Hymns for the Christian Life - Keith and Kristyn Getty

We interrupt our regular broadcast to bring you news of a new album by modern hymn writers, Keith and Kristyn Getty: Hymns for the Christian Life.

Every so often I have to tell you about some of the music I like. Personally, I am very moved and encouraged by the worship of God. Being personally moved is not worship's primary purpose but a mere and glorious benefit of it! (I've talked about this before so I'll not repeat.)

Keith and Kristyn Getty might be familiar to you. Keith Getty is co-author of the modern hymn, In Christ Alone. They have a host of songs which they have written and there are very few which I do not like. This new album, Hymns for the Christian Life definitely deviates from their usual sound and focus. This album has a strong celtic/Irish flair to it. Instead of hymns which are designed to sing in a corporate worship setting (i.e., church), these songs are meant to explore worship "outside of the pew" - in our daily lives. There are hymns about motherhood, money, work and other things we have to deal with in our daily lives. Some songs make you want to dance a jig and others bring you to your knees in worship. Since that rather describes life - full of ups and down - I think this album is rather awesome. It's not what I've come to expect of them but it's very fitting all the same.

Here are some of the songs which I really loved:




Before you close your eyes to sleep
I have a promise still to keep
As I hold you in my arms.
I pray your little frame grows strong
And that faith takes hold while you are young;
This is my prayer for you.

. . . .

You'll travel where my arms won't reach
As the road will rise to lead your feet
On a journey of your own.
May my mistakes not hinder you
But His grace remain and guide you through;
This is my prayer for you.
This next one might be my very favorite on the album. Maybe. It is a very HAPPY song!



Oh how good it is
To embrace His command
To prefer one another
Forgive as He forgives.
When we live as one
We all share in the love
Of the Son with the Father
And the Spirit.

So with one voice we’ll sing to the Lord
And with one heart we’ll live out His word
Till the whole earth sees
The Redeemer has come
For He dwells in the presence of His people.
But the following is also quite remarkably on target and is the prayer of my heart more often that I'd really like it to be, quite honestly! (In other words, I wish I just naturally bend to His will instead of opting to war against it more often than not!)



Oh grant me wisdom from above,
To pray for peace and cling to love,
And teach me humbly to receive
The sun and rain of Your sovereignty.
Each strand of sorrow has a place
Within this tapestry of grace;
So through the trials I choose to say:
“Your perfect will in your perfect way.”
Although this album is different in vision and focus than their work has been in the past, I still like it and find it a great boon in my Christian walk. And I'm just so excited about their new album that I had to tell you about it - not to say, "you should like this TOO!" but just to share songs which have spoken truths to my heart. If they can minister to you as well - then wonderful!

I was not given a copy of this album for review. Rather, my husband realized it was coming out and surprised me with it! I love that man!

Acapella

It's been a long time since I've listened solely to the sound of human voices but today I'm indulging and I think it's beautiful beyond description. I'm particularly drawn to some songs from the Scottish Psalter (1650)

Care to listen? Here's one of them.



Here's a song that my dad enjoyed and created his own arrangement of once upon a time. (His arrangement is my favorite but I'm enjoying this one as well.):



Lastly, I haven't heard this song arrangement in YEARS but I had this album when I was growing up (and loved it).



Wow, that last one is such a trip down memory lane. I remembering buying the album and listening to it and my heart swelling with the doctrine being sung. Does the same thing now.

Enjoy! =)

On My Mind (and on my heart)

(Ignore the hair situation in this video and just listen to the music . . . and the words!)



My soul finds rest in God alone, My Rock and my salvation,
A fortress strong against my foes, And I will not be shaken.
Though lips may bless and hearts may curse,
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness,
I’ll look to Him who hears me.

O praise Him, hallelujah, My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing, My Redeemer, my God.

Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.
Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.

I’ll set my gaze on God alone,
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.
Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever.

O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah! hallelujah!

based on Psalm 62

To the High Places

Last week (or so) I shared with you of my brother-in-law's sudden death in a car accident. As many of you are also aware, my dad is battling cancer and the prognosis isn't good. I will be going to Texas again next week to be with my family, but will be leaving my boys behind. It's going to be a long week. I trust it'll be a good week, but I'm certain it'll be a long week in many respects.

I also mentioned that I would be spending some time reading Hinds' Feet On High Places and I have read it over the course of the past two weeks. The book is so deeply personal that I can't seem to review it just yet. To review it is to peel scabs. It can't be done at present. But I will reread it again many times over in the next few weeks, I am certain.

I can't review it in total but I can share a little.

