"What We Lost When We Lost Our Hymnals"

Some of you might find this article interesting. It speaks TO me and FOR me!
https://www.challies.com/articles/what-we-lost-when-we-lost-hymnals

"Fills my ev'ry longing (and) keeps me singing as I go."

Hymn: “There’s within my Heart a Melody” – Words and Music by Luther Bridgers (1884-1948)
Tune: SWEETEST NAME

Some of us know this hymn as “He Keeps Me Singing,” but more hymnals nowadays are using the first line of the first stanza as the title. Either way, this is one most of us evangelicals know pretty well!

The line I chose today is from the end of the refrain:
    Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Sweetest name I know
    Fills my ev’ry longing, keeps me singing as I go.

With all due respect to Mr. Bridgers, I’m not sure about the use of “every” in that last line. I’ve sung that phrase since I was knee-high to nothin’, but am a little quizzical about that concept. In the first place, I’m not sure it is a biblical teaching; in the second place, if Jesus filled my EVERY longing, I’d be in some deep trouble, wouldn’t you? Spiritually speaking, my Savior fills most of my sacred longings; but I have longed for some gifts, talents… even opportunities… that have not yet been achieved.

I’m okay singing that line because the second half is so very true for me. Though not a great singer (one of those unfulfilled longings!), I always have a song going in my head… and sometimes on my lips. To quote a couple of other hymns: “How can I keep from singing?” and “I sing for I cannot be silent.” It’s just part of my nature to be swimming in some melody or adrift in a great hymn text. Like some of you, many times it is a song – and not a scripture or a prayer - that pulls me out of the doldrums and invigorates my spirit.

With a few unfulfilled longings, we can still maintain a singing habit. It’s one habit worth nurturing!


Listen to a Group-Singing of This “Homecoming Style”!

"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

"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!

"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