OYH: Episode 2 – Pilgrimage, Loss and Hope: Untangling the Themes of “I’m A Pilgrim”

0:09 (INTRO)

Welcome to Open Your Hymnals, exploring the purpose and value of hymns so we can sing with spirit and understanding. I'm your host, Irene Bennett.

01:06 IRENE BENNETT

Hymns have been around since the ancient times with its roots deeply embedded in the religious and spiritual traditions. The most popular mention of songs in the Bible can be found in the Psalms, which is often attributed to King David. These poetic expressions of praise, lament, and devotion served as this foundational source for hymn. However, we do see the literal word "hymns" in the Bible hundreds of years later from when the Psalm was written. Here, mentioned for the first time in the New Testament, Paul wrote a letter to the Church of Ephesus saying, speaking to yourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. We find a similar passage in Colossians 3:16, which says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."

02:23 IRENE BENNETT

From here we see that speaking to each other and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs gives evidence to the fact that music played a significant role in the worship practices of the early Christian communities. Take note that during this time, they sound mostly Psalms, directly from the scripture, as in verbatim. I do wish we have examples so we can hear if there are any differences between the three genres, the Psalm, the hymns, and the spiritual songs.

However, it is hard to find references to congregational singing in church history before the fourth century, especially because the church was often forced to meet underground. But one thing we do know is that it was used in worship, hence becoming one of the original functions for hymns. Hymns are to be used in worship. You know, later on, historians would refer to this type of singing as Psalm-chanting.

So basically what they would do is they would choose direct passages from the Book of Psalms. Then that chosen passage was sung or chanted in a responsive manner, meaning with a cantor or a song leader would lead, and the congregation would respond. The cantor or the song leader and the congregation are not singing together, though, rather the congregation responds by either echoing what was sung by the cantor, or responding in a way that moves the music along.

The chanting was done in a free form manner, meaning it did not really strictly adhere to a specific musical structure. The focus was on the text itself, and melodies were often improvised on the spot. So it was very improvisatory. As Christianity grew and developed, we see hymns evolving as adaptations and extensions of biblical verses, meaning instead of sung directly from the Bible in a literal manner, the author writes his own original words, but the message still relates to the messages of the Scripture.

04:46 IRENE BENNETT

And so here, music history points to Ambrose of Milan in the fourth century who played a role in introducing hymn singing, the way we know it today in Christian worship. His hymns are described to represent a time where a significant development was happening in corporate worship. Well, what was Ambrose's contribution? Well, in an article written by Titus Cantrell, his opening paragraphs said "In AD 386, the hymn, as we know it was born not at a scholar's desk or in a choir loft, but in a besieged church.

The troops of Justina encircle the Cathedral of Milan, threatening to take Bishop Ambrose into captivity and set up an Arian leader in his place. The only reason they had not yet burst through the door was that they feared the people who remained, supporting their bishop. It was at this crucial moment that Ambrose earned his title as the Father of Western Hymnody, leading his people in song and strengthening their resolve."

I mean, so imagine we have the Justinians or the Goths attacking Italy surrounding particularly the cathedral of Milan, ready to fight and force authority on them. The bishop, which is Ambrose, did not fight back, but rather he led the people in singing praises to God, driving the soldiers away. This event reminds me of that instance in the Bible where King Jehoshaphat led the people to battle. They were small, and clearly the opposition had a clear chance of winning.

06:34 IRENE BENNETT

Actually, let's turn our Bible to II Chronicles 20, starting from verse 14. Actually, I'm going to start at 15. So here we have Jehaziel, prophet of the Lord, and the spirit of God came upon him and he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. And you king Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid, nor dismayed because of this great multitude for the battle is not yours but God's."

So basically from this encouragement and from the word of God, Jehoshaphat led the army into battle. And then there is, um, instruction, more instructions on verse 17. It says, "You will not need to fight in this battle, position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you, oh Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed tomorrow, go out against them, for the Lord is with you.

And so they continued to worship. And then on verse 20, here it says, "So they rose early in the morning and went out in the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehosaphat stood and said, "Hear me O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established, believe His prophets and you shall prosper." They continued to praise the Lord. They, they had a worship service basically before going into battle.

And you know what he did? Let's go down to, uh, verse 21. "And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and were saying, Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever." And verse 22, "Now, when they began to sing and to praise the Lord, set ambushes against the people of Amman, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah and they were defeated."

08:50 IRENE BENNETT

So that was what I really remembered when, um, I was reading about the story of Bishop Ambrose, when he also tried to defeat the Goths by singing and leading the people into singing hymns. And so from hence forward, we see Ambrose in history being hailed as one of the first Christians to compose original songs for the Latin church.

Now, we're skipping loads of historical background here, but hopefully we can have an episode tracing these lines and comparing it to what we as Adventists are familiar with. But back to Ambrose. And so though a few men before him had written metrical music for corporate worship, so don't go get me wrong, this is not something original that Ambrose created, and that he's the first one to create it. But the thing is, Ambrose, as hymns surpass those of his predecessors in both quantity and quality.

And so Ambrose defined the next thousands of years' church music. So much so that Martin Luther translated his hymns into German for the first hymn book of the Reformation. And the Protestant churches modeled many of their hymns on the works of Ambrose. No other hymn writer from the first 500 years of church history has so impacted the singing of the modern church.

