NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD

It is strange how our mind sometimes recalls incidents that happened to us decades before and have since been forgotten.  As I began to prepare this blog my mind went back to when I was a youngster and was having great difficulty memorizing the memory verse for the week.  The verse was James 4:8, "Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you."  I struggled with this simple verse probably because I didn't have any idea what was meant by "drawing nigh".  But as my parents tried to explain the meaning to me it all began to make sense and it has since become one of those verses which I've never forgotten.  It has also become much more meaningful to me as I've grown older and experienced the truth of the verse.  James 4:8 may have been part of the truth that guided Cleland Boyd McAfee (1866 - 1944) to write these words in 1903. But like so many of the great hymns, it was born out of tragic circumstances. McAfee, an American theologian and Presbyterian minister, suffered the loss of two infant nieces to diphtheria. At that time McAfee was preacher and choir director of the campus Presbyterian church at Park College, Parkville, Mo. His daughter described the account in her book, Near to the Heart of God. Hymnologist William J. Reynolds quotes the account: "The family and town were stricken with grief. My father often told us how he sat long and late thinking of what could be said in word and song on the coming Sunday. So he wrote the little song. The choir learned it at the regular Saturday night rehearsal, and afterward they went to Howard McAfee's home and sang it as they stood under the sky outside the darkened, quarantined house. It was sung again on Sunday morning at the communion service.  And in the years since it has been a real comfort to many of us who have learned that we need to "draw nigh" to the blest Redeemer, sent from the heart of God, who is always there to comfort us and cheer us and guide us.  What a privilege to go to that place of quiet rest, of comfort sweet, of full relief, near to the heart of God.  Maybe the events of your life are pressing you for that help.  Then draw nigh to Him and He will draw nigh to you.  He is always there to meet you when you seek Him.

(1)    There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God.

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us who wait before Thee

Near to the heart of God.

(2)    There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God.

A place where we our Savior meet,

Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us who wait before Thee

Near to the heart of God.

(3)    There is a place of full release,

Near to the heart of God.

A place where all is joy and peace,

Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God,

Hold us who wait before Thee

Near to the heart of God.

Listen to it being sung here.   LISTEN

PRAISE YOU

Generally we devote this blog to reviewing older hymns or gospel songs.  But sometimes there are newer songs or praise choruses that just speak to me and I can't ignore featuring them.  I have two praise choruses that have become my favorites, even though I never hear them sung anymore in church.  But both speak to my personal desire to  glorify the Lord with my life in all that I do.  The first one, "Glorify Thy Name" was featured in my blog on November 23, 2011.  It is a prayer sharing our love of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and our desire to glorify them throughout the earth.  My second favorite is this week's choice that was written by Elizabeth Goodine and Carol Cymbala.  It is a prayer that has been recorded by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.  I know nothing about the actual background of its writing, but it may have been based on the prayer of the psalmist found in Psalm 119:175,  "Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me."  Or maybe it was based on Psalm 71, 5 - 8.  "O Lord, you alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood. Yes, you have been with me from birth; from my mother's womb you have cared for me. No wonder I am always praising you!  My life is an example to many, because you have been my strength and protection. That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long."  The words of this chorus are so simple but so powerful and meaningful.  We come to the Lord with a simple prayer, "In everything I do, let my life, O Lord, praise you."   And the chorus repeats our praise to the Lord, "Praise you, paise you, let my life, O lord, praise you."  What a beautiful and simple prayer.  Hopefully it is your prayer that your life might bring praise to the Lord.  For that should be our only motivation for our lives.  All other things should be secondary to that desire.  May this simple melody and prayer guide all that you do during the coming days, for truely, He alone, who gave us our lives, is worthy to be praised.  Praise you, praise you!

(1)     Lord I come to you today,

With a simple prayer to pray.

In everything I do,

let my life O Lord praise you.

Praise you, praise you,praise you

let my life, praise you

praise you, praise you, praise you

let my life, O lord praise you

(2)     Lord you formed me out of clay,

and for your glory I was made.

Use this vessel as you choose.

