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V7. Reflections: Oct.17

O That Will Be Glory

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: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (b. Aug. 18, 1856; d. Sept. 15, 1932)
Music: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel

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

Note: Charles Hutchinson Gabriel was perhaps the premier gospel song writer at the turn of the twentieth century. One song he published in 1900, in a book whose title fits our theme here. Using words from Psalm 66:2, the book was called Make His Praise Glorious. A fuller story of the origin of the song is given in the first of the two Wordwise Hymns links.

One of the most significant things about heaven is that it’s different from this present world. Remarkably so, endlessly so.

Even though there’s sometimes beauty and goodness around us, it’s never unmixed with its opposite. Shakespeare states it starkly:

“Comfort’s in heaven, and we are on earth,
Where nothing lives but crosses, cares, and grief.”

In contrast, heaven is far better in every way.

And given the pain and degradation of this world, and its temporary nature, shouldn’t we delight in the prospect of heaven? We do have to live here, and do business here for now, but God is preparing something far better up ahead. This should be reflected in our hymn books, but it isn’t always.

Back in the nineteenth century, before the discovery of wonderful healing drugs, it seems people thought a lot more about death, and getting ready for it. One hymn book from that period, sitting on the table beside me, has one hundred and thirty-seven hymns about heaven. But another from the late twentieth century has fourteen, and “heaven” didn’t even make the Topical Index. Maybe we’re getting more settled in, and satisfied with, this present world than we should be!

The Bible speaks of heaven more than five hundred times.

¤ Sometimes the sky, where clouds form and birds fly is what is meant by the word.

¤ Occasionally the term is used of outer space, the realm of the planets and stars.

¤ But often in view is “the third heaven” (II Cor. 12:2), where the throne of God is (Rev. 4:1-2), and the holy angels dwell (Heb. 12:22). Other names used for heaven include: “My Father’s house (Jn. 14:2), Paradise (II Cor. 12:3), the city of the living God (Heb. 12:22), and New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2).

Heaven is being prepared by the Lord as a home for all who are saved through faith in Him (Jn. 14:2-3). Christians are already called citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20), and there is an eternal inheritance reserved there for us (I Pet. 1:4). Christ is there now (Heb. 1:1-3), and it’s from heaven that He’ll return one day (I Thess. 1:10; II Thess. 1:7).

Heaven is a place of glory, illuminated by the glory light of God. “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb [Christ Himself] is its light” (Rev. 21:23]. But the word glory can also describe what’s glorious in the sense of being majestic, magnificent, and wonderfully praiseworthy. To give glory to God is to give due praise and honour to Him.

We are to “give unto the Lord the glory due to His name” (Ps. 29:2). Because God’s name (representing His person) is glorious (Ps. 72:19), and His work is glorious (Ps. 111:3), it’s understandable that heaven will be the place where God is surpassingly glorious and most glorified (Rev. 7:12).

The song in view, O That Will Be Glory, was an expression often used by Ed Card, the superintendent of the Sunshine Rescue Mission in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Card was a radiant Christian who just bubbled over with the joy of the Lord. Whether he was preaching or praying, he would frequently exclaim, “Glory!”–by which he meant, “Praise the Lord! Isn’t that wonderful!”

He often ended his prayers with a reference to heaven, adding, “And that will be glory for me!” Charles Gabriel’s joyful song memorialized Mr. Card’s phrase with this fine gospel song.

CH-1) When all my labours and trials are o’er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

O that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

CH-2) When, by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Christ looks forward to having us with Him in eternity, both to see His glory (Jn. 17:24), and to share His glory (Col. 1:27; 3:4).

Questions:
1) What will in mean for us to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ?

2) In what way(s) will we share in His glory (cf. Phil. 3:20-21)?

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

In the Field with Their Flocks

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: Frederic William Farrar (b. Aug. 7, 1831; d. Mar. 22, 1903)
Music: Chope, by Richard Robert Chope (b. Sept. 21, 1830; d. May 29, 1928)

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

Note: The hymn is a poetic paraphrasing of Luke 2:8-14. Regarding the tune, many books use one by John Farmer (1835-1901). In the Field with Their Flocks was written in 1871 by Frederic William Farrar, while he was an assistant master at Harrow School for boys in England.

Farrar was born in India, where his father was a missionary. Afterward he graduated with distinction from both Oxford and Cambridge, and became a celebrated prelate in the Church of England. By both his preaching and his literary output he gained international recognition. Later Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, he was also honorary chaplain to Queen Victoria.

The shepherds are a well known part of the Christmas story. But why? Why did God single them out particularly for a spectacular angelic visitation?

