Hello OCBC family. I want to share a beautiful passage, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 – ESV). These words were a strong anchor to a lady named Annie S. Hawks. She was from Brooklyn. She was born in Hoosick, NY on May 28, 1835. She wrote several hymns, and at that time became very popular. Several Sunday school music collections included numerous of her lyrics, but she is more famous for the very popular and loved hymn called, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” The theme of this hymn is a supplication for the presence of God in the life of every believer; each stanza starts with this petition, “I need Thee every hour.” She was a member of a church where Robert Lowry was pastor, and one day she showed him these lyrics, just the stanzas without a refrain, and Pastor Lowry wrote the familiar refrain with a simple melody. His purpose was that everybody can learn this hymn. Musically, this hymn has a very simple melody (easy to memorize), with a very easy harmony (not strange notes), but with powerful words (powerful message to share). We need our Savior every day, in every situation of our lives. In happiness or sadness, in joy or sorrows, in good days and bad days. Jesus said, “For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b – ESV).

Please, read this hymn without singing, thus you can follow the words as a prayer, and maybe you can see the message in a very different way, then you can read it again singing it as a worship time to our Lord.

1 I need thee every hour,
most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine
can peace afford.

Refrain:
I need thee, O I need thee,
every hour I need thee.
O bless me now, my Savior;
I come to thee.

2 I need thee every hour;
stay thou near by;
temptations lose their power
when thou art nigh.

3 I need thee every hour,
in joy or pain;
come quickly and abide,
or life is vain.

4 I need thee every hour;
teach me thy will;
and thy rich promises
in me fulfill.

5 I need thee every hour,
Most Holy One;
O make me thine indeed,
thou Blessed Son!

In His service,

​Israel

Hello OCBC family,
During my devotional time this morning I read a puritan prayer that has been called “Christ Is All” and I decided to share this prayer with you today. Use it as a personal prayer during your devotional time.

O Lover to the uttermost,
May I read the meltings of thy heart to me
in the manger of thy birth,
in the garden of thy agony,
in the cross of thy suffering,
in the tomb of thy resurrection,
in he heaven of thy intercession.
Bold in this thought I defy my adversary,
tread down his temptations,
resist his schemings,
renounce the world,
am valiant for truth.
Deepen in me a sense of my holy relationship to thee,
as spiritual Bridegroom,
as Jehovah’s Fellow,
as sinner’s Friend.
I think of thy glory and my vileness,
thy majesty and my meanness,
thy beauty and my deformity,
thy purity and my filth,
thy righteousness and my iniquity.
Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,
may I love thee as I am loved;
Thou hast given thyself for me,
may I give myself to thee;
Thou hast died for me,
may I live to thee,
in every moment of my time,
in every movement of my mind,
in every pulse of my heart.
May I never dally with the world
and its allurements,
but walk by thy side,
listen to thy voice,
be clothed with thy graces,
and adorned with thy righteousness.

Amen.

In His service,
Israel

Hello OCBC family!  Let me share a passage with you: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10 – KJV).

Week before last, we sang during our evening worship service the old loved hymn, “How Firm a Foundation.” For many of you who were there that night, this familiar hymn was not too familiar because we used a different tune. Perhaps I will confuse some of you but I will share anyway about tunes in the hymns. Let me explain first about the “How Firm a Foundation” Sunday evening experience. Normally we sing this hymn with a melody called FOUNDATION (you can hum it right now if you want; do not worry, you will do fine), but Sunday evening we used a different tune called ADESTE FIDELES, which is the melody that we use for the loved Christmas hymn “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” It was a unique experience for many of you.

When a hymn is created, lyrics and melody collide to make a tool to worship God. The author writes the lyrics and a musician composes the melody. The name of the hymn normally comes from the first line of the lyrics, like “How Firm a Foundation.” You sing these words at the very beginning of the song. There are some exceptions like “Jesus Paid It All” where the first words are, “I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small.”

Now, when a composer creates the melody for a hymn, he puts a name to the melody as well and perhaps the name has some connection with the lyrics or not. FOUNDATION, the popular melody for “How Firm a Foundation” has connection with the lyrics; after all you sing “How Firm a foundation.” The opposite would be the old hymn called, “From All That Dwell Below the Skies” whose melody is called DUKE STREET, perhaps because the composer, John Hatton, lived on that street.

Hymns and spiritual songs are inspiration from God to His children like Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley, using talented musicians like Lowell Mason and Felix Mendelssohn, to create tools for worship. Let us sing with all our hearts and spirits the beloved psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
“I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also” (1 Corinthians 14:15b – ESV).
​
In His service,
Israel