Since Jesus Came Into My Heart
When Rufus McDaniel's son died, he wrote a song that spoke about the hope he had in Jesus. Sending it off to a popular evangelistic songwriter of the day, his song became an instant classic and one of the most joyful gospel songs of all!
Today's Friday Classic Hymn must be one of the happiest songs that I've ever heard. It just roars with excitement and joy at the change that Jesus brought into the songwriter's life. I think this one has touched many lives because it captures what every new believer experiences when they come to know Jesus.
Do you know this song? I don't even know where I know it from—this is one that I just know, but I can't even think from where. We probably sang it in church when I was growing up. Do you still sing "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart" in church? We should do it more often, shouldn't we? It's such a happy and deep song at the same time.
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The Story Behind "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart"
The interesting thing about the song is that though it's happy and upbeat, it was written after some tragedy. It was written by Rufus Henry McDaniel, a minister in Ohio in the 1800s and 1900s. He was born in 1850 and died in 1940 as an old man.
He wrote many hymns in his time as a minister, but this song came about in 1914 when he was 64 years old—a year after the death of his son. For him, this was a way to honour his son's tragic death by writing an uplifting song about the effects of the Christian faith and of receiving Jesus into your heart as your Saviour.
Many people have found this to be a wonderful song that gives expression to what they felt becoming a Christian. Maybe they didn't know how to put words to it, but this song gave words to it.
Having written this song, McDaniel decided to send it along with a few others of his to Charles Gabriel, who was one of the great musicians and tune writers of the time. In fact, he would write songs for Billy Sunday, who was a great evangelist of the time. McDaniel sent his songs to Gabriel, hoping that maybe he would use one of them and put some music to it and start using it at Billy Sunday's evangelistic meetings.
When he didn't hear from Gabriel for a while, he thought that his song had been rejected. But the next thing he knew, it became a hit. It became the song of the day—everybody knew this song, and it still endures today because it just captures people's hearts.
Out of all the hymns that McDaniel wrote, this is definitely the standout. It's the one that has endured, and it's the one that had a lot of impact at the time. There's a story told about a police officer who heard this song whilst he was on duty and became a Christian. He went on to lead a whole bunch of other people in his life to Christ, all because of the song that he heard and listened to and was convinced that he wanted Jesus in his heart.
Charles Gabriel also records a time where Billy Sunday was leaving one of these meetings that he did, and a whole bunch of people went to the train to see him off. They all stood and sang "Since Jesus Came Into My Home"—they changed the words as he went on his way home.
This is a special song. It's got a very singable melody that Charles Gabriel wrote, and the words are very meaningful. A lot of the times conversion songs can be very shallow, I suppose—all emotion—but this one is about inner change that happens when Jesus comes.
What Do the Lyrics of "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart" Mean?
Verse 1: A Wonderful Change
The first verse says: "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, since Jesus came into my heart! I have light in my soul for which long I have sought, since Jesus came into my heart."
This is what happens when Jesus becomes the King of your life—you have a wonderful change that's wrought in your soul. That word "wrought" means like your life has been shifted. It's like God took your life and changed it. That's what happens when you know Jesus, when you give your life to Him. It's called the new birth, in fact, for a reason. It's not just a little bit of a change—it's a wonderful change that is wrought that gives you a totally new life.
McDaniel talks about the light that comes, and this is interesting in light of the fact that he was a Christian his whole life and had been a minister for many years. This change that he talks about—I wonder if he was talking about his original conversion way back, or if this, like many of the other songs that we've discussed in the series, represented almost a real conversion from a dead faith that he had had before. We don't know.
The Chorus: Floods of Joy
The chorus goes: "Since Jesus came into my heart, since Jesus came into my heart, floods of joy o'er my soul like the sea billows roll, since Jesus came into my heart."
Just think about that phrase for a second, which gets repeated all the time—twice in every verse and three times in the chorus. This comes from that picture in Revelation of Jesus standing and knocking. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anybody would open the door, I will come in and eat with that person." This has long been used as a picture of salvation, because Jesus is knocking on the door of our hearts and we need to open the door to let Him in.