Let my life O Lord praise you

Praise you, praise you,praise you

let my life, praise you

praise you, praise you, praise you

let my life, O lord praise you

Listen to it being sung by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.    LISTEN

HE TOOK MY SINS AWAY

At times I can't help but wonder if the topic of sin has become politically incorrect in many churches today.  It doesn't seem to be a topic that is discussed or even sung about too often anymore. Maybe we have become too concerned about offending people or making them feel  uncomfortable. But sin is a central part of the gospel, the message of the church.  All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  The wages of sin is death.  And God showed His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  There is no other experience in life that is more important than accepting God's free gift of forgiveness for our sins, a gift which has been made possible only by the death of Jesus on the Cross.  When that personal decision is made, our sins are forgiven.  They are taken away and removed from us as far as the east is from the west.  And we are dressed in the righteousness of Christ.  What a powerful and amazing transformation, from being dead in sin to being forgiven and dressed in His righteousness.  And that experience should put a song of joy in our lives.  Daily we should celebrate the assurance that He took our sins away.  And that realization must be what led Margaret Harris (1865-1919) to pen the words of this week's featured gospel song.   Margaret was a member of the Iowa Holiness Association. She and her husband, songwriter John Harris, were active in holiness revivals and camp meetings. She played the organ to accompany the duets she sang with her husband.   She is said to also have been an effective speaker.  The other familiar song that she wrote is I Will Praise Him.  The words of this week's choice seem to be the personal testimony of her conversion experience.  She came to Jesus bearing her load of sin.  They made her weary, worn and sad.  But Christ met her and took all her sins away, releasing her from the condemnation under which she had lived and giving her perfect peace.  Is this your testimony?  I certainly hope that you have met the Savior and accepted His free gift of salvation.  If you have, then join me this week in testifying that He took your sins away.  May that realization put a song in your heart each day.

(1)    I came to Jesus, weary, worn, and sad.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away.

And now His love has made my heart so glad,

He took my sins away.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away,

And keeps me singing every day!

I'm so glad He took my sins away,

He took my sins away.

(2)    The load of sin was more than I could bear.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away.

And now on Him I roll my ev'ry care,

He took my sins away.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away,

And keeps me singing every day!

I'm so glad He took my sins away,

He took my sins away.

(3)    No condemnation have I in my heart,

He took my sins away, He took my sins away.

His perfect peace He did to me impart,

He took my sins away.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away,

And keeps me singing every day!

I'm so glad He took my sins away,

He took my sins away.

(4)    If you will come to Jesus Christ today,

He'll take your sins away, He'll take your sins away,

And keep you happy in His love each day,

He'll take your sins away.

He took my sins away, He took my sins away,

And keeps me singing every day!

I'm so glad He took my sins away,

He took my sins away.

You can listen to it here.   LISTEN

WE'LL UNDERSTAND IT BY AND BY

So many of the hymns that we have featured here over the years have shared the fact that our lives here on earth are filled with trials, and challenges and problems.  And often we question why we must encounter these difficulties.  And many times the answers just don't come.  But someday they will be revealed.  We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."  And it is with that knowledge ,and the peace that God alone can give, that we move on. "By and by, when the morning comes, when the saints of God are gathered home,we'll tell the story how we've overcome, for we'll understand it better by and by."  Charles Tindley was born near Berlin, Maryland, in July of 1851, the son of a free mother and slave father. His mother passed away when Charles was only four, and a year later he was separated from his father. When he became old enough to work, he was hired out to work with slaves, although his status as "freeborn" was recognized. In his teens he taught himself to read and acquired a fair amount of liberal-arts and theological education, largely through correspondence courses. After having been ordained a Methodist minister, he returned as pastor to a church he had previously served as janitor. Eventually he built the church he headed, in Philadelphia, from some 200 parishioners to a membership of over 12,000 in the 1920s. He wrote some 45 hymns, generally to accompany his own sermons, in almost all cases composing the tunes as well as the words.  After bearing eight children, his wife Daisy, passed away in 1924, the very day the congregation entered the new sanctuary for the first time.  Initially struggling with her death, he would later explain, "one day I will understand it better by and by".  And so his hymn reminds us of that hope that someday the reasons for our trials and struggles will be revealed and we will fully see and understand their purposes in our lives.  May that realization and hope encourage you this week as you face the challenges in your daily path.  I've included all four verses of Tindley's writing, but the last two are probably the best known today and are usually the ones chosen by those who sing this song.

(1)     We are tossed and driv'n on the restless sea of time;

Somber skies and howling tempests oft succeed a bright sunshine;

In that land of perfect day, when the mists have rolled away,

We will understand it better by and by.

By and by, when the morning comes,

When the saints of God are gathered home,

We'll tell the story how we've overcome,

For we'll understand it better by and by.

(2)  We are often destitute of the things that life demands,

Want of food and want of shelter, thirsty hills and barren lands;

We are trusting in the Lord, and according to God's Word,

We will understand it better by and by.

By and by, when the morning comes,

When the saints of God are gathered home,

We'll tell the story how we've overcome,

For we'll understand it better by and by.

