Regional news

This is happening right here around us. Not sure whether this is being reported widely.

Monday night (February 8, 2010) two church building fires -- of Dover Baptist Church and Clear Springs Missionary Baptist Church -- happened within an hour and a few miles of each other. This brings to a total of nine deliberately set fires of church buildings in East Texas since January 1, 2010. A church building in Temple in central Texas was also on set fire deliberately, according to the BATF.

2 latest east Texas church fires deemed arson
Map showing location of 7 church fires

Breaking bread

Below is a list of New Testament verses I found with the combination of break/broken/etc. and bread. I have listed them as (1) those that most would agree are the Lord's Supper, (2) those that most would agree are eating, and (3) those that are disputed/not agreed upon. (Of course nothing is always agreed upon by Baptists! Yet.)

Lord's Supper
Matt. 26:26 - And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mark 14:22 - And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
Luke 22:19 - And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1 Cor. 10:16 - The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
1 Cor. 11:23,24 - For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Eating bread
Luke 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
Luke 24:35 - And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
Acts 27:35 - And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

Disputed
Acts 2:42 - And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:46 - And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Acts 20:7 - And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Acts 20:11 - When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

Some residual thoughts from Acts 20:1-13

"Hidden" in the story of Paul and company's trip to Troas are a few little issues that are slightly controversial.

1. Was there a church at Troas?
2. Did the disciples take the Lord's Supper?
3. Did Paul raise Eutychus from the dead?

Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight...20:11 When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

I will discuss the first two together, because they are tied together in the minds of some. For others, this is probably not even a blip on their radar. This text and question is problematic to most Landmarkers, or at least to local-church-only communionists.

For many Baptists, the Lord's Supper is viewed as a church ordinance that should be taken in church capacity. So whether or not there was a church at Troas relates to the Lord's Supper as a church ordinance. For a smaller group of the whole, the Lord's Supper is viewed as a local-church-only church ordinance; that is, only the members of a local church is supposed to take the Lord's Supper together.

Davis Huckabee, in The Ordinances of the Church, puts it this way: "There are several erroneous assumptions about the events of this passage in Acts, viz., (1) That there was ever a church at Troas. (2) That the meal eaten was the Lord’s Supper...(5) That Paul observed the Lord’s Supper with a church of which he was not a member." J. R. Graves, in Intercommunion, Unscriptural and Inconsistent, resolved the issue to his satisfaction by both denying that there was a church at Troas and denying that the Lord's Supper was celebrated by Paul and his companions.

But the language of Acts 20 seems to indicate Eutychus, not a traveling companion (cf. v 4), was a disciple who was listening to Paul's speech, and that there were others there who were comforted by his being alive. The motivation for a drawn-out service on the eve of their departure was very likely that there were disciples in Troas they expected to see no more (cf. v. 25). This is not conclusive, but causes one to wonder whether some expositions are not driven more by assumptions outside the text.

Acts 20:9-10 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him...12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

In A Dictionary of the Bible by W. R. F. Browning, it is written that Eutychus fell from an upstairs window and that "Paul was able to assure the company that he was not fatally injured." Some think the language -- especially of Paul in v. 10 -- indicate that the people just thought he was dead and Paul discovered he was still alive.

I personally see the words "taken up dead" as meaning he was actually dead, and Paul brought him back to life. Some may want to deny miracles and resurrection by saying Eutychus wasn't dead. But others believe in the power of God and are simply trying to understand the words of the Bible. Whether Eutychus was alive or dead, we see that God has the power to either keep alive to raise back to life.

[Note: An interesting take on these two points is found in the writing of Jonathan Teram, who assures us, "Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday and broke bread with his disciples (Luke 24:30). In Troas, Eutychus was raised from the dead, then the disciples broke bread with each other."]

Follow-up of residual thoughts: possibilities at Troas.

Was there a church at Troas? Did they partake the Lord's Supper?

No church?
1.a. There was no church in Troas and the disciples gathered for a "potluck" meal together and worshiped together.
1.b. There was no church in Troas and the disciples gathered for a "potluck" meal together, observed the Lord's Supper and worshiped together.
1.c. There was no church in Troas and the disciples observed the Lord's Supper and worshiped together.

Church?
2.a. There was a church in Troas and the traveling disciples gathered with the church for a "potluck" meal together and worshiped together.
2.b. There was a church in Troas and the traveling disciples gathered with the church for a "potluck" meal together, observed the Lord's Supper and worshiped together.
2.c. There was a church in Troas and the traveling disciples gathered with the church, observed the Lord's Supper and worshiped together.

Prayer quote - Manton

"Every prayer is an acknowledgment of our weakness and dependence. Who would ask that of another which he thinketh to be in his own power?" -- Thomas Manton

Acts 20:1-12, brief thoughts

From Ephesus, Paul went to Macedonia and Achaia/Greece, then over to Asia. Some of the disciples had gone ahead and were already there when he (and at least Luke) arrived five days later. After spending about a week there, they continued on their journey.

"We are laborers together"
Acts 20:4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

It may be that many of us emphasize Paul so much that we forget that on most occasions he had traveling companions who labored and ministered with him. Verse 4 names those who went before him into Asia. Paul was an apostle, and fulfilled the ministry God gave him. But let us also remember that all have gifts differing according to the grace that is given to them and the Spirit of God gives to every man as He will. Thus, all to whom this grace is given are "laborers together with God". Therefore we ought not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. Verse 4 reminds us that God calls each to his own calling, and each should fulfill that calling (and labor together with God).

"Not forsaking the assembling"
Act 20:7 begins "...upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together..." Regardless of their travels, the disciples took time to come together, worship together, study together, break bread together. The manner of some may be to forsake assembling. But a church IS an assembly; she should assemble. We do so for the good of ourselves and for one another. Some dictatorial pastors press this upon their members as a burden to bear -- be here every time the doors are open, don't be on vacation on Sunday, don't, don't, don't (and then they schedule their vacations and are gone). But the Lord's people have a desire to see one another, to assemble on the first day of the week and exhort one another, edify one another, teach one another. Verse 7 reminds us to come together.

Jesus baptized not

Eld. Wayne Gregory:

John 4:1-3 reads: "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,) He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee."

I am persuaded that the Spirit revealed that Jesus did not personally baptize in water except through his disciples for two reasons:

First, for the glory of Christ: John the Baptist declared: Luke 3:16, 17 “I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” It seems reasonable to me that Christ had a superior baptism to give that no other would or could perform. Clearly this event occurred later and is recorded along with its effects for us in the book of Acts 2. It was Christ’s baptism. He was the administrator of it alone; the element, which was used by Christ, was not water, but the Holy Ghost; and the recipient was the living organism of which Christ is Founder and Head – the church, which was the visible evidence of Mt. Zion, God’s dwelling place. This superior baptism with or in the Spirit seems to agree with the statement that Christ was far superior to John who baptized with (in) water. As truly as never a man spoke as Christ, never a man baptized as Christ, and that includes John the Baptist.

Second, for the comfort of His people: It appears to me that this emphasis of Christ not personally baptizing the disciples in water was for the peace and comfort of all who would follow after and teaches that baptism in water was to be and indeed continued to be performed by the disciples under Christ’s headship and direction. Brethren, had Christ baptized any in water, I would consider mine a poor substitute for that. In fact, I would forever be in great doubt whether I was baptized at all or had obeyed Christ’s positive command. Now, because I am taught here that the disciples baptized, not Christ, I can take some comfort that the baptism I have received is acceptable to Him being administered by one authorized by Christ also.

[By Wayne Gregory, in "Two Requests", Predestinarian Forum, February 1, 2010]

Think about it

"Moving from culture-at-large to church culture, a Cowboy Church movement has arisen largely because the standard Southern Baptist church culture has almost nothing Southern about it. The music is Rock, the marketing is Madison Avenue, the platform dress is Abercrombie & Fitch, and the A-V technology is Times Square.

