Old Hymns

Every once in a while I find the lyrics to some old church hymn stuck in my head. Hymns that aren't sung much in churches today, in part because times have changed, in part because some of them just weren't that good. They are also absent because we find the words or message unsettling or they harken back to a life of suffering and destitution that we find it hard to relate to.

I never cared much for the music of "When the roll is called up yonder", but the lyrics are beautiful. It was typically played in a quick tempo but I think it comes across best when played very slowly and there is time to contemplate each phrase. All of human history and all our activity is a road to that first sentence in the first stanza.

"When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more,
And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair;
When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.


On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise,
And the glory of his resurrection share;
When his chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there.


Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun,
Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care;
Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done,
And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there."

It is not the greatest of hymns, but it's a very good, and stuck in my head this 30th day of September. The greatest of hymns, that is reserved for this one where both lyrics and music seem to be from beyond this realm....

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!


My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad, the honors of Thy name.


Jesus! the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears, ’tis life, and health, and peace.


He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me.


He speaks, and, listening to His voice, new life the dead receive,
The mournful, broken hearts rejoice, The humble poor believe.


Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come, and leap, ye lame, for joy.


Glory to God, and praise and love be ever, ever given,
By saints below and saints above, the church in earth and heaven.