FIRM FOUNDATION

(A monthly hymn story feature.)
The history of “big numbers” in English hymnody began with the brilliant Isaac Watts, who in his 74 years of life left a legacy of some some 750 hymns. But a few years after Watts' death, another little English boy was born, destined to continue a prolific legacy of hymns, or at least of published hymnals. His name was John Rippon, and after his youth in southwest England and university education, he ended up about 200 miles east, in London, as the 22-year-old pastor of a Baptist church. Unlike many pastors, who move around, Rippon stayed there for 63 years until his death at age 85, and the church became one of the largest congregations in the country. One of its later pastors would be the renowned preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Rippon, who also edited a Baptist magazine for twelve years, was known as the foremost authority on the hymns of Isaac Watts. He chose many for a hymnal for public worship, first published in 1787 and periodically revised. Eventually the hymnal, known as “Rippon's Selection” was reprinted 27 times with over 200,000 copies. Some of the hymns were his composition, but not all were identified by author. One of the most enduring of the hymns, “How Firm a Foundation,” had just an alphabet letter, “K,” for its credit. Many believe it was the work of his assistant, Robert Keene.

No one knows who wrote the hymn's melody, but it's believed to have been an American folk tune, probably from the South. Coming across the ocean, the hymn became well-known throughout the country. It was apparently a favorite of Andrew Jackson, president of the United States from 1829-1837. One time after Jackson retired to his famed home, The Hermitage, a local pastor was his guest. Jackson said, “There is a beautiful hymn of the subject of the exceeding great and precious promises of God to His people. It was a favorite hymn with my dear wife until the day of her death. It commences thus: 'How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord.' I wish you would sing it now.” The minister and his other visitors sang all seven stanzas for Jackson.

“How Firm a Foundation” was originally named “Scripture Promises,” with the words of 2 Peter 1:4 printed above the first stanza: “Exceeding great and precious promises” (KJV). Each stanza emphasized a different scriptural promise. Stanza 2 reinforces Isaiah 41:10: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee...I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” The hymn climaxes with the last verse's proclamation that echoes Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5: “The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose....I'll never, no, never, no never forsake.”

Besides Andrew Jackson, the hymn was a favorite of Confederate leader Robert E. Lee, who wanted it sung at his funeral. President Theodore Roosevelt also considered it a favorite. And why not? It affirms we're loved by a God who says He will never, never forsake His children.

For listening, or singing-along, this video features vocals by Michael Card with inspiring artwork:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=how+firm+a+foundation+youtube+with+lyrics&ru=%2fvideos%2fsearch%3fq%3dhow%2bfirm%2ba%2bfoundation%2byoutube%2bwith%2blyrics%26%26FORM%3dVDVVXX&view=detail&mid=EC417756DB364E6C10A0EC417756DB364E6C10A0&&FORM=VDRVRV

Psalm 136: It Bears Repeating!

Our perception of God's attributes is sometimes
foggy, but praise sharpens what we understand of Him.

Can you repeat these words without looking?
Give thanks…His love endures forever.
Congratulations! You have just quoted half of Psalm 136—or at least the second half of its 26 verses! Responsive readings were frequently part of services in the church where I grew up. When the reading was Psalm 136, this little pig-tailed girl felt quite proud of knowing half a psalm! But as I grew up and reconsidered this psalm, I realized it packs a lot more than that repeated refrain. In fact, I’d consider it a great “New Year’s Psalm” for its emphasis on simply thanking God in everything.

For devout Jews, reciting this psalm antiphonally was part of observances of both the Jewish Passover and Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah). Priests shouted the beginning of each verse, and the people responded with the refrain. Most important, the psalm praises God for His unique, inexplicable and generous love toward us.  The 1611 King James version renders the repeated refrain, “for His mercy endures forever.” However, “mercy” doesn’t convey as well the original Hebrew chesed, which named God’s kindness, loyalty and never-ending fidelity toward His people. The psalm attempts to praise this chesed through a sweeping description of history.

CALL TO WORSHIP (vv. 1-3)

The psalm before this, 135, also praised God as being greater than the “gods” of other nations around them. It talked of silver and gold images that had mouths, eyes, ears, and nostrils, but couldn’t speak, see, hear, or breathe (135:13-17). They contrast with the God of gods, and Lord of lords, “who alone does great wonders” (136:4). He’s not some little trinket image of false religions. He is real and powerful.

CREATOR (vv. 4-9)

All of creation showcases His power: the heavens, earth, waters, great lights, and cycles of day and night. We can praise God for designing the earth’s axis to give us seasons, for a sun at the right distance to support and not incinerate life, and a reflective moon to lift the oppression of night.  And don’t get me started on the marvel of stars, which bewilder our attempts to number.

REDEEMER (vv. 10-15)

No other nation can claim a history of redemption like the Jews. After years of enduring bitter enslavement in a foreign land, they saw the flower of Egypt’s manhood smashed. They escaped through a miraculous yawn in the waters of the Red Sea.

GUIDE (v. 16)
The verse is so simple: “him who led his people through the desert.” The logistics would be humanly impossible. The refugees numbered 600,000 men plus wives and children (Exodus 12:37). Some estimate that to total at least two million. How could so many survive in an barren desert—except for God’s miracle of food and water?