(3)   Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand

All the ways that God could lead us to that blessed promised land;

But He guides us with His eye, and we'll follow till we die,

For we'll understand it better by and by.

By and by, when the morning comes,

When the saints of God are gathered home,

We'll tell the story how we've overcome,

For we'll understand it better by and by.

(4)    Temptations, hidden snares often take us unawares,

And our hearts are made to bleed for a thoughtless word or deed;

And we wonder why the test when we try to do our best,

But we'll understand it better by and by.

By and by, when the morning comes,

When the saints of God are gathered home,

We'll tell the story how we've overcome,

For we'll understand it better by and by.

Listen to it being sung here.   LISTEN

WHY SHOULD HE LOVE ME SO?

Recently my pastor spoke on Matthew 5:44 - 45,  " But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."  He concluded his message by challenging each of us to think of someone who we might classify as an enemy, somebody who has treated us unfairly, someone whom we can't stand to be around.  Then he asked us to pray for that person regularly during the coming week.  Now most of us don't have a problem thinking of people who would fit that description.  We all have folks who have hurt or mistreated us.  They may have ridiculed us or even persecuted us for our beliefs.  There are those who just upset us by their presence.  But pray for them?  As hard as that may seem, that is what Jesus challenged us to do.  And He set the example for us when He left all the beauty and riches of heaven to come to this earth to die for our sins.  And the scripture reminds us that we have all sinned and come short of His glory.  And while we were yet sinners, He came and died for us.  We certainly didn't deserve it at all.  Ephesians 2:4-5, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved."  And how often I have questioned why He would ever do this for me.  And I can't come up with a single answer except that it was His great love, a love unmatched by any other action in history.  And probably it was this overwhelming question that drove Robert Harkness (1880 - 1961) to pen this question and put it to music in 1924.  In 1902, evangelist R. A. Torrey, and his song leader, Charles Alexander, were conducting revivals in Australia. Harkness, a local author, composer, and musician, attended a service. He met the two and soon became Alexander's pianist. Not long after that, under the influence of Torrey's preaching, Harkness was converted. He made several round-the-world tours with them. He became well known for his radio program, "The Music of the Cross," and his correspondence course, "Evangelistic Piano Playing." Not the least, he wrote over 2,000 hymns and Gospel songs. In the later part of his life, Harkness and his wife conducted many sacred concert tours throughout North America, England, Scandinavia and the Continent. He returned to Australia and his home city of Bendigo seven times. On each occasion he gave sacred concerts and played hymns tunes on his father's foundry whistles. A feature of the concerts was his invitation to the audience to suggest a text to which immediately he would compose and play a tune.  The verses in this week's hymn emphasizes the substitutionary nature of Christ's death, the suffering involved in Christ's death, and the purpose of Christ's death.  As you meditate upon the words of this hymn this week, may your love for the Lord be rekindled as you ponder why He would do this for you.

(1)    Love sent my Savior to die in my stead;

Why should He love me so?

Meekly to Calvary's cross He was led;

Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?

Why should my Savior to Calvary go?

Why should He love me so?

(2)    Nails pierced His hands and His feet for my sin;

Why should He love me so?

He suffered sore my salvation to win;

Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?

Why should my Savior to Calvary go?

Why should He love me so?

(3)    O how He agonized there in my place;

Why should He love me so?

Nothing withholding my sin to efface;

Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?

Why should He love me so?

Why should my Savior to Calvary go?

Why should He love me so?

