55 thoughts on “GOH: So Send I You”

    1. I’d like to thank george for this! Now, let me sit on my well-earned butt cushion and see what this post is all about….

      1. Well that’s a dreary way to start one’s day…. Seriously. That has never been one of my favorite songs, and DEFINITELY not good to show a new convert.

        “Praise God, you’re saved now! Now…listen to this here. Yep, you are now relegated to a depressing life filled with torture, pain, and loss! See what you got into? Ain’t God good???”

        Whatever happened to “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ???

  2. I always thought the song was self-congratulatory: somebody reflecting on how much suffering he or she had raked up and then telling other Christians this is what it’s all about.

    Yes, Christ does call upon His people to suffer, as He suffered. To say that we don’t suffer is untrue, and to promise that we won’t suffer is deceptive. But the point is that He is with us in our suffering. In fact, our sufferings bring us into participation with His suffering and passion.

    We join Christ in our suffering. And that’s the point, not the suffering itself (which is what the song is pointing out) but our fellowship with Christ and increasing knowledge with Him. He sustains His people in their suffering, and that is the point; it’s also the power of our transcendence over suffering: Christ with us in all conditions of this life.

    1. I can see where it might sound self-congratulatory. But for me, it really does describe most of my life and it encourages me to keep following God, despite people laughing at me or ignoring me, despite what I’ve “given up.”

      There seems to be a pattern in each stanza of lines 1-3 describing the struggle and loss and line 4 reminding of the reason, the underlying purpose behind what we endure – that I may know Him and the fellowship of His suffering.

  3. 3rd….best I’ll ever do. Kinda like the soberness myself, just like we need during communion (this do in remembrance of me). Of course, I have been called a jerk here too, so what do I know

    1. I’ve always appreciated the words of the song and used it as a reminder not to seek satisfaction in this world.

      As far as being called names, an angry fundamentalist on this blog once called me unsaved; how’s that for name-calling?

      I don’t automatically assume all fundies are jerks, although some have proved themselves so by their behavior.

  5. This is the only version I know. There’s a happy one?

    At least its dirge music with sad lyrics. I can never get past “I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore” while waltzing matilda across the floor.

      1. when you are a musical young lad, just mathematically “get” music theory and see the patterns in all music that make them almost indistinguishable, and someone preaches “in contemporary music the emotions of the music don’t match the message” as another reason its so horrible, then what does one do with songs like this! Just couldn’t force my mind to ignore that inconsistency.

        1. Very, very true! While the old folks are amen-ing “logic” like that, the young people are flipping through their hymnal finding all the songs that don’t fit what the speaker just said!

    2. The prettied up lyrics are foreign to me! I just know the depressing version – but it was ONLY sung at missions conferences.

  6. for the record, this is the three verses that are seen in the majesty hymnal. The Baptist music pope can’t be wrong

  7. I always thought of this as a missionary song. It’s often sung at mission conferences. I always thought it was so negative. What about the blessings of serving? And the rewards in heaven? I always thought there should’ve at least been a last verse to tell about the rewards in heaven. If there is a more positive version, could someone post it? 😥

      1. That’s much better! I’d have copy/pasted the lyrics but didn’t know if that would infringe on copyright laws. This one I like, thanks for posting. 🙂

    1. Don’t you know, the best way to get people to “go to the mission field” is to remind them of how miserable they’ll be? I guess it caters to the martyr complex.

  11. Geez, why is it that all these GOHs have to be the kind of music that sticks in your head. I could have gone another 15 years without hearing that again.

    And yeah, talk about a depressing song.

  13. Okay had to stop it. I have to at least get some coffee in me before I take on a dirge like that. Did anyone else think the music sounded like a middle school band was playing it? I was waiting for the triangle to ding any minute.

  15. I think we sang this song at my parents’ commissioning service as they were leaving for the mission field. It’s depressing! 😕

  16. Darrell, as an MK I bet you heard this song a lot. I have some missionary friends who say they get tired of hearing the same 6 or 8 songs every time they go to a fundy church/mission conference.

  17. This is the only version of the song I know.

    I’ve always liked the song; at least, I like the music a lot.

    It is very solemn, and does have a missionary feel to it.

    I think a steady diet of this song would be depressing; however, it’s good to remember that not everything is frolicking, froth, and fun (sorry about the alliteration). Ideally, we serve Him because He is worthy of our service, not for the rewards He gives, nor because it makes us feel good. We should be prepared to follow Him, regardless of where it leads… and that’s what I’ve always considered the song to be saying.

    1. I always like this song. It’s a good reminder that I am laying up treasure in heaven not on this earth and that I shouldn’t expect accolades and abundant finances and appreciation from those I serve.

      When you give and give, helping, serving, loving, and then get despised, rejected, lied about, and laughed at, this song can remind you that you’re following Christ.

