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Month: May 2009

Hymn of the Week – The Greatest Friend

Mashkioya 2 Comments

A bit late, I know. I am finally home after traveling with my family around Tennessee and Arkansas, and now that my first year of college work is done, I am ready to do other things for a few months.

This is a devotional song that has been passed around orally, and I have not yet found who wrote it.


O Lord, I thought the day would never come
When I could lay my burdens down and walk with You.
But this morning as I greet the rising sun,
The fondest of my dreams have all come true.

The greatest friend you’ll ever find is on a lonely mountain.
The highest high you’ll ever reach is when you kneel to pray.
The brightest light you’ll ever see is when you close your eyes.
O Lord, You are my first love,
And at last I realize.

O Lord, I need a mountain to climb on,
Just a quiet place to go and know You’re there.
O Lord, I need to spend some time with You;
Jesus spent the night with You in prayer.

The greatest friend you’ll ever find is on a lonely mountain.
The highest high you’ll ever reach is when you kneel to pray.
The brightest light you’ll ever see is when you close your eyes.
O Lord, You are my first love,
And at last I realize.

O Lord, You are my first love,
And at last I realize.

P忙an of Joy

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Last semester I submitted a few of my poems for a poetry contest here at the university, and recently I was pleasantly surprised to find that one of them had won third place. I posted it here shortly after it was written in 2007, but here I will repost it in case you didn’t read it then or if you would like to read it again.

What a wonderful day!
As I walked through the woods,
As I noticed where deer had late lain.
And I whistled a tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

On grass and on stone
Did my light footsteps tread,
As I marched through the rugged terrain.
And I whistled a tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

The mockingbird sang
(Oh that plagiarist bird!),
Sang the notes of my new-found refrain,
As I whistled a tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

With the gay sunshine bright
And the flower鈥檚 fair face,
My joy I could hardly contain,
As I whistled the tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

Then the southern wind blew,
And with fingers so light
Deftly caught up the notes of my strain,
While I whistled the tune that nobody鈥檚 heard
And that no one will hear again.

Though that tune is now gone,
And the notes in my head
Have since flown and no longer remain,
I was whistling for joy, and so therefore, I think
That my music was not made in vain.

Hymn of the Week – I Want Jesus to Walk with Me

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I want Jesus to walk with me.
I want Jesus to walk with me.
All along life’s pilgrim journey,
I want Jesus to walk with me.

In my trials He’ll walk with me.
In my trials He’ll walk with me.
All along life’s pilgrim journey,
I want Jesus to walk with me.

When I’m dying, He’ll walk with me.
When I’m dying, He’ll walk with me.
All along life’s pilgrim journey,
I want Jesus to walk with me.

I love Jesus, and He loves me.
I love Jesus, and He loves me.
All along life’s pilgrim journey,
I want Jesus to walk with me.

I tried to lead this song at a devo recently, and discovered that I was the only one who knew it. I’ve found that since I’ve been exposed to such a wide variety of songs in many places, I can’t just assume that everyone else knows the same songs I do.

This is an echoing minor tune, which apparently originated as a negro spiritual. Although it’s a bit repetitive, it carries a wonderful message鈥攖hat we can be confident going through life knowing that Jesus is walking right along with us.

Amazon MP3 downloads: The Alton Howard Singers, David Slater (medly with “Wayfaring Stranger”).

Hymn of the Week – I'll Seek His Blessings

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Poetry and music by A. M. Cagle, 1959

My hope is in the Lord,
The blessed, bleeding Lamb,
I’ll seek His blessings every noon,
And pay my vows at night.

I had my music playing on shuffle yesterday evening, and this is usually a good arrangement since most of the music I listen to is fairly peaceful. However, I was a bit startled when suddenly this rousing Sacred Harp tune in a minor key came bursting forth from my speakers.

This particular hymn is a good example of the ongoing tradition that Sacred Harp is—while many Sacred Harp tunes date back to the 18th and 19th centuries, this song was written in the 1950s. They sing it at a quicker pace in the recording I have, but the video above is a good example as well. Amazon has a few recordings of it for 99 cent download; the one I have is from the album “In Sweetest Union Join,” which I highly recommend if you want to get a large variety of Sacred Harp songs for a good price.