Robert E. Price (1946-2021) was a friend of mine who died recently and went home to be with Christ. Scripture says: “Blessed are those who die in the Lord. They are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”1 Christians are not saved by what we do, but saved for serving Christ and other people. Bob liked this hymn and its story, so I’ll share it for all of us to meditate upon. Bob was a faithful servant of Jesus, but he would rather me tell you about his Savior than about him. Bob was so grateful to Christ for helping, keeping, and loving him.
Background to the Hymn
Joseph Humphreys was a pastor in England. He was born in 1720 and I can’t find a record for his date of death. Joseph was born again in 1738 and he was a friend of John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. Humphrey’s hymn originally had eight stanzas, as shown here. Sometimes only three stanzas are included in hymnals, but I think that is a mistake. This hymn is very biblical and contains rich Scripture truth to feed our souls.2
The refrain, “With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity,” was originally one line in Stanza 8, but some hymnals put it with each stanza as I have done here. That refrain is a prayer, asking the Lord who began a good work in us to carry it on to completion until we see Christ face to face. It’s a prayer we pray for all God’s people, not for just us individually. Bob Price liked that aspect of the hymn, asking God to preserve us so that we can persevere in following Jesus. Bob was like King David who said, “I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”3
A Hymn about Adoption into Christ
Here is the hymn that can also be used as a prayer. I’ll make some comments on it at the end.
1. Blessed are the sons (and daughters) of God; They are bought with Jesus’ blood,
They are ransomed from the grave, Life eternal they shall have.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
2. God did love them in His Son, Long before the world begun;
They the Spirit now receive, When on Jesus they believe.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
3. They are justified by grace, They enjoy a solid peace;
All their sins are washed away, They shall stand in God’s great Day.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
4. They produce the fruits of grace, In the works of righteousness.
They are harmless, meek, and mild. Holy, humble, undefiled.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
5. They are lights upon the earth, Children of a heavenly birth;
Born of God, they hate all sin, God’s pure seed remains within.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
6. They have fellowship with God, Through the Mediator’s blood;
One with God, through Jesus one, Glory is in them begun.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
7. Though they suffer much on earth, Strangers to the worldling’s mirth,
Yet they have an inward joy, Pleasures nothing can destroy.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
8. They alone are truly blest, Heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ.
Never let us from you stray, Keep us in the narrow way.
Refrain: With them numbered may we be, Now and through eternity.
God’s Adopted Children
Bob Price loved this Scripture:
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!…Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Jesus purify themselves, just as He is pure. (1 John 3:1-3)
Now Bob Price can say with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day.”4
Prayer: Father, we thank you that even to our old age and gray hairs you will carry us. You made us, saved us, adopted us, and will carry us to the end and home to Heaven. Your steadfast love never ceases, your mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. You are our rock, fortress, and deliverer; our refuge, shield, and stronghold. Hang on to us all through this life and help us to hang on to you. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.5
Notes (various translations): 1 Rev 14:13. 2 This version is adapted from ehymnbook.org. The hymn appeared in “Our Own Hymn-Book” published by Charles Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Baptist Church in 1883. A modern version of that appears in “Psalms & Hymns of Reformed Worship” compiled by Peter Masters. I have borrowed from that version also. 3 Psalm 63:8. 4 2 Tim 4:8. 5 Prayer based on Psalm 18:2; Isaiah 46:4; Lam 3:22-24.