Sound of sickness
February 18, 2009
Influenza is here in Attala County. Strep throat was here for an extended visit. A couple of weeks ago my two youngest children had pneumonia. Miss Judy and I have just shaken loose of a fortnight-long head cold. As tribute to it all, here is a link to Garrison Keillor’s parody of the Simon and Garfunkel classic. Be sure to click on the “listen” link.
Calvin: staring at the sun
January 12, 2009
When the mood strikes, I’ll throw in something especially sweet from John Calvin, as I’m joining with a lot of others in reading through the Institutes of the Christian Religion this year, which happens to mark the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birth. This is from the opening chapter, in which Calvin contemplates knowing ourselves and knowing God–and how the two connect and feed one another. Too often we measure ourselves by ourselves or by the standards of others. Calvin says that we think we see well enough on a sunny day until we look up at the sun and find ourselves blinded and confused by its brilliance. He continues,
As long as we do not look beyond the earth, being quite content with our own righteousness, wisdom and virtue, we flatter ourselves most sweetly, and fancy ourselves all but demigods. Suppose we but once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and to ponder his nature, and how completely perfect are his righteousness, wisdom, and power–the straightedge to which we must be shaped. Then, what masquerading earlier as righteousness was pleasing in us will soon grow filthy in its consummate wickedness. What wonderfully impressed us under the name of wisdom will stink in its very foolishness. What wore the face of power will prove itself the most miserable weakness. That is, what in us seems perfection itself corresponds ill to the purity of God.
As an added (and rather unrelated) bonus, here’s a link to the video for U2′s 1997 single, “Staring at the Sun.”
Make her wastes rejoice
December 29, 2008
As 2008 passes, The Sweet Dropper hopes that, whatever “bane and blessing, pain and pleasure” has come your way, Christ Jesus is more precious to you now than he was a year ago. Thanks to the digging and blogging of Tullian Tchividjian, here’s a glorious hymn by 19th-century Scotsman Horatius Bonar:
The Church has waited long,
Her absent Lord to see,
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.
Age after age has gone,
Sun after sun has set,
And still in weeds of widowhood,
She weeps a mourner yet.
Saint after saint on earth
Has lived, and loved, and died;
And as they left us one by one,
We laid them side by side;
We laid them down to sleep,
But not in hope forlorn;
We laid them but to ripen there,
Till the last glorious morn.
The serpent’s brood increase,
The powers of hell grow bold,
The conflict thickens, faith is low,
And love is waxing cold.
How long, O Lord our God,
Holy, and true, and good,
Wilt Thou not judge Thy suffering Church,
Her sighs, and tears, and blood?
We long to hear Thy voice,
To see Thee face to face,
To share Thy crown and glory then,
As now we share Thy grace.
Should not the loving bride
Her absent bridegroom mourn?
Should she not wear the signs of grief
Until her Lord return?
The whole creation groans,
And waits to hear that voice
That shall her comeliness restore,
And make her wastes rejoice.
Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.
God’s great and perfect wisdom in music
October 1, 2008
When man’s natural musical ability is whetted and polished to the extent that it becomes an art, then do we note with great surprise the great and perfect wisdom of God in music, which is, after all, His product and His gift; we marvel when we hear music in which one voice sings a simple melody, while three, four, or five other voices play and trip lustily around the voice that sings its simple melody and adorn this simple melody wonderfully with artistic musical effects, thus reminding us of a heavenly dance, where all meet in a spirit of friendliness, caress and embrace. A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.
(Martin Luther, 1538, in his foreword to a collection of chorale motets)
And are we yet alive?
May 12, 2008
A couple of folks have asked for the text of the Charles Wesley hymn I quoted in yesterday’s sermon on Genesis 8. Here it is–a hymn that the eight who emerged from the ark into the world previously submerged beneath the flood would have heartily sung:
And are we yet alive,
And see each other?s face?
Glory and thanks to Jesus give
For His almighty grace!
Preserved by power divine
To full salvation here,
Again in Jesus’ praise we join
And in His sight appear.
What troubles have we seen,
What mighty conflicts past,
Fightings without, and fears within,
Since we assembled last!
Yet out of all the Lord
Hath brought us by His love;
And still He doth His help afford,
And hides our life above.
Then let us make our boast
Of His redeeming power,
Which saves us to the uttermost,
Till we can sin no more.
Let us take up the cross
Till we the crown obtain,
And gladly reckon all things loss
So we may Jesus gain.
Bruce Cockburn-revisited
February 6, 2008
Now that ‘The Sweet Dropper’ has more readers than I can count on one hand, it’s time to give props to Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn [pronounced co-burn with a long "o"], whose music has been a big part of my life since I first heard If I Had a Rocket Launcher in Paul Case’s car in the parking lot of Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, MS in 1984. Miss Judy and I saw Bruce in concert at Holy Communion Episcopal Church in Memphis back in June–best concert I’ve attended since…well, since Paul Case and I saw Bruce at the Moonshadow in Atlanta in 1986!
Cockburn, whose guitar skills make amateurs like myself contemplate smashing their fingers with a hammer, is held in highest regard in his “home and native land” for his career of more than 40 years. He has released 29 albums, is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and is truly ‘a musician’s musician.’
Cockburn gained initial recognition in 1969 as a last-minute replacement for Neil Young as headliner at the Mariposa Folk Festival. His first solo album was recorded the following year. For the next decade, Cockburn developed a sound that combined folk, rock and jazz, and also distinguished himself with lyrics expressing a new-found Christian faith and a gentle introspection. This phase of his career peaked with 1979′s Dancing In the Dragon’s Jaws, which featured his first U.S. Top 40 hit, “Wondering Where the Lions Are.”
