Robert J. Morgan - Then Sings My Soul Book 3: The Story of Our Songs: Drawing Strength from the Great Hymns of Our Faith

THEN
SINGS
MY SOUL

BOOK 3

ROBERT J. MORGAN

2011 Robert J. Morgan

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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TLB are from The Living Bible. 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, IL. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available

ISBN-13: 978-0-8499-4713-1

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 LB 6 5 4 3 2 1

TO
Miranda

Contents

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
Alleluia! Alleluia!

T he largest creatures known to have inhabited our planetthe size of Boeing jets with hearts as big as Volkswagensare still prowling our globe today. Bigger than the dinosaurs of old, these monsters weigh about 150 tons each. Thats comparable to twenty-three elephants glued together; and, in fact, just the tongue of one of these creatures weighs as much as a grown elephant. Fifty people could line up on it.

Though endangered, about ten thousand of these creaturesGiant Blue Whalesstill roam the oceanic lanes of earth. And they are always hungry. Each of these leviathans eats five tons of fish a day (they love shrimp). They glide open-mouthed through the seas, taking in as much as fifty tons of water in a single gulp.

Since whales are mammals, Giant Blues give birth to their young; and one newborn will guzzle about fifty gallons of mothers milk a day. During the first several weeks of life, these little balls of blubber gain ten pounds an hour.

And you thought your child was growing fast!

Most amazing to me, these denizens of the sea are the operatic superstars of the oceans. Just as birds fill the skies with their songs, Giant Blues do the same in the deep. I recently listened to an almost-giddy scientist who unexpectedly eavesdropped on Blue Whales singing off the coast of New York City. He could hardly describe the thrill of hearing them through his sonar equipment. Giant Blue Whales have a unique series of very low, very long notes, and their voices reverberate mysteriously through the ocean. They sing with greater decibels than a jetliner taking off, and the sound of their voice travels up to five hundred miles through the water.

Learning that, I couldnt help thinking of Psalm 148:7, which says:

xii

All Creatures of Our God and King

Praise the LORD from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all ocean depths.

Psalm 148 is one of my favorite passages because it calls on all creation to sing praises to the Lordin the air, on the land, beneath the seas. The angels are commanded to sing. The sun and moon, the stars of light, fire and hail, snow and cloudsall are made for Gods glory. Mountains and hills, fruitful trees and cedars; beasts and cattle; creeping things and flying fowllet them praise the name of the Lord.

And us too!

Kings of the earth and all peoples;

Princes and all judges of the earth;

Both young men and maidens;

Old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,

For His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and

heaven. (verses 1113 NKJV)

This is the psalm that inspired Saint Francis of Assisi to compose his great poem Canticle to Brother Son (Cantico Di Frater Sole) which is paraphrased into English as All Creatures of Our God and King. Its among my favorite hymns, because, like the psalmist, St. Francis exuberantly calls on all creation to sing Gods praise:

All creatures of our God and King

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him... !

Thou rushing wind that art so strong

Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,

O praise Him... !

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,

Make music for thy Lord to hear,

O praise Him... !

Dear mother earth, who day by day

Unfoldest blessings on our way,

O praise Him... !

Let all things their Creator bless,

And worship Him in humbleness,

O praise Him... !

What St. Francis could not have realized in his medieval era is that scientists have now catalogued approximately 5,400 species of singing animals. Some creatures even show the capacity of learning songs, improvising melodies, and composing new tunes.

Theres an unusual strain of wild dog in New Guinea famous for its singing. The New Guinea Singing Dogs, one of the rarest breeds on earth, werent discovered until the 1950s. Theyre noted for their unique howling vocalizations. When they sing, they do so with different tones and pitches, filling our ears with harmonies like a barbershop quartet.

God created this universe with a capacity for song, from the tiny cricket to the massive Blue Whale, and all creation is designed to sing His praises. I dont want to be left out; and I dont want us to leave out the great hymns of the faiththat vast two-thousand-year repertoire of music that reverberates through the ages, for God inhabits the praises of His people.

This bookthe last in the Then Sings My Soul trilogyis designed to keep the story and the songs of our Christian hymnody alive for the next generation. The first two installments, Then Sings My Soul and Then Sings My Soul Book 2, contain the stories of our timeless and best-loved hymns. This volume provides an overarching span across the centuries of Christian song. Here youll find the rest of the storyhow God has kept us singing from the Red Sea to the return of Christ. (The first biblical hymn is in Exodus 15, when the Israelites were delivered from Egypt; the last is in Revelation 19, at the moment of Christs second coming.)

My deepest thanks goes to all the hymn-lovers who have paved the way for this volumeand to Thomas Nelson Publishers. Ive had a publishing relationship with Nelson since 1996. Few authors are privileged with such a long history with the same company; and Ive had nothing but happy relations with all my friends and colleagues there. Matt Baugher at Nelson conceived the idea for this edition of Then Sings, and Im honored to work with him and his blue-ribbon team. The senior editor for this project, Adria Haley, is the best!