At times I tell you about a song that is running through my gray matter, some song like “Desperado” and then I wonder if Desperado ever did come to his senses, or “When I fall in love” and think about all the people I have heard say the words in a wedding ceremony “as long as we both shall live” (which I pointed out in one of my more cynical moments, I have noted that ministers have changed that statement for “as long as we both shall love” which does give room for you to change your mind and the whole “forever” routine is off the table!). Today has been the day of olde hymns, their beauty, the way some of them make me feel and how some of the words need to be translated for people who may just sing along without knowing exactly what it is they are saying. I saw a status this morning that simply said, “I need Thee every hour”, so I added “Oh gracious Lord; no tender voice like Thine can peace afford”. Different friends added their thoughts and comments and when I had looked at those I decided to check my email, sometimes I forget to do that for days on end because I am looking at my Social Media pages or working on this devotion. The particular email that caught my attention had been sent two days ago but it was meant for me to see this day in time. The subject line said “You have to hear this, it is amazing”, so I dutifully clicked on the link which took me to a YouTube page where I saw a square with nine smaller squares, in each square was the same young man with big fuzzy hair and huge earphones, I didn’t know what this was about until he opened his mouth! The most beautiful music issued forth and he was singing, “I need Thee”. I was totally captured and of course I shared it to my own FB page. I went on to listen to his rendition of “It is Well” and then “How Great Thou Art”! (The young man’s name is Sam Robson; look him up on YouTube for a real treat!) I wondered if there were young people, or any people that hear those old hymns of the church and wonder what “can peace afford” (no other name but Jesus can bring this kind of peace to me) or “attendeth my way” (the peace like a river is no where near the writer of this song) means. However, there is one of the modern songs (not senile I know I have mentioned afore (notice I am using the olde English word for before) but it gets me every time they sing it at church and I am looking up at a screen with the words looming up before me, and that is “He is a hurricane I am a tree”. Now I am sorry as I can be friends, but I’m thinking I would rather think of God as the “potter” while I am the “clay” than being some force of nature that is going to tear up hearth and home or pull me up by the roots like a tree flying through the storm. I guess each generation has it’s own way of expressing it’s thoughts and I guess I am stuck in mine, so for now I will ask God to “Have Thine Own Way”, I know that “We Shall Behold Him” and then I will be able to say “It Is Well With My Soul!” Peace!
Harolene.com 
Pentecostal since I was 12 years old and 3rd generation COG, it took spending the last 10 years in the United Methodist Church (until a couple of months ago, when I came “home”) to become familiar with many standard hymns of the historical church. I was pretty much raised on camp meeting paperback song books that were issued new every year. That’s pretty amazing, as I look back on it now. Anyway, I have grown to love, love, love traditional hymns and most liturgies. Some hymn phrases are archaic, for sure, and it takes some research to understand them. Like, “Here I raise mine Ebenezer…” in Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. I’m guilty, for sure, of being too lazy to look these things up; I guess most of us are.
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Funny!! Let’s keep on researching them. I love then too!
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