"And all flesh shall see the token that God's word is never broken."

CAROL LINE: "And all flesh shall see the token that God's word is never broken."

Carol: “Comfort, Comfort Ye My People” – Johannes G. Olearius (1611-1684)

Tune: GENEVAN 42

Catherine Winkworth’s translation of this ancient hymn text grabs me, reminding me that throughout time, God has presented us with signs of his promises: the rainbow in Noah’s day, the pillar of fire for Moses’ troops, the covenant with Abraham, and ultimately revealing himself in THE Sign: the Lord Christ. It is that revelation we celebrate during this season.

 

The sending of his Son was the ultimate token of his everlasting promise to the people of Israel. At Bethlehem’s manger, God is saying, “See. I keep my word. I always do.” On a nearby hillside the angels echo the sentiment, “Unto you a Savior is (finally) born” – that Savior you’ve been anticipating since the beginnings of the covenant relationship God set up with the Jewish nation... and ultimately, all of us!

This carol is a great versification of Isaiah 40, opening with the same statement we find there spoken to the prophet by the Lord:  “Comfort, comfort ye my people.” In 40:5, we find the text on which my favorite Christmas chorus from MESSIAH is based: "And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.” It is from THIS passage that today’s hymnline is lifted; I think you can see the parallels without my going on and on about them!

These two centuries later, we need to be reminded of God’s faithfulness; what God says, he will do – eventually, finally. And even though “Standing on the Promises” is not a song for this season, that’s exactly what we need to continue to do.

Hear the Choir of Conrad Grebel College

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rTOeAl-Ph8I

 

“Hope of all the earth thou art. Dear desire of ev’ry nation…”

I am four days late on starting my CAROL LINES for Advent/Christmas/Epiphany. Sorry about that, but I've been shipping copies of HYMN LINE Books and posting new carol texts online! I hop you have seen some of those! My intention is to keep these up daily... so check in to see how I'm doing with that!!!

CAROL LINE: “Hope of all the earth thou art. Dear desire of ev’ry nation…”

Carol: “Come, Thou Long-expected Jesus” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Common Tune: HYFRYDOL

If you attend a church that still sings hymns, you might well have sung this Advent carol recently. It’s one of those that comes up once a year, usually on the first Sunday of Advent… which in many congregations is the day the “hope” candle is lighted.

This mash-up of two ideas from Wesley approaches anticipation from two sides. On the one hand Messiah is the “HOPE of all the earth”; on the other hand, the long-expected One is the “DESIRE" of every nation.” Similar, but not exactly the same.

As Christian people, we have a deep and abiding hope which is more akin to confidence than to some event or object we want to happen or come our way. During this season of awaiting, we start with the word “hope” because it looks forward; for believers, we don’t “wish” for what might happen in the future; we are confident that it will happen. Our hope is in Christ Jesus, as Paul says consistently in the epistles. That blessed assurance is ours.

Desire is something else altogether. This half of Wesley's mash-up is the state in which the yet-to-know-salvation nations find themselves – those peoples who yet await the arrival of a Messiah… a Savior. Almost every time explorers have uncovered a new people-group (tribe), they have found that they await some god-like redeemer. While their descriptors may vary, the Christ of Christmas may well be exactly what they’re waiting for – the desire of every nation.

Hope IS a state of looking forward. Absolutely. We who have already known the joy of the manger, the tragedy of the cross and the mystery of the resurrection can be SURE… sure enough to expose the desiring nature of all humanity to the beauty of that in which we are confident: the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Celtic Setting of This Carol

“I am happy today, and the sun shines bright. The clouds have been rolled away.”

“I am happy today, and the sun shines bright. The clouds have been rolled away.”

Hymn: “’Whosoever” Meaneth Me” – Words and Music by J. Edwin McConnell (1892-1954)
Tune: McCONNELL


How long has it been since you sang this old gospel song? For me, it’s been a while… probably years!

I know that as a kid growing up in First Baptist Church in Pigeon Forge, I never understood the title or the recurring text of the refrain. I remember translating the word meaneth as something bad I did… as in, I was really mean today. I honestly thought we were singing “Who’s so ever mean as me!” Even when I could read, it took me a while to figure out what the hymn was about.

In the old King James Version of scripture, Romans 10:13 says, “Whosoever calleth upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” McConnell was actually saying “Whosoever” refers to me. All those ‘-eth’ words in the KJV were just confusing – still are!

However, I got the opening line of this old toe-tapping favorite of the country church: I am happy today, and the sun shines bright. The clouds have been rolled away. That’s pretty straight-forward; even a little boy in the Beginner Department understood that much – and so does this long-time qualifier for AARP discounts!

Remember how that cloud lingered over Joe Btfsplk in the comic strip L’il Abner? He was for a time America’s iconic jinxed individual… with an unpronounceable last name! That guy could have used a good dose of today’s hymn line!


