Charitie Lees Smith – Before the Throne of God Above

Anglican Irish American hymn-writer Charitie Lees Smith (later Charitie Lees Bancroft and died with the surname DeCheney) is pastor’s child, the daughter of Reverend George Sidney Smith.  She developed her talent for poetry at a young age, with her works published in various periodicals.  She married naval officer Arthur Edward Bancroft in 1869 and later moved to California to be closer to her siblings.  Arthur died in 1881.  She later married Frank DeCheney in 1891, a man 25 years younger than her and divorced him in 1915.

Her works are mostly limited to the country of Ireland, with the occasional publication making its way around the world.  One such poem is Before the Throne of God Above, which was first published in The Praise of Jesus (London: James Nisbet, 1863).  Though there were various tunes associated with her work throughout the years, Sovereign Grace Worship cemented it in 1997 as the version in our collective 20th-century minds.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

Jesus, who is our mediator and heavenly high priest, paid the penalty for sin on our behalf and rose again, appeasing the wrath of God.  Though the devil will tempt us away from following Jesus, we fix our eyes upon Him, unseparated from God’s love for us.  We are free from the enslavement of sin, entering into an intimate, personal relationship with Him.

This song contains no repetition in stanza and minimal repetition of a few lines.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All lines are Biblical.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

Since there are no verse designations, I assigned stanzas to each paragraph.

[Stanza 1]

Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong and perfect plea,
a great High Priest whose name is Love,
who ever lives and pleads for me.

Jesus, who is our permanent high priest, pleads on our behalf as our mediator (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 4:14-15 and 1 Timothy 2:5).  Given that Jesus is God (Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 43:10-11, Matthew 1:23, Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26, John 1:1-3, John 1:14, John 5:17-18, John 8:23-25, John 8:28, John 10:30-33, John 14:9, John 20:28-29, Philippians 2:5-6, Colossians 1:16-19, Colossians 2:8-9, Titus 2:13, 1 Timothy 6:14-16, Hebrews 1:10-12, Revelation 1:8, and Revelation 22:13) and that God is love (1 John 4:8), it stands to reason that Jesus is love.  The law, which condemned us (Romans 2:17-29) was fulfilled by Christ (Matthew 5:17) through His sacrifice, nailing our sins to the cross (Colossians 2:14).

My name is graven on his hands,

Much like Israel’s name is written on God’s hands (Isaiah 49:16), so too is the Christian who is grafted in (Romans 11:17).

my name is written on his heart.

Though this appears blasphemous, it refers to our sins placed upon Jesus, while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8) and the intimate relationship we have with Him (Psalms 63:1-11, John 15:1-10, and James 4:8).

I know that while in heav’n he stands
no tongue can bid me thence depart,
no tongue can bid me thence depart.

Nothing can separate us from God while Jesus continues to intercede for us (Romans 8:31-39).

[Stanza 2]

When Satan tempts me to despair
and tells me of the guilt within,

The crafty devil uses Smith’s past as a weapon to immobilize her, preventing obedience to Christ’s commandments (2 Corinthians 11:3).

upward I look, and see him there,
who made an end to all my sin.

Smith fixes her eyes on Jesus under heavy demonic attack (Hebrews 12:2).

Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;

Christ, who is without sin, became sin on our behalf to save Smith (2 Corinthians 5:21), enabling her to live a righteous life, free from the bondage of sin (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

for God, the just, is satisfied

Jesus made propitiation for our sins, taking upon Himself the wrath of the Father (Romans 3:24-25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2, and 1 John 4:10) that we deserve for breaking His laws (Psalm 53:1–3, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 1:18, Romans 3:10-12, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23).

to look on him and pardon me,
to look on him and pardon me.

See commentary in Stanza 1, lines 5-6.

[Stanza 3]

Behold him there, the risen Lamb,

That is, the resurrected Jesus (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, Acts 1:3, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, and 1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

my perfect, spotless righteousness,

Often referred to as the “great exchange”, Christ exchanges our sin for His righteousness (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

the great unchangeable I AM,

Refers to the name God gave to Himself in Exodus 3:14 and used by Jesus John 8:48-59 to describe Himself, claiming to be God.

It is true that God’s nature does not change (Numbers 23:19, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, and James 1:17), but that does not mean that He cannot change His mind (Exodus 32:12-14, Jeremiah 18:8, Jeremiah 26:3-19, Jeremiah 42:10, Jonah 3:10-19, and Amos 7:3-6).

NOTE: Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29 do not teach that God does not change His mind.  It is stating that He does not change his mind as man does.

the King of glory and of grace!

The Lord is the King of glory (Psalm 24:8-10).

One with himself I cannot die.

We will not experience spiritual death (John 3:36, Romans 5:12-15, Romans 8:13, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 2:1-2, Ephesians 4:18, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, 1 John 5:12, Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:14-15, and Revelation 21:8).

My soul is purchased by his blood!

The shed blood of Jesus is the payment made to redeem us (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 9:26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).

My life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ, my Savior and my God,
with Christ, my Savior and my God.

Jesus gave us a command in Matthew 6:5-6, that we should spend time with God in prayer, secluded from other people. Of course, that doesn’t negate the importance of public prayer, but our motivation for the latter should not be fame. Jesus Himself often prayed alone in locations such as a mountaintop (Mark 1:35, Mark 6:46, and Luke 6:12), in the wilderness (Luke 5:16), and in a garden before His arrest (Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:35, and Luke 22:41). He desires to know the Father in a deep, relational manner.  It is in prayer that our life can be hidden in God (Colossians 3:3).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

There is little to no room for misinterpretation from outsiders to Christianity.  This song’s hymnal structure, obvious name-drops for Jesus and God, and multiple references to Christ’s sacrifice and our freedom.  Though it contains some Christianese, most of it is everyday language, enabling them to comprehend Smith’s points.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Christ through His redemptive sacrifice and our response to it.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Charitie Lees Smith’s Before the Throne of God Above is a linguistic masterpiece.  It is equally rich in expression and theology, beautifully expressing Christ’s wondrous sacrifice and bringing glory to God.  Unbelievers will find comprehension easy, perhaps with consideration to follow Jesus.

I highly recommend this song to anyone looking for a hymn to add to the mix, whether it be podcast or worship set.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Before the Throne of God Above (listen to the song by Sovereign Grace Worship)

Artist: Charitie Lees Smith

Album: N/A

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 1863

Duration: N/A

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*Copyright © 1997 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Sovereign Grace Worship cemented it in 1997 as the version in our collective 20th century minds.

Updates:

11/10/2022 – Fixed several typos.  Thanks to LaRae for discovering one in the Intro!

03/23/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  Also, fixed several spelling/grammatical errors and removed duplicate “update” section in the introduction.

02/14/2020 – Added more commentary to the song’s end based on commentary by Robert.

11/10/2019 – Thanks to commenters James and Mitchell Hunt for their contribution!  I added James’ Scripture regarding God’s engraved hands and clarification on repetition.