Then sings my soul - in hymns

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16

When I was a little girl, few things were more boring to me than lifting a heavy hymnal and joining a tired-sounding congregation and melancholy organ in muddling through five or six wordy verses of some archaic tune. Having experienced the emotional, spirit-filled contemporary worship at InterVarsity gatherings with my dad, I was convinced there was a better way to worship - a way that certainly did not include these dry old hymns.

I have come to realize in the past couple of years that I was terribly wrong. Rather than being dry and old, I have discovered that those hymns are alive and well; their lyrics have stood the test of time, and articulate the longings of my soul far better than any contemporary chorus could. Though some hymns are certainly lengthy, they could still say even more; while the words are rarely repetitive or quickly memorized, they beg to be sung over and over so that they may be fully understood and internalized. The lyrics of these songs are deep, challenging, honest, and rightly rooted in Scripture and focused on God. Paul encourages Christians to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs together - and I have found that the word of Christ never dwells in me more richly than when it is set to music.

I am so thankful that many in my generation were ahead of me in making this discovery - indeed, were part of helping me come to this realization, this deep love and appreciation for the hymns of old. There has been an incredible movement to take these beautiful words and set them to new music, reviving them, proving that guitars and (gasp!) drums can accompany hymns just as well as an organ (and for my musical taste, even better than an organ). I have added a couple of hymn-related links to the side of my blog - one is for Indelible Grace, a group out of Nashville that has really led the way in this movement. Their site has lyrics, chords, and resources for hundreds of hymns. The other is for Red Mountain Music, a group from a church here in Birmingham that is doing beautiful things with old hymns.

I went to Red Mountain Church last Sunday night, and a couple of hymns we sang that night could not have been more timely. They have stayed on my mind all week, spilling onto the pages of my journal and directing many of my prayers. I hope that you, too, might find yourself captivated by a line, a stanza, a song.

O Love That Will Not
Words by George Matheson, 1882

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
that in Thine ocean depths its flow,
may richer, fuller be.

O Light that follow'st all my way,
I yield my flick'ring torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in Thy sunshine's blaze its day,
may brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
and feel the promise is not in vain,
that morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
and from the ground there blossoms red,
life that shall endless be.

The pastor's sermon that night was about the times in life when Jesus pierces our souls. He pointed at the third verse of this song and said, "Did you sing that tonight? Did you realize what you were singing? Look at those words again." Indeed, look at those words - again and again; let them sink in.

While "O Love That Will Not" was the song that echoed most loudly in my mind and heart that night, another hymn we sang resounded with me later this week as I looked through the bulletin once again. It was a moment when I was nearly overcome with worry and stress, overwhelmed by uncertainty and frustration. These words were simultaneously comforting and challenging:

Jesus I Am Resting
Words by Jean Sophia Pigott, 1876

Jesus I am resting, resting
in the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of Thy loving heart

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
as Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

Jesus I am resting, resting
in the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
of Thy loving heart.

O how great Thy loving kindness,
vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous Thy goodness
lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, know
what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise
and have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And thy love, so pure, so changeless,
satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
meets, supplies its ev'ry need,
Compasseth me round with blessings;
Thine is love indeed.

Ever lift Thy face upon me
as I work and wait for Thee;
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
fill me with Thy grace.

I will try to start posting hymn lyrics here more often. If you, like me, find that lyrics resonate much better when you can hear them rather than just read them, you can find many of these hymns on the Indelible Grace site, some are even on iTunes.