Sun of My Soul -- John Keble

A poet-preacher was he. The Englishman John Keble was still a young man, practicing his craft and building upon his faith when he wrote “Sun of My Soul” as a result of some study in which he had been engaged in 1820. He was no doubt thinking about the congregation he served, and how his discovery of something in scripture could be a stepping stone for their worship. He eventually would roll this poem and many others into a collection for use by his audience seven years later, but claiming credit for it was not one of Keble’s objectives. He tried to maintain his anonymity, but his reputation as a poet while at Oxford – where he’d been educated – made his fingerprints on “Sun of My Soul” too apparent. His subject in the poem was also a mystery – for a while. (The “Light of the World” painting by William Holman Hunt [shown here] hangs in the Keble College at Oxford today, a physical reminder of the Son-light of whom he wrote.)

John Keble had a background that served him well and contributed to his poetic nature and the ministry he inhabited for the rest of his life, and even beyond. John’s father was in professional ministry in England’s church, giving John his foundation of faith and later his study at Oxford. His outstanding performance in school somehow contrasted with a humility in John that translated into a position at Oxford for the following decade, where he most likely was when “Sun of My Soul” was penned. “Evening” was the poem’s original title, which enlightens its readers as to its setting – a nighttime scene. John had evidently been reading about Jesus’ post-resurrection encounter with two despondent Emmaus travelers (Luke 24), and their desire to have Him remain with them for the evening meal. Though His identity was hidden from their eyes for most of that episode, the two disciples knew Jesus in due course, remarking that his presence had enlightened them—‘(their) hearts burning within…’, like a sun. John’s poem was among the many published by 1827 in “The Christian Year”, a volume that Keble , incognito, wished to use to further church worship, in tandem with the Anglican Book of Prayer. So, his poem was not projected originally as a hymn, yet its widespread popularity dictated otherwise. Over 100 editions of this poetry collection were published by the end of Keble’s life in the 1860s, and a college at Oxford was named for the poet in 1869, testifying to his influence. By 1873, 158 editions of his poetry volume had spread throughout Christendom. Keble College at Oxford still exists today, along with the Evening hymn – “Sun of My Soul”—that he wrote there.       

John Keble was evidently imagining what it must have been like for those two Emmaus travelers to see and talk with the Lord, to finally recognize who this was that had brightened their outlook so profoundly. His six verses convey the consolation, and moreover, the exhilaration that we believers experience in knowing that Jesus is not dead. Though at times I feel as those two did at first on that resurrection day, Keble reminds me that everyone’s eyes can open to the reality, incredible though it may be. It’s not just any other day, it is indeed RESURRECTION day. As big and as enduring as our sun in space, and more, is our God.   

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; 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; and A Treasury of Hymn Stories, by Amos R. Wells, Baker Book House, 1945.  

See this site for all six of the original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/s/u/n/sunosoul.htm

Short biography of the composer: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/k/e/b/keble_j.htm

See this site for a more lengthy biography of the composer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keble

Where No One Stands Alone -- Mosie Lister

This fellow was by himself, but then again, he really wasn’t. He was physically alone, yet anything but abandoned. A road in the northern part of Georgia (with scenery off  to the side perhaps something like this picture, near Helen) was where Mosie Lister was en route to somewhere, when he must have been thinking of solitude. “Where No One Stands Alone” was a place and a circumstance that Mosie thought really mattered more than that isolated car trip in the hilly area where he found himself that day. He thought about not just some temporary methods to get himself through that lonely stretch of road, but about his whole life and beyond. Mosie would need more that what crossed his mind that day in 1955; he would, in fact, need some other inspiration a year later to complete the thought that began during his automobile journey.

The 34-year old Thomas Mosie Lister had lived only about one-third of his life when he composed the first portion of “Where No One Stands Alone”. He’d been composing for 15-20 years already, so he knew what he was doing, and had discovered that time in a car was not wasted. No, he said that something about the pulse of the car helped his mind concoct musical ideas. On that day in 1955, he sang the song’s chorus section, with only the air in the vehicle for company.  He’d certainly felt lonely, at least a few times, and expected to encounter additional similar experiences. And, there was also the ‘unknown’ that no one eagerly anticipates. So Mosie, who’d been in the car countless times, came up with his own therapy for loneliness. He admits the chorus was not accompanied by verses for many months; perhaps the time by himself in a vehicle was what really got to his spirit initially, like what other people might say who feel abandonment acutely. You just call out for the touch of someone else. Later, he says he sought to write the verses by thinking of another lonely person’s desperation. What was it like for him, Lister mused, as he read the great Psalmist David’s words (Psalm 27)? That’s when the words flowed, and Mosie found the rest of his musical voice. What was it like to be king, and yet feel forsaken? That’s where I don’t want to be, Mosie reasoned. And, if God could answer David, he’ll listen for my forlorn voice too. What Mosie couldn’t have known at that point, was that he’d be around as a mortal for nearly another 60 years, before standing in the ‘unknown’ territory of eternity. He had plenty of life remaining, multiple ventures to pursue, songs to write, honors to accumulate. But, nothing else matters if you don’t have companionship.

