TRUMPETS SHALL SOUND!

Daffodils in spring gladden my heart like nothing else. I grew up in Western Washington’s Puyallup Valley, which for decades has celebrated that flower with a parade and outstanding teen girls chosen as “daffodil royalty.” But for me, it’s more than a spring party. The trumpeted golden flowers to me speak of the glory of God. This time of year, I often search for You-Tube excerpts of the solo, “The Trumpet shall Sound,” from Handel’s Messiah. Nothing grips my heart like its straight-from-scripture lyrics: about the someday-beginning of forever-life with God:

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52 KJV)

Along with the prospect of a sudden rush to eternity comes the self-examination in anticipation of the searing, pure eyes of a Holy God. Have I glorified Him with my life? Have I sought to serve Him? Did people see Jesus in Me? Or did I throw away my opportunities, instead spending my time in worthless activities? In our media-saturated culture, which connects the number of Facebook “followers” with status, that's an uncomfortable question.

Maybe I should rephrase this: If God read your Facebook posts, how would you feel?

I've come to appreciate the spiritual insights of Christian pastor and author A.W. Tozer (1897-1963). He spoke and wrote widely of the deeper inner spiritual life. When asked about the perception of “holiness” as a “negative kind of piety” that people shy away from, Tozer replied:

No, of course not! Holiness in the Bible means moral wholeness—a positive quality which actually includes kindness, mercy, purity, moral blamelessness and godliness. It is always thought to be of in a positive, white intensity of degree.*

A former pastor (now deceased) one year ministered healing words through a daily devotional based on a read-through-the-Bible calendar. His widow sent me a copy of the printed devotions, and it has enriched my Bible study for now a second year. He died before the predicted “final trumpet sound” when Christ returns again. But...could I hear it in my lifetime? I don't know. I do know this: every day is closer.

For several years a church I once attended had a very senior pastor on staff for “visitation.” He outlived two wives, dying in his nineties! But I was told that in his last year, in a little bedroom suite he shared with his third wife at a senior home, there was a note on their door: “Perhaps today.”

We who knew him, knew his meaning: Jesus might come before he died. Well, he died. But those two words continue to come to mind as eternity gets closer. Especially they revisit every spring, when the earth awakens and my favorite flowers inch up with their golden, trumpet crowns.

Earth-words cannot adequately describe the worship culture of Heaven. But angels with trumpets are prominently mentioned. Yes, the trumpet shall sound—infinitely louder and more joyful than the golden but mute daffodils of spring.

*A.W. Tozer, I Call It Heresy (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1974). p. 63.

This short video (at the beginning) highlights the trumpet solo from Handel's Messiah:

Bing Videos

THINE BE THE GLORY

A monthly feature on a hymn of the faith

Who would have guessed that an opera tune intended for secular audiences would connect with hymn lyrics that exalt the risen Jesus Christ? Yet that's the backstory for the hymn “Thine Be the Glory,” which came from the pen of a French-speaking Swiss pastor, Edmond Budry.Born in 1854, he studied theology in Lausanne. (About 120 years later, in 1974, that Swiss city would host more than 2,400 participants from 150 nations for the “First International Congress in World Evangelization.”) He became a pastor in the “Free church” movement that broke away from the Swiss National Reformed Church. He served parishes north and east of Lausanne, staying at his last parish for 35 years before retiring in 1923. He died at age 78.

Not just a preacher, he composed several original hymns besides translating hymns from German, English and Latin into French (including “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”).

But it's his hymn about Christ's ascension (reportedly written after his first wife's death) that's best remembered and which cemented its place in hymnody when it was included in the 1933 Methodist Hymn Book. The lyrics celebrate Christ's resurrection and reference several Bible verses: Isaiah 25:8 (“He will swallow up death in victory”) and 1 Corinthians 15, especially verse 55 (“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”).

As for the tune, it comes from the militaristic chorus in Handel's oratorio Judas Maccabeus. That dramatic vocal work retold events of 170-160 B.C., when loyal Jews sought to throw off the rule of the Seleucid empire, which tried to coerce them to worship Zeus and eradicate traditional Jewish faith. The hero of that story was an elderly priest who tore down a pagan altar and rallied Jews to oppose the Seleucids.

Handel's militaristic music for that scene was a good match for the lyrics of Budry's hymn, which depicted Christ as the victorious warrior over death and the powers of evil.

The hymn's popularity spread beyond the church to royal occasions. The original French version would be used for funerals and weddings of the Dutch royal family. Across the channel in England, it was often chosen for Easter church services involving the British royal family. It was also played during a special service commemorating the late Queen Elizabeth II's 80^th birthday. Outside of royal occasions, it was listed as a funeral hymn in the Church of England service book.

The hymn's best fit is “Ascension Day” which in the church calendar is marked 39 days after Easter Sunday. In many countries (including mostly Muslim Indonesia) it is a worker's holiday, celebrated on Thursday with many businesses adding Friday as an “off” day to make for a long weekend.

Organ and orchestral instruments lend majesty to this singalong version:

Thine Be the Glory (Tune: Maccabeus - 3vv+refrain) [with lyrics for congregations] - Bing video