"What's Southern about that?"

The above quote is taken from If Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Dixie? by Bart Barber, which you can read for the larger context. If you're not Southern Baptist, this may not grab you the same way as it will someone who is Southern Baptist. Nevertheless, this is an interesting conjecture about the rise and popularity of the "Cowboy Church". Is part of it because modern churches make themselves over into something that is foreign to their culture? Just wondering.

Confidence

Below is one of many John Newton hymns I've never read before. I find much in it which touches my situation. Especially did I feel "Ere he called me well he knew, What a heart like mine would do" and especially do I love "I have sinned, but thou hast died: This is all I have to plead, This is all the plea I need!"

Confidence.

Yes! since God himself has said it,
On the promise I rely;
His good word demands my credit,
What can unbelief reply?
He is strong and can fulfill,
He is truth and therefore will.

As to all the doubts and questions,
Which my spirit often grieve,
These are Satan's sly suggestions,
And I need no answer give;
He would fain destroy my hope,
But the promise bears it up.

Sure the LORD thus far has brought me
By his watchful tender care;
Sure 'tis he himself has taught me
How to seek his face by prayer:
After so much mercy past,
Will he give me up at last?

True, I've been a foolish creature;
And have sinned against his grace;
But forgiveness is his nature,
Though he justly hides his face:
Ere he called me well he knew,
Isa 48:8
What a heart like mine would do.

In my Savior's intercession
Therefore I will still confide;
LORD accept my free contrition,
I have sinned, but thou hast died:
Rom 8:34
This is all I have to plead,
This is all the plea I need.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Anointing with oil, reprise

Back in 2006, I posted a brief essay on anointing with oil. I entered into a brief discussion of it recently on Adrian Neal’s blog. A preacher brother there set forth some views against symbolic oil and favoring medicinal oil. Rather than making extended posts there, I have brought most of my rebuttal here to my own blog. The following italicized quotes are from two different posts on Brother Neal’s blog (which can be viewed at the above link).

History seems to show that families did not have every-day pediatricians or family doctors. Instead, their pastors acted in a medicinal sense. Historical references show early church bishops as the family "doctor". Not that he was trained in the arts of medicine (if you can call what they did back in that day medicine). But rather that physicians were not common for people that were not rich. The bishop did often assume this roll, since he was called for when someone was sick.

If you have found some references that show early bishops acting as the family doctor, I have no argument with that. Probably some of them were doctors (consider Luke of NT times, and John Clarke of Rhode Island). Perhaps some were not. Such historical occurrences do not govern the interpretation of James 5:14-15. Ultimately it is the Bible, not history, which is inspired, accurate and authoritative. Were doctors common and affordable? Were doctors reliable? Job’s expression in the reply to his friends (13:4 physicians of no value) implies there were also physicians of some value. Statements such as in Jeremiah 8:22 and Matthew 9:12 also imply that the sick finding a physician – and being healed – was not that unusual. And Jesus surely wouldn’t recommend that the sick need physicians if all physicians in that day were quacks. Surely Luke wasn’t, but was rather a beloved one (Colossians 4:14).

Back then, oils were some of, if not the only, medicines they had that actually helped. Similar to a Vicks Vapor rub, different kinds of oils had different effects. Different herbs were crushed and mixed into the different oils. Thus, when someone was sick, they would call for the pastor. He would pray for them, but also anoint them with the oils for healing.
There were different kinds of oils and oil mixtures used for different purposes. Some soothing of skin, some soothing of muscles, some keeping pests out, some for constant inhalation (like Vicks Vapor Rub today).

If the medicinal interpretation of James 5:14-15 is correct, then surely oil is the universal medicine. But again, both history and the Bible show that oil was not the universal medicine, however good it may be. Quacks or no, doctors living in the early New Testament period not only used oils, but even performed surgeries. In an entirely makeshift situation, the Good Samaritan did not use oil alone, but poured oil and wine into the wounds of the man beaten by thieves. As to different kinds of oils, historically I don’t question that different oils and different herbs were used medicinally. That is still true today. But, where, oh where, do we find the different oils and herbs in James 5:14-15? There are no herbs there, and the oil is probably only olive oil, since the Greek word ἐλαίῳ (olive oil) is used.

The pastors carried the oils with them when called. Indeed the sick were healed by the LORD, but it shows that God doesn't disagree with church members relying on Him, and at the same time using soothing medicines. Thus, take a little wine for thy stomach sake, right? If God just wanted people to be anointed with some symbolic oil and wait for healing, then why would He command this of Timothy?

There was and is no argument from me against using medicines. I just don’t believe that medicine is what is in view in James 5:14-15. I do believe the medicinal value of the wine is in view in I Timothy 5:23.

We have no other place in the Bible oil was used for magical healing, or for pastoral prayers.

We find other places where oil was used for anointing; more than where it was used for medicine. One specifically connected to healing is Mark 6:13. And no one has suggested any “magical” healing here – unless you suppose God healing in answer to prayer is “magic”. Does God heal people we pray for, whether or not they use medicine? If not, why do we pray for the sick? Just go to the doctor and be done with it.

This type of interpretation that the oil was NOT medicinal would seem to ALSO take away from the idea that God is the one who heals. As a matter of fact, it would seem to suggest one must have the oil for God to do the healing.

But, in fact, it is only in a medical interpretation that the oil has any effect on healing. In a symbolic interpretation it is only symbolic. It produces no effect. It only answers to simple obedience to a literal reading of the Scripture. This idea which you foist upon my interpretation, I suspect you are not willing to apply to your own. That is, that one must have the oil for God to do the healing. If this logic “must” applies to the text, then you are pierced by the horns of your own dilemma. One must use medicine for God to do the healing. If not, why not?

Why not? Because either way is an anemic look at only one incident in the whole of Scripture. The whole Scripture gives the full look at the subject of God healing. I would sum it up roughly by saying God does not object to the use of medicine (cf. Luke 5:31), but that it is sinful to rely on doctors to the exclusion of faith in God (cf. II Chronicles 16:12).

An interesting observation of the medicinal interpretation of James 5:14-15 is this: Of all those who assert this interpretation, I have not yet seen even one obey it. I do not know of a single Baptist who has asked pastors and come rub oil and herbs on them while they pray for them. Oh, you say, I don’t really believe it means that. Do tell.

[Note: some uses of oil that I find in the Bible – offering, fuel for light, anointing, food/cooking, ointment, gift or payment/barter, product to sell, purification, perfume, moisturizer, medicine. The most references seem to be anointing; there is a lot concerning light, offerings and food – and the symbolic representation of wealth, God’s pleasure on His people – but not that much about medicinal use, it would seem to me.]

Acts 19:21--20:1

Ephesus was an important city in Asia Minor, a center of the goddess Diana. Paul spent nearly three years there (cf. 19:8,10; Acts 20:31). The church in Ephesus was prominent among those seven to whom the apostle John wrote. According to John Gill, the temple of Diana at Ephesus "was about seven furlongs distant from the city, and was 425 feet long, and 220 feet broad, and had in it 127 pillars, 60 feet high." It is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

"Other sheep have I" Acts 19:21-22
19:21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome...

Follow the Lord. Paul was following the Lord in Ephesus, but he was determined to follow wherever he led. Too often the conservative Christian falls into the ease of believing all of the work God is doing right where he is. There is an old bromide that caricatures the sectarian Christian's prayer: "God bless me, my wife, my son, his wife, us four no more. Amen." Even if God has established us in the place where we are, let us never sing the refrain of Elijah, “I, even only I, remain a prophet of the Lord.” Hear God thunder, “Other sheep have I. I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal.

