Posted on by PaulHartC

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

Verse 1:
Blest be the tie that binds
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds
is like to that above.
Verse 3:
We share our mutual woes,
our mutual burdens bear,
and often for each other flows
the sympathizing tear.

If you pay attention to the categories I’m using for these posts, you’ll notice this is the first in a category entitled, “You’re Singing It Wrong.” Apart from the strong implication of humor, I hope to address in these types of posts how incorrect performance of a particular hymn can actually effect our understanding of the meaning. Need to use that B.A. in Music for something, right?

Blest Be the Tie That Binds is a favorite of many, but most people do not have a lot of formal vocal training. So what is the issue? Breathing. And honestly, most music leaders don’t help, either adding extra beats or moving things too slow. What happens is a break in the first line of text which most people don’t consciously realize, but which diminishes the song’s meaning for many of us.

If you are like me, you tend to just think of the blest tie, unrelated to the later mentioned christian love. However, without the poetic breaks, the first verse reads:

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

The theme of this song, supported by the remaining verses, is the unity of the Church. Verse 3 emphasizes this as is discusses the shared nature of our burdens, even our tears. This is all well and good within our own congregation or small group. However, what about other Christians in the church down the road? What if they are not your same denomination? What if they have opposing political views? We might be more likely to slander than to share burdens.

Christians will never agree on everything in this fallen world. Paul had disagreements with Peter and Barnabus. But that diversity can be incredibly beneficial as long as we strive to always treat one another with Christian love.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran

Posted on by PaulHartC

How Firm A Foundation

Verse 1:
How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
Verse 2:
“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,
for I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
Verse 5:
The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no never forsake!”

In looking for favorite, classic hymns I tend to struggle more with the vast array of choices in front of me. Not a bad problem to have, mind you. How Firm a Foundation is a particularly special hymn to me as we sang it at our wedding, but I also feel it is one of those which, if we truly grasped the meaning behind the simple lyrics, could change our lives in some pretty amazing ways.

First, it is important to understand the structure of this hymn. The first verse is an introduction of sorts which lays out the idea that the foundation for our faith in Christ is through scripture itself. The outcome of this is incredible promises God has given us to allow help us stay steadfast. Verses 2-5, then, are quotes of what God is saying. They deal with fear surrounding tough times, situations, and even people which crop up in our lives. The promise is always the same: “I am with you.”

When we have struggles, we tend to pray for help, guidance, or other words to keep us going. What this song is saying is that we already have such words. We neglect the amazing promises of scripture, either because we don’t know them well enough or because we don’t understand how they apply. “God must speak a word directly to me,” we think, “or else He doesn’t care/I’m not important enough/He has forgotten about me.”

“What more can He say than to you He has said?! He will uphold you with an omnipotent hand. He will never leave you. Even all of Hell attacking you is not enough for Him to back off!” The song lays out incredible promises which, especially in light of the scriptures they derive from, ought to be enough to make the weakest continue on. When we sing this old hymns, they should give us great hope, cause us to stand tall, and make us want to rely on Christ all the more. These aren’t empty words from an old book; they are promises to each and every person who has fled to Jesus.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran

Posted on by PaulHartC

Make Us Instruments of Your Peace

Chorus:
Lord, Make us instruments of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let your love increase
Lord, make us instruments of your peace,
Walls of pride and prejudice shall cease
When we are your instruments of peace.

Recently, we sang this simple chorus as a response to communion. Even though we didn’t sing any of the verses, the words of the chorus were enough to make me think, and unfortunately laugh out of irony.

You see, the American church is not often good as the instrument of peace. We tend to have two extremes: Accommodating or Contemptuous. The accommodating churches give up what they believe so that everyone will like them and feel comfortable. The contemptuous use what they believe to make others feel inferior because of what they do, believe, or who they are.

The problem with either point of view is that neither promotes peace. Contemptuousness is aggressive and tends to breed big controversies, and ultimately produces bigoted congregations unwilling to be the humble servants that Christ had modeled for them. Accommodation, on the other hand, is passive but just as severe, but instead of being outwardly explosive, it is a gradual poison which eats away at a church making them a community which lacks any recognizable faith.

In this song we see first a call to be made instruments of God’s peace. Instruments are not passive, but active tools used for a purpose. The other lines of the song ask for love in place of hatred, and pride ad prejudice to be gone. These things cannot be done if we are against the people we are trying to help, or even if we are against one another.

God wants us to balance these two aspects of being servants. We must be opening and welcoming to everyone. Period. Christ’s model is that of love toward even the most despised outcast. At the same time, God has given us standards and guides on how to live as one of His children. We cannot give up on these to make life easier or to avoid conflict.

Many people won’t like the cost of taking up our cross, but our job is not to force it on their backs. We are only instruments of God’s peace, spreading His love to all those who will accept it.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran

Posted on by PaulHartC

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

Verse 1:
Do not wait until some deed of greatness you may do,
Do not wait to shed your light afar;
To the many duties ever near you now be true,
Brighten the corner where you are.
Refrain:
Brighten the corner where you are!
Brighten the corner where you are!
Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar;
Brighten the corner where you are!

I love getting my hands on a new hymnal, or at least new to me, and peruse the pages for a hidden gem I’ve never before heard. Recently, all of the books in my library, including my hymnal collection, ended up in a Christmas Tree made of books. At the same time, my wife wanted to start singing hymns to our five-month-old daughter, so I found an electronic hymnal to use until my others are freed. Among the classics I’ve heard a thousand times before and some strange new faces lay this brand new classic, Brighten the Corner Where You Are.

The words are simple, no ebeneezer or bulwarks here. The melody is bright, quick, and what some might even call chipper. In fact, there is nothing overtly Christian until the third verse, which might be a big reason why it is no longer a popular song in the churches I have frequented. But these are all the reasons this song captured my attention so strongly.

What is so striking about this song is that it does what few other praise and worship songs do: give us something to do other than sing! Not that there isn’t a time and place for taking us out of the picture to worship God, that is incredibly important and probably should be the bulk of how we worship. However, in our 1+ hour services, how much is actually devoted to practically and straightforwardly telling people how to respond to their faith? Maybe an application in a sermon, and rarely the benediction.

Brighten the Corner Where You Are is a call to act on your faith now and every opportunity you have. God offers us opportunities to act in all kinds of ways for all types of people, even though we may not know who might receive the message. The refrain says “Someone far from harbor you may guide across the bar” (bar being like a sand bar or some sort of obstruction), meaning that the people we might touch could be far out of our understanding. God is in control, though, and our response to faith will be used in ways we cannot possibly imagine.

SDG,

-Paul Hart Cochran