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U7. Reflections: Sep.17

As the Deer

Graphic Bob New Glasses 2015HOW TO USE THIS BLOG
1) The Almanac. Click on the month you want in the side-bar, then the specific date. The blog will tell you what happened in hymn history on that day.
2) Reflections. There is always a current article on a hymn. But you can find many others by clicking on the Index tab. (More being added all the time.)
3) Topical Articles are opinion pieces on many aspects sacred music.
4) To Donate. If you can help with the cost of developing and maintaining this site, click on the “Support” tab above and the page will show you how.

Also see 30+ Ideas for Promoting Hymn Singing in your church. As others have contributed ideas, this wonderful resource has grown to over 80 items now. And, for more than three dozen reasons why congregations should still use hymn books rather than merely projecting words on the wall, see The Value of Hymn Books.

Words: a meditation on Psalm 42:1 by Martin L. Nystrom (b. Oct. 17, 1956, some erroneously have 1957)
Music: Martin L. Nystrom

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (none)
The Cyber Hymnal (Martin Nystrom)
Hymnary.org

Note: Hymnary.org has more detail on Nystrom’s biography. His is a popular contemporary version of the opening of Psalm 42. A longer, metrical version of the psalm from 1562 is As Pants the Hart for Cooling Streams.

Thirst. It’s something we’re familiar with. On a hot day, or after physical exertion, our mouth is dry, and we may even feel a little light-headed, or find our muscles cramping. We want and need something to drink.

The body’s thirst monitor in the brain is the hypothalamus, an organ that also regulates such things as body temperature, sleep, and appetite. When sodium levels in the body are high–for example, after we eat a salty snack–the message is sent out that we need to drink something. The same thing happens when blood pressure drops to a low level (suggesting a lack of fluids in the body).

Surprisingly, this sensitivity decreases with advancing age, sometimes to the point where the individual loses the sense of thirst completely. Or, the opposite can happen. Certain diseases or conditions cause an extreme and uncontrollable thirst.

The word “thirst” itself has been around for centuries, and it’s been used since the early thirteenth century, not only of a physical craving, but of emotional desires as well. With reference to the emotions, thirst describes an ardent desire, a yearning, a craving or passion for someone or something. A person may thirst in this way for knowledge, or for truth. Or strongly desire the presence and affection of another individual. When the latter is not controlled by dependence on God and moral convictions it can become sinful lust.

The Bible uses the word thirst many times. Sometimes a physical thirst is in view. The Israelites thirsted for water in their journey through the wilderness (Exod. 17:3). The Lord Jesus thirsted during His agony on the cross (Jn. 19:28). And in describing the hardships of his missionary work, the Apostle Paul spoke of being “in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst” (II Cor. 11:27).

But the thirst God’s Word describes as more significant is emotional and spiritual. In warning of coming judgment on Israel, the Lord says, “I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11). And in the Beatitudes, Christ says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6).

In John’s Gospel, we learn that eternal life comes through a spiritual birth, which is an inner work of the Holy Spirit, a ministry symbolized by water. Jesus says, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (Jn. 4:14). And later, “Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink’” (Jn. 7:37; cf. Isa. 44:3).

In Psalms, David uses thirst as poetic imagery to express his intense longing for fellowship with God.

“Early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:1).

“As the deer pants for the water brooks [perhaps as it flees from a hunter], so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42:1-2).

It is these last verses that Martin Nystrom turned into a hymn in 1984. A Seattle school teacher in his mid-twenties, Marty enrolled in a six-week summer course in Dallas, chiefly so he could get to know a girl who was also taking the course. However, things didn’t work out romantically with her, and he was heart-broken and discouraged. It was then, after a period of fasting and prayer, he said, “My spirit became more and more hungry for communion with God.”

Sitting at the piano with this heart desire, he wrote a musical setting for Psalm 42:1. Ten years later he was thrilled to hear a gathering of 100,000 believers in Seoul, Korea, sing his song, which begins:

As the deer panteth for the water,
So my soul longeth after You.
You alone are my heart’s desire,
And I long to worship You.

Significantly, given Nystrom’s prior romantic disappointment, the second stanza of his hymn says, “I love You more than any other,” and, in the final stanza, “only You can satisfy.”

Questions:
1) Do you have a deep thirst or hunger for God, and His Word?

