Tune: I AM THINE
“Why so downcast, O my soul?” asks the Psalmist. (42:5) In the lives of biblical heroes like Elijah and Jonah, we find them in this moping stage. This state-of-being is not something new.
In today’s culture, most people seem to walk looking down; have you noticed that? The heads-up, confident gait is rare. Even when not texting, folks seem to be more concerned with their immediate path than where they are headed. I admit that after a couple of falls, tripping over an un-level paver in the sidewalk is not something any of us look forward to!
The question we have to ask ourselves is whether or not our inner-selves… our souls… are downcast? Are we concentrating on the problems that might arise? Are we afraid we might trip up? Are we already up to our knees – or necks – in difficulty?
In almost every hymn by Fanny Crosby, the blind poet throws in a “seeing” analogy. This use of “look” is the one she uses here.
Like the hymn “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” this phrase calls us to “turn (y)our eyes upon Jesus” with a great sense of hope – to return to a more confident faith-walk, no longer watching our feet, but looking ahead for the “footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow,” believing that they will never lead us where we should not go.
The line appropriately completes itself like this: “Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in thine.”
Chin down? Chin up? Soul down? Soul up? These are reasonable questions to ask as we walk through life. Like in most things, the up-side seems preferable, don’t you think?
Listen to a Celtic Setting of This Hymn.
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