Mosie would go on to write hundreds of songs and be inducted into two music halls of fame (Gospel Music, 1976; Southern Gospel Musical Association, 1997) before retiring from mortal existence and earning his next life’s reward after 93 years. What did he learn along the way? While he wrote about lonesomeness-avoidance, it’s revealing that Mosie must have sought some isolation while living – otherwise, he couldn’t have written “Where No One…”. I couldn’t read and write about Mosie, if not for some alone time too. There was another fellow who was alone once, also (1 Kings 19) – and discovered that he wasn’t, in spite of everything. You think that maybe being alone, is really to discover you’re not alone after all? Listen for Him. He’s there.    

The following was the only source for the above song story: Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns, by Lindsay Terry, Baker Book House, 1990 and 1992.  

See also the following for the composer’s biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosie_Lister

What a Friend We Have in Jesus -- Joseph Scriven

He was in a place called Port Hope, Canada (in southern Ontario), but his heart almost certainly was across the ocean in Dublin, Ireland (see its coat of arms here). He’d had a pretty rough decade, so when Joseph Scriven sat thinking about what to write to his ill mother, whom he could not go to see, he may have thought that she had been anxious about him. After all, his life had been turned inside out as a result of what befell him. Not to worry, he wrote to his mom, for “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, and therefore someone to whom each of us can always turn. Joseph had in fact been trying to emulate his God-friend, so he may have been testifying to her what in fact it meant for him to be a friend to others, to mimic what he saw in his Creator. What would one friend say to one another, if that listening friend was actually the Almighty?

Joseph Scriven’s misfortunes and then his response to them speak volumes about the strength of his bond with God. Joseph tragically lost two women to whom he was engaged to marry – one to drowning as a 25-year old and the other to tuberculosis many years later. And so, apparently between these  two episodes, he set his sight on complete devotion to helping others in need in Port Hope, emulating what he’d appreciated most about Jesus in scripture that he read. It was also during this interlude that he learned his mother was seriously ill back in Dublin. In his mid-30s, Joseph wrote her the four-verse poem that ultimately became his hymn about friendship and prayer, and sent it to her with a letter offering his long-distance comfort as best he could. Even after his second fiancée died, Joseph continued his personal philanthropic lifestyle, showing the bond between himself and the compassionate Lord was stronger than any tragedy that could come his way. Most people would consider loss of clothes and money as signs of desperate conditions, yet that’s where Scriven strove to go in the wake of losing his first love – to live Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in reality. Is it possible that’s the state where he discovered something deeper, more long-lasting, and certain than anything his relationships or earthly goods had thus far delivered? Perhaps he felt he had found the blessed life of which Jesus had spoken (Matthew 5), and had challenged others to join. After joining with Jesus in this way, Joseph must have felt it only made sense to address Jesus in prayer and call upon his divine friend in all circumstances, especially in the turmoil that life can bring.     

Joseph’s poetry suggests he saw lots of struggle as he lived out his version of blessedness according to Matthew 5 (vv.3-12). He’d had his own share, and would see more beyond 1855 when “What a Friend…” was composed. Five years later (1860) was reportedly the time when he lost a second love to untimely death. And, his own life would end at 66 due to a delirium-induced drowning (in 1866). In between these two calamities, he threw himself into the lives of the needy in tangible ways, responding to their own struggles in which he observed them. He certainly earned the name “Good Samaritan of Port Hope”, while making no known enemies, and likely drawing more than a few to pray to the One he tried to imitate. How does one make others think of God as their friend? Joseph Scriven didn’t just write out an answer. Go live it.  

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; 101 Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck, Kregel Publications, 1985; Then Sings My Soul, by Robert J. Morgan, Thomas Nelson publishers, 2003; and Hymns of Faith, edited by Ken and Janice Tate, House of White Birches publishers, 2000.  

Also see this link, showing all four original verses: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/w/a/f/wafwhij.htm

The Lord's Prayer – Jesus

It’s a unique message, but do we realize that when we vocalize it? Perhaps we say the words so often that sometimes we do so without giving them much thought. Were the original hearers appreciative of its value when they heard the God-man utter “The Lord’s Prayer”? Jesus was trying to say something that the Apostles and others within earshot would apply in daily life, something that would be genuine before God. Just how important is it really, to pray correctly? After all, it’s just a few words between Him and me, not really involving anyone else. Are there not other significant worship acts that He cares about more? Jesus does mention a couple of others in close proximity to His instruction on prayer, but He seems to say something common in regard to exercising all three of them. What He says should make me reevaluate how visible my worship should be.

