21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
The words and music of this song written by two former General’s of The Salvation Army mean so much to me that I find myself somehow returning to it quite a lot. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s a simple tune with such true and earnest words to it
Guardian of My Soul is Darren Shaw’s 2012 Salvation Army band arrangement built around two songs that share the phrase “Guardian of my soul” — his own worship song I Worship You and the classic hymn O Jesus, I Have Promised (tune: Aurelia). The “story behind” it is the devotional journey Shaw wanted to express: following Christ to the cross, finding grace, and resting in His protection.
Below is a clear, structured account drawn directly from grounded sources.
⭐ Core Story Behind Guardian of My Soul
The arrangement is essentially a musical meditation on discipleship and Christ’s guidance. Darren Shaw wrote new lyrics — I Worship You — expressing:
Christ as God’s only Son who leads believers to the cross
The believer’s healing and identity found in Christ
The assurance that Christ knows our name and our destination
Shaw then wove these new words and melody together with the older hymn O Jesus, I Have Promised, whose final verse contains the line “Thou Guardian of my soul.”
This pairing creates a dialogue across generations:
The Victorian hymn expressing lifelong commitment to Christ
The modern worship song expressing personal devotion and surrender
The arrangement’s purpose is to show that the same Christ who guided past generations continues to guard and lead believers today.
🎼 How the Music Tells the Story
The Salvation Army Music Index explains how Shaw structures the piece:
It begins tranquilly, inviting reflection.
Section A introduces Shaw’s own melody I Worship You.
Section B gently expands the texture with cornets and flugel.
Section C adds urgency with semiquaver movement, symbolising the believer’s journey toward Calvary.
A key change leads into the hymn tune Aurelia, representing the older promise: “Thou Guardian of my soul.”
The final section returns to I Worship You, now enriched by the earlier hymn’s assurance — ending in a calm, prayerful statement.
✍️ The Texts Behind the Music
1. Darren Shaw’s lyrics (1995/2005)
Themes include:
Christ’s sacrifice
Healing through His wounds
Following Him to Calvary
Knowing one’s identity and destiny in Christ
2. John Ernest Bode’s hymn (1866)
The verse containing “Guardian of my soul” emphasises:
Hearing Christ’s voice
Guidance through life’s storms
Commitment to serve Him to the end
Shaw intentionally connects these two texts to show continuity of faith across time.
🎵 Why the Arrangement Resonates
Grounded sources highlight several reasons for its popularity:
Simplicity and clarity make it accessible for many bands.
Deep devotional content speaks to listeners and performers.
The International Staff Band’s performances helped establish it as a modern classic.
It is often used in thanksgiving services, reflective worship, and moments of commitment, because its narrative — Christ guiding the believer from life to Calvary and into assurance — is emotionally powerful.
James Montgomery (1771–1854) wrote a huge number of hymns, many of which remain central in Methodist, Moravian, Anglican, and Salvation Army traditions. Here is a clear, structured list of his most widely‑used hymns today, drawn from authoritative hymn indexes and collections.
⭐ Most Well‑Known Hymns by James Montgomery
These are the hymns you will most often find in modern hymnals and worship settings:
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Go to Dark Gethsemane
Prayer Is the Soul’s Sincere Desire
Hail to the Lord’s Anointed
Stand Up and Bless the Lord
A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief (beloved in LDS tradition)
In the Hour of Trial
O Spirit of the Living God
Forever with the Lord
Shepherd of Souls, Refresh and Bless
📜 Additional Hymns by Montgomery (frequently included in hymnals)
These appear across many collections and reflect his strong devotional and missionary emphasis:
According to Thy Gracious Word
All Hail to God’s Anointed
Be Known to Us in Breaking Bread
Call Jehovah Thy Salvation
Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain
Daughter of Zion, From the Dust
Friend After Friend Departs
Gethsemane Can I Forget?
God Is My Strong Salvation
Heralds of Creation, Cry
Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright
O Bless the Lord, My Soul
O Where Shall Rest Be Found?
People of the Living God
Searcher of Hearts, to Thee Are Known
Sing We the Song of Those Who Stand
Songs of Praise the Angels Sang
Sow in the Morn Thy Seed
Spirit, Leave Thy House of Clay
Lord, Pour Thy Spirit From on High
📚 Montgomery’s Hymns in Classical Collections
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library preserves a large set of his original hymns, including:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
In the Beginning, God Said “Be”
Praise the High, the Holy One
The God of Nature and of Grace
The Lord Is My Shepherd
The Christian Warrior
Return, My Soul, Unto Thy Rest
O God, Unseen but Not Unknown
Bright and Joyful Is the Morn
Come Ye That Fear the Lord
Lord, Thou Hast Been Thy People’s Rest
Go Where a Foot Hath Never Trod
Spring Up, O Well
Ask, and Ye Shall Receive
These collections show how prolific he was—over 350 hymn texts appear in various indexes.
🕊️ Why Montgomery’s Hymns Endure
Strong biblical imagery
Deep devotional tone
Emphasis on prayer, mission, and Christ’s passion
Clear, singable English
Use across Moravian, Methodist, Anglican, and Salvation Army traditions
Luke 4:23 23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'”
When we are ill or have to attend our GP about something we depend on him to prescribe the right medicine along with the right advice and it is like wise if we have to see a consultant at outpatients at our local hospital. The same applies if we are unfortunate enough to land in hospital for a few days or weeks we have to put our trust in the doctor and nurses looking after us.
It goes without saying that the greatest Physician of all time was Jesus himself and how he performed all those miracles such as ‘making the blind man see & the lame man walk’ etc
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[c] in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits[d] thick.[e]18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[f]21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
There is a land of pure delight, where saints immortal reign, infinite day excludes the night, and pleasures banish pain.
There everlasting spring abides, and never-withering flowers: death, like a narrow sea, divides this heavenly land from ours.
Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood stand dressed in living green: so to the Jews old Canaan stood, while Jordan rolled between.
But timorous mortals start and shrink to cross this narrow sea; and linger, shivering on the brink, and fear to launch away.
O could we make our doubts remove, those gloomy thoughts that rise, and see the Canaan that we love with unbeclouded eyes!
Could we but climb where Moses stood, and view the landscape o’er, not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood, should fright us from the shore.
A Slightly diferrent arrangement to the traditional hymn
