Category: Hymns

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May We Truly Worship…

In 1944 a hymn was written that reminds us of the reason we partake of the Lord’s Supper.  A song that calls for God’s help to see more clearly His love for us.  We still sing this song today…in some congregations, but what did the author and composer (Tillet S. Teddlie) want us to take away from this beautiful hymn?

“Oft we come together, Oft we sing and pray;
Here we bring our offering on this holy day.”

Do you think of your worship to God as an offering?  When you ‘sing and pray’, who are you singing and praying to?  To gain further insight into the song and the rationale behind it’s inspection we need to read on…

“May we keep in memory all that Thou hast said,
May we truly worship as we eat the bread.”

Coming together on Sunday morning we are focused on a specific obligation: a beautiful opportunity.  We come to worship, honor, and give glory to our God!  If we come for ourselves or if we come ‘looking for something’, we will be sorely disappointed.  Worship to God is not about what I can get, it is wholly about what I will give.  The second of these verses is a focus on the supper that commemorates our Lord’s death.  It’s to remember what Christ gave to us.  Read on…

“May we all in spirit, all in one accord,
Take this cup of blessing given by the Lord.“

Unity in Christ is something our Savior prayed for hours before His death on the cross.  But notice how Jesus prayed that we would be united in John 17:17-21; “Sanctify them in Your truth; Your word is truth.  As You have sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.  I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”  We are united in Christ when we understand and that Jesus is Truth.  Paul told the young preacher Timothy, “I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”  (I Timothy 3:15)

The old hymn concludes…
“Help us Lord, Thy love to see,
May we all in truth and spirit worship Thee.”

We come together each first day of the week to remember the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  When you meet next Sunday with God’s family, will you be united in heart and spirit with the family?  Is the truth of God’s word present in your midst?  How will you conduct yourself? As a ‘pillar and support of truth’?  When you do… you’ll come to understand and know “True Worship”.

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Are You Standing…or Sitting?

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Thru eternal ages let His praises ring;
Glory in the highest I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God…

Written in the late 1800’s this old hymn reminds us of where we should be standing in life.  The encouragement from this song (in verse one) is to stand with God throughout time, for our whole lifetime in praise to God.  So let’s continue looking at the other three verses;

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God…

How will you handle the ‘storms of doubt’ that come into your life?  We’re reminded by R. Kelso Carter, author and composer, that we can handle (prevail over) the storms of doubt and fear by reading, trusting and following the word of God.  Actually the word prevail, by definition, means to ‘gain ascendancy through strength’…by the word of God.  Now that should make us stop and think about the amount of time we actually spend in God’s word!

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God…

Do you consider yourself ‘bound’ together with Christ?  The statement, ‘to be bound’ infers slavery…do you see yourself as a slave?  Consider the text, “…but now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22  Too often we don’t want to see ourselves as ‘bound’ to anything.  But the facts are clear.  You are either a slave to sin, which leads to eternal death, or a slave to God which leads to eternal life.  (Romans 6:15-23) I think it’s interesting that we, as bond servants to God, have been equipped with tools of war…the Spirit’s sword.

Standing on the promises that cannot fall,
Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God…

Do you listen to God’s instruction?  How do you take your ‘marching orders’ in this life?  As a child of God who is ‘standing on His promises’, we can rest in knowing that His has promised and is calling us to follow and serve…to stand with Him.  But you have to ask yourself a simple question when it comes to this old hymn;  Are you standing on the promise that God gives us?  Are you overcoming daily?  Will you be bound to Him forever?  Are you listening to Him ‘every moment’?  Unfortunately many have said, “Yes, I’m standing on the promises”, but they miss the reminder from this hymn that there is more to living for God than just standing.  Perhaps too many of us are sitting on the premises rather than standing on the promises.

Let’s do more than just stand up, let’s get to work!

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Lost? It May Be Time To Go Home!

Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is calling.
Calling for you and for me…
See on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Come Home, you who are weary…come home.
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling, ‘O sinner, come home.’

