Every Time I Feel the Spirit – Anonymous

 

Their lives mingled with His, probably including in their moments of distress when a ray of hope shown through the darkness. Somewhere in slavery’s dominion, in pre-Civil War North America, a group of African-American slaves sang that “Every Time I Feel the Spirit”, they could sense Him being there to reassure them. They called out to one another some reminders of His working, perhaps as one of them thumbed through a tattered bible, maybe one of the few possessions a group of slaves might have had, even if it had to be kept in secret. Many of these 19^th Century enslaved believers, in fact, might have been illiterate.  But they were able to hear the Spirit, and to coax faith among each other. This must have been the message a group of them wanted to convey to a president who came to meet them, in the wake of their gaining freedom, and even as the national conflict still raged on. (See the picture here of perhaps Freedman’s Village, in Arlington, Virginia, where a group of former slaves sang about this Spirit’s working to President and Mrs. Lincoln.)

 

Exactly which slave community was the source of “Every Time I Feel the Spirit” is not really known, though we might infer one possibility from the story of the song’s use in a performance for Abraham and Mary Lincoln.  An escaped slave from Maryland, known as Aunt Mary Dines, reportedly was at this event and even witnessed the President’s emotional reaction to the singing. So, had the song emanated from Maryland, and perhaps was further spread in this camp outside of Washington? Whatever the case, Lincoln’s purported reaction suggests he could identify with their distress, something that various authors have indicated Lincoln felt acutely at times in the White House. Lincoln’s many speeches, particularly during the war’s latter stages, contained his own thoughts about God’s purposes and even punishments for the nation, indicating he sought out God’s Spirit for his inner struggle. How did these people respond, be they negro farmhands under the lash, or a president caught in the death struggle to guide a torn nation back into harmony? Prayer. And, not just once, but every time they felt Him moving. And, then they told each other a few things about the one to whom they looked for answers. One can imagine that the poetic verses with these reminders of Him were mixed and matched in various combinations over the years, judging from what is shown in various sources. Some of these images include God on Mount Sinai, with fire and smoke; God providing a saving path through the Red Sea; God’s salvation through the Jordan River; Jesus being our security when Satan is tempting; and God providing heaven as the believer’s destiny. The common theme throughout is that He’s the One to watch. Cling to Him.

 

How many songs have emerged inside the crucible of struggle? Discovering this answer might be like trying to find the mathematical solution for the value of Pi to the last digit. It’s infinite, and in fact ongoing. Our struggle continues, more than 160 years after America’s conflict-of-all-conflicts ended. And, from what the negro slaves sang for Abraham and Mary, they recognized that many millennia before their own era, others struggled, too. Oh no, the struggle is inestimable and never-ending! If you and I were sentenced to live as mortals forever, on this broken planet, a wail like that would be reasonable. But, those who first mouthed the words of today’s song had surmised something else. He’s there, listening to prayer. And, He’s already put the plan in place for you and me to find peace. In fact, the victory has already been won in the last conflict. If enslaved, illiterate slaves could figure this out, what is stopping you from discovering the same thing today?  

 

See the following site for a brief account of the song’s reputed first performance: https://www.hymnologyarchive.com/every-time-i-feel-the-spirit

 

See here for brief information on the song’s background and its verses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Every_Time_I_Feel_the_Spirit_(song)

 

See here for the song’s verses also: https://hymnary.org/text/upon_the_mountain_when_my_lord_spoke

Lord, I Want to Be a Christian -- Samuel Davies?

 

The origin and author’s name have been a little muddled, but the sentiment is still clear.  The story implies that the author heard a personal appeal from a seeker, someone who really was moved by this speaker and needed hope to transport his outlook to a higher plane. Samuel Davies wanted to help, and so he (or perhaps any of a number of other potential authors) evidently coaxed the seeker and his friends to sing “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian”, an assertion that carried with it some other objectives. What would you do if you were an 18^th Century slave in Virginia (see its state seal here)? That was the context, the crucible – or, one might also describe it as a predicament – which formed the words that expressed a simple but powerful yearning of the people at that time.

 

‘Thus always to tyrants’ -- that is how the Virginia seal’s Latin words ‘sic semper tyrannis’ translate. They would not be on this state flag until years later, but these words and the illustration (showing a goddess of Virtue named Virtus, with her foot holding down a dethroned tyrant) were 18^th Century concerns, something that was familiar to the Presbyterian minister Samuel Davies and the negro slaves to whom he spoke. (Other sources have variously indicated that a William Davies or William Davis, or perhaps some of the negro slaves, actually wrote ‘Lord, I Want to Be a Christian’; the evidence for Samuel Davies seems most credible to this blogger.) It’s likely that Davies and his hearers actually perceived different tyrants, given their dissimilar roles in that era, though they each seemed to share a belief in a common deliverer. To Davies, a sense that the Anglican church, in the way that it tried to assert authority over Englishmen and control how they worshipped, was an oppressor. America represented freedom for Davies and other religious and civil dissenters in Virginia. For the slaves, there was no question about who their tyrant was in mid-18^th Century Virginia. But, as one or more of them approached their minister, Samuel Davies, their objectives apparently blended. Both thought that being like Christ Jesus was the answer. The oppression of the slaves was very palpable, and could not have escaped Davies’ attention. His resolution for this beleaguered people was that they not just give themselves to Christ, but also that they be more like Him…’more loving’ (v.2) and ‘more holy’ (v.3). Make this a heart thing, Davies urged. Deal with the tyrant by dethroning him, at least internally. It must have helped the slaves to make common bond with a God who had suffered and died Himself at the hands of Roman cruelty eighteen centuries earlier.      

