Olney Hymns · Chapter
The Prayer of Jabez explained
This hymn by Newton reflects on the prayer of Jabez from 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, drawing parallels between Jabez's plea for blessing and the believer's need for divine grace and guidance.
What happens
This hymn by Newton reflects on the prayer of Jabez from 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, drawing parallels between Jabez's plea for blessing and the believer's need for divine grace and guidance. It emphasizes Jesus as the one who answers prayer, the believer's struggle with sin and unbelief, and the desire for spiritual growth and protection until death.
Themes in this chapter
Prayer and Dependence on God
The entire hymn is a prayer modeled after Jabez, emphasizing the believer's dependence on God for mercy, guidance, and protection.
Spiritual Warfare
The hymn acknowledges the pressure of unbelief and sin and the need for God's hand to enlarge our coast so that Satan cannot boast.
Characters to notice
- Jesus Christ
Referred to as the one who bought us with his blood and makes our souls his care; he is the answerer of Jabez's prayer and the bearer of the cross.
- Jabez
A child of grief whose prayer is the model for the believer's plea for mercy and blessing.
- Satan
Mentioned as the one who boasts when he can control God's work, highlighting the spiritual battle.
- The Lord
Addressed as the one who teaches, blesses, and guides; also referred to as Israel's God who hears prayer.
Key passages
“Jabez, a child of grief! the name Befits poor sinners well; For Jesus bore the cross and shame, To save our souls from hell.”
Jabez, whose name means 'sorrow,' is a fitting picture of poor sinners, because Jesus endured the cross and shame to save us from damnation.
The hymn connects Jabez's name and condition to the believer's need for Christ's atoning work.
“The gospel’s promised land is wide, We fain would enter in: But we are press’d on every side With unbelief and sin.”
The blessings of the gospel are vast and we desire to enter them, but we are hindered by our own unbelief and sin.
This stanza uses the imagery of the Promised Land to describe the fullness of gospel blessings and the internal obstacles believers face.
“Arise, O Lord, enlarge our coast, Let us possess the whole, That Satan may no longer boast He can thy work control.”
Rise up, Lord, and expand our boundaries so that we may fully possess the inheritance, preventing Satan from boasting that he can hinder your work.
The prayer for enlargement is both spiritual and practical, seeking victory over the enemy.