If you read the last post you might think this is a follow up…it is, sort of, but I really just wanted you to think about Heaven as your Home.  If that wasn’t clear enough earlier, please let me reiterate the idea that you have a Father who desires your company.  Better put, God wants each of us to return home!  All of us have been separated from His side at one time or another.  (Romans 3:23) While there are many striving to live a life that is close to His heart, unfortunately there are far too many who don’t even realize they’re lost.

Why is that so many fail to see the comforts of being in the presence of God?  The world (Satan) has deceived many of your friends and family into believing they are on our own and that’s OK.  Without any hope or comfort (except in themselves) and the only thing to do is ‘take care of #1.’  That is sad condition and I shutter when I think how many have bought into this lie.  It might be your son, or you father.  Maybe your brother has turned away from what he knew was right on to follow a deceptive, dead end.  When was the last time you called them to see if they would ‘come home?’  Have you called them lately and ask if they think of home?  Many times we don’t because we don’t want rejection.  Ignore the obvious and continue with business as usual.

But I wonder if sometimes we don’t make that call, because they might actually want to come home.  And quite honestly, we don’t know how to receive them back.  Jesus would (He does) not only receive the lost ones, He’s actually seeking them.  (Oh yes, the prodigal son’s father ran to meet him because he saw him  when, “…he was still a long way off…”, Luke 15:20.)  If only we had the same desire as the Father, to not only be looking for those who want to return, but to seek those who are lost (the coin and the lamb wasn’t looking to go home, they were just flat out lost.  (Luke 15:4-10)

There are many who are lost and don’t even know it.  Some of them might be sitting next to you on Sunday morning.  Could that be true?  Would a ‘Sunday morning church goer’ still be lost and not know it?  Just like the lonely sinner who sits on the other side of the world waiting for someone to ‘bring him home’.  Let’s be more diligent about talking to each other about going home…

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Homesick…But Are You ‘Weary’?

Have you ever been homesick?  This is best described as a time when you were away from the comfort and secure of what you know and love.  During the months when a child goes to summer camp, ask them what it means to be homesick.  In the lonely winter months before his Thanksgiving break, a college freshman might be feeling a bit homesick.  Even that dream vacation can be tiresome after too many days away.  Why?  Maybe it’s the fact we miss the comfort of our own bed.  Or maybe it’s the home cooked meal that we’re missing.  Perhaps we just miss sitting together as a family and talking (do families still sit together and talk?)  To be sure we all have experienced a time when we were ‘sick of being away from home’.  At one time or another each of us have been homesick.

But ask yourself, ‘Am I really homesick?’  Do you long to be home or have you been away so long that you’ve grown comfortable with where you are and don’t think much about your home?  I’m reminded of a young man who was tried of the family and decided to pack his bags and leave home.  He enjoyed his vacation and even when he lost his new found friends, he still refused to go home.  He was alone, lost all the comforts and security he once knew, but he wasn’t ready to ‘go home.’  His ‘vacation’ turned to misery and the comforts of home were just a memory…but notice this, he remembered where home was.  Luke 15:11-32 details this young man and his return home.  We often refer to this story as “The Prodigal Son”.  He finally got the point he wanted to go home.  And you know who was waiting and watching for his return…

This Biblical account reminds me of the old invitation song, “God is Call the Prodigal”.  It’s a song that calls the listener to come back to God.  One who has left what he knew and “…wandered so far from His presence,”.  We know what it means to the parent whose child has ‘forgotten’ his/her way home, but do we realize the application for ourselves?  Are we really weary of this world and longing to be ‘home’?  Look again at these verses from this old spiritual song…

“God is calling the prodigal; come without delay; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee.  Tho’ you’ve wandered so far from His presence, come today; Hear His loving voice calling still…”

“Patient, loving, and tenderly still the Father pleads; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee.  O return while the Spirit in mercy intercedes; Hear His loving voice calling still…”

“Come, there’s bread in the house of the Father, and to spare; Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee.  Lo!  The table is spread and the feast is waiting there; Hear His loving voice calling still…Calling now for thee, O weary prodigal come.”