For an account of the birth of Christ and events surrounding it, we rely mainly on four Bible chapters, Matthew 1–2, and Luke 1–2. Mark mentions the birth not at all, leaping right into the work of John the Baptist and Christ’s years of ministry. John’s Gospel provides an important theological perspective on the birth in his prologue (Jn. 1:1-14), but gives no details about the event itself.

Luke begins his account with the birth of John, the one who’d be the forerunner, the announcer of the Lord’s coming, and Matthew takes us on through to the visit of the magi from the east, some months after the birth of Christ. In between, there is the miraculous conception in the womb of Mary, and the trip of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born. This is followed by the announcement of the birth to some shepherds (Lk. 2:8-14).

It was Rudyard Kipling who spoke of “six honest serving men” employed by reporters and historians every day. Consider Luke 2:11-12. What happened: the birth of Jesus; Why it happened: because of all us sinners needing a “Saviour;” When it happened: “this day;” How to identify Jesus: He is wrapped in swaddling cloths, and lying in a manger; Where He is: in the city of David (Bethlehem); Who He is: “Christ [the Messiah] the Lord [God in human flesh].”

But, again, how were the shepherds connected to the momentous event of the incarnation of the Son of God? The answer may lie in their proximity to the city of Jerusalem. Bethlehem, near where the shepherds were caring for their flocks, was situated about seven kilometres (4.5 miles) from Jerusalem. It’s likely, therefore, that these particular shepherds were keepers of sheep to be used in the temple sacrifices.

Couple this with John the Baptist’s presentation of the Lord Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29), and Paul’s description of Him as “Christ, our Passover, [who] was sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7), and we begin to see the link.

All the thousands of sacrifices under Old Testament Judaism were graphic pictures of what was to be fulfilled in Christ. The death of animals as innocent substitutes in place of guilty sinners pointed forward to the gospel message, “that Christ died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:1, 3). That is what made the message of Christmas “good tidings of great joy” (Lk. 2:10). The One to be the final Sacrifice for sin had come.

Many of our Christmas carols tell the story of the angels and the shepherds: Angels from the Realms of Glory, The First Noel, and more. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night follows the wording of Scripture quite closely. But we look here at another, lesser known carol, one notable for its poetic beauty. (In the third stanza, a “lay” is a song.)

CH-1) In the field with their flocks abiding,
They lay on the dewy ground;
And glimmering under the starlight,
The sheep lay white around;
When the light of the Lord streamed o’er them,
And lo! from heaven above,
An angel leaned from the glory,
And sang his song of love.
He sang, that first sweet Christmas,
The song that shall never cease.
“Glory to God in the highest,
On earth good will and peace.”

CH-3) And the shepherds came to the manger,
And gazed on the holy Child;
And calmly o’er that rude cradle
The virgin mother smiled;
And the sky in the starlit silence,
Seemed full of the angel lay:
“To you in the City of David
A Saviour is born today!”
O they sang, and we pray that never
The carol on earth shall cease.
“Glory to God in the highest,
On earth good will and peace.”

Notice, in the angel’s message to the shepherds in Luke chapter 2, the words, “You will find…” (vs. 12), and the immediate action of the shepherds, “Let us now go…” (vs. 15), and finally, “And they came with haste and found…” (vs. 16). There was a ready response to the gospel message. I pray that the invitation to seek the Saviour has met the same ready response in your own heart.

Questions:
1) What are the two significant actions of the shepherds, after they had found Jesus (Lk. 2:17, 20)?

2) If you too have found the Saviour, how can you do these things in the coming week?

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

There Is a Happy Land

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: Andrew Young (b. Apr. 23, 1807; d. Nov. 30, 1889)
Music: Happy Land, a Hindustani air, arranged by American musician Leonard P. Breedlove (nineteenth century, no specific dates available)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: In his early years Andrew Young served as head master at the Niddry Street School in Edinburgh, Scotland, then as head English master at Madras College in the University of St. Andrew. After he retired he served for more than thirty years as Sunday School Superintendent of the Greenside Parish Church in Edinburgh.

Young organized the children of the Sunday School into three departments, perhaps something new at that time. Another interesting innovation was to include training in music in the third department (possibly teens). Imagine how this must have improved the hymn singing of the congregation in later years. Maybe modern Sunday School superintendents should give this some thought.

Young’s song was used in the motion picture Arsenic and Old Lace, a comedy about two spinsters with a bizarre hobby, and also in the film The King and I. Laura Ingalls Wilder writes of her mother singing it, in Little House on the Prairie. In a later book she tells how some railway workers were singing a naughty parody of the hymn, but when they saw Laura’s mother coming, they stopped!

Happiness is that elusive state we’re all hoping to find. And the American Declaration of Independence calls “the pursuit of happiness” an “inalienable right.” At the time the Declaration was conceived, that seems to have meant a right to pursue prosperity and the acquire property, but it is more than that.

