Thought for the day – Sunday 26 April

Dear Reader
Many of our hymns and songs have their origins in the bible. Some are paraphrases and some are personal devotional compositions. In some denominations, the Free Church of Scotland for example, you will usually only ever hear the Psalms being sung, principally because they are words of scripture and not subjective emotional interpretations of scripture. I can understand why this is the case and say at this point, that some of our hymns, songs and tunes that we use today are truly woeful, but we all, of course, have our favourites and many are really good.
Thinking of the words of some of our hymns currently in use, it’s not hard to see why we like some and not others. Hymns often reflect and have reflected, the times, cultures and personal experiences and we can readily identify with them
When I was at school we used to sing, ‘There is a green hill far away without a city wall’. To my young and developing mind, I was confused about this, and why we were singing a rotten tune about a hill that had no wall and about a dear Lord who was crucified. Why did they do bad things? I thought they must be bad things because ‘crucified’ sounded bad and why they did it to this Lord. What was a Lord and why was he so dear.
What was it all about? No explanation at all. None! We repeated this in church every Easter and we had to listen to an old raven. He was probably then, only half my tender years now. He also had a very funny name, Mr Titteringbum. Our teachers, Mrs Straven smelled of mothballs and Mrs Patton had a big wart on her tongue. We used to look at it when she spoke. It was amazing! Mrs Straven and Mrs Patton told us to close our eyes, clasp our hands and bow our heads. If we dared to open them while the minister was talking to God we would get into trouble. We were not allowed to see God. It was only the minister who was allowed. It was all a mystery. Isn’t religion mysterious? I did take a peek incidentally.
The hymn we sometimes sing in church is, ‘How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news’. The words come from Isaiah the prophet. Good news is what the ancient people needed to hear and did hear from God’s messenger. God, in the times before Jesus, did speak through his prophets but in the latter days ‘spoke’ in Person. God becomes man, begotten not created. Salvation, forgiveness, hope and reconciliation are ours through and in Christ by grace through faith.
We are all waiting anxiously to hear the message of good news bringing an end to our current and global predicament. That messenger will come and how good that news will be to hear.
Today I ask you to think/meditate on these things.
God bless you!
Jim
ISAIAH 52: 7-10
How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;
together they shout for joy.
When the Lord returns to Zion,
they will see it with their own eyes.
Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.
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