"And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong. Alleluia!"

A POST FOR ALL-SAINTS' DAY:

Hymn: “For All the Saints” – William W. How (1823-1897)

Typical Tune: SINE NOMINE

Most of us would love to be brave of heart and strong of arm… like the biblical musician king, David.

I never saw the movie Braveheart. I am not into watch-the-exit-sign gore, and a friend of mine Steve Fullmer told me, “Do NOT see this movie, Rg. You’ll never make it through it.” So Carlita went to see it with our Denver dentist Wanda Dufrene. But I think of Mel Gibson running around in a kilt every time this hymn-line goes past!

This hymn-line is a reaction to having heard the “distant triumph song” of the saints who have gone before us into the realms of heaven… those who confessed their faith boldly for all the world to know… and who now rest from their labors.

If we could literally hear the songs of heaven ringing in our ears, I think our hearts would be strengthened, and we might more boldly, bravely stand up, stand up for Jesus as soldiers of the cross. The truth is I Can Only Imagine what that mighty chorus might be singing today, but I’m pretty sure a part of their repertoire is the great hymns of the faith, those they took with them to heaven, embedded deep within those brave hearts. “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty,” or “Crown Him with Many Crowns, the Lamb upon His Throne,” or “Great Is Thy Faithfulness, O God My Father.”

These distant songs of triumph sung by the heroes of the faith who stand face to face with Christ my Savior – these are the songs that may enliven my day and enbraven me, even when my heart is breaking and my physical abilities may have waned.

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength… soar like eagles… run without weariness… walk without feeling faint.” (from Isaiah 40:29, 31)

Listen up, y’all! Join in the triumph song! Let’s hear it!

Listen to This Hymn Being Sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir

“In every change God faithful will remain.”

Hymn: “Be Still, My Soul” – Katharina von Schlegel (1752)
Tune: FINLANDIA (Sibelius)

Change is inevitable. Have you heard that before? During my lifetime there have been more major changes than probably at any other time in history – especially socially and technologically.

I think I’ve said this previously, but the dictionary when I was in college defined the entry “computer” as “one who computes.” And here I sit typing on one, adding to a blog on the internet. When I think about it, that does not compute!

Most of us believer-types value greatly the faithfulness of God. For me, it is the most-valued attribute. And having gone through a lot of changes in the past several years (I won’t bore you with the details!), I am more aware than ever that the faithfulness of my God has not wavered.

This faithfulness which we attach to the changeless-in-change Deity is also at work in the less monumental alterations – the fluctuations – those changes which are tiny, almost unnoticed in our everyday existence. While I am glad to know that God is there in the seismic modifications, I am increasingly cognizant of his unaltered presence in those undetected changes.

In EVERY change – small, medium, large, extra-large - God faithful will remain.


A Rich Unaccompanied Arrangement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6HSrcTvMqU

“Keep us, Lord, O keep us cleaving to thyself and still believing.”

"Monument to Workers" from Hamilton Ontario

 [I'm back to the hymn we covered yesterday. I guess I have it on my mind and heart this week.]
 

Hymn: “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him” – Thomas Ken (1637-1711)
Tune: ACCLAIM

I know that “cleaving” is an archaic word, but here it seems so appropriate. While it means to cling faithfully, steadfastly, closely to someone or something, in this case I am reminded of the phrase “hanging on for dear life,” because our constant attachment to the Lord Christ is one which fits that description quite perfectly.

It’s that vine-branch relationship from John 15; we draw life from that to which we are attached… to which we cling – or cleave! This “dear life” which is ours – this precious, cherished, redeemed existence – is maintained only when we don’t lose our grasp – when we are not cut off from the Source.

As Thomas Ken reminds us in this brief prayer statement, we keep on hanging on because we still believe; we have a verbally indescribable confidence that this clinging connection is for our best – and is best for earthly bonds (family, friends, etc.) and is best for the Kingdom.

It is my prayer that THIS prayer will be YOUR prayer today and every day: “Lord, keep me hangin’ on.”


This song is counter to the message of the hymn,  
but what the heck:let the Supremes take you back!

"Then we shall be where we would be."