In the Bible, when the word “happy” is used, it seems rather to have an other-earthly dimension, referring to spiritual progress in one’s life, spiritual values, and the experience of God’s blessings. Modern translations of the Scriptures often replace the word “blessed” with “happy,” though the former word is richer than merely elated feelings.

Here are some people the Bible says are “happy” (NKJV). The nation of Israel (Deut. 33:29) ; the servants of Solomon (I Kgs. 10:8); the one whom God corrects and chastens (Job 5:17); the man who has many children (Ps. 127:4-5); the people whose God is the Lord [Jehovah]” (Ps. 144:15); the one who has wisdom (Prov. 3:13); the one who shows mercy to the poor (Prov. 14:21).

A number of verses speak of the happiness of the people of Israel because of the bountiful land God has given them (Deut. 7:13; 8:10; 28:8, 12). Canaan, the land of happiness for Israel in the Old Testament, has been taken by some hymn writers as a picture of heaven, the future place of happiness for the people of God.

One who did so was Scotsman Andrew Young. One evening, back when he was at the Niddry Street School, he was visiting in the home of one of his students. The Marshall family were all quite musical, and the student’s mother sat down at the piano and played a Hindu song with a striking melody. Young was impressed by the tune, and wrote for it some Christian words about our heavenly home.

The song was first sung by the student’s at Young’s school, and it soon was being used by Sunday Schools here and there. It was later translated into the languages of many other lands as well. It’s bright tune beautifully reflects the joy the words express.

CH-1) There is a happy land, far, far away,
Where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as day.
Oh, how they sweetly sing, worthy our Saviour King,
Loud let His praises ring–praise, praise for aye.

CH-2) Come to this happy land, come, come away;
Why will ye doubting stand, why still delay?
Oh, we shall happy be, from sin and sorrow free,
Lord, we shall live with Thee, blest, blest for aye.

CH-3) Bright, in that happy land, beams every eye;
Kept by a Father’s hand, love cannot die.
Oh, then to glory run; a crown and kingdom won;
And, bright, above the sun, reign, reign for aye.

One time, many years ago, there was a young man out hunting deer. As he made his way through the brush, he heard a woman singing. Soon he came to a clearing with a small cabin, and an elderly black woman, washing clothes, singing as she worked, “There is a happy land, far, far away.” As the hunter drew near he said, “Auntie, I see you are blind.” “No, Massa,” she I replied, “I is not blind. I can’t see you, nor these trees and rocks, nor dese yer mountains, but I can see into de kingdom, I can see de ‘Happy land, far, far away.’”

Questions:
1) How will it affect our daily lives, if we can see, by faith, the “happy land far, far away”?

2) What makes you happy today?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Crown Him with Many Crowns

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: stanzas 1, 5, 6 and 9: Matthew Bridges (b. July 14, 1800; d. Oct. 6, 1894); stanzas 2, 3 and 4: Godfrey Thring (b. Mar. 25, 1823; d. Sept. 13, 1903)
Music: Diademata, by George Job Elvey (b. Mar. 27, 1816; d. Dec. 9, 1893)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Matthew Bridges) (for another article see here)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: This great hymn (with a great tune) is the combined work of two hymn writers, Matthew Bridges and Godfrey Thring. The Cyber Hymnal gives nine stanzas all together, with some unusual phrases applied to Christ. For example (in stanza 9):

Crown Him the Lord of years,
The Potentate of time.

When Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne of Britain and several Commonwealth nations in 1952, a royal crown was placed upon her head.

Such a crown represents several things. It’s a symbol of recognized honour, and a symbol of the legitimacy or lawfulness of the monarch’s rule. It also is a mark of the authority that goes with the throne, and a reminder of the responsibility to rule well. That responsibility is no small thing. William Shakespeare wrote of it in his day, ““Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” suggesting the sleepless nights the ruler may face.

In the Bible, the word “crown” is used dozens of times. It appears in the Old Testament, after Israel becomes a monarchy. Of one instance we read, “He brought out the king’s son [Joash], put the crown on him, and gave him the Testimony [a copy of the Law]; they made him king and anointed him, and they clapped their hands and said, ‘Long live the king!’” (II Kgs. 11:12). When Esther became queen of Persia, the Bible says, “[King Ahasuerus] set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti” (Est. 2:17).

In the New Testament, two particular Greek words are translated “crown.” One is stephanos, which refers to a garland (often woven of oak leaves) placed on the head as an award for winning athletic contests. The ancients used these instead of the medals awarded today. “Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate [disciplined] in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown [stephanos]” (I Cor. 9:25). This word is also used of the various awards Christians will receive in heaven for their faithful life and ministry on earth (e.g. II Tim. 4:8).

