How Can I Keep from Singing?

SingingLiving in the Spirit
November 19, 2014

Scripture Reading: Psalm 100

 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
   Worship the Lord with gladness;
   come into his presence with singing.

  Know that the Lord is God.
   It is he that made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

  Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
   and his courts with praise.
   Give thanks to him, bless his name.

  For the Lord is good;
   his steadfast love endures for ever,
   and his faithfulness to all generations.

 I awoke with a song in my heart this morning. I hate to say it but that was unusual. It wasn’t always unusual. I sang all the time as a child. My dad was a singer, I guess I got that from him. When I sat down to consider Psalm 100 it struck me how out of the ordinary my morning singing was. It made me wonder if I still believed that God’s steadfast love endures forever and that God is still faithful to all generations. After some deep soul searching, I came to the conclusion that I do still believe in God’s steadfast love and its enduring nature.

I love the old hymns. Love the new ones, too. The song that greeted my heart this morning was Sanctuary by Vineyard but the one that spoke to me this morning during my time of contemplation of Psalm 100 was How Can I Keep from Singing? By Robert Lowry. Written in, of all times, 1860 just before the Civil War. The words are somewhat archaic but it certainly speaks to Gods faithfulness to all generations. I cannot say it better, so here it is:

My life flows on in endless song;
 Above earth’s lamentation
 I hear the sweet though far off hymn
 That hails a new creation:
 Through all the tumult and the strife
 I hear the music ringing;
 It finds an echo in my soul—
How can I keep from singing?

What though my joys and comforts die?
 The Lord my Savior liveth;
 What though the darkness gather round!
 Songs in the night He giveth:
 No storm can shake my inmost calm
 While to that refuge clinging;
 Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and earth,
 How can I keep from singing?

 I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin;
 I see the blue above it;
 And day by day this pathway smoothes
 Since first I learned to love it:
 The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
 A fountain ever springing:
 All things are mine since I am His—
How can I keep from singing?*

Prayer: Thank you for reminding us that we are yours for always and ever. Write your songs on our hearts, as we return them to you in joy. Amen.

* http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/c/hcaikeep.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.