Hymn: “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee” – 12th
Century Latin Hymn
Translated
by Edward Caswall (1814-1878)
Typical Tune: ST. AGNES
What is it about the very speaking of the name of Jesus that
warms us like it does? Or why is it when we hear someone using his name as a
form of swearing that we are so chilled to the bone? Unless you’re sitting at
your desk at work surrounded by lots of other people, take a minute and speak that wonderful name of Jesus out loud a
few times… naturally, not forced… as if you were talking to him face to face,
starting or ending a sentence with that declaration.
Now wasn’t that brilliant? Isn’t it magnificent to magnify the precious name of Jesus? To
quote Gloria Gaither, “There IS just
something about that name.”
But even better is when those two
syllables are intoned… sung! That is why congregational singing is one of the
most electrifying experiences we Christians can enjoy together. Truly, when we
sing, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus: sweetest name
I know! It fills my ev’ry longing and keeps me singing as I go,” something
in us is stirred because for those of us to whom singing is a priority, we have
sung exactly what we believe!
As whole-heartedly as we may try
to express (frame) our faith, words will never do. We can bring back to mind
some of the greatest sounds we’ve encountered during our entire lives, but even
then we cannot seem to find a sweeter sound than those two syllables.
Ponder these three lines, praying
them one at a time:
·
In my best voice, I am not able to sing a
sweeter sound than thy blest name, O Savior.
·
My heart cannot frame (construct) a sweeter
sound than thy blest name, O Savior.
·
Nowhere in my memory can I find a sweeter sound
than thy blest name, O Savior.
This hymn-writer said it so well,
so succinctly – so beautifully. That’s why when we stumble across this kind of
hymnody, we are drawn back to it over and over again. And I am here to remind
you why!
Brigham Young Combined
Choirs Sing This Hymn
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