A different Greek word is used for the royal crown that will be placed on the head of the Lord Jesus in recognition of His coming reign as “King of kings and Lord of Lords” (Rev. 19:11-16). In this case the Greek word is diadema, referring to a kingly crown, a royal diadem. This will appear to be “many crowns” (vs. 12) nested together, perhaps picturing Christ’s rule over all the kings of the earth.

Edward Henry Bickersteth, Jr. (1825-1906) was an English pastor, hymn writer, and hymnal editor. In 1866 he published a lengthy poem (filling nearly four hundred pages) called Yesterday, Today and Forever. It traces earthly history, with particular emphasis on the death and resurrection of Christ, and on His ultimate triumph yet to come. In dealing with Revelation 19:11-16, where we read of the heavenly crowning of Christ, Bickersteth piles phrase on phrase to give us some small idea of the thrilling glory of the scene. (The “hierarchal presbytery” refers to the elders around God’s throne (Rev. 4:4), perhaps representatives of the church.)

The Eternal Father slowly rising placed
A crown, which in itself was many crowns,
Upon the head of the Eternal Son:
And from amidst the throne a Voice was heard
Commanding Hallelujah. And forthwith
From cherubim and burning seraphim,
And from the hierarchal presbytery,
And from the Bride low at her Bridegroom’s feet,
And from the principalities and powers,
And hosts of angels rank’d in endless files,
As sounds the roar of mighty multitudes,
Or rush of many waters in still night,
Or thunders echoing from hill to cloud,
Arose that pealing coronation hymn–
‘Crown Him forever, crown Him King of kings;
Crown Him forever, crown Him Lord of lords;
Crown Him the glorious Conqueror of hell;
Crown Him the everlasting Prince of Peace;
Crown Him Jehovah, Jesus, Lamb of God,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen.’

In our hymn books, the hymn Crown Him with Many Crowns sounds a similar thrilling note. It enables a congregation, in some small way, to imagine and anticipate that glorious day when we rejoice before the throne.

CH-1) Crown Him with many crowns,
The Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heav’nly anthem drowns
All music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.

CH-4) Crown Him the Lord of life,
Who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife
For those He came to save.
His glories now we sing,
Who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.

Questions:
1) In the nine stanzas given in the Cyber Hymnal, what to you is the most thrilling title or description of the Lord Jesus Christ?

2) If Christ reigns in your heart today, what will that mean to your behaviour?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Matthew Bridges) (for another article see here)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

I Hear the Words of Love

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: Horatius Bonar (b. Dec. 19, 1808; d. July 31, 1889)
Music: Newland (or Gauntlett), by Henry John Gauntlett (b. July 9, 1805; d. Feb. 21, 1876)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Horatius Bonar)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: Scottish pastor Horatius Bonar was a strong evangelical preacher whose gospel tract Believe and Live had more than a million copies published. Often called “the prince of Scottish hymn writers” Pastor Bonar wrote more than six hundred hymns.

But there’s an oddity about his output of hymns. Until the very end of his life, none of his songs was sung in his own church! The reason is he served a congregation that believed only the Bible’s Psalms should be sung by the congregation. (They missed a blessing!)

Change. It’s a common word meaning to make or be different, to alter or be altered, to transform or be transformed. And in a slightly different application it can mean to substitute one thing for another, or exchange one for another.

In this world, in this mortal life, more things change than stay the same. Life is full of changes, and many of them are spoken of in the Bible. There we see a change of wages (Gen. 31:7); a change of clothes (Gen. 41:14); a change of night to day (Job 17:12), and of seasons (Song 2:11-12); money being changed (Matt. 21:12); a person’s mind changed (Hab. 1:11); and a tone of voice changed–from friendly to stern (Gal. 4:20).

Some changes are good. Over the years, we develop and learn. These are good things. When that doesn’t happen, for example, when an individual is mentally disabled, and as an adult can only think and learn at the level of a young child, we are sad.

And in other circumstances, when ill health or sinful habits cause a deterioration of abilities, those changes are not pleasant or welcomed. What’s likely needed in the first of these is medical treatment of some kind. What’s called for to deal with the spiritual problem of the second is repentance–a word that means literally a change of mind.

Repentance is not simply sorrow over the consequences of sin, or that we got caught, but an utter rejection and abhorrence of what has offended a holy God. “I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance [i.e. real change]” (II Cor. 7:9). Repentance is more than a feeling. It must lead to action. Paul preached that people “should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20).

In total contrast to these many changes in our lives is the utter changelessness of God. He declares:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor the son of man, that He should repent” (Num. 23:19). And “I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6).

This speaks of His basic nature and character. It’s not saying the Lord doesn’t do different things at different times. The incarnation of Christ, for example, was a historical event, and so was His death and resurrection. Now He “ dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him” (Rom. 6:9).

In 1861 Horatius Bonar produced a hymn that speaks of the contrast between what is changing and what is changeless. Bonar describes changes in himself, while celebrating God’s changelessness. The original hymn had ten stanzas, but only four or five are usually used now.

