I (Pastor Norm) am working on a sermon on Daniel 7 and the answers God gives us to the question, “How Will the World End?” Lord willing, I will post the first part of the sermon after our 5pm service this coming Sunday.
While doing so, I was deeply moved by this rendering of the Genevan tune which was originally set to the words of Psalm 42 as it was expressively and masterfully played by the Dutch organist Gert van Hoef. The words of a hymn set to this tune are deeply ingrained in me from my life in the church and I wanted to share the text of this hymn with you and the splendid organ performance of the accompanying tune. The LORD’s promise of comfort to us is amplified when we consider our humble circumstances and profound needs in a time of world upheaval.
1 .Comfort, comfort ye my people,
speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
comfort those who sit in darkness,
mourning 'neath their sorrow's load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them;
tell her that her sins I cover,
and her warfare now is over.
2. Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
blotting out each dark misdeed;
all that well deserved his anger
he no more will see or heed.
She hath suffered many a day,
now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
into ever-springing gladness.
3. For the herald's voice is crying
in the desert far and near,
bidding all men to repentance,
since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
let the valleys rise to meet him,
and the hills bow down to greet him.
4. Make ye straight what long was crooked,
make the rougher places plain;
let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits his holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
now o'er earth is shed abroad;
and all flesh shall see the token
that his word is never broken.
Source: Trinity Psalter Hymnal #298