for anything, but still, he appreciates the words of these hymns. So, anyway, bit of a detour there. But, yeah, these hymns can.
And these songs can help to bring these spiritual truths to your mind just when you need them. So. HEbReWS chapter nine and verse 27, Hebrews 927, because we're considering these questions, how long do we have to make this decision? And we've got one lifetime, we've got one probation.
And Hebrews 927 says, and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this, the judgement. And so we see really clearly from that text that we have one lifetime in which to make the decision. But I would urge you, you know, don't leave until the end of your life like none of us knows.
If, you know, once I step out of this radio studio and step into my car, you know, I could be involved in a car accident. I don't know how long my probation is, none of us knows. But, I mean, I don't really want to dwell on the shortness of life because there's other things to consider as well.
Let's consider about this. Galatians six, seven. Galatians six, seven, which says, whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
You know, the harvest of life is character. And the little decision that we are making every day are what is shaping the big decisions that we will make in the future. And so ultimately, if we are, you know, neglecting, just even neglecting to choose for the good in the little decisions that we make every day, our character will be so shaped that we will not even desire heaven.
We would not actually even be happy in heaven. And so God will, in mercy to not only the universe, but to us ourselves. He will actually, according to Bible truth, just blot us from existence.
You know, there's not going to be an eternally burning hell. The wicked will be blotted out of existence, and that's what will happen to them, because they would not be happy in God's presence and in the presence of the righteous, whom they've hated all their lives. So, yeah, it's a sad truth that the wicked will not be prepared to enter the presence of God because of the decisions that they're making every day.
So there's us to consider as an individual because as this song says, once to every man, of course, the word man there, you know, this is a poem. I love poetry. I love writing poems.
And, you know, a one syllable word like man is very, you know, it's a very strong way of saying things. And so when it says man, it's just the way that I would consider that is human. It's not, you know, excluding women.
It's not seeking to be exclusive. That's not the sense in which I mean it. So once to every human comes the moment to decide.
So this happens to us as individuals, but we as individuals do not live in isolation. You know, we as individuals make up families, communities and nations, and our choices affect others. And especially is this.
So for those in positions of high responsibility in society. So let's look at a verse about this. Let's look at Luke chapter twelve and verse 48.
And I'm just reading part of the verse for the sake of time, which says, for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required. Because those who are in positions of authority are making, and those, particularly in governments, are making decisions that affect the individuals in that nation to such a great extent. And it can affect the lives of thousands and millions in after generations and we certainly see that in the history of France.
So we have personal decisions, but we also have national decisions. As this hymn says, once to every man and comes the moment to decide. And I'm thinking at this time, particularly of the reformers and the time of France during the Reformation, I'm thinking particularly of Francis I, when he was the reigning monarch.
And, you know, Francis had been hesitating whether he would decide for the reformation or against it, whether he would decide for God's truth or against it. And when the crunch came, when that decisive moment came, he decided against it. And, you know, his choice and the influence, the train of events that he set in motion ultimately led to the outbreak of the French Revolution and the reign of terror.
That was such a terrible time, and it's there in the books of modern history for all to look at. You know, today, many people disbelieve the history of the Bible, and much has been done by human beings at the instigation of the devil to, you know, blot from human beings minds the truths about, you know, the ancient truths, the ancient history that the Bible brings to view. But here in the nation of France is a modern nation.
We can see the terrible results of rejecting the Bible and rejecting the law of God. So we're fast running out of time. But I would really encourage you, if you want to understand this hymn more deeply, I would really encourage you to look at those chapters in the great controversy.
But I just want to briefly go over the verses of this hymn and just pull out key points about those. So the first verse talks about personal and national decisions. You know, there may have been provocation, but there's no excuse for destroying the innocent.
And so that brings us to verse two, which says then to side with truth is noble when we share her wretched crust. You know, the reformers in France were persecuted, as the Reformation was persecuted in no other nation. And so, you know, during that time, there were noble characters like Louis de Berkin, and there were cowards like Erasmus.
So, you know, what will the choice that we make be? Will we choose for? Will we choose nobly to do what is right? Or will we choose to be a coward? Verse three. You know, Christ was persecuted in the person of his followers by the light of burning martyrs. Christ, thy bleeding feet we track.
And yet, despite all of these things that were happening, despite the fact that evil was flourishing, still God was watching over his own. As it says in psalm 121, that he that keepeth thee, he that keepeth Israel will not slumber or sleep. And so let's listen to this amazing hymn once to every man and nation.
Once to every nation comes from open to decide in the strip hash truth with all sin for the good are evil sky some great was to messiah all reach the blue or white and the choice goes by forever with the cross and turns on new occasions teach you duties I make sa? O the cause of evil prosper yet is true the Lord the portion be and above the throne get back at the space of future and be I love standing on the shadow he was above. Let's pray that God will give us the courage to stand in that moment of truth. Dear Lord, we're so grateful for your word.
It shows us where we are headed. It shows us the importance of making the right choices every single day. Dear God, may we make them every day to be prepared when that time of test shall come.
I pray in Jesus name. Amen. So thank you for joining me today.
Please do join me again for heavenly harmonies. But until then, may you stay close to the heart of God through song.
