I went to college at Bob Jones University. One of the things I enjoyed the most at BJU was the congregational singing. Part of what made the singing so good was the sheer size of the congregation. 5000 people comprise a fairly large choir. Another aspect was the organ. They have a monster organ at BJU. Obviously, a monster organ is necessary to lead such a massive congregation.
One of the commonly sung hymns at BJU is a text by Charles Wesley - Arise, My Soul, Arise. We would sing it to the tune LENOX. It was a song that I was not familiar with prior to my time at BJU, but once I learned it, it quickly became one of my favorite hymns. To my knowledge, we have only sung it once at FBC. It was during one of the recent College & Career led services.
Read through the five stanzas below and be encouraged. I have included some of my thoughts in blue.
Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice (Christ) in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety (Christ) stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.
He (Christ) ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.
Five bleeding wounds (2 hands, 2 feet, 1 side) He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
(His wounds plead for me! What a thought!)
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”
The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
(Praise God, He cannot turn away!)
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.
My God is reconciled (to me!); His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.
3 comments:
You're right, Stephen, I haven't sung that song in years. Had forgotten about it. We sang it at BJ long before you came.
This is one of my favorite hymns as well. We need to sing it more at church.
I love this hymn. And I love hymns in general. They are so theologically rich. It makes me sad when I attend a church (and I attended a few while I was up at school) that are trying to cast off traditional hymns in favor of contemporary worship music. I believe they are BOTH vital to church congregational worship.
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