"For the love of money" 19:23-27
19:25 Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

“Follow the money” is an oft-stated expression. By following the money we often find the root cause of the thing that befuddles us. Demetrius had a keen mind. Though Paul had not directly taken on Diana (cf. v. 37), but rather preached Jesus. But Demetrius understood that a people who did not believe in gods made with hands would not need craftsmen who made gods with their hands. There was a sure economic downsizing coming to the silversmiths if this new religion caught a foothold in Asia Minor. Though Demetrius also appealed to their religion and their pride (cf. v. 27), the foundation of the objection was money. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

"Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" 19:28-34
19:29 And the whole city was filled with confusion...32 and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

Follow the crowd. Get on the bandwagon. From religion to politics to mobs to fads, folks get caught up in what the crowd is doing. The shout “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” became a horrendous din in which most participated but few understood. For two hours this went on, though “the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.”

"He by his wisdom delivered the city" 19:35-41
19:35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people...41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

Follow good sense. Nothing in the text indicates that the townclerk was a Christian. But he was a man of prudence and common sense. He got an audience and reasoned with them. He championed the stability of Diana in Ephesus; he questioned the wisdom of rash action; he the deportment of the Christians; he recommended legal if there was a legitimate cause; and he warned the people of the trouble they could be bringing on themselves. Through his actions the mob was dispersed.

"The Lord knoweth how to deliver" 20:1
20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.

Follow the Lord. We know all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. Many and varied are the ways the Lord delivers his people. Some through the fire, some through the flood. When God delivered Paul in Philippi (16:25-26), it was the earthquake He wielded. When God delivered Paul in Ephesus, it was an official of the city of Ephesus who did God’s bidding. When God finally delivered Paul in Rome (II Tim 4:6,18), it was the hand of death by which he became absent from the body and present with the Lord. Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us. Amen.

Paul's voyage

Paul's voyage. Acts 27

If Paul in Caesar's court must stand,
He need not fear the sea;
Secured from harm, on every hand,
By the divine decree.

Although the ship, in which he sailed,
By dreadful storms was tossed;
The promise over all prevailed,
And not a life was lost.

Jesus! the GOD whom Paul adored,
Who saves in time of need;
Was then confessed, by all on board,
A present help indeed!

Though neither sun nor stars were seen
Paul knew the Lord was near;
And faith preserved his soul serene,
When others shook for fear.

Believers thus are tossed about
On life's tempestuous main;
But grace assures, beyond a doubt,
They shall their port attain.

They must, they shall, appear one day,
Before their Savior's throne;
The storms they meet with by the way,
But make his power known.

Their passage lies across the brink
Of many a threat'ning wave;
The world expects to see them sink,
But JESUS lives to save.

Lord, though we are but feeble worms,
Yet since thy word is past;
We'll venture through a thousand storms,
To see thy face at last.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Consistency thou art a jewel

I don't know anything about figure skater Johnny Weir, but I find his answer to "Friends of Animals" interesting. FOA recently posted an open letter to Weir. They criticized his having fox fur on one of his costumes that he skated in, and asked him to stop wearing fur.

According to AP News Writer Nancy Armour, "Weir said he understands the groups’ objections, but he doesn’t share their point of view."

I particularly liked this comment: "Every skater is wearing skates made out of cow," Weir said. "Maybe I’m wearing a cute little fox while everyone else is wearing cow, but we’re all still wearing animals."

Will you comb gray hair?

From In Memory Of Major Robert Gregory by William Butler Yeats

XI
Some burn damp faggots, others may consume
The entire combustible world in one small room
As though dried straw, and if we turn about
The bare chimney is gone black out
Because the work had finished in that flare.
Soldier, scholar, horseman, he,
As 'twere all life's epitome.
What made us dream that he could comb grey hair?

Probably most live as if we expect to "comb gray hair", but we know not what shall be tomorrow.

The secret chord

Not a lot of rhyme or reason for the following. I am just intrigued by some of Cohen's expressions in this stanza of "Hallelujah".

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

From "Hallelujah" by Leonard Norman Cohen

Constitution town hall

Hillsdale College is involved in educating Americans about the Constitution. Their Hillsdale College Constitution Town Hall looks like an interesting possibility for those who would like to learn more. It will be held Saturday, January 30, 2010, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm EST. Though the in-person event is full, you can register to see it free online.

The "god" of the 20th century

"The 'god' of this twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun . The 'god' who is now talked about in the average pulpit, spoken of in the ordinary Sunday School, mentioned in much of the religious literature of the day, and preached in most of the so-called Bible Conferences is the figment of human imagination, an invention of maudlin sentimentality. The heathen outside the pale of Christendom form 'gods' out of wood and stone, while millions of heathen inside Christendom manufacture a 'god' out of their own carnal mind . In reality, they are but atheists, for there is no other possible alternative between an absolutely supreme God, and no God at all . A 'god' whose will is resisted, whose designs are frustrated, whose purpose is checkmated, possesses no title to Deity, and so far from being a fit object of worship, merits nought but contempt ." -- (Arthur W. Pink)

Jimmy crack corn and I don't care

...what New Zealand and Australia does. But surely this is one the most ridiculous distractions I've heard. Trijicon Inc., a manufacturer of optical sighting devices for firearms, quietly and without a flap chooses to include an encoded biblical reference in their serial numbers. How sinister!!!!!(possibly thinks ABC) And certainly it is a violation of the Constitution (so says Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation)!!!!! At best it could only violate a military rule against proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan. But even that is ridiculous. If so, better ban the sand and the stars. If one is prone to proselyte, he could use those too.

"Markings included 'JN8:12', a reference to John 8:12: 'Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life,' according to the King James version of the Bible.

"The Trijicon Reflex sight is stamped with 2COR4:6, a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians: 'For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,' the King James version reads...

"Trijicon said it has been long-standing company practice to put the Scripture citations on the equipment. Tom Munson, Trijicon's director of sales and marketing, said the company had never received complaints until now.

"'We don't publicize this,' Munson said in a recent interview. 'It's not something we make a big deal out of. But when asked, we say, 'Yes, it's there.'

"Trijicon said biblical references were first put on the sites nearly 30 years ago by the company founder, Glyn Bindon, who was killed in a plane crash in 2003. His son Stephen, Trijicon's president, continued the practice.

"The references have stoked concerns by critics in the U.S. about whether they break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops. But U.S. military officials said the citations don't violate the ban and they won't stop using the tens of thousands of telescoping sights that have already been bought." -- Above quotations from NZ army to remove Bible citations from armaments

This is not something this company started in order to slip the Bible into Muslim countries. It is something they've been doing 30 years. I don't care what New Zealand and Australia does. But Daily News says that the Marine Corps is reconsidering its contract with Trijicon. If Kristian Dunne is correct in saying Trijicon sights are the best of their kind, then it would be unthinkable for the Marine Corps to send their men out into combat with anything less. If Trijicon decides to remove the inscriptions from future military orders of the gun sights, that's their business. If the U.S. military, executive and legislative branches, etc. want to send the troops out with less than the best because of this lunacy, they all ought to be removed from office!

[Note: this article does not delve into the question of whether we ought to be shooting people, but simply comments on political correctness run amok in reference to something we are already doing.]

Where you can't scratch

Acnestis - noun: The part of the body where one cannot reach to scratch.

Massachusetts race

In a race to fill the U.S. Senate seat of deceased Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, the Republican contender Scott Brown has pulled off an upset victory over Martha Coakley. Is this a matter of a well-run campaign succeeding over a poorly-run campaign? Is Brown a charismatic individual whose excitement captured the imaginations of Massachusites? Is this a "referendum" on national health care, of which Kennedy was a chief proponent and Brown passionately opposes? All of the above? None of the above?

Democrats seek back footing after epic loss in Massachusetts election

Guidelines

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Thoughts on MLK Day

These thoughts are not actually about the day itself, but thoughts I have that happen to be taking place on this day.

