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Category Archives: Hymns and Songs

Peter & John — 2 Peter 1:1-2

24 Jan

2 Peter 1:1-2 NIV
[1] Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: [2] Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Dear God, I just finished 1 Peter yesterday talking about how he was wishing them peace, and now I see that he leads off this letter wishing them grace and peace. I know that the idea of unearned grace is unique to Christianity. I wonder how much the offering of peace is unique to it as well.

While I was talking about peace yesterday, I started thinking about the songs and hymns that I could think of that reference peace. Two came to mind instantly. The first is called “The Peace That Passes Understanding” (written by Claire Cloninger and Wayne Watson and performed by Wayne Watson). Here are the lyrics.

“The Peace That Passes Understanding”

Seasons of my soul
They come and go
But as they slip away
I know something else remains
That will not change

Places in my heart
Are torn apart
But in my brokenness, I find
That something stays behind
That will not change

The peace that passes understanding
Is a blessing that will never fade away
The peace that passes understanding
Is here to stay
The peace that passes understanding
Never passes away

Lord, in times of old
My heart had known
With quiet words of your tender love
And your gentle touch
That changes me

Even through the storm
I’m safe and I’m warm
Lord, You have comforted me
With grace in Your hiding place
I am at peace
Peace comes like the dawn
Peace that the world
Can’t understand
You take my hand and I stand
The waters may fall

The peace that passes understanding
Is a blessing that will never fade away
The peace that passes understanding
Is here to stay
The peace that passes understanding
Never passes away
Oh oh, oh oh

The peace that passes understanding
Is a blessing that will never fade away
The peace that passes understanding
Is here to stay
The peace that passes understanding
Never passes away

The other song is a hymn I’ve journaled about before, “It Is Well With My Soul,” written by Horatio Spafford after the tragic loss of his children at sea. Here are the lyrics. They start with “peace.”

“It Is Well With My Soul”

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul

It is well
With my soul
It is well, it is well with my soul

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul

Father, storms will come. I will be pressed, but I can have peace in you. And even if I am ultimately crushed and my earthly life ends, I will be with you and it will be well with my soul. Thank you for offering this to all of us through your son.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 24, 2019 in 2 Peter, Hymns and Songs, Peter and John

 

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“Castle On The Hill” by Ed Sheeran

05 Jan

“Castle On The Hill” by Ed Sheeran

When I was six years old I broke my leg
I was running from my brother and his friends
And tasted the sweet perfume of the
Mountain grass I rolled down
I was younger then
Take me back to when

I found my heart and broke it here
Made friends and lost them through the years
And I’ve not seen the roaring fields in so long
I know I’ve grown
I can’t wait to go home

I’m on my way
Driving at 90 down those
Country lanes
Singing to “Tiny Dancer”
And I miss the way you make me feel, it’s real
We watched the sunset
Over the castle on the hill

Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes
Running from the law to the backfields
And getting drunk with my friends
Had my first kiss on a Friday night
I don’t reckon I did it right
I was younger then
Take me back to when

We found weekend jobs, when we got paid
We’d buy cheap spirits and drink them straight
Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long
Oh, how we’ve grown
I can’t wait to go home

I’m on my way
Driving at 90 down those
Country lanes
Singing to “Tiny Dancer”
And I miss the way you make me feel, it’s real
We watched the sunset
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill

One friend left to sell clothes
One works down by the coast
One had two kids but lives alone
One’s brother overdosed
One’s already on his second wife
One’s just barely getting by
But these people raised me
And I can’t wait to go home.

And I’m on my way
I still remember these old country lanes
When we did not know the answers
And I miss the way you make me feel, it’s real
We watched the sunset
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill

Dear God, well, this song is most certainly not scripture, but it taps into an emotion within me that I’d like to explore with you this morning.

I was fortunate to have had a great group of friends, especially my senior year in high school. We would spend all weekend together. My memories are that at least one night of the weekend we would go to someone’s house and stay up most of the night and well into the early hours of the morning laughing, watching movies and playing games. Unlike Ed Sheeran’s depiction in this song, we didn’t drink or smoke, but I think we got the same emotional constructs for ourselves that Ed and his friends got from each other.