2) If you do, how does it express itself? (If you don’t, what might be the reason?)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (none)
The Cyber Hymnal (Martin Nystrom)
Hymnary.org

Standing on the Promises

Graphic Bob New Glasses 2015HOW TO USE THIS BLOG
1) The Almanac. Click on the month you want in the side-bar, then the specific date. The blog will tell you what happened in hymn history on that day.
2) Reflections. There is always a current article on a hymn. But you can find many others by clicking on the Index tab. (More being added all the time.)
3) Topical Articles are opinion pieces on many aspects sacred music.
4) To Donate. If you can help with the cost of developing and maintaining this site, click on the “Support” tab above and the page will show you how.

Also see 30+ Ideas for Promoting Hymn Singing in your church. As others have contributed ideas, this wonderful resource has grown to over 80 items now. And, for more than three dozen reasons why congregations should still use hymn books rather than merely projecting words on the wall, see The Value of Hymn Books.

Words: Russell Kelso Carter (b. Nov. 18, 1849; d. Aug. 23, 1928)
Music: Russell Kelso Carter

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (for another article on this hymn see here)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: Carter attended the Pennsylvania Military Academy, where he was a good student and an excellent athlete. Mr. Carter later became a teacher at the academy–of chemistry, natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. Then, the year after he published the present song, he was ordained as a Methodist clergyman. And as if those career changes were not enough, he later trained and became a medical doctor! Along the way, he wrote many hymns, and co-edited a hymn book. And you can add to that his time as a sheep rancher, and the fact that he was a published novelist. That’s surely enough for more than one lifetime!

The lyrics of the song are good. But gospel musician Norman Johnson (1928-1983) felt Carter’s rather bouncy, and sometimes overly hurried melody did not suit the serious subject. He wrote a new tune called Turlock, named after the California city where he was married. It has since appeared in a couple of hymn books: Praise! Our Songs and Hymns, and Hymns for the Family of God.

Peter Marshall (1902-1949) was a Scottish-American pastor. He also served as the esteemed chaplain of the United States Senate. Marshall was know for his colourful and insightful prayers. Some of them may make us smile, but they often sharply strike the conscience. Once he prayed:

“Give us a clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for–because, unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.”

That says a great deal. First, it’s an appeal to God to give us the spiritual insight, to see the significant issues of life with clarity. Then to be equipped to choose what is right and wise, and take our stand there. Without a consistency of personal convictions, we’re open to any foolish notion or moral perversity that has become the fad and fashion of the moment.

The word “stand,” used the way Peter Marshall does, refers to our values and priorities, our attitude concerning what is true and good. It is used in a number of compounds. We can stand for something; or stand on it; we can stand by our decision; we can stand with others.

The word is used in the Bible hundreds of times, with a wide variety of applications. But let’s consider a few New Testament examples that relate to the present theme. When we put our faith in Christ as our Saviour, the One who paid our debt of sin, we receive not only forgiveness, but God’s gift of eternal life (Eph. 1:7; Jn. 3:16).

It’s then we could be described as standing knee-deep in the grace–the unmerited favour of God. “We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Rom. 5:2; cf. I Pet. 5:12). Not only are we saved, through faith in Christ (Eph. 2:8), but we are exhorted to live by faith, with an ongoing trust in God (II Cor. 5:7). “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (I Cor. 16:13).

There is also encouragement to study and stand steadfastly on the teachings of the Word of God. “Stand fast [firm] and hold the traditions [Christian teaching handed on] which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (II Thess. 2:15). “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). This further relates to our stand against Satan, the enemy of our souls.

We’re exhorted to “put on the whole armour of God, that [we] may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). And a key piece of equipment for spiritual warfare is “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (vs. 17). We are to take our stand, by faith, on the promises of God, “for we [believers] shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” to give account (Rom. 14:10).

In 1886, Kelso Carter wrote words and music for a gospel song expressing this theme. His song says:

CH-1) Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Saviour;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

CH-4) Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Questions:
1) What are the most important things you personally stand for?

