Then Sings My Soul

What do you do when you have a bad day…complain about the unfairness of life, tell your sob story to anyone in shouting distance, or maybe just crawl under the covers and hope things turn out better the next morning? How about turning to God and focusing on His amazing love and the grace that is greater than our sin? He has redeemed us and given us all we have needed day by day as we acknowledge our dependence in Christ alone. God will take care of you in times like these, and as we know His eye is on the sparrow, joy can fill our inmost heart today as He leads us to higher ground. Come, we that love the Lord, to join in a song of praising the mighty fortress that is our God.

In the previous paragraph, perhaps you picked up on some familiar phrases that came straight from several hymns of the faith. These hymns (and others like them) lift up the soul, provide strength to the weak, and cultivate joy in the believer’s heart. In the latest book I read, Then Sings My Soul, Vol. 3, author Robert Morgan highlights many of the hymns that form our rich heritage and gives the background on the writing of the hymn. Covered in the book are ancient hymns sung by the early Christians to modern ones written by current hymnwriters, with a few stops along the way. This is the third book in the trilogy, so not all the traditional hymns are covered in this installment.

I really appreciated the author’s thoughts and views on hymns. Hymns are a way of turning our focus outward and upward for what God has done for us. Hymns are eloquent expressions of our beliefs, and many are prayers that we sing to God. In addition to being used in corporate worship, they should be read, committed to memory, meditated on, played, prayed, leaned on, quoted, and passed on to the next generation. It is important to dig into the wealth of wisdom the generations before us have left us through the richness of the hymns of the faith. Along with the cloud of witnesses, let us here and now proclaim, “How great Thou art!”

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Then Sings My Soul, Vol. 3 through Book Sneeze, in exchange for my honest review.

Be still, my soul

One of the ways I'm stepping in faith is evidenced in the new habits I'm forming. Every day for the last month (or more accurately every night, as is my normal pattern), I've made a concerted effort to sit down at the piano and play through a selection of hymns. In the lobby, there are a few hymnals and a book of beautiful piano/vocal arrangements of the Getty songs that I've come to frequent on a daily basis. Even after just a few weeks of doing this, it's really encouraging to see my progress and see my confidence build. I did grow up taking piano lessons until age 10 or 11, but really got away from having anything to do with the piano for several years. As such, I chose to not play in public, but rather to tickle the keys only once in a great while, perhaps after a long night in the office when I was sure everyone else was sound asleep. These 2- and 3am adventures at the piano were about my only contact for quite a time until recently when I decided to "go rogue" with my playing.

It sort of began one evening a few days after coming back from the Israel trip. Our network had been experiencing problems, and I had called in towards the end of the workday for on-site support to resolve the problem. The technician informed me he would be coming between 10-11pm. Well, someone needed to be there to let him in the building, so I placed myself there in the lobby. Seeing the piano and an empty room, I started to play. By the time the AT&T guy had come and gone a few times (he had to check a few things down the street), I had played through the entire book of Getty songs and had fallen in love with the piano again.

These songs and hymns are so full of rich doctrinal truths that are so beautifully expressed, both in words and music. It has been a blessing to meditate on the different aspects of Christianity as I play the melodies… all creation speaking of God's glory, His love ringing out across the lands, the power of the cross bringing forgiveness, my being secure in Christ because of His incredible sacrifice, the dawning of hope as God's salvation plan is fulfilled in Jesus, the church putting on the armor of God to combat the lies of the devil, a yearning to hear the Lord speak that my faith would rise and I would see His truth and authority.

Last night after coming back from the park, I joined in on the final minutes of dishpit. Those that were involved were exhibiting such an attitude of joyfulness, breaking out in hymns of praise while brandishing the brooms and mops throughout the huge dining room. As there happens to be a piano in the room, I sat down after a few a capella verses and started into the hymnbook. The final hymn really brought it home for us: Be Still My Soul. I'd like to quote one of the verses (sadly the hymnbook omitted it from the register, but it stands as a personal favorite).

"Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy works and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well-pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine."