In this months episode we have great new song and interview from Soul Survivor's Beth Croft. Also Tim and Ben have a 'perfect pitch' show down!
10 May 2009 - 9:25pm
I'd never heard of this old John Newton hymn until recently. I found it reading Tim Keller's Prodigal God where he quotes two lines of it which I loved.
"Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before;
Since we have seen His beauty, are joined to part no more:"
After a bit of searching I found the whole thing on t'internet, thought the sentiment was great, and adapted it a bit . I think, ideally, the language needs updating a bit. Suggestions welcome.
Shall men pretend to pleasure, who never knew the LORD?
Can all the worldling’s treasure true peace of mind afford?
Come, turn your thoughts to Jesus, if you would good possess;
’Tis he alone that frees us from guilt, and from distress:
Our time in sin we wasted, and fed upon the wind;
Until his love we tasted, comfort we could not find:
But now we stand to witness His pow’r and grace to you;
May you perceive its fitness, and call upon him too!
Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before;
Since we have seen his beauty, are joined to part no more:
It is our highest pleasure, no less than duty’s call;
To love him beyond measure, and serve him with our all.
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11 May 2009 - 6:27pm
Hey Paul! Good to hear another one from you. Love the acoustic noodling & vocal melody! I also really like the tact of that line from the hymn. It is unique and thought provoking. It seems you’ve put something really nice together here. I really like the lines; the only thing I’d say is what you’ve mentioned already. That the lines do feel dated. However, because of that I think people would offer some grace when interpreting it. Sometimes it is nice to have this sense of history to a song. So I would be hesitant to say it needs to be made more modern. Perhaps a simple verse or tag would be a nice anchor to bring a clear and unavoidable thematic statement to the song. But I really enjoyed it. Good one!
Thanks Mark!
Some of the lines are just so good. I love the "and fed upon the wind". Such a great description of living an empty life.
I'm going to have a bash at reworking the few words that are particularly antiquated, though some are rhymes so may prove tricky! I'm really not a fan of new tags and choruses to old hymns (seriously, why would you even try to improve on Amazing Grace?)
I hear you on choruses added to hymns. Oftentimes it is impossible to improve on the lyrics of the old hymns. There are a few occasions where I’ve enjoyed a modified hymn/chorus arrangement. But I think it often comes across as cheesy.
It seems to me the majority of work with hymns is taking the time to look them over and find the good ones; then creating the appropriate musical accompaniment. Which I think you’ve done quite well here! Adding a repeating line truly was the only thing I could think to point out; but by no means does it feel nessisary. Definitely a good one!
A quick try at some modernised words. Can't think of anything for witness/fitness which are the other other words I think could do with changing.
How can you know real pleasure, who never knew the LORD?
Can all the world's rich treasure true peace of mind afford?
Come, turn your thoughts to Jesus, and find your life again;
’Tis he alone that frees us from guilt and from our sin.
Our time in sin we wasted, and fed upon the wind;
Until his love we tasted, comfort we could not find:
But now we stand to witness His pow’r and grace to you;
May you now know its fitness, and call upon him too!
Our pleasure and our duty, though enemies before;
Since we have seen His beauty, are joined to part no more:
It is our highest pleasure, no less than duty’s call;
To love him beyond measure, and serve him with our all.
I think you did a good job navigating the difficult parts. I’d still wonder if it needs the alteration at all. Though “can men pretend to pleasure” sounds odd, it does make sense. The old language is kind of neat, but lacks in certain areas… like the use of “men” in reference to mankind has become exclusive of women recently… so it’s a tough call and I don’t have much to offer as help.
Like I said though, looks pretty good. I tried to play with rhymes in my head for whitness/fitness… and I’m stumped! The closest I came to a good word was “brit-ness”… being slang for the state of being British… ;)
Hmmm… I’d like it either way!
I must admit, I hadn't considered Brit-ness. ;)
I like the old words too, but I think they'd make it tough to use in most churches. And there's quite a lot of yoda-isms in there (don't tell Gav...)
Hi Paul.
I love how these meaty hymns contrast with so much of the froth that has been around for the past few decades. (Please note I do not include ALL songs from this period, and of course none of those found on this forum! ;-) ).
Lyrically, the only thing that stuck a bit with me was the "Our time in sin we wasted", past tense. Though I know it refers to our state of holiness in Christ, it may come across these days as a little triumphalist? Certainly for me, my time in sin even today is similarly a waste, present tense.
But thanks for tracking this one down and resurfacing it.
Mart
PS Is it just me or does this take anyone else back to the 70's??? ;-)
Mart, do you mean the 1770s? ;)
Hey Paul, love the re-use of the old hymn, it's probably going to be a marmite love-it-or-hate-it thing for most churches but it's great to delve into our history and bring out some really good stuff.
For
But now we stand to witness His pow’r and grace to you;
May you perceive its fitness, and call upon him too!
How about
But now we stand to speak of His pow'r and grace to you;
May you perceive His great love, and call upon Him too!
?
It's not a perfect rhyme but it might pass muster?
God bless
Matt
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