High school is an interesting mixture of responsibilities and irresponsibility. For most of us, we have the responsibilities of school, preparing for college, chores around the house and maybe an outside job, but we still don’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from and how we will pay our rent/house payment (notice I said, “most,” because I know there are tragically too many youth who have to worry about these things). And we have a choice as we are making friends. We can identify our values and then find people who fit those values (I think that’s what I did) or we can identify people with whom we want to be friends and then adopt their values.

In my case, there are little phrases of this song that hit me–well, I just looked back and that won’t work. The whole thing hits me. My parents could only do so much to influence me. They set the standards within which I had to perform (grades, work, chores, college applications, etc.), but, in retrospect, I can say that at one level they had a tremendous influence on who I became (taking me to church), but on another level how little of it had to do with them.

So let’s see how I would lay out his last “where are they now” section:

  • One got married young and had several children. She is a college professor
  • One survived breast cancer
  • One has had several health struggles for her and her husband
  • One is a missionary in Thailand
  • At least a couple have had children with special needs
  • One is gay and has been rejected by some of the group
  • Several are on second marriages (there might even be a third in there somewhere)
  • One lost a son to suicide

As for me, my life has been a surprise to me. I’m happily married for 26 years, but we’ve had our struggles. My career has seen ups and downs. And I’ve seen ups and downs in my relationship with you. I guess one of the reasons this song speaks to me so much is that it takes me back to a part of my mind where I am young, naïve, idealistic, judgmental, ignorantly confident, hormonal, and scared. I think about the exuberance of youth and how, now that I’m older, I can spot it in a young person. I always have two thoughts: 1.) Good for you and 2.) you’ll probably experience pain that will take that away.

One thing I remember telling both my daughter and my son when they were in high school is that they will be surprised at how they drift apart from their friends. At that stage in life, it seems like those friends are your whole world and you’ll never lose what you have, but we all go off and touch different parts of the world you have for us. In Ed Sheeran’s case, he has probably seen more of the world through his career than 99% of the rest of us. But he can’t wait to go home. I’ll admit, the first time I heard this song and the part at the end about where everyone is now, I wondered if it’s awkward for him to go back as such a financial and famous success. Did that change his relationships with them irreparably?

Father, while it’s true that that group my senior year, as well as previous best friends throughout my school years helped to raise me, what I didn’t understand at the time is that, if I stayed in pursuit of you, you would be the one who would continue to raise me, even until this day. You are shaping me and molding me. And you have sometimes used me to encourage one of these friends, and you’ve continued to use them to encourage me. Thank you for how you’ve built me. Thank you for helping me to get something positive, to this very day, from those memories and songs like this. But thank you also that you’ve continued to guide me to new scenes beyond the castle on the hill.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 5, 2019 in Hymns and Songs, Musings and Stories

 

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“Where The Streets Have No Name” by U2

23 Nov

“Where the Streets Have No Name”
U2

I want to run, I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside
I wanna reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name
I want to feel sunlight on my face
I see that dust cloud disappear without a trace
I wanna take shelter from the poison rain

Where the streets have no name, oh oh
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We’re still building then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there, I go there with you
It’s all I can do

The city’s a flood
And our love turns to rust
We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled into dust
I’ll show you a place
High on the desert plain

Where the streets have no name, oh oh
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We’re still building then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there, I go there with you
It’s all I can do

Our love turns to rust
We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh and I see love
See our love turn to rust

We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh when I go there
I go there with you
It’s all I can do

Dear God, I woke up yesterday, Thanksgiving morning, and came across a video of an interview with Eugene Peterson (translator of The Message version of the Bible among other things) and Bono (lead singer for U2). They were talking about the impact and importance of the Psalms on their lives. Somehow, and I can’t remember the train of thought that got me there–perhaps it was mentioned in the interview–this song came up and I wanted to spend some time with it and you this morning.

This has always been one of my favorite U2 songs, if not my favorite. Sure, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “God–Part 2,” and “In the Name of Love” are classics that are great, but I think it’s the guitar riff that starts the song that draws me in. Football teams should storm the field to it. It’s just this great little inspiring thing. But I have to confess that I’ve never had any idea what the song was about.