It’s true that each of us at some time or another have been homesick and wished we could go home.  But unfortunately many, unlike the prodigal son, are simply refusing to go home.  Sitting in the darkness of the world, refusing to admit that life isn’t what they want it to be, too many have decided that they’re not homesick enough to go home.  My prayer is that we will never become comfortable living in this foreign land.  You might be feeling homesick, but the prodigal son had determined that he was weary.  You might be homesick but you won’t go home…until you’ve grown weary of this world.

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Worship…in Song

I love to sing songs of praise to God.  There are some songs that I consider to be my favorites, and I’m sure you have your favorites as well.  Going back, I can’t remember a time when singing hymns weren’t a part of my life.  “The Old Rugged Cross“, “We Praise Thee, O God“, “He is My Everything” have been songs I remember singing from an early age.   When Vicki and I were married (22 years ago), we had “God Be With You Til We Meet Again” as our recessional.  For years we would sing “I Come to the Garden Alone” to our children as they were going to sleep (a practice my grandmother did for me), because there is no better way to close your day then to put into your heart and mind ‘…the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding…’ (Philippians 4:7).

Hymns and spiritual songs are intended to give praise to God.  We should sing in hopes of teaching valuable lessons and stirring the hearts of those who hear.  Singing involves at least three basic elements of our bodies; our hearts, our minds and our voices (lips).  Would that we use all three to bring glory to Him and edification to His people.

Let’s take a look at the blessings we find in singing songs of praise. Since the Lord seeks those who will worship Him to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), it is important that we ask ourselves one basic question; “What is God’s will for us as we worship Him in song?”

To learn the truth about Christian worship in song, we must go to the New Testament.  (A study of the Old Testament will show you what God expect under the old law).  Ephesians 5:17-21 states, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation (moral looseness); but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in fear of God.”  In Romans 15:5-9, Paul speaks of the Gentiles glorifying God, and emphasizes how a congregation, together, should be glorifying God.  Notice Paul’s words from this passage in Romans; “…so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles, and I will sing to Thy name.”

In short, the following are New Testament passages that reference singing praises to God:

Matthew 26:30…Jesus and His disciples after the Lord’s supper

Acts 16:25…Paul and Silas at midnight, in jail with their feet in stocks

Romans 15…Noted above

I Corinthians 14:15 & 26…”I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also…” “What is the outcome then, brethren?  When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.  Let all things be done for edification.”

Ephesians 5:18, 19…Noted above

Colossians 3:16…an emphasis on singing songs that teach and admonish

Hebrews 2:12 & 13:15…quoting Psalm 22 (‘…in the midst of the congregation I will sing Thy praise.‘) and ‘…let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.‘

James 5:13…a clear call to sing, ‘…Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.”

Each example listed from the New Testament describes worship for the Christian as one that emphasizes verbal communication: singing, speaking, teaching, admonishing, making melody with your hearts, confessing, giving thanks, proclaiming, and the fruit of lips.  Is it just me or do you see a clear call for your heart, mind and voice (fruit of lips) to be the instruments of choice from God.  When we worship, know for certain, your body should be giving God all the praise and all your worship.

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The Fount of Blessing…

How often do we sing songs yet not give the words much thought?  We sing the words, maybe we even have them memorized, but we don’t really think about what we are saying.  Perhaps that happens all too often.  Start considering what you are singing.  Not just in the ‘songs, hymns and spiritual songs’, but in the secular as well.  We are not offering up an acceptable sacrifice of praise (in my opinion) if we don’t know what we are offering up.  If you don’t understand a song or the wording behind it…ask someone.  Begin to search and look more closely at what you’re singing.  Question with boldness, as Thomas Jefferson once said, and find out why you are doing what you’re doing; or what you’re singing and why you are singing it.

Have you ever walked up to an old, dirty water fountain and thought, ‘I’m not going to drink out of this!’  Even if you’re are ‘dying of thirst’, you’re going to avoid a broken, dirty water fountain.  In Jeremiah chapter 3, God is speaking through His prophet Jeremiah and He says to the Israelites; “For My people have…forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters…” (read this whole chapter and see the basis of God’s charge against His people.)  The Israelites (God’s people today) have turned away from the ‘fountain of blessing’ and turned toward their own broken cistern (a cistern is a vessel).  Their cistern is not only broken, it can’t even hold water.  Why would they, we, give up something so good and useful for something that is cheap and ineffective?  How could they be so ignorant?  But then again, are we guilt of doing the same?