  18. I always thought it would be fun to do a missions video presentation and use “Around the World” by Daft Punk as the soundtrack. Maybe get some serious excitement going about the Good News YAH!

    Dancing in the aisle and exploding heads would just be a fringe benny

  19. I recall the hymn “The Bible Stands” A whole hymn praising an inanimate object. Isn’t praising an inanimate object ideology? And there is nothing in the hymn about the KJV 1611.

  21. That was written by Margaret Clarkson. From what I heard even she agreed that the first version was too depressing and rewrote it to the more positive version to be used at some big missions conference.
    On a personal note, back in the 70’d while my wife and I were at Bible College my, at that point soon to be wife, was invited to Sunday lunch at Ms. Clarkson’s because of some family connection. I was invited too but had a major paper due the next day so stayed back to work on it. When my wife was asked where I was and she told Ms. Clarkson I was doing school work (on a Sunday) her response was, “oh,he’s one of those.” I’ve repented continually since. 🙄

    1. One of those who thinks it’s important to do your best? One of those who wants to get the value of the education he’s paying for? One of those who’s not trying to just slide by (or cheat) but actually working and studying and learning? One of those who has enough backbone to say “no”? One of those disciplined enough to turn down a social event in order to fulfill his responsibilities as a student?

  22. I think this song is the Baptist version of penance. “Maybe if I suffer enough for Christ, I’ll be spiritual enough for….”

  23. Oh, I know the old lyrics! Every year at missions conference. Every year.

    The worst part was having to worry that you would be killed for Christ only to find out that you didn’t say the “sinner’s prayer” correctly and end up in hell like all of those Catholic saints. 😯

  24. I’ve always liked both this version and the happy version. In our church hymnal, they were listed next to each other.

  25. Yup, those are the lyrics I know. They rewrote it? I have a cassette of the Back to the Bible Quartet that I bought at the PCC bookstore 20 years ago. This song with these lyrics are on it.

  26. Verse 3:
    So send I you to loneliness and longing
    With heart a-hungering for the loved and known,
    Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one,
    So send I you to know My love alone

    The first three lines really describe much of my life as I’ve gone to towns and places that would not have been my personal choice in order to serve beside my husband. We’ve never been near family; my kids never have their grandparents come to their school events; they don’t have cousins around to play with all the time. But the last line brings it back to the truth: It is God’s love that matters.

    vs. 4
    So send I you to leave your life’s ambition
    To die to dear desire, self-will resign
    To labour long, and love where men revile you
    So send I you to lose you life in Mine

    I’ve had to live this. Yet again the last line reminds me that it’s not about me; I can lose my life and preferences and personal wishes and expectations for Christ.

    1. I can relate to your comments, PW. My family is in a ministry about 500 miles from where we grew up.

      My dad just recently passed away. Sometimes it’s difficult to look at pictures of my sister’s children and my brother’s daughter and grandson at my dad’s final birthday and realize that I and my family missed out on a lot. So, my heart goes out to these missionaries, who maybe longing for the loved nod known.

  27. The church I grew up in still sings this old version in all its dour glory. We always sang it when the missionaries came around. I always felt bad for the poor missionaries who probably had to hear it at every church they visited cause its such a downer. This and a lot of the other old missionary songs (From Greenland’s Icy Mountains, The Regions Beyond, Throw Out the Life Line, Bringing in the Sheaves *shudders*) scrape the bottom of the barrel as far as hymns go, lyrics and melody wise.

    1. I love ” in all it’s dour glory.”. If I ever hear this song again, which is extremely doubtful, I will think of this phrase, and totally humiliate myself by getting a fit of the giggles…. 😆

  29. I kind of thought the verse with the flute (or whatever instrument it was) on the melody and the voices on the harmony was kind of odd.

  30. I remember this song. It was always brought out during missions conferences. I think it has merit. The problems start when someone uses it to bolster his or her pride i.e. “I’ve given up everything for Jesus, what have you done?” That is when it becomes legalism. Kind of like the pharisee and the tax collector.

  33. This song reminds me of playing while Mrs. Easterwood was singing. She had a habit of warbling (her vibrato got wayyyyy out of control) and then pausing for effect in certain places. She only sang at Wednesday night service, so it wasn’t a big deal. But, I just wonder if she could sense how difficult it was for me to predict when she would stop and then go again. The other song she was known for was “It’s Beginning To Rain” which she only sang once. In the middle of the song, the bottom fell out of the sky and the rain was falling so hard on the metal building’s roof that she couldn’t even be heard anymore. We salvaged the situation with several minutes of Shaking Hands and Welcoming until the rain stopped enough we could hear the announcements and sermon.

    1. Dear CampMeetingGirl,

      It is amazing for me to see such a fine whitewash job. As a professional in that field, I appreciate and simply felt the need to pass on a compliment to such an outstanding person as you. Thank you for being such a beacon of beauty for the whitewash industry.

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      Jack Arlin Jones

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