Beyond the Hymnal: The Lily of the Valley

“I am the Rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.” (Song of Solomon, 2:1, ESV)

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” (Hebrews 1:1-4, ESV)

I have a books my mother in law bought me of famous hymns and spiritual songs, containing their hymnal sheet music, and the back story behind why the song was written. In one of the volumes of these books, there was a song that caught my eye: Lily of the Valley by Charles Fry.

Lily of the Valley is a pet name I have for my second-born daughter named Lily– who was born and lives in a valley town. Upon seeing the title, I had to flip to the song and pull up a rendition of it to hear.

“I have found a friend in Jesus, He's everything to me / He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul / The lily of the valley and in Him alone I see / All I need to cleanse and make me fully whole”

Though the hymn was written by Charles Fry, the story of this song starts with a man named Wiliam Booth. A traveling preacher in London, William settled in the poor neighborhoods on the east end of the city. His ministry focused on serving needy families and sharing the Gospel with them. He was often met with hardship, as it’s said that some days, he walked home with torn clothes, bone-tired, and bloody from when people would throw stones at him preaching on the street.

By 1878, William began calling his ministry ‘Salvation Army,’ inspired by the many conversions he saw from that ministry in the East End of London, where people turned away from their old lives behind to enlist in the Lord’s army. Clothed in grace and saved by God, the movement began to spread throughout England, and as you might guess: the world.

From there, a group sought to open a Salvation Army in Salisbury, England, but were met by some resistance from the community. Those that were leading the effort would have rocks and eggs thrown at them by hecklers on the street that were trying to deter the group from establishing the ministry in town. It was there that local builder and amateur musician, Charles Fry, offered his services to the Salvation Army in Salisbury as a bodyguard; also volunteering his three sons to do the same. 

But the day the Fry boys all showed up, they came equipped with not muscle nor weaponry, but instruments: two cornets, a trombone, and a tuba! Between musical numbers, the family would chase off the riff-raff that was looking to keep the ministry from planting in town, and eventually, the music drew crowds that the preachers then ministered to. Funny enough, Salvation Army still has the tradition of brass bands that serve the same purpose: drawing crowds to hear the mission and at times, the Gospel.

In 1881, Charles Fry penned “The Lily of the Valley” and died about eight months later, but the song lives on, telling of a God that is glorious, supreme, powerful, and precious. He’s a Friend, a Savior, and a strong, mighty Tower. He alone has the power to cleanse our sin, take our sorrows, and beat Satan’s temptations. 

The refrain goes, “He’s the Lily of the Valley, He’s the bright and morning Star. He’s the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.”

While that language might seem foreign and hard to understand, the gist is that God is a symbol of beauty and hope. He’s grace and love embodied. The idea of God being the “fairest of ten thousand to my soul,” is a sentiment found in Song of Solomon, spoken by the bride in regard to her betrothed. It is a declaration that her love is more precious, more lovely, and more remarkable than ten thousand others. In other words, he’s a rare find; a catch of a man.

Fry uses the same idea in speaking about Jesus, the Savior and Lover of our soul. There could be ten thousand gods, and there would still be none like our God. For us, there are no others. He is our One and Only. We are His Church, His bride, singing to Him of His majesty and beauty. Our love for Him should be intimate and sold-out. There is no one to match Jesus, there is no one who could ever take His place for us, no other that could save us from our sin or love us so mercifully.

In the opening verses of Hebrews, we see another writer trying to put into works the unimaginable love of God. Jesus, who is the heir of all things by His finished work on the cross, is just as radiant, powerful, and glorious as God the Father. He paid the price for our sin and then sat down at the right hand of the Father, high and lifted up. God’s Son, Jesus, is every bit as amazing and wonderful as God is, being Himself God as well. 

There have been countless songs and poems and sermons written about God’s remarkable beauty and perfect love for us, and still, there will never be a way to exhaust the subject. 

“He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here / while I live by faith and do His blessed will; / A wall of fire about me, I've nothing now to fear, / with His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.”

That’s why the Church takes to the streets. That’s why we preach the Gospel. That’s why we minister to the poor and needy, and to those who need a hope like God. Because He is the fairest of ten thousand to our souls, and to know a love such as this should drive us to share Him. A God who is so radiant and wonderful demands our worship and our labor; not so that we can earn His favor as He’s already offered it to us by His grace, but because there are still those who need to hear it. There are still those out there who can be changed by it if they would only be drawn by His Spirit to believe it. 

What an amazing God! One who will never, never leave us or forsake us here in this world– who would take our fear and feed us His grace to full.