Not only does this world ignore and disregard God, many of His people struggle with His commands.  We must remember that; God is our fountain and Christ is the Living Water.  Take time to think about what you are singing, and consider which fountain from which you are drinking.

“O Thou Fountain of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy praise…”

“God is the Fountain  whence, 10,000 blessing flow…”

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Hear Me When I Call…

This morning a friend of mine passed away.  He had lived a long life, but unfortunately had struggled much during these last few months and years.  Without a doubt this gentlemen was an inspiration to me, and not to me alone.  His faithful spirit and gentle demeanor served as an encouragement to all you had the privilege of knowing him.  When I heard of his passing this morning, I cried.  Not because I grieved for his soul, or was unsure of his relationship with God; the tears came because I wasn’t ready to say ‘good bye’.  There were still things I wanted to say to him and memories I wanted to share, but during the early hours on Sunday morning (March 25th), in the warm embrace of his family he slipped away to be with his Father.  Perhaps it’s fitting that he died on a Sunday morning…certainly in time to worship around the Father’s throne.

It’s never easy to say good bye to those you care about; whether it’s the end of a family vacation and everyone has headed home, or if it’s the passing of a loved one who held a special place in your heart.  I guess you’d say I’m a bit sentimental, so ‘Good Byes’ have never easy for me.  And because of my sentimental nature, there are some songs that mean more to me as we consider the message (the words).  A song tends to reach into my heart in a way that the spoken word can’t.  I don’t think it’s the melody alone, but the melody coupled with the words that impacts my emotions like nothing else.  My friend had a favorite songs that was written in the early 1960’s and (though I’ve only come to know it recently), it has since become one of my favorites as well.  Written by Tillit S. Teddlie in 1962, this old hymn is sung as we speak to God asking that He hear us during times of distress and sorrow.  Notice these four verses…

“Hear me when I call, O God, my righteousness;
Unto Thee I come in weakness and distress.
Hold my trembling hand, lest helpless I should fall;
O hear me, Lord, hear me, O hear me when I call.”

“Hear my cry, O God, attend unto my prayer;
More and more I need Thy mercy and Thy care.
Clouds of doubt arise and faith grows weak and small;
O hear me, Lord hear me, O hear me when I call.”

“Hear my voice, O God, and cleanse my soul within;
Mercy doth I need for all my doubts and sin.
Only in Thy grace I trust my all in all;
O hear me, Lord, hear me, O hear me when I call.”

“Hear my prayer, O God, I need Thy cleansing power;
Let me feel Thee near each moment of each hour.
Hold my trembling hand, lest helpless I should fall;
O hear me, Lord hear me, O hear me when I call.”

It’s important for me to take this time today and reflect on the impact and friendship I shared with a brother who has gone on.  His smile and kind heart will remain in my memory for years to come.  He has inspired me to be more like Christ; never looking out for his own interest, but always for the interest of others.  The book of this man’s life has come to a close and the final chapter has been written.  He will be missed here on earth, but I know we’ll meet again, because our God does indeed ‘hear us when we call.’  Fred Epps, thank you for the lessons in life that you taught me through your beautiful, Christian example.  And thank you for showing me the kindness of your heart.  You were a wonderful and dear friend!

“Lord hear me, O hear me, Please hear me when I call…”

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Verse by Verse…Hallelujah!

For almost 150 years we have been singing this hymn by William P. MacKay…

“We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love, for Jesus who died and is now gone above,  Hallelujah! Thine the glory, Hallelujah! Amen.  Hallelujah!  Thine the glory; Revive us again.”

