In Jesus

I’ve tried in vain a thousand ways
My fears to quell, my hopes to raise;
But what I need, the Bible says,
Is ever, only Jesus.

My soul is night, my heart is steel –
I cannot see, I cannot feel;
For light, for life I must appeal
In simply faith to Jesus.

He died, He lives, He reigns, He pleads;
There’s love in all His words and deeds;
There’s all a guilty sinner needs
Forevermore in Jesus.

Though some should sneer, and some should blame,
I’ll go with all my guilt and shame;
I’ll go to Him because His name,
Above all names, is Jesus.

Acts 4:12 ~ “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”


HIS STORY:
James Procter was born and raised in an old-fashioned Christian home. He was in church every time the doors were open. He heard the truth preached constantly. Yet in his early teens he began to read the writings of the Free Thinkers and other infidels. He read the error of these writers to such an extent that his own faith in God became shaken. Eventually, he renounced all interest in the Christian faith and the Bible. He later joined the Free Thinkers’ Society in Manchester, soon becoming its president. During the early years of infidelity and searching for life’s meaning, James Procter penned the first two verses of this hymn. In the second verse he especially described his own attitudes as an unbeliever.

Later, while serving as the President of the Free Thinkers’ Society in Manchester, England, James experienced a serious illness. Fearing that the end of his life was at hand, he one day requested his sister to send for a minister of the Gospel. A faithful man of God came to his bedside and led Mr. Procter to a saving faith in Christ. The illness took and turn for the better and his sister described this experience during his convalescence:

“One day as I sat at my brother’s bedside he said: “Sister, go over to that old bureau and look through some papers in the top right drawer. You will find a sheet on which are too verses of a poem. I want to finish that text right now.”
I went over to the bureau and soon located the paper and began to read: “I’ve tried in vain....”
“Yes, yes, that’s it. Now let me dictate the last two verses to you.” with great excitement, my brother repeated the words slowly for the last two stanzas while I wrote them down with much care. That closing verse was especially meaningful to my brother as it represented his personal testimony to his many long-time friends, the other members of the Free Thinkers’ Society.

Though some should sneer, and some should blame,
I’ll go with all my guilt and shame;
I’ll go to Him because His name,
Above all names, is Jesus.

You can well imagine my delight on that November day of 1903 when the noted Gospel musician, Robert Harkness, expressed a real interest in my brother’s text. On a train trip home from Manchester, England, one rainy day Mr. Harkness wrote down the music that would accompany the song “In Jesus”.


Mr. Procter was raised in the light of the truth of Jesus. But no one is above falling. He renounced all interest in anything that had to do with the faith of his fathers and Jesus Christ. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” But shortly before he died, he got it settled; he got it all made right. Oh, I’m so glad he changed his mind, aren’t you!

The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” God’s promises are true – they’re real! God is so good!

“Atheism is the death of hope, the suicide of the soul.” – Anonymous
“Atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man.” – Sir Francis Bacon (Essays: Of Atheism)

Acts 10:43 ~ “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

I Timothy 2:3-6 ~ “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”