1) I hear the words of love,
I gaze upon the blood,
I see the mighty Sacrifice,
And I have peace with God.

2) ‘Tis everlasting peace!
Sure as Jehovah’s name,
‘Tis stable as His steadfast throne,
For evermore the same.

3) The clouds may go and come,
And storms may sweep the sky,
This blood-sealed friendship changes not,
The cross is ever nigh.

4) My love is oft times low,
My joy still ebbs and flows,
But peace with Him remains the same,
No change Jehovah knows.

7) I change, He changes not,
The Christ can never die;
His love, not mine, the resting place,
His truth, not mine, the tie.

8) The cross still stands unchanged,
Though heav’n is now His home,
The mighty stone is rolled away,
But yonder is His tomb!

Questions:
1) What changes in yourself in recent years do you regret?

2) What changes in yourself in recent years do you consider a blessing?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (Horatius Bonar)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Father in Heaven Who Lovest All

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: Joseph Rudyard Kipling (b. Dec. 30, 1865; d. Jan. 18, 1936)
Music: Pentecost, by William Boyd (b. _____, 1847; d. Feb. 16, 1928)

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

Note: Rudyard Kipling was an acclaimed English author of novels, short stories, and poems. His children’s books are considered literary classics. In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Though today he is sometimes faulted for being an advocate of British Imperialism, he is still widely read and appreciated. A few of his poems have been turned into hymns.

Father in Heaven, Who Lovest All was originally a poem in a children’s book called Puck of Pook’s Hill. In the book, a fairy named Puck periodically visits two children and tells them stories about ancient history and other things. As for the tune used here, Pentecost is commonly coupled to the hymns Fight the Good Fight, and Go, Labour On.

As I write this, the city of Houston, Texas, is continuing to clean up after the destructive pounding of Hurricane Harvey. The devastation is appalling. Homes simply blown to flinders, or so flooded with filthy water as to become uninhabitable.

Likely no structure in Harvey’s path was completely unaffected, but some certainly fared better than others. Solid structures on a firm foundation can withstand hurricane winds better. Construction today in areas that are prone to high winds is often done with that in mind. Buildings have a design and use materials that can withstand the storms.

High winds can actually lift the roof off a house. When that happens, the structure is seriously weakened and it becomes even more likely to face total collapse. The solution is first to lay down a stable foundation, then to pay greater attention to anchoring the upper structure, through the walls to that foundation. Windows and doors are especially vulnerable, but these can be reinforced in various ways. No building is absolutely indestructible, but careful attention to design can help greatly.

This has an application to the moral and spiritual realm. Society is facing many storms. Storms of moral perversion and degradation, storms of materialistic values, storms of violence, cruelty and international conflict, storms of political posturing, dishonesty and mismanagement, just to name a few. But though such things make the news today, they can often be traced to their hidden beginnings in individual upbringing and what happened in early family life.

Families are intended by God to provide the basic building blocks of society. As parents ground children in spiritual values they prepare them to make a positive contribution to community life later on. But to lift a question asked by David out of its context, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Ps. 11:3). How can we expect to build a righteous society when God is not honoured in so many homes?

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it….Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward” (Ps. 127:1, 3).

God exhorts parents to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Prov. 22:6). “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition [instruction] of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Children need to be taught God’s Word in the home, from their earliest years, as well as seeing, in their parents, living examples of biblical principles. That will lay a good foundation for life, and it will ultimately have its affect on the broader community.

Rudyard Kipling’s poem was intended as moral instruction for English boys, but it presents principles that have a much wider application, ones that would help to build a good foundation for life. (The line about bearing the yoke in youth comes from Lamentations 3:27.)

CH-1) Father in heav’n, who lovest all,
O help Thy children when they call,
That they may build from age to age
An undefilèd heritage.

CH-2) Teach us to bear the yoke in youth,
With steadfastness and careful truth,
That, in our time, Thy grace may give
The truth whereby the nations live.

CH-4) Teach us to look in all our ends,
On Thee for Judge, and not our friends,
That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed
By fear or favour of the crowd.

CH-5) Teach us the strength that cannot seek,
By deed or thought, to hurt the weak,
That, under Thee, we may possess
Man’s strength to comfort man’s distress.

Questions:
1) Beyond teaching them to trust in the Saviour, what do you believe are the most important biblical principles or character qualities children in the home need to learn and adopt?

2) How can local churches help parents with their roll in this?

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

Take Time to Be Holy

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: William Dunn Longstaff (b. Nov. 26, 1822; d. Apr. 2, 1894)
Music: Holiness, by George Coles Stebbins (b. Feb. 26, 1846; d. Oct. 6, 1945)

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

Note: William Longstaff was a friend and helper of both evangelist Dwight Moody, and of Salvation Army founder William Booth. He was financially well off, and supported Christian ministries with his money, as well as devoting time and effort to them.

