Maybe I’ll flop my gums about the new U.S. president. How about the riots and endless wars on social media regarding Mr. Trump? Nope, not this blogger. How about a song instead?
I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my last post about one of my favorite hymns, so I thought I’d share with you yet another song that is special to me. That song is entitled The Law of the Lord.
The song to my knowledge is not found in a hymnal(at least not an Adventist one), but instead found directly in the Bible, specifically the book of Psalms. This book of the Bible is very unique because it is actually a book of songs. “The English title comes from the Septuagint, which entitled the book Psalmoi, meaning ‘Sacred Songs Sung to Accompaniment.’ The Hebrew title for the book is tehilim, ‘praises’. If one word could be chosen to describe the book, certainly ‘praises’ would qualify, for there is no psalm that does not contain an element of praise”(The King James Study Bible: King James Version, 857). The verses and chorus of this song are Psalms 19: 7; 8; 9; 10; and 14; which goes like this:
“The law of the LORD is perfect,/ converting the soul:/ the testimony of the LORD is sure, /making wise the simple.
(Chorus) More to be desired are they than gold,/ yea, than much fine gold:/ sweeter also than honey/ and the honeycomb.
The statutes of the LORD are right,/ rejoicing the heart:/ the commandment of the LORD is pure,/ enlightening the eyes.
(Chorus)
The fear of the LORD is clean,/ enduring for ever:/ the judgments of the LORD are true/ and righteous altogether.
(Chorus)
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength, and my redeemer.
(Chorus) ”
If you need to hear this song, here is a demonstration. Hopefully I did this song justice. Forgive me because inhad a bit of a sore throat going on. Also, please excuse my hair. I know I need a haircut.
These words were spoken and written by none other than King David, perhaps one of the greatest musicians of all time. King David was a skilled harp player. He played the harp for King Saul, who had an evil spirit upon him, causing Saul to feel refreshed and the spirit to depart( 1 Samuel 16:23 KJV). According to 1 Chronicles 6:31 , King David orchestrated worship services in the sanctuary of Israel. The book of Psalms contains 150 chapters, and Kind David wrote 73 of those psalms (The King James study Bible: King James Version, 857). In 2 Samuel 23:1, right before his death, King David is fittingly remembered as “the sweet psalmist of Israel”.
My favorite part of this song is the chorus.The law of the Lord should indeed be more desirable than gold or any treasure upon the earth, and much sweeter to us than any type of food like honey from honeycomb.
Aside from coming directly from scripture, this song holds a special meaning to me because it reminds me of what I consider to be “golden years” in my church. Make no mistake, I love my church, but sometimes I feel like it can be better. When I was much younger I felt a better sense of unity and love. There was more participation in socials. Back in the day we didn’t have potluck every Sabbath after the service like we do now, so members were encouraged to invite someone over to eat and fellowship. Also, members seemed more willing to step up to the plate and effectively take charge.
It was during these so called golden years that I learned the song The Law of the Lord. It was one of many songs we sang during Adventist Youth Symphony(AYS) . AYS was always something to look forward to. It was a way to close out the Sabbath by increasing our knowledge and relationship of God through activities. Over time we held it after potluck because nobody liked coming all the way back to church near sunset. The issue now is that people are too busy socializing after potluck to want to participate in AYS. Quite discouraging.
What happened? Was it just because I was too young to know any issues, or somewhere down the line did things actually change within my church? As I continue to sing this song, my hope is that one day my church family can actually feel more like a family again, and less like a a group of troubled individuals who see each other once a week. What song holds a special meaning to you?
Sources:
The King James study Bible: King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995. Print.
DavidSpeaks 
