Tag: revival

Before the throne of God above

Image from everipedia.com
original source unknown

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Before the throne of God above”.  I have sung this plenty of times in churches, and as the music is in contemporary style (actually credited to Vikki Cook, 1997) I assumed the words were also recently written, even if some words such as “graven” and “thence” are a bit archaic – but then there are ‘contemporary’ churches that still use the Lord’s Prayer in its old form. The language is otherwise quite similar to that used by Stuart Townend, for example, as the theme is that of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for our redemption. 

But no, the words were written as a poem by Charitie de Chenez who was born as long ago as 1841. You can hear it read as a poem online. Wikipedia tells us that she was born Charitie Lees Smith (a less exotic name for this Victorian Irishwoman), and she was a well known religious poet of her time. This particular poem was written in 1863 in response to the 1859 Ulster Revival (of which I admit I had not heard previously). The modern tune fits well with the mood of the old words, the high notes of the middle lines being set to phrases such as “my name is written on his heart”, “my sinful soul is counted free” and “my life is hid with Christ on high”. I enjoy singing this hymn, and can well imagine it being belted out at a revival meeting.

Restore, O Lord

Today’s hymn from Sing Praise is “Restore, O Lord, the honour of your name” by Graham Kendrick and Chris Rolinson.  This is another of Kendrick’s 1980s hymns that has stood the test of time, both for its memorable tune, and because it addresses ideas that don’t lose their relevance.  

When planning the allocation of the hymns across the year I wasn’t paying attention to the daily lectionary, but John in his video noted the link between the theme of this hymn and the book of Ezekiel which is being read at Morning Prayer for the next few weeks.  Both are about restoration from times of trouble.   Ezekiel spoke to the Jewish exiles who had lost their homeland and maybe were in danger of losing their hope in God.  The hymn speaks to Christians today who have, perhaps, lost a sense of God being with us and working through us, and we also may risk losing our hope in God himself.

The first verse calls for God to restore his own honour, by works of power that make everyone realise he is the one in control.  Since the hymn was written, there has of course been a great increase in the number of people concerned for the future of human society, not least because of the climate crisis.  People of faith long for God to step in and put things right, but we are working with others who have no religious conviction, who can only call for everyone to do their bit “for the sake of the planet”. The challenge for us Christian environmentalists is to work with them on the practical actions we can take, without losing faith that God somehow has a bigger plan that indeed “his kingdom shall outlast the years”.

The second verse acknowledges that it is not only God’s apparent lack of action that leads to earthly problems, but the Church’s own failings.  We call on him to “revive in our time the church that bears your name” and to have mercy on our failings.  We have failed to move with the times, lost a whole generation of adults who no longer have any connection with Christianity (though some find spirituality in other forms), and often lost hope that they will ever come back. It needs a movement of God’s Spirit, not just our own good intentions, to reclaim that lost ground for Christ.

The third verse move from the corporate to the individual level. “Bend us, O Lord, when we are hard and cold, in your refiner’s fire come purify the gold” is the cry of anyone who realises they have lost their love for God and enthusiasm for worship and witness.  There is perhaps a mixed metaphor in these lines, both of a hard iron rod needing to be heated in the fire to make it malleable, and of a gold alloy that can be purified by melting out the impurities.  Both are meaningful images, as we  need both to be purified of our sins, and heated with love for God, before we can truly hope in him. It recognises also the reality of suffering and evil, which in their many forms prevent us from fulfilling our potential as people and as God’s servants.

The last line (unless you repeat verse 1 as suggested in the book), is also a message of hope: “still our living God is reigning, he is reigning here”.  Unbelieved by many outside the Church, unacknowledged in practice by many within it, our hearts hardened by sin and worldly worries, yet God is still reigning, and hears us when we call on him for restoration.

The Bible in a Year – 4 October

If this is your first viewing, please see my Introduction before reading this.

4 October. 2 Chronicles chapters 30-32

Today we read of the triumphs (at least the religious ones) of king Hezekiah. Since the reign of Azariah in chapter 22 there has been a fundamental rift between the northern and southern kingdoms.  In chapter 30 Hezekiah attempts to heal this, not politically but religiously, as he encourages all the tribes once again to celebrate the Passover together as in days of old.  But apart from a few individuals, the northerners in Israel scoff at his messengers and fail to come to the feast.  Maybe that was in Jesus’ mind when he told the parable of a banquet to which those who were invited refused to come (Luke 14: I will be preaching on that at our Harvest Festival this Sunday).

Nevertheless, for those who do come, and for the people of Judah, this is a great feast – held a month late, but for two weeks instead of the usual one.  Many of those who attend have not carried out the required rituals of preparation, but Hezekiah wisely allows them to participate: “The good Lord pardon all who set their hearts to seek God, the Lord the God of their ancestors, even though not in accordance with the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness” (30:19).  That echoes the frequent debates heard in churches about who should be admitted to Holy Communion – only those baptised or confirmed as adults, or anyone baptised (even as an infant), or anyone who says they believe in Jesus?  Hezekiah would have been with the inclusive churches.

Many seem to have been ‘converted’ (or had their faith ‘refreshed’) at this Passover. Afterwards, they are inspired to go home and tear down the ‘high places’ – the remaining pagan shrines in their territory – and to make generous donations of animals and produce to the Temple.   It does tend to be at large gatherings, when religious fervour is stirred up, that people are moved to go and take action, change their lives, repent of practices they are now convinced are wrong, or share their faith with others.  The call to give sacrificially to the cause also tends to get a good response in such gatherings.

That is why ‘revivals’ are based on well advertised meetings in large venues with well known speakers or ‘miracle workers’, while quieter forms of evangelism are carried on week by week in small groups and one-to-one conversations.  Both are equally valid, and which one will “work” for an individual will depend as much on their own personality type as anything.  The only caution is that sometimes the religious fervour of the newly converted can spill over into insensitive pressurising of others to commit to the faith, something that really should be an unpressurised decision.

This religious triumph is followed in chapter 32 by a military challenge: the Assyrians under Sennacherib attack Judean towns and threaten Jerusalem itself.   But a combination of fervent prayer for deliverance led by the prophet Isaiah, and the wise tactical step of cutting off the invading army’ water supply, sends Sennacherib packing back to his homeland and to his death.  So with the country of Judah in the grip of a religious revival, and deliverance from the enemy, Hezekiah earns his places as one of the greatest kings of Judah.