My Latest Sun Is Sinking Fast – Jefferson Hascall

 

This guy was evidently very passionate, not wanting anyone to miss out on the eternal gift that he could see. And so, Jefferson Hascall composed some poetry that he must have felt, when paired with an appropriate tune, would tug at people’s heartstrings and induce them to visualize a scene in which “My Latest Sun Is Sinking Fast”, a spiritual metaphor for death and a bodily resurrection. Jefferson had almost certainly been to camp meetings held during the era of the 2^nd and 3^rd Great Awakenings in America, or had spoken at the church where he served in the Shrewsbury, Massachusetts area, in his efforts to spread the Good News. (See this engraving depicting a Methodist camp meeting in the early 1800s, perhaps quite similar to one that Hascall might have attended [engraving by M. Dubourg of an 1819 piece of artwork by Jacques Gerard Milbert].) This period was also leading up to a cataclysmic event in the mid-19^th Century, so could that have also been on the mind of this church elder who was 53 years old (as of 1860, when his song was published)?

 

Jefferson Hascall was not alone in his appetite for the message he sought to communicate as early as the late 1820s, when he graduated from an academy and set out to be a minister. Perhaps it was nearly two decades later (1847-48), during or soon after the construction of a Methodist church in Shrewsbury, that his fire for winning souls was most ardent. Reportedly some 100 people were converted due to his efforts, in one of many places across the burgeoning American landscape where revivals were filling church pews with fervent new believers. One of the facets of this revival was a social reform component, which in Jefferson’s case meant an unswerving commitment to abolition of slavery, including during the Civil War. The combination of the ongoing religious awakening and the growing resolve of abolitionists and their opponents undoubtedly made for an explosive situation – perhaps one that was inevitable, despite many efforts over the preceding decades to head off this conflict. We know not exactly what particular circumstances motivated Jefferson, but whatever it was, he was thinking a lot about death’s approach and what awaited mortal man in the beyond. Would Jefferson’s words have resonated deeply in the hearts of more than a few young men, those who were expectant combatants in the looming war? Other social ills – such as the Temperance Movement that sought to stem rampant alcoholism -- have also typically been the targets of the reform agendas that accompany revivals, so perhaps that was part of the wind that was blowing to help spread the fire of Jefferson’s message. Whatever it was that lit the revival’s torch, Jefferson saw that life’s end was certain, but that the end did not have to be dreadful. Instead, Jefferson’s words resound with joy and expectation: ‘Triumph’ (v.1); ‘friends…kindred dear’ (v.2); ‘heav’nly home’ (v.3); and ‘victory’ (v.4) all gather around a chorus that tells of an ‘angel band’ to escort the blessed on ‘snowy wings’ to ‘eternal home’.  ‘Strongest trials’ (v.1) and ‘…all sin’ (v.4) are in the rearview. Could it have been that all this imagery Jefferson used offered his hearers a choice that seemed pretty direct and rational?

 

It wasn’t fire and brimstone stuff that Jefferson preached. Perhaps the world where he and his fellow citizens lived had enough problems, so that they readily accepted an alternative vision of life – glorified life. Was that the key ingredient in the Great Awakenings, that lives mired in adversities sought out a hope that could not be attained while on earth? If there’s too many hurdles to overcome, a poverty in one’s existence can seem inescapable. So, join with others who are also hurting, but who are seeking and finding something – actually, someone called God – on a promised new plane. Sounds pretty inviting, right? Jefferson thought so. If, some 175 years beyond Jefferson’s time, you too are discovering that you need a revival, why not sit yourself down and give a listen to his solution? Your sun might be going down, but it doesn’t have to stay there. Jefferson is inviting you to the next dawn.      