A few days ago our local paper carried an article about the United States Census Bureau -- particularly how one attempt to be inclusive backfired on them. To give inclusive choices to black Americans to identify themselves, the 2010 Census offers "Black", "African-American" and "Negro".

Some politicians, activists and community leaders have objected to the use of the word "Negro" on the 2010 census and want the bureau to scrap the forms and issue new ones -- in spite of its approval by the African-American Advisory Committee and the fact that over 55,000 persons wrote in "Negro" on the 2000 census. Though Quanell X, a Houston TX activist, says, "We have evolved beyond the word 'Negro'," it is clear we have not -- neither the census bureau nor thousands of black Americans.

I think it is a good thing to identify people by a term that is not offensive to them. But the problem is that quite a few black Americans self-identify as "Negro" and apparently prefer the term. What about their opinions? A retired highly-respected local educator whom I have known for many years recently wrote, "I am an American Negro and not an African-American." I think his view should be respected as well as Quanell X's.

While on the general subject, Russell Moore's Why King’s Dream Overcame “Christian” White Supremacy is quite interesting.

Seeing out -- books and windows

A house without books is like a room without windows. -- Copied, author unknown

The law and gospel

HYMN 120
S. M.

The law and gospel joined in Scripture.

The Lord declares his will,
And keeps the world in awe;
Amidst the smoke on Sinai's hill
Breaks out his fiery law.

The Lord reveals his face,
And smiling from above,
Sends down the gospel of his grace,
Th' epistles of his love.

These sacred words impart
Our Maker's just commands;
The pity of his melting heart,
And vengeance of his hands.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Book II, 1707

County Line Singing

Tomorrow (d.v.), we will hold a County Line Sacred Harp Singing at County Line Primitive Baptist Church on the County Line Road (FM 3081) near Cut and Shoot, Texas. Click on the link above for more information and directions.

Come one, come all.

Wesley at Warrington

"Friday 6, [1781] I went to Alpringham, and preached the funeral sermon of good old sister Cawley. She has been indeed a mother in Israel; a pattern of all good works. Saturday 7, at noon, I preached at Preston-on-the-Hill, and in the evening at Warrington. Sunday 8, the service was at the usual hours. I came just in time to put a stop to a bad custom, which was creeping in here. A few men who had fine voices sang a psalm which no one knew, in a tune fit for an Opera, wherein three, four, or five persons sung different words at the same time! What an insult upon common sense! What a burlesque upon public worship! No custom can excuse such a mixture of profaneness and absurdity." -- The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, Volume 5, By John Wesley, London: Conference Office, 1810, pp. 330-331

I guess Wesley didn't like fuging tunes!

Various hymns

I don't have the original sources of the following:

No. 1

Have you heard the trumpet sounding?
Have you heard the angel’s call?
Flee from sin and sect confusion,
Come to Zion, one and all.

Hear that voice from heaven, brother,
Heed the warning, come today;
Leave the names and creeds of Bab'lon,
Take the holy Bible way.

No. 2

Though great our sins and sore our woes,
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows,
Our utmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He,
Who will at last His Israel free.
From all their sin and sorrow.

Hark! a voice divides the sky,
Happy are the faithful dead!
In the Lord who sweetly die,
They from all their toils are freed;
Them the Spirit hath declared
Blest, unutterably blest;
Jesus is their great reward,
Jesus is their endless rest.

God is our refuge in distress,
A present help when dangers press:
In him undaunted we'll confide:
Though earth were from her center tossed,
And mountains in the ocean lost,
Torn piecemeal by the roaring tide.

Haller Nutt

"Longwood is frozen in time, its future unrealized, unknown."

Last week while in Mississippi, we visited the Longwood Plantation at Natchez. The house was conceived by wealthy cotton planter Dr. Haller Nutt and designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan. It is unique for several reasons. It is the largest octagonal house in the United States (and maybe they said North America). Unlike most plantations, it is styled after an "oriental villa" and possibly looked out of place in the antebellum South. When the war began in 1861, the northern artisans laid down their tools and went home. Even to this day, only the basement of the home is finished.

The home tells a somewhat sad story of its owners, but also tells some of the complicated story of the war between the Northern Union and Southern Confederacy. To many it is a simple story of slavery versus freedom. But consider Haller Nutt who, like many planters who thrived in the slave-based economy, opposed Mississippi's secession from the United States. Not only that, he also refused to support the Confederacy when the state seceded. Even as the Union army invaded Mississippi, he welcomed their presence.

"During the war between the states [Haller Nutt] was known to be unmistakenly not only an opponent of secession and of the Southern Confederacy, but absolutely devoted to the Union and the cause of the federal government. He was so devoted, and to such an extent, that he welcomed the invasion of the Union armies." The property of Nutt was placed under "safeguard" by the Union commanders. But their subordinates, partly due to the reality of war and partly due to its excesses, did not maintain the safeguard and much supplies and property were used, destroyed or vandalized. -- The Southern Report, Volume 36, March 26--July 23, 1904 St. Paul: West Publishing Co. 1904, p. 248

The northern invasion and ultimate victory proved the financial ruin of Nutt, who is said to have pined away in his unfinished home until he died on June 16, 1864. His wife Julia blamed her husband's death on "Union indifference and treachery", and actually won a small claim against them and recovered a small amount of money.

(Much information from Natchez, Mississippi: Past, Present, Perfect by Martin Northway)

Short Baptist history

In the lower right hand corner of The Reapers Christian Literature & Evangelistic Tracts home page, there are 6 links to mini-infos of seven American Baptist preachers -- Elias Keach, David Jones, Isaac Backus, Daniel Marshall, Luther Rice, John Clarke & Obadiah Holmes.

Annoyances

I suppose all of us have our little annoyances, pet peeves that get us going. Here are a few of mine. What are some of yours?

Without music. On the NBC a cappella singing competition "The Sing-Off", one of the judges described one group's performance as "totally without music" (or something like that). Wrong. You don't need instruments to have music. Unaccompanied singing voices is music too.
Tradition smadition. Sometimes it is annoying to hear folks parroting the traditional tradition line of one Sacred Harp book over another, or one area's practices over another. Tradition is good; I approve of it. But, in fact, all have changed some.
Get your decades right. Just as many didn't figure out that the new millennium began on January 1, 2001 rather than January 1, 2000, it seems some think we just concluding the first decade of this new millennium -- for example, 50 most popular names of the decade. Wrong. There was no "O" year, so decade combinations run from 1 to 10, not 0 to 9.
Hot water heater? If the water were hot, you wouldn't need a heater!!
I forgot. AND my number one pet peeve -- the fact that increasingly I can't remember names, things, places.

Ephesus

EPHESUS. Rev 2:1-7

Thus saith the LORD to Ephesus,
And thus he speaks to some of us;
"Amidst my churches, lo, I stand,
And hold the pastors in my hand.

Thy works, to me, are fully known,
Thy patience, and thy toil, I own;
Thy views of gospel truth are clear,
Nor canst thou other doctrine bear.

Yet I must blame while I approve,
Where is thy first, thy fervent love?
Dost thou forget my love to thee,
That thine is grown so faint to me?

Recall to mind the happy days
When thou wast filled with joy and praise;
Repent, thy former works renew,
Then I'll restore thy comforts too.

Return at once, when I reprove,
Lest I thy candlestick remove;
And thou, too late, thy loss lament;
I warn before I strike, Repent."

Hearken to what the Spirit saith,
To him that overcomes by faith;
"The fruit of life's unfading tree,
In paradise his food shall be."

