"Everywhere that we may be, Thou, God, art present there."

"Everywhere that we may be, Thou, God, art present there."
Hymn: “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” – Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Common Tunes: FOREST GREEN, ELLACOMBE

We’ve all played hide-and-seek. When we were very young, we hid in plain sight… and still our older cousins pretended we were difficult to find. As we matured as hiders, our task was to become so well concealed that even the most-experienced seeker would be hard-pressed to discern our undiscoverable lair.

God is everywhere, according to this hymnline; we call it his omnipresent nature. He is at all places at all times – not one of the easiest attributes to truly comprehend. We need not think of God as “it” in a children’s covert game. While he may be in all places at once, he is not lurking about to tag us and send us running for another secretive location.

True, God IS everywhere; but my concept of his constant-presence is that he is also constantly available… to protect, guide, enlighten… to extract if necessary. He is also continuously accessible to listen – and perhaps speak.

If we have a predatory concept of the ever-present One, fearing his over-looking of our every move, we might check our legalism quotient. The scales of our lives might well be tilted away from grace.

“O LORD, you have searched for me and you know where to find me. You know where I sit and when I stand up. You are aware when I come into a room and when I exit; you even know when I lie down. Where can I go to get away from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I retreat to a high place or low place – even if I try to settle somewhere far away from home, even there you will be to guide me and hold me close.”  (from Psalm 139:1-3, 7-10 RgV)

Accept the reality that God is wherever you are, and take advantage of his presence. Don’t retreat to your hidey-hole and pretend he is absent. Lean on him; talk to him. Listen, learn, be safe. Enjoy the everywhere-ness of God.


The Ball Brothers Sing This Hymn

"Crown him with many crowns... and hail him as thy matchless King."

"Crown him with many crowns... and hail him as thy matchless King."
Hymn: “Crown Him with Many Crowns” – Matthew Bridges (1800-1894)
Tune: DIADEMATA

I heard a newscaster say, “For a horse to be royalty, it has to wear three crowns.” He was, of course, referring to the Triple Crown in horse-racing… a feat not achieved since Affirm’s 1978 victory.

This hymn's many-crown concept is scriptural (Revelation 19:12), but it is also a ‘picture this’ image. I understand that in eastern cultures, the official crown of a king was more like a turban, and every time he conquered another kingdom, a piece of cloth in that kingdom’s color was wound into the turban. Therefore the more colored strips in the crown, the more kingdoms he ruled. That is a much easier concept than envisioning a king with several golden crowns stacked up on his head!

When we understand this notion, the hymn calls us to give over more and more territory to the Lamb who sits upon the throne – that is, Jesus. That might be submitting more of our personal ‘turf’ (spiritual growth) or it might summon us to bring more people into the kingdom (evangelism) – or even to reach more world peoples (missions).

Recognizing Christ as our “matchless King” is an important step in our following after him. In worship at the church I attend, we sometimes sing the chorus “There Is None Like You.”  In a contemporary song, we are echoing this same sentiment: “You are matchless!” We need to revere Christ as the one-and-only truly holy Son of the Most High God. Until we put him in his rightful place, we come up short in our worship.

While the world awaits another Triple Crown champion, the church celebrates the victories of their multi-crowned King – One who was there before the race began and who knows no finish line.


Tenore Sings This Hymn

Garrett Martin’s Creative Improvisation

"In deeper reverence, praise."

"In deeper reverence, praise."
Hymn: “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” – John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
CommonTunes: REST (sometimes called ELTON), and REPTON

I love that many great poets - critically acclaimed, highly respected among literature scholars – wrote some meaningful poetic expressions of their Christian faith… and that some of those have been set to music, like this one.

The four-word phrase I’ve chosen for this hymnline is the ending of the first stanza. In context, it reads like this:
    In purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.

From pure motives may our service emerge. In the depth of reverence may we express our praise. What wonderful objectives for those of us who seek nearness to heart of God.

Reverence is becoming a rarely-practiced art. The noise of our worship doesn’t allow for that centering of our quiet self on “the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” (from Romans 11:33) Instead, the ecstatic joy of the Lord has become our strength.

Every now and then, though, the most exuberant worshiper has a strong craving to find the deeper reverence of solitude, one-on-One with the holy God… to be still and know for sure that God IS God.

Surface faith is nearly worthless. When the commitment and the submission are epidermic, it does little good… for the person or the kingdom.

O that we might in awe search out the depths of our faith experience – that we might be astonished at what we discover as the Almighty is quietly venerated. In the noiselessness, we might hear the still small voice more clearly and come away refreshed by the praise we render in the soundproof room of the soul.



Hear an A Cappella Singing of Two Stanzas of This Hymn (ELTON)

"What God's almighty pow'r hath made, his gracious mercy keepeth."

"What God's almighty pow'r hath made, his gracious mercy keepeth."
Hymn: “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above” – Johann J. Schutz (1640-1690)
Typical Tune: MIT FREUDEN ZART

It seems that our image of a strong, powerful public figure is one who takes control and keeps it, exerts his/her authority, flaunts their clout, commands allegiance. Get the picture? We rarely associate a person of might with an attitude of mercy; they seem mutually exclusive.

This hymnline reminds us that in spite of the fact that in his mighty power our God spoke all things into existence, he maintains his relationship with all he constructed, keeping it all safe in his merciful care. It is a much more true-to-scripture portrait of the worshiped One: strong, yet meek – tall, yet willing to stoop – in control, yet filled with concern.

We, his creation, are kept – protected, secured, embraced, nurtured, sustained – by the watchful, mercy-filled eye of our almighty, powerful Creator. What a way to live!


Congregational Singing of This Hymn

"O may my love to thee pure, warm and changeless be."

"O may my love to thee pure, warm and changeless be."
Hymn: “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” - Ray Palmer (1808-1887)
Tune: OLIVET

This is one of my favorite hymns. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I have several! This one would definitely make the top ten… most days! Rich in language and deep in theology, Ray Palmer has expressed his faith in ways with which I identify and resonate. This is definitely one of those texts that works as a devotional hymn as well as it does as a congregational expression.

The line of this prayer-hymn that I’ve selected for today helps us understand what it means to love in general… and in this case how our love for Christ is exhibited.

All of us express love in different ways. [If you’ve never read Gary Chapman’s THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES, get a copy. It’s NOT just a marriage-help book!] Whatever our way of expressing love, these three are foundational:

- Pure: not motivated by self-gain, without mixed motive, unpolluted.
- Warm: engaging, affectionate, expressive.
- Changeless: consistent, never in doubt, unswerving, dependable, constant, stable.

These define a loving relationship of any kind; these set the standard. They describe God’s love for us and kindle within us the longing to reciprocate.

This hymnline is the prayer of my heart. I hope you share that desire.

Mahalia Jackson Sings This Hymn

Footnote: Ray Palmer was a pastor in the Congregational church. He wrote several books and published his hymn/poem collections. His two hymns that are still widely used are this one and “Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts” – another of my favorites, of course!

R. G. Huff – 3/4/2014