Blessings

A couple of weeks ago in this space, I jotted down some musings on what makes a hymn dated, or what characteristics keep it from becoming timeless. This is a pretty subjective subject, of course.  One good ol' gospel song that I think does not necessarily modernize well is one that was undoubtedly near and dear to my grandparents' generation: In the Sweet By and By.  You, of course, may love that one, but to me it's fairly dated.

Why?  I think first that the metaphor linking dying with crossing the river has pretty much run its course.  There's nothing wrong with it, of course, but contemporary worship writers just don't tend to spend as much ink on death as writers of previous generations did.

I think another reason In the Sweet By and By has fallen out of favor has to do with its melody.  The melody line of the chorus has an unfortunate tendency to encourage a bit of sliding and sometimes it even gets a bit screechy. And though it doesn't have to be this way, I think that unless handled skillfully, it gets a bit dirge-like.

But this Thanksgiving, as I was counting my blessings and chopping my onions for the dressing, a verse from this song is what kept coming to mind.  So I'd like to close out my week of Thanksgiving-focused posts by highlighting that verse:

To our bountiful Father above,


We will offer our tribute of praise

For the glorious gift of His love


And the blessings that hallow our days.

That final line has really touched me the last few days.  "The blessings that hallow our days." May we remember that our days are made holy by His gift of righteousness that came through the one man, Jesus Christ.  Lord, we thank you for the gift of your love, and are grateful that you hear us. Blessed be your glorious name.