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Honour of the world

"The eagle-eye of faith can look through all the pageantry of the world, and the mists and clouds of time, to the future state, the judgement that shall be made of things. To a believer's eye all the honour of the world is but a fancy and vain appearance, a scene in which a base fellow acteth the part of a prince." -- Thomas Manton

Getting it right

One of my chief disappointments in the past ten or so years has been seeing the Republican party candidates parrot the grass roots agendas of smaller government and so forth, only to get in office and vote some other way (and for Republicans to support them no matter what). Maybe some of the leaders now see that is a problem, too?

"We must support Republican officials who assert these principles," he writes. "When elected Republicans vote against Republican principles, the voters must withhold their support — withhold it vigorously and consistently." -- Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele in his book Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda

I say, no, I shout

epanorthosis noun: The immediate rephrasing of something said in order to correct it or to make it stronger. Usually indicated by: no, nay, rather, I mean, etc.
Example: I've warned you a thousand, no, a million times.

Time how swift

While with ceaseless course the sun
Hasted through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here
Fixed in an eternal fate,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,
But how little--none can know.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

At the Close of the Year

At the Close of the Year

Let hearts and tongues unite,
And loud thanksgivings raise:
'Tis duty, mingled with delight,
To sing the Saviour's praise.

To Him we owe our breath,
He took us from the womb,
Which else had shut us up in death,
And prov'd an early tomb.

When on the breast we hung,
Our help was in the Lord;
'Twas He first taught our infant tongue
To form the lisping word.

When in our blood we lay,
He would not let us die,
Because His love had fix'd a day
To bring salvation nigh.

In childhood and in youth,
His eye was on us still:
Though strangers to His love and truth,
And prone to cross His will.

And since His name we knew,
How gracious has He been:
What dangers has He led us through,
What mercies have we seen!

Now through another year,
Supported by His care,
We raise our Ebenezer here,
"The Lord has help'd thus far."

Our lot in future years
Unable to foresee,
He kindly, to prevent our fears,
Says, "Leave it all to Me."

Yea, Lord, we wish to cast
Our cares upon Thy breast!
Help us to praise Thee for the past,
And trust Thee for the rest.

John Newton (1725-1807)
As posted on SongToTheLamb 30 December 2009

The rich sinner's death

PSALM 49, L. M.
The rich sinner's death, and the saint's resurrection.

Why do the proud insult the poor,
And boast the large estates they have?
How vain are riches to secure
Their haughty owners from the grave!

They can't redeem one hour from death,
With all the wealth in which they trust;
Nor give a dying brother breath,
When God commands him down to dust.

There the dark earth and dismal shade
Shall clasp their naked bodies round;
That flesh, so delicately fed,
Lies cold and moulders in the ground.

Like thoughtless sheep the sinner dies,
Laid in the grave for worms to eat:
The saints shall in the morning rise,
And find th' oppressor at their feet.

His honors perish in the dust,
And pomp and beauty, birth and blood:
That glorious day exalts the just
To full dominion o'er the proud.

My Savior shall my life restore,
And raise me from my dark abode;
My flesh and soul shall part no more,
But dwell for ever near my God.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748)
The Psalms of David, 1719

The Seven Sayings on the Cross

In this post I have tried to piece together portions of hymns that refer to the seven last sayings of Jesus on the cross. Some are "as is" and some were altered to continue a common meter throughout.

Luke 23:34 Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do
Luke 23:43 Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise
John 19:26-27 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!
John 19:28 I thirst
Matthew 27:46 Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

John 19:30 It is finished
Luke 23:46 Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit

(Introduction)
Behold the Savior of mankind
Nailed to the shameful tree!
How vast the love that Him inclined,
To bleed and die for thee.

I.
"Father forgive," the Saviour cries,
"They know not what they do."
And thus in pleading as He dies,
Has He so spoke to you?

II.
As on the cross the Savior hung,
And wept, and bled, and died;
He poured salvation on a wretch
That languished at His side.

His prayer the dying Jesus hears,
And instantly replies,
"Today thy parting soul shall be
With me in paradise."

III.
Beneath the dying Saviour stood
Mary near another:
To her He said, "Behold thy son;"
John, "Behold thy mother."

IV.
I thirst, Thou wounded Lamb of God,
To be washed in Thy blood;
As I look on the cross and see
That Thou didst thirst for me.

V.
O, see the Savior on the cross!
And hearken to His voice;
"Eli, Eli," loud hear him cry
"Lama Sabachthani."

VI.

On the bloody tree behold Him

Dying; aloud He cries;

"It is finished! (It is finished!)"

Dismiss His life and dies.

VII.

'Tis done! the precious ransom’s paid!

Receive my soul, He cries:

"Father, to Thy hands I commend

My Spirit," as He dies.

(Conclusion)
Tis finished, The Redeemer said.
Now we the sentence scan.
Behold the conquest of the Lord,
Complete for sinful man.

Rejoicing in the Incarnation

Rejoicing in the Incarnation of Christ, Matt. 2:10

1- My God, my Creator, the heavens did bow,
To ransom offenders, and stooped very low;
The body prepared by the Father assumes,
And on the kind errand most joyfully comes.

2- O wonder of wonders! Astonished I gaze,
To see in the manger the Ancient of Days;
And angels proclaiming the stranger forlorn,
And telling the Shepherds that Jesus is born.

3-For thousands of sinners the Lord bowed his head;
For thousands of sinners he groaned and He bled,
My spirit rejoices—the work it is done!
My soul is redeemed----and salvation is won!

4-Dear Jesus, my Savior, thy truth I embrace
Thy name and thy natures, thy Spirit and grace;
And trace the pure footsteps of Jesus, my Lord
And glory in Him whom proud sinners abhorred!

5- My God is returned to His glory on high;
When death makes a passage, to HIM then I’ll rise
To join in the song of all praise through His blood,
To the Three who are One inconceivable God.

11s. E. L. Schlict, Gadsby's Hymn Book, No. 41

Don't be so hard on Scrooge

I saw a card that gave the definition of a "scrooge": A scrooge is someone who has the same attitude the day before Christmas as everyone else has the day after Christmas!

More indexes

Christian Classics Ethereal Hymnary Metrical Index
Psalms and Hymns Metrical Index
Wesley Hymn Collection Metrical Index

More Sacred Harp links

“The Moses of the Sacred Harp of Texas” – Jno. W. Miller

West Los Angeles Sacred Harp Singing

Attack on Christmas Commercialism

Christian Group Launches New Attack on Christmas Commercialism

Sin's deceit

Sin's deceit.

Sin, when viewed by scripture light,
Is a horrid, hateful sight;
But when seen in Satan's glass,
Then it wears a pleasing face.

When the gospel trumpet sounds,
When I think how grace abounds,
When I feel sweet peace within,
Then I'd rather die than sin.

When the cross I view by faith,
Sin is madness, poison, death;
Tempt me not, 'tis all in vain,
Sure I ne'er can yield again.

Satan, for awhile debarred,
When he finds me off my guard,
Puts his glass before my eyes,
Quickly other thoughts arise.

What before excited fears,
Rather pleasing now appears;
If a sin, it seems so small,
Or, perhaps, no sin at all.

Often thus, through sin's deceit,
Grief, and shame, and loss I meet,
Like a fish, my soul mistook,
Saw the bait, but not the hook.

O my Lord, what shall I say?
How can I presume to pray?
Not a word have I to plead,
Sins, like mine, are black indeed!

Made, by past experience, wise,
Let me learn thy word to prize;
Taught by what I've felt before,
Let me Satan's glass abhor.

