Poured Out Like Wine – Anonymous

He or she is unknown, but that detail doesn’t mean we cannot understand this composer. “Poured Out Like Wine” asks a question and then provides an answer, a conversation that indicates this poet was in tune with the Lamb, the One who modeled for every believer what it is to sacrifice. The composer-poet may have also identified with another 1^st Century character, one who was told he’d suffer much for Him. This apostle recorded his feelings twice in the last decade of his life that captured the attention of this anonymous composer centuries later, making one wonder if perhaps he was in a similar life situation. What’s really at stake when somebody endeavors to be a sacrifice…is it like what’s shown here in this 16^th Century representation of what the Aztecs might have experienced in their rituals?

“Poured Out Like Wine” could be the poignant phrase the Paul the apostle uses at least twice in his letters to describe his dedication to the mission God had given him, a solemn undertaking that perhaps millions, including the composer, have considered. Both times the apostle was in confinement (Philippians 2:17; 2 Timothy 4:6), a fact that underscores the sober nature of this commitment. It’s not for the timid or weak, and maybe can only be appreciated fully by someone like Paul after repeated episodes. He was likely nearing the end of life the second time he uses it, so he’d already answered ‘Yes’ to the question many times over. He must have felt at that point that he was an echo of the many centuries of sacrificers, not to mention his Savior who turned sacrifice into a passageway to renewal. So, it’s natural to wonder where the composer was along his life’s path when he jotted down these words. Was he just at the beginning, or was he somewhere along the way, perhaps trying to coax another to join the straight and narrow? His verses indicate he didn’t just launch into this life blindly, without hesitation. No, he had to be invited, persuaded (v.1). Maybe he was reminiscing the way the great apostle was, inspiring readers with his thoughts about what it was like to mimic Jesus as a suffering servant, and admiring the view of Canaan and his inheritance. Saying ‘yes’ to suffering must have a sweet taste after a life like Paul’s, to be in tune with God’s Spirit and able to acknowledge that one’s life has been well-spent, worthy of eternal dwelling with Him.    

Pour it out. Sacrifice. Focus on Jesus as the model. Coax others to do the same. Eye the light at the other end. These were all the things this nameless writer could have done as he contemplated and lived what he wrote. The song doesn’t need attribution. Its link is clear….clear back to Paul, and the One from whom he got it. Listen to Him in the first verse, and sing the second verse, if you wanna see what Paul saw.  

Oh the Depth and the Riches -- Tillit S. Teddlie

He had just passed the halfway point in his life.  His hair was no doubt thinning and graying, yet he still had several decades in the future to live and model the Christian life, although Tillit Sydney Teddlie could not have known that when he wrote “Oh the Depth and the Riches” in 1938. What was happening in his life in Texas (see seal of this great state here) during this year in the midst of the Great Depression? Was he watching war storm clouds build on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean? The world’s economy and geopolitical events probably didn’t escape his attention, but we don’t know if or how much he dwelled on these things. His own history was focused not on earthly matters, but of things that would be much more permanent.    

Teddlie’s motivation for “Oh the Depth and the Riches” could have sprung from a variety of circumstances, although the precise incident that spawned it during his long life is not recorded. He evidently was pondering the great sacrifice of Jesus and its significance in his own life, its personal nature. Tillit wasn’t shy about using ‘I’, ‘me’, and ‘my’ in his three verses and the chorus (nine times they appear), hinting that this sprang from a moment (perhaps several strung together) in which he was alone with His Lord. His preaching experience in at least six churches over his life might suggest that he often developed his hymns during a sermon preparation time. Was he confessing and marveling over his own redemption during one of these episodes in 1938? Perhaps so, but he didn’t keep it to himself. The text, if it was birthed from some of his sermon notes, didn’t remain for his eyes only. He urged others to join in, to embrace this personal space with Him, by writing and having this hymn published for wide use. This hymn’s development and its message was a microcosm of Teddlie’s life experience, really.  This came from a 53-year old who’d go on to write over 100 songs, preach messages across Texas, and play a key part in drawing 1,000 people into God’s family.  He taught in singing schools for six decades (!), and ministered in churches well into his seventh and eighth decades of life, and even on occasion in his 90’s. What a life he lived until 102 years of age!  If anyone had fire, it was Tillit S. Teddlie.        

What would make possible a life lasting over 100 years? If Teddlie’s experience is an answer, perhaps it could be said it was a focus that expressed itself in many venues.  His was a Christian life, expressed in several ways. From singing schools, to preaching, to music publishing, to song composition, Teddlie was a multitalented character, some might say with a Texas-sized talent. He was a vessel, strong and yet submissive at the same time.  He might say ‘Discover His purpose for you, and then don’t stop until He’s done!’ Teddlie might have earned a rest, wouldn’t you say? I wonder if God is really through using him, though – look at all those songs, all those people he drew toward the Holy One through schools and messages he delivered. He’s not done yet. Neither am I. How about you? Will any of us ever be done, or grow tired of being used by Him? Tillit might give you an answer someday, if you go to meet him.       

Biographic information on the composer found in the following:

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

http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/t/e/d/teddlie_ts.htm

http://www.therestorationmovement.com/teddlie,ts.htm

Also, here’s a link to a celebration of the composer’s 100^th birthday:

http://www.dallaschristiansound.com/title.asp?title=TillitSTeddlieNationalTreasure

See this site for further biographic information on the composer: http://homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/629915/

How Beautiful -- Twila Paris

Look in the mirror, and ask yourself ‘Am I good-looking?’ Twila Paris might have been asking herself that sort of question during one period of her life, and resolving to say ‘yes’ as she pondered how to manifest her answer practically in everyday living in 1991. One way that we can see her answer is in the words of “How Beautiful” that she wrote and sang that year. Her words, both in the song and those she used to introduce it to listeners in 1994, show that she was impacted by Him, drawn toward Him, and wanted to imitate Him. How does one best do that?

