My Song Shall Be of Jesus
Over the years I have spent a great deal of time reading and studying old hymns, and I keep a collection of old hymnals in my library.
When I was a small boy on Sunday nights, I would hear the strains of a radio program my parents would listen to as I lay in bed. It was broadcast over WMBI, the radio station of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, and was called Songs in the Night. I can still recall the opening theme of this program. “…From the friendly Village Church of Western Springs comes Songs in the Night….” Later, the program moved to Moody Church with Pastor Erwin Lutzer. The format of the program was a few spoken words by the pastor interspersed with hymns and gospel songs sung by featured artists.
These memories instilled in me a love of hymns. Often on Sunday afternoons my mother would sit at our piano and play hymns. I know of a dear lady – now with the Lord – who would pick out a hymn for the day during her quiet times. My wife keeps a hymnal beside her Bible on the table where she sits for her quiet time. At the church I attend we sing our “Hymn of the Day” just before the message in our worship services. Hymns are important in worship and it’s a sad thing that many churches today ignore them.
Do you have a song in your heart today? There are times when I awaken in the morning with some hymn melody or a few words of a hymn going through my head. Someone has said, “it’s not enough to have a song on your lips. You must also have a song in your heart.”
Several places in Scripture we are told about those who wrote songs. One of the earliest was Moses. He wrote three songs. The first is recorded in Exodus 15 after the crossing of the Red Sea. A few verses from the end of the previous chapter give us the context.
“…the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides. That is how the Lord rescued Israel from the hand of the Egyptians…” (14:29NLT)
“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord… (15:1)
“I will sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise Him – my father’s God and I will exalt Him.” (vs. 1-2)
This song of Moses was about God and His faithfulness in saving Israel.
The second song of Moses is found in the Bible’s song book, Psalm 90. This is the oldest psalm in the psalter and the only psalm written by Moses. It opens with Moses contrasting man’s life with God’s eternity (vs.1-6).
“Lord, through all generations You have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from the beginning to the end, you are God.” (vs. 1-2)
He goes on to mention how short human life is which leads to an earnest prayer for God’s help. The Lord is immortal. Man is mortal. The Lord is from everlasting to everlasting; man, like grass, is short-lived.
“Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away. O Lord, come back to us! …Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.” (vs. 10-14)
This psalm is the basis for Isaac Watts’ grand hymn, O God, Our Help in Ages Past.
In Deuteronomy 31 we find Moses’ final song. He is at the end of his life and he is setting his affairs in order. This is his final exhortation to the people of Israel. Joshua is about to be commissioned as the new leader of Israel. Israel’s coming disobedience is predicted.
The Lord says to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.” (Deut. 31:16)
“…So, write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel…” (vs. 19)
Read this song in Deuteronomy 32. Towards the end, at verse 27 it says,
“The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.”
What a great comfort to us as well! Hymns bring great comfort.
There are other songs in scripture well worth reading. Hannah’s Song from 1 Samuel 2; David’s Song of Praise in 2 Samuel 22/Psalm 18 and Mary’s Magnificat in Luke 1: 47-55.
Again, I would ask, “Do you have a song in your heart?”
Fanny Crosby was an American poet and hymn writer that lived from the 19th into early 20th century. Writing over 8000 hymns and gospel songs in her lifetime, she gave us such beloved hymns as Blessed Assurance, Safe in the Arms of Jesus, and Rescue the Perishing. A lesser-known hymn she wrote is one of my favorites:
My Song Shall Be of Jesus
My song shall be of Jesus;
His mercy crowns my days,
He fills my cup with blessings,
And tunes my heart to praise.
My song shall be of Jesus,
The precious Lamb of God,
Who gave Himself my ransom,
And bought me with His blood.
My song shall be of Jesus
When, sitting at His feet,
I call to mind His goodness
In meditation sweet.
My song shall be of Jesus,
Whatever ill betide;
I’ll sing the grace that saves me,
And keeps me at His side.
My song shall be of Jesus,
While pressing on my way
To reach the blissful kingdom
Of pure and perfect day.
And when my soul shall enter
That realm of splendor fair,
A song of praise to Jesus
I’ll sing forever there.
I trust there is a song in your heart and that your song will be of Jesus today.
Bill Erickson
Devotional Blog 