John Newton (1725-1807)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Secular songs

Seeing that title on the blog of a hardheaded, hardshelled, conservative Baptist, you might expect a diatribe against secular songs. Though such might have its place, you won't find it in the post. Last week while driving to Galveston, I heard on the radio one of my old favorites, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot. [For the 1976 recording, enter "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot" in Google and then in the hits you get click on "Play song from Lala.com"]

Anyway, this got me to thinking about some "old favorites" which I enjoyed over my career of song listening (some which I would still listen to and some I might not). Some are:

"The Last Resort" by The Eagles
"I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton
"He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones
"Love Hurts" by Nazareth
"Paradise" by John Prine (and others)
"Long Black Veil" by Lefty Frizzell
"Barbara Allen", (old folk song)
And many others

This list may reveal more about me than the songs -- an interest in a song that tells a story, often a sad song, or perhaps even a "negative" story. There is some disconnect, which is founded more in a feeling than the mental assent which I require in my Christian music. (I also get a feeling from the Christian music I enjoy.)

"The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" is modern folklore, memorializing a Great Lakes ship wreck in the mid-1970s. I think its combined tune and lyrics ought to land it among the all-time classics. But I wonder how much "listening time" it actually gets??

Top 20

The top twenty most-published Christmas hymns, according to the Dictionary of North American Hymnology.

1. Joy to the World
2. Hark, the herald angels sing
3. Brightest and best of the sons of the morning
4. When shepherds watched their flocks by night...

res gestae

res gestae noun: facts incidental to a case, admissible as evidence in a lawsuit; e.g., exclamations uttered by a robber during a holdup.

From Latin, literally, things done.

Online reading

Scribd.com -- some kind of online reading site. Might be interesting.

Metrical Index of Tunes

The following from Wordwise Hymns by Robert Cottrill

“Tunes are grouped according to metre. This can be useful information if you wish to sing a particular set of words to a different tune. Perhaps the tune assigned to a hymn by the book is unknown, or more difficult for congregational use. This index will suggest alternatives.

“Each tune has a metre. So many beats per line, and so many lines. For example, the metre for the tune Aurelia above is 7.6.7.6D (“D” meaning doubled.) That tells us that each stanza of poetry has 7 or 6 sounded syllables, alternately, and each stanza has a total of 8 lines. For example:

The chur-ch’s one foun-da-tion (7)
Is Je-sus Christ her Lord; (6)
She is His new cre-a-tion, (7)
By wa-ter and the Word; (6)
From heav’n He came and sought her (7)
To be His ho-ly bride; (6)
With His own blood He bought her, (7)
And for her life He died. (6)

“These words could also be sung to the tune Missionary Hymn or the tune Webb, among others, as they also have the 7.6.7.6D metre.”

The Back of the Hymn Book

The art of composition

According to Francis H. Jenks, "William Billings...stands in our musical history as the first self-taught native composer." (The New England Magazine. Volume 17, Issue 5, January 1895) There will always be those who tout William Billings as some kind of eccentric native genius, yet all the while lamenting "What a god-send it would have been to him, what would he not have thought, what possibly have done, had there, by any chance, fallen into his hands some fugues or other compositions, some harmonized chorals even, of Sebastian Bach or Handel!" (The Atlantic Monthly - "Our Dark Age in Music" - Volume 50, Issue 302, December 1882) But such training can ruin as well as enhance genius. I am quite satisfied with undiluted, straight-up Billings.

"Perhaps it may be expected that I should say something concerning Rules of Composition; to those I answer that Nature is the best dictator, for not all the hard, dry, studied rules that ever was prescribed, will not enable any person to form an air...It must be Nature, Nature who must lay the foundation. Nature must inspire the thought...For my own Part, as I don't think myself confined to any Rules of Composition, laid down by any that went before me, neither should I think (were I to pretend to lay down Rules) that any one who came after me were in any ways obligated to adhere to them, any further than they should think proper; so in fact I think it best for every Composer to be his own Carver.

"Perhaps some may think that I mean and intend to throw Art entirely out of the question. I answer, by no means, for the more art is displayed, the more Nature is decorated. And in some sorts of composition there is dry study required, and art very requisite. For instance, in a fugue, where the parts come in after each other with the same notes, but even here, art is subservient to genius, for fancy goes first and strikes out the work roughly, and art comes after and polishes it over." (From the writings of William Billings)

Writing songs

For almost 30 years I have been "piddling" with the hobby of writing songs. Not that writing songs is a waste of time; but mine might be. I do not consider myself a songwriter, but rather someone who enjoys experimenting with songs and songwriting. All my attempts, save one, are intended to be "Sacred Harp style" songs (that is, songs for Sacred Harp singers).

My oldest left in written record, though undated, is from around 1980. It is not an original composition. It is an arrangement merging parts of Old Hundred and Coronation. "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow, and crown Him Lord of all, &c." I'll called it New Fifty!* ;-) Following two more arrangements, in 1982 I tried to put down on paper an original tune that I had been singing to myself for awhile. I guess it had some redeeming value, and, with help from the Sacred Harp Book Committee, it remains my only published piece to date. Within a couple of weeks I had churned out another one. After that the process became a sporadic one, with about a dozen from then to 1993. Nothing to write home about -- a few that may be decent and some that shouldn't ever see the light of day. These are songs that actually reached completion. I also have this or that idea scrawled on various pieces of paper that I may or may not be able to find. I have no record of any completed tunes between 1993 and 2004. I'm not sure what I was doing. But recently -- the last 5 months -- I have gone on a spree that includes 14 completed tunes to date (and several unfinished). I really like a few of them, some bear the harsh metrical reality of being framed with no particular text in mind, some are mere exercises in curiosity, and some, well...are just bad. Some are directly inspired by another tune -- e.g. "Legion" is a minor tune inspired by "Unchanging Hand"** -- while many may reveal subconscious imitation of what I like best in songs and hymns. Don't hold your breath waiting for my chef-d'oeuvre. You might asphyxiate.

I admire those who have turned out masterful works of musical art. In the Sacred Harp field folks like B.F. White, M.M. Wynne, J.P. Rees, Edmund Dumas, Sarah Lancaster Hagler, A.M. Cagle, O.A. Parris, T.J. Allen, John W. Miller and on and on -- and many who are still living. As for myself, I am a plodder. I have little training in music and less in composing. I guess that never stopped a fool from rushing in where angels fear to tread. But the process is enjoyable, cathartic, and engages the mind in better pursuits than others it could be wasted on. Try it; you'll like it. Jump in. You'll learn to float, swim -- or drown.

I am not a rebel, but I'm not much of a follower of musical rules. Some I know and don't prefer. Some I don't know. For example, a standard rule in musical composition is to avoid parallel fifths and parallel octaves. Another is that the voices should not cross (alto should not go above the soprano, nor tenor above alto, etc.). Meanwhile, I write horizontally more so than vertically -- looking for four decent tunes that can be sung together rather than three parts that bring out a fourth part, the melody. I do not particularly conceive of the composition vertically, or as writing harmonies. I conceive of the task more horizontally, or as writing melodies. While I don’t want the tune to be an absolute vain jangling of inharmonious sound, I seek to write four parts that I think I would enjoy singing. I seek for the bulk of the tune to be concords, and confine discords usually to passing tones. To me anything but 2nd and 7th is concord. I tend toward the pentatonic scale when writing major, not using or using sparingly the fa (4th in the scale) and mi (7th in the scale). I don't use accidentals. While they may not be anathema to shape note, they are at least a nuisance.

I guess some things are or come close to being rules for me. These are generally attempts to follow the main framework of Sacred Harp tradition. Songs begin and end with a full measure; bass always ends on the tonic; minor tunes always end on the 1-5 dyad (or unison); the standard moods of time are 3 common, 2 triple and 2 compound (2/2, 4/4, 2/4, 3/2, 3/4, 6/4 and 6/8). I guess everything else in up in the air. The spirit of Billings should be good guide for composers – "I don’t think myself confin’d to any Rules for Composition laid down by any that went before me...I think it is best for every Composer to be his own Carver...Nature is the best dictator, for not all the hard, dry, studied rules that ever was prescribed, will not enable any person to form an air." Maybe you'll just naturally carve out something that no man has ever carved before.