2) Why do you stand for these things above all?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (for another article on this hymn see here)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

He Rose Triumphantly

Graphic Bob New Glasses 2015HOW TO USE THIS BLOG
1) The Almanac. Click on the month you want in the side-bar, then the specific date. The blog will tell you what happened in hymn history on that day.
2) Reflections. There is always a current article on a hymn. But you can find many others by clicking on the Index tab. (More being added all the time.)
3) Topical Articles are opinion pieces on many aspects sacred music.
4) To Donate. If you can help with the cost of developing and maintaining this site, click on the “Support” tab above and the page will show you how.

Also see 30+ Ideas for Promoting Hymn Singing in your church. As others have contributed ideas, this wonderful resource has grown to over 80 items now. And, for more than three dozen reasons why congregations should still use hymn books rather than merely projecting words on the wall, see The Value of Hymn Books.

Words: Oswald Jeffrey Smith (b. Nov. 8, 1889; d. Jan. 25, 1986)
Music: Bentley DeForest Ackley (b. Sept. 27, 1872; d. Sept. 3, 1958)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Oswald Smith)
The Cyber Hymnal (Oswald Smith)
Hymnary.org

Note: Oswald Smith was the pastor of a large church in Toronto for many years, a church well known for its support of world missions. Dr. Smith also wrote about twelve hundred hymns.

It happens every four years. What we call leap year adds another day to the month of February. The reason that’s needed is that earth’s journey around the sun, defining our calendar year and its seasons, takes about 365¼ days. If no allowance were made for the fraction, eventually our summer would be in the winter! February 29th puts us back on track.

Those who are born on that date can only celebrate their actual birth date every four years. Most compromise by partying on February 28th or March 1st the other three years. Hymn writers are not immune to this complication. John Byrom (1691-1763), the author of the Christmas carol Christians Awake, was born on February 29th.

A more unusual phenomenon is having February 29th fall on a Sunday. (The last one was in 2004, and the next comes up in 2032.) Back in 2004, at the church where I served as pastor, we planned to make the worship service on that Sunday as unusual as the date. Noticing that February 29th fell about halfway between Christmas and Easter, we decided to have a program combining the two themes.

At the front of the church was a rugged wooden cross. On one arm of the cross we hung a Christmas wreath, on the other a scarlet cloth representing the shed blood of Christ. The music that day involved both Christmas carols and Easter hymns. My sermon was entitled “The Cradle and the Cross.”

Jesus was born in Bethlehem around 5 BC, and He was crucified on Calvary, outside the city of Jerusalem, in AD 30. But those two events are inseparably bound together in the purposes of God. In a real sense, Christ came to earth to die. Though that was not the only purpose of His coming, it was a dominant one.

As an angel told Joseph, “She [Mary] will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). And Jesus said He came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:45). Yes, He died. But as the eternal Son of God, Christ had power over death:

“I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. (Jn. 10:17-18).

In prophecy, He said, “You will not leave my soul in Sheol [the place of the dead], nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Ps. 16:10). And Peter, preaching on the Day of Pentecost announced, “God [the Father] raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him” (Acts 2:24, NIV).

We generally sing Christmas carols only around Christmas, but seem to do better with hymns about Christ’s death and resurrection. Easter hymns should not be confined only to one Sunday a year. American hymn writer Bentley Ackley thought so. In 1944 he wrote to his friend, Canadian pastor Oswald Smith, asking if he’d write something on the resurrection, with no mention of Easter, a song that could be used all year round.

Oswald Smith read the words of Mr. Ackley in his letter:

“We are all making a mistake in using certain songs only at Easter time, when the centre of our salvation is wrapped up in the resurrection.”

The comment brought to mind some lines of verse Smith had written a few years before, during a time of illness. (He suffered from bouts of malaria, contracted in his travels abroad.) As he lay in bed, he listened to his son Paul improvising on the piano. The words he wrote seemed to follow the metre of the music. He forwarded these to Ackley when set them to music of his own, and they became the hymn He Rose Triumphantly.

1) Our blessed Lord was slain,
The Christ who came to reign,
And in the grave He lay,
To wait the coming day.

He rose triumphantly,
In pow’r and majesty,
The Saviour rose no more to die;
O let us now proclaim
The glory of His name,
And tell to all He lives today.

3) The stone was rolled away,
For Christ was raised that day;
And now He lives above
To manifest His love.

Questions:
1) Why was the resurrection of Christ necessary?

2) What does the resurrection mean to you in your life today?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Oswald Smith)
The Cyber Hymnal (Oswald Smith)
Hymnary.org