When I was a little girl, some of my favorite hymns were the ones we sang about Heaven. We sang them often, and even the people who didn’t usually sing very loudly sang them passionately.  I remember anticipating from the first few measures of “When We All Get to Heaven” the great part singing to come on the chorus. The women would begin, answered quickly by the men, as if to confirm even musically the harmonious diversity of praise to come in the glorious home prepared for God’s people.

A couple of churches for which I served as accompanist held 5^th Sunday Night Favorite Hymn Sings.  Does anyone remember those?  My fondest memories (and memories of fear as a young pianist!) were of the favorite hymn sings in my home church, First Baptist, Greenville, Alabama. Almost always, someone would request “One Day,” a hymn I don’t remember singing anywhere other than FBC, Greenville, now that I think about it…but what a great, great hymn!  The final stanza sings:

“One day the trumpet will sound for his coming;

One day the skies with his glories will shine;

Wonderful day, my beloved one bringing,

Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

 

Living, he loved me;

Dying, he saved me;

Buried, he carried my sins far away;

Rising, he justified freely forever;

One day he’s coming! O glorious day!”

 And always, every time there was a favorite hymn sing, precious Mrs. Shirley Thompson would request “Victory in Jesus.” I knew when her hand went up to just go ahead and turn to Hymn 475. She celebrated her ultimate victory in the Lord at a younger age than most as a victim of breast cancer many years ago. Her death, while tragic, was something we grieved with great hope, for that is how she lived her earthly life:

“I heard about a mansion he has built for me in glory;

And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea;

About the angels singing, and the old redemption story,

And some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.

 

O victory in Jesus, my Savior forever,

He sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood;

He loved me ere I knew him, and all my love is due him,

He plunged me to victory, beneath the cleansing flood.”

 So what happened?  When did we stop singing Heaven songs?  They remind us of the hope we have in Jesus Christ, when the world around us often seems hopeless. The promise of Heaven and the glory to come make the trials of this world bearable.  Oh, how I hope we haven’t deprived the younger generation of these great promises!  It’s much easier to keep trials in perspective with an internal playlist like this:

“Farther along we’ll know all about it;

Farther along we’ll understand why;

Cheer up, my brother, walk in the sunshine;

We’ll understand it all by and by.”

 And my old friend Pam Brooks’ favorite:

“By and by when the morning comes,

when the saints of God have gathered home,

We will tell the story how we’ve overcome,

We will understand it better by and by.”

 Let’s bring back these great songs of the faith! We need the hope, encouragement, and confidence of Christ now more than ever. Jesus is coming soon….oh, wait…there’s another great old gospel song we don’t hear much anymore…but He is, and those of us who know Him should be comforted by that fact!  E’en so, come, Lord Jesus!

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3