“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16).

Yesterday I shared with you the testimony of Lanny and the impact of that great hymn “He Keeps Me Singing!” According to hishymnhistory.blogspot.com, the background of Luther Bridgers writing this powerful hymn was born out of great tragedy. Pastor Bridgers had accepted an invitation to minister at a conference in Kentucky in the year 1910, so he left his family in the care of his father-in-law and made the trip to Kentucky. There two wonderful weeks of ministry resulted. The last service closed with great joy, and he was excited to be called to the telephone. He couldn’t wait to tell his wife about all the blessings. But it wasn’t her voice on that long distance line. He listened in silence to the news that a fire had burned down the house of his father-in-law, and his wife and all three of his sons had died in the blaze. That distraught husband and father leaned heavily on His Savior and expressed his faith in God. Truly the Lord brought him through that agonizing tragedy, and through that experience he wrote the powerful hymn. Think of the lyrics that Pastor Bridgers penned on paper.

There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
In all of life’s ebb and flow.

Refrain
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Sweetest Name I know,
Fills my every longing,
Keeps me singing as I go.

Though sometimes He leads through waters deep,
Trials fall across the way,
Though sometimes the path seems rough and steep,
See His footprints all the way.

Refrain

Soon He’s coming back to welcome me,
Far beyond the starry sky;
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown,
I shall reign with Him on high.

Refrain

For today: God’s Word instructs us to sing hymns with grace in our hearts to the Lord. May this be true in our personal and corporate worship!