Heavenly Father, We Appreciate You – Anonymous

Why do I need God in three forms? Otherwise put, why the Trinity? Isn’t it confusing relating to one Divine Being, not to mention three? There’s many art masterpieces that depict the Trinity, most often with the Spirit as a dove, while in contrast the Father and Son appear human-like, rather than God-like. (I wish I could write something stunning to match one of these masterpieces, like the one shown here by Bartolomeo Esteban Murillo, painted circa. 1665-1670). Well, maybe the writer of the song “Heavenly Father, We Appreciate You” had figured out the answer, or perhaps had struggled through this conundrum like me in order to come to some understanding of Him. The song’s writer is in fact not known, so in this anonymity, each of us is free to write his or her own song story here. Just for ease of discussion, let’s pretend that all of us are the writers of this song’s words, and we’ll call ourselves collectively the anonymous writer ‘Anon’ (short for Anonymous).

Anon must have gone through various phases of relationship with Him, based on the three verses he has us sing. Father, Son, Holy Ghost. The Father, the One to whom I prostrate myself -- a ‘bowing down’, as I conclude the opening verse. I think that Anon must have felt particularly humbled because of his own most recent experience in sin (whatever it was), and the utter ignominy he felt that contact with the Most Holy One inspired. I might feel this way, acutely, only occasionally. But, its remnants stick with me, and I need genuine submission and the resulting freedom from guilt for a healthy faith. The Son causes Anon to marvel. He came to become less than God, somehow – an amazing thing. And, He must have known I’d be incapable of recovery from contact with the Father, if the shame were not excised from my consciousness somehow. In a word, He gave Anon and the rest of us a MIRACLE, a way out of jail for every wrong thought, deed, or word. Anon, like me, must have had plenty of those in his debt column when he wrote this song. The Spirit is here to keep me company, but not just for friendship, but advice too. Anon probably felt lonely at times, and empty about his life’s purpose. With his companion, the vacuum disappeared, at least when he maintained contact.


Sound familiar? There’s many facets to any relationship, which may explain why He’s three persons for me to know and appreciate. Appreciate? ‘Is that too tame?’, someone complains. Maybe, if you’re trying to thank Him or say you love Him. But, appreciation can also mean (according to Websters’) that I value something justly, that He gets from me what He really deserves. Something of true value also appreciates over time; it gets better and better. That’s God, when I keep messing up and He refuses to discard me or demote me when I come running home. His Son’s blood keeps on washing…keeps on amazing me with its endless cleansing power. The Counselor-Comforter-Friend stays with me, but refuses to overpower me, even when I douse Him. He knows me, even better than I know myself. Still think of yourself as ‘Anon’? I bet God doesn’t call you that.

Holy, Holy, Holy – Reginald Heber

Reginald Heber died too early, tragically most would say. In Calcutta, India one hot, humid Sunday in 1826 he preached to a crowd, and very suddenly suffered sunstroke and died. He was just 43 years old. But, the song words he wrote to His God, and that we now sing, didn’t end with his physical demise, for his wife and friends gathered Heber’s hymns that he had written – 57 of them – and published them. The words he wrote enrich our worship of God and give us a glimpse of the man who was known for his character, his decency. It’s no surprise that Heber, a man respected by those who knew him, would be in touch with God’s holiness, and that he wrote these words to coax us to do the same. It’s said that Reginald Heber was searching for a song for Trinity Sunday (it comes eight weeks after Easter), and decided that he’d write his own words for the occasion, since he could not find another. Kind of amazing if you think about it, for the doctrine of the Trinity had been codified in Christianity several hundred years earlier. In 325 A.D., the council of Nicea (in modern-day Turkey) had determined that the Bible teaches something quite profound -- that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit make up the Godhead, the Trinity. If you look on the margins of the sheet music for Heber’s song, you might even see the word ‘Nicea’ there, a reminder of that historic event 1,500 years before the tune written by John Dykes in 1861 was paired with Heber’s words to produce this song. One cannot miss in Heber’s words, and in his collaborator’s efforts too, the primacy of the message. God’s purity endures. I wonder if Heber’s last years, indeed his last moments, made this song more meaningful for him. Heber spent the 1823-26 years in India, and labored in a climate that wore heavily upon him physically. Heber’s wide-ranging responsibilities, as bishop of Calcutta, India, and of Ceylon, and Australia too, must have also been overwhelming at times. ‘How did he manage this?’, we might ponder. I might have quit, told my superiors ‘I’m chuckin’ this’, and gone home to the easier life of England, where Heber was born, educated, and ministered for 16 years before traveling to south Asia. Instead, Heber delivered God’s message, a testimony of His holiness to a nation mired in a caste system, rife with injustices. Who better than Heber, who sought God and patterned his own life after Him, to spread His hope to the poor and disadvantaged in India? How did he manage? Seeing God for who He is, in His unpolluted, unstained, eternal form can compel us, even transform us, even though it may cost us our mortality. I’m gonna try remembering that when I sing Heber’s song next time. Information on the song was obtained from the book “101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982.

