For those of you who know me, it will not surprise you to hear that music most defines my worship experience.  It is images of my grandparents singing in the choir and snippets of glorious music coming from our pipe organ that flood my memories associated with growing up at Friedens United Church of Christ.  I have always had favorite hymns, even as a child, and singing in church has always been the way that I express my praise and thanksgiving.  Like many of you, music has always anchored my church experience.  We are now living in the time of a global pandemic though and congregational singing in church will not be an option for the foreseeable future, but friends, rest assured that the hymns of our faith have not left us.

One of the blessings of my new normal is that every week I sit down and type up the lyrics for the hymns that will be part of our virtual worship services so that those who wish to may sing along at home.  This practice is both cathartic and enlightening, and as I type these words of our faith I have a new and deeper understanding of the text and their connection to ancient scripture.  Beautiful music hasn’t left us either, and even though we are not able to lift our voices together there are other incredibly meaningful ways to experience the music that we love.  One practice that I have found to be meaningful is to listen to instrumental recordings of hymns while meditating on the text.  This time of reflection and prayer has helped calm and center me, and each time I seem to connect with a different phrase or verse of text.

This week was busy as I prepared to return to middle school teaching after being away from the building for more than 20 weeks, but I found some time to listen to the hymns that Dwight and I chose for today.  In the midst of uncertainty, anxiety associated with constantly changing plans, and too many unknowns for me to possibly prepare for, I was drawn to these words from today’s hymns.

In our Hymn of Adoration Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing the phrase, “Bind my wandering heart to thee” provided me with a much needed anchor.  The author wrote these words reflecting on a time that he strayed very far away from God.  My faith isn’t wandering, but my thoughts and emotions are.  I am thankful for the constancy of our creator.

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
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 to thee an alter.  Hither by thy help I’m 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.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a feter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, how I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

The second verse of our Hymn of Reflection, Love Divine All Loves Excelling, begins with, “Breathe O breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast”.  Isn’t this the perfect prayer for parents, teachers, and students who are wrestling with the return to school in the midst of very unprecedented circumstances?

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art.
Visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit into every troubled breast.
Let us all in thee inherit, let us find thy promised rest.
Take away our love of sinning.  Alpha and omega be.
End of faith, as its beginning, set our hearts at liberty.

Come, almighty to deliver, let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return and never, never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing, serve thee as thy hosts above,
Pray and praise thee without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love.

Finish, then, thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee.
Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.

I have always loved the phrase, “And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won” from our Hymn of Parting, The Church’s One Foundation.  Singing these words always reminds me that I am part of an incredible history of believers, and I am always surrounded by a strong church family always ready to support me.

The Church’s One Foundation
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord.
We are his new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven he came and sought us to be his holy bride.
With his own blood he bought us, and for our life he died.

Called forth from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth.
Our charter of salvation; one Lord, one faith, one birth.
One holy name professing and at one table fed,
To one hope always pressing, by Christ’s own Spirit led.

Though with a scornful wonder the world see us oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of our war,
We wait the consummation of peace forever more;
Till with the vision glorious our longing eyes are blest,
And the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.

We now on earth have union with God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won.
Oh, happy one, and holy!  Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.

I invite you to listen and reflect, and if you would like to share your takeaways from these three hymns or from this practice I would love to hear from you!