I decided to use Google to search for something that anyone had written about the meaning of the song. I came across this website. Here is this person’s explanation (some of the grammar isn’t perfect for American English, but you get the idea):

There’s a mith about the streets of the city of Belfast in the Northern Ireland. You can know the person’s religion and income of a person only knowing the name of the street where the person live. In Etiopia, where Bono and his wife Ali Hewson are went for an Humanitarian visit, all the streets don’t have name. And Bono sees that this little thing leads to less separation between the people. Less differences and more integration. The lyrics of this song starts all from here.

That explanation really helps to unlock the whole song for me. I couldn’t tell if the place where streets have no name was Heaven or what. But this myth from Belfast is like the keycode that unlocks the cipher. I needed it.

So with that new knowledge, I want to go through this song slowly and see what you might have for me through the wisdom of some fellow Christian sojourners.

I want to run, I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside
I wanna reach out and touch the flame
Where the streets have no name
I want to feel sunlight on my face
I see that dust cloud disappear without a trace
I wanna take shelter from the poison rain

Anger and judging others can get so fatiguing. I get tired of other people doing it, but I do it too. I do it to relatives, friends, people I see in the store, and even politicians. I judge them through the lens through which I enter the world. Notice that the second line doesn’t accuse other people of doing this. He is pointing the finger at himself: “I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside.” And he knows what will be there in that place that is free from judgment and prejudice. He will feel sunlight. Evil loves the dark, but truth loves the light. The dust cloud of dirtiness and obfuscation will be gone. And he will get out of the poisonous environment that he’s leaving behind.

Where the streets have no name, oh oh
Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We’re still building then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there, I go there with you
It’s all I can do

I think this chorus is referring to the idea that we will successfully build things, but then, in our humanness, we will burn it down–especially love. If we can just go to that place where we accept and love each other with your grace and your love then we will have arrived in a whole new world.

The city’s a flood
And our love turns to rust
We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled into dust
I’ll show you a place
High on the desert plain

Our love turns to rust
We’re beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh and I see love
See our love turn to rust

The separations we put between ourselves–where we live, worship, eat out, shop, work, etc.–can’t help but put walls between us. I went back and watched the original music video for this song. They filmed it in a rough part of Los Angeles from the roof of a building the was probably three to five stories tall. Word got out and people from all over the city region came. Rich, poor, black, white, male, female, employed, unemployed, etc. all gathered as one to watch them perform this song. So many showed up that the police had to shut down the filming, but not until after they got some neat footage. But in that moment, no one cared about the address except for the fact that that’s where everyone was.

When we live lives apart and when we don’t allow ourselves to understand what is happening in Central America that is driving refugees to our border, then our love most certainly turns to rust. They have their country (i.e. their street name) and we have our country (i.e. our street name). I’m not suggesting we open up our borders, but I am suggesting that we think more about how to improve their street and reinvigorate our love for others.

Father, help me to apply this to my own life. Help me to apply it to my family relationships. Help me to be sensitive to it in my community and to those who live outside my community. And please don’t let my love turn to rust.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2018 in Hymns and Songs, Uncategorized

 

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“Pass it On” by Kurt Kaiser

17 Nov

“Pass it On” by Kurt Kaiser

It only takes a spark
To get a fire going
And soon all those around
Will warm up to its glowing
That’s how it is with God’s love
Once you’ve experienced it
You spread His love to everyone
You want to pass it on

How I wish for you my friend
This happiness that I’ve found
You can depend on Him
It matters not where you’re bound
I’ll shout it from the mountain tops
I want the world to know
The God of love has come to me
I want to pass it on

Dear God, this is one of those songs from childhood that is a classic. We sang it at church, church camps, Bible studies, etc. The two summers that I was a camp counselor, we would use this song on the last night with our bonfire to say goodbye to the kids. Great, great song.

I had never thought about who wrote the song until I was about 21 or so. I was at Baylor and working part-time for a Christian music publisher called Word in Waco. One day, I met this really nice older gentleman named Kurt Kaiser. He didn’t work in the office, but he had come in to use our photocopier. After he left, someone told me who he was. We was not only the writer of this song, but also of “Oh How He Loves You And Me” (maybe I’ll do that song tomorrow). I was amazed. It’s like putting a face with a voice over the phone. I had just put a face with the song that had been part of stirring so much emotion. And the good news was that it was a good face. He seemed genuine and kind.

