Amazing Grace Archives -

God Moves In a Mysterious Way

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”Albert Schweitzer

Readers who have read, “Amazing Faith,” in Biodesign Out For A Walk, might recall the story of John Newton, nearly drowning in a fierce storm off the Irish Coast. He survived the ordeal, eventually became a priest and wrote the lyrics for the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” He was the vicar of a small English church that William Cowper attended. Cowper suffered from manic depression (currently called Bipolar Syndrome) at a time when little medical help was available. One night, in a desperate state of depression, he tried to commit suicide, not once, but three times. He tried to hang himself and the rope broke. He tried to shoot himself and the gun misfired. He hired a hansom to take him to the Thames River to drown himself and the driver got lost in the fog.

Either in a state of frustration or exultation, he wrote the following famous poem.

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sov’reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow’r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

…”deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

A little over a year ago, a publicist that I was working with asked me to gather some videos to use on our website. One thing led to another and some of the videos got lost in the shuffle. Prior to that, Sharka and Mark Waite (NatureIsUs) joined our little band of happy hikers.

Last week, we were having website issues and Sharka offered to do some site revamping.

Working with Don McCauley (The Authors Show) they modified the book cover and created a new home page. On the website, “The Book” category, Sharka included the video that she and Mark had done earlier, along with the video Andrew Murdock recorded. She recovered the “lost video” that Jeff Cook recorded as well as one our daughter Nicole did of her father/author, posted on “The Author” page…

The video Jeff Cook did is beautifully and thoughtfully done. I would have felt better if John Muir’s name had been substituted for mine because it truly was Muir who rekindled hundreds of flames within me.

God moves in a mysterious way indeed.

http://faithtap.com/558/amazing-grace-played-on-pan-flute/#t/558/

Excerpt: Biodesign Out For A Walk, Chap. 28, “Amazing Faith.”

We were singing out of our songbooks, and, as was the custom, students were invited to make selections that they deemed appropriate. I was quietly strumming my guitar, waiting for the next song selection when someone suggested, “Amazing

Grace.” Dianna was at my left, and she leaned over and quietly said, “I

hate that song.”

“Amazing Grace” may be the quintessential musical mystery and irony. Love it or despise it, its enigmatic blend of melody and lyrics has made it the most widely known song on planet Earth. It has been translated into over 200 languages, a number that is probably too conservative. However, setting language apart, the melody often has a haunting, beguiling and soothing affect on listeners. Interestingly, the effects can be highly magnified when it is played on an oboe, pan flute or bagpipes. The song is played frequently in churches, at weddings, funerals and military memorial services.

Understandably, a song with such universal power and charisma could not exist without detractors. Agnostics often find it bothersome; Secular humanists and atheists typically reject it more viscerally. The song has been banned, either tacitly or overtly, from public performances in atheist countries and or communities. A growing number of public el/hi, college and universities, in the US have, removed the song from their “politically correct” list of songs that choirs can perform.

However, none of this rhetoric matters a whit to the families and loved ones who are standing in tears next to a casket of a soldier, police officer or fireman who died in the service of his fellow man. As terrible as the pain may be, there is often something deeply comforting when the notes of “Amazing Grace” groan out of a set of bagpipes.

I wept when I watched Doring’s video. Not 0nly because of the beauty and simplicity, but because our children are being taught they are soul-less, random accidents who are not appreciably different from chimpanzees. I don’t recall seeing a chimp fashion a pan flute or play a soul-stirring song. Really sad!