Musically speaking, this is what he really did. He expanded the church music repertoire by introducing hymns with original lyrics that were not directly taken from the Psalms. 'Cause remember, every song that was sung was verbatim straight out of the book of Psalms, right? But rather what he did was an adaptation of the Psalm. So let me just give you an example of Ambrose's hymn. It's, this is a very, uh, short excerpt. We're just only going to listen to the first stanza. The title of this hymn is " Deus Creator Omnium", which is in English " God, that All Things Did Create."

10:49 [MUSIC] Deus Creator Omnium / God, that All Things Did Create (Ambrosian hymn)

11:45 IRENE BENNETT

Okay? So remember, this is the fourth century, and music has not yet really developed as we know it today. So the music is maybe a bit weird, sounds weird for those who are not really used to, um, listening to this kind of music. But I did mention Martin Luther a while ago. And so speaking of Martin Luther, we know that the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century significantly impacted hymnody. Martin Luther emphasized congregational participation.

It was so important for him that the congregation will be able to sing the hymns in church. And so one of the ways he did this was by composing hymns in vernacular languages. A while ago when you were listening to Ambrose's hymn, we did not really understand it because it's in Latin. So basically, Martin Luther had the same problem. A lot of the people are not educated and cannot understand what they were singing. And so he translated a lot of the hymns from Latin to German so that the people would really understand what they were singing.

And of course, that opened up for a congregational participation. Luther's "Mighty Fortress is Our God" is a landmark example. Luther adapted a tune from a secular song and then changed the lyrics so that he will be able to highlight the theology. Let me give you a short example of the original, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God", back to when it was not yet in our regular hymnals.

14:08 [MUSIC] Eine 'feste burg, ist unser Gott / A Mighty Fortress is Our God (Martin Luther)

15:11 IRENE BENNETT

All right. And so before Luther, the plainchant or the Gregorian chant were the prevailing form of sacred music, okay? And most of this was sung in the Roman Catholic Church. These were monophonic melodies, meaning one sound or mostly unison without harmonies happening. And it is usually associated with the liturgical texts or the books compiled by the Roman Catholic Church that included prayers and responses.

However, these songs are often sung by the choir, the clergy or the soloist that's, you know, hired by the church, but rarely or never by the congregation. And so you can just really see how Martin Luther was really adamant in making sure that, well, in the Reformation Church, the people has to sing the hymns. So just for those who may not be, uh, familiar, this is just a really small excerpt also of a Gregorian chant.

And try to remember how "A Mighty Fortress" sounded like. And compare it to this Gregorian chant.

16:17 [MUSIC] Viderunt omnes (Gregorian chant)

17:45 IRENE BENNETT

Which music did you think was easier to put German words to and would easily catch onto the masses? Obvious answer is the first one. And Martin Luther was really providing access. That was his main goal, to make worship and hymns accessible to the common people. And so by using familiar secular tunes that were already known in the community, he ensured that congregations would easily grasp and sing the hymns and this approach democratized worship, so to speak, allowing everyone regardless of musical training, to participate actively.

I'm not going to into the debate regarding the use of secular tunes in the church right now. Okay? But here we see that another, um, you see another function for hymns, Luther saw the adaptation of secular melodies as an opportunity to convey theological messages through familiar tunes. And by repurposing these melodies for hymns, he would convey Christian teachings in a way that resonated with the cultural context of the people.

18:58 IRENE BENNETT

Now, we're gonna move to centuries ahead in time where we see brothers Charles and John Wesley. Now, these two really played a crucial role in hymn-writing during the 18th century. Many of you may recognize that these two brothers founded the Methodist movement. So the name Methodist itself reflects the methodical approach that the early followers of John Wesley took to their Christian faith. They adhered to a systematic and disciplined approach in their spiritual lives.

You may recall that Ellen G. White herself was raised in a Methodist home before she became an Adventist. Now, the Methodist movement created hymns that conveyed both theological depth and emotional expression. The hymns of the Wesley Brothers are really known for their robust theological content. It was really full and rich and deep, so to speak. John, the guy that you see on your left was more of the preacher expounding biblical truths in the pulpit and in writing, while Charles, his brother on the right is a poet, and the musician crafting hymns that express the key doctrines of the Christian faith, including atonement, justification by faith, and sanctification.

For the Methodists, these hymns served as a means of teaching and reinforcing theological concepts among the congregation. And that basically echoed Martin Luther sentiments. Not only should the hymn-singing be accessible, but also to reiterate the gospel message. And so if you would just go through the hymnal, you would be surprised that a lot are there written by Charles Wesley.

And this is just, uh, an exhaustive example, right? So maybe as a music leader in your church, if you're listening to this, that you can have an afternoon dedicated to singing this Wesleyan hymns and spend a few minutes discussing the theology that these hymns embody. It'll be such a rich experience to see how much depth a few stanzas can possess. But let us hear one of the hymn that Charles Wesley composed. And this is a familiar hymn, "Rejoice, the Lord is King."

The example we're going to hear is by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir arranged for choir, organ, and orchestra by Mack Wilberg.

21:33 [MUSIC] "Rejoice the Lord Is King" for choir, organ and orchestra (Mormon Tabernacle Choir / arr. by Mack Wilberg)

25:21 IRENE BENNETT

These hymns are certainly timeless, but as the years rolled forward, we see another surge of hymn writing in the 19th century that emphasized more of the personal experience and salvation of a person. Writers such as Fannie Crosby on the, on the picture right here. She's gonna be the one right at the back with the glasses, because she's blind. William Bradbury to the left, the back, and many others contributing to this blooming era of hymns.

