****PRAISE TO THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY

Joachim Neander was born in Bremen, Germany in 1650.  In his early years, he lived a riotous and immoral life.  At about age 20, he and a group of his friends decided to attend a Christian service conducted by a visiting preacher.  Their intentions were to heckle and ridicule the pastor for the fun of it.  That didn’t work out the way he intended because he heard the gospel and God saved him that night. 

After his conversion, he was influenced by Philipp Spener who began the Pietist Revival Movement in the Lutheran Churches in Germany. 

Joachim began teaching, writing poetry, and occasionally preaching in the church but, because of his pietistic convictions, there was tension between him and the head minister.  He could not, in good conscience, participate in the dead rituals of the church.  After about two years, he was suspended and spent a lot of time in the surrounding hills and valleys.

The suspension was not long, though; maybe about two weeks. but the gossip that spread, resulted in a local legend that he had become a hermit living in a cave near the river in the valley. 

Joachim wrote about 60 hymns before he died at the early age of 30 years.

After his death, the river was named for him.  The German word for valley or dale, is Thal, so the river’s valley became known as Neander Thal.

About two hundred years later, some dead man’s bones were found in a quarry in the Neander Valley.  Those bones became the famous remains of a mythical early evolutionary man who was named, NeanderThal Man, for the place where his bones were found.

One Commentator, Tim Chaffey, of Answers in Genesis, wrote, “The words, ‘Bitter Irony’ come to my mind when I think of this hymn which is a wonderful reminder to praise God for the tremendous blessings He gives us.  So, where’s the irony?

“Ironically, instead of being remembered as the author of a beloved hymn about the ‘the King of creation,’ Neander’s name will continue to be linked with humanistic beliefs about the origin of man that deny the work of the Creator.

“Perhaps now when you hear about Neanderthal Man, you will remember to PRAISE “THE LORD, THE ALMIGHTY, THE KING OF CREATION” for His marvelous provision and thank Him for faithful servants like Joachim Neander who penned these inspiring words.”

This hymn is loosely based on Psalms 103 and 150.

“Praise God in His sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

“Praise Him for His mighty acts;

 Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

“Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;

Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;

“Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 

Praise Him with loud cymbals;

Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

“Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord!”  Ps. 150

****THANKS TO GOD WHOSE WORD WAS SPOKEN (2)

In a sermon he preached, about a year ago, my pastor summarized all biblical theology in two statements:

1.     GOD IS.  That fact is declared in the first four words of the Bible (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning GOD…”

2.     HE HAS REVEALED HIMSELF.  And that is the rest of the Bible in its entirety.  It’s all about Him.  It’s His revelation of and about Himself to His creation.  Everything we need to know for faith and practice, He has revealed in His written Word.

Can you imagine what it would be like if it were left up to each one of us to discover God through subjective means?  We could never be certain.  But we have His Word.  It is true and it is certain.  The Word of God is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. 

THANKS TO GOD WHOSE WORD WAS SPOKEN, is a song of thanksgiving to God for His Word.  He has given us everything we need to know about Him.  And He has done it with WORDS.

I was fascinated by the way the author, R. T. Brooks, outlined God’s progressive revelation in the four stanzas of this hymn.  But then,  I was bothered by how he ended each verse with the same phrase; “Praise Him for His OPEN word.”  

In the context of 21^st century American Christianity, that word raises a lot of confusion. We have open theism, open marriages, open doctrines, and churches with open memberships.  God’s Word should be open but it is NOT open to interpretation; it means exactly what He intended it to mean.  We are not to approach His Word with the question, “What does this verse mean to me?” but rather, “What did God mean when He spoke it and what does it mean if I had never been born?"

So, I have taken the liberty to change the last phrase in each verse, in order to more clearly identify the mode through which God has Spoken (see lyrics below). 

The first stanza describes the beginning of God’s revelation in His creation (“the deed that made the earth”).  Gen. 1;1 says, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.”  Then, in subsequent verses, we read that in every act of His creation, prior to man, He created with His Spoken Word (“…and God said, ‘Let there be…’ ”)    All creation is an unmistakable testimony of God’s glory. 

