“God gives a song in
the night season…”
HYMN: “God Leads Us
Along” – G. A. Young (1855-1935)
TUNE: GOD LEADS US
This one may go
further into the gospel song realm than some of you have lived. Though not
included in any of the hymnals we used in my home church, I learned it at local
Saturday night “singings” held at the even-more-rural churches in the area. However,
I find that many people know and love this lilting shepherd song that has
appeared in 83 hymnals.
During these weeks of
sheltering-in-place to avoid the Corona Virus, God seems to be giving people a
lot of songs… new songs… and these are being shared en masse. For some of us,
the song that God gives during this night season is an old, familiar one – one
that has ministered to us over the years and continues to do so. From “O God,
Our Help in Ages Past” to “In Times Like These,” many of us have found solace
and hope in that other sacred book: the hymnal.
A couple of years
ago, Mary McDonald and I did an anthem entitled “Stay Strong.” It had a
powerful back-story and gained a pretty good purchase base. The refrain really
could have been the theme song of this period in the world’s history. [I’m
attaching the audio below.]
In the middle of that
recurring section, this line comes up: “The stress of life may take away your
song.” It is probably the pivotal phrase of the entire piece; it is certainly
the one that more people have latched onto as that song developed into their
dearly-kept repertoire!
As we approached this
period of being isolated, I thought to myself: “I’ll use this time to write!
I’ll have lots of bonus time on my hands, so I’ll turn out lots of new hymn and
anthem texts.” Sure enough, the first one I turned out and posted online [“Hymn
for Streamed Worship”] has been sung all over the world… literally. But then,
with Elijah I seem to have had one of those “the heavens are as brass” kind of
dilemmas: nothing seemed to spin its way out of my Bic.
Composer friends of
mine have turned out some real masterpieces during these days and have posted
those on Facebook. But me? Nah! I have worked my way back into some previous
texts that have lain dormant, but nothing new has come my way. It has made me
wonder if my words from a couple of years ago have come to pass; has the stress
of life taken away my song?
As a creator of
texts, maybe so. But as a LOVER of texts, never! I have fallen back on my
brain/heart-stored collection of hymns, and the lines from those congregational
songs have continued to restore my soul, to lead me by still waters into green
pastures, to prepare a table before me.
I hope that is true
of you – that you are relying big-time on the songs you know… and maybe
grabbing a songbook to learn some that you need to know… and will turn to the
next time our world comes undone and we are separated.
Like an old, dear
friend, the hymnal becomes our hiding place… our strengthening place – our
reminder that we truly can “Stay Strong.”
“God of grace and
glory, in this night season – continue to give us a song… your song. Amen.”
____________
This Hymn from Gaither Homecoming
"Stay Strong" Anthem
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