An example of a recent attempt, dedicated to the Houston (TX) area singers

Above song © 2009. Click on the image to see a larger version

* Most of my tune names have serious underpinnings, but some, like "New Fifty", may seem a little silly. Some do not reveal the underpinning, as Ogilvie, the brand name of a hair permanent whose sweet fragrance was aromatizing the house while I was writing the tune with that name. A tune needs its own name in case it be separated from the words and joined to another.
** Hold To God's Unchanging Hand by Jennie Wilson (words), F. L. Eiland and Clyde Williams (music).
Hold To God's Unchanging Hand sung by Russ Taff is not exactly like we sang it, but will give you an idea. Another version, by Pastor Jerome Jackson
Some may be able to access a score HERE if you have the right software.

Iowa Baptist history

Some Iowa Baptist history by Brother Josh Davenport, including an 8 minute video presentation at the end of the post.

My, my

If liberal tampering with the Bible weren't enough, here come the conservatives! Conservative politically, that is. Blessed are the conservative in Bible translation tells of political conservatives who want to rinse parts of the Bible to cleanse it from things that might favor the liberals, politically.

Timothy Paul Jones, a professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville -- who calls himself a theological conservative -- says, "This is not making scripture understandable to people today, it's reworking scripture to support a particular political or social agenda." The reply of Andy Schlafly, founder of Conservapedia.com, surely sounds as if they have a political agenda. He says, "The phrase 'theological conservative' does not mean that someone is politically conservative."

Ugh.

Searchable hymn index

Timeless Truths Free Online Library

The music section allows the user to sort by lyrics, tune, author, subject, key, etc. The site appears to be affiliated with the Church of God holiness non-denominational body, founded in 1881 by Daniel Sidney Warner. The hymns probably lean toward that tradition, but probably include many that are familiar to all.

Thy lovingkindness

Psalm 48:9-10 (metrically arranged) 9s.

We have thought of thy lovingkindness
O God, in the midst of thy temple.
According to thy name is thy praise,
O God, unto the ends of the earth:
Thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Two Sacred Harp links

Vancouver Sacred Harp: Shapenote singing in the Lower Mainland is a new Sacred Harp blog site.

Compositions in the Style of the Sacred Harp on silversand.org currently contains 46 tunes by four different composers -- Lauren Bock, Aldo Thomas Ceresa, Gregory Mulkern, and Jesse Pearlman Karlsberg.

(and a third added later: Shapenote Singing in the U K

The glory of God in creation and providence

The glory of God in creation and providence.

My soul, thy great Creator praise:
When clothed in His celestial rays,
He in full majesty appears,
And, like a robe, His glory wears.
Great is the Lord, what tongue can frame
An equal honor to His name?

In Thee my hopes and wishes meet,
And make my meditations sweet;
Thy praises shall my breath employ,
Till it expire in endless joy.
Great is the Lord, what tongue can frame
An equal honor to His name?

Singing in the Heights

The 6th Annual Heights Sacred Harp Singing will be held Saturday, December 5, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Heights Church of Christ on 1548 Heights Blvd. in Houston, Texas. Singing will be from both the 2006 (Cooper) Revision and 1991 (Denson) Revision. Loaner books will be available. Dinner will be provided by the church and local singers.

Note: there will not be a singing school at 9:00 this year as in years past. This differs from the information at the link above.

Houston Heights is an historic suburb of Houston dating back to the 1890s. The building in which we will sing was designed in 1924 by notable Houston architect Alfred Finn.

Random truth quotes

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell

"How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." -- Abraham Lincoln

"Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit." -- Edward R. Murrow

"Son, always tell the truth. Then you'll never have to remember what you said the last time." -- Sam Rayburn

Righteousness

Psalm 141:3 - Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

"Doing righteousness does not constitute one righteous before God, but proves that a man is already righteous before Him, and that he is already born of Him." --Elder P. T. Oliphant, 1914

We plow the fields and scatter

We plow the fields, and scatter
the good seed on the land,
but it is fed and watered
by God's almighty hand;
He sends the snow in winter,
the warmth to swell the grain,
the breezes and the sunshine,
and soft refreshing rain.
Refrain:
All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above,
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
for all His love.

He only is the Maker
of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower,
He lights the evening star;
the winds and waves obey Him,
by Him the birds are fed;
much more to us, His children,
He gives our daily bread. Refrain

We thank Thee, then, O Father,
for all things bright and good,
the seed time and the harvest,
our life, our health, and food;
no gifts have we to offer,
for all Thy love imparts,
and, what Thou most desirest,
our humble, thankful hearts. Refrain

Words: Matthias Claudius, 1782;
trans. Jane Montgomery Campbell, 1861

Happy Day set aside for thanks

I Thessalonians 5:18 - In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

God's people ought to be thankful people.
God's people ought to be thankful at all times.
God's people ought to be thankful in everything.

May you and yours have a blessed day tomorrow.

Random music articles/sites

The IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library is a free public domain sheet music library that has been online since February 2006. According to their site, their "goal is to create a virtual library containing all public domain music scores, as well as scores from composers who are willing to share their music with the world without charge."

Sixty-Sixth State Gospel Singing Convention Takes "Shape" in Dothan (October, 1996) by Stephen Grauberger

Wiregrass Sacred Harp Singers (Southern Alabama)

Evangelical Lutheran split

We've not heard as much as this in the news as with the Episcopal Church a few years ago. But the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will probably split over gay marriage. In August the ELCA voted to allow gay and lesbian pastors. More conservative Lutherans will probably form a new denomination within the next year.

(It takes them much longer to split than it does Baptists!)

God's condescension to human affairs

Hymn 46

Up to the Lord, that reigns on high,
And views the nations from afar,
Let everlasting praises fly,
And tell how large his bounties are.

He that can shake the worlds he made,
Or with his word, or with his rod,
His goodness, how amazing great!
And what a condescending God!

God, that must stoop to view the skies,
And bow to see what angels do,
Down to our earth he casts his eyes,
And bends his footsteps downwards too.

He overrules all mortal things,
And manages our mean affairs;
On humble souls the King of kings
Bestows his counsels and his cares.

Our sorrows and our tears we pour
Into the bosom of our God;
He hears us in the mournful hour,
And helps us bear the heavy load.

In vain might lofty princes try
Such condescension to perform;
For worms were never raised so high
Above their meanest fellow worm.

O could our thankful hearts devise
A tribute equal to thy grace,
To the third heav'n our songs should rise,
And teach the golden harps thy praise.

Isaac Watts

Taylor on call to preach

From John Taylor's History of Ten Baptist Churches:
"The next winter I travelled to South Carolina, either to live there, or get him to return with me. We returned in the spring, and the church called me forward to preach, at which I have continued for more than fifty years...I have said above I could get no satisfactory answer, as to my call to the ministry. My present impressions are, that the call lies in a good man's motives to the work, and the call of the church. If a christian has preaching talents, and the church says preach, he may go on safely. This is my call, and for no other do I look at present, though in my youth I laboured long for evidences of my call, of which a visionary something would then have satisfied me.

"I have said, a good motive to the work, and the call of the church, is all sufficient as to a man's authority to preach the gospel. By a good motive to the work, I understand, the man's own soul must be converted, for except he is born again, he cannot have a spiritually good motive, and is what Paul designs, by 'the husbandman that laboureth must first be partaker of the fruit.'

