My Life Flows On in Endless Song, ELW 763
1 My life flows on in endless song;
above earth's lamentation,
I catch the sweet, though far-off hymn
that hails a new creation.
Refrain
No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I'm clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?
2 Through all the tumult and the strife,
I hear that music ringing.
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
Refrain
3 What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth.
Refrain
4 The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
a fountain ever springing!
All things are mine since I am his!
How can I keep from singing?
Refrain
Devotion
How can I keep from singing queries the final phrase of a truly great old hymn. Both text and music were written by Robert Lowry, a professor of literature and an ordained Baptist minister who served on the faculty of Lewisburg (now Bucknell) University. Although he is best known for being a writer of 500 hymns, he preferred preaching. In this hymn, the heart of a preacher brings home what Lutherans cherish as "law and gospel."
The refrain:
No storm can shake my inmost calm
while to that Rock I'm clinging.
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
how can I keep from singing?
The third verse presents the realities of life:
What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord my Savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night he giveth.
And the fourth verse brings home the eternal promise:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
a fountain ever springing!
All things are mine since I am his!
How can I keep from singing?
We love music because it is the melody that gives memory to most of what we know whether it be an old rock tune or a portion of our liturgy. A song in the darkness; is that not the gospel?
Prayer
Remind us Lord Christ, that there will always be a new song to sing. And it will shout a loud YES to those who hope and a NO to those who would take that hope away. Amen.