HYMN FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. The Lord will provide

Isaac and Abraham. Viborg Cathedral in Denmark by Skovgaard 1 Tho' troubles assail, and dangers affright, Tho' friends should all fail, and foes all unite; Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide, The promise assures us, The Lord will provide. 2 The birds without barn and storehouse are fed; From them let us learn to trust for our bread: His saints what is fitting shall ne'er be deny'd, So long as it's written, The Lord will provide. 3 We may, like the ships, by tempests be toss’d On perilous deeps, but need not be lost: Tho' Satan enrages the wind and the tide, Yet scripture engages, The Lord will provide. 4 His call we'll obey, like Abra'm of old; We know not the way, but faith makes us bold; For tho' we are strangers, we have a good guide, And trust in all dangers, The Lord will provide. 5 When Satan appears to stop up our path, And fills us with fears, we triumph by faith: He cannot take from us (tho' oft he has try'd) The heart-cheering promise, The Lord will provide. 6 He tells us we're weak, our hope is in vain, The good that we seek, we ne'er shall obtain; But when such suggestions our graces have try'd This answers all questions, The Lord will provide. 7 No strength of our own, nor goodness we claim, Our trust is all thrown on Jesus's name; In this our strong tower for safety we hide; The Lord is our power, The Lord will provide. 8. When life sinks apace, and death is in view, The word of his grace shall comfort us through; Not fearing nor doubting with Christ on our side, We hope to die shouting, The Lord will provide. REFLECTION Of the Scripture lessons suggested for this day, the account of Abraham and Isaac is by far the most compelling and well known. It is among the most discussed and difficult in the whole Bible. That God should demand Abraham sacrifice his son to prove his loyalty shocks many. At the same time, it cannot be dismissed. It appears through the Bible and many see Isaac as a precursor to Jesus who also trudges up a hill carrying the tree on which he will die. And this time his Father, God, lets it happen. It is all for our salvation. Newton’s text covers many of the teachings of Jesus in Matthew we have been struggling with over the past weeks—the birds God feeds, the temptation of Jesus, our facing of our own deaths and losing our lives when we take up our crosses—are all here. Each circumstance is difficult, but Christians, following in the footsteps of Abraham, Jesus and countless other faithful disciples, go forward believing the Lord will provide. “We hope to die shouting, The Lord will provide!” I can’t make the Isaac story palatable to everyone, nor should I. It needs deep discussions from us in small groups and studies. And it would profit from being discussed with this hymn at the forefront, sung over and worked with during the conversation. Faith is always a step into the darkness. We walk by faith, but not by sight. To take those steps, we need a guide, our Lord, who has promised to be with us and lead us into green pastures where we will stay forever with him. I say this trembling. Yet I believe it. HYMN INFO John Newton Written in 1775 for a worship service in the Great House of Olney, where Newton and William Cowper served, this hymn began with the line from the Genesis account, “The Lord will provide.” The two, who collaborated on the collection known as the Olney Hymns, 1779, included this text. It has been shortened over the years and the salient stanza on Abraham is often excluded. For more on Newton click below. It seems to have lost its place in current hymnody, but the contemporary worship musicians have found it and sing it a lot. The tune is not quite settled, so any LM meter tune might fit, but here are a couple of performances. LINKS The Story of Amazing Grace and John Newton/15 minutes well worth your time https://youtu.be/8m8AHHduTM0 The Lord will Provide Matthew Smith https://youtu.be/YfTjEMVfqew?si=-8nE3Fgdfd9ZYldn The Lord will Provide/Biblogic Music #20 https://youtu.be/PS1jTfDIBcE?si=RfFfp4RDp01xO9Va