Hymn Sing

 

The other night I went to a Mark Lowry concert. The title of the program was Hymn Sing. As I sat there listening to the audience sing hymns along with Mark, I was surprised at how many of hymns I knew by heart. I began to reflect on the last two weeks (DX +15) and how many times phrases from hymns or gospel songs have come to mind. Sometimes in the early morning hours or late-night awakenings when sleep eludes me, I sing songs in my head like a prayer. Other times phrases get caught on repeat, over and over again, an obnoxious ear worm. I read somewhere that if you start singing “Twinkle twinkle little star” the ear worm goes away. I have not found that to be true.

 

Music has always been a part of my life. I remember listening to albums with my dad when I was little. Dad was a whistler. He was an incredibly talented whistler. You could always find him in a store or at the mall by following the whistle. I still look for him whenever I hear someone whistling a tune although whistlers are becoming scarce. When I was about five, mom and dad bought a piano. It was a beautiful spinet piano. I inherited it when I got married and it has moved with me several times now. Mom and dad decided that my sister Kelly and I should take lessons. I couldn’t take lessons though until I learned to read so I just listened to my sister’s lessons. Her first piano teacher was a little lady that came to the house and taught her where middle C was on the keyboard and before too long, she was playing masterpieces like the A-B-C song and Three Little Kittens. A year later I started lessons too. Eventually we started going to Mrs. Middleton.  Every Friday after school I would walk or ride my bike the three blocks to her house. If Kelly got there first, she went first and visa-versa. Eventually Kelly stopped going (I don’t know why she quit). By sixth grade I quit lessons as well. I started up again, paying for lessons with my own money, in ninth grade. I took lessons for at least two more years from Mrs. Hockett. I learned to play hymns from the hymn book from her and learned a little about embellishing with added notes or chords here and there.

 

It was appropriate that I learned hymns. I grew up going to First Bible Baptist Church. We sang the traditional “Baptist” hymns from something called a hymnal. Hymnals are almost obsolete now as churches have opted for the more inclusive words on a screen method of corporate singing. I can still hear Pastor Lee Drennan in his sonorous baritone voice compelling us to “turn to page 249 as we all stand together and sing Standing on the Promises” followed by a rousing piano and organ introduction. I learned the words by listening and singing along. I clearly remember that one of the first hymns I learned by heart was Blessed Assurance. My dad was the church custodian for a while. My sister and I “worked” for him and were paid the magnificent sum of one bottle of pop from the pop machine. That was a real treat because we usually only got pop on Sunday night, after church, with our popcorn. one day Kelly and I were straightening chairs in a building they called the Chicken Coop, a name earned because of its previous life. I found a hymnal and went to the podium at the front of the room. I pretended that I was the song leader and told everyone to turn to a page and sing Blessed Assurance with me. I began to sing “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Heir of salvation…” only I pronounced Heir like it looked…hair. My sister thought that was so funny and teased me. I didn’t understand why. She made me sing it for dad when he came in and he corrected me and told me what the word meant. Sometimes, just to spite my sister, I still sing “hair.”

 

I know a lot of Christians memorize verses from the Bible and I’ve memorized my fair share over the years. The trouble for me is, they aren’t set to music. I’m convinced if verses in the Bible had their own tune, I’d be able to remember them better. For example, the Hillsong song “Who You Say I Am” has a bit of John 14:2 in its lyrics: In my Father’s house, there’s a place for me” which echoes my life verses of John 14:1-3. Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a singing Bible? Anyway, my words of comfort from God come from song lyrics. Some of my favorites are the following:

                      “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow” from 
                      Great is Thy Faithfulness

“Be not dismayed what ere the tide. God will take care of you” from a song by the same name.

“Pass me not oh gentle Savior, hear my humble cry” from Pass Me Not

It is Well by Horatio Spofford

Precious Lord Take My Hand by Tommy Dorsey

And many, many others. I’ve always said that when I die, I want my funeral to be a joyous time of singing. Now that it’s a close reality, I still feel that way. Music and singing are so important to our souls and their renewal and fortification. ALS has robbed me of my ability to sing and play my cello but not of the melodies and words of the old and new songs I've learned through the years.The great preacher and theologian Charles H. Spurgeon in his sermon “Songs in the Night” says this: “Night is the time of terror and alarm to most men and women. Yet even night has its songs.” So, as I fight through this long night and its unknowns I hope and pray that my songs in the night continue to come to mind. And I hope that you too will find comfort in your songs in the night.