TADB 90: Composing Your Life Song

“Amazing Grace” is probably the most well-known and beloved hymn to come down through history.  It has been an inspiration to old and young alike for over 140 years.  The lyrics and music seem to touch something deep within us.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now I am found

Was blind, but now I see

First published in 1779, this ageless Christian hymn continues to stir people’s hearts. Its moving text came to life seven years earlier, by the hand of the English clergyman, John Newton.  It gained popularity in America through Baptist and Methodist preachers who frequently used it in their services.

Despite its author being a former slave trader, it would become a well-known anthem of the civil rights movement years later.  Across two centuries, there have been more than 20 melodies associated with the beloved hymn, but the words remain the same.   “Amazing Grace” is the testimony of a man who encountered God and passed his God-experience on to future generations in a song.  It helps to know the back story, but it is not essential; the words speak for themselves. As a result, many have made “Amazing Grace” their testimony even though their life story is very different from John Newton’s.

About a century later, another familiar song, “It Is Well with My Soul,” was penned by Horatio Spafford (1828-1888).  Although not as well-known as “Amazing Grace,” this song also captures the testimony of one man’s journey of faith, and it has resonated with millions down through history.

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll—

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well; it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford was a successful attorney and real estate investor who lost his fortune in the great Chicago fire of 1871.  About the same time, his four-year-old son died of scarlet fever.  Hoping to catch a breath of fresh air, he sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to England, planning to join them after he finished some pressing business at home.  However, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship with his family collided with another vessel and sank.  More than 200 people lost their lives, including all four of Spafford’s daughters.

Surviving the tragedy, his wife, Anna, sent a telegram from England to her husband with the poignant words: “Saved alone. What shall I do?”

While on his voyage to join his wife, Spafford crossed the very spot where his family had drowned.  Reflecting on God, his life, and faith, he penned the words of “It Is Well with My Soul” which continues to touch the hearts of so many.

Frequently, hymns have had a backstory that formed the incentive for the lyrics.  Each verse would proclaim a different tribute to God and his character, followed by the chorus giving the central theme of the hymn.  Whether we know the backstory or not, these songs are powerful because their lyrics (and music) draw us into the author’s experience of God.  In some way, their story becomes ours.

The Psalms in the Old Testament are a collection of “Sacred Songs.”  Each Psalm is like a verse of a hymn, reflecting the author’s encounter with God.  Most of us have been deeply touched by a particular Psalm that reflects our situation and experience. 

Most of the Psalms are ambiguous regarding the backstory, but sometimes with King David’s Psalms, we can identify the circumstances behind them.  Nevertheless, the words are meaningful even without the story because it invites us into a fresh look at God through the lens of another person’s experience with God.  In the context of my previous blog, “Closing the Gap”, each Psalm is a declaration of “God is…” and “God is my…”.

 A case in point comes from the opening lines of Psalm 40. 

For the music director. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; And He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm (Psalm 40:1-2). 

In this song, notice the use of personal pronouns:  I and me.  David does not give us the details but enough of the backstory to know there was a defining moment when God showed up in a particular way.  In this verse of David’s Sacred Song, he discovered God as his Rock, the One who lifts up and gives firm footing even in challenging circumstances.  David is giving testimony to not only who God is but what he has personally experienced regarding the character of God.

Perhaps this is why when you or I need encouragement and perspective during a difficult moment in our own lives, we are unlikely to turn to 2 Samuel and read about David’s life mission.  But we have all gone to the Psalms to read about David’s encounter with God. 

Notice David goes on to say his purpose in writing this Psalm. 

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD (Psalm 40:3).

David wants his Psalm to be a catalyst for others to find their own God-experience: their own “God is my….”.  In turn, they would compose and sing their song.  David had a vision for generations of people composing and playing their personal Sacred Songs. 

Our life story is important to us and maybe to our children, but it will quickly fade away.  Even our carefully designed scrapbooks will soon become irrelevant.  Few of us have illusions that the Disney Corporation will come knocking on our door to do a movie of our life story.  Our life mission, vital as it is to us, will soon be eclipsed by the next generation’s mission.  Our life lessons may even serve as an encouragement or warning, much like Solomon’s book of Proverbs.  But our most significant contribution is the life song that we compose and pass on to others.

I will be developing the concept of a life song in upcoming blogs, but for now, let me briefly describe what I mean by the term.

Life Song

What is true about the nature and work of God that we have discovered/validated through personal experiences and are now able to share with others.

The Apostle John puts it this way:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:1-3).

While our life story can bring inspiration, our life lessons can bring motivation, our life mission can bring admiration, however, our life song brings illumination regarding the very character of God.  Our life song relates how God showed up in the defining moments of our life journey so that others can make the same discovery.

For Reflection

1.  Reflect on a time when a particular Psalm was important to you.  Which one?  Why?
2. Is there a hymn or praise song that has lifted your soul at a difficult time?  Which one?  Why?