The Lord’s Prayer as Pattern + “His Eye Is On the Sparrow”
His Eye is on the Sparrow.
I was sitting here praying so burdened for the situation, and a little sparrow hopped up, perfectly positioned in the center of the doorframe. He was so cute and tiny and plain. And I said, “Jesus, I’m so glad You said “sparrow.”
He said sparrow.
Right in the middle of some very heavy teaching (recorded in Matthew 10 and Luke 12), Jesus speaks one of the most comforting pieces of Scripture:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”
Jesus appeals to His audience and points to the low monetary value of a sparrow. Sparrows are common. Sparrows are small. Sparrows are not strong or stunning in the bird world. There was nothing “special” about them. I did a littler reading (on Bibleresearch.com) and read,
“The low financial value attached to the sparrow receives further support by the ‘Edict on Maximum Prices‘ (Edictum de Pretiis Rerum Venalium) that was set by the Emperor Diocletian in 301 CE. This edict fixed the price for a number of items ranging from crops and seeds to part and whole animals. The sparrow is listed as being the cheapest bird that could be used for food, being set at 16 denarii for 10 birds (see Prantl, 2011:374).”
I don’t think the point is exactly how much sparrows are worth or what exactly they were sold for in ancient, biblical times, but rather that they are small and common and insignificant, and not of monetary value, yet they are still cared for by our Father in heaven. He is high, yet He condescends to see even the tiniest, seemingly most unimportant details of our world. He sees the sparrow that falls. Jesus said that NOT ONE OF THEM FALLS without God taking knowledge and observing it’s tiny, weak frame. HE then clarifies the detail his observation and care reaches: He numbers, He counts, He knows the total count of hairs on EACH human head. He observes down to the finest and most minute details of life. Each aspect observed and noted with tender care. As David wrote in Psalm 56:8: “You yourself have recorded my wanderings.” (CSB) “You keep track of my sorrows.” (NLT) The God of galaxies and oceans is the God of sparrows and numbered hairs. He is the God who records wanderings and sorrows, not just grand feats and human ingenuity. He is in the little, the weak, and the insignificant as much as He is in the display of supernatural resources and divine power.
Jesus goes on to those gathered to hear Him and emphatically says, “FEAR YE NOT THEREFORE…” He commands them not to be fearful BECAUSE God sees the falling sparrow and counts the hairs on our heads. Then He carries on and states: “You are of more value than many sparrows.” If he sees the sparrows, I assure you He sees you!
This little thought brought to mind the famous hymn,
“His Eye is On the Sparrow:”
“Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
--Civillia D. Martin (1905)
WOW! This made me very curious about the origin of the song, for as I heard Mickey Mangun say yesterday (in a sermon entitled “Center of My Joy,”)
“Songs of pain seem to last.” (--Richard Smallwood)
The sweet story behind this song brought great encouragement today:
Civilla Durfee Martin (1866-1948) was born in Nova Scotia and died in Atlanta, Ga. In “His eye is on the sparrow” (1905), she has provided one of the most influential and often-recorded gospel hymns of the 20th century…
Martin was the daughter of James N. and Irene Harding Holden, and was a schoolteacher with modest musical training. Together with her husband, Walter (1862-1935), they often wrote gospel songs for revival meetings. “Be not dismayed” (UM Hymnal, No. 130) is an example of their collaboration…
Civilla Martin describes the context out of which the hymn was born: “Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheelchair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s response was simple: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.’ The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’ was the outcome of that experience.”
(From “History of Hymns: "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (Discipleship Ministries/The United Methodist Church https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-his-eye-is-on-the-sparrow )
“His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.”
No matter what happens today, no matter what the details of my life that unfold around me, HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW.
No matter what perplexing circumstances may arise, He sees down to the teeniest tiniest minutia. He observes with care and love. Nothing escapes His watchful gaze.
I am of more value than many sparrows.