I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
….and he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
….out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
….and steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
….a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
….They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:1-3 NLT
There are times when I feel it’s just better to share a psalm to open my writing time and tonight was one to those times. As I read through the text, as is often the case, it brought a song to mind, an old hymn to be exact.
The hymn is entitled, He Brought Me Out. The text was written by Henry J. Zelley in 1898 with its refrain penned by Henry Gilmour, who by the way also wrote its tune.
This particular hymn became a favorite of mine in my youth. Growing up in the Church of the Nazarene, at least in the area in which I lived, we added some extra words to the refrain… (they are noted in the brackets)
He brought me out of the [deep] miry clay,
He set my feet on the [solid] Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my [happy] soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
It has a very upbeat tune while clearly proclaiming truths of our salvation.
So many of the songs we sing both traditional and contemporary convey the truth of scripture giving us a means of praising God for His mighty attributes, as well as, giving vibrant testimony of the transforming work of God in our lives. Our music also encourages us to pass along those things – God’s attributes and our testimony – to the world around us.
Living out our faith is key! Being a facsimile of that faith is not nearly as impacting! The world needs a genuine article, not a cheap copy. Just going through the motions accomplishes very little but even the smallest things we do that are the real deal can have life long-lasting influence on the people we interact with day-in and day-out.
We were born in sin and could not escape on our own – the deep miry clay.
But thanks be to God, He brought us out and set our feet on the solid rock to stay.
And because of that, He puts a song in our happy soul today…a song of praise, hallelujah!
If we do that…
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
….They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:3 NLT
(If you’d like to hear a pretty decent rendition of it, click the title below to listen to a video of the First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren, Arkansas singing it – though they don’t add the extra text.)
My heart was distressed
’Neath Jehovah’s dread frown,
And low in the pit where my sins dragged me down;
I cried to the Lord from the deep miry clay,
Who tenderly brought me out to golden day.
Refrain
He brought me out of the miry clay,
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
He placed me upon the strong Rock by His side,
My steps were established and here I’ll abide;
No danger of falling while here I remain,
But stand by His grace until the crown I gain.
Refrain
He gave me a song, ’twas a new song of praise;
By day and by night its sweet notes I will raise;
My heart’s overflowing, I’m happy and free.
I’ll praise my Redeemer, who has rescued me.
Refrain
I’ll sing of His wonderful mercy to me,
I’ll praise Him till all men His goodness shall see;
I’ll sing of salvation at home and abroad,
Till many shall hear the truth and trust in God.
Refrain
Apr 22nd, 2021, Thurs, 8:40 pm