One day, Longstaff heard a sermon by Griffith John, a missionary home to England from China. Dr. John spoke about the need for practical holiness, and the fact that it required a disciplined and committed life, over time. He called upon listeners to “take time to be holy.” It was that phrase that struck William Longstaff and he wrote this hymn about it.

You’ve likely seen it on a jar of coffee–the word “instant.” It tells us that, instead of having to wait some minutes for our coffee to percolate, we can simply add a spoonful of the granules to a cup of hot water and have a our drink immediately.

An instant is defined by the dictionary as a very short space of time, or a point in time that separates two states of being (e.g. the instant between life and death). There are things in our experience like that–such as the instant the first plane struck the World Trade Center in 2001. For many, that changed life forever.

Other things take longer. Trees don’t grow in an instant, neither does a baby. And many of us have come to the unfortunate realization that, just as we don’t get overweight and out of shape instantly, neither does dieting or exercise solve the problem in a flash. Following the decision to do something to improve our condition comes the need for discipline, and consistency in our behaviour, for many months to follow.

This kind of process is analogous in the spiritual realm to maintaining practical holiness. First, a bit of background. The word holy–along with other Bible words such as sanctified, hallowed, and consecrated–literally means separated or set apart. Usually separated from what is bad, and separated unto what is good, or set apart for God. A sanctuary is a holy place, and a saint is a holy person. (Same root word.)

God the Father is said to be holy (Jn. 17:11), as is God the Son, and the Spirit of God (Lk. 1:35). And angels called seraphim hover around the throne of God proclaiming:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:3; cf. Rev. 4:8).

As applied to God the word holy means He is completely separated from what is impure, unjust, and untrue. And the Lord calls on Christians to live holy lives.

“As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (I Pet. 1:15). “He chose us…that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:4).

None of us has arrived at a perfection of holiness in thought, word, or action, nor will we, until we go to be with Christ. But we are to aspire to be all that God desires, and there are two agents provided to assist us.

¤ One is the Bible. As the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father about His followers, “Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth (Jn. 17:17, Amplified Bible). As we read and study God’s Word, we learn what it means to live a holy life.

¤ The other Agent is the Holy Spirit, who both guides and empowers us to live a more holy, Christlike life, characterized as “the fruit of the Spirit” in us (Gal. 5:22-23).

Longstaff’s hymn talks about this in simple and practical terms.

CH-1) Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

CH-2) Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

CH-3) Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Questions:
1) What did you learn from your personal time of devotions today?

2) Do you have a written prayer list of people and ministries you pray for regularly? (If not, why not make one today?)

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

There Are Lonely Hearts

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: George Cooper (b. May 14, 1840; d. ____, 1927)
Music: Ira David Sankey (b. Aug. 28, 1840; d. Aug. 13, 1908)

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (George Cooper–see Item 4 about Warren Cornell)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

Note: Cooper was an American poet, remembered chiefly for his song lyrics. He also translated the lyrics of German, Russian, Italian, Spanish, and French musical works into English. Some of his lyrics were set to tunes by famed songwriter Stephen Foster. Cooper wrote the lyrics for the popular song Sweet Genevieve. The present song, written in 1881, is sometimes titled While the Days Are Going By.

Some sports, such as boxing, hockey and football, have a set time limit. Though the latter two often allow for overtime, they too are timed. Other sports, such as tennis, golf and baseball usually have no time limit at all.

Time, when it is a factor, has a definite affect on strategy. More that one football team has lost a game because they felt they were well enough ahead to insure a win, and eased up in the last quarter. Coaches remind them, sometimes in vain, to play the entire sixty minutes with full intensity and all out effort.

In a small way, this parallels our present mortal life. There is a time limit. One day it will be over. The difference is that the Lord has not seen fit to inform us when the end will come, or exactly how much time we’ve got. All the more reason to make good use of what God allows us.

Whether He gives us the Bible’s “threescore years and ten” (Ps. 90:10), or more, or less, that’s up to Him. What will we do with what we’ve been allotted? As someone has said, “Yesterday is a cancelled cheque, tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only currency God has put in our hands. We need to spend it wisely.”

The Scriptures use a number of symbols to convey the fleeting nature of our mortal lives. David says, “Our days on earth are as a shadow” (I Chron. 29:15), and “You have made my days as hand-breadths” (Ps. 39:5). And Job says, ““My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” (Job 7:6). And James asks, “What is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:14).

With this in mind, God exhorts us to make the best use of our allotted days. “So teach us [Lord] to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). “See then that you walk circumspectly [step carefully], not as fools but as wise, redeeming [making the best use of] the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

Notice the emphasis on living wisely. And if we are to do that, we must understand what God’s will is for us. Some aspects of that will be unique to each individual, but there are things that are true for all–three things beginning with the letter “s.”