Come Thou Almighty King – Charles Wesley?

‘Come, Thou Almighty King’ sounds like an order, and a compliment in one statement, doesn’t it? In fact, read the words of all five of the song’s verses, and there are many statements that sound like orders for the Almighty to prove Himself, intermingled with praise offerings to the Holy One. There’s a command in almost every line, in fact, of the first four verses. The song makes one think of a Davidic battle psalm, a warrior’s shout to the Lord, a stirring appeal for God’s vengeance to come. The song’s composer is generally considered to be anonymous, but the words in it give us a hint of the songwriter’s situation, who he might have been, and of his abiding faith in the Almighty.

Many music historians think Charles Wesley composed the words to “Come Thou Almighty King”, since its call to God for protection from enemies is a familiar theme in his songs. It first appeared in 1757 in conjunction with a message by John Wesley, Charles’ well-known preacher-brother. The Wesleys were the first Methodists, who endured incredible persecution in Anglican England. So, the song’s message matches what a Wesley might have been pouring out of his soul, somewhat like what King David expressed in his psalms while on the run from his enemies. On the other hand, alert musicologists also note that the song’s meter is unlike most of Wesley’s compositions, and since he was a Methodist, he was usually predictable. The song’s arrival nearly coincided with a well-known tune “God Save Our Gracious King”, which was meant to honor England’s royalty, but was especially abhorrent to Methodists. Instead, they latched onto “Come Thou Almighty King”, which was sung to the same music for a time, but sung to an entirely different king, with gusto. (Today, the tune for “God Save Our Gracious King” matches “My Country, Tis of Thee”, but is not the tune used for “Come Thou Almighty King”. Instead, “The Italian Hymn” is the tune tied to “Come Thou Almighty King”.)

The song was also composed to remind Christians of the Trinity. In many renditions of the song, however, this original intent is blurred, an effect that would have offended its early advocates. Verse 1 is to the Father; verse 2 (and in some versions, also a third verse) recognizes the Incarnate Word – the Son; the following two verses call out to the Spirit as our Comforter, and finally to the three in one, the great mysterious Trinity. Did Charles Wesley in fact write “Come Thou …” ? Somehow, if what I can read of his life is true, I doubt he’d want us to debate it for long. He’d want us to think about the sentiment in the song. My God in His three persons is called upon with requests from the worshipper for 25 things in these five short verses (actually the last four are reminders of what we as worshippers do, with His help). (You can try counting them in the following link: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/c/t/ctak.htm). It might make one wonder ‘does He get weary of my neediness?’. Is that why there’s the three-in-one God, because I’d exhaust Him out if He were only one? No way, right? If nothing else, the song reminds me that God exists to hear my constant cries, to be my Savior in all things. Wesley (if he’s the author) had much he needed from God. Don’t we all?

See the following website for information on Charles Wesley:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Wesley

The following books were also used to gather information on the song:

“The Complete Book of Hymns: Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2006.

“Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

“101 Hymn Stories”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1982.