Hymn: “Praise the Savior, Ye Who Know Him” – Thomas Kelly (1637-1711)
Tune: ACCLAIM

[My wife Carlita reminded me of this hymn yesterday, and I realized I had done this posting in 2015. So I decided to post it again today while I have the power of this hymnline racing about through my mind.]

Here is the full last stanza of this hymn:
     “Then we shall be where we would be,
     Then we shall be what we should be.
     Things that are not now, nor could be,
     Soon shall be our own.”

This may sound like a riddle, but it is Kelly’s description of heaven… which has been for centuries misunderstood and elaborated upon. Unlike many hymn writers, he doesn’t describe the place to which believers go; rather he lines out the condition of those who arrive there.

He takes the “would’ve, should’ve, could’ve” quip a bit further into the spiritual realm, saying that we will achieve what we always wanted to be spiritually, we will become what we always should have been spiritually, and those things which we have labeled “impossible” in this life will be accomplished.

Kelly calls these (from the previous stanza) our “promised joys with thee.” While seemingly wrapped up in a riddle-esque statement, it is that to which most of us aspire in the next life. If only we could achieve it in this life: be what I would like to be, what I should be – and believe that the impossible can happen.

Wouldn’t that be a taste of heaven?

"There's within my heart a melody."

Hymn: "He Keeps Me Singing"
      Words & Music by Luther B. Bridgers (1884-1948)
Tune: SWEETEST NAME

Most of my hymn-lines are not the first six words of the song at hand, but today's gonna be different. As a life-long church musician, it just seems like the thing to do - the place to start - and ultimately the place to end up... with a melody in my heart!

You know the old song "With a Song in My Heart"? It's a 1929 song from the Rogers and Hart musical SPRING IS HERE. You don't know that Broadway show? Me either, but I do know this love song that has lived in spite of the musical's demise. Here are the lyrics to the refrain - the part you might vaguely recall:

     With a song in my heart I behold your adorable face.
     Just a song at the start, but it soon is a hymn to your grace.
     When the music swells, I'm touching your hand.
     It tells that you're standing near, and
     At the sound of your voice heaven opens its portals to me.
     Can I help but rejoice that a song such as ours came to be?
     But I always knew I would live life through
     With a song in my heart for you. 

You should be saying "Ahhh" about now. "Isn't that a sweet little love song?" I am, however, struck by the use of some very church-y allusions... especially coming from a pretty rough-living Jewish text-writer. It IS interesting that later in today's hymn, Bridgers used the line "always looking on his smiling face," which sure hints at the first line from the above show tune! "He Keeps Me Singing" was first published in 1910, so I guess we know which came first!  

A year after he wrote this hymn, the Methodist evangelist from North Carolina was away doing a revival when his wife and three sons were killed in a house fire. Unlike Horatio Spafford who penned "It Is Well with My Soul" in response to the decimation of his family, these words came before tragedy. Like most of us, Bridges was thrown by his losses and spent some time out of the pulpit - spiritually regrouping. He later remarried and continued his passion for evangelism as a local-church pastor.

I don't usually revert to hymn stories, because that's not my purpose here. However, the man with a song in his heart for Christ who whispered Fear not, I am with thee... in all of life's ebb and flow, meant what he said; he was able to re-hear that song in his heart, even through and beyond tragic loss.

To quote another old gospel song: Singing I go along life's road for Jesus has lifted my load.

So many times in the midst of our great losses, a melody comes along to sustain us... and with the melody comes a set of words. We are revitalized not only by turning to the Word of God in scripture, but also by the word from God we find in great hymn texts. And the name of Jesus is sweet enough to pleasantly flavor our lives once again... filling our every longing, keeping us singing as we go!

May you have a song in your heart today... and all the rest of your days! I'm gonna try. Wanna join me?

Hear this hymn Gaither-style.

BOOK IS READY!

My book of HYMN LINES is now available on Amazon!
Thanks to all of you who encouraged me to take this project on... and to Carlita for her patience and her proofreading -- the 100+ page book is now published and ready for purchase. I think it will make a great gift, especially for Christmas season.
Like the blog posts, it is basically a compilation of 75 devotional thoughts. Out of the more than 500 that I have written, I had to select 75!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1698321538/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Hymn+Lines&qid=1570733513&s=books&sr=1-1-catcorr