Jesus probably was in his early 30s, at least as a human being, when He found Himself before a large crowd seeking to hear what He’d say about life’s meaning.  He addressed many issues during His long talk (according to Matthew’s account, chapters 5-7), but at around the halfway point, He taught them how to pray. There were two other religious customs He likewise told them to re-examine, implying that they had been doing or thinking incorrectly about these things. Giving to the needy and fasting surround Jesus’ discourse on prayer, so contextually He is trying to let them into His mind regarding three pretty common worship practices. At least two of these – giving and praying – are still routinely followed by believers today, and the third (fasting) is a perhaps more exceptional devotional tool for true believers seeking Him in worship. In all three, Jesus says to either do my worshipping in solitude (giving and praying) or make it not easily detectable to others (fasting). ‘Don’t do it this way, do it thus…’ is Jesus opening for each of the three, indicating there must have been lots of so-called religious people who were showboating when they gave, prayed, and fasted. Yet, Jesus recognized that public praying was a fact of religious life, evident in the words He employs in His prayer-teaching (Matthew 6:9-13). He begins with ‘Our Father’, and similarly uses ‘us’  and other plural pronouns in the following few verses, signaling that He understood that praying among crowds, perhaps even very large ones, would be appropriate.  But, keep it short and simple, He says. In a nutshell, He says to enthrone Him and ask only for the basic physical and spiritual necessities. God honors that which is offered in humble submission, each of us realizing his position in relation to one another and before Him.

Not many words, but they are sufficient when one’s heart contains the impulses to do what He motivates me toward. Perhaps that’s one of the unspoken messages of Jesus’ teaching before the crowd. If I say a lot of flowery words on Sunday that others applaud, should I wonder if I’ve hit the mark? Jesus might say ‘yes’, if what I do on Monday turns His stomach, meaning I don’t practice the eloquence I verbalized the previous day. Am I really capable of superbly managing my world, the other people with whom I associate, not to mention my own urges? That’s where my prayer-rubber meets the road, so someone says. Perhaps I shouldn’t say more on Sunday than I can deliver in the following six days. Maybe that’s what Jesus was trying to tell me on that mountainside.        

The only resource used for this song story is the bible (New International Version Study Bible, and accompanying notes/charts, General Editor Kenneth Barker, 1985, Zondervan Corporation.)

Lord We Come Before Thee Now -- William Hammond

This Englishman may have been renewing his faith through an association with a Christian group that was spreading its influence to his own country from continental Europe in the early 1700s. William Hammond and others in this same group may have been heard at that time calling themselves ‘brothers’, though today we would know them as the Moravian Church. The Moravians’ brand of Christian faith was very intently personal, so it was not unexpected to hear that Hammond had crafted something he called “Lord, We Come Before Thee Now” to focus himself and his brothers on the discipline of prayer. Their influence in Hammond’s homeland may have been notable, if in fact a portrait during this period showing some Moravians with the English king (George II) (see it here) depicts an authentic event.  Hammond’s prayer was sixteen verses long; how do yours and mine compare?

     

The 26-year old William Hammond may have been searching for something in his faith for a while during the period in which he crafted “Lord We Come…”. It’s reported that he joined the Calvinistic Methodists in 1743, perhaps shortly after graduating from St. John’s College in Cambridge. Two years later, he linked himself with the Moravians, the same year that at least some of his hymns—including “Lord We Come…”--were published in Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs in London. Whether his composition preceded or followed his Moravian initiation is not clear, but its qualities are consistent with a couple of Moravian characteristics that might have drawn him closer. Their love of music and a pious nature would have been apparent to William, two traits encapsulated in his hymn. Was the Moravian missionary zeal also influential in William’s acceptance of this group as his own? If it was, this was not emphasized in his poetry. All eight original verses (in our time, each is split into two) instead center on the personal redemption, occasional physical healing, instruction, and spiritual adoption which Hammond experienced or aspired to achieve. And, though undoubtedly personal, William very obviously wanted the experience of God to be enjoyed corporately. ‘We’, ‘our’, ‘us’, and ‘all’ dominate the pronouns William used to convey who is addressing God throughout his prayer. Not even once does he employ ‘I’ or ‘me’, indicating he expected others to join in, using his words in a way that recognized each other’s membership in this faith family. We help each other express our hope and loyalty to our Creator. That was indeed a Moravian brother speaking.

If I am honest with myself, what is it I seek when I pray? My prayers most often seem almost at odds with William’s. I want stuff, or I ask God to help heal someone. By contrast, William and his cohorts seem to have thought much more about being in God’s room, about acquiring His nature, and about glowing in his redemptive power. The other aims of prayer—healing, overcoming terrestrial challenges—are present (in Hammond’s 18^th Century verses 6 and 8; our contemporary verses 11, 12, and 15), but seem more like background elements in William’s 18^th Century prayer. Am I part of the ‘ME’ generation, to a fault? William might say we need to be in His presence, most of all. Grasp that concept, before ‘I’ and ‘me’ are on your lips.         

See following site for scant information on the author/composer, and the original 16 verses (written as eight verses in his time in the 1700s): http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/h/a/m/hammond_w.htm

See this site for history of the faith group with which the author/composer identified:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moravian_Church