I can honestly tell you that this is the first song I can remember hearing sung in church during my earliest years.  The chorus is one that rings in my mind and floats through the ages.  Let’s look at the remaining 4 verses and see the emphasis of the words in this hymn:

“We praise Thee, O God, for Thy Spirit of light, Who has shown us our Savior, and scattered our night…”  The Word of God tells us that Jesus is the light, and in Him is no darkness.  We sing this scripture through this verse…I John 1:5

“All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, Who has borne all our sins and has cleansed every stain…”  Nothing is more important for us to sing about, admonish each other with and remind the listener with.  Christ has washed away our sins when we were baptized for the forgiveness of our sins.

“All glory and praise to the God of all grace, Who has bought us and sought us and guided our ways…”  Have you thought about that before?  Christ came to this earth (sought us) and died on the cross for our sins (bought us) and rose from the dead to guide us back to God.  Question is, are we following?

“Revive us again, fill each heart with Thy love.  May each soul be rekindled with fire from above…”  Each of these verses have a specific message and a clear admonish to us.  But they need the glue from the refrain to transition our thoughts and solidify our resolve:

“Hallelujah!  Thine the glory.  Hallelujah! AMEN!  Hallelujah!  Thine the glory.  Revive us again.”  We must never forget the price that was paid (vs. 1 & 3), the security we have in ‘the Light’ (vs. 2), the praise for salvation (vs. 4), and the reminder to come back and hold fast to His love (vs. 5).  “Hallelujah!  Thine (to God be…) the Glory!”

 

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A Psalm, a Hymn or a Spiritual Song?

Is there a difference between singing a psalm or singing a hymn?  If I’m singing a spiritual song how is that different (is that different) from singing a psalm?  Both Ephesians 5, and Colossians 3 use similar wording when talking about these three terms; “…speaking to (teaching and admonishing) one another in (with) psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs…”  The apostle Paul authored these letters to the churches in Ephesus and Colossae, and based on Acts 16:25, he was no stranger to singing.  But what exactly is the difference between a psalm or a hymn or a spiritual song?  Do theses words mean the same thing?  A deeper look into these three (different) forms of singing praise to God and singing encouragement to the faithful might give us a better understanding of what we are doing when we sing.

Though admittedly, there is some gray area in the exact interpretation of these three words, a basic idea can be found for a quick understanding of these terms by evaluating each on it’s own merit.

A Psalm (for all practical purposes) would be a song that is based on scripture.  The Psalms would obviously be our first thought in answering the question, ‘What is a psalm?’.  But the following could be classified as a psalm as well: ‘a song of praise or edification that can be found in part or in whole in the word of God.’  It is clear when we sing, the 23rd Psalm… “The Lord’s my shepherd I’ll not want, He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.  He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and lovingness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  You know the song… “The Lord’s my shepherd I’ll not want: He makes me down to lie, In pastures green, He leadeth me in pastures green He leadeth me the quiet waters by.”  But do you know this ‘contemporary’ song from Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, but not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  So a ‘Psalm’ is song we sing almost directly from scripture.

Personally, the hymn is my favorite of the ‘songs’ when compared to the other three song definitions.  To understand the definition of a hymn, I have found it is easiest to relate this simple analogy;  ‘A hymn is a song that is sung to HIM’.  Many examples are available, but one of my favorites is a sung written by Annie Hawks in 1872…“I need Thee every hour, most precious Lord; No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.  I need Thee, O I need Thee; every hour I need Thee!  O bless me now, my Savior; I come to Thee!”  No one can refute the fact that this song (hymn) is directed to HIM.

A Spiritual Song is more basic in that it can encompass anything that is Biblical (spiritual) in nature.  If I sing a song that comes from God’s word or is contemplating Godliness, it could be classified as a spiritual song.  An example might be “Walking Alone at Eve”.  Consider the chorus to this ‘spiritual song’; “O! for a home with God, a place in His courts to rest, sure in a safe abode with Jesus and the blest (Biblical in thought); Rest for a weary soul once redeemed by the Savior’s love, where I’ll be pure in whole and live with my God above.”

Next time you stand with the saints to sing praises, or sit alone and singing a song of prayer, ask yourself; “Are we (Am I) singing a Psalm, a Hymn or a Spiritual Song?”