A much-abused old hymn has been worming its way into my affections lately. It is almost a hundred and thirty years old, and it has almost become cliche as an invitation hymn. I know that I have sung it very mechanically in the past, due to a combination of laziness and overexposure. But lately I've been enjoying it set to a different tune, which has caused me to consider the words as they come. The lyrics in turn remind me of words I have heard or read recently.
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
John Piper: "God is speaking repentance every day, all day long, and it just gets louder at times and sweeter at times. Today He was sweet. His voice was tender today, very tender."
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.
Jim Elliot: "I know that my hopes and plans for myself could not be any better than He has arranged and fulfilled them. Thus may we all find it, and know the truth of the Word which says, 'He will be our Guide even until death.'"
Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Mark Driscoll: "Through his sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection in victory over Satan, sin, death, wrath, and hell, Jesus has redeemed evil men like you and me from allegiance to darkness by paying our ransom to God. . . .This is all accomplished solely by grace, which is a kind gift that God gives undeserving people like us.
Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Thursday, November 05, 2009
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3 comments:
Useful to my soul this morning. Thanks Jenn
JR
Thanks for your comments on "Softly and Tenderly." You say it is overused in your experience. Not so much in mine. It is rarely heard. "Just As I Am" is far more likely to be used as an invitation hymn.
And, sorry to disagree, but I found the alternate music you posted irritating and repetitious. With the banging percussion, it captures little of the warmth and tenderness of the original.
I do, however, agree that occasionally singing a well-known song to a different tune gives a new perspective on the lyrics. With many hymns, we can simply choose another hymn tune with the same metre. However, "Softly and Tenderly" was not written in a common metrical form, so that's not possible.
Thanks for sharing. And if you enjoy the history of our traditional hymns and their authors, I invite you to check out my daily blog on the subject, Wordwise Hymns.
Robert, sorry you didn't enjoy the mp3. What can I say? Kids these days! We'll listen to anything with drums.
The guy responsible for that version (Tim Smith of Mars Hill Church, Seattle) says this: "If you look at the history of hymns you see that the vast majority of them have a separate author for text and tune. Over time the best texts have risen to the surface and been put to many different tunes that made sense to specific people at particular times and places. We at Mars Hill Church in Seattle are simply another link in this chain seeking work out a very old message, the gospel of Jesus, for a specific people, place and time."
I know that some people don't appreciate that, and I respect that, but it's been a great blessing to me. God is very good in gifting us with diversity.
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