The concept that God has spoken in His creation is further expounded in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world.”

The stanza continues with God calling His people.  Hebrews 1:1 says, “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets…” 

That verse is clear, God spoke IN TIME PAST.   And He was precise and deliberate to ensure that His Word was not changed or corrupted.  If any man claimed to be a prophet, and his prophecies did not come to pass, he was executed so that there would be no confusion among God’s people.  

We Praise Him for His SPOKEN Word.

The second stanza is a reference to verse 2 of Hebrews 1, “…(God) has, in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”

John introduced the Son of God with these words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  And we beheld His Glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Then, in verse 17, John makes this distinction between the Word of prophecy and the Incarnate Word;  “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

We Praise Him for the LIVING Word.

The third stanza takes us to the Scriptures which were given to us by God through the Apostles.  (2 Tim. 3:16-17) “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Now we have His complete Word recorded for us. 

We Praise Him for His WRITTEN Word.

Does God still speak to us today?  Yes!

The last stanza tells us that the Spirit speaks to us. 

One of the functions of the indwelling Spirit of God is to teach us and guide us into all Truth.  And He does that with His Word because “His Word is Truth.”  

When we hear or read and meditate on God's Word, the Spirit convicts us of sin and leads us in the way we should live.  And any time we feel that the Holy Spirit is telling us something, it must be tested against or verified with the Written Word of God.  God’s Word never changes and it never contradicts itself because God never changes.

Praise Him for His CHANGELESS Word.

THANKS TO GOD WHOSE WORD WAS SPOKEN

Thanks to God whose Word was spoken,

In the deed that made the earth.

His, the voice that called a nation,

His the fires that tried her worth,

God has spoken, God has spoken;

Praise Him for His open SPOKEN Word.

Thanks to God whose Word incarnate,

Glorified the flesh of man.

Deeds and words and death and rising,

Tell the grace in heaven’s plan.

God has spoken, God has spoken;

Praise Him for His open LIVING Word.

Thanks to God whose Word was written,

In the Bible’s sacred page.

Record of the revelation

Showing God to every age.

God has spoken, God has spoken;

Praise Him for His open WRITTEN Word.

Thanks to God whose Word is answered,

By the Spirit’s voice within.

Here we drink of joy unmeasured,

Life redeemed from death and sin.

God is speaking, God is speaking.

Praise Him for His open CHANGELESS Word.

****My Job Description in a 34 word alliterated sentence

My Solemn Service is to Select Suitable pSalms, Spiritual Songs, and other aSSorted, Scripturally Sound Sacred Strains that Support the Shepherd's Sermons, for the Singing Saints in their Sycophancy of the Sovereign Savior on Sundays.

That's it; that's my job description.

I’m not skilled or trained in the mechanics of choral directing.  This ministry has fallen on me, not because I can; but only because I was available and willing when there was no one else to do it.  So on Sundays, I simply stand in front of the congregation, announce the song selections, and then we sing together.

But that’s really the easy part.  Selecting the music each week takes much more time and effort. On Mondays, I receive the scripture reference and outline of my pastor's sermon for the next Sunday. After I read the text and his outline, I attempt to identify keywords or teachings and then I search through the hymnbook to find appropriate music that supports and augments his message.  

If the church has a biblical mandate with clear instructions from God about what we are to do in our worship services(which it has) then, certainly, those instructions must also apply to what we do with our music. 

What instructions do we get for assembling ourselves together?  We come together primarily to be built up in the faith and equipped to do the work of the ministry.  And that comes by way of hearing the Word of God through the vehicle of preaching and teaching.  So then music, being an integral part of our worship service, is not to be performed for our enjoyment or our entertainment.

