Month: November 2023

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We Gather Together – Hymns for Giving Thanks

Scripture Focus: Psalm 91:1-4
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

Reflection: We Gather Together – Hymns for Giving Thanks
By Jon Polk

How did a Dutch patriotic song from the late sixteenth century, celebrating the Netherlands’ freedom from Spanish rule, become one of the hymns most often associated with American Thanksgiving?

The opening line of We Gather Together surely influenced its usage as a Thanksgiving hymn.

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing

Written by Dutch poet and composer Adrianus Valerius in 1597, the hymn was not translated into English in the United States until it was adapted by Theodore Baker in 1894.

Originally, the hymn celebrated the end of the Dutch War of Independence from Spain. The opening line highlighted the fact that under Spanish rule, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. The hymn specifically gives thanks to God for the end of the conflict, but also speaks generally of God’s providence in all the trials and challenges of life.

He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Theodore Baker, an organist and musicologist from New York, studied for his doctorate in Germany and translated the hymn from German for a new anthem called Prayer for Thanksgiving, thus encouraging its usage at Thanksgiving and for local town celebrations. 

By the first World War, the hymn’s militant language, such as “the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing” and “from the beginning the fight we were winning,” increased its popularity in America during those uncertain times.

The third and final verse, however, speaks more broadly of the cosmic conflict which one day God will bring to a close.

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

The hymn, which at its beginning speaks of the simple blessing of gathering together as Christians to worship God, takes us through a realization that we will experience difficulties in life, and ends with a hopeful resolution that God will ultimately rescue us and make us free. 

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine

This God who rescues us is indeed worthy of praise. This God who frees us is worthy of our gratitude. This God who leads us through the challenges of life is worthy of our humble adoration. 

Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. — Psalm 86.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 17  (Listen 4:14)
Psalms 91 (Listen 1:39)

Tomorrow’s Readings
1 Chronicles 18  (Listen 2:36)
Psalms 92-93 (Listen 2:09)

Read more about A Thanksgiving
Deny me wealth, fear, far remove
The love of power or name;
Hope thrives in straits, in weakness love,
And faith in the world’s shame.

A Thanksgiving

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Bringing in the Sheaves – Hymns for Giving Thanks

Scripture Focus: Psalm 90:14-17
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

Reflection: Bringing in the Sheaves – Hymns for Giving Thanks
By Jon Polk

What are sheaves and why do we need to bring them in?

For those unfamiliar with an agrarian way of life, a sheaf is a bundle of wheat stalks that has been tied together after being harvested.

Following the harvesting and bundling of the wheat, the sheaves are brought into a room for threshing, the process of removing the grain from the wheat and separating out the edible portions from the chaff, the useless stalks.

A good harvest and bountiful crop would be cause for rejoicing.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves. 

Knowles Shaw, born in Ohio in 1834, but raised in Indiana, was a minister in the Christian Church and because of his beautiful voice he was known as the “singing evangelist.” He wrote and composed music and published five song books of his own hymns.

Knowles was a prolific preacher and evangelist, and it is estimated that he baptized over ten thousand people in his lifetime.

Shaw’s most famous composition, Bringing in the Sheaves, was also one of his last and was inspired by Psalm 126:6, “Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

The hymn gives voice to our gratitude for God’s provision, sustenance, and watch care over our lives. In both times of joy and times of sadness, we have a God who blesses our labor and brings the harvest.

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

The singing evangelist Knowles Shaw would have us remember, however, that sowing and reaping in the scriptures is often used as a metaphor for sharing the gospel message.

When we come together as family and friends to celebrate and give thanks, we can easily get lost in the bounty of the provision and forget about the God who provided. Instead, may our thanksgiving be a testament to those around us of the faith we have in God’s providential care. May the sheaves we gather represent the impact our own generosity has on those around us.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation say forever, “Great is the Lord!” — Psalm 70.4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 16  (Listen 5:21)
Psalms 90 (Listen 2:03)

Read more about A Prayer of Harvesters
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few…”
There is much work to be done, Lord.
Send us to the field—into our cities.

A Prayer of Harvesters — Guided Prayer

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Count Your Blessings – Hymns for Giving Thanks

Scripture Focus: Psalm 89:14-16
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.