"It is this produces a desire in him, after what Paul calls a good work -- this is a feeling sensibility in him, that 'one man's soul is worth more than all the world,' and while the love of Christ constrains him, he will very gladly, or readily, spend and be spent, for the salvation of his fellow men. All this I felt for many months, to the amount of robbing me both of sleep and food; and adding to that the voice of the church -- but all did not satisfy me, for I was not called as the ancient prophets and apostles were, but to glorify God, and benefit men, is the sole ground of the ministerial motive, and there is no self serving, in all this sacred business -- in all this I have felt conscious for more than half a century.
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"My own belief is, that none properly understands the gospel or voice of the shepherd, but his sheep, or the true christian. Therefore the voice of the church is very essential; in the call to the ministry, the bridegroom is out of the way; what the bride does in his absence, should be valid. The church ought to act under great responsibility, being accountable to the chief shepherd at his return; so help us Lord, that we may all have boldness in the day of judgement [sic]. The instruments of my encouragement, in my early days. I had three gospel fathers, to-wit : William Marshall, the instrument of my first awakening and convertion; James Ireland, the man who baptized me, and under whose pastoral care I lived for some time; and Joseph Reding, under whose care, and with whom I travelled near ten years, before I was a married man; all these men seemed tender towards me, as if I was their natural Son.

"But the greatest instrument of my encouragement after all, was the Bible itself -- there I saw the whole will of God at once; in point of both practice and opinion, what I saw in this heaven born book, I received as the voice of God to me, and was the invaluable guide of my whole man, both in motive and acctions; to this I appeal in all controversy, and by this I expect to be judged at the last day."

Hear what the Lord hath spoken

Hear what God the Lord hath spoken,
"O my people, faint and few,
Comfortless, afflicted, broken,
Fair abodes I build for you:
Themes of heartfelt tribulation
Shall no more perplex your ways;
You shall name your walls, Salvation,
And your gates shall all be praise.

"There, like streams that feed the garden,
Pleasures, without end, shall flow,
For the Lord, your faith rewarding,
All His bounty shall bestow;
Still in undisturbed possession
Peace and righteousness shall reign;
Never shall you feel oppression,
Hear the voice of war again.

"Ye no more your suns descending,
Waning moons no more shall see;
But your griefs forever ending,
Find eternal noon in Me:
God shall rise, and shining o'er you,
Change to day the gloom of night;
He, the Lord, shall be your Glory,
God your everlasting Light."

William Cowper (1731-1800)
Olney Hymns, 1779

Arcadian

arcadian
adjective: Idyllically pastoral: simple, peaceful.
noun: One leading a simple rural life.

"After Arcadia, a region of ancient Greece whose residents were believed to have led quiet, unsophisticated lives of peace and happiness."

chadwickivester

Interesting thoughts by Chadwick Ivester says that LifeWay’s™ Latest Poll Reveals the Redefining of the Role of Pastor.
Lifeway article
Blog on the study

Toward a definition

Below are miscellaneous quotations dealing with the definition of "gospel song"/"gospel hymn". These are materials I gathered in trying to understand what others are saying about "gospel songs" and how they define them. There is a wide variety of usage of the terms.

"In comparison with hymns, which are generally of a statelier measure, the gospel song is expected to have a refrain and often a more syncopated rhythm." -- Wikipedia

"The folk hymn is known by its musical character. The melody, and it is usually assigned to the tenor, is often in one of the ancient modal scales. Certain tones are omitted or less conspicuously employed, giving the impression of a gapped scale of five or six notes." -- American Hymns Old and New, Vol. 2. Albert Christ-Janer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980, p. 293)

"The gospel hymn was developed to meet the needs of revival and prayer meetings...The mood of the text might be optimistic or pleading; the music was tuneful and easy to grasp. The rudimentary harmonies, the use of the chorus, the varied metric schemes, and the motor rhythms were characteristic. A marchlike movement as in 'Shall We Gather at the River' was especially typical. The device of letting the lower parts echo rhythmically a motive announced by the sopranos became a mannerism which was abused by later writers...The best of the gospel hymns have a direct simplicity which has appealed to singers ever since the appearance of the first gospel hymnals." (He places George F. Root among the earlier composers of the style.) -- American Hymns Old and New, Vol. 2. Albert Christ-Janer. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980, pp. 365-66)

Gospel songs revolve around the seminal three chords: the I, IV, and V chords. The first phrase very often ends on the V chord and the second phrase resolves back to the I-chord. -- Pierce Phillips

In close harmony, the alto and tenor parts largely parallel the melody so that all three parts may be played on a keyboard, while the bass part, though not melodically tied to the soprano, fulfills a harmonic function. This describes the hymn tunes of Mason, Hastings, Bradbury, etc. as well as much early gospel music, especially of the more homophonic variety. -- paraphrase of Warren Steel

"Variety notwithstanding, by the end of the twentieth century there were three main streams of gospel music stylistically, each with various subsets. The oldest is usually called gospel song or gospel hymnody. By the twenty-first century, it might be called traditional gospel, or, more properly, historic gospel, for from it flow the other two streams of black gospel and Southern gospel.

"Traditional gospel grew out of the Northern, urban revival tradition of evangelist Dwight L. Moody and his songleader/soloist Ira D. Sankey in the 1870s, and it remained the dominant musical style of revivalist-oriented churches for more than a century. Its rhythmic, melodic and harmonic structures were rooted in the European tradition of music composition and performance....The music was melodically tuneful, employing eighth notes more often than the slower-feeling quarters. Compound meters, particularly 6/8, were characteristic, producing a lilting quality for which gospel hymnody became famous (as in, for example, "Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine"). The melodic range was designed for congregational song and was therefore limited to that of the untrained voice from about middle C to top-line F. Harmonies were generally primary triads, although secondary triads, borrowed minor chords, and secondary dominants became part of the harmonic vocabulary. The often-published characterization of gospel music employing 'barbershop' harmonies is inaccurate, however.

"Most characteristic of the gospel song was a contagious chorus or refrain that summed up the text's meaning in a succinct and memorable manner. The opening words of the refrain were usually the name of the song, unlike older hymns that were identifed by their opening words. The precedent for these choruses was the secular 'household' or 'parlor' song, composed by Stephen Foster and others. In fact, many of the first generation gospel hymnists such as George F. Root were successful composers of secular music in the verse/chorus mode. p. 293

"Aldine S. Kieffer was perhaps the single most important figure in the birth of Southern gospel music." p. 215, Encyclopedia of American gospel music by W. K. McNeil

"Gospel as a separate musical art form emerged primarily in the South and, as one music historian has argued, stands alongside jazz, blues, and country music as 'the fourth great genre of grass roots music' and 'the fourth major type of southern music'." p. 4, Close harmony: a history of southern gospel by James R. Goff

"12. The 'Gospel' Hymn...It came at last into world prominence with the work of the Evangelist Moody and his musical colleague, Ira D. Sankey, which was actively pursued in the United States and Britain during the 1870s, 1880s, and 1890s...widely circulated [in] Songs and Solos...drawing largely on a type of tune that had already become popular in the United States, the type with a lively rhythm and a harmonization consisting of little more than alternations of the three chief chords of the key (tonic, dominant, and subdominant). To this type the American W. B. Bradbury (1816-1868) had been a considerable contributor...When its history comes to be studied it will probably be found that behind Sankey and Moody lies the powerful influence of the American Camp Meeting." -- p. 504, The Oxford Companion to Music by Percy A. Scholes (10th edition revised and edited by John Owen Ward), London: Oxford University Press, 1975

"Musically, the typical gospel song is in a major key, in common (4/4) time, with numerous repeated notes in a melody that is more interesting than the parts that accompany it." p. 288 "Gospel songs of this type often display repetitive rhythmic and melodic features and rudimentary antiphonal and responsorial textures." -- p. 300, A Portion for the Singers, R. Paul Drummond, Christian Baptist Press, 1989

"The gospel song seems to embody all that the old Sacred Harp songs did not: close harmony, the use of accidentals, and in some cases the concentration of melodic interest into a single part." -- p. 153, Public Worship, Private Faith, John Bealle