Song of the Heart, Song of the Righteous

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, singing hymns is a regular and integral part of worship services and church meetings. During each LDS sacrament meeting, an opening and closing hymn is sung, and every now and then an intermediate hymn is included in the service.

In a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord instructed the prophet's wife Emma. He said, "And it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my church. For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads."

In recent weeks during sacrament meeting, while singing the hymns, I have felt that this promise has come true, and I have been given many blessings upon my head.

First came from the well known hymn Come, Come, Ye Saints. William Clayton wrote this hymn after much affliction in his own life. The words of the second verse really touched me and were much needed at this point in my life. They read:

Why should we mourn?
Or think our lot is hard?
Tis not so, all is bright
Why we think to earn a great reward?
If we now shun the fight
Gird up your loins
Fresh courage take
Our god will never us forsake
And soon we'll have this tale to tell
All is well! All is well!

I came to know and understand better that I have absolutely no reason to be down or sad because of what's going on in my life. Sure, every situation may not go perfectly, but that rarely happens. I have been extremely blessed in my life and need to be happy and optimistic in all circumstances, even when times seem gloomy.

The next hymn that lifted me is called Reverently and Meekly Now. The fourth verse in this hymn provides these solemn words:

At the throne I intercede;
For thee ever do I plead.
I have loved thee as thy friend,
With a love that cannot end.
Be obedient, I implore,
Prayerful, watchful evermore,
And be constant unto me,
That thy Savior I may be.

The line that stood out to me is the second to last. Being constant unto the Lord can be difficult. Constancy is an attribute that I need to develop more and singing and listening to these words encouraged me to do so.

May those of us who sing or listen to any type of religious song of praise search deeply into the words so that we may give proper praise to the Lord and receive the blessings that He has in store for us.