Joe Btfsplk finally captured his cloud in a jar and for a short time had a pretty normal, happy life. I don’t recall his singing of this hymn line, but he could have. For the first time in his comic-strip life, he was happy, he could see the sun, the cloud had disappeared.

I’m happy most days. How about you? I hope you are, too. However, when the clouds block out the sun – and I’m not speaking meteorologically here – perhaps we need to find a good Mason jar, capture the hovering cloud, and tighten the lid. (I suddenly had a flashback to chasing down lightning bugs – fireflies – as a kid! Am I waxing nostalgic today, or what?!)

Cynthia Clawson – my very favorite hymn singer – recorded a song a few years ago on her River of Memories album on a text by Gloria Gaither. It has rung in my mind so many times when the clouds have overspread the sky and billows round me roll. Here is part of the text:


It won’t rain always.
The clouds will soon be gone
The sun that they've been hiding
Has been there all along.

Some of us are standing in the shadows when we should be stepping in the light.

 Weather-wise, it is a beautiful unclouded day in Texas! I’m sitting here on the back porch typing on my laptop, enjoying the morning – and I am happy today, and the sun shines bright. The clouds have been rolled away.

Grab a Mason jar and join me!

 

Hear a Quartet Sing This Hymn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=m4WY4791fGU

Hear Gary Chapman Sing This Hymn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rb4_3N3ErEA

Hear Cynthia Clawson Sing “It Won’t Rain Always”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dNXn-yAmxao

“Assist me to proclaim.”

 “Assist me to proclaim.”

Hymn: “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Typical Tune: AZMON


On any given Sunday, all around the world, preachers will preach, choirs will sing, praise teams will produce music, prayers will be lifted aloud, teachers will lead small-group Bible studies, someone will hear the gospel for the first time. And none of these can do it alone; they all need the some assistance. 

Our gracious Master intends to be the Helper of those who proclaim the gospel in church buildings great and small, ornate and simple, long-established or store-front. The danger – yea, even the scary part - is when folks stand before others to expound on the tenets of the faith without first asking God’s backing – his undergirding… his assistance.

 The Broadway Show Les Miserables features a wonderful song “On My Own.” It is one of many show-stopping melodies. Some of us who serve as worship leaders join Eponine’s sentiment and think we can do this sacred task on our own… that our talents and perhaps our education will carry us through. Under our own power, we are powerlessly ineffective. The right words may be spoken, the exact notes may be sung to the proper rhythms – but they become as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. They become full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

 Just because someone shakes your hand and says, “Good job today,” doesn’t mean a whole lot to any of us when we realize that we have gone it alone—on our own.

 In public worship and in personal evangelism… at every turn in life’s road, we need to constantly be calling out for assistance, crying out for help as we proclaim the goodness of God.  Don’t wait until you are in hopeless distress to send up an S.O.S.

  Today and every day: My gracious Master and my God, assist me.

 

Listen to an Arrangement from Coral Ridge Presbyterian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=C1YPmQibTRw

“O hope of every contrite heart! O joy of all the meek!”

 

“O hope of every contrite heart! O joy of all the meek!”


Hymn: “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee” – 12th Century Latin Hymn
(Translated by Edward Caswall -1814-1878)
Typical Tunes: ST. AGNES

This hymn is all about Jesus; from first to last, he is central. Here, he is the hope of the contrite and the joy of the meek. Let’s try to understand those two fairly misunderstood words – contrite and meek – so that we don’t miss out on the hope and joy.

Although the contrite person is one who is sorry for what they’ve done, its use here and other places in Christian writings goes a bit deeper. Although found only four or five times in Scripture, the call to being repentant flows throughout Holy Writ. It goes beyond regretting single sinful actions; it is being truly aware that without Christ, we are hopeless because Christ’s mission was/is to save us from our sinful condition. When we recognize our condition in light of his holiness and perfection, we are truly contrite… ashamed… ultimately sorry. Then the sinful void is filled with hope, and Jesus becomes “the hope of every contrite heart.”

Meek is not a synonym for “weak.” You’ve heard that before, but I’m here to remind you! While at its core, the meek person is a humble person, more pertinent to those of us who are about growing in our faith need to aim for the deeper meaning: submission. The meek are those who are compliant to the will of God, whose lives are ultimately shaped by the hand of the Almighty. This submissive posture will likely manifest itself in the gentle, mild-mannered behavior and attitude most commonly associated with meekness because Jesus is in fact “the joy of all the meek.”

Need a little hope and joy today? Recall the sorry state from which you have been redeemed and make yourself pliable to the molding hands of Christ – be more elastic than static. Have a hope-filled joyful day.

 

from the Mormon Tabernacle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqUZd5hYLKk