lyrics for living 19 (i heard the voice)

With this hymn, it was love at first sound.
I’ve never stopped loving it.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
Your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
So weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
And he has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down, and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
And now I live in him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto me, your morn shall rise,
And all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till trav’lling days are done.

Here are a handful of things to love about this hymn:

I love the quotation marks. Do you see them? Little phrases from Jesus in the Gospels are adapted and then ‘cut and pasted’ into the hymn, as we imagine Jesus speaking to us. It is as if the encounter with Jesus in the hymn becomes more near and more real as a result.
I love the tender invitation. This is within the quotation marks as well. It follows naturally on from the words taken from the Gospels. “Lay down … Stoop down … Look unto me”. The world is a place of weariness, thirstiness and darkness and Jesus meets us there, right there, and offers us rest and water and light.
I love the transforming word. The words of Jesus are heard and as they are obeyed – “I came … I came … I looked” – there is a transformation that comes. There is a resting place. Thirst is quenched. Soul is revived. Walking in the light of life until the end does come. This is just how it is designed to be. Step out and step into trusting and obeying (even when there seems little reason to do so) … and the transformation comes.
I love the pastoral tone. So many of these older hymns that have gone missing in our worship services today are prayers. As a pastor I used to love placing one of them into the middle of the service and then, after it was sung, using it as the basis for a pastoral prayer. This was one of my favourites. It created such beautiful moments. Quiet. Real. Gentle. Comforting. 
I love the change in tempo. Actually, this is what I loved first about this hymn. It doesn’t always happen in every singing of it, or with every tune. But the first half of each verse can tend to be slower, contemplative, listening to Jesus … and then the second half tends to be quicker, active, responding to Jesus. [STOP PRESS: my musical brother tells me that it shifts from a minor key to a major key at this point in each verse as well].
These lads did their version. I always feel enthusiastic about any contemporizing…
And then this rendition from the Edwin Hawkins Singers (via my friend, Fred – see below)…

The only time I hear these hymns anymore is when I watch replays of Songs of Praise, out of the UK, on Sunday nights, usually with my mother. I love it when they go to a place and mingle local stories with ancient songs. In this clip they go to a place that was to be crossed off my ‘bucket list’ earlier this year, until these covidian times overwhelmed us all … and then we hear this hymn (sans the last verse: naughty, naughty)…

Actually, on reflection – it is an excellent hymn to sing in covidian times, isn’t it?!
nice chatting
Paul

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About Me

paul06.16

the art of unpacking

After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.

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5 Comments

  1. Liz Hodge on November 3, 2020 at 8:02 am

    We loved this, thanks Paul. And because of my love of all things banjo, I particularly enjoyed singing along to that version over breakfast 🙂

  2. Fred Brunell on November 3, 2020 at 1:50 pm

    I was introduced to this great hymn way back in the '60s by The Edwin Hawkin Singers. I remember once laying in bed at night with headphones on and singing along to this exuberant rendition… until my mother interrupted with a "what the h—'s going on in here"!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHPPpW6IFn0
    It's on my funeral list!

  3. the art of unpacking on November 16, 2020 at 7:46 am

    I am glad the banjo could bring a blessing, Liz 🙂

  4. the art of unpacking on November 16, 2020 at 7:50 am

    Loved it, Fred.

    … and I loved the image of you as a lad, lying with your headphones on, belting out this hymn to the consternation of your mother.

    In fact, I am going to add this link to Edwin Hawkins Singers version to the blog itself. Thanks for your help as my Research Assistant.

    Paul

  5. the art of unpacking on November 16, 2020 at 7:51 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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