****Come, Christians, Join To Sing

In the past few years, I have researched and written over 200 weekly hymn stories and commentaries. And I have been surprised to learn that a fair number of the hymns we sing were originally written for children.

COME CHRISTIANS, JOIN TO SING is one of them.

It was written in 1843 and was originally titled, “Come, Children, Join To Sing.”

The author, Pastor Christian Henry Bateman, published it along with several of his other children’s hymns, in a songbook called, Sacred Melodies for Children.

To be fair, the hymn didn’t originate with Bateman; it was a reworking of an 1836 hymn with the same music and meter, and similar lyrics written by William Hickson.

The hymn was very popular in Scotland and sold over 6 million copies. When Bateman discovered that adults also enjoyed singing it, he changed the word, Children, to Christians, to make it more universally functional.

The song is an invitation to sing praises to God; an act that is referenced about 60 times in the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 47, God’s people are called to: “Sing praises, sing praises to God! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding” (Ps. 47:6-7).

In the new testament, the Apostle, Paul, wrote to the Church instructing them to “Sing and make music in your heart for the Lord, always giving thanks.” (Eph.5:19-20)

The word, "Alleluia" (or Hallelujah) means “praise the Lord.”  The word, "amen," means assuredly or truly.  Those words, coupled together, are repeated at the end of each phrase, to remind and instruct the children (and all of us) to “Praise the Lord in Truth.”  

****ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH

"And there were, in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."

"And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid."

The shepherds were gripped with extreme fear. But why?   After all, what is so scary about a few beautiful young angels?

Well, there is no scriptural indication that angels are beautiful, feminine beings like we see portrayed in most media.  In every biblical mention of them, they either had masculine names or there was no indication of gender. In fact, there is nothing in scripture that even suggests that there are male and female angels. 

Angels are terrifying creatures, especially when they appear in large numbers. The common reaction to angels in Scripture is fear; probably not because of their physical appearance, but because, when they come, they usually bring God’s judgment and justice. 

What we do know is that they are God’s messengers and when this one appeared to the shepherds, the glory of God lit up the sky with a bright light.  And if that were not frightful enough, “suddenly, the heavens opened and there was with the angel a mighty army of the heavenly host.” 

But on this night, "the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

They were not there to wage war or bring judgment; they came to announce the birth of the Savior. 

We know very little about the hymn, ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH. We don't know who wrote it but experts believe that it was probably written in the first century. 

Like several other Christmas hymns, the lyrics suggest that the angels were singing. But scripture doesn’t tell us that. It simply says that they were “praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” 

So, is it wrong to presume that they sang?  I think it's not unreasonable. From a literal point of view, the word, sing, is sometimes used as a synonym for “tell” or “profess” or “proclaim.” But the question is, did the angels sing songs of praise in harmonic chorus? 

God told Job that, at the time of creation, “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:4, 7).

The Hebrew writer of that text used a literary form called poetic parallelism, in which “the sons of God” and “the morning stars” most likely refer to the same things; they were angels.

Also, in the fifth chapter of the Revelation, we are told that four “living creatures” (elsewhere called cherubim) accompany the saints in heaven when they sing praises to God.

Luke wrote that these angels, who appeared that night, were “praising God and saying..." The Greek word for saying can also mean, to sing praises.

In other words, the verse could be translated to say, “There was…a multitude of the heavenly host singing praises to God, declaring, ‘Glory to God in the highest’…”

We don’t know if the angels were singing that night but we do know that they were praising God. And we know, from Paul’s letters to the churches at Ephesus and Colossae, that God wants us to “SPEAK, TEACH, and ADMONISH ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace and making melody in our hearts to the Lord.”

Twice in his pastoral epistles, Paul tells us to "speak to ourselves in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs", so I think it is reasonable to presume that the Angels also sing praises to God.

****HOW DEEP THE FATHER'S LOVE FOR US

Stuart Townend is an English Christian composer who has written several modern worship songs.

