It’s been a bit since I’ve shared a Sabbath Rest hymn. Since we’re just starting out on our twenty-first year of life on the road (and anticipating some tweaks to that in the months ahead), we continue to cling to the promise that our God will go before us, and guide us by his presence.
Our God will go before us
And guide us by his presence
What confidence this promise is
We will never walk alone
Through unknown paths, through shadows
Our hearts fear not tomorrow
For every step his faithfulness
Is the truth that lights our way
Our God will go before us
The Lord of Hosts is with us
O praise the one who leads us on
For his grace will bring us home
Though evil forms against us
All heaven will defend us
The gates of hell shall not prevail
For the battle is the Lord’s
Our God will go before us
The Lord of Hosts is with us
O praise the one who leads us on
For his grace will bring us home
Now send us with your presence,
And lead us on to heaven,
Where songs of sorrow strain no more
And our every breath is praise
O let our every breath be praise
Our God will go before us
The Lord of Hosts is with us
O praise the one who leads us on
For his grace will bring us home
Our God will go before us
The Lord of Hosts is with us
O praise the one who leads us on
For his grace will bring us home
Words and Music by Matt Boswell, Keith Getty, and Matt Papa
Of all the things I am thankful for one of the most precious is that God never gives up on me! And His love will always bid me welcome!
Oh, God of grace, how often have I grieved Thee?
How seldom have I sung Thy praise?
And little do I know, how much I need Thee
And time again I turn away
For how my heart is hard and unbelieving
For all I’ve done and left undone
Your love is not reluctant to receive me
My soul draws back, but Love says, “Come”
Oh, He will not cast you out, He will not cast you out
Whoever enters in will forever dwell with Him
Draw near, faint heart, draw near
Oh, Love still bids you welcome here
Oh, Father when I sin against my neighbor
I turn away your very Son
Who died to call us friends when we were strangers
And says to every sinner, “Come”
Oh, He will not cast you out, He will not cast you out
Whoever enters in will forever dwell with Him
Draw near, faint heart, draw near
Oh, Love still bids you welcome here
Oh, Lord of light, you call out us out of darkness
To turn aside from sin and live
And prodigals, we come to you for pardon
Oh, Abba Father, take us in
He will not cast you out, He will not cast you out
Whoever enters in will forever dwell with Him
Oh, He will not cast you out, He will not cast you out
Whoever enters in will forever dwell with Him
Draw near, faint heart, draw near
Oh, Love still bids you welcome here
Oh, draw near, faint heart, draw near
Oh, Love still bids you welcome here
Oh, He will not cast you out, He will not cast you out
Whoever enters in will forever dwell with Him
Oh, He will not cast you out, He will not cast you out
Whoever enters in will forever dwell with Him
Draw near, faint heart, draw near
Oh, Love still bids you welcome here
Another classic for today! “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it – Seal it for Thy courts above”
So blessed by these words written in 1758 by Robert Robinson.
Come Thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God
He to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
My sister Elna loved hymns. Rich, spirit filled hymns that you find in those hymnals in those racks on the back of the pews. Remember those? When cancer reared its ugly head (again) in 2018 and the prognosis was not looking very hopeful, she sat down and shared some thoughts about what some of those hymns taught her.
I really wanted to be here with you today, but since I knew I couldn’t, I prepared a few words ahead of time to share with you all.
Many of you know that I love hymns, and often I am amazed at the discernment and depth of the words. One that struck me last summer, perhaps in some way preparing me for this journey, is an old favorite from childhood—“For the Beauty of the Earthâ€. I have sung this for years, recognizing it as a hymn of praise and gratitude for all of creation—and in fact, it covers an awful lot of earthly existence in its lines. But I was caught up by the final phrase of the last verse one Sunday morning—it didn’t make sense to me as the words went by, so I went back to it. “…flowers of earth and buds of heaven.â€
Buds of heaven?? I stopped to consider what that might be, and have not stopped since! My first thought was that flowers on earth are but buds of what they will be in Glory. But then I went on thinking about it, and it seems like most everything here on earth—all the good things, all the things we are thankful for—are only foretastes, buds, of Heaven. That has been a very exciting thought these past few months, and has set the background for so many glimpses into Glory.
Another light that came on for me was in the sixth verse of “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing†(Please, please sing ALL the verses!):
Hear him, ye deaf; his praise ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ; ye blind, behold your Savior come; and leap, ye lame, for joy!
I have always gravitated to this verse, looking forward to actually leaping for joy, but recently I realized that it is not about me, at all, but about the joy of being with Jesus, and I won’t be able to keep from leaping when I see Him! None of us will!
God, in His great mercy, gave her another four years after she wrote those words. I had a really hard time finding a video that did have ALL the verses. (I also learned in my research that there are many, many verses (like 18!) which I’m sure was not her intent!) This one was as close as I could find. “And leap, ye lame, for joy!”
1. O for a thousand tongues to sing
my great Redeemer’s praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!
2. My gracious Master and my God,
assist me to proclaim,
to spread through all the earth abroad
the honors of thy name.
3. Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
that bids our sorrows cease;
’tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’tis life, and health, and peace.
4. He breaks the power of canceled sin,
he sets the prisoner free;
his blood can make the foulest clean;
his blood availed for me.
5. He speaks, and listening to his voice,
new life the dead receive;
the mournful, broken hearts rejoice,
the humble poor believe.
6. Hear him, ye deaf; his praise, ye dumb,
your loosened tongues employ;
ye blind, behold your savior come,
and leap, ye lame, for joy.
The Psalms tell us over and over again to “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, and I am so thankful for the beautiful music that has formed the rich heritage of worship music. I’ve shared this medley before, and although I’m disappointed it doesn’t include “In Christ Alone” or any of the other Getty hymns that I have come to love, it still does an amazing job of capturing “The Evolution of Worship Music.”