The use of music in worship was instituted and is ordained by God and He has given much instruction in His Word regarding its use.  Among other things, music should glorify God, edify (or build up) God’s people in the faith, and point others to Christ.  (Hmmm, seems like those objectives are pretty much the same as those given for the ministry of pastor/teacher.)  The Apostle Paul gives this instruction on how the church should conduct itself in wisdom; “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father…”Ephesians 5:19-20

The first interesting thing to note is that he tells us that we are to “speak to each other” with our music.  That implies that there is something important and substantial to communicate to each other and we do that with words.  The words are important.  Words mean things.  So, just like the words from the mouth of the preacher, the words we sing and hear in our music are important in our worship. 

The Apostle then goes on to identify three kinds of music that we must use in our worship.  It is not our prerogative to insist that we only like hymns or that we will only use contemporary “praise and worship” choruses.  We have God’s written word of instruction; we are to speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Psalms are the actual words of scripture set to music.  With psalms, God is glorified with His own words sung back to Him; words that speak of His character and nature and all His superlative attributes.  And His words are higher and greater than the very best we could ever compose ourselves so they are the highest and greatest compositions that we can set to music that will focus our attention on Him for His glory. 

Then there are hymns which, by definition, are songs composed by men and primarily used to praise God.  One of the secondary benefits of the use of hymns is that much of our doctrine is written into poetic texts.  That’s a good thing if the doctrine is correct.  But there is a lot of false doctrine in Christian music too, and that is where pastors/shepherds need to be on guard so that the flock is not deceived.  But when the doctrine is correct, much of what we know and believe about our faith can be learned through our music.

Spiritual songs are what we usually think of as choruses and songs that speak of our personal relationship to Christ.  Spiritual songs contain elements of personal testimony as we share, through music, who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

Therein are the elements.  With psalms we glorify God; with hymns, we build each other up in the faith, and with spiritual songs, we point others to Christ.

Someone has said, "If the music doesn't preach to you, then there is no sense in having it."

Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Psalm 100:2

****CHILDREN'S HYMNS

In his book, “Confronting Contemporary Christian Music,” Dr. H. T. Spence warns, “If we teach our children only by choruses without giving equal weight to the strong, meaty hymns of the faith, we may be spiritually damaging their generation.” 

Much of what we believe is either taught or supported by the songs we sing.  So, it is important that we teach and sing songs that contain correct doctrine. 

What would you think if, one Sunday morning, your music pastor or worship leader had selected only children’s songs for the entire service?

Well, that’s what I did for our church today and you might be surprised at the content.  All these hymns were originally written for children.  But there is nothing here, that resembles what we have come to expect from modern children’s music.  When we teach songs like “Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam,” we not only fill our children’s heads with nonsense, we imply that they are too immature for the worship service and should be in Children’s Church where they will be taught at their own level.

Here are the brief introductory statements for the six children’s hymns that are God-centered and rich in doctrinal truth.

STAND UP AND BLESS THE LORD

James Montgomery was the Christian journalist who was imprisoned, twice, in the Castle of York, for speaking out against the oppressive government in England in the late 1700s.

In 1824, he wrote this children’s hymn for the anniversary celebration of the Red Hill Wesleyan Sunday School.

The text was based on Neh. 9:5: “Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

STAND UP AND BLESS THE LORD is a call for God’s people to stand with courage and to boldly speak up and proclaim our faith regardless of the political climate. 

  

I SING THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD

Isaac Watts wrote over 600 hymns.  He is known as the Father of Modern Hymnody and, like most writers of children’s hymns in earlier generations, he wrote good, substantive, and doctrinally sound words that accomplish what, I believe, Paul intended when he instructed the Church to, “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.”  Col. 3:16

One of his favorite projects was a collection of songs that he wrote and compiled all together in a hymnbook just for kids.  I SING THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD, is the most famous of all his children’s hymns and it is one of the greatest hymns of our faith.

NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD

Is it possible to be thankful during extremely hard times?  Martin Rinkart was. He was the German pastor who led his community through the Thirty Years War in the 1600s, and then through a great plague, and then through another invasion where the governors impose unbearable taxation on the people.  In one year, nearly 8000 of his parishioners died.