On 1980′s Humans–which I and many other fans consider one of his best–Cockburn emerges as a keen observer of the global scene and an eloquent commentator on his own private struggles. Humans resonates with world-beat influences and darker, more politically aware lyrics. Throughout the ’80s his music took on a more electric sound and gave eloquent voice to angry left-wing politics.
From the mid-’90s to the present Cockburn’s music has gathered up the earlier phases of
his career and mellowed them into a spiritually sensitive, politically astute, and refreshingly honest body of work–now more jazz and acoustic than the electric “protest” music of the ’80s. His lyrics are more thought-provoking than ever, and his musicianship still amazes.
If you want to sample Cockburn’s music, let me offer a few recommendations:
- Joy Will Find a Way [1975] and In the Falling Dark [1976-many of the tracks chronicle his emerging Christian faith]
- Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws [1979-the peak of Cockburn's folk/acoustic period],
- Humans [1980-brilliant transition album from contemplative Cockburn to angry Cockburn],
- Stealing Fire [1984-peak of Cockburn's politically-charged electric sound]
- Christmas [1993-if I can keep only one CD of Christmas music, I'd keep this one!],
- The Charity of the Night [1997] and Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu [1999-both of which exhibit his full artistic and emotional range],
- Speechless [2005 compilation of his best instrumental pieces--a must for guitar enthusiasts],
- Life Short Call Now [2006-his most recent release].
All of these are available from Amazon and most from iTunes.
Martin Luther and Christmas
December 26, 2007
Dr. Philip Ryken, senior minister of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has written about Martin Luther’s contribution to Christmas hymnody on Reformation21.
To God who sent his only Son
Be glory, laud, and honor done.
Let all the choir of heaven rejoice,
The new ring in with heart and voice.
Ordination: lashed to the mast
November 14, 2007
I was ordained to the gospel ministry on November 13, 1994, by Southeast Alabama Presbytery. That was thirteen years ago yesterday. I remember it very well. I won’t bore you with the details. But, in God’s good providence, I found this on the web today: a recording of Rev. Greg Thompson of Trinity PCA in Charlottesville, Virginia, performing a beautiful song he wrote for an ordination service. You can listen here. I transcribed the words as best I could from the recording (with Joe’s help). If I have misheard something, I apologize and welcome correction.
Ordination Song
by Greg Thompson
Father, O you are the beautiful shepherd.
Who am I, Lord, that you summon me now
To serve at your table, to bless in your name, to shepherd your people somehow?
The way that you lead is a way that leads downward.
O, if I follow, the low place is mine.
Honor forsaking, my glory my shame, my footsteps imaging thine.
In darkness thou my portion art, my laughter in the light,
My comfort on the downward path, my goal and my delight.
From self-reliance, O King, would you guard me?
Almighty hands are more able to bear.
The Fall’s ridden sorrow and Eden’s lost dream, teach me to lay down there.
You are my Father and I thy beloved—this, my identity, etch in my soul:
Driven by mercy, singing of love, welcome thy welcoming goal.
So now do send me to comfort your people.
My God, I beg you, to go with me there.
The strength of my weakness, my poverty’s wealth, this, for thy glory, my prayer:
Further thy kingdom.
Restore our true home,
And may I be found with thee there.
While we in the means are found
October 24, 2007
I judge a hymnal on “The Newton Scale.” When I look at an unfamiliar hymnal, the first thing I do is thumb my way to the index to see how many (and which) hymns by John Newton are contained therein. It’s a pretty good indicator of the kind of piety the editors want to encourage. Newton’s hymns are, well, let me borrow the words of Kenny Bania, “That’s gold, Jerry! Gold!” Among Newton’s best are:
- Amazing Grace
- Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
- Day of Judgment! Day of Wonders!
- How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
- Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken
- Approach My Soul, the Mercy Seat
- Safely Through Another Week
The old Gadsby Hymnal has many Newton compositions. Certainly, some of these are not of the same calibre as the aforementioned classics (Does anyone remember Harlem Shuffle by the Rolling Stones, for example?). But below is a mighty good one from Newton. It is a prayer for the Spirit’s power to be unleashed in the ordinary means of grace, with 1 Corinthians 12:6-11 and 1:5 as a heading:
1 O thou, at whose almighty word
The glorious light from darkness sprung,
Thy quickening influence afford,
And clothe with power the preacher’s tongue.
2 ‘Tis thine to teach him how to speak;
‘Tis thine to give the hearing ear;
‘Tis thine the stubborn heart to break
And make the careless sinner fear.
3 ‘Tis also thine, Almighty Lord,
To cheer the poor, desponding heart;
To speak the soul-reviving word
And bid the mourner’s fears depart.
4 Thus, while we in the means are found,
We still on thee alone depend
To make the gospel’s joyful sound
Effectual to the promised end.
Thank you, John Newton.
Glorificar a Dios y gozar de El para siempre!
July 30, 2007
Our friends and fellow laborers with the Christian Missionary Society in Peru are developing a musical version of the first 38 questions of the Westminster Shorter Catechism–en Espanol, ya esta! Alonzo Ramirez has translated the texts, and Allen Smith is leading the way with the composition of tunes that sing well to the Peruvian ear. You can listen to samples at Allen and Sandi Smith’s blog, which also includes a video slide show for questions 1 and 7:
Allen reports that children in Trujillo, Peru love to sing these catechism songs, and that in some neighborhoods he can hear the songs being sung in the streets as the children play. Rejoice in God’s truth going forth!