Have you done that? Has Jesus come to live within you and make His home within your spirit, or are you still keeping Him at a distance? Kind of maybe you know a bit about Him, maybe you go to church, but you've never actually surrendered and let Him come into your heart?
The chorus paints such a picture of what happens when Jesus comes in—floods of joy flowing like waves in the ocean bouncing onto the shore. That's what happens in your heart when Jesus comes in. Have you done this? If you haven't welcomed Him in, He's knocking. He's waiting. Maybe this video is just at the right moment in your life, because you need to fling that door open and let Him come in.
Verse 2: Ceasing from Wandering
Verse two goes on and says: "I have ceased from my wand'ring and going astray, since Jesus came into my heart."
Instead of a life of just doing your own thing, the new birth—when Jesus comes in and makes all things new—means that you stop wandering and going astray, doing your own thing. But now you live on the path that God has for you, and that's the best place to be.
"And my sins which were many are all washed away."
Oh, hallelujah! This is what everybody who knows Jesus encounters—they experience this washing away of their sins. The new birth is God looking at your record of sins, and we all have them. Nobody can claim to not have a record of sins. He erases it, washing it away. One scripture talks about our sins being cast into the deepest sea.
That's what He does. You don't have to live in shame. You don't have to be upset about the sins in your life and guilty. Of course, you have to feel sorry for them, and you have to bring them to God in a state of repentance, which is saying, "I don't want to live that way anymore." But then the guilt of those sins can be washed away, and you don't have to live beating yourself up. God puts them in your past and washes them away. Oh, what a wonderful thing! I hope that you've experienced this.
Verse 3: Steadfast Hope
Verse three says: "I'm possessed of a hope that is steadfast and sure, since Jesus came into my heart, and no dark clouds of doubt now my pathway obscure, since Jesus came into my heart."
Now that he has got faith in Jesus, his doubt is gone, and he has a great hope that nothing can take away. This is, of course, the ultimate thing in the Christian's life—hope, firstly in life after death. That this is not all there is. I've got a steadfast and solid hope that life will go on, and so I don't need to fear death. That changes everything. That means the way you look at the world is different.
Whatever comes along, you've got hope. Whatever difficulties you go through, you've still got hope that is steadfast and sure and keeps you going because of what Jesus has done.
Dark times still come, but dark clouds of doubt don't obscure our vision. Such is our faith in Jesus that even when dark clouds come, we can still stand firm and believe that He is going to get us through. That's the hope we share, and this only comes when Jesus is in your heart.
If you kind of know about God and maybe believe that there's something, you don't have this hope. But when you've invited Jesus in, placed your faith in Him, this hope comes as part of that.
Verse 4: Light in the Valley of Death
McDaniel goes on with this theme in verse four when he says: "There's a light in the valley of death now for me, since Jesus came into my heart, and the gates of the city beyond I can see."
Death isn't scary anymore. But even in death there's a light, because that's going to be the moment I pass over and see Jesus. That city—of course the city, the new city of Jerusalem—will only be at the end. When we die, we will be with Jesus in some form the Bible seems to say, but it's not the final form that will happen right at the end when the city, the beautiful new city, is built and made.
Do you see that hope that he has? That hope in death. Not even death can frighten the Christian, because we believe that through Jesus we conquer death. Amazing.
Verse 5: Happy as Onward I Go
Verse five says the same thing: "I shall go there to dwell in that city, I know, since Jesus came into my heart."
He's got this eternal hope that will get him into that city one day.
"And I'm happy, so happy, as onward I go."
Even though that city is far away, we're happy in the meantime. We live a life of joy. Remember that this was written shortly after this man lost a child, and he was grieving, but he could still have joy within. I have joy within because Jesus is in my heart, so I've got an eternal hope.
Do you know this type of joy? Do you know this type of joy that even when tragedy comes your way, Jesus is in your heart, and so you can stand firm? Yes, you'll cry. Yes, you'll have difficulty. It's not about pretending everything's great. This is saying, "With Jesus in my heart, I can withstand whatever comes my way."
Beautiful song.
Conclusion
It's a happy song, and I hope when we sang it together, it was a happy moment. I hope it brought you joy and kind of gets you into the day and stays with you in the days to come.
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God bless you, and may Jesus in your heart change everything for you today.