Yet his spirit was never broken.  In the middle of those terrible times of calamities and incredible losses, he wrote a table grace for his own unclothed and undernourished children to use while praising God for all His blessings. 

NOW THANK WE ALL, OUR GOD has become one of our most loved Thanksgiving hymns.

MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR

This children’s song was written by Kate Wilkinson after meditating on Phil. 2:5. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

To have the mind of Christ is to think His thoughts; to keep His commands; to do His will; to submit to His authority.  The song is a prayer that asks God to help us add these various aspects of the will of Christ to our lives.

There are six stanzas that were intended as daily devotional reminders; one for each day of the week leading up to Sunday.

SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD, LEAD US

We don’t know, for sure, who wrote the words to this hymn but it has been attributed to Dorothy Thrupp. 

It was originally written for children and it first appeared in a children’s hymnal that she compiled in 1836.

In some ways, it is reminiscent of Psalm 23.  SAVIOR, LIKE A SHEPHERD, LEAD US reveals how needy and dependent we are on our Good Shepherd. 

He loves us, He receives us, He cares for us, He leads us, and He protects us.

ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!  GIVE THANKS TO THE RISEN LORD

This children’s praise song has a simple, easy to sing, melody.   It was intended to be sung responsively, by an adult on each of the five stanzas and by the children on the chorus.

In all its simplicity, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!  GIVE THANKS TO THE RISEN LORD, is a profound proclamation of the Gospel.  In just a few short lines, it proclaims that Jesus is Lord; He is the King of all creation.  He died on the cross for our sins; we were raised together with Him in newness of life as He rose, triumphantly, from the grave.  He is our Savior.  And He is worthy of our thanks and our praise.

****NO ONE EVER CARED FOR ME LIKE JESUS

(1 Peter 5:6)  “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time:  Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.”

There isn’t much background information available about this song but, almost every resource relates this same sad and disturbing story. 

 

Charles Frederick Weigle, a friend of Billy Sunday’s, was a poor itinerant evangelist.  He was often on the road preaching wherever he had an opportunity but his wife was not a willing accomplice.  She did not share his enthusiasm for the ministry.

 

During one of his preaching missions, his wife left him.  She took their young daughter and moved to a distant city where she thought she might find a more glamorous and exciting life.  When he returned home, he found this heartbreaking note:

“Charlie, I’ve been a fool. I’ve done without a lot of things long enough. From here on out, I’m getting all I can of what the world owes me. I know you’ll continue to be a fool for Jesus, but for me it’s goodbye!”

It was the worst time of his life; he was alone and suicidal.  He thought his work was finished and no one would care whether he was dead or alive.

In his desperation, his thoughts turned to God and he began to pray.  He begged God to forgive him and to assure him of his faith.  Then, after a long retreat, he returned to the work of the ministry.  About his heartbreaking experience he said, “A mantel of grief covered me, but God’s grace sustained me.”

About five years later, his wife was dying.  She said to someone who was at her bedside, “I wish I had my life to live over.”   She asked her daughter to look for her father and ask him to pray for her.  But it was too late.  She died before Charles could be found.

Once again, Charles sought the comfort of the Lord.  And that’s when he wrote NO ONE EVER CARED FOR ME LIKE JESUS.

The hymn is not especially deep or scholarly.  It is just the personal testimony of a man who seemed to have lost everything and had no other place to turn except to his Lord. 

****NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD

Park University in Parkview, Missouri, was originally founded as Park College, a Presbyterian school in the late nineteenth century.  Its founder and first President was John Armstrong McAfee. He had five sons and a daughter who were eventually all involved in the work of the college.

When John died in 1890, his son Lowell served as president for 23 years. 

During that time, one of Lowell’s brothers, Dr. Cleland Boyd McAfee, served as the college chaplain and music director.  He often preached and directed the choir in the school’s weekly church services.

It was his custom to write an original hymn based on the theme of his message for every Communion Sunday.  That was an ambitious undertaking that must have produced many songs but MacAfee is known for only one published hymn.

