Ten Thousand Angels
They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed;
They led Him thro' the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said, "Crucify Him; He's to blame."
He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.
Upon His precious head they placed a crown of thorns;
They laughed and said, "Behold the King!"
They struck Him and they cursed Him and mocked His holy name
All alone He suffered everything.
When they nailed Him to the cross, His mother stood nearby,
He said, "Woman, behold thy son!"
He cried, "I thirst for water," but they gave Him none to drink.
Then the sinful work of man was done.
To the howling mob He yielded; He did not for mercy cry.
The cross of shame He took alone.
And when He cried, "It's finished," He gave Himself to die;
Salvation's wondrous plan was done.
BIBLE
REFERENCE:
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called
Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took
with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith
he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Matthew 26:36-38
And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the
twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and
elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall
kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.
Matthew 26:47-48
And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus
stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote
off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that
take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Matthew 26:51-52
Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father,
and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Matthew 26:53
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled,
that thus it must be?
Matthew 26:54
HYMN HISTORY:
Rarely has a hymn-writer been led to Christ by his own
song, but such was the case with Ray Overholt. God literally picked him up out of the darkness and
confusion of the nightclubs and brought him into His loving care, using Ray�s own song in an unusual
manner.
Ray Overholt was born in Middlevale, Ohio, in 1924. He seemed destined to a career in music
from age eleven when his dad gave him his first guitar. He rose to a measure of success, hosting his
own television show.
In 1958, at the height of his show-business career, Ray Overholt wrote
his now-famous song, Ten Thousand Angels.
The following is his story as he related it�
�I had left my television show
�Ray�s roundup� and entered the nightclub scene. I was drinking pretty heavily. I began thinking
there must be a better life than the nightclub, show-business whirlwind. I was so intent on changing
my lifestyle that I went home and told my wife that I was quitting all of the smoking, drinking and
cursing. I wanted to cleanup my own life.�
�One day I thought to myself: I�ve written secular songs, I�d like to write a song about Christ. I
opened the Bible, which I knew very little about, and began to read the portion of Scripture that
describes Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane telling Peter to put away his sword. I read where Jesus
told Peter that He could ask His Father and He would send twelve legions of angels. I didn�t know at
the time that would have been more than 72,000 angels.�
�I thought a good title for a song would be He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels. I didn�t know
what happened during the life of Christ, so I began doing a little research. The more I read about
Jesus, the more I admired him for what He had done. I then remembered that He did this all for
me."
"I was playing in a nightclub in Battle Creek, Michigan, when the Lord impressed me to write the
song. I wrote the first verse and put it in my guitar case. I then gave the club my notice that I
was quitting. As I opened my guitar case to put my instrument away, one of the other musicians saw
the music written out and he asked, �What are you doing there?� I told him I was writing a song
about Jesus. He asked the title and I told him. He said, 'It will never go.� I asked why? He said,
�I don�t even like the title.� But I finished the song and sent it to a publishing house, which
reluctantly agreed to publish it."
"Sometime later I found myself singing at a small church. I sang �He Could Have Called Ten Thousand
Angels.� Following my singing, the preacher spoke a message that gripped my heart. I knew I needed
Christ, so I knelt there and accepted, as my Savior, the One whom I had been singing and writing
about."
Ray Overholt became a traveling singer and
preacher. He has written a number of other songs, but none so moving as �Ten Thousand
Angels.�
Dear Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
The verse that was inspiration for the lyrics of this hymn is
Matthew 26:53
"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my
Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Jesus was speaking to Peter explaining to him that
what was happening was the fulfillment of Scripture and the plan of His Father to redeem
mankind.
But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled,
that thus it must be?
Matthew 26:54
The following is a short list of some of scriptures
that were fulfilled regarding the death of Jesus Christ on the cross:
-
His being betrayed by a friend. -
Psalms 41:9; 55:12-14 - Fulfilled - John
13:18,21
-
His disciples forsaking Him. -
Zechariah 13:7 - Fulfilled - Matthew
26:31,56
-
His being sold for thirty pieces silver. -
Zechariah 11:12 - Fulfilled - Matthew
26:15
-
His being spit on and scourged. -
Isaiah 50:6 - Fulfilled - Mark 14:65; John
19:1
-
His hands and feet being nailed to the
cross. -
Psalms 22:16 - Fulfilled - John 19:18;
20:25
-
His being forsaken by God. -
Psalms 22:1 - Fulfilled - Matthew
27:46
-
His being mocked. -
Psalms 22:7-8 - Fulfilled - Matthew
27:39-44
-
Gall and vinegar being given Him to drink.
-
Psalms 69:21 - Fulfilled - Matthew
27:34
-
His garments being parted, and lots cast
for His vesture. -
Psalms 22:18 - Fulfilled - Matthew
27:35
-
That a bone of Him should not be broken. -
Exodus 12:46; Psalms 34:20 - Fulfilled -
John 19:33,36
-
His being pierced. -
Zechariah 12:10 - Fulfilled - John
19:34,37
-
His being buried with the rich. -
Isaiah 53:9 - Fulfilled - Matthew
27:57-60
-
His flesh not seeing corruption. -
Psalms 16:10 - Fulfilled - Acts
2:31
-
His resurrection. -
Psalms 16:10; Isa 26:19 - Fulfilled - Luke
24:6,31,34
-
His ascension. -
Psalms 68:18 - Fulfilled - Luke 24:51; Acts
1:9
-
His sitting on the right hand of God.
-
Psalms 110:1 - Fulfilled - Hebrews
1:3