"All the reach of heavenly art, all the pow'r of music bring."

Hymn: “Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Common Tune: AMSTERDAM

Leave it to Charles Wesley to write a hymnline like this one… nestled within other great statements about who God is, what God does, and what God deserves. THIS line deals with the latter.

I’m teaching an Introduction to the Fine Arts class at Dallas Baptist University, and I absolutely love where my semi-retirement has taken me: into a college-level classroom on a Christian campus to talk about one of great passions – art! One of the things I emphasize with these students is that all art forms CAN be used to honor God. This hymnline supports that argument – that all the farthest reaches of heaven-given artfulness (or talent) can be called upon to praise the Lord who reigns above and keeps his court below.

My students think I’m just way too passionate about the arts. At every chapter, they hear me say, “Now this may be my favorite art form!” I AM passionate about the arts because they are lasting examples of creativity – God’s creative energy passing through the hearts, minds, feet, hands and mouths of his created ones.

Music is a powerful art. It is common to every race and every culture. Wesley encourages us to apply that innate power of music to the unbridled praise of God.

Today’s hymnline ends with the modifying phrase, “… the music of the heart.” In order for music or any art form to be acceptable worship, it must come from the innermost depth of who we are. It must be a sincere, humble offertory. It must not be a self-aggrandizing display of one’s talent.

Many of us enjoy and appreciate the arts. Humanity's creative expression through the arts is one of the ways we are made in the image of God. It behooves us then to offer them back to God to honor him. I think he enjoys it when we do.

“All the reach of heavenly art, all the pow’r of music bring.” And I say, “Bring it on!”

Jakarta Oratorio Children’s Choir Sings a Setting of This Text


The AMSTERDAM Tune Sung by a Frequently-Breathing Soloist

“Sing with blest anticipation.”

Hymn: “’Tis the Church Triumphant Singing” – John Kent (1766-1843)
Common Tune: AR HYD Y NOS

We talk a lot about “participatory” worship experiences: everybody jump in there and participate vigorously! What if we promoted “anticipatory” worship?

Have you ever thought about anticipation being a blessing? Well, it is. We have been blessed with the gift of anticipation... and we emphasize that during the Advent season.

Those who believe in the providence of God approach every aspect of life with a sense of expectation – expecting the hand of God to lead them through the day and the eye of God to be ever-watching, protecting, overseeing their every move… for their own good and the good of the kingdom.

Indeed, we anticipate the Kingdom which is yet to come, promised to us beyond this earthly journey; but if we only anticipate THAT reality, we miss out on the everyday provisions – those which surround us on THIS trek.

The next time you sing – corporately or alone – do it with a sincere hope of that which is yet to come your way… far in the future AND close at hand. It is that kind of anticipatory worship that truly keeps us going, confident that God is at work. Go ahead: “Sing with blest anticipation.”

This hymn tune played at the organ

"Fix in us thy humble dwelling."

Hymn: “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Typical Tunes: BEECHER, HYFRYDOL, BLAENWERN

You probably don’t know that I was an art major when I first entered Carson Newman College in the fall of 1967. I had a decent ability to draw things.

When I was being artistic, after completing a section of a charcoal drawing or have worked in pastels, I took a can of spray fixative, shook it to hear that little ball bang against the can, and generously covered the possible-masterpiece so it would not smear if accidentally touched while I continued to work on it. The process is called “fixing” the artwork.

We are only three phrases into the singing of “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” when this hymn-line crosses our lips, and because it is so early-on in the hymn, it may not register in our brain what it is we are singing.  When I speak these words on the nine assigned pitches, I have a flashback to my art-major days… of being sure I am either outside or in a well-ventilated room in order not to inhale the fumes from the Krylon aerosol can. This was BEFORE people actually wanted to inhale fumes like these!

In the hymning of these words, I am asking God to cover me in such a way that my faith might not smear – or that the distinct lines of my belief system might not become indefinite or undefined.  That he might take up residence in my life in such a way that these cannot be disturbed.

