In a scene in the 1990's movie "Father of the Bride," Steve Martin's character loses his cool in the grocery store....as he rips out the "extras" from the hotdog bun package, the stocker admonishes, "I'm sorry, sir. But you're going to have to pay for all twelve buns. They're not marked individually." George rants, "Yeah. And you want to know why? Because some big-shot over at the wiener company got together with some big-shot over at the bun company and decided to rip off the American public. Because they think the American public is a bunch of trusting nit-wits...!" His wife bails him out at the police station after the manager calls 911.
For us, it's "If Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and all those big-shot Techies had gotten together instead of pushing their own platforms, then the video editing software we purchased would work both at our home in Northern Virginia and down at ye oldie homestead." At the homestead, Ella does the video editing on a Mac...turns out the same software isn't compatible between the two platforms. The video we prepared down south needs some work, which we can't do here on our Windows machine. Ugh. No calls to 911 needed, however.
Thus, we are "relegated" to the written word and a montage of scenes Ella has assembled (It's actually quite nice). If, in your busy day, you have made it this far in this post, we are grateful. Indulge us a little more.
Since we live at the nexus of at least four major Civil War battlefields (and many other smaller skirmishes), we've spent a decent amount of time learning about the history of the area during that time. Today, rather than write about battles, we instead present to you "There is a Land of Pure Delight," an Isaac Watts hymn written in the late 1700s. We stumbled upon a tune that was written for these stanzas shortly before the Civil War. Knowing that Union and Confederate armies often sang hymns while marching, including this one, there is a decent chance they sang tune and words as they proceeded to battle.
The words that Watts penned point to a longing for a better place, a future hope and home in God's presence. We catch glimpses of this longing in many ways, through both the struggles and the beauty that God allows us to see no matter what. Imagine how telling these words would have been for soldiers marching towards terrible conflict.
The key point for this evening's post--The background tune you hear playing in our Vlogs is this hymn. While you listen, watch, and read, it is our prayer that the stanzas of this hymn be a blessing to you:
Hymn lyrics: Isaac Watts, written in 1709
Hymn tune (Ascription): Luther Orlando Emerson, composed in1866
There is a Land of pure Delight,
Where Saints immortal reign,
Infinite Day excludes the Night,
And Pleasures banish Pain.
There everlasting Spring abides,
And never with'ring Flowers:
Death like a narrow Sea, divides
This heavenly Land from ours.
Sweet Fields beyond the swelling Flood,
Stand dress'd in living green:
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan roll'd between.
But tim'rous Mortals start and shrink,
To cross the narrow Sea,
And linger, shiv'ring on the Brink,
And fear to launch away.
Oh! could we make our Doubts remove,
Those gloomy Doubts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love,
With unbeclouded Eyes!
Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the Landskip o'er,
Not Jordan's stream nor Death's cold flood,
Should fright us from the Shore.
