"His kingdom cannot fail, he rules o'er earth and heav'n. The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv'n."

"His kingdom cannot fail, he rules o'er earth and heav'n. The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv'n."
Hymn: “Rejoice, the Lord Is King” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
Common Tune: DARWALL

Sorry, everybody: I’m back to a Charles Wesley text! I must be hooked on Watts and Wesley more than I realized before I started these posts!

I totally love this hymn. I always enjoy singing it. It never fails to lead me into worship. This kind of sturdy tune undergirding a well-crafted text make for an outstanding coupling. And the recurring refrain can hardly be matched in all hymndom: “Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice! Rejoice! Again I say, rejoice!”

Today’s hymnline which covers the third stanza (the one we often skip over) is the one which always catches my attention and sets my mind and spirit spinning upward. These three thoughts drawn from Matthew 16:18-29 are worth our giving attention to.

“His kingdom cannot fail.” The firm belief that come what may, the Kingdom of God will endure is basic to our theology. It will not only stand, but it will withstand all attacks from within and without. Although it may appear to those of us with earthly-eyes that the church is losing ground and that the battle might be eventually lost, that is out of the question. The Lord who was triumphant over the grave will emerge victorious over any and all comers.

“He rules o’er earth and heav’n.” God’s rulership should not be overlooked or downplayed. Unlike the Deists who thought that God created the world then left it to its own devices, most of us believe God is still in control of things on earth and the heavens… yea, even the weather! If nothing else, affirming this role will intensify our prayer lives.

“The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus giv’n.” Revelation 1:18 bears out this statement, although we can’t completely comprehend what is meant by this part of John’s vision. For me, it indicates that Christ has the authority to lock or unlock whatever wherever he pleases. Fortunately, he seems to hold off on releasing the powers of death and hell; otherwise, we’d find ourselves in a much greater, disastrous state. Even when we think “all hell has broken loose,” we know that is not possible as long as Jesus holds the key-ring!

In this stanza, we give God his due… and we need to do that more often.

• Hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sing This Hymn

"In music, Lord, I worship thee."

"In music, Lord, I worship thee."
Hymn: “My Singing Is a Prayer” – Novella D. Preston Jordan (1901-1991)
Tune: VERMONT

This hymnline has probably been the theme of my entire existence… at least back as far as I can remember. I’ve always found God in music – especially sung music… music with words. I find him most commonly and most profoundly in hymn-singing. That should come as no surprise to those of you who know me well.

I’ve written several hymn and/or sacred anthem texts over the years with a modicum of success in having them published. At times, I’ve tried my hand at writing poems that were not sacred in nature – that did not express anything about my faith: love songs, patriotic songs, country songs – even an opera libretto. I couldn’t ever seem to make that work because my music – my words – seem to be set aside for worship.

When the USA team had a tiny shot at winning the World Cup in soccer, the frenzy flooded the airwaves and the print media. One thing I noticed was the incorporation of a rhythmic, highly-repetitive chant: “I be-lieve that we will win! I be-lieve that we will win!” Every sports bar in the country seemed to have taken up this “hymn” to the sport of futbol.

Historically, when a group shares a common belief, they take up a song to support it. That’s why countries have national anthems and patriotic songs – causes have a common song (e.g. “We Shall Overcome”) – and religions… all religions… incorporate some form of corporate musical expression into their gatherings.

As you might imagine, I was not caught up in the soccer eddy, but I am totally committed to expressing my Christian beliefs in song – chiefly the hymns of my faith. That’s why I do this blog; that’s why I created the Old Fashioned Singing Project; that’s why most every Sunday morning with book in hand, I’ll be somewhere singing… because “in music, Lord, I find you.”

Once again, I can’t find this one online for you to hear. It’s a great text and tune, but it’s under copyright with Broadman Press, so I can’t publish it here. You can read it at http://modernpuritan.com/2012/07/16/singing-is-a-prayer/

"I'd sing (about) the character he bears and all the forms of love he wears."

"I'd sing (about) the character he bears and all the forms of love he wears."
Hymn: “O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth” – Samuel Medley (1738-1799)
Tune: ARIEL (based on a melody from Mozart)

Even though this hymn appears in over 600 hymnals, it is not one that all of us know. It is in none of the current major denominational books; for Baptists (my ilk), the last appearance was in the 1954 “old blue” hymnal! I couldn’t even find a decent setting of it online for you to hear. It is not an easy tune to sing, but it is a good devotional text.

