Hymn for This Day

I don't think I've posted this hymn before; but on this 16th anniversary of the event for which it was written, it seemed like a good idea.

This was published online by LifeWay the week after 9/11 for churches to download and use the following Sunday. Several did... and have used it for other similar tragedies since then. I thought maybe I'd re-share it on Facebook, just in case anybody needs it, especially with all that's going on in the world right now... hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, uprisings, etc.

"It tells me what my Father has in store for every day."

Hymn: “There Is a Name I Love to Hear” – Frederick Whitfield (1829-1904)

Tune: OH, HOW I LOVE JESUS

The ‘it’ in this sentence hearkens back to the name I love to hear – that is, of course, the name of Jesus. The recurrence of the communicating-name of Jesus reminds me of many things, but one is the reassurance that God knows the plans he has for me – that he knows what he has stored up for me today.

I just returned from a trip to the local supermarket. They were not stocked up with all the things I went to purchase for this week. So I had to go to Wal-Mart to get the remainder of the things on my list.  That’s one of the real drawbacks to living in a small town with limited grocery access! I was already singing these words to myself, so the words in store became even more evident.

As it is with most realities about the wisdom and wonder of Almighty God, what he has in store – shelved for me - is an unknown… until it happens – until I start shopping my way through the day. “Clean up on aisle fourteen,” has to be a part of some of our days, you understand!

But the next line of this hymn says, “And though I tread a darksome path, (his love) yields sunshine all the way.” In other words, there is hope with each new day’s path, even those which may be dark. And we must admit that sometimes there are several darksome days in a row. Even so, Lord Jesus quickly comes and brightens some part of our path… enough to see us through.

The love of Christ indwelling me makes it possible for me to be kind, generous, helpful, appreciative to people I come across on my darksome path because they, too, may be in the same seemingly endless forest in which I find myself today. I can spare a little sunshine through my God-provided good graces.

Keeping my chin up may not be easy on those funk-filled days – sometimes brought on by others, sometimes self-imposed; however, I keep reminding myself that God knows, and that his love is reminding me to stick with his plan and to walk in the light provided.

I have little concern about the life which is to come: the afterlife, if you will. I have that taken care of – signed, sealed, one day to be delivered into the presence of Christ himself. The things of this earth: these are the things that weigh upon me. From another hymn:  And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

 

PS: Because this is the third stanza in most books, you may not know this one as well as the others. In fact, I couldn’t find an on-line recording that includes it! Oh, the poor, unappreciated plight of the third stanza – often times the meatiest of all!

"Just when I need him, Jesus is..."

Hymn: “Just When I Need Him Most” – William C. Poole (1875-1949)

Tune: GABRIEL

The man who wrote this hymn died the year I was born, so it’s obviously an old hymn!

This gospel song is all about the constant availability of Jesus in our lives, and it describes for us who he is. According to this text, Jesus is

- near

- ready

- true

- giving

- strong

- never forsaking

- bearing my burdens

- answering

- tender

- watching

- comforting

- cheering

- giving a song.

What a great description of the friend we have in Jesus – and a great list for us to follow when we seek to be a friend to others… or when we are seeking out friends for ourselves.

The hymn also says “he is my all.” That puts him at the top of my list of loved ones. It’s a hard concept to understand or describe, but it prioritizes all others somewhere beneath him.

For me, it is comforting to know that “Jesus is”… period. Within all the descriptors included in this hymn text, I am reminded of the perpetual presence of Christ. He is persistent in his hanging around to be sure he is carrying out all the things on that list… continuous, unceasing – even relentless.

Just when I need him, Jesus is.

Sung by Catherine Gorman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=NoOAeVQ45Jg

"If our love were but more simple, we could take him at his word."

Hymn: “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” – Frederick W. Faber (1814-1863)

Various Tunes

This hymn text doesn’t get enough ‘air time’ in worship because it has yet to land on just the perfect tune. The ones assigned to it over the years have never matched the words in such a way to truly display the depth of the text. That’s too bad, because it is a rich discourse on the mercy of the heavenly Father penned by the English hymn-writer who gave us “Faith of Our Fathers.”

Because it is chock full of my personal theology, this hymn-line is one of three from “There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” that I have covered in this blog.

I’m forever telling my students that art doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective… or perhaps even beautiful. Some visual artists have so much happening on the canvas that we just move on to the next one because we are confused. Music may be the worst offender here, especially in the past hundred years, producing harmonies and melodies that are so intricate and convoluted that normal listeners cannot comprehend them – and in congregational music, people can’t sing them with any ease, negating the sometimes engaging message.

For our spiritual development, simplicity is preferred according to Christ’s admonition in Mark 10:15: “You must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child." (New Century Version) We know how the Jewish leaders of Old Testament times had added rule upon rule until it was almost impossible to be a worthy God-follower; historically, that trend has continued into the Christian church… and still does.

If our love and our faith-processing were simplified, we would readily accept what God tells us in his Word as truth. In my experience, this is not a limiting exercise; rather, it is freeing!

Why have we developed into questioning, suspicious people when it comes to God and matters of faith? Why can we not simplify our belief system and take him at his word? After all, another hymn tells us ‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take him at his word; just to rest upon his promise, just to know thus saith the Lord.

After all, 'tis a gift to be simple.

A beautiful setting of this text

"Give for wild confusion, peace."

Hymn: “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” – William Whiting (1825-1878)

Tune: MELITA

Rembrandt - "Storm on the Sea of Galilee"

Known as the Navy Hymn, this hymn of mariners, seafarers… especially those involved in the conflict of battle is the kind of song we use in a service when we highlight the armed forces or perhaps to celebrate one of our annual national holidays. The fact that most of the stanzas end with “O hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea,” limits our using it unless the sermon is centered on one of the sea-storm New Testament stories.

But this short hymn-line is a valid prayer – on sea or land – because many of us spend at least part of every day confused about something. We may not be overwhelmed by confusion on a regular basis, but most of us have spent enough time there to know that sinking feeling.

Wild confusion brings to my mind larger, public events that are thrown into turmoil by some senseless act of an individual or group: school shootings, the bombing of the Murrah Building, the 9/11 attacks, the Boston Marathon, etc. Those times of wild confusion cause people to go running for safety, seeking loved ones who have been involved, cowering in corners – chaos. In recent days, hurricane-prompted flooding and the fear of yet another land-fall have created wild confusion.

We watch those events unfold on the screens of our televisions and computers, and we ask “why?” Then most of us immediately in our own words pray today’s hymn-line.

I remember in the Aladdin story, the merchant chanting through the street, “New lamps for old. New lamps for old.” – at least that was in the cartoon version! This is basically what this hymn-line is doing: asking God to trade peace for confusion… or to replace a dreadful situation with a tranquil one. “Settle us down, Lord. Things are out of our control.”

There is a peace that only Christ can provide – a peace that over-rides understanding. When it is achieved in a world situation, a local uproar, a church conference, or our own personal lack of clarity, one of the great spiritual miracles comes into play. It is as if the Great Ancient Mariner stands again at the rear of boat and commands the winds and waves to return to their calm.

The next time we’re in wild confusion, may we with him speak peace.

 Naval Academy Glee Club

A Prayerful Singing of the First Stanza