I think we have here the composer for, "Oh, Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go", "Take My Life and Let It Be." And many of the hymns that we still love and sing today. Now, during the Victorian era, around this century, we see also the Second Great Awakening. This era saw a surge in religious revivalism emphasizing personal conversion and salvation. And then there's also the social emphasis on morality and piety.

The hymns aligns with societal values of individual responsibility and adhering to spiritual beliefs. They also like to focus on death and the afterlife in many of the hymns, because in this Victorian society, they really grappled with high mortality rates, making the themes of comfort and eternal hope, particularly relevant. So I know we've been kind of doing a quick history of hymns run down, but since we're really mainly talking about the hymn, "I'm a Pilgrim."

27:02 IRENE BENNETT

We're going to pitch our tent right here in the Victorian era. And so the Victorian hymns influenced by the prevailing musical styles of the time, often featured simple and singable melodies. You will also see a heavy use of refrains. So if you check your hymnals and you'll see, oh, there's a refrain, there's a refrain, you can bet that it is from the 19th century. And so to make it more memorable, the refrain is really the main line.

Kind of like if you forget everything that you just sang, at least remember this, so the refrain, right? So the refrain is that bit some over and over and over. So it sticks to your brain. So next week we will talk more about the music side of the hymn. How did an author get to decide what tunes to go with their hymns? Do they even make that decision? And why would many of these hymns sung to the secular tunes of the day? Should we practice the same things today or no?

28:04 IRENE BENNETT

We will try to answer those questions next week. And so make sure that, uh, you tune in. And so for the next segment of today's episode, I have invited Davin Bennett, of Flying By Faith, who also happened to be my husband, to help me analyze the text of "Im a Pilgrim." We're not going to go deep into the literary devices and stuff like that, but we will be including those in the show notes. So instead, we, what we're going to do is we're gonna try to make the text more relevant and applicable to how we live our lives as Christians.

28:31 IRENE BENNETT

But before we do, uh, I'd like to briefly show you the work we've been doing here at Hymns for Worship. So here at Hymns for Worship, we are really striving hard to provide resources for churches so that they can better sing with spirit and understanding.

And so aside from this, uh, video podcast that we're trying to put out, um, if you visit the, the actual hymn that we're talking about, SDA Hymn No. 444. In Hymns for Worship, we provide you with a text. And then on the right side, we provide, um, these are also, of course all from the SDA Hymnal, now the biblical references. And so you would see what biblical verses would match each stanza, and then the author, what year it was published, metrical number, which we'll be talking about next week.

And if it was based from an existing tune, then as you keep scrolling down, we have the notation for the actual hymn. And I understand that many churches have different hymnals. And so what we're trying to put up is the actual international SDA hymnal. And then on the right side is if there's a video available online, or if Hymns for Worship can actually make one, then we try to provide that. So especially for those unfamiliar hymns, then the congregations will have an example.

And if you want to download the PDF of the hymn, uh, if there's also, if you don't have a pianist in your church, we also have provided an accompaniment. You can download the accompaniment, or if the pitch of the songs or the hymns is too high or too low, then we also have transpositions for, for those hymns. And so we are really trying our best, so that congregations will learn to love these hymns.

And then if you keep scrolling down, um, this is the side where you can get to know more about the hymns. So this is just an, uh, an article that we put together so that we can learn a little bit about Mary Dana, which is, actually, last week's episode was based on this article. And then we have also provided related posts, so that if you wanna keep researching and you wanna go even deeper, then we provide related, um, songs and other stuff in the website as well.

And then we're gonna skip this a bit 'cause it's the Sabbath. But anyway, if you keep going down the notes here, um, a lot of song leaders like this part here, we have an SDA hymnal companion where we can use it for like, when we're maybe leading song service, and we want to kind of just introduce the song in a short way, then here is something that we can share.

Also, we include this in their song leaders notes. So for example, what we do is for the lesson quarterly, every week we try to provide a list of hymns that, uh, go together with the lesson. And so here, we actually included this in our list in the 2023, first quarter lesson, lesson 7. So it would be there, and then this is something new that we have, we are still working on. Um, but this is for those who are homeschooling. You have kids and you want to, you know, you want your kids to kind of be involved in this whole learning the hymn type of thing in your family, not just in the church.

Then we provide materials as well. So like I said, it's, we just have traceable stuff, but we are working on adding more to this. So this is just what we have in the website. So if you have the time to kind of explore, we hope that you will be blessed by the content there.

32:31 IRENE BENNETT

So anyway, just going back to Davin. Thank you so much, Davin, for joining us tonight. What we're going to do is we're actually going to just look at the lyrics, and we would like you to kind of share with us your experience, right? So for example, in the first stanza, for those who are watching us, you can grab your hymnals to Hymn NO. 444.

And here in the first stanza, it says, "I'm a pilgrim and I'm a stranger. I can tarry, I can tarry, but a night. Do not detain me for I am going to where the fountains are ever flowing." So from the get-go, we clearly see there's a type of storytelling emerging here. So for you, Davin, though, how does, you know, the word pilgrim resonate to your own life experiences or your own spiritual journey?

33:33 DAVIN BENNETT

Well, thank you for, um, inviting me on your platform. It's a blessing to be here. Uh, when I think about pilgrimage, I think about being on a long journey. Um, it's gonna have its challenges. It's gonna have its ups and downs and wow moment. And, but it, it, it's definitely, when I think about pilgrimage, it's never a short sprint. It's, it's gonna be a marathon.

