Had you read any of David Oliver’s original poems and hymns, you would have thought he could have been a very good poet or hymnist. Had you watched him warmly meeting and greeting people at a conference or at a social gathering of believers, you would have thought he would have made a very good politician. Had you worked with him on a linguistic task or revision work, you would have thought he would have made a very good editor of a major newspaper or magazine. But all of these positions would have been a huge step down from what he was and did – he was a servant of the Lord, who labored for the salvation of souls, the blessing of God’s people, and the furtherance and protection of God’s assemblies.
David Oliver was born June 26, 1944, and was saved on April 16, 1961, during meetings held by Mr. William Warke and Mr. Oswald MacLeod in the Bryn Mawr Gospel Hall. In 1974, he left his school-teaching job and, with the full commendation of the Bryn Mawr assembly, went forth to preach the gospel. He was a competent minister, a wise counselor, a stirring gospel preacher, and a very knowledgeable student of the Word of God. For 40 years, his labors among the Lord’s people richly blessed the assemblies of God. Countless souls heard him preach the gospel and many responded to his entreaties. The lives of numerous young believers were directed – and in some cases wonderfully redirected – by the truths they learned from him. His ministry to the Lord’s people often uplifted conferences and left an indelible impression on his hearers. During the funeral service, John Dennison pointed out that many of the young men that David influenced are now shepherds and teachers in various assemblies throughout the country.
For the last 10 years and more, his efforts to help in the local Philadelphia area were an invaluable blessing, particularly to the Bryn Mawr assembly.
He was a gracious fellow-laborer to all who worked with him. His love for the Lord was evident in the warmth of his worship, the zeal of his gospel preaching, and the faithfulness with which he handled divine truth. For David, his sudden homecall on February 26 meant instant glory and immediate translation into the presence of his Lord. For his family and friends, it seemed as though he went to heaven much too early and left us far too soon. He is survived by his wife Melody, son Rob (Becky), daughter Rebekah (John) Nesbitt, John (Maggie) Nobles, brother Alan (Judy), 14 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, numerous children in the faith, and all the believers who knew him. Whenever a Christian is taken home to heaven, our general reaction is to say that that person will be missed. In this case, that is eminently so.
That Cruel Tree
He’s the Lord, the great I AM,
Crowned with thorns by hateful man,
Lifted on a cross for all to see His shame.
Sneering, they blasphemed His Name.
Standing ‘round, they mocked His claim,
Numbered with two thieves, nailed to that cruel tree.
More than all the shame and pain
He must silently sustain,
Was the storm of holy wrath that He must bear.
God’s almighty stroke fell there,
Anguish no one else could share,
By His God, forsaken on that cruel tree.
He’s the Lord, the great I AM,
Crowned with thorns by hateful man,
Lifted on a cross for all to see His shame.
From above, the holy flame,
Fueled by Justice’s righteous claim,
Fell on Him Who bore sins on that cruel tree.
God’s dishonor from all sin,
Man’s rebellion deep within,
All – and more – the lowly Lamb alone could pay.
“It is finished,” He would say,
And death’s chains He’d tear away
In that garden tomb near to that cruel tree.
He’s the Lord, the great I AM,
Glory crowns the wounded Lamb,
Lifted to the highest throne, supreme acclaim.
Every saint will praise His Name.
Every age His worth proclaim,
But we never will forget that cruel tree.
– David W. Oliver
For those who wish to hear how That Cruel Tree can be sung, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tutc6jvri4o is a piano-only version (with lyrics on the screen) performed by David Oliver, and www.youtube.com/shorts/5kiJGe9HnBs is by his grandson David Nesbitt singing two of the verses a cappella.
