If the song fits

We had an eye opening sermon this past Sunday. Many of the points our pastor made helped me in this wrestling with God thing that I've been doing lately, this trying to break through my spiritual glass ceiling.

Basically he was telling us that each person is made of 3 parts - body, soul and spirit. And that the "soul" part of us can be further broken into mind, emotions, and will. That before Jesus came, all contact with God was "top down" the law - do these things and you shall live. But after Jesus, God-within-us moves through our "soul" (mind-emotions-will) to reach through our beings toward God to bring us ever God-ward. Chris said it better, that's just a brief background so the rest of this makes sense.

Anyway, he said that if we are operating in our Christian walk missing either the God-through-mind (Scriptures), God-through-emotions (worship) or God-through-will (surrendering our will) we will have a lopsided faith. Sitting there listening I realized that my walk has been lopsided - missing the "emotions" part. So we were told that that is when we need to "offer a sacrifice of praise". In the world's terminology - do the action and the emotion will follow.

I have heard that phrase, a sacrifice of praise a lot. It's bandied about if you've spent any time at all in any church. But now I really sat and thought about it. I haven't really had any spontaneous times of worship when I've been away from church. Okay, guess I haven't got anything to lose - so Monday morning, feeling in a rather hang-dog state of mind - I tried it. Got my iPod and looked up all my favorite worship tunes and just sang for about a half hour. And, I must admit - I felt rather more peaceful and settled going about my day.

This morning, after dropping kids off at the bus stop I put on a few song tracks I'd worked up a while back - to exercise my rusty pipes (love those allergies) and see if this sacrifice of praise thing was a keeper. I did a few songs, then had to stop to take care of the baby. But a funny thing happened. I kept singing - songs that I hadn't thought about in years (from my concert choir days) just started pouring from my mouth unbidden. And a hymn - one of my favorites - kept playing over and over in my head. A lot of times I find if God drops a song in my head that the words are appropriate to my situation. I couldn't remember past the first verse, so I grabbed a hymnal and looked it up. I find it indeed appropriate - for me, and for the season of Lent. It's an old Welsh hymn and was one of my dad's favorites too. He used to joke that Welsh hymns always sounded like Welsh funeral dirges and were many times used for just that. The tune, Ebenezer (or Ton y Botel) is beautiful and haunting.

Once to Every Man and Nation
words by James Russell Lowell
music by Thomas John Williams


Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth with falsehood,
For the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God's new messiah,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
And the choice goes by forever
'Twixt that darkness and that light.

By the light of burning martyrs,
Jesus' bleeding feet I track,
Toiling up new Calvaries ever
With the cross that turns not back;
New occasions teach new duties,
Time makes ancient good uncouth;
They must upward still and onward,
Who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper,
Yet 'tis truth alone is strong,
Truth forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the throne.
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow
Keeping watch above his own.


Here is a beautiful rendition of the tune.