You can listed to it here.   LISTEN

HE KEEPS ME SINGING

As I search the history of the writing of various hymns, I am continually impressed with the number of hymns that are the result of sorrow and tragedy.  Over the years the Lord has often used such events to stir the writing of music that has spoken and helped so many people.  Luther B. Bridges (1484 -1948) began preaching at the age of seventeen and was ordained as a Methodist Minister. He then served as an evangelist in the American South and in mission work in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, and Russia. He pastored in Georgia and North Carolina before retiring in 1945 in Gainesville, Georgia.  As a teen he  met Sarah Vetch and they reportedly fell in love at first sight. They were both younger than twenty years old when they married. They had three boys.  In 1910 Bridges accepted an invitation to minister at a conference in Kentucky, so he left his family in the care of his father-in-law and made the trip to Kentucky. There he had two wonderful weeks of ministry. He closed the last service with great joy and was excited to be called to the telephone. He couldn't wait to tell his wife about all the blessings. But it wasn't her voice on that long distance line. Instead he listened in silence to the news that a fire had burned down the house of his father-in-law and his wife and all three of his sons had died in the blaze. He was bereaved for his wife and children and asked himself, "How could this happen while I was doing God's will?"  But that distraught father leaned heavily on His Savior and expressed his faith in God and during a tearful moment he penned the words of this week's hymn.  When you sing the words of this "upbeat" song you'd probably never sense the pain and sorrow of the author.  But knowing the story behind it, you can see his sorrow with phrases he uses such as ... Fear not ... peace be still ...discord ... heart with pain ... broken strings ... His sheltering wing ... and then, in verse 4, waters deep ... trials ... path seems rough and steep.  Maybe at times in your life you've used the same words to express your situation.  But notice that the author always answers with ... Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ... fills my every longing ... keeps me singing as I go.  I trust that you have a song in your heart, no matter what your situation may be.  But I can't end this blog without mentioning the hope of the final verse - soon He's coming back to welcome me ... I shall reign with Him on high.  And that truth should enable us to live each day with a song of expectation in our hearts ... keeps me singing as I go!

(1)   There's within my heart a melody

Jesus whispers sweet and low,

Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,

In all of life's ebb and flow.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest Name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

(2)   All my life was wrecked by sin and strife,

Discord filled my heart with pain,

Jesus swept across the broken strings,

Stirred the slumbering chords again.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest Name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

(3)    Feasting on the riches of His grace,

Resting 'neath His sheltering wing,

Always looking on His smiling face,

That is why I shout and sing.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest Name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

(4)     Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,

Trials fall across the way,

Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,

See His footprints all the way.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest Name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

(5)    Soon He's coming back to welcome me,

Far beyond the starry sky;

I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,

I shall reign with Him on high.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

Sweetest Name I know,

Fills my every longing,

Keeps me singing as I go.

Listen to it here.   LISTEN

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

With apologies to my many readers from outside the United States, this week I have chosen to share one of the great patriotic numbers from the United States.  This week we celebrated Independence Day on the traditional Fourth of July with many parades, celebrations and firework displays.  I was touched when I heard a beautiful rendition of America The Beautiful, a patriotic song which probably is no longer politically correct to sing.  I wonder if it is ever sung in our schools anymore.  The lyrics were written by Katherine Lee Bates and music was composed by a church organist and choirmaster, Samuel A. Ward.   Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, Pikes Peak, first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. At that time, the poem was titled America for publication. In 1893, at the age of thirty-six, Bates, an English professor at Wellesley College, took a train trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to teach a short summer school session at Colorado College. Many of the sights on her trip inspired her, and they found their way into her poem. These included the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the "White City" with its promise of the future contained within its alabaster buildings.  Likewise the wheat fields of America's heartland Kansas, through which her train was riding as well as the majestic view of the Great Plains from high atop Zebulon's Pikes Peak.  It was on the pinnacle of that mountain that the words of the poem started to come to her, and she wrote them down upon returning to her hotel room. Just as Bates had been inspired to write her poem, Ward too was inspired to compose his tune. The tune came to him while he was on a ferryboat trip from Coney Island back to his home in New York City, in 1882, and he immediately wrote it down. He was so anxious to capture the tune in his head, he asked fellow passenger friend Harry Martin for his shirt cuff to write the tune on. He composed the tune for the old hymn "O Mother Dear, Jerusalem", retitling the work "Materna". Ward's music combined with Bates' poem were first published together in 1910 and titled, America the Beautiful.  The song is such a great reminder of how God has blessed this nation over the decades, something that sadly is no longer remembered today by many of our citizens.  It reminds us of the many "heroes" who gave their lives to gain and preserve our freedoms and independence.  It reminds us of the dreams that these patriots had for our future.  But in verse two it also pleads that God would mend our every flaw.  I can't help but wonder if we have passed the point that God would continue to shed His grace on us as a nation if we would return to Him. Would He forgive us for turning our backs on Him in so many ways?  May it be our prayer that we would return to Him and that He would bring a revival to this nation which appears to be in rapid decline.  Thank the Lord for what this country has stood for in the past as God blessed and preserved us as a great nation.  Truly I have been blessed to have been born here and to have lived here. "America! America! God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!"

(1)     O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

(2)    O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassioned stress

A thoroughfare of freedom beat

Across the wilderness!

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law!

(3)     O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife.

Who more than self their country loved

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine

Till all success be nobleness

And every gain divine!

(4)    O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears!

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

You can listen to it being sung here by a group of children after you skip the ad in 5 seconds.      CHILDREN

You can also hear some verses sung by the Gathers     GATHER