The thing that always struck me about Kurt is that he seemed to always remember me by name. I was practically nobody at the company. I was a part-time worker on the last rung of the ladder, but somehow he remembered me whenever he saw me. I would run into him at a restaurant in town and he would remember my name. Oh, how I hate the part of me that cannot seem to remember names. What an honoring thing it is to be able to show someone they mattered to you during your encounter by remembering their name.

Well, Kurt died this week. He wasn’t yet very old–in his early 80s. Of course, that made me go back and pull out these songs that I hadn’t heard in a long time. The poetry of the opening lines is brilliant. I would love to have asked him where he was and what he was doing when the inspiration of that metaphor came to him. “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love once you’ve experienced it. You spread His love to everyone. You want to pass it on.” Even those who have no love for poetry and think they can’t understand it, can get this one. It uses 44 words to explain something that a pastor could use an entire sermon to describe.

Father, help me to pass it on today. Help me to first, be part of the fire. Help me to move my embers close to you and then pass you on to everyone around me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Oh How He Loves You and Me” by Kurt Kaiser

03 Nov

“Oh How He Loves You and Me” by Kurt Kaiser

Oh how He loves you and me
Oh how He loves you and me
He gave His life, what more could He give?
Oh how He loves you, oh how He loves me
Oh how He loves you and me

Dear God, I haven’t heard this song in a while, but a friend posted a video from a service he went to last night at Baylor for homecoming and they were singing this song.

It’s a lovely tune and the lyrics are simple. I guess the crux of the song is the question embedded in the middle: “He gave his life. What more could He give?” Really, it’s pretty simple. You gave your life. What more could you give? You gave cane to earth as an example for my instruction and then gave it for my ransom. Really, what more could you have done?

Father, thank you. I probably owe you so many more thank yous than I give you. And although I’ve tried to give you my life in return I know I fail at that too. So I’m sure that in a normal relationship I would owe you a bunch of I’m sorries as well. But this isn’t a normal relationship because you gave your life. Yes, I still need to confess my sin to you regularly–more regularly than I do–but in the end your blood covers me. Which leads me back to thank you.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 3, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“I Still Believe” — Russ Taff

01 Nov

“I STILL BELIEVE” by Russ Taff

I’ve been in a cave for forty days
Only a spark to light my way
I want to give out I want to give in
This is our crime, this is our sin

But I still believe, I still believe
Through the pain and through the grief
Through the lies and through the storms
Through the cries and through the wars
I still believe

Flat on my back out at sea
Hoping these waves don’t cover me
I’m turned and tossed upon the waves
When the darkness comes I feel the grave

But I still believe I still believe
Through the cold and through the heat
Through the rain and through the tears
Through the crowds and through the cheers
I still believe

I’ll march this road
I’ll climb this hill
Upon my knees If I have to
I’ll take my place upon this stage
I’ll wait till the end of time for You
For people like us in places like this
We need all the hope that we can get

I still believe, I still believe
Through the shame and through the grief
Through the heartache and through the tears
Through the waiting and through the years
I still believe

Words and music by Michael Been and J. Goodwin

Dear God, I first heard this song my freshman year in college when my roommate played me a version of it recorded by a group called The Call. I liked it, but I didn’t necessarily understand it. I was always trying to figure out “who” was talking. Were these biblical characters? Who’s in the cave? Is it Elijah? 40 days…is he referring to Jesus? Flat on my back out at sea…is that Jesus in the boat during the storm? Is he saying that Jesus was actually scared? Is this a Christian song at all? Marching the road and climbing the hill…is that Jesus? I’m so confused!

But perhaps I am the singer. Maybe I should turn this song inward. It’s not as important to know who is singing it as to wonder how much of it is my story.

This hit my radar today because a Christian singer, Russ Taff, who also recorded this song back in the 80s is releasing a biographical documentary about his struggle as a Christian artist who was living with the pain of hiding secrets about himself from the public. He called the movie “I Still Believe.” I watched the trailer and then decided to go back and listen to the song again.

