When young he first worked on a dairy farm, then held an
office job in NYC. Clayton entered the building trades industry, working for
his father’s construction business, and during the depression, with a
commercial bakery. He married Martha Adaline Wistendahl, and they had two
children.
In the early 1940s, Jack Wyrtzen invited him to be an
organist with NYC “Word of Life” rallies. For 15 years he provided music, was
organist, vibraphonist, director of the inquiry room, and radio evangelist. He
created his own publishing house, and from 1945-1959 he published 30 of his own
songbooks. His company was eventually purchased by the Rodeheaver Company, and
he joined them as a writer/editor, providing other songs during that period. He
died at Carmel, NY.
Clayton stated: “I feel it is vitally important that every
song I write be biblically based.” He had the habit of writing the music before
the words. He made it a lifelong practice to memorize Scripture and tried, each
time he wrote the words of a song, to be sure that its message was clearly
biblical.
In 1942 he was working with Jack Wyrtzen's Word of Life
organization, providing music for both the radio broadcasts and crusade
meetings. He composed the tune Ellsworth that year and wrote the words
for this fine gospel song about a year later.
Clayton wrote hundreds of hymns and they were singable,
musically sweet and tender of sentiment. They reflected his evangelical
emphasis, focused on the saving work of Christ and the relationship with God
through Him
This hymn emphasizes the believer's assurance of salvation and eternal belonging to Christ. It reflects his commitment to writing music that is both theologically sound and accessible for congregational singing.
Lindsay Terry, in his book “Stories Behind Popular Songs and
Hymns” (Baker Book House, 1990) recounts the following story: “A missionary
named Roy Gustatson was invited to minister at a notorious prison in Jamaica.
He sang and preached the gospel that day to a thousand men. But then, a guard
asked if he’d meet with a small group of condemned prisoners who were to go to
the gallows in a couple of days. The consciousness that this would be the last
time these men would hear the gospel gripped him.
"To these men, starkly facing a Christless eternity, Roy gave
his personal testimony, and sang Norman Clayton’s song, 'Now I Belong to Jesus.' One man was a condemned killer. He said, 'I’m going to die on Tuesday morning,
sir. Can I be saved?' Adding sadly, 'I can’t read.'
"When Gustatson read him some salvation verses from the Word
of God, the man bowed his face to the dirt floor sobbing, and called on the
Lord to save him. Then, smiling through his tears, he asked for Clayton’s song
to be sung again and, with some help, he sang along. As the guard let the
evangelist out of the prison, he looked back and saw the man, waving his arms
through the bars, still singing, 'Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me, /
Not for the years of time alone, / But for eternity.'”
Biblerepository.com: The phrase “to give His life a ransom for many” is also crucial. It points to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, where He willingly gave up His life to pay for our sins. This act of love paid the price so we could be free from guilt and shame . . . Furthermore, the word “ransom” implies that Jesus paid a hefty price. His sacrifice was not trivial; it was a life laid down so that we could be free from the consequences of our own mistakes.
Biblerepository.com: The phrase “once I was lost” encompasses every person. It serves as an invitation for us to come out of hiding and into the light of Christ’s love. No one is excluded from His call; regardless of our life choices, Jesus is calling us to Himself. Every lost person has value, and this truth should resonate deeply in our hearts.
Godsbless.ing: This verse from the gospel of Luke captures the heart and mission of Jesus Christ as He walked the earth. Jesus’s mission to seek and save the lost speaks to the very essence of who He is and what He stands for . . . It reflects His compassion, love, and unwavering dedication to bringing back those who have strayed away.
Enduringword.com: This is the essence and distinctive of the gospel. We can notice the emphasis: of God . . . not by works . . . His mercy . . . He saved us . . . of the Holy Spirit . . . He poured . . . through Jesus . . . by His grace . . . heirs. God is always the initiator, and we receive from Him before we give anything back.
Studylight.org, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible: God's unmerited grace is the source of all salvation, and all the good works of a hundred lifetimes could never earn or merit the saving grace of God.
Studylight.org, Clarke’s Commentary: God has deeply rooted the idea of eternity in every human heart; and every considerate man sees that all the operations of God refer to that endless duration . . . And it is only in eternity that man will be able to discover what God has designed by the various works He has formed.
Godsbless.ing: The phrase “He has also set eternity in the
human heart” delves deeper into the idea of our innate longing for something
beyond the earthly realm. It speaks to the human desire for eternity, for
something greater and more meaningful than what we experience in this life . .
. This verse serves as a comforting reminder that despite the temporal nature
of this world, our souls are aligned with eternity and are meant for a deeper
spiritual connection with God.
“There never was a time in which God did not reign, in which He was not a supreme and absolute Monarch; for He is from everlasting. There never was a time in which He was not; there never can be a period in which He shall cease to exist.” (Clarke)
You who are saved. You will always belong to Jesus!
