Aug 12, 2024

Walter Chalmer Smith

The Bible asserts two things about us as people: 1. we are deeply flawed, and 2. we are deeply loved. Both things are simultaneously true about us. Some of us were raised in churches that were all about the flaws, a steady drumbeat of guilt and shame. It didn’t matter much what the message was on any given Sunday. Somehow, the minister always got around to talking about some aspect of human frailty. Others of us were raised in churches that were all about the love. Every sermon was some variation on you are special, a unique kind of snowflake person. Sin was nothing more than our failure to live up to our God-given potential. Give me a church that can hold these twin messages of deeply flawed and deeply loved together in creative tension. I am grateful for something Tim Keller wrote in Prodigal God, “The gospel is this: we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet at the same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus than we ever dared hope.”

Tim Keller died of pancreatic cancer in 2023. Knowing his days were numbered, he arranged an order of service for his own funeral. One hymn he chose for his memorial was “Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise,” composed by a Scottish minister, Walter Chalmer Smith (1824-1908). Tim commented in the notes that accompanied the service that he had flashbacks of sitting in the cancer hospital, awaiting treatment. He recalled thinking, “God, what in the world are you up to? What’s wrong with you? And the last line in the hymn is this— ‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.'” He observed, “There’s a tendency for us to think there’s a darkness in God, and we’re smart instead of saying, well, wait a minute, no. He’s more light than we can handle. The darkness is in us. ‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.'” The metaphor of light predominates throughout the hymn. Stanza one refers to God as “light inaccessible hid from our eyes.” Stanza two references this Holy One as “silent as light.” Stanza four affirms God as “pure Father of light” and closes with the words Tim referenced earlier, “Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.” The hymn celebrates that God is both transcendent (beyond us) and immanent (near us):

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
thy justice like mountains high soaring above
thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see,
‘tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.

Chris Fenner, Hymnology Archive, “Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise,” 2020.

Rev. Dr. Peter James served 42 years as the senior of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA — 21 years in the 20th century and 21 years in the 21st century. He retired in 2021 and now serves as Pastor-in-Residence at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Even as a pastor, prayer came slowly to Pete. Read Pete’s story.