I'll Fly Away

1) Some glad morning when this life is o'er, I'll fly away;
To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away.

Refrain: I'll fly away, O glory, I'll fly away;
When I die hallelujah, by and by, I'll fly away.

2) When the shadows of this life have gone, I'll fly away;
Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I'll fly away.

3) Oh how glad and happy when we meet, I'll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet, I'll fly away.

4) Just a few more weary days and then, I'll fly away;
To a land where joys shall never end, I'll fly away.

So this isn't necessarily a hymn, not in the classic since. It is a Christian folk song, and since it's my blog, I'm counting it. This song was written by a high school drop out. Albert Brumley (1905-1977), after quitting the tenth grade, soon discovered he could sing better than most people. He found a music school that he didn't want to quit and learned how to write music. Eventually, he would become the world's most recorded songwriter, but nothing that mirrored the popularity of this song.

When I attended App State, bluegrass was fairly common. Occasionally, some friends and I would head to a little town called "Todd" to listen to some ol'-timey music played in a general store. It was the kind of store you could get a moonpie and RC Cola, which is a southern delicacy. I don't listen to this style of music as much anymore, but it's always comforting when I do. Especially songs like this, where you can sing sitting on the porch watching the world go bye or working, trying to get done what needs doing. "I'll Fly Away" is just a lovely song. And of course, here is a link to Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch singing it.

Gentle Jesus

1) Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child;
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to Thee.

2) Lamb of God, I look to Thee;
Thou shalt my example be:
Thou art gentle, meek and mild;
Thou wast once a little child.

3) Fain I would be as Thou art;
Give me Thine obedient heart:
Thou art pitiful and kind;
Let me have Thy loving mind.

4) Loving Jesus, gentle Lamb,
In Thy gracious hands I am;
Make me, Savior, what Thou art,
Live Thyself within my heart.

This is another hymn by Charles Wesley. I seem to be loading up on Wesleyian hymns. Again, I'm covering a children's hymn. If hymns are good and aide in worship, then children's worship is equally, if not important. Hymns help guide our affections. How should we feel when we consider Christ's divinity? His Lordship? His humanity? This hymn focuses on the latter without forsaking the former. Think about most Christmas hymns. There is a gravitas to them. How does one balance the sweetness of God coming to Earth while knowing that the Lamb will die on the Cross to redeem His people? It's tough, but I think you have to focus on one aspect of Jesus at a time. There are so many, which is why we have so much variation in hymns. To try and include everything would be overwhelming. Wesley strikes a good balance here.

All Creatures

1) All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up you voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain: O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

2) Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
Ye clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

3) Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
Thou givest man both warmth and light!

4) And thou, most kind and gentle death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

5) Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

This is an old hymn. It was written by Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Francis of Assisi is fairly well known in Christian circles. He spent a lot of time in isolation seeking enlightenment. He also founded the Franciscan Order. (Fun Fact #1: He was never an ordained priest.) Those who were in his order were called Friars. (Think Friar Tuck). There was one rule in the Franciscan Order, to follow the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ and to walk in His footsteps. The order grew and expanded really at an extraordinary rate. People were moved by the preaching, felt a calling, and joined. Francis of Assisi upheld poverty as something admirable for clergy. In fact, he believed it to be essential for members of his order.

Francis of Assisi also had great love for creation. (Fun Fact #2: Pope John Paul II declared St. Francis to be the Patron of Ecology.) Francis of Assisi preached to the birds, called the son "Brother" and the moon "Sister," and referred to all creatures as "brother and sister."  He is often portrayed as having a bird in his hand. One particular legend involves him chastising a wolf for eating people and animals of a certain town. Assisi was able to calm the wolf and broker a deal between the animal and the townspeople so that they could live in peace. So it's no surprise that he would write a hymn that calls upon nature to proclaim Christ. It isn't unbiblical. Psalm 19:1 reads, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."