¤ God’s will is our salvation, through faith in Christ (Jn. 3:16; II Pet. 3:9).

¤ God’s will is our sanctification–that believers would live holy lives, lives that please Him (I Thess. 4:3-8; I Pet. 1:15-16).

¤ God’s will is each Christian’s service for Him, using the gifts He has given us, to His honour and glory. Many Scriptures speak of our service. “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all” (Gal. 6:10; cf. Rom. 12:11; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 2:10; I Pet. 4:10, etc.).

My mother, many years ago, when she would hear of some sad occurrence, particularly the death of a loved one, would often say, “The world is full of sighs, full of sad and weeping eyes.” I didn’t know, when I young, that those lines came from a gospel song by George Cooper.

The song isn’t deeply theological, but it preaches practical Christianity, urging believers to serve the Lord by being a comfort and encouragement to those who are going through difficult times and trials.

CH-1) There are lonely hearts to cherish,
While the days are going by;
There are weary souls who perish,
While the days are going by;
If a smile we can renew,
As our journey we pursue,
Oh, the good we all may do,
While the days are going by.

Going by, going by,
Going by, going by,
Oh, the good we all may do,
While the days are going by.

CH-2) There’s no time for idle scorning,
While the days are going by;
Let your face be like the morning,
While the days are going by;
Oh, the world is full of sighs,
Full of sad and weeping eyes;
Help your fallen brother rise,
While the days are going by.

Questions:
1) Is there someone you’ve been able to encourage and help during the past week?

2) Is there someone you could encourage and help in some way this week?

Links:
Wordwise Hymns (George Cooper–see Item 4 about Warren Cornell)
The Cyber Hymnal
Hymnary.org

What Shall the Harvest Be?

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: Emily Sullivan Oakey (b. Oct. 8, 1829; d. May 11, 1883)
Music: Philip Paul Bliss (b. July 9, 1838; d. Dec. 29, 1876)

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

Note: American author Emily Oakey taught languages and English literature at the Albany Female Academy (in Albany, New York). Physically frail, Oakey only lived to the age of fifty-four, and it’s said she never enjoyed a single day of good health. She wrote a great deal for various newspapers and magazines, but she also authored this interesting gospel song.

T here are some big payoffs in gambling. Many millions of dollars. But there are big losses too–which is another kind of payoff. And, by its very nature, gambling always produces far more losers than winners. One Australian media tycoon lost twenty-eight million dollars during a three week span.

However, the word “payoff” can be used in a more general way, to speak of the consequences or the outcome of some decision or action. It can be applied to the return on an investment, whether it’s an investment of money, or of time and effort. An autumn harvest is a kind of payoff for all the work involved in farming, so is a college degree that follows several years of hard study.

In the Bible, sowing and reaping is used as a picture of sharing the Scriptures with others, especially as that relates to the gospel, the good news that Christ died on the cross to pay our debt of sin (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 1:16). The Parable of the Sower, told by the Lord Jesus, pictures the Word of God being sown in various kinds of soil. Each represents the condition of a human heart and its receptivity to the Word (Lk. 8:4-15). And though human beings pass on the message, it’s God Himself who causes the seed to take root and grow (cf. I Cor. 3:6).

Emily Oakey’s song, based in part on the Parable of the Sower, says:

CH-1) Sowing the seed by the daylight fair
Sowing the seed by the noonday glare,
Sowing the seed by the fading light,
Sowing the seed in the solemn night:
O what shall the harvest be?

Sown in the darkness or sown in the light,
Sown in our weakness or sown in our might,
Gathered in time or eternity,
Sure, ah, sure will the harvest be.

CH-2) Sowing the seed by the wayside high,
Sowing the seed on the rocks to die.
Sowing the seed where the thorns will spoil,
Sowing the seed in the fertile soil:
O what shall the harvest be?

Now, consider one life touched by this song. Walter O. Lattimore learned to drink in the army, and by 1876 he had become a confirmed drunkard, separated from his wife and child, and enslaved by alcohol. Some words of Shakespeare come to mind: “Oh, that men should put a thief into their mouths to steal away their brains!” But that was his state one evening when, somewhat intoxicated, he went through a wrong door, by mistake, and found himself in the Moody Tabernacle, in Chicago.

Dwight L. Moody was an evangelist greatly used of God on both sides of the Atlantic. Though not gifted in music himself, he made good use of it in his meetings. On the occasion described, Moody’s soloist Ira Sankey was singing when Mr. Lattimore accidentally entered the building–singing the words of Emily Oakey’s song.

