Deeper and Deeper
Into the heart of Jesus, Deeper and deeper I go,
Seeking to know the reason, Why He should love
me so,
Why He should stoop to lift me, Up from the miry clay,
Saving my soul, making me whole,
Though I had wandered away.
Into the will of Jesus, Deeper and deeper I go,
Praying for grace to follow, Seeking His way to
know;
Bowing in full surrender, Low at His bless�d feet,
Bidding Him take, break me and make,
Till I am molded, complete.
Into the cross of Jesus, Deeper and deeper I go,
Following through the garden, Facing the dreaded
foe;
Drinking the cup of sorrow, Sobbing with broken heart,
�O Savior, help! Dear Savior,
help! Grace for my weakness impart.�
Into the joy of Jesus, Deeper and deeper I go,
Rising, with soul enraptured, Far from the world
below.
Joy in the place of sorrow, Peace in the midst of pain,
Jesus will give, Jesus will
give; He will uphold and sustain.
Into the love of Jesus, Deeper and deeper I go,
Praising the One Who brought me Out of my sin and
woe;
And through eternal ages, Gratefully I shall sing,
�O how He loved! O how He loved!
Jesus, my Lord and my King!�
BIBLE
REFERENCE:
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is
within my heart.
Psalms 40:8
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not
sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
Psalms 119:11,12
Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for
ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes
alway, even unto the end.
Psalms 119:111-112
Oswald Jeffrey Smith - Lyrics and
Composer
1889-1986
Born: November 8, 1889, Odessa, Ontario, Canada.
Died: January 25, 1986.
Buried: Westminster Cemetery, North York (Toronto), Ontario, Canada.
HYMN HISTORY:
This hymn is from the pen of one of the great
evangelical preachers and missionary statesmen of our day, Oswald J. Smith. For many years now this
name has been associated with the Peoples Church of Toronto, Canada, a church that contributes more
than a quarter-of-a-million dollars annually toward the support of over 300 missionaries. Dr. Smith
served as the Minister of Missions while his son, Paul, was pastor of the church.
In addition to his preaching and promoting of missionary activities, Oswald Smith has authored a
number of books and has composed more than 1200 hymns and religious verses. Several of his other
well-known gospel songs includes �God Understands,� �Joy in Serving Jesus,� �The Glory of His
Presence,� �The Song of the Soul Set Free,� �The Savior Can Solve Every Problem,� and �Then Jesus
Came.�
Oswald Smith gives the following account of the writing of �Deeper and Deeper� in his book, The
Story of My Hymns:
�I was traveling secretary of the Pocket Testament League, founded by Mrs. Charles M. Alexander.
Arriving in Woodstock, Ontario, one day in the year 1911, I was invited to preach one Sunday morning
in the largest Methodist Church in that city.
�As I walked along the street on my way to the church, the melody of this hymn sang itself into my
heart and with it the words, �Into the heart of Jesus, deeper and deeper I go.� I can still recall
the joy and buoyancy of youth, the bright sunshine overhead, and the thrill with which I looked
forward to my service that Sunday morning, as again and again I hummed over the words. I wondered if
I could retain the music in my mind until the service was over, I was then just twenty-one years of
age.
�After preaching, I returned to my rented room, and the first thing i did was write out the melody
as God had given it to me. I had been able to remember it, and it has never changed form that day to
this.
sdahymnalcomplete.web.app
�The verses were much more difficult, I worked on them at Belwood, Ontario, but it was three years
later, in the First Presbyterian Church of South Chicago, of which I was pastor, that I completed
them. It was then 1914, and I was twenty-four years of age.
�The writing of the hymn afforded me much joy, nor has it ever grown old. I still love it and always
will, for it was the child of my youth. It proves conclusively that God can impart His deepest
truths to the heart of the young, for I doubt if i have ever written anything more profound
since.
�There are five steps portrayed in �Deeper and Deeper�- the heart, the will, the cross, joy and
love. What an experience! But it is the note of triumph in the last verse that transports the soul
to heights sublime.�
In his book,
The Story of My Life
, Oswald Smith relates many heart-breaking experiences,
especially in the early years of his ministry. Out of such experiences and disappointments flowed
many of his deeper life songs. He emphasizes continually the importance of spending time alone with
God each day, a time he calls his 'morning watch�:
For half a century now I have
walked the floor morning by morning with God. It was when I walked alone with God that I learned the
lessons He would teach. I set aside a time and a place to meet Him, and I have never been
disappointed.
�Alone, dear Lord, ah, yes! alone with Thee!
My aching heart at rest, my spirit free;
My sorrow gone, my burdens all forgotten,
When far away I soar alone with Thee.
Oswald J. Smith
|
Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and
doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and
digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat
vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon
the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin
of that house was great.
Luke 6:47-49
Oswald Smith writing about the Hymn history of
�Deeper and Deeper� wrote that �There are five steps portrayed in �Deeper and Deeper�- the
heart, the will, the cross, joy and love.� The verse we quoted above in
Luke 6:47-48
is about the parable of the wise man who built his
house on the rock.
This parable teaches us to hear and obey the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. We must ground
our faith on the solid foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For other foundation can no man lay than that
is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11
Jesus Christ is our foundation, and every thing
besides Jesus Christ is sand. Many today have a surface type of Christianity that has no depth
and when the cares of this world choke their faith they have no foundation so they witherth
away.
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way
side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had
not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And
when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered
away.
Matthew 13:4-6
Most people today build their lives upon prosperity
gospel; others upon an outward profession of religion.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1 Corinthians 3:12
Upon materialism and a religion based on works they
live and govern their lives; but these are all sand. There is a storm coming that will try every
man's work.
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for
the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every
man's work of what sort it is.
1 Corinthians 3:13
If any man's work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1 Corinthians 3:14-15
The house fell in the storm, when the builder had
most need of it, and expected that it would be a shelter to him. It fell when it was too late to
build another.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold,
the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed
their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone
out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you:
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was
shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered
and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Matthew 25:6-12
May the Lord make us wise builders for eternity.
Then nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ Jesus.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39