We Will Feast in the House of Zion -- Sandra McCracken and Joshua Moore

 

Was something troubling the writers or people they knew? The lyrics that Sandra McCracken and Joshua Moore penned in 2015 indicate that if the answer was ‘yes’, then they had been reading from various ancient scriptures for solace and encouragement. “We Will Feast in the House of Zion” was how Israel’s most faithful servants of the Lord God reassured themselves, through a remembrance of His past relationship with them and what these same afflicted people prayed He could do for them in the future. Some of their history included exile to another land, a situation that left the people longing for a joyous return to Zion, the land God had given to them. (See the 1903 illustration The Land of Zion, by Ephraim Moses Lilien, which shows the glow of the land off in the distance, which the people of God ached to inhabit once more.) The thoughts that Sandra and Joshua put on paper remind us that we often are in straits that menace us, even to the point of death. We call out and seek His protective presence once more, as His people have done over and over again.  

 

Since Sandra McCracken included the song ‘We Will Feast…’ on an album entitled Psalms, we can presume that much of the inspiration that she found, apparently with Joshua Moore’s collaboration, was from within that ancient Hebrew songbook. Particularly, Psalms 22 (verse 29) and 126 (verses 2-3) offer words that Sandra and Joshua could have borrowed to celebrate with ‘feast(ing)’ and to recall the ‘great things’ He has done for His people. Other various prophets or biblical visionaries like Isaiah (30:19; 43:2), Joel (2:21), Jeremiah (Lamentations 3:22), John (Revelation 5:5), and Solomon (Proverbs 7:9) wrote with words that these two 21^st Century songwriters seem to echo. What parallels to Israel’s history existed in Sandra’s and Joshua’s world that helped stimulate what they wrote? That’s a mystery, though any number of circumstances in our modern world so often make us feel as though a gap between the Lord and ourselves has formed. One thing is certain: He hasn’t moved; it’s always we who have strayed away from Him. ‘Fire’ and ‘flood’ may threaten us (v.1); or we feel surrounded by the ‘dark of night’, making us ‘afraid‘ as we look for the ‘dawn’(v.2); and finally admit that our trouble stems from a broken ‘vow’ to Him (v.3) – the trouble is therefore so often self-inflicted. Sandra and Joshua weren’t ready to sit down immediately at the feast; instead, they had to acknowledge that the dangers, using the phrases of their faith’s ancestors, were there. It’s clear that Isarel and we, many centuries later, still experience anxiety, even as we believe in God’s ‘strength’ (v.2). It’s been an ongoing issue for us humans -- ‘from the garden to the grave’ (v.3) --  that McCracken and Moore remind us hasn’t changed between the very beginning of human history until today. But, imposing as these perils have been and continue to be, they cannot defeat God’s rescue operation.

 

We’re not always feasting and rejoicing, feeling restored and protected, for in Sandra’s and Joshua’s world, there are things on the opposite side of the ledger. Their verses even begin with the difficulties, those things that most often, frankly, make us call out to our Protector and Redeemer. It’s just that human nature and daily life work out that way. Struggle almost seems necessary, and in a way, they do seem to make the eventual feast taste that much sweeter. That’s a lesson from real-life experience, from the history we can read of His people, and from this song that Sandra and Joshua have brought to us. Notice that the feasting is always the conclusion of the matter, the refrain in the song. It’s not an accident, is it? We couldn’t trust God and aim to be with Him if that wasn’t true. It’s worth singing and reading every day, that maladies might upset me, but I can count on the end being a reverse of that. He’s the reason, and He's preparing the meal in His house for me. Read John 14:2-3 and Revelation 19:6-9, and see if that whets your appetite!

 

Read about one of the authors here: Sandra McCracken - Wikipedia (see 8^th paragraph re: Psalms album)

 

This site indicates the song is part of the Psalms album: SANDRA MCCRACKEN - PSALMS ALBUM LYRICS (songlyrics.com)

 

See information on the sketch here: File:Lieder des Ghetto 11.jpg - Wikimedia Commons…This media file is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1929, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal. See this page for further explanation.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness – Thomas Chisholm

Perhaps Thomas Chisholm identified with the people of Jerusalem, at least a little – what do you think? In 1923 he wrote the song “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, a poem that calls out to worshippers from the book of Lamentations, a cry of people in abject misery. Maybe on one hand, one would have to experience war to really appreciate what Lamentations has to say. Pictures of bombed-out cities in Europe in 1945, where people reverted to wild, animal-like behavior to survive spring to mind. Have you seen the film “The Pianist”, the biography of the Jewish-Polish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman, who endured the horror of Warsaw in World War II ? That’s akin to what Jerusalem might have been like when under siege by Babylon. Yet, nothing from Chisholm’s life appears to be Szpilman-like. In fact, Chisholm says nothing especially stark in his life, including in 1923, inspired the words of the ode he composed. But Chisholm’s humble life experiences and shortcomings do relate something with which we can all probably identify, especially if we compare them to what God offers.

Chisholm grew up in a log cabin, was only minimally educated, and suffered from ill health, a chronic problem that made his lifelong income pretty limited. If that sounds like a recipe for disappointment, Chisholm must have ignored it, because he shares his ‘astonishing gratefulness’ at God’s work in his life. So grateful was he, that we know of 1,200 poems that Chisholm wrote in his 94 years. Can you think of 1,200 worthwhile things you’ve done in your life! Nevertheless, the Lamentations-origin of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” hints that Chisholm was aware of his own life’s regrets. After all, aren’t we all at times, when dealt reverses? Did he perhaps subconsciously identify with the background of Jeremiah’s message, and so compose from a visceral vantage point? The weeping prophet did not make Chisholm the weeping poet, however. No, the words of his song are no less upbeat than the few optimistic verses in Lamentations that the prophet gave us. Even a cursory, ten-minute reading of the book leaves one seeing the verses Chisholm focused on as an oasis, a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak outlook. It’s pretty heartening that a piece of Jeremiah’s song, composed 2,600 years ago, was renewed in 1923, and still has power in our century too. Does it say something to you today? It’s 2009…have you been suffering? Have you lost a job, maybe your home? How’s your health? Some of us might even feel like we’re at war, depending on where we live, or where we’ve been. But, the glimmer we all can get from Thomas Chisholm’s tune is this: God’s faith cuts through the gloom. Chisholm saw the light, despite what happened to him. So did Jeremiah.

Chisholm’s song reminds me that the Lord’s faith may be compared to His creation (verse 2), so that if the seasons persist, the stars still shine, and the sun rises and sets each day, I know God is still near. Despite the misery I may find here, God’s promises are for me. He controls. The world still turns. The Son’s life-offer endures. What a God! What a deal!

Information on the song was obtained from the books “101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982; “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990; and “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006.