When he turned to leave, Lattimore was arrested by Sankey’s words. They seemed to describe his miserable condition, and their message penetrated his darkened soul. (This is a stanza not currently found on the Cyber Hymnal.)

3) Sowing the seed of a lingering pain,
Sowing the seed of a maddened brain,
Sowing the seed of a tarnished name,
Sowing the seed of eternal shame:
O what shall the harvest be?

The man headed for the nearby saloon, as he’d intended, but those words echoed in his brain, and finally brought him back to the Tabernacle, where he put his faith in the Saviour. The Lord broke the shackles that bound him, and his life was transformed.

Lattimore was later reunited with his family, and began helping Moody in his meetings. Then, encouraged to study for the ministry, he eventually served twenty years as the pastor of a church in Evanston, Illinois. Lattimore also wrote a number of gospel songs himself. One of them is a kind of testimony to his own experience.

CH 1) Long in darkness we have waited,
For the shining of the light;
Long have felt the things we hated,
Sink us still in deeper night.

Blessèd Jesus, loving Saviour!
Tender, faithful, strong and true,
Break the fetters that have bound us,
Make us in Thyself anew.

God’s Word had borne abundant fruit in his life. What a payoff! (For more of this hymn and a lengthy–and sometimes quite amazing–biography of Walter Lattimore, see here.)

Questions:
1) What have you done in past years that has borne significant fruit (good or bad) in your life now?

2) What are you investing your time and energy in, now, that you hope will bear good fruit in the future?

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

Count Your Blessings

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: Johnson Oatman, Jr. (b. Apr. 21, 1856; d. Sept 25, 1922)
Music: Edwin Othello Excell (b. Dec. 13, 1851; d. June 10, 1921)

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

Note: Oatman was ordained by the Methodist Episcopal denomination at the age of nineteen, but his preaching was confined to pulpit supply in local churches as needed. He worked full time in the retail and insurance businesses. It’s asserted that he wrote the lyrics for 5,000 hymns, though few are still in use.

Simple arithmetic has been with us since ancient times, likely since Eden. In the Bible, forms of words such as number, count, and add, are found over four hundred times. Such things have always been a part of our lives.

When Israel was delivered from Egypt the Lord instructed Moses to take a census (a numbering) of the people (Num. 1:2-3). But some things are countable; others are beyond calculation. God told Abraham that his descendants would be as impossible to count up as it would be to count stars in the sky or sand on the seashore (Gen. 13:16; 15:5). In his conservation program in Egypt, preparing for a coming famine, Joseph stored up so much grain he finally stopped counting the amount (Gen. 41:49).

God not only keeps track of every star in the sky, He calls them all by name (Ps. 147:4). But all the wonderful works of God are innumerable (Ps. 40:5).  When the Apostle John was given a vision of the future, he saw a multitude of holy angels and human beings around God’s throne that’s virtually uncountable: “The number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Rev. 5:11).

Two interesting examples of counting are found in the Gospels. Peter wanted to know how many times he was obligated to forgive someone who wronged him, and he suggested to Christ what he thought was a reasonable number: seven times. Some of the rabbis were saying three times was the limit, so Peter supposed he was being extra generous! But the Lord told him he should be forgiving “seventy times seven”–which was a way of saying our willingness to forgive others should have no limit (Matt. 18:21-22).

In the parable of The Lost Sheep, Jesus tells of a shepherd who had the care of a hundred sheep. But when even one was lost, he went out seeking it. When it was found he was so happy he called his friends and neighbours to celebrate the rescue with him. The comparison the Lord draws from this is that there’s joy in heaven when one sinner repents (Lk. 15:3-7).

One of the things that believers need to keep counting–though they too are virtually innumerable–is the blessings of God. “How precious also are Your thoughts to me [you purposes for me], O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand” (Ps. 139:17-18). “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits….who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies” (Ps. 103:2, 4).

If you’ve ever had a chance to see Thornton Wilder’s wonderful play, Our Town, or have watched the 1940 movie version, you have an example of someone learning to treasure and count up the blessings of each day. Wilder said of the work that it was “an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.”

The drama is not explicitly Christian, but the children of God should be able to see beyond its gentle wisdom an even greater reason to praise the Lord concerning things all around us. The hidden hand of God is at work in our lives every moment of the day. Even the difficulties and trials we face can be turned to a good and loving purpose by the Lord (Rom. 8:28).

Celebrating the multiplied gifts of God is the theme of an 1897 gospel song by Johnson Oatman, Jr. It has justly remained popular for over a century, because it challenges us to review our daily blessings, saying the attempt to do so will bring some surprises.

CH-1) When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

CH-2) Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

Add them up, and you’ll have many–and sometimes surprising!–reasons to praise God!

Questions:
1) Can you name three blessings of God you received yesterday?

2) How could you be a blessing in someone’s life today?

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

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