Other hymns use the word “seal” to mean the same thing, (e.g. “Here’s my heart, O take and seal it…”) but I’m glad Wesley chose “fix” – a word with which this artsy person can identify!

Ever since we came to him in faith, God – the ultimate artist – has been drawing his nature across the sketch pad of our lives.  Everything he has inscribed there has given us the possibility to be more like him… more like his Son… more Christ-like. I, for one, do not want any of that to be messed up or smeared by anything or anyone who would like to make my Christian experience anything less than beautiful.

God is making a masterpiece within us. That’s not self- aggrandizing – that’s the truth! And we want to be sure that beauty is preserved… or fixed… unlikely to be damaged. That preservation is more likely to occur if Christ is allowed to take up full-time humble residence at the center of our lives.

“Fix” can mean to repair something that is broken or not working properly; but in this case, it means to keep it from needing to be repaired!


This Hymn Sung by St. Olaf Choir

"So prepare to be the home where such a mighty Guest may come."

"So prepare to be the home where such a mighty Guest may come." 

Carol: “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” – Charles Coffin (1676-1749)
Common Tunes: PUER NOBIS, WINCHESTER NEW

I grew up in the Baptist denomination, and none of our hymns had the word “Baptist” in the title! Other denominations, however, often include this hymn about John the Baptist’s announcing the coming of Messiah; as the forerunning cousin of Jesus, that was his calling.

Note: It is important to include the apostrophe after Baptist; otherwise, it sounds like a whole denomination of immersers is wailing on a river’s edge!

The stanza in which this hymnline sits says this in total:
    Let ev’ry heart be cleansed from sin,
    Make straight for God within,
    And so prepare to be the home
    Where such a mighty Guest may come.

Straightening up the house is something we do when we’re expecting guests -- any guests… even regular visitors and family members! That may include hiding some things in the closet, under a bed, or behind the sofa. We want give the best possible appearance, tidied up as well as we can to make the visitor feel welcome – even ‘at home.”

Other carols say, “Let every heart prepare him room,” and “O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room…” But THIS line calls Jesus a ‘mighty Guest.’ I think that means the same thing as ‘important’ or ‘extra special.’ The mighty Son of the mighty God is looking for somewhere to take up residence.

Unlike our usual visitors – however glamorous or significant – we don’t need to start hiding things! That all-knowing-ness of Christ sees right through any pretenses we may try to create.

So I suppose this is a season of peace, joy, love, hope… and transparency!

Get your house in order! You may be about to have a Zacchaeus kind of day!

Winchester New Tune at the Organ

"Who, from our mother's arms, hath blessed us on our way."

"Who, from our mother's arms, hath blessed us on our way."
Hymn: “Now Thank We All Our God” – Martin Rinkhart (1586-1649)

Tune: NUN DANKET

Here is one more hymn centered on being grateful/thankful/appreciative... then we'll move on to Advent.

Our God “who, from our mother’s arms, hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.”

"Migrant Mother" Dorothea Lange

Generally speaking, our mothers are our original caretakers. Good mothers become for their children the very representation of who God is and how God treats us. This hymnline helps us get that perspective, reminding us that from our first breath, God has blessed us with innumerable  love-gifts… and those love-gifts continue, no matter how many years we may be removed from those mother-cuddled hours.

We believers are richly blessed as we make our way through life, and we need to count those blessings. The danger is that we might begin to consider our blessings as routine, not noticing the little things with which God seasons our life.

On Thanksgiving Day, most of us enjoy some of the richest, best-seasoned dishes we’ll have all year long. Those old family recipes on grease-spotted note cards seem to hold back nothing from the spice rack when it comes to food preparations for this holiday. We think to ourselves, “This tastes so much better than food tastes throughout the rest of the year,” but we likely give no thought to WHY that is true.

Let’s not overlook those blessings with which our God spices up our life… those small zests added to our mundane existence. We cannot truly be a blessing to others until we realize how blessed we are.

NOW, let’s all thank our God with hearts and souls and voices! NOW!

Sing along with this hymn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Y0dmfmwFLn0