CHAMPION (vv. 17-22)

Some people are paralyzed by fears. They don’t try because they think they’ll fail.  Or, they don’t look for other ways to achieve goals with God’s help. The Jews could still be wandering in the desert, afraid of the next step, if God hadn’t gone before them in warring against its pagan kings.  The only way to the Promised Land was through these kings’ lands.

I always wondered why only two kings were mentioned in this psalm when many other rulers had to be defeated. The answer may be that “Sihon” and “Og” were the most significant rulers of the area. Together they ruled over an area of roughly 17,000 square miles east of the Jordan. Sihon ruled the northeast shoulder of the Dead Sea, about 30 by 60 miles. Og ruled over 60 cities, many big enough to be walled (Joshua 13:30). His kingdom stretched north to Mount Hermon. He was also a huge, physically threatening man, descended from “giant” stock. Moses later wrote that Og’s bedstead measured 9 cubics long by 5 wide—in our measuring system 13’6” by 6’ wide. It was displayed for a time at Rabboth as a memorial (Deu. 3:11), something of a Ripley’s “Believe It Or Not” in Bible times.

 

The story of conquering both kings is told in Numbers 21, but its retelling in Deuteronomy 2-3 reveals God’s heart.  He told Moses, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you.  Now begin to conquer and possess his land” (Deut. 2:31). God didn’t push Moses and his warriors forward without assuring them that He was their champion. He is still our champion and advocate in life’s challenges.

HELPER, RESCUER, PROVIDER (vv. 23-25)

What wonderful attributes of God are packed into these closing verses. Being snared in a “low estate” (v. 23) is everyone’s story, for without Christ we are lost and needy. But we are rescued from the snares of sin through Christ’s offer of salvation. And God provides what we need. Enough has been said of how the holiday shopping frenzy tries to persuade us we need this gadget or that, or nicer clothes or…or….  In contrast, Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”

GOD OF ALL AND MORE (vv. 1-3, 26)

Our English translations are prone to make us skip over the praiseworthy names of “God” that have definite and revered meanings in the original Hebrew. Four are worth noting:
v. 1: “LORD,” for “YHWH” (what we call “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”), which is the name of God so holy that no pious Jew would write or articulate it. 
v. 2: “God of gods” or “Elohim over false gods.” “Elohim” denoted the strong and true God, as opposed to heathen gods.
v. 3: “Lord of lords” or “Adonai over false gods.” “Adonai” meant “lord” or “master” and conveyed submission to God’s authority.
v. 26: “God of heaven” or “Elohim over all.” This is the God of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” His name “Elohim” occurs more than 2,500 times in the Old Testament. He is all the powers of eternity and infinity. The praise of Psalm 136 must go back to God’s first revelation of Himself.  The One who crafted and populated earth is the only true One, and the only One capable of hearing, “His love endures forever.”  And that bears repeating, over and over and …..

Dust-catchers and "keepers"

One display shelf of many at one thrift store

Knick-knacks, trinkets, “tchotches,” baubles, dolls and collections of every sort—inevitably they find themselves abandoned on a “for sale” table. I admit that I have some “trinkets” around, like a few pieces of my late mother’s cobalt blue Depression glass and a palm-size “Winnie the Pooh” from the estate of a friend who loved me unconditionally. I could probably fill a table with such things that have personal connections. But I don’t like to dust “stuff.”  It’s hard for me to love “stuff” that doesn’t love me back.

Especially when I tag along on my husband’s visits to yard sales and thrift stores, and I walk right past the tables with unwanted trinkets, I think of Jesus’ lessons about wealth and “stuff.”  In His Sermon on the Mount, He reminded listeners that earthly treasures are vulnerable to moth, rust, and theft (Matthew 6:19-21).  I might add, fire, remembering the hundreds of families an hour’s drive north of my hometown who lost everything in this summer’s massive fires.  That included our 74-year-old bachelor friend. All he had—including family heirloom quilts, photos, his father’s passed-down tools—incinerated in minutes.

Jesus also had hard words for people who wanted more and more. When a man came to him seeking an advocate in an inheritance situation, He answered with a parable about a greedy man who kept putting up storehouses for all his grain and goods. This makes one think about the proliferation of storage units in our times for people who have too much “stuff.” It’s also the thinking behind this framed cross-stitch my husband found at a thrift store: “She who dies with the most fabric wins.” He bought it thinking of the many boxes and bags of fabric scraps generously passed my way by those who heard that I was sewing baby blankets for hospitals to give needy families. Because we live in a small house, and my “sewing storage” was confined to a box under a bed, I sewed and donated the blankets as quickly as I could. So no, the cross-stitch wasn’t “me.” I have it in a “to donate” box. J

Back to Mr. Greedy, Jesus answered by warning the crowd, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” The writer of Hebrews emphasized the same: “Keep yourselves free from the love of money and be content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5). “Too much” crosses the line to hoarding.

 

So, are there legitimate “keepers” in God’s viewpoint?  Not surprisingly, the Bible gives several suggestions.

*God’s Word. “Keep my words and store up my commands within you” (Proverbs 7:1, also Proverbs 2:1).
*Purity. “Keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22).  This is also expressed as a “keep from”: “Keep yourself from idols” (1 John 5:21). “Keep…from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).
*Spiritual fervor. “Keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).
These don’t take up shelf space, only heart space.  And a heart full of the things of God is the best “full” of all.