Reflections: The third verse

Many years ago, our family attended a Voice of the Martyrs conference where Rev. Humberto Noble Alexander was one of the guest speakers. Alexander, a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor, was imprisoned for his Christian faith in Cuba for 22 years, from 1962 to 1984; his story is shared in his book, “I Will Die Free.” 

Alexander told the VOM attendees that during his imprisonment, he drew inspiration from having read about German pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He also shared that prisoners encouraged one another, during rare opportunities for interaction, by sharing portions of Scripture they had memorized. Writing their contributions on whatever scraps of paper they could find, with precious pencil stubs hidden in their few belongings, they recreated an amazing amount of the Bible. 

The prisoners also shared whatever they could remember from favorite hymns, singing to encourage themselves and those in nearby cells. At that point in his remarks, Alexander drew a rueful laugh from the VOM conference-goers when he said that unfortunately, for many of the hymns, nobody could recall much of the third verse. 

If you grew up in evangelical background, you know why we laughed. During the third verse of a four-verse hymn, the congregation often dropped out from singing while ushers collected the offering, or to greet one another with a handshake as the pianist and organist continued to play. Then everyone joined back in for the last verse. Skipping the third verse was also sometimes also done simply to save time in the song service. 

Alexander’s point, though, was sobering: The third verse is often where the bad stuff happens. In a three-verse hymn, it was the second verse; either way, though, it seems as though more people knew the anthems of praise in the first verse and the rousing finale in the last, than in between where we find “’Though Satan should buffet,” or “When in afflictions deep.” Alexander and his fellow prisoners were living—or dying—in the reality of the third verse. 

Although I loved the worship choruses of the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, many them focused solely on Jesus’ love and the joy of Christian community, but did not really address the fact that Jesus did not promise his followers an easy life.

Looking around at circumstances, though, it’s not hard to see evidence that we’re living in the “third verse,” and I’m seeing the reality of life’s difficulties finding its way back into the church via a new generation of hymn writers. “I Will Trust in You,” recorded and co-written by Lauren Daigle, expresses the trust that sustains Christ-followers even when prayers aren’t answered right away. Phil Wickham’s “Hymn of Heaven,” of which one verse begins, “Every prayer we prayed in desperation . . . ,” acknowledges the reality of present circumstances while looking forward to the glorious resurrection and eternity with the Lord. 

Don’t ignore the third verse. During this life, tough things happen. But it won’t be long until we get to sing the finale!