If you haven't read the book, this is the journey of Much-Afraid who chooses to follow The Shepherd to the High Places. It is an allegory and a good one at that. At the present moment, it is speaking to every part of me and where I am at on my own personal life journey. At the beginning of the book Much-Afraid is faced with the basic choice of whether or not to follow the Shepherd. Her family at home taunts her and harasses her, making it difficult for her to move past the fear and follow after the Shepherd. She knows she must make a choice to ignore her own fears in order to start the journey. We find her paused at her own front doorway, afraid of her cousin, Craven Fear in the following passage:

"Opening the door, she went out into the darkness. A hundred Craven Fears lurking in the lonely street could not have deterred her at that moment, for the pain her in heart swallowed up fear and everything else and drove her forth. So in the dark hours, just before the dawn, Much-Afraid started off to look for the Shepherd.

She could not go quickly because of her lameness, but limped along the village streets towards the open fields and the sheepfolds. As she went she whispered to herself, "O Shepherd, when you said that Love and pain go together, how truly you spoke."

~~~~

When she meets up with the Shepherd, he gives her two guides to help her along with her journey so that she will not have to face the treacherous mountain all alone. The name of her two guides? Suffering and sorrow.

"Poor Much-Afraid! Her cheeks blanched and she began to tremble from head to foot. She felt so like fainting that she clung to the Shepherd for support.

"I can't go with them," she gasped. "I can't! I can't! O my Lord Shepherd, why do you do this to me? How can I travel in their company? It is more than I can bear. You tell me that the mountain way itself is so steep and difficult that I cannot climb it alone. Then why, oh why, must you make Sorrow and Suffering my companions? Couldn't you have given me Joy and Peace to go with me and encourage me and help me on this difficult way? I never thought you would do this to me!" And she burst into tears.

"A strange look passed over the Shepherd's face as he listened to this outburst, then looking at the veiled figures as he spoke, he answered very gently, "Joy and Peace. Are those the companions you would choose for yourself? You remember your promise to accept the helpers that I would give, because you believed that I would choose the very best possible guides for you. Will you trust me, Much-Afraid?"

Will I trust my Shepherd even though my companions of late have seemed less than joyful?

As I was typing this up, a very dear friend of mine sent me the following clip on Youtube. It concludes everything I'm trying to say here very well.



And yes, Lord, I believe You now. For every time I wipe a tear or blow my nose, I do. I really, really do.

It goes deep. Hallelujah!

And I will adore You

I don't think I've ever heard a worship song that makes me think of Heaven as much as this one does. I'd not heard it before until yesterday and I can't get it out of my head.



It's soft, smooth and worshipful. Turn the volume up.

For me, this song paints a perfect vision of loveliness. I see dancers. I see ribbons. I see so much movement swirling around a central figure. I don't know what to say except this song thrills me with satisfaction.

I Need Thee Every Hour (Hymn for the Housewife!)

To help get you to the conclusion of another week, perhaps?

I Need Thee Every Hour

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

I need Thee, O I Need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Savior;
I come to Thee.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow'r
When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly, and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need Thee ev'ry hour,
Teach me Thy will,
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill.

Annie Sherwood Hawks (1835-1918)
Robert Lowry (1826-1899), refrain

You don't often think of hymns being written by thirty-seven-year-old homemakers from Brooklyn, but that's the story of this hymn. Annie Hawks was busy with her household chore when the words came to her. She later wrote, "I was so filled with a sense of nearness to my Master that, wondering how one could live without Him in either joy or pain, these words, 'I need thee every hour,' were flashed into my mind. Seating myself by the open window in the balmy air of the bright June day, I caught up my pencil and the words were soon committed to paper."
The pastor of her Baptist church was a musician, and he put the words to music. Two years later Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey discovered the song, and it became famous, much to the amazement of Annie Hawks.
Hawks reflected, "It was not until years later, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words." God often allows us to learn in the sunshine what we will need to lean on in the darkness. From The One Year Book of Hymns

Be Still My Soul

Today's hymn in focus from The One Year Book of Hymns

BE STILL, MY SOUL

Be still, my soul! the Lord is on they side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain,
Be still, my soul! they best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul! they God doth undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, they confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul! the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul! the hour is hastening on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul! when change and tears are past,
All save and blessed we shall meet at last.

Katharina Amalia von Schlegel (1697-?)

O Sacred Head

1. O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down,
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown:
how pale thou art with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
which once was bright as morn!

2. What thou, my Lord, has suffered
was all for sinners' gain;
mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
'Tis I deserve thy place;
look on me with thy favor,
vouchsafe to me thy grace.

3. What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest friend,
for this thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
O make me thine forever;
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love for thee.