While I'm not completely behind Francis of Assisi on the welcoming of animals as brethren, I do believe that nature proclaims God's glory. I think of hymns like this, and "For the Beauty of the Earth" are dead on the money. What is amazing is that Francis of Assisi wrote this during the last months of his life, which were painful. He was blind those last few months. Yet Francis of Assisi found comfort in both the Creator and the creation that testifies to His glory.

Come, Christians

1) Come, Christians join to sing, Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia, Amen!
Let, all with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice: Alleluia! Amen!

This hymn, written by Christian H. Batemen (1813-1889), was originally intended to be a children's song. The first line read, "Come, Children join to sing, Alleluia! Amen!" Not very different, but it is a significant change. What happened? Adults loved to sing this song, so a slight change was made. I don't know if it was necessary, all Christians are children of God. The hymn works both ways.

2) Come, lift your hearts on high, Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky; Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend;
To us He'll condescend;
His love shall never end: Alleluia! Amen!

I really love the celebration of this song. In this stanza, the line, "To us He'll condescend;" is an excellent reminder that God comes to us. If He does not condescend, then we would never know Him. He would remain aloof above His creation and we would be deprived of His grace. Fortunately, God's never ending love means that we get to know Him both as Lord and Friend.

3) Praise yet our Christ again, Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain; Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven's blissful shore
His goodness we'll adore,
Singing forevermore, Alleluia! Amen!

The third stanza reflects the first. It circles back to Christ. I'm fairly certain the second stanza is also focused on Christ, but it's the first and third that mention our Savior explicitly. That's the thing. As believers, we need to always come back to Christ. We point others to the Gospel. It is His work that redeems us. We receive Jesus' righteousness in order to be saved. It is a beautiful story that causes us to sing, Alleluia, Amen!

The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus

                          O The Deep, Deep Love of Jesus ~ Indelible Grace

1) O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me,
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Thy love;
Leading onward, leading homeward
To my glorious rest above.

2) O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 
Spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth,
Changeth never, nevermore;
How He watches o'er His loved ones,
Died to call them all His own;
How for them He intercedeth,
Watcheth o'er them from the throne.

3) O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Love of every love the best;
'Tis an ocean vast of blessing,
'Tis a haven sweet of rest,
O the deep, deep love Jesus,
'Tis a heav'n of heav'ns to me;
And it lifts me up to glory,
For it lifts me up to Thee.

This hymn was written by Samuel Trevor Francis (1834-1925). Francis was a business man who went back and forth across the Atlantic. Apparently, he came to love the ocean. He certainly found an excellent metaphor to make the vastness of Christ's love a little bit more understandable. It surrounds us, it encompasses us, it carries us as a current carries a ship. Francis understood this and put it in a hymn.

The tune itself is called, "Ton-Y-Botel." This Welsh music was composed by Thomas J. Williams. Or, if you prefer the legend, it was found in a bottle that washed up on the ocean. Either way, the tune blends perfectly with the words. The rises and falls of the music compliments the oceanic imagery of Samuel Francis' words. When "updating" this hymn, Indelible Grace didn't change all that much. It's pretty much the same tune. I'm certain a lot of hard work went into the production, but the fit is so snug, there wasn't any need to mix things up.

This hymn is especially helpful in reminding us that we cannot exhaust God's love. At times, we think we try God's patience with us in manner that might cost us His love. But that simply is not true. Yes, God will be displeased with us in our sins, but He will never not love us. We can't burn His love up anymore than we could drink the ocean. He will always love His people.

Come Ye Sinners

                         Come, Ye Sinners ~ Fernando Ortega and Amy Grant

1) Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love, and power;
He is able, He is able, 
He is willing doubt no more.

2) Now, ye needy, come and welcome;
God's free bounty glorify;
True belief and true repentance,
Every grace that brings you nigh:
Without money, without money,
Come to Jesus Christ and buy.

3) Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him:
This He gives you, this He give you;
Tis the Spirit's glimmering beam.

4) Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Bruised and mangled by the Fall;
If you tarry till you're better,
You will never come at all;
Not the righteous, not the righteous;
Sinner Jesus came to call.

This hymn is by Joseph Hart (1712-1768). Looking this up, I found around three or four different versions. That's why what you're listening to is different from what I typed out. I thought about going with the same, then decided against it. I don't know when the refrain was added, it may have been apart of the original work. I just do not know. I'm ok with different versions. Some folks update hymn lyrics as well as the music to reflect their situation, their time. It isn't wrong, although I imagine some people would take offense. These are hymns though, not Scripture. They reflect how the writer feels and prays to God, and we often pray about similar things in different ways. Sometimes we use words others wrote to give life to our own words. It's like a springboard. Hymns are meant to help worship, not be worshiped.

And speaking of worship, Joseph Hart was not a fan. He heard John Wesley preach, went home, and wrote "The Unreasonableness of Religion." Eh, we've all been there. Hart was a language teacher who was afraid of eternal damnation. He went to church for peace and found judgment. It wasn't until he, at forty-five years of age, attended a Moravian church that words of hope changed his heart. It changed so much that he himself became a minister, which is why we have wonderful hymns such as this one.

As you can imagine, there are many schools of thought on preaching. Some do so by telling a story to give a deeper perspective on a narrative in the Bible. Others will preach on a certain topic, flitting around passages deemed appropriate. Yet others still are much more expository, sticking directly to a passage and try to unfold God's will with relevance to the Church. I prefer the latter, but there are times when other approaches are better suited to sanctify one's congregation. We know this because the Apostles used different styles of preaching. No matter the approach, the (overall) message should be the same. Preaching should be about the Gospel, Christ's redeeming love. The Bible is about the Triune God, with an emphasis on Jesus Christ. It is a story of redemption, a story of love. Throughout we see faith and hope and love being given to the sinner in desperate need of such grace. We, as a catholic Church, are given to Christ out of love. And I just think that a struggling man should hear and feel that love when he attends church.

Snow Storm

So the ice storm in South Carolina knocked out the power of my house for a couple of days. I know I'm way behind. So this week, I'm doing two hymns each day, Monday through Friday. That's the goal anyway.

1) Light of those whose dreary dwelling
Borders on the shades of death,
Come, and by Thy love's revealing
Dissipate the clouds beneath.

2)The new heaven and earth's Creator,
In our deepest darkness rise,
Scattering all the night of nature,
Pouring eyesight on our eyes.

3) Still we wait for Thine appearing;
Life and joy Thy beams impart,
Chasing all our fears, and cheering
Every poor benighted heart.

4) Come, and manifest the favor 
God hath for our ransomed race;
Come, Thou universal Savior,
Come, and bring the Gospel grace.

5) Save us in Thy great compassion,
O Thou mild, pacific Prince;
Give the knowledge of savlation,
Give the pardon of our sins.

6) By thine all-redeeming merit
Every burdened soul release;
Every weary, wandering spirit
Guide into Thy perfect peace.

You can listen to the hymn here. This was written by Charles Wesley. I've never heard the hymn before, but I chose it because of the opening line, "Light of those whose dreary dwelling." I thought it might be appropriate since my family and I were without power for a couple of days. It's a funny thing though, we were never dreary. We have gas logs, so hot tea and instant coffee was covered. Our local church did an amazing job opening its doors to those without power. I stayed with friends one night. Those same friends also let us use their place to cook food and shower. We even had a neighbor open up his home so people on the street can get coffee and hot chocolate. In the mean time we played games, especially Ticket to Ride (great game.) If anything, the Lord used the power outage to reiterate how much we are surrounded by loving people.

There are dark days. Days in which the world seems to be collapsing. The Lord uses our brokenness to show His perfect light. He opens our hearts and minds to His love and draws us out of the darkness into His wonderful light. I think this hymn captures the relief that comes with grace. The burden is lifted, the night is gone, we finally receive sight to see.