 

Read some biographical information on the author here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/h/a/s/c/hascall_j.htm   and here:   https://hymnary.org/person/Hascall_Jefferson

 

See the original words of the four verses and the refrain here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/m/y/l/a/mylatest.htm

 

See more information on the song here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Band_(song)

Read about the social-religious movement in 19^th Century America here: Second Great Awakening - Wikipedia  and here: Third Great Awakening - Wikipedia

 

Read about another issue that may have also impacted revivals in America: Temperance movement in the United States - Wikipedia

 

See information on the picture here: File:Camp meeting of the Methodists in N. America J. Milbert del M. Dubourg sculp (cropped).jpg - Wikimedia Commons.  This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer. {{PD-US}} – US work that is in the public domain in the US for an unspecified reason, but presumably because it was published in the US before 1929.

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.

I Walk with the King -- Alton H. Howard

 

Alton Howard had these words on his lips practically all of his life, and he could today undoubtedly say these words written in 1971 have reached their full flower. “I Walk with the King” was something Alton wanted to say about himself, but the way he lived and served in his community must have urged others to do the same. This was something that Jesus Christ’s closest associates, the Apostles, could have also said (See the 15^th Century artwork, Calling of the Apostles, by Domenico Ghirlandaio here.), though calling Him ‘king’ would have been a risky proposition; in fact, that issue of Jesus’ kingship was ultimately how His earthly enemies managed to have Him executed. His kingdom was a great offense and never made sense to some, and was the root of why they relegated Him to a grave, albeit only temporarily. But upon His resurrection, His kingdom did not remain a mystery, and indeed became a source of unquenchable power. It was something that reached – and still does today – people like Alton, and probably explains his life that had impact in so many different ways.

 

Can one accurately count the various ways and the number of people that Alton Howard’s journey with his Lord has affected? Jesus once made a stunning statement to the Apostles -- Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father (John 14:12). How would you feel if God-in-the-flesh told you that you would be outdoing Him someday? Go out and reach the world – that’s the charge that Jesus gave those remaining 11 (soon to be 12) Apostles at the conclusion of His earthly ministry. Perhaps Alton felt the same way, though the method he employed was reaching the world from his home in West Monroe, Louisiana. Alton was a born-and-bred Cajun state resident, and spent most of the eight decades-plus of his life there, including most notably as a church elder, music publisher, hymnist, founder of a church camp and international radio ministry, author, and multi-talented businessman. That’s more than enough for one lifetime! One source indicates that Alton’s published songbooks reached up to three million copies worldwide. How many people did the church in West Monroe, where he served faithfully as an elder for 40 years, ultimately touch? The same question could be asked regarding the church camp and radio ministry, as well the songs and the books that he wrote. One gets the impression that if Alton was walking with his king, that he must have worn out several pairs of shoes in the process! He had business savvy here on earth in so many ways, according to those who knew him, but the words of the song he composed in 1971 showed that that was only the stepping stone to another plane above this planet. ‘I walk with the King to heavenly land’ (v.1), Alton said poetically in the first line, and though his many ventures didn’t always last, one detects little regret about his life in what he wrote. He was an earthly entrepreneur, but the direction was vertical, a trajectory that made his life such a positive influence, as a signpost – indeed, with lots of posted signs wherever Alton journeyed! -- to the One he served.   

 

Not much more could be said about Alton Howard than has already been spelled out in several ways, even if we don’t know specifically what motivated his songwriting in 1971. You can read more about him via the links below. He was carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20), even as he lived and worked in southern Louisiana. Does that speak to the rest of us? You don’t have to go far from home to serve God and touch many others for Him. Alton was a living testimony to that approach. Some of us write blogs (yes!), or do many other things that transport our words, actions, and passions for God elsewhere, places where we may never go while inhabiting this earth. He can use you wherever you are. So, take a page out of Alton’s playbook, and get out there!

 

See following links for information on the composer:

 http://www.christianchronicle.org/article/songbook-publisher-entrepreneur-howard-dies-at-age-81?A=SearchResult&SearchID=2809510&ObjectID=4369268&ObjectType=35

 

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

 

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

 

See also “Our Garden of Song”, edited by Gene C. Finley, Howard Publishing Company, West Monroe, Louisiana, 1980.

 

See information on the artwork here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ghirlandaio,_Domenico_-_Calling_of_the_Apostles_-_1481.jpg … This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States.