We use the word “bearing” to describe a person’s attitude, manner, demeanor… even posture. It’s sort of archaic, but we still use it to describe how someone comes into a room and how they are perceived.

There is a certain character with which Christ carries himself. It is the highest-level of character development, and it is the plane toward which we strive. In drama-talk, we discuss the character (true nature) of the character (role). In well-developed scripts, the “real” moral fiber is exposed… often gradually. So it is with our spiritual life: over time, who we really are comes to the surface. It is hoped, of course, that we have advanced to a Christ-like disposition which comes naturally to us… has become our “true nature” – our character.

I am particularly drawn to the second half of this hymnline: “all the forms of love he wears.” By his very nature, Christ is loving. We learned that in the church nursery (or cradle roll if you go back as far as I do). He is loving in so many ways: his love takes on so many shapes. He WEARS love. I’m a visual learner, so that brings a great picture to my mind and helps me further grasp the deep, deep love of Jesus.

O, that wherever I may be found, I would bear the character (true nature) of Christ and that I might wear (display) his love automatically.

See this hymn at http://www.hymnary.org/hymn/HFLC1974/page/60

"All things bright and beautiful... the Lord God made them all."

"All things bright and beautiful... the Lord God made them all."

Hymn: “All Things Bright and Beautiful” – Cecil F. Anderson (1818-1895)
Common Tunes: ROYAL OAK, SPOHR

First, let me say that I love this hymn text… set to most any tune. I especially love John Rutter’s setting (see below). I always enjoy singing it and love what it has to say. However…

For those of us who are not so bright and beautiful, I want to say that the Lord God made US all, too! “All things dull and hideous” would not make nearly such a great hymn title, but the Lord God did make them/us all.

I know it’s a children’s hymn about nature and not human-kind, but admit it: all of God’s creatures great and small are not all that lovely. Let’s talk about alligators, naked mole rats, blobfish, and Madagascar’s aye aye. Did you ever see a close up of a California condor? But the Lord God made all those, too.

Now that I think through the text, all of us aren’t all that wise and wonderful either. Some of us are dim-witted and average-ish. The good thing is that most of us are bright in our own way and beautiful to someone.

Fellow not so bright, unattractive, everyday folk: we were designed by God and cared about just as much as the most brilliant Homo sapiens and the most striking flora and fauna. This hymn is about all of us; we only sing about the attractive living things.

I’ll remove my tongue from my cheek now so I can sing this wonderful hymn!

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sings Arrangement of ROYAL OAK Tune

John Rutter Conducting His Setting of This Text

"While all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care."

"While all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care."
Hymn: “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” – Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Common Tunes: FOREST GREEN, ELLACOMBE

Generally speaking, we Christians have to be reminded often that our very existence is on loan to us. Our minutes, our days, our years – our lifetime – are not truly ours; these are borrowed from the eternal timeline of the mighty, powerful God who made the mountains rise, spread the flowing seas, and built the lofty skies.

Time has become one of our most precious commodities. In some ways, we are more protective of our calendars than we are our bank accounts. Unlike my bank, I do not get an alert from heaven’s Timekeeper to let me know that my account is under 500 hours… that I’m running out of time.

From secular marketing, I picked up a lot of personal rules for my ministry. One guiding force was the hook from a Cadillac print ad I saw in the early 80’s: “We respect your time almost as much as you do.” That’s one I followed religiously… so to speak!

We DO value our time, especially our free time – our time away from our income-producing hours. If we’re not careful, we’ll begin to hoard those free moments… forgetting that ALL our time is on loan from the Time Bank. Unlike Joshua, we may not be able to make the sun sit still or stop the fast-ticking clocks while we conquer our time-consuming enemies. We CAN, however, be reminded by hymnlines like this one that we are truly on “borrowed time.”

Watts points out that however much time we are appropriated, the Time Giver does not lose track of us – we are ever in his care. He is constantly securing his loan! (Don’t try to turn that into a good banking analogy.)

This hymnline runs parallel to Psalm 31:15: “My time, O Lord, is in your hand.” The One whose hand provides us with life also holds us. The Time Loaner is also our Caretaker.

Thank you, Isaac Watts, for the aide memoire!

Hear This Hymn to the ELLACOMBE Tune