We are Going Down the Valley
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
I. Let us read I Cor. 15:50-58
II. In our song books there is a spiritual song written by Jessie Brown Pounds
A. She lived from 1861 to 1921 in Hiram, Ohio. Both she and her family were members of the Lord’s church.
B. We sing many songs that are based on her poems:
1. The Way of the Cross Leads Home
2. Anywhere with Jesus
3. Beautiful Isle of Somewhere
4. Soul, a Savior Thou Art Needing
5. Will You Not Tell it Today?
6. Are You Coming to Jesus Tonight
7. I Know that My Redeemer Lives
III. Consider the passages brought to mind by these verses
A. “We are going down the valley one-by-one.”
1. Ps 23:4 - The valley of the shadow of death.
B. “With our faces toward the setting of the sun.”
1. An ending - Micah 3:6
C. “Down the valley where the mournful cypress grows”
1. Cypress was considered to be a symbol of mourning and was frequently planted by graves. - Isa 14:8 (sarcasm)
D. “Where the stream of death in silence onward flows.”
1. Deut 31:2 - Moses was unable to cross this Jordan, implying he would cross another in his death.
2. On the other side was the promise land - Deut 27:3
3. On the other side of death is our promised rest - Heb 4:8-10
E. “Human comrade you or I will there have none, but a tender hand will guide us lest we fall. Christ is going down the valley with us all.”
1. We do not sorrow over death as others - I Thess 4:13
2. We have committed our spirits to our redeemer - Ps 31:5
3. Paul faced death with confidence - II Tim 1:12