You're in it for the long haul. So this thing is gonna last a while. And so pilgrimage for me is, um, you're on a journey, you're moving and you're encountering different things, um, along the way. Then that part that says, and I'm a stranger, you know, like, I've traveled to different countries as a missionary. I've had the opportunity to be in Canada for 3 years, the US for about 5 years, Philippines, 10 years.

And being in these different countries where I'm originally from Jamaica, I, I just always feel like a stranger.

Of course, you meet people who embrace you like family, but at the end of the day, in spite of the closeness between strangers who become family and friends, et cetera, you still know for sure I was not born here. Um, you, I'm adjusting to the culture and the way of life. Even some places I've been to, there's challenges with language, which the basic means of communication, right? Language, but you have a language barrier. So, stranger for me, is a principle that runs throughout my pilgrimage in doing missionary work in various different countries.

35:31 DAVIN BENNETT

Um, I like the idea where the hymn writer says, "I can tarry, I can tarry, but a night." You know, when you think about night, I think about, I'm tired, , it's the time to rest and be, re-energized to continue tomorrow, what I was doing today, right? And I noticed the hymn writer says, 'You know what?

I, I can tarry.' You know, and I've tarried in different places. When I went to Canada, I, I was not there to become a citizen and be there for the rest of my life. I was just doing missionary work, and I knew my visa had an expiration date. So my night season was, you know, very short. A couple months here, a couple months there. Being in the US was the same thing. Um, I, I was not on an extended visa. I was there limited time.

So the tarrying suggests that you, you're passing through, you're not gonna be there for long term. And connecting to the night does suggest that this tarrying, it's a shortness of time, but it's also a reflection of what's going on, on the journey that you would even see the need to tarry, right? Um, if I'm having fun and enjoying myself, you wanna, you wanna, I mean, no one wants to have a short vacation.

Everybody would love to have a long vacation, but the reality is you have to get back to work. And if you do it away from family and friends, you wanna get back to that. So I think it's the same concept the hymn writer has when they say, "I can tarry, I can tarry, but a night", you know.

37:32 DAVIN BENNETT

And then it says, "Do not detain me, do not detain me for I am going to where the fountains are ever flowing." So whatever is going on, like, when I was in Canada, I knew time was coming. I had met some wonderful people, they wanted me to stay back, but I said, no, I have to go. Same thing in the US learning to become a missionary. Um, I was given job offers on the campus, and I said to them, you know what? I'm so sorry, but I came here to be trained.

Now that I am finished, I really need to go. You know? And so you're not being rude, but, you know, and that's the thing with the pilgrimage life and being a stranger, you are not that you're, you don't allow yourself to become absorbed into that particular location where you are, you're still focused. And that's what the hymn writer is saying, "Do not detain me for I am going to where the fountains are overflowing."

So I'm on this pilgrimage. I I'm a stranger in this particular area of life, but I have an end goal. I know where I'm going, you know, I know exactly, um, what to expect. And even though I'm gonna tarry a little bit, I, I just don't want you to detain me. Don't lock me away into your world. I'm not here to get citizenship and benefits and have a lot, you know, depending on what journey you're on.

And for me as a missionary, there is an end goal somewhere. And I have to remember, no matter what pause I'm gonna take, or a furlough or a break, there is a focus and there's a destination that I have in mind. And I see the hymn, uh, reflecting my missionary life as well, because it talks about where the fountains are ever flowing. Um, that clearly suggests that this pilgrimage that I am on, it's not connected to this world.

39:29 DAVIN BENNETT

Where do you find that fountain that is ever flowing? I, I'm gonna leave the host to shed some light on that, but it suggests to me that being on this pilgrimage, you're a stranger in the different localities and the different areas of that journey. You tarry a little bit here and there, but you have to stay focused because you're going somewhere.

39:51 IRENE BENNETT

That's true. I mean, I cannot add anything more to that. Um, actually, when you were talking about the idea of being a pilgrim and being a stranger, there's this verse that kind of reminded me, and actually it was in the list also for what relates to the stanza. And so if you have your Bibles, you can open it to Hebrews 11:13. This is the chapter where, you know, we're talking about the, the pilgrim fathers, Noah, Abel, Enoch. And then when we get to this verses in 13, it says, "These all died in faith," meaning our forefathers "not having received the promises, but seeing them afar off, and we're persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth."

Isn't that the Christian life? I think we really have to just relate to our lives here on earth as a pilgrim and a stranger.

There was a time, and I never really wanted that. I, I remember, um, I was talking to one of my friends and we were like, no, we don't want Jesus to come. We want to tarry and like this, the writer who said, you know, just for a night, but do not detain me. But, you know, uh, we have to be reminded that we're not here forever. Okay? But let's go to the second stanza. And actually it's a continuation of where the person is going. And she ended that first answer with, to where the fountains are ever flowing.

And then she continues to describe where she's going "There, the glory is ever shining. Oh, my longing heart, my longing heart is there. Here in this country, so dark and dreary. I long have wondered forlorn and weary." And so for you, Davin, um, how does the contrast of, you know, between darkness and shining glory resonate with your understanding of being on a spiritual journey?

And also, can you recall moments in your life where, you know, you have those kind of contrasting things?

42:05 DAVIN BENNETT

Um, it, it goes back to why you're on this journey. Like, for example, when I was doing missionary work in Canada, my objective was to share Christ through books. So knocking on doors, trying to share Christ through various books, health books, uh, religious books, et cetera. And Canada became very dark and dreary for me in that because of the reason why I am there, I was constantly coming across people who did not want to hear anything about God or religion.

