Just now, at sunrise, I looked out my window and saw the trees to the west flooded in pink light. Juxtaposed behind this was a wall of deep blue sky. I watched in worship until the pink turned to grey-brown. I thought of yesterday's tragic fire in Paris -- the night-time lights of that famous cathedral were said to be breathtaking. Perhaps they will be again; there are stories Notre Dame holds that only God knows. A person who found a quiet corner to call out to Him there; a worker many centuries ago whose intent each day was to lift God's name with his heart and hands. These things, so precious to God, cannot be snuffed out. All mankind's handiwork will one day be gone. Even the trees will be gone, and He will make all things new. Yet there will never be a time when God's own handiwork will cease its resounding praise. How lovely it is to be part of this handiwork, and to worship Him as He writes His name across the morning sky.
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Our era has a distorted view of melancholy and other expressions of sorrow. We either overindulge in them (no one has ever had things as rough as I do) or we reject nearly all such things as foolish self-pity, a type of weakness that must be set right if we're to be of any use to anyone, including God. Job's friends* were perhaps forerunners of this. Job was honest in his grief, and in asking "Why would God do this to me?" but Job's friends were having none of it. They dumped spiritual "wisdom" on his head until finally God had had enough and demanded, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38:2). He then proceeded to set them all straight, but it was not Job's anguish that provoked this annoyed response. Scripture is very honest about human emotion; it's often in the midst of deep grief that some of the highest expressions of praise ring out. This is in fact what happened to me. It was powerful grief and fear that brought me to praise, and, through praise, to a renewed and much deeper love for my Lord. There is of course a difference between expressing sadness (or anger, or fear) and bathing in it to the point that we lose track of the other side of the story -- the one God told Job and his friends, which is that God is God; He knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning: we can trust Him. With these things in mind, I'd like to share with you another Psalm from the Scottish psalter. At first this one may seem an even more unlikely reflection for worship than the one I shared with you a few weeks ago on the blog page. Yet part way through, the psalmist shifts perspective to remember what's most important, that God is God and we can trust Him. Like the other recording I posted recently, this is performed by Niall Maclennan (SoundCloud user name Niallags). Unlike the previous recording, though, which I believe was self-harmonized, my ears are telling me there are two voices here. If so, I don't know the other singer's identity, but I am grateful to him and to Niall for this beautiful recording. Psalm 102 (version 2) vv. 9-15 Niall Maclennan, as performed on SoundCloud Text from The Scottish Psalter of 1650 For I have ashes eaten up, To me as if they had been bread; And with my drink I in my cup Of bitter tears a mixture made. Because Thy wrath was not appeas'd, And dreadful indignation, Therefore it was that Thou me rais'd And Thou again didst cast me down. My days are like a shade alway, Which doth declining swiftly pass; And I am withered away, Much like unto the fading grass. But Thou, O Lord, shalt still endure, From change and all mutation free, And to all generations sure Shall Thy remembrance ever be. Thou shalt arise, and mercy yet Thou to mount Sion shalt extend: Her time for favour which was set, Behold, is now come to an end. Thy saints take pleasure in her stones, Her very dust to them is dear. All heathen lands and kingly thrones On earth Thy glorious name shall fear. (Capitalization added to pronouns that refer to God) *I highly recommend Oswald Chambers' excellent commentary on the book of Job -- Baffled to Fight Better -- which is part of the Complete Works of Oswald Chambers, available as a free pdf download from the publisher (Discovery House Publishers); link here.
Tonight this beautiful song helped lift my eyes to my God, who is all-sufficient, who is entirely lovely, and who is, by some miracle I do not understand, mine. E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee.
"Nearer, My God, to Thee" written by Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848) tune ("Bethany") composed by Lowell Mason (1792-1872) Full lyrics* (including a wonderful final verse I had never heard before, written by Edward Bickersteth Jr. [1825-1906]):
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Refrain: Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee! Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down, Darkness be over me, my rest a stone; Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. There let the way appear, steps unto Heav’n; All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv’n; Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise, Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise; So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky, Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I’ll fly, Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. There in my Father’s home, safe and at rest, There in my Savior’s love, perfectly blest; Age after age to be nearer, my God, to Thee. *Source: Timeless Truths Free Online Library, "Nearer, My God, to Thee" Psalm 40, lyrics from the Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650) Tune "Ballerma" by François Hippolyte Barthélemon (1741-1808) YouTube video posted by "The Psalms Sung" (with the note, "sung at a Scottish youth weekend") Lyrics below the video ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Praise to You, my precious God. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lyrics
I waited for the Lord my God, and patiently did bear; At length to me He did incline my voice and cry to hear. He took me from a fearful pit, and from the miry clay, And on a rock He set my feet, establishing my way. He put a new song in my mouth, our God to magnify: Many shall see it, and shall fear, and on the Lord rely. O blessed is the man whose trust upon the Lord relies; Respecting not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. "Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness, that from its first to its last day we may be glad and rejoice in Thee. Let January open with joy in the Lord, and December close with gladness in Jesus."
Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, evening devotional for January 1 I haven't thought about this hymn in years, but the tune came to me intact the other day when I needed something BIG enough to express how exquisite the Lord is. This is surely one of the anthems of heaven! I'm getting a head start by putting it to memory now.