From John: We are thankful to have more music-themed devotionals from Jon Polk this week. Leading up to Thanksgiving, Jon will take us through some hymns for giving thanks.

Reflection: Count Your Blessings – Hymns for Giving Thanks
By Jon Polk

Johnson Oatman, Jr. was born near Medford, New Jersey in 1856. His father, Johnson Oatman, Sr. was widely regarded as an excellent singer with a rich and powerful voice. As a young boy, Johnson Jr. loved to hear his father singing the great hymns of faith.

Johnson longed to sing like his father, but alas he was not gifted with similar vocal abilities. However, he still aspired to serve God with his life.

At the age of nineteen, Oatman joined the Methodist Church and began serving. Soon he was granted a license to preach the gospel and was ordained.

Although Johnson began to preach locally, he never received a permanent church assignment. He continued working for his father’s mercantile business, Johnson Oatman & Son, and took over after his father passed away.

Unable to sing like his father and lacking a permanent pulpit as a preacher, Johnson finally discovered at the age of 36 that he did have a musical talent: songwriting. He wrote prolifically, up to 200 songs a year. Over his lifetime, Oatman penned 5,000 hymns for the church.

Of those scores of hymns, undoubtedly his most famous composition, written in 1897, is the familiar Count Your Blessings. The song encapsulates Oatman’s own life experience.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done

Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your blessings, see what God hath done
Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done

This rollicking hymn soon became so famous that British evangelist Gipsy Smith once said, “Down in South London the men sing it, the boys whistle it, and the women rock their babies to sleep to the tune.”

How often do we think “I wish I could sing like her” or “If only I could share my faith like him” or “I’d love to serve the way they do”?

Oatman’s famous hymn is a reminder to us all that God has blessed us immeasurably and it is up to us to be attentive to the gifts God has given us.

Count your blessings, not your regrets. Number your joys, not your worries. Take stock of your value to God, not your personal disappointments.

Count your blessings, name them one by one, and see what God has done for you.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. — Psalm 103.1-2


– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 15  (Listen 4:38)
Psalms 89 (Listen 5:29)

Read more about Praying Priestly Blessings
As followers of God today, a part of our identity is as carriers of the blessings of God that are intended for the world.

Praying Priestly Blessings

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Returning to Holy Space

Scripture Focus: 1 Chronicles 9.26-33
26 But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God. 27 They would spend the night stationed around the house of God, because they had to guard it; and they had charge of the key for opening it each morning. 
28 Some of them were in charge of the articles used in the temple service; they counted them when they were brought in and when they were taken out. 29 Others were assigned to take care of the furnishings and all the other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the special flour and wine, and the olive oil, incense and spices. 30 But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices. 31 A Levite named Mattithiah, the firstborn son of Shallum the Korahite, was entrusted with the responsibility for baking the offering bread. 32 Some of the Kohathites, their fellow Levites, were in charge of preparing for every Sabbath the bread set out on the table. 
33 Those who were musicians, heads of Levite families, stayed in the rooms of the temple and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night. 

Reflection: Returning to Holy Space
By John Tillman

Chronicles includes genealogies of those who went into exile and those who came out. The chronicler lists those who returned with Ezra and Nehemiah and makes special note of those set apart for tasks related to temple worship.

The chronicler looked back to earlier times, when David and Samuel designated and redesigned the tasks of the Levites who took care of the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle and the temples that followed were complex systems. There were gatekeepers, inventory keepers, bakers, perfumers, and architects tending to the practical needs of the space. There were also artists, musicians, teachers of the law, prophets, poets, and students, tending to the intellectual and spiritual needs of the space.

We don’t sacrifice animals in our modern worship spaces but have other complex logistics and tasks. We rely on professional and volunteer leaders to meet practical, intellectual, and spiritual needs.

The Bible presents an ideal that the place we worship God should be holy and beautiful. The Bible is also honest about the shortcomings of sacred spaces and leaders. Samuel became Israel’s spiritual leader due to corruption in Eli’s family, including financial and sexual abuse.

When Jesus entered the Temple as a babe, it was a place of music and prophecy where Anna and Simeon sang over him. When Jesus entered as a child, it was a place of debate and questions, where he amazed the elders. When Jesus entered as a man, he drove out the grift that had overtaken a space designated for spiritual seekers.