So instead of thinking about Elijah, Jesus, The Call, Russ Taff, or the two writers of this song, Michael Been and J. Goodwin, I’m going to think about myself. When have I been in a cave just looking for a spark to light my way? When have I wanted to give out or give in? When have I been on my back out at sea, hoping the waves don’t cover me? When have I been turned and tossed and felt the grave?

Father, I’ll march this road, I’ll climb this hill–upon my knees if I have to. I’ll take my place upon this stage and I’ll wait until the end of time for you. You are my reason for breath. You are the air I breathe.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Why Me, Lord?” by Kris Kristofferson

28 Aug

“Why Me, Lord?” by Kris Kristofferson 

Why me Lord, what have I ever done
To deserve even one
Of the pleasures I’ve known
Tell me Lord, what did I ever do
That was worth loving you
Or the kindness you’ve shown.

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so
Help me Jesus I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

Tell me Lord, if you think there’s a way
I can try to repay
All I’ve taken from you
Maybe Lord, I can show someone else
What I’ve been through myself
On my way back to you. 

Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so
Help me Jesus I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.

  

Dear God, I’m not as concerned about the lyrics of this song as I am the testimony given my Kris Kristofferson before he sings it in this video. Basically, sitting with other country singers such as Willie Nelson, he gives his testimony and it’s really quite beautiful. Some pull quotes:

Pastor: “If anyone is lost, raise your hand.”

Kristofferson: I didn’t go to church a lot, and the notion of raising my hand was out of the question…all of a sudden, I felt my hand going up…

Pastor: “If anybody is ready to accept Jesus, come down to the front of the church.”

Kristofferson: I thought that would never happen, and I found myself getting up and walking down with all these people.

Pastor: “Are you ready to accept Jesus Christ into your life?”

Kristofferson: I said, “I don’t know.” I didn’t know what I was doing there…I can’t even remember what he was saying. Whatever it was, it was such a release for me that I found myself weeping in public, and I felt this forgiveness that I didn’t know I even needed.”

A few weeks ago I preached a sermon called, “What are we selling?” It was about the Gospel. The woman who sent this to me was in that sermon, and I replied to her, “This is what we are selling.” 

Who is lost? What a simple question that requires an answer. I remember feeling lost. Thankfully, I don’t currently feel that way, although there have been times since I’ve been a Christian that I have felt completely overwhelmed by my life and at a complete loss.  

I think the part that touched me so much was the last line I quoted. He mentioned a release and he mentioned feeling a forgiveness that I didn’t know I even needed. How many of us are too proud to ever admit we need forgiveness. There is simply no way we can call ourselves a Christian without first coming to the point of recognizing our lostness, humbling ourselves before you, and asking for and experiencing your forgiveness. It’s that release of ourselves and the façade we paint for the world that brings the tears, I think. 

Father, help me to know how to offer this to my friends, my family, and even those I only barely know. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be in every moment. 

In Jesus’ name I pray, 

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 28, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Matthew 11:28-30 – “Power in the Blood”

19 Aug

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

Dear God, I want to look at this passage through several translations. The one I have above is from the NIV. Here are some different versions of the same verses:

KJV
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you , and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

NAS
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

NLT
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

The Message
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me–watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

While I typed out each of these translations, I had “Power in the Blood” playing in the background. I asked myself, what is that power? A lot of us have sung about it through that song all of our lives. What was the power the author discovered that they wanted to share? Well, it feeds into this passage pretty nicely.

Would you be free from the burden of sin?
Would you o’er evil a victory win?
Would you be free from your passion and pride?
Come for a cleaning to Calvary’s tide.
Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow?
Sin stains are lost in the life-giving flow.

Four questions? The first and the last relate to each other–release from sin. The second had to do with our victory over evil (whether we can see it with our earthly eyes or not). The third is a release from passion and pride.

