Hymns With A Message: SINGING I GO

Sunday, November 5, 2017

SINGING I GO

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). Singing can be a great way to praise the Lord and uplift your spirits. It can encourage you in the good times, it can cheer you in the darkest nights. God "gives songs in the night" (Job 35:10). It can reaffirm your trust in the Lord and in His leading in your life. I have been uplifted by the many comments left over the years by readers of this blog who have told how hymns shared here have comforted, encouraged, and helped carry them through tough times. The Bible also shares examples of how music was part of the lives of Bible characters. When King Saul was gripped by a dark mood, young David would come and play his harp for the depressed king. "Then Saul would become refreshed and well and the distressing spirit would depart from him" (I Sam. 16:23). When Paul and Silas were beaten and cast into a prison cell in Philippi, with their feet fastened in stocks (Acts 16:23-24), they found joy in serving the Lord. "At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" (vs. 25). It is estimated that since those years probably over a million Christian hymns have been written, many telling of God's faithfulness. How wonderful it is to have a song in your heart that either flows out through your mouth or captivates your mind. The right songs can cheer us, lift our spirits, and brighten our day. Eliza Edmunds Hewitt (1851-1920) was a school teacher in Philadelphia. But she developed a spinal malady which cut short her career and made her a shut-in for many years. During her convalescence she felt a need to be useful to her church and began writing poems for the primary department. She also wrote hundreds of fine gospel songs, many of which, like this week's hymn choice written in 1898, have a joyful tone. There was an interesting use of this hymn a couple of decades later when it was adopted for a rather unusual use in the home of another great gospel musician. Billy Graham's longtime soloist, Bev Shea, shared that when growing up, on school days, when it was time for the six children to get out of bed, his mother would sound a chord on the piano. Then she would sing the refrain of this song and call out, cheerfully, "Get up, everybody. One hour till school!" Bev called the song "mother's alarm clock." It remained a favorite of his, and years later he hosted a radio program called Club Time, that used "Singing I Go" as its theme song. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Colossians 3:16). "Singing I go along life's road, praising the Lord, praising the Lord. Singing I go along life's road, for Jesus has lifted my load." May this be true in your life.

1. The trusting heart to Jesus clings,

Nor any ill forebodes,

But at the cross of Calv'ry, sings,

Praise God for lifted loads!