Musical Notes

Hello OCBC family,
“The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” (Isaiah 58:11)

The Lord is our guide, that is what the Bible tells us, and as believer we can testified that every single day. As a congregation, we just celebrated our church 40th anniversary and we can say that the Lord guided us with his powerful hand.

This passage reflects the hymn “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” a very well-known Wales hymn. But let me tell you some of the background about this hymn and its author.

The Great Awakening was a revival that affected many parts of the world. In America, the preaching of George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwardas renewed Christian zeal and swept multitudes into the kingdom of God. In England, the open-air evangelism of Whitefield and the Wesley brothers did the same. And in Wales, we had the powerful preaching of Howell Harris and his convert, William Williams.

Rev. William Williams was the son of a farmer, and he was able to graduate as physician, but his life changed when he heard the preaching of Harris, and Williams knew that God was calling him into ministry. He studied for ministry, but refused to take the orders, and started his ministry as an itinerant evangelist. And he traveled many miles during his ministry, and it was not surprising that he wrote these lyrics,

“Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land;
I am weak but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy pow'rful hand;
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
Feed me till I want no more,
Feed me till I want no more.”

His ministry was 43 years long, but now he is remembered more for his hymns than for his sermons. He wrote over 800 hymns, and people started to call him, “ Sweet Singer of Wales” and the “Watts of Wales.”

If you read this hymn, you can see that Williams was using the story of Exodus and the deliverance of the people of Israel by God, and as them, we are pilgrims in this world.

“Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through;
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my strength and shield,
Be Thou still my strength and shield.”

When President James Garfield was dying of an assassin’s bullet, his wife started to sing this hymn, and he found comfort on these words with tears in his eyes.

This hymn was sung during the funeral of Princess Diana of England.

Williams passed away when he was 74 years old, but the legacy of his hymn is still touching many lives until now.

Read this hymn during your quiet time and find comfort for hard times.

“When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Bear me thro' the swelling current,
Land me safe on Canaan's side;
Songs of praises, songs of praises
I will ever give to Thee,
I will ever give to Thee.”
​
In His service,
Israel