Father, as I prepare to preach this morning, I feel a burden on this one like no other I’ve felt. And with that burden, I feel like I am pressing too hard. I am trying to much to come up with my own plan. I am trying to think my way through this too much when, in reality, I will be most successful if I simply lay this out through prayer, which I think I successfully did yesterday, and then let your Holy Spirit take over and guide me where it will in the moment. So I offer this to you. I offer my thoughts, my experiences, and my best-laid plans to you. Do with them what you will, but do it for your glory. I don’t care about getting one accolade today. I really don’t. I just want to know that your Holy Spirit did what it wanted to do and planted the seeds it wanted to plant.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 19, 2018 in Hymns and Songs, Matthew

 

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Funeral Songs (Part 6) – “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” by Henry van Dyke (and Ludwig van Beethoven)

16 Aug

Dear God, this will wrap up the funeral songs series I’ve been doing this week. It’s been a fun exercise to kind of go through the songs I would want played and my funeral and think through what the message is that I’m trying to send to the attendees. Frankly, I doubt any of them will get it anyway.

One thing I hope I’m accomplishing is some advice I received from a friend who was widowed much too early in life. She told me that her husband had some very common funeral songs at his funeral, and now it can be hard to go to funerals because at least one of the songs will remind her of her loss. So I’ve hopefully at least picked some songs that 1.) won’t hurt my wife should I die first and 2.) won’t bring up bad memories for others.

Regarding this song, this was also the recessional at our wedding. I think it was my choice, but I’m not positive. I know I at least had some input on it. I’ve always loved it as a song of joy, and if I’m going to have the brass quintet at my funeral, this song should sound pretty good for people as they leave.

Here are the words as written by Henry van Dyke in 1907

“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” by Henry van Dyke

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee,
Op’ning to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flow’ry meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Wellspring of the joy of living,
Ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us,
Brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward
In the triumph song of life.

I wonder what kind of worship state Mr. van Dyke was in when he wrote these words to accompany Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Was he listening to the German words and felt compelled to put his own worship of you to the tune?

The thing about this song is that it acknowledges that EVERYTHING either is worshiping or will worship you–Earth, heaven, stars, angels, fields, forests, mountains, vales, meadows, seas, birds, fountains, and mortals. And there is so much to worship! Your love for us and our love for you melts the clouds of sin and sadness. It drives the dark of doubt away. And the last verse is just great. We get to join the chorus that the stars began. You reign over us, and our love binds us to you and each other. We are victors in the midst of strife (how great is that?).

Father, I’m not sure if this week did anything to edify me or increase my relationship with you, but I do feel like I was able to look at some of these songs in a new way and understand why they mean so much to me. I was also able to get in some good worship. So I end this series with the simple statement that I love you and I hope that I honor you and bring you glory in my life and in my death.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 

 
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Posted by on August 16, 2018 in Funeral Songs, Hymns and Songs, Uncategorized

 

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Funeral Songs (Part 5) – “Come Thou Fount” by Robert Robinson

15 Aug

Dear God, this has been an interesting series for me to do with you–the songs I would choose for my funeral. What do they say about me? What do they say about what I want to communicate to the world?

I’m up to a song that I love for the last part of the last verse. It’s a great song, but it’s the humble honesty of those last lines that make it so powerful. Here’s the whole song:

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Robert Robinson

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Here there by Thy great help I’ve come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
Oh, that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in the blood washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let that goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
Here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

 

Each verse has so much in it that I’m not even sure how to do this without taking two hours and I have a meeting at work in an hour.

The first verse mentions teaching me to sing your praise for the streams of mercy from you that are never ceasing. And letting it be the Holy Spirit and angels who teach me.

Notice the italicized words in verses two and three. This is what I meant in the first one I did in this series when I said I would have this song sung “Howard Butt, Jr. style.” At his funeral, they replaced the second have of the second and third verses with the last part of the song: “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it/Prone to leave the God I love/Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it/Seal it for thy courts above.”

I was listening to a sermon this morning on my phone and I heard the pastor talking about how your glory fades from us when we walk away from you. And it frustrates all of us. I’ve heard that Mother Theresa wrote letters indicating that the last part of this song applied to her. Howard Butt, Jr. obviously thought it applied to him. And I can tell you it applies to me. I am prone to wander and leave you.

Father, here’s my heart. Please take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 15, 2018 in Funeral Songs, Hymns and Songs

 

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