Hymn of the Week: August 14, 2023
Through All the Changing Scenes of Life
Nahum Tate and Nicholas Brady 1696
Singing the Psalms
First five verses found in most hymnals:
Thro' all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble, and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ.
Of his deliv'rance I will boast,
Till all that are distress'd,
From my example comfort take,
And sooth their griefs to rest.
O magnify the Lord with me,
With me exalt his Name,
To him in my distress I cry'd
He to my rescue came.
With grateful hearts observe his ways,
And on his goodness rest;
So will your own experience prove
That pious souls are blest.
For while his fear inspires your breast,
His mercy will be nigh,
To guard your lives from threat'ning ills,
And all your wants supply.
Other verses used:
The hosts of God encamp around
The dwellings of the just;
Deliverance he affords to all
Who on his succour trust.
Oh make but trial of his love;
Experience will decide
How blest are they, and only they,
Who in his truth confide.
Fear him, ye saints, and you will then
Have nothing else to fear;
Make you his service your delight:
Your wants shall be his care.
Psalm 34 from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition:
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him, and be radiant,
so your[a] faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor soul cried and was heard by the Lord
and was saved from every trouble.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
9 O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Which of you desires life
and covets many days to enjoy good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord rescues them from them all.
20 He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Todays Devotion
I want to spend the next couple of weeks looking at this hymn. It has everything a good Calvinist would want. It is a paraphrase of Psalm 34 and Calvin was a big supporter of singing our faith, the Psalms in particular. This tradition has been handed down from generation to generation and it is still used today.
Psalms & Songs
The tune O Bless the Lord, My Soul from the musical Godspell comes to mind along with short choruses and so many other tunes that use the Psalm text as a starting place. How many times have we relished singing the song My Shepherd Will Supply My Need during Good Shepherd Sunday?
All this is to say that these wonderful hymns come to us for a specific reason and in the tradition of John Calvin who had this to say about singing the Psalms and singing in church:
As to public prayers, there are two kinds: one consists of words alone; the other includes music. And this is no recent invention. For since the very beginning of the church it has been this way, as we may learn from history books. Nor does St. Paul himself speak only of prayer by word of mouth, but also of singing. And in truth, we know from experience that song has great power and strength to move and inflame the hearts of men to invoke and praise God with a heart more vehement and ardent. One must always watch lest the song be light and frivolous; rather, it should have weight and majesty, as St. Augustine says. And thus, there is a great difference between the music that is made to entertain people at home and at table, and the Psalms which are sung in church, in the presence of God and His angels. Therefore, if any wish rightly to judge the kind of music presented here, we hope he will find it to be holy and pure, seeing that it is simply made in keeping with the edification of which we have spoken, whatever further use it may be put to. For even in our homes and out of doors let it be a spur to us and a means of praising God and lifting up our hearts to Him, so that we may be consoled by meditating on His virtue, His bounty, His wisdom, and His justice. For this is more necessary than one can ever tell. (Written while writing an exegesis on the book of Ephesians).
An Invitation
This week, I invite you to do only one thing. Check out the way the musical verses are set compared to how they are written in the Bible. Meditate on how certain words were chosen over others to highlight. Why do you yourself think the verse was set in a particular way?
Other questions you might ask might be, why are the first five verses of the hymn used more frequently and why were the other verses discarded? What is it about the verses that speak to us and illuminate new meaning when compared to just reading the Psalm?
Again, with this hymn and so many more, there is a lot to unpack. Have fun this week just doing a side-by-side comparison between the verses of the hymn and how the Psalm was written.
See you next week!
Philip