In 2005, Cross Rhythms Magazine described Townend as "one of the most significant songwriters in the whole international Christian music field.”

Townend has been disturbed by the modern worship music movement that, he says, is characterized by its attempts to create an emotional “experience.”  He believes that emotion is an important part of worship, but it becomes problematic when the experience becomes the primary focus.

In a commentary posted on Crosswalk.com, A Christian website, they wrote, "the uniqueness of Townend’s writing lies partly in its lyrical content. There is both a theological depth and poetic expression that some say is rare in today’s worship writing."

Townend explained in an interview, “The danger, now, is that when we are so focused on the experience, our worship can become self-seeking and self-serving.  When all our songs are about how we feel and what we need, we’re missing the point. There is a wonderful, omnipotent God who deserves our highest praise, and how we feel about it is, in many ways, irrelevant!  I want to encourage the expression of joy, passion, and adoration, but I want those to be the by-product of focusing on God – I don’t want them to become the subject matter.  I’m trying to write songs that refer to us as little as possible, and to Him as much as possible!”

Many people are surprised to learn that Townend’s God-centered hymns are contemporary because they sound more like classic hymns than modern praise songs.

On his own webpage, Townend noted that he had been meditating about what it cost the Father to give up His beloved Son to such a torturous death on the cross.  And then he was convicted by his own part in that horrible event.  That’s when he penned the line, “It was my sin that nailed Him there.”  That was the beginning of the hymn, HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE.”

The hymn’s three simple verses express the basics of our Christian faith.  Verse one causes us to consider the greatness and the depth of our Father’s love expressed in His giving His only Son.  So, we celebrate His birth.  But then verse two directs our attention to Calvary.  Christ suffered and died on the cross for our sin.

 

The last verse of the hymn reminds us of our helpless condition; there is nothing good enough in us to merit God’s forgiveness; we need a Savior.  So, the song ends with these great words of assurance, “But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.”

****TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS, was written by Helen Lemmel but the real story is about two remarkable women who had much in common; they were contemporaries; both with artistic talents that merged to create one of the most loved spiritual songs of the 19^th century.  But they had never met.

In 1875, at the age of 12, Helen’s family emigrated to the United States.  She was a gifted musician, songwriter, and singer.

In 1907, at the age of 43, she went to Germany, for four years of intensive vocal training, where she met and married her husband. They moved back to the United States in 1911 and she continued singing in the Gospel music circuits.  Eventually, she became the vocal music teacher at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

But then tragedy struck.  She developed an affliction that resulted in blindness. Her husband couldn’t cope with the thought of a blind wife, so he abandoned her.  She had nowhere to turn but to wholly trust in the Lord.

She retired from Moody and moved to Seattle, where she continued to write poems and set them to music. In complete blindness, she would pick out the notes on a small keyboard and call on friends to record her melodies before she forgot them.

 

Whenever her friends asked how she was, her frequent reply was, “I am fine in the things that count.”  She continued to write until she died at the age of 97 years.  In all, she authored about 500 hymns.

So, what about the other woman?  How did two women who never met, collaborate in the writing of this hymn?

In 1901, Lilias Trotter set off for a time alone With God.  As a result of her meditation that day, she authored a devotional pamphlet titled, “Focused.”

About twenty years later, one of her friends found the pamphlet and read it to her. Helen was impacted by one sentence: “Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.” 

Those words seemed to repeat over and over in her mind during the following days.  That was her inspiration to write both music and text for the song “TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS.” 

In 1926, Lilias Trotter, revised her original booklet, combined it with Helen Lemmel’s text and music, and published it with the new title, “Focussed:  A Story & A Song.”

(On a side note, I find the similarities between Helen Lemmel and Fanny Crosby to be interesting.  Both ladies were very prolific hymn writers and, being totally blind, both used the imagery of looking at and seeing their Savior through the eyes of faith.)