"Amazing Grace" is my new favorite movie. The soundtrack is just beautiful. I was listening as I cleaned the kitchen, and this song just pricked my heart, and my worship of Him just flowed out of me.
I needed to see the lyrics, so here they are:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Refrain
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Refrain
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Refrain
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This is the version I'm listening to at the moment:
I'm so in love with hymns right now.
Maybe it's because we're singing hymns at church right now. Maybe it's because I see the beauty of these old hymns in a way I haven't seen before. Maybe it's because they seem so refreshing and inspiring after years of singing "contemporary" songs. (Now I don't dislike contemporary worship songs. That's not what this is about.)
Maybe it was singing "I Surrender All" and it
NOT being during an extended invitation at the end of a message that led me to the beauty and simplicity of that song and reminded me of how much I love these hymns I sang so absentmindedly as a kid and young adult.
I'm so glad my kids are being exposed to them. I LOVE that they heard "I'll Fly Away" for the first time last week and said it was their new favorite song. I'm so thankful for these simple expressions of devotion. I mean "Trust and Obey"? That will preach. To me, anyway...
I mean come on...
When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way;
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey,
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear,
Not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
But we never can prove
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do;
Where He sends. we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.
In my church growing up, we sang "How Great Thou Art" to close every single service. A way to run song clear in the ground must be to sing it too much. (I'm sure this was done with good intent. It is a good song. Maybe it deserves to be sung at the close of every service.) It closes out the "Amazing Grace" soundtrack and as I listened with fresh ears, I got chills and tears.
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
One more:
(May I add that when I sing to myself, in my head, I sound just like Carrie Underwood? So glad I nailed down of whom I remind myself.)
I'm on a hymn rampage. I can't get enough. And I think I stole a hymnal from our old church. Or perhaps I was given the hymnal when our church bought new ones. Yeah, I'm going with that. Anyway, I'm about to locate that sucker and sing aloud these great hymns as part of my worship this week. And you know what? I'm going to sing every single 3rd stanza.