As he set free the doves, perhaps Jesus thought of his impoverished parents offering doves after his birth because they could not afford a lamb. Even in this morally and spiritually compromised space, Jesus’ ministry continued as the blind and lame came to him there for healing, and he taught there regularly.

It is hard and holy work to make space for worship. From sweeping the floor to composing the music, every task in a worship space is glorious in God’s sight. No worship space is perfect in holiness. Like Jesus, we may have a painful history with earthly Temples, the Church. We may be hurt, lamed, or blinded. Even so, Jesus calls to us.

Jesus continues his ministry in his church, healing the lamed and blinded and teaching the doubtful and questioning. Like the chronicler, we can return and rediscover holy space even after disaster and suffering.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Hallelujah! Praise the Name of the Lord, give praise, you servants of the Lord, You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to his Name, for it is lovely. — Psalm 136.1-3

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 9-10  (Listen 7:46)
Psalms 85 (Listen 1:25)

This Weekend’s Readings
1 Chronicles 11-12  (Listen 12:59), Psalms 86-87 (Listen 2:17)
1 Chronicles 13-14  (Listen 4:13), Psalms 88 (Listen 1:58)

Read more about Maintaining Sacred Space
Making sacred space where humans and God can interact is a priestly duty. It is also one each believer bears today.

Maintaining Sacred Space

Read more about Where is the Love?
Where is the love in this scene? Who does Jesus love? Who or what is he fighting for?

Where is the Love?
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Sheerah the City Builder

Scripture Focus: 1 Chronicles 7.21-24
Ezer and Elead were killed by the native-born men of Gath, when they went down to seize their livestock. 22 Their father Ephraim mourned for them many days, and his relatives came to comfort him. 23 Then he made love to his wife again, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. He named him Beriah, because there had been misfortune in his family. 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah. 

Hebrews 11.13-16
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 

Reflection: Sheerah the City Builder
By John Tillman

Most readers probably don’t remember Sheerah because her only mention is in a genealogy. Genealogies typically go father to son, father to son. Mentions of females are notable.

Genealogies seem boring to modern readers. Name after name parades down the page (often names we have difficulty pronouncing) and we just don’t see the point. 

The extreme individualism of our age is one reason for this boredom. We don’t typically feel connected to our ancestors. We see ourselves as solo artists or heroes, not a part of a whole. However, genealogies go beyond record-keeping. They tell stories.

Reading these passages was a way to re-experience the stories of those mentioned. Readers knew the stories from the other scriptures and the prophets. Their memories would light up as they read even just the names. Like a cameo of a Marvel character appearing briefly in a post-credits scene, these lists of names have exciting tidbits for those with the patience to read them.

The miniature stories we find in genealogies are hints of a larger tale. They are like open windows installed in a stairway, and it is worth pondering what the architect, the writer of the genealogy, hoped we would see.

Sheerah was a leader and architect. She built multiple cities, one of which bore her name. The other cities were twin cities on a border between two Israelite tribes: Ephraim and Benjamin. Upper Beth-Horan and Lower Beth-Horan, were not typical farming settlements. They were extremely important militarily and as part of the country’s religious life. 

Beth-Horan guarded an important ascent toward Jerusalem and was a city dedicated to the Levites amidst those tribes. The “upper” part of the city was Ephraim’s and the “lower” part was Benjamin’s. Levites from these cities would serve in Jerusalem’s Temple on a rotating basis.

The writer of Hebrews says all the faithful long for another land, another city. This includes the men and women listed in the genealogy of faith called the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. 

Our genealogy of faith is full of imperfect, broken, and flawed humans leading to Jesus. God is not ashamed to be called their God and he is not ashamed to be ours either. We are not alone in our walk of faith. Connection to and knowledge of our “cloud of witnesses” can inspire more Sheerahs to build cities leading others to God’s city.


Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Then the angel showed me the river of life, rising from the throne of God and of the Lamb and glowing crystal clear. Down the middle of the city street, on either band of the river were the trees of life… — Revelation 22.1-2a

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
1 Chronicles 7-8  (Listen 9:04)
Psalms 83-84 (Listen 3:10)

Read more about No Such Thing as God Forsaken
May we not lose hope in our God or hope for our cities.

No Such Thing as God Forsaken

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