They're not religious. They're slamming their doors, they're getting upset. You know, they're very agitated. And it's just a small group of people that was inclined to entertain me, take my books, have me pray for them. And so when I look at why I was there and the experience I was having, it became dark. It became dark because I was like, there is really a need to share Christ and to share God and religion with these people, but they're so busy with the job, the material things and the worldly desires that for many, like majority of the people I met on a daily basis was not interested in God and religion.

And it gave me this eye-opening experience where this world is so dark, because here I am going out every day, and, but most of the people I interact with is the opposite of what I would want to see in this world. You know, if I was in a, a country where majority is Christian, they just love God, they love to sing, they want to read the Bible, et cetera, it would've been a wonderful, beautiful experience. But that was not the case.

Um, when I was in the States, it's a very similar, very similar experience, except with a little... a slightly difference in that, um, I did missionary work done in the Southern part of the states, or they call it the Bible Belt area. And I noticed that people were pretty much locked away behind their own religious beliefs and concepts and ideas that they were not so open to hear yours, you know?

So Canada was either religious or not, but in the US it was like, people are more religious, but they have a confined way that they understand God and religion. And so that became a challenge for me because as a Christian, I've always aspire to learn more. I don't bury myself behind the church that I go to each week, and the list of beliefs that, that, um, denomination might profess, I'm very open to hear from other Christians and other religions, et cetera.

What is their faith? You know? Um, being in the Philippines, doing missionary work can be dark for me many times because, um, I'm surrounded with people who are sick, who are poor, who are struggling, who are suffering. And it just makes me cry out for a better world. A world that has less sickness, less disease, less poverty, less unfortunate people, less underprivileged, you know?

Um, and, and so the missionary life exposes me to a world which is the opposite of the world that I am really dreaming about, that I want to be a part of. And I am inspired in spite of the darkness. I try to be the switch , you know, you can walk in a dark room and just grope around and slam into people. Uh, as one person puts it this way, you can curse the darkness or you can light a candle.

And so rather than spend time to curse the darkness, I've decided as a missionary, how can I be a candle in this work wherever I go, and I'm surrounded with this dark and dreariness this, how can I be a candle for others in this dark and dreary world?

46:30 IRENE BENNETT

Nice. I really like that, um, example that you just gave us about, you know, choosing to light the candle instead of, you know, just cursing the darkness kind of thing. For me though, what I also would remember, I mean, I would relate to the contrast between the darkness and the glory is more on a bigger thing is also the conversion experience, right? I mean, is it something, um, for you as well, like, you know, we we're doing all these things and then we get converted and, you know, we see things in a different light, so to speak.

Um, you were talking about your experiences about, um, you know, being in the Philippines as a missionary, kind of like a dark and dreary experience because, um, you know, you are always surrounded by those kinds of people. Those are the kinds of people that you're helping, uh, here in the Philippines. And so it's interesting that in the third stanza, the final stanza where she wrote, "There's the city to which I journey my redeemer. My redeemer, is its light.

And what you just said, "There is no sorrow nor any sighing, nor any tears there or any dying." So kind of like just repeating that, that, um, longing, right? So for you who's, you know, more, more exposed to the sorrow and the sighing and the tears and the dying, how do you, how do you share the hope with these people?

48:06 DAVIN BENNETT

So it, it's a very good question. And one of them is, I, I see the, the opportunity for me is when I'm going through my struggle, 'cause if you notice the second stance, the end with I have, "I long have wandered forlorn and weary," right? Yeah. So it's the journey. It, it takes every fiber of your being to survive this journey. And you come to days, months, even sometime years where you're so worn out, you're weary, this labor you're involved with, you're, you're seeing the world, you're putting in the effort.

Sometimes people are not so open-minded that you're not so successful in these efforts that you're trying to do. And it begins to make you wary. Of course, the Bible says, let us not be weary in well doing for in due season if, if we faint not right, we shall reap with joy.

And so there's still the reality, though. The text never says, you will never get weary, just says, let us not be weary in well doing, because, you know, there's a harvest, but you have to make sure your job, your responsibility, your commitment is no matter what's happening, um, don't faint . And Jesus would say, okay, come and rest a little while. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly, and my burden is light.

So when I look at the contrast, first and foremost, I challenge myself to say, you know what, what if people don't appreciate and accept what I am sharing with them? Is this something real for me? Or am I a believer? Because when I go out there to share it, I have a crowd who is so inspired and motivated, you know? So I take a very personal introspective look, is what I am talking about and sharing something that's real for me.

Meaning, if nobody else accepts it, am I going to accept it? Is it really something that's, as Paul would say, um, for I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded. Am I convinced? Am I really persuaded? That's the first thing I establish in my mind and my heart, because if I base what I'm sharing off the recipient, then it's gonna fluctuate. When I meet somebody who is intrigued and inspired and interested, then I'm pumped up.

I'm encouraged, right? But then when I meet the persons who are not so intrigued, who are not interested, now I'm sad and I'm discouraged. So I try not to base my conviction and my conversion off the recipients of the ministry efforts that I'm trying to be at, because that kind of foundation is very unstable. So to share the hope now, what I share, and I often tell people I do sermons and devotional, and I inspire people.

I encourage people. A lot of times what I am preaching to others and inspire others with, it's really what God used to energize me personally. So it first impacted me. So even if it doesn't impact you or inspire you, it doesn't really change it for me, , you know. Because, um, and, and I, and I often share with, with individuals, I said, the good sermons that I feel like, man, I preach are good sermons.