Twila Paris had listened, as she had been for many years, she explained in 1994, a few years after composing “How Beautiful”. She had believed in Him and His purposes for some time, but felt He was showing her something more, about how to go further to reflect Him. As a child, Paris produced music by the time she was seven years old, the result of being with parents whose evangelistic outreach infused her with an experience that would influence the rest of her life. By the time she reached her early 30’s, Twila could have been described as a veteran of two decades of musical accomplishment. What else was there for her to learn as a 32-year old in 1991?  She says His message to her was about unity in the body, about a greater love for each other among believers. How one feels toward relatives, those to whom we typically reserve the term ‘loved ones’, is how we’re to feel toward fellow Christians, she declares. Be unified in serving each other, and the world outside of Christendom too, and so echo His love. She doesn’t share the precise circumstances of her life at that point, but Twila’s message need not be more specific to be true. Every group of Christians have experienced some discord and even division at times – it’s human, so a call for harmony doesn’t require further explanation. Twila emphasizes this message’s divine origin and the human reply in her verses.   

Paris suggests that we look at the Christ-Servant and then do as He did, describing the result with an adjective we don’t normally associate with a male, even if He is God. God is beautiful when we see Him serve, ultimately in death. That’s opposite of what popular culture says, including about gods like Venus (see Boticelli’s masterpiece depiction of her birth here). That’s Twila’s most baffling image – a suffering, bleeding God being beautiful. Perhaps that was part of what she was talking about when she said she’d received a greater understanding of how to show Him to others. He turns ugly into beauty. It only makes sense in the divine calculus, and in those who take Him on. So, don’t worry about the dirt under your fingernails, the scuff marks on your clothes, or the way you might smell after pitching in to serve. Another image that Twila reminds me is true involves me (a male) being His bride. So, I’ll get grimy following His lead, but he weds me anyway. How about that! If you’re still confused, perhaps the key here is seeing that beautiful isn’t the operative word in this song, but how.  Think about the ‘how’ in becoming more like Him.   

The following link is the primary source for the song’s story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ3SrJ-3VSE (Twila Paris’ comments before she sang the song during a 1994 event)

See following sites also:

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

http://www.twilaparis.com/bio.php

I Gave My Life for Thee -- Francis Ridley Havergal

Was it because His body looks horribly scarred? Or was it the blood that’s dripping down His forehead? Instead, was Frances R. Havergal overcome by the look of resignation on His face, His hands bound? The inscription below the painting (see it here) also must have stuck with her that day in Dusseldorf, as she contemplated its import and scratched out the first few words of “I Gave My Life for Thee” while sitting in that mid-19^th Century gallery. She wasn’t the first person to be moved by staring at Christ’s beaten visage, but what she created from that moment is somewhat rare. Read on to see why.

Havergal was no doubt influenced by many factors that 1858 day in Germany as she gazed upon the painting called Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) and composed something special as a result. Not the least of these influences was her father William, a minister and writer and hymnist also, who would have a profound impact on his daughter, including in her development of this hymn. This 22-year old was affected deeply by the painting, and its message got inside of her, particularly the caption that she echoes in the song’s first verse. Yet, the poem she began that day she nearly discarded in the flames of a stove, thinking it was a failure. It’s said the paper was inexplicably saved from the fire, and then found by William who urged Frances to persist in its development. What he saw in it we do not know, but perhaps it was the poetry’s rare quality that makes it so different from most other hymns. Pick any church hymnal, and you’ll notice that most of what we believers sing is from us to Him. Frances Havergal sensed something else, in a different direction entirely as she composed.  Her words have us vocalize Jesus’ words, from Him to us, and then back to Him again. One might deduce that Frances had the Spirit from deep inside her being coaching her efforts that day.  How else might one create something that stands apart from most other music?  

‘Who’s the audience for what I’m singing?’, her words make me wonder. Am I really thinking about the words and their origin? What must it have been like for Jesus to leave His home, endure agonizing torture, die in disgrace, and then offer rescue to the people who killed Him? Those are the four divine sacrifices that Frances must have been mulling over, and her own answers to them. How could I mimic Jesus? As I think about the audience, about Frances’ audience in 1858, I come upon something I don’t often consider as I sing and offer praise. He’s not just above. He’s also inside, urging me, coaxing me, convicting me if necessary. Jesus listened to His insides, and He asks me to do the same. That’s how I can start to imitate Him. Am I listening to what’s coming from inside? Are you?

    

 Information on the song was obtained from the books  “Amazing Grace – 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions”, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, 1990, Kregel Publications; “The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, 2006, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.; and “Then Sings My Soul”, by Robert J. Morgan, 2003, Thomas Nelson, Inc.   

See this site for further biography: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Ridley_Havergal

We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise – Kirk and Deby Dearman

The Dearmans, Kirk and Deby, gave birth in their car in 1980, but not in the way you’re probably thinking! It was a song “We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise”, and you can read the entire story here at this link, rather than hear me re-tell it: http://www.cometothequiet.com/sacofpraise.cfm

Like it? Wow, it’s really great to hear how a genuine effort to praise God in such a simple way has travelled around the globe. It also seems from the Dearmans story, and from Deby’s contribution of two new verses to the song in 1990, that their understanding, and now ours too, of what it means to offer a sacrifice to praise to Him has grown. I think Kirk and Deby would echo that, if you read their story. And, check out these verses, and think of ways to sacrifice your praise to Him today:

Psalm 50:23; Psalm 54:6; Hebrews 13:15

Update: See the site here for the story, as of October 2017: http://staugustine.com/living/religion/2016-07-08/story-behind-song-we-bring-sacrifice-praise