This rendition -- the most beautiful one I found in searching online -- was performed in 2009 by the youth choir (!) of the Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church in Georgetown, South Carolina. I've copied the full lyrics below as they are worded in several traditional hymnals (including my great-grandmother's, which I'm using to learn the hymn). The version sung here is the more usual way the song appears today. YouTube video: "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" Lyrics by Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847) Music "Lauda Anima" by John Goss (1800-1880) _________________________________________________________ "Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven" (after Psalm 103) Praise, my soul, the King of heaven, To His feet thy tribute bring: Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven, Who like me His praise should sing? Praise Him! praise Him! Praise Him! praise Him! Praise the everlasting King! Praise Him for His grace and favour To our fathers in distress; Praise Him still the same as ever, Slow to chide, and swift to bless: Praise Him! praise Him! Praise Him! praise Him! Glorious in His faithfulness! Father-like, He tends and spares us, Well our feeble frame He knows: In His hands He gently bears us, Rescues us from all our foes: Praise Him! praise Him! Praise Him! praise Him! Widely as His mercy flows. Frail as summer’s flower we flourish; Blows the wind, and it is gone: But while mortals rise and perish, God endures unchanging on: Praise Him! praise Him! Praise Him! praise Him! Praise the high eternal One! Angels, help us to adore Him; Ye behold Him face to face; Sun and moon, bow down before Him, Dwellers all in time and space: Praise Him! praise Him! Praise Him! praise Him! Praise with us the God of grace. Self-explanatory :)
Vimeo video "Ten Thousand Reasons (Bless the Lord)" Written and performed by Matt Redman Really, really needing to direct my focus back to my One and Only after a very strange and emotional week, I went looking tonight for a video of "There's Power in the Blood."
I found three: The first is pure country, sung by Alan Jackson. The second one is in Spanish, sung by someone I sure do like but whose name I don't know. Version three is just for fun. The "eight feet tall" comment at the end seems to fit right in with a celebration of the mighty Lamb of God. I hope you enjoy these. All praise to Jesus! (Please excuse any ads that may pop up before the videos.) "There's Power in the Blood" words and music by Lewis E. Jones, 1899 YouTube videos: Version 1, sung by Alan Jackson Version 2, in Spanish Version 3, by someone named Joshua Yasaswi (whose family sure takes a LOT of videos!) _____________________________________________________ Lyrics* Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood. Refrain: There is power, power, wonder-working power In the blood of the Lamb; There is power, power, wonder-working power In the precious blood of the Lamb. Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide; There’s wonderful power in the blood. (Refrain) Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow. There’s wonderful power in the blood. (Refrain) Would you do service for Jesus your King? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful power in the blood. (Refrain) Spanish lyrics/letras en español: ¿Quieres ser salvo de toda maldad? Tan solo hay poder en mi Jesús; ¿Quieres vivir y gozar santidad? Tan solo hay poder en Jesús. (Do you want to be safe from all evil? There is power in my Jesus alone; Do you want to live and enjoy holiness? There is power in Jesus alone.) Coro (chorus): Hay poder, poder, sin igual poder, En Jesús, quien murió; Hay poder, poder, sin igual poder, En la sangre que él vertió. (There is power, power, unequalled power In Jesus, who died; There is power, power, unequalled power In the blood that He shed.) ¿Quieres ser libre de orgullo y pasión? Tan solo hay poder en mi Jesús; ¿Quieres vencer toda cruel tentación? Tan solo hay poder en Jesús. (Do you want to be free from pride and passion? There is power in my Jesus alone; Do you want to overcome all cruel temptation? There is power in Jesus alone.) (Coro) ¿Quieres servir a tu Rey y Señor? Tan solo hay poder en mi Jesús; Ven, y ser salvo podrás en su amor, Tan sólo hay poder en Jesús. (Do you want to serve your King and Lord? There is power in my Jesus alone. Come, and you can be saved in His love. There is power in Jesus alone.) (Coro) ______________ *(source) This morning very early, I was lying awake listening to the birds. It struck me as I lay there that their choral praise absolutely fills the skies, in much the same way the angel song is said to fill heaven.
Of course! The things God has surrounded us with are pictures of what is in heaven, although heaven's version is purer, fuller, clearer -- untainted. The earthly version we see is far less than what it was originally created to be. We know this, in part from this passage in Romans: For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23 So, this got me wondering -- not so much wondering as asking the Lord to begin revealing it to me... What other things in nature are pictures of heaven? Does the vast blue sky tell us something about God, or about His heaven? What about the rolling green hills? The trees? The butterflies? The wolves? The air we breathe? I don't have answers to these questions yet, and the answers you may receive if you begin to wonder these same things may differ from the answers I receive. But there is one thing I'm certain of: Everything God creates is designed in some way to reflect His glory, and to praise Him. Some mornings when the birds' pre-dawn ovation is especially spectacular, I almost wish I could join them. But, ah... what awaits us is sweeter, so much sweeter. And while we're still on earth, each of us has been given unique ways of serenading Him throughout the day. Let's fill the skies with His praise! |
All thy sins were laid upon Him, Jesus bore them on the tree;
God, who knew them, laid them on Him, and, believing, thou art free. Joseph Denham Smith (c. 1817-1889) Praise reflection archives
May 2020
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...take root downward and bear fruit upward.
2 Kings 19:30 |