It's good because God used that sermon to do something for me, and I'm just sharing what he did for me with others. So sharing the hope for me, the foundation of it is, it's first very real for me. I'm very persuaded. I'm very convinced. And I don't base my enthusiasm, conviction, conversion on the recipients of the ministry and my missionary effort.

But I just share it.

Like, I'm not gonna be selfish. There's something going on in my life. God is doing amazing things for me, and I'd like to share it to see, can you relate? Um, is it something you needed to hear, et cetera, you know? So, so that's kind of my safeguard, to protect myself from having certain expectations that is not realistic. Sometimes that will not be met. And once I said it like that, I said, Lord, you know what? If nobody appreciates this sermon, it's okay.

Because this sermon was primarily for me. And it was just nice to get an opportunity to share it with others. This encouraging thought to someone, you know? And, and I noticed too that in sharing the hope with others, what I am sharing with them, like for example, if someone is discouraged and I'm trying to encourage them, I honestly, I'm talking to people, but I'm also really listening to myself.

And I do a little introspective look. And I will say, okay, this person is discouraged. This person is suicidal, this person is depressed, this person has anxiety. I'm trying to lift their spirit. But my question is, if when I was depressed, when I was, you know, feeling all these different things, did this work for me or not? You know, is it just a nice thing I found that I'm just gonna read to you? Or I was in the same experience?

I mean, I'm telling you, God came through for me and I know he can do for me. Am I speaking from experience or just some theoretical knowledge that I pulled up some texts and do little thinking and common sense? You know? So that's kinda where it is for me. And, and when I put it that way, it wasn't always like that. It was not always like that. I used to really look forward to the applause, the pat on the shoulder, people coming up to me at the end of church and say, man, a powerful sermon.

You know, it feed, it was feeding my ego. It, it put that extra step after Sabbath and like, man, yeah, the brethren were blessed, but I've learned I cannot bank on that 'cause it's not always gonna be there.

55:04 IRENE BENNETT

You know? Um, it's interesting when you were saying that when you're sharing to people, it's something that you have experienced as well. It's not just something theoretical. And, um, just going back to the third stanza where, you know, that last two lines where the writer has this hope where there's no more sorrow or any sighing or any tears. And I remember from last week's episode, she could really relate to this because, um, if you, our listeners, if you have listened to it, you would remember Mary Dana, her son, her, her husband died, and then a few days later, her son died. A few weeks before that her brother died.

And when her son was actually born, her sister died. So she's been into this, you know, just years of everyone is dying, right? And it's not just people that she's like casually that she casually knows, but they're, she's very close to them. And so, you know, she can really relate to what she was writing. It's something that she has experienced for herself. Um, just kind of like, um, wrapping things up here. Do you remember Davin, when we were having family worship last week when we were talking about, uh, when you were reading from that book and James White was singing this hymn?

Do you remember that instance?

56:27 DAVIN BENNETT

Yes. Sacrifice and Commitment.

56:28 IRENE BENNETT

Wanna share it with us?

56:30 DAVIN BENNETT

Um, , you know, the, the pioneers, uh, can I grab the book?

56:36 IRENE BENNETT

Yeah. So we can share with our, um, viewers what we have been reading. And it's interesting because when he was reading this, and I'm like, oh, we're doing a podcast on, "I'm a Pilgrim."

56:48 DAVIN BENNETT

Um, so basically, this is the book, I think my screen is inverted. Sacrifice and Commitment. It's by James R. Nix, edited by Olivia Klein. And we're in chapter five where we were looking at, actually, no, we were, um, we're in the end of, yeah, we finished up chapter four, and they were just talking about, uh, mowing for the Lord. James White was cutting grass right in the field to earn money for the travels that he had to do to different speaking appointments and just singing the song.

I'm a pilgrim in this world. If you've lived in this world long enough and you start having a certain relationship with God, this world can become very dark. But the, the reality is, I had an experience recently where, you know, I, I share a lot in social media. And I saw a, a little darkness in this world.

I'm not gonna get into details about it, but I saw a very dark aspect to this world creeping up and being somebody who was born in the mid 80s, where this thing was more like very rare, hardly talked about, but now it's becoming such a trend, and it's becoming the norm. You know, it's being legalized and laws are being passed, and infrastructure is put in place to facilitate this thing.

And I'm sitting there and I'm like, I wanna curse this darkness, this, this world. What is it coming to? So without attacking anything personally, I said, man, I can't believe I've come to live in a society where I gotta deal with this, and I have to deal with that. And in my effort to just reflect and kind of analyze this world from that perspective, people took offense. People took offense to my reflection.

And that's kind of how the, the nature of this world. If the crowd is kind of going a certain direction, that the tide is going a certain way, and you don't get on that and kind of cheer that on, or you might differ, but kind of keep your difference to yourself. We've come to this world in this country, the dark and dreary, where just to vocalize or verbalize or think aloud can set you up to really offend people.

You, you lose friends, you lose associates. You, you, you become at variance with family members over certain things. Um, and, and so it's really a struggle to find a balance. Um, I remember I was reading in Ellen White's writing where she spoke about a lady, and I think it ties in here with the song. She, she saw this lady, and the lady was just constantly depressed and sad.

And it's like the lady had a dream, you know, she's going through, she saw these beautiful flowers, really nice flowers, but attached to those flowers were thorns, right? So she saw the beauty of the plants, but she also saw the thorn. And the lady now began to focus her attention on the thorns. And Ellen White wrote to her and said, listen, stop focusing on the thorns because they will only hurt you .

