Now, here is the real meat of this post. I have been listening to this great brother duo band called Elliot Road. I found them on Noisetrade, and for the last month or so, I have been listening to their album Dust Covered Man almost non-stop. By the way, I would definitely recommend this duo to any and all of you. They do not claim to be Christian, nor do their songs indicate that they are, but their music is beautiful. Anyway, there is a line in one of their songs, Ode to those Less Fortunate, that I really like: "We'll sing old songs to tame our fears..."
I don't think that this song or this line really has to do with why I love it, but this is why I love it. Those of who are regulars of the blog or who know me, know I am a bit of a hymn nerd. When I hear that line in the song I think of singing the great hymns of the faith, and how they really do function that way for me so often. There is a feeling of comfort and peace that accompanies the singing of hymns for me, and I truly cherish it.
Whether it's just the practice of singing them, you know, the feeling of tradition and comfortability in singing them; or truly pondering the rich meaning found in the text, I feel like my fears are tamed. It brings to mind a wonderful, and I think an underrated line from the hymn Amazing Grace, "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved." John Newton captures a wonderful paradox of the Christian life, that we are to fear God, but in doing so all our fears are relieved, or tamed.
For me, I can remember times when singing a hymn truly was what my soul needed, it was the means that God gave me to be refreshed and to calm my soul. I remember one time, I was on a trip to Romania when I was a freshman in high school. Before I left, my church prayed over me and sang one of my favorite hymns, Be Thou My Vision. The first couple days of my trip weren't going so well. The flight wasn't great, the hotel was not what I expected, and we walked what seemed like forever to church that Sunday. To make the walk worse, I was wearing new shoes which were uncomfortable and were somehow scraping the back of my heel causing pain. Then the church service was in Romanian, but graciously God put a kind older Romanian woman who spoke English next to me who translated things for me.
We were singing, and I didn't know any of the songs. Then they began singing a song the tune of which I recognized but it took me a minute to figure it out. It hit me that the tune was that of Be Thou My Vision, and as we started singing, the kind woman began translating for me. I looked at her and said, I know this one! I sang the hymn in English as everyone around me sang it in Romanian, and it was one of the most wonderful worship experiences I have ever had. That song was exactly what I needed to refocus and fix my attitude towards this trip, and it gave me such peace.
That doesn't happen every week, but there are some hymns that every time I sing them, I am filled with peace because of the richness that is enclosed in those texts. Just to name a few, Let us Love and Sing and Wonder, Depth of Mercy, And Can it Be, Jesus Lover of my Soul, Dear Refuge of my Weary Soul, and of course When I Survey the Wondrous Cross are all that way for me.
The beauty of it is, while the singing of the songs does tame our fears in some sense, in truth it is Jesus, the one the hymns proclaim, that charms our fears by giving us peace and comfort from the sorrows of sin and death. The hymn writers so beautifully portray Jesus in their poems of grace, that all our fears are tamed by the glory and majesty of the Savior. Revel in your Savior, by reading His Word and praying in His name, and also by singing old songs to tame your fears.
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