 

Samuel Davies, by himself, could not have altered his culture to fundamentally improve the lot of American slaves. It was an endemic issue that enslaved the African-born millions who would eventually inhabit the new nation. Even a declaration and a constitution, radical in their vision and implementation, did not grant black people equal status among Caucasians. Only a bloody war, and many generations beyond that war, would be needed to hasten more racial harmony in the land where Davies ministered to slaves. And even so, have all hearts been changed? For even casual cultural observers, a heavy sigh might be the most telling answer as we watch today’s daily news. Davies and his hearers had the right approach. ‘In my heart’ is where I need to aim, to change the circumstances for myself and others. We just have to convince more around us to invite Him into their hearts.   

   

See more information on the song story in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.

 

See here for a very similar story, but attributed to a potential author with a different first name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord,_I_Want_to_Be_a_Christian

 

See here for more information on the potential author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Davies_(clergyman)

 

See for more potential author information: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/d/a/v/i/e/davies_s.htm

 

See here for details of Virginia’s flag: http://legis.state.va.us/1_cap_class/class_media/4_5_pdfs/factpack-1.pdf

Let Us Break Bread Together -- Anonymous

 

They were gathering in the morning for this occasion, and they were probably slaves somewhere in 19^th Century southeastern America, perhaps as specific an area as shown here (see map). That they had transported some of what they sang from their African roots is also possible for this group of worshippers. We know not their names, but when they jointly said “Let Us Break Bread Together”, it marked the part of their day that helped them endure. If they were like others of their heritage and their status in life, reaching outside of themselves for strength was not really a casual affair. And yet it was an option, embodied in the first two words of what they said, in contrast to the enforced state that characterized most of their day. The ‘Lord’ to whom they sang was quite a different master than the earthly one they saw every day.

 

The history of 19^th Century American slavery certainly needs no further exposition here to put into context why such a song as “Let Us Break Bread Together” emerged.  (See below for link to information on African-American Spirituals.) Nevertheless, there are several specifics about the song’s origin that help us 21^st Century travelers see more than we would at first glance. One source indicates that the West African group known as the Gullah/Geechee people who became slaves in the American Southeastern coast in the colonial period (1700s) – Carolinas, Georgia, and northeastern Florida (see map) – were the song’s creators. Other sources indicate alternately that slaves in Virginia first sang “Let Us…”. Were the people also reaching back to Islamic West African roots when they sang about ‘facing the rising sun’? And, some suggest that the group singing about being ‘on our knees’ were doing this activity stealthily, perhaps in conflict with the wishes of their owners. The most commonly held assumptions include the idea that this was a communion song, hence the ‘break(ing) bread’ (v.1) and ‘drink(ing) wine’ are references to the elements shared in memory of Jesus’ body; certainly, that is how the hymn is used today, but whether that is too narrow a focus at its inception is also possible. Some things are certain: those who gathered wanted to be together to acclaim God (v.3), to seek His mercy (refrain), and to eat and drink amongst each other (vv. 1-2), whether that was communion or a regular meal. Was that all? That they did this often enough, and that the words they sang survived for centuries, speaks to something else that we can presume persuaded their singing: they drew strength from His power when they lifted their voices.

 

The Unseen, as He is for all us earthbound folk, is a great hope that defies the trouble I’m in today. I need some source of transport beyond where I am or where I see myself going physically. And so, looking up is not only spiritually comforting, it’s logical. Admit it. Or, do you find solace in an uncertain future, or merely shrug your shoulders at everyday frustrations? No, you don’t, and neither do I. I need to know my life will not descend into nothing-ness. That’s what I think I might have been mulling over as a slave, gritting my teeth at the harsh nature of my life. It’s gonna be better – even glorious --  someday. That’s why I gird my spirit daily with others – break bread together, and look upward, and call out to Him.     

 

   

See more information on the song in these sources: The Complete Book of Hymns – Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs by William J. Petersen and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, 2006; Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1990.   

 

Also see this link, showing all three original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/l/e/t/u/letusbbt.htm

 

See here for history of the song: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-let-us-break-bread-together

 

See here also: https://hymnary.org/text/let_us_break_bread_together_on_our_knees

 

See here for broader information on this genre of music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituals