4/20/2010

Old Hymns

It is a beautiful spring day here at the cabin. The sun is shinning and there’s a little bit of a nip in the breeze. After the rain and snow that we were having over the weekend, this is a welcome change! Honey has taken his brother-in-law out for day of ‘guy shopping’. Since his last brain surgery, Allan hasn’t gotten out much. So we were excited to see him take interest in getting out today.

As for me, being home alone has been productive. There’s a pot of red beans on the stove, a loaf of fresh bread cooling on the counter and all is right with the world. I’ve still got a mound of dishes to finish and a few clothes to fold, but I don’t think I can resist the urge to take my little dulcimer out on the porch for a little music practice before the sun goes down and the night chill settles over the meadow.

I’ve been learning the old hymn “At Calvary”. I have found that songs come easiest to me if I can associate the musical notes with the words of the songs. In learning this way, I have really come to appreciate the lyrics of these songs so much more. I grew up in the Baptist church. These hymns were sung repeatedly Sunday after Sunday, but I never really stopped to look closely at the messages that they were conveying … until now. “At Calvary” speaks to my heart and tells my story. It’s kind of funny; the one verse that speaks the loudest is the one that is often skipped over,

“Now I’ve giv’n to Jesus everything; Now I gladly own Him as my King; Now my raptured soul can only sing of Calvary. Mercy there was great, and grace was free; Pardon there was multiplied to me; There my burdened soul found liberty, At Calvary.”


I love the new praise and worship songs that are being adopted by the churches today. I think we all need to really seek that close personal relationship with the Lord; but I hate to see the old hymns being shoved aside. There is power in those old hymns. They talk about hardship, grief, and the sinfulness of mankind. And they talk about the power of the Blood of Jesus! The Blood of Jesus can make us new! The Blood of Jesus can change our lives! The Blood of Jesus was/is for everyone – no exception! So the next time you go to church. Get there a little early and spend a few minutes reading through the hymnbook. You just might find that the Jesus you sing adoration to is also the Jesus whose Blood is powerful enough to make your stained life clean and new again.

The sun will be setting soon. Have a great day & may the Lord bless you!

2 comments:

Tom Scepaniak said...

I have an old Methodist hymnal that our pastor gave me that was stored away at church. Our church building used to be a Methodist building and allot of the stuff is still packed away there. I agree, I love the new songs but the old songs have a strong draw on me. The words alone a person could preach! Let us pray that we never get so high and mighty that we figure those old hymnals are outdated!
God Bless!

Lee Ann said...

Amen Pastor Tom! It saddens me to hear the Christian radio stations continue to play the 'formula' songs over and over again. They all seem to have been written using the exact same template. Don't get me wrong, any song that sings praises to the Lord is a good thing; but you're right ... the old gospel tunes can preach to our sins, minister to our broken condition, and give us hope in a blessed tomorrow. Don't you know heaven is going to be something awesome, the saints & angels joined together to sing praises to the Lamb!!! (I suspect that a few of those old gospel hymns will be in the lineup too!)

May the Lord bless you with an abundance of healthy calves over the next few days!