Hello Everyone! January almost always seems to be a speedy month, and January 2021 has been no exception. I haven’t been especially busy, but the time just seems to pass really fast.
Anyway, since the month is already well on its way to being over, it is high time for us to revisit our January Monthly Melody for our Monthly Melody Discussion! I hope that these monthly posts can be more than just “me talking to y’all.” I hope that you will participate and talk to me and to each other in the comments. There is so much wisdom that can taken from one hymn, and I would love to hear what each one of you has learned from listening to it and singing it.
Hymn History:
Our Monthly Melody, Praise My Soul the King of Heaven, was written by a Scottish preacher named Henry Francis Lyte. The most well known hymn that he wrote is Abide With Me. Henry Lyte struggled with health issues that made him have to give up his preaching position, but he was still able to write a lot of poetry to bring glory and honor to the Lord.
If you are interested in learning more about this hymn and its writer, you can visit this website . Of course I cannot endorse the whole website, but I found this to be a helpful article.
Verse 1:
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
To his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
Let’s look at each verse individually a piece at a time. There is so much in here to think about, and God has used this song to be a blessing to me this month as I have been listening to it and singing it over and over.
Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
You may not be aware of it, but this hymn is based on Psalm 103 (my special Psalm, by the way). Both the hymn and the psalm start by giving praise to God.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Psalm 103:1
It is easy to get so focused on what God has done for us, but it’s important to start off with praising Him for Who He is: the King of Heaven, the Lord. His name is holy and worthy of all praise.
To his feet your tribute bring.
Because God is holy and our King, we as His people must bring our tribute to His feet. What is this tribute? Part of it is the praise we were just talking about! He wants us to praise Him and bring ourselves as tribute to His feet, willing to serve Him however He leads and gives us the strength.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
I just love this line! Each word is a great gift that God has given to us, His children.
Ransomed.
For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 1 Corinthians 6:20
Jesus has paid the price for our sins so that we can be bought from our bondage and placed in His family.
Healed.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Through Jesus Christ we can find spiritual and physical healing, healing for our sinful hearts and grace to live overcoming lives, healing for our sick bodies and strength to do what God calls us to.
Each one of us as Christians can have the hope that even if God does not choose to heal us of some things right now, one day in Heaven we will be made whole.
Restored.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:3
God restores our past when we come to Him, puts it under the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and gives us a brand new start.
Forgiven.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Can there ever be anything more wonderful than knowing that our wrong actions are forgiven and that through Jesus, God views us with a clear record as though we had never sinned?
Evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
After reading all of the benefits that God has given us, how can we help but praise the Everlasting King?! This will be our privilege throughout eternity.
Verse 2:
Praise him for his grace and favor
To his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
Slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
Praise him for his grace and favor
To his people in distress.
These words are comforting when you are going through something difficult. When we are in distress and discouraged, God is still there to give us the comfort and help we need.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
This line stood out to me. Think about how changing we are as humans. From one day to the next, we may wake up in a completely different mood. For that matter, how we feel or act can change several times in one day!
All the time that we are constantly changing, God has remained the same: the same that He has been through ages past.
Slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
God is always the same, always slow to scold us, quick to bless us, and faithful to care for us. While God is a God of judgment when people fight against Him, He is also a God of love Who would much rather us respond to Him in such a way that He can show us mercy.
Verse 3:
Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!
Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows.
These 2 lines are clearly based on verses from Psalm 103. God is an understanding and caring Father Who knows that we are weak and frail and struggle often with failings.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Psalm 103:13-14
In his hand he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
This is a beautiful word picture. Our loving Father holds us in His hand and protects us from whatever foes we face. He is there for us in times of fear and danger, in times of temptation, and in any other situation that we will ever face.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!
After all of the wonderful things that we have discussed about our Heavenly Father, we have just scratched the surface. His mercy flows on and on, farther than we can see or comprehend!
Verse 4:
Angels, help us to adore him;
You behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
Dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace
Angels, help us to adore him;
You behold him face to face.
Can you even begin to imagine what the angels are seeing in Heaven right now? And the best part of it is that we as believers in Jesus will one day get to be there and see it for ourselves! We shall see Jesus, and we shall be changed!
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
1 John 3:2
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
Dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace
God’s creation also gives Him glory. When people, angels, and God’s creation praise the Lord, we still cannot even begin to praise Him enough for His goodness and grace.
Bonus Verse:
Frail as summer’s flower we perish:
Blows the wind and it is gone.
But, while mortals rise and perish,
God endures unchanging on.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the high eternal One!
I noticed on the website that told some of the history of this hymn that there is a verse that is usually left out. I haven’t been singing this verse and thinking about it like the others, and I’m not going to share my thoughts on it (this is getting long enough, and I’m ready to get it scheduled), but I wanted to share this verse with you! I’m hoping to learn it before the end of the month so that I can sing the whole song.
In case you would like to listen to our Monthly Melody again before the month is over, I will leave it here for you!
(Disclaimer: While I enjoyed the video of this particular hymn and wanted to share it with you, this does not mean that I endorse every video on this channel.)
Okay, now it’s YOUR turn!! Will you please take a minute and share what you have gotten out of our Monthly Melody? I would LOVE to hear what you have to say!! Oh, and feel free to comment on someone else’s thoughts, too. Let’s get a discussion going!
If you want to join next month’s Monthly Melody, feel free to subscribe so you will hear the announcement!
I hope you have a blessed day and keep singing!!
In Christ,
Bethany
I loved this post, Bethany! I really love hymns and the words are so meaningful and we can just sing them mindlessly sometimes and miss the rich theology in them!
I think my favorite verse in this hymn is probably verse two. The line “Praise Him, still the same for forever” Such a powerful statement of God’s faithfulness to us!
Great post!
Keep livin’ for Jesus! Grace
I have the same struggle of singing mindlessly, Grace. That’s one reason it was good to focus on the same song for awhile! I had lots of chances to think about different parts even when my mind wandered sometimes. I’m glad you enjoyed the hymn!
Thank you so much for tagging me!! I’m so excited, and I think it will be a fun post!!!
My favorite verse is verse 3! It is so comforting knowing that our God and Creator is also our Heavenly Father that we can come to at any time. This was another good post, Bethany!
Isn’t it such a comfort, Hannah?! God is above our comprehension, yet He loves us, His children. This song did such a good job bringing out different parts of Psalm 103.
I loved reading your thoughts on this, Bethany!!!
My favorite verse is verse 2…. “Praise Him still the same forever…..” It’s a good reminder for me to continue to praise the Lord whether I’m going through difficult moments, or more “happy” moments!
That is a good reminder for praising the Lord! It definitely is more challenging in the difficult times but especially important during those times.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post, Anna! Thank you for commenting! God is always good and faithful and right there for us no matter what stage of life we are in or how we feel at the moment. And as you, pointed out, that means He is always worthy of our praise! That’s a great thought you brought up!!
In January at difficult moment a dear friend sent me a few lines of this song:
“Fatherlike he tends and spares us, well our feeble frame He knows. In His hand he gently bears us, rescues us from all our foes. Alleluia, Alleluia, Widely yet His mercy flows.”
Thank you, Bethany! That was very tender and thoughtful of you. I haven’t forgotten it.
Aww, thank you so much for mentioning it. It’s encouraging to me that the Lord used it to encourage you! You’re a sweet friend, Agape!