Okay? Don't focus on the thorns. It's just gonna hurt you. And, and I think that's what the hymn writer is trying to point out here. Like, and I think that's what you're trying to get at too with this week's segment. Um, you're sharing the hope as a missionary, it's your responsibility to help, you know, be the candle. And, and wherever you go, you kind of illuminate that area of that place, right?

It's not easy to not look at the thorns. It's there, you know, you, you grab a plant, you hold it too tight with the thorn, I notice, I buy roses for you, um, all the time. They take the effort to remove the thorns because when the thorn is off, you can appreciate the plant more. You can hold it and not get hurt, right? And I think as a missionary, that's what I'm trying to do. I'm holding onto this world. It does prick me sometimes, but it's the only way I'm going to appreciate the bouquet of flowers.

I cannot have it otherwise. If it was left to me, I would just produce fragrant flowers with no thorns. I would take all the darkness of this world and throw it out the window and just make it a beautiful place. But I have no control over that.

So how can I, and I challenge myself as a missionary all the time. How can I come to a point where I can be the candle, be the difference, and hope that it will inspire other candles? I grew up in Jamaica. Have you ever paid attention to how charcoal is used for cooking? Right. Yeah. It's, it's, it's a very nice example.

Um, so you have all these bunch of charcoals, right? And you, you, you, you fill the cold pot with a lot of it. You fill the cold pot with a lot of charcoal, but you cannot light the entire pot of charcoal in one go. So what you do is you light a small portion, and once a small portion gets lit over time, it creates enough heat that it lights a little more, a little more and a little more. And after a while, the entire pot of unlit charcoal is fully on fire.

It produce such heat that your rice and peas, your soup, your dumplings. Even the iron, back in those days, we used to heat the iron. Okay? And, and you put it in there. So, so that's what I'm learning, that I can be a small little charcoal that's lit on fire. And when I come closer and closer to other charcoal who might not be on fire, um, if I hang around them long enough, you, you create a little warmth, a little heat, and next thing you know, they get lit. They light somebody else and light someone else and light someone else.

63:49 IRENE BENNETT

That's a really nice way of, you know, um, looking at the hymn, you know? And actually, you never shared with us a story. Did you, you just went on a...

64:03 DAVIN BENNETT

Right

64:04 IRENE BENNETT

On a tangent.

64:05 DAVIN BENNETT

Sorry. Sorry.

64:06 IRENE BENNETT

You can give us like a, a short summary of what you remember actually.

64:10 DAVIN BENNETT

Um, I don't think it was last week exactly. It was prior to that. Oh yeah, it was prior to that. But, um, so what happened was, um, as you know, these pioneers were men who they were singing hymns. And, and that's the thing with music back then versus music today. I'm not here to talk about the dynamics , but it's like the music was the outlet to express themself. You know, like I'm having a certain experience, a song comes to mind, I begin to sing it, and those words begin to resonate with my mind.

And that was happening with him, basically, that they're going through the experience they're facing the hunger, they're low on food, they're tight on budget, they don't know where money is gonna come from. And so the guy just break out in a song to help his mental health and say, you know what, man, I'm a pilgrim and I'm a stranger, .

So it was really their reaction. And actually society is still the same. Believe it. I'm from Jamaica, and when I want to know what's going on in Jamaica, all I have to do is just tune into the top artists who are putting music out there. And I can tell you the status of my culture and my society and my world. It's reflected in the music. And I said, okay, if music is a response and it's an outlet, I too can find the appropriate song that will cheer me, by the way, that will encourage me.

It'll lift my heart. Because I don't always remember bible verses, but I can remember a hymn because that's music. It gets into the subconscious. You start having a certain experience and the song comes back to memory. And then you dig into it and you realize the person was having the same experience and it gave birth to the hymn. Well, I'm not gonna, I don't need to write the whole thing. Someone already wrote it out for me. So all I have to do is when I'm having worship and I sing these hymns, they become my experience as well. They begin to reflect my walk with God as well.

66:29 IRENE BENNETT

That's right. Um, okay, so I have one final question, but I kind of like want to lead into that. I remember when I was, um, doing my research on this hymn, there's this website, and it's actually a cool website. It's hymnary.org if I'm, I'm not mistaken. H-Y-M-N-A-R-Y.org. Right? And they have this kind of like survey where they take you from when the hymn existed up to, to today. And they will tell you, okay, you would see there's like a graph. And when the song was like, published in so many hymnals, right? And so "Im a Pilgrim" was published around 1800s and it was like booming. A lot of churches were singing and publishing it in their hymnals. When you go to like the 2000s, you hardly see this hymn anymore, published in, in hymnals. You would see it in the Seventh Day Adventist hymnal.

But I remember when I give piano lessons, I ask my students, 'cause we, we have hymns, um, as well as aside from classical stuff. And I would ask them, do you know this song? No. And a lot of the people that I ask, not just my students, but like, when I go to churches and talk about early advent music, I would ask them, do you know this hymn? Do you know this hymn? And I've never met someone who would say yes that they know. So I'm thinking maybe from, from from the kind of, um, survey that I do, not a lot of people are, um, singing this hymn anymore.

68:18 IRENE BENNETT

And so for me though, I believe that the messages that we hear at church, usually the hymns should reflect that. Right? Would it be bold to assume that pilgrimage is not something that's emphasized anymore in, in church?

68:39 DAVIN BENNETT

I mean, I, I don't wanna come across as a self-righteous, I'm so well off...

