This old, old hymn still has power to move us.
I like to post a hymn here every Sunday morning.
If you have a favorite hymn, or a couple of favorites, that you’d like to see me post, don’t be bashful–tell me about it. Suggestions are more than welcome.
When things look bleak; when the ungodly are riding high and whooping it up; when faith is at its low ebb–
What is the Christian to do?
Sing louder!
Best advice I ever heard, boys and girls. I heard it on this little, 15-minute Christian radio talk show.
Sing louder.
Bringing in the Sheaves is one of those old classic hymns that you can really put your heart into. I would love to hear King Ryons’ army sing it in their dozen different languages.
The guy who sings it here may not be the greatest singer in the world–ask God if He cares about that!–but I’ll bet you’ve never heard this glorious old hymn played on an autoharp. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve even seen a picture of an autoharp.
But enough talking–make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands!
I never heard this hymn before. I stumbled over it while looking for something else.
Wow! Let’s share this, instead.
The son of God goes forth to war… Not the kind of sentiment appreciated these days, in Bible-less, Revelation-poor, wussified churches.
Nevertheless, brothers and sisters, there is a war out there, and it will come in through your window if you don’t go out to meet it.
Fight on the Lord’s side. Read Revelation to find out how it all turns out.
Welsh miners singing in How Green Was My Valley (English subtitles)
Once upon a time, on a little 15-minute Christian radio show whose name I can’t remember, I heard a woman say a very wise thing.
“When your faith is shaky; when you don’t know for sure, anymore, that God is with you; when the bad things in life keep piling up; when you just don’t know what’s what–
“That’s when you have to sing louder!”
What can I say but Amen?
We usually hear this beautiful hymn around Christmastime, but there’s nothing wrong with hearing it now. In fact, after a week of watching Satan’s vandals trash our civilization, I need it now. It reminds me that God already has the answer to our self-imposed prison sentence in a fallen world. God will regenerate His creation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
So here it is–music by J.S. Bach, wonderful performance, and hope provided by the King of Kings.
Let’s start our Sunday with a classic hymn, here sung not as a performance, but as part of a church service. This hymn, by Felice DiGiardini (1716-1796), may be more familiar to you as “Come Thou Almighty King”–same music, different lyrics. Our church had them both in its hymnal, on adjacent pages.
Think about that line, “The world to Christ we bring.”
As Christians, that’s what we’re supposed to do. And you can bet the world doesn’t want to be brought to Christ. But I would rather not talk politics today.
Let the words and music of the hymn speak instead.
The opening words of this classic hymn are from Paul’s first Epistle to Timothy, Chapter 1.
The thing about Paul’s epistles is, they’re full of real people. We know a lot about Timothy–his grandmother, Lois, his mother, Eunice, his pagan father (whose name is not given), and his less than robust state of health, for which Paul advises him to take a little wine with his dinner, instead of water.
If we belong to Jesus Christ, we are in fellowship with these saints of old; they are our family. We can love them. Meanwhile, we are in fellowship with saints in Africa and Asia and other faraway places, whom in this life we will never see face-to-face but who are nevertheless knit to us in a holy bond. They, too, are our family in Christ.
It’s good to have a big family, don’t you think?
This simple old hymn has always moved me, ever since I first heard it as a little boy.
I love the way these two guys play it. But they don’t sing, so you’ll have to sing it yourselves. Let me see if I can get the lyrics for you.
Here’s the first verse, at least:
What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer.
O, what peace we often forfeit, O, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.
If I haven’t bollixed up this video, here, in this performance of a classic hymn, the unaided human voice is used as a musical instrument to praise God.
We can’t all do it well, but we can all do it.
This beautiful, hundred-year-old hymn is one I never heard before. My friend, Susan, who is also my editor, suggested it to me.
I must thank her–this is just lovely.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands…