This
minister never let himself, nor his hearers, be comfortable. Washington Gladden saw too much in the American culture
of the post-Civil War era that troubled his conscience, and so he pleaded “O
Master Let Me Walk with Thee” while he endeavored to make his faith relevant,
including in Massachusetts where he was (see picture) when he composed these
words. He was what sociologists/psychologists today would characterize as
type-A – activist. His conscience-stricken approach evidently came with a cost,
for many of his peers found his message too consistently upsetting.
Understanding what was going on in his own heart, versus what he saw and heard
among his fellow believers and others in the larger secular setting about him,
helps us contextualize this particular episode’s resulting poetry. Social justice-seekers
are not content trying to gently coax their hearers; Gladden’s original words
were more like dynamite, though they were trimmed for wider general consumption.
Washington
Gladden had been a newspaperman in his adult life before he became a minister,
and perhaps it was the investigative journalist in him that compelled his role
as a social crusader and liberal Christian leader. His activist nature was not
limited to church debates, but extended to battling political corruption and
helping settle industrial strikes, as well as racism issues. One episode
apparently drew heavy criticism from his own congregation, as he condemned a
donation from the Rockefellers that was intended for missionary work, labeling
it as unacceptable because of the donor’s reputation for running a corporate
monopoly. It was apparently during one of many incidents like this one in which
the 43-year old Gladden sat alone to pray, to ‘vent his spleen’ even, as did
many of the minor prophets in their day (similar to perhaps Amos, known also as
a social crusader). It was also during his time in Massachusetts when he began
to campaign for workers’ rights among the various industries, so “O Master…”
may be seen in this context, perhaps. Two of the most compelling verses of the
hymn show Washington’s angst and his reaction to his opponents, but they were eventually
excised when the poem was set to music. He compared his critics to ‘taunting
Pharisee (s)’ and complained of their ‘dullness’; Gladden obviously did not
shrink from this clash. Instead, he showed that he was human, and as so many of
us do when we are the objects of scorn, he responded in kind. But, he also
cried out with words in four other verses that show he sought his Master’s help
for his own shortcomings. He asked for fellowship with Him in order to continue
serving (v.1), for Divine guidance to steer those he encountered (v.2), for
patience (v. 5), and for the reassurance of eternal blessing (v.6) that would
spur him onward. One can guess that he got what he prayed for, since his social
work continued long afterward, including his efforts to resolve an anthracite coal
strike in 1902.
Washington
may not have been the perfect Christian, but one could never accuse him of
being lukewarm. One can imagine that perhaps he’d absorbed what God said about
being hot nor cold (Revelation 3:16), and was determined to be hot, at least in
respect to activism. The historical accounts of Gladden indicate his liberal
interpretation of biblical topics often drew harsh conservative reaction, and that
his reputation for social economic justice was also very progressive for the
time. Whatever one might have thought about Washington Gladden, one could never
say he was mild in his message. You suppose that he was indeed walking with God?
The
following websites have the lyrics for the song, a brief version of the song
story, and the author-poet’s biography: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/o/m/l/omlmwwt.htm
See more
information on the song discussed above also in The Complete Book of Hymns –
Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen
and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006. Also, see Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring
Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications,
1990; Then Sings My Soul – 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories,
Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003; 101 Hymn Stories,
Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982; and A Treasury of Hymn Stories
– Brief Biographies of 120 Hymnwriters with Their Best Hymns, Amos R.
Wells, Baker Book House, 1945.
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