Words that Linger

In the last years of my Mom’s and my Dad’s life, they experienced memory loss. They struggled to remember names of friends and sometimes family members. But they remembered the words of hymns that they had sung over the years. 

There are hymns that linger in my memory, associated with events in my life. When I was a child, Dad would sing Now the Day is Over at bedtime. It is a hymn that I haven’t heard in a long time.

Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening steal across the sky.

Jesus give the weary calm and sweet repose;

With thy tend’rest blessing may our eyelids close.

Recently we sang Fairest Lord Jesus in church. When I was in my teens, I was confirmed in the Lutheran church. There was a group of us who completed a unit of study in Luther’s catechism. When we were presented to the congregation, we sang this hymn. 

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,

O thou of God and man the Son; thee will I cherish,

Thee will I honor, Thou my soul’s glory, joy and crown.

During college years I attended the Chinese Bible study, led by a retired missionary couple. I had a friend who was Chinese. Whenever I sing To God Be the Glory, I remember the song leader at the Chinese Bible study. He sang this hymn with such joy and exuberance, especially the chorus.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the earth hear His voice!

Paise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father through Jesus, the Son,

And give him the glory, great things He hath done!

The summer after I graduated from college, I went on a mission trip to Taiwan. With two others, I stayed in a student center in Tainan. We taught English, led a Bible study and shared meals. We presented the hymn, Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us to our students.

Savior, like a shepherd lead us: Much we need thy tender care;

In thy pleasant pastures feed us: For our use thy folds prepare.

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;

Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. 

During the last year of my mother’s life—just before the nursing home began the covid restrictions—I had the joy of singing one of my mother’s favorite hymns with her. The hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus, gave comfort to her and to me.

Each of these hymns allow us to receive the words of faithful believers who have gone before us. The hymns linger in my memory and encourage me.