68:45 IRENE BENNETT

Yeah. Trying to get myself in trouble.

68:47 DAVIN BENNETT

But I'm gonna be honest with you, the hymn, it's becoming a bit extinct. Um, people sing them, it's still sung, but it's more routine. Yeah. You know, it's very routine. It's very repetitious, like the selection of hymns, it's pretty much the same common ones that runs throughout the average church. When you get into a hymn like this, it's not a popular, well known, one that's utilized.

And that goes back to, um, what are the sermons being preached in the church? Who is the song service leader? You know, you can't give something that you don't have, basically. And so I think there's definitely, uh, something there to contemplate, to say, why would you even ask the question about this hymn? Clearly you're having a certain experience. And when you compare yourself unknowingly to others, you're like, okay, here I am digging into the advent, um, history.

I'm pulling up these hymns, and then I'm in my zeal. And and it's like, you go to a store, you find a, a new item, and you can't wait to share it with other people. You know, that's your review. You, you put it on Facebook, hashtag so and so, right? Yeah. Or you, you check in, you know, you're so wow with it that you wanna share it. When you get to the church with all that enthusiasm, 'Hey man, this hymn...' And then they're like, um, okay. Uh, all right.

And then you become this conservative person. So I honestly think that depending on the, the experience you're having, this book as an example, as a missionary, the Sacrifice and Commitment. I'm not advertising it too much, but I, when I came across it, the title itself struck me, the spirit of sacrifice and commitment. As a missionary, am I willing to sacrifice?

Am I committed? You know? And then I dig into it and I start realizing, wow, you know what? When I go through hardship today, it's nothing new. Because the pioneers went through it. They endured a lot. The foundation of this church was built on blood, sweat, and tears, and people sacrificed everything, cut grass, did domestic work to give money so that this message could have been preached in different parts of the US, different parts of the world, you know?

And so I honestly believe that the experience we're having is a reflection of what we are feeding ourselves with. That's really what's going on. So now before I go attack the symptoms in people, I step back and I ascertain what's the problem here? So if I ask you about a hymn and you don't know, okay, I'm not gonna be frustrated, it's just gonna say to me, you know what, this person, where they are at right now, what they're feeding themselves with would not flow into what I am feeding myself with.

If I'm digging into the pioneers and I'm going through their experience every week, every Saturday night at the end of Sabbath, I read something from this, oh, I'm pumped up during the week. But if I take this experience and I run to the typical people within our realms of religion and God and stuff, it might not find a place. Why? Because maybe the end of the Sabbath for them, they found maybe one Bible verse. They say a quick word of prayer, and then there's, they start the week, they're gonna go to work, go to school, do the, you know.

And so I, I've learned now to be a, a better physician, look away from the symptoms and try to ascertain the problem. What's missing here? What is the flow? So I see the leak, and I know there's a lot of water in the house, but am I gonna always just grab a mop and complain I got a mop? No, I'm gonna say, you know what? The water on the floor is the symptom.

Where is the leak leaking faucet? Someone left the water running, someone broke the pipe. I gotta find that, you know? And I think if I approach it that way, I more than likely, I think I'll have less issue with people who might not be on the same level and the same spiritual journey with me.

73:44 IRENE BENNETT

That's true. That's true. That's right. Well, anyway, um, we have come towards the end of this video podcast and, um, just right before we end here, I'd like to share a quote from Early Writings, page 113. That should summarize what we have been talking about here. And it's, it says here "With our lives, we should honor him. And with pure and holy conversations show that we are born from above. That this world is not our home, but that we are pilgrims and strangers here traveling to a better country."

And so our last hurrah for this, um, podcast, we would like to just show you, uh, performance, well, not really a performance, but a recording of by the King's Heralds singing, I'm a Pilgrim. And so maybe as you listen to it again, you can look at it with a new lens and a different ear in light of what we have been talking about.

After that, we are gonna come back and we're going to pray.

74:50 MUSIC: "Im a Pilgrim" by the King's Herald

76:21 IRENE BENNETT

Well, it has certainly been a blessing trying to make the words of this hymn practical and relevant to our lives. Thanks Davin, for being vulnerable and sharing your personal experiences with this hymn in perspective. For you, um, who has been listening this far, we hope that you have been blessed in today's episode, next week we will study the music that fueled such a powerful hymn and so be sure to tune in as we continue to learn. "I'm a Pilgrim." Um, Davin, can you offer for us a closing prayer

76:54 DAVIN BENNETT

[inaudibe] ...Become melodies, rhythm, harmony, and Lord, they become music that has inspired the composer. Now it has inspired those who sing it, those who read through the words, father in heaven, this world is really not our home. We are really pilgrims. That's journey in here. So I pray, Lord, that whatever, uh, we might have accomplished in this life, that ultimately we can say at the end of the day, that which you have blessed us with, we have given it back to you.

We have lived a life of sacrifice and commitment. We have lived a life of service to others, and we have listened to our own encouragement. We have believed our own messages that we give to others. Lord, I pray that God and religion that we talk about so often can be something that's so real for us, that even if no one else is convinced, we are already persuaded and we're already convinced.

We thank you for this platform on the internet. Bless those who will watch it after. That, something throughout the field will be inspiring and motivating enough to lift anyone who we might be in darkness, that instead of cursing the darkness they can see this feed, this series, this episode, these podcasts, these audio as the candle in this dark world. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

78:41 IRENE BENNETT

Thanks everyone, and we'll see you next week.

78:46 OUTRO

This media is brought to