Have you ever come across the ‘Early Advent’ or ‘Watchfulness’ section of the SDA Hymnal, and just leafed through it saying, ‘Hmmm, I don’t know that…, I don’t know that…, I don’t know that…’? Well, this hymn is one of those least known songs — rarely announced in Sabbath School song service, much less Divine…
Category: OPEN YOUR HYMNALS TO
Today’s congregational singing scene in many Protestant churches is a far cry from what it had been a couple hundred years ago. Aside from the simplicity with which their song servece were carried on, their hymnals then were also very different in that it did not contain written notes. At best, it contained words, with…
Tis Almost Time for the Lord to Come is one of those hymns I used to sing a lot in my childhood. It has a catchy tune and a nice driving rhythm to it. I remember my friends and I would always look forward to sing that pause “Oh…” at the beginning of the refrain,…
This hymn was really interesting to write about in that its words spanned nine years of revision by three (maybe four) different ministers who are all connected to each other. The general happenstance was this though — that after a conversion experience, this hymn was borne. Interestingly, the first one who originated this hymn was…
A strange plague swept across Europe resulting in deaths of an estimated 25 million people. London, Florence, Venice, and Avignon took a hard hit as the viral plague, which came to be known as “The Black Death,” ravaged the cities. German cities were not hit as hard if compared to the death tolls of other…
Many Adventists are familiar with the story of William Miller’s discovery of the partially correct, but extremely crucial, interpretation of Daniel 8:14. We all know of how he made a promise to God about sharing this message to people, only if invited to preach. For eight years, Miller was true to his promise. His itinerary…
The period between 1899 and 1901 was a dark history for Christians in China. A movement called “The Boxer Rebellion” took the life of many people, especially those who were associated with Western ideas of colonialism and the religious missionary activities that were associated with it. “They have eaten the foreigner’s medicine” This rebellion was…
It is a natural human tendency to ask, “How long?” when they have no idea what to expect of time. This question comes in all varieties, depending on the context we ask it. “How long do I have?” a patient on the brink of dying might ask. “How much longer will this take?” an annoyed…
A missionary couple, Mr. and Mrs. Porteous, were led to a lonely mountain spot by their Chinese executioners. The angry band hated that these missionaries were preaching the gospel. Pushing them to the ground, one very angry man took out his long sharp knife to kill them, only awaiting for the leader’s order to kill. Expecting…
This hymn is one of those oldie but goody kind of hymn. Whenever I hear this sung in church, I can’t deny the fervor and excitement that people usually sing it with. Musically speaking, I think one thing that contributes to that is the quick dotted rhythms at the beginning and end of every phrase…