In 1903, just one week before a Communion service, tragedy struck his family.  Two of his infant nieces succumbed to diphtheria. They died within 24 hours of each other.

Their home was quarantined to prevent the spread of the terrifying disease.   Relatives and friends from the school and church were unable to go inside to express their condolences, and the family was not permitted to leave the house to attend the funeral services.

Cleland MacAfee’s daughter recorded, “My father often told us how he sat long and late, (that week) thinking of what could be said in word and song on the coming Sunday.... So, he wrote (this) little song. The choir learned it at their 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.  (NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD) was sung again on Sunday morning at the communion service.”   

****I CANNOT TELL (revised)

Londonderry Air is the name of the musical composition that is the melody for an old Irish hymn of the same name.  There’s not much redeeming value in the lyrics of the hymn but musically, it is an excellent composition that most people would recognize as the melody of the famous Irish song, Danny Boy.

A variation of that tune is used in the popular, contemporary secular song, You Raise Me Up.

There are at least 11 Christian songs that have been written for that melody including, He Looked Beyond My Fault and Saw My Need, by Dottie Rambo; What Grace Is Mine, by Kristyn Getty; and Lord Of The Church, We Pray For Our Renewing, by Timothy Dudley-Smith.  

One artist has skillfully adapted the text of the 23^rd Psalm to the melody and another singer used it in a public performance of the hymn, Amazing Grace.

One of the better songs set to Londonderry Air is I CANNOT TELL, written by an Irishman, William Young Fullerton.  As a young man, William heard the Gospel preaching of Charles Spurgeon and he was saved.  Spurgeon became his close friend and mentor. 

William Fullerton was a Baptist preacher, administrator, and writer.  He served as President of the Baptist Union and as Home Secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society.  He was a frequent speaker at Keswick Conventions. His published works include biographies of John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, James William Condell Fegan, and Frederick Brotherton Meyer; and other missionary histories and devotional writings.  He also compiled several hymnals.

In 1966, Ken Bible made some careful alterations to the hymn while respecting William Fullerton's original work.  The result was this amazing song as it is written in many of our hymnbooks.  Although it has become a popular and appropriate song for the Christmas season, it is a great hymn of affirmation about the saving work of our Savior.

Philippians 2:7-8 may have provided some inspiration for this hymn;  “He (Christ Jesus) made Himself of no reputation taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men…… He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on the Cross.”

The songwriter posed a number of unanswerable questions; Why would He do that for us?  What would compel Him to leave His Father, lay aside His splendor, and be born in a dirty feeding trough?  Why would He choose to suffer the humiliation and the agony of the cross?

There is so much we cannot know and may never fully understand about our Great God and Savior. But, there is plenty that we can know from His revealed Word. So, after the questions, come these great declarations of our faith;  BUT THIS, I KNOW, that Christ, the Lord is risen, and because He lives I’ll rise to life eternal. He took my guilty heart and I’m forever free.  The Savior of the World is Lord and King!

I CANNOT TELL

I cannot tell why He, the King of Heaven,

Should leave the peace of all eternity,

Why God, Himself, should lay aside His splendor,

To leave the Father's side and come to me.

But this I know:  Our silence filled with singing,

And all our darkness fled from heaven's light,

When Christ the Lord, so human, yet so holy,

In love was born a child for me that holy night.

I cannot tell why He, the Joy of Heaven,

Should give Himself to suffer for my sin,

Why Holy God should love me in my shamefulness,

Why He should die to draw my soul to Him.

But this I know:  That Christ the Lord is risen,

And praise His Name, He's risen now in me!

Because He lives, I'll rise to life eternal!

He took my guilty heart, and I'm forever free!

I cannot tell when He will rule the nations,

How He will claim His loved ones as His own;

And who can tell the holy jubilation,

When all His children gather round His throne?

But this I know:  All flesh will see His glory,

And skies will burst as all creation sings.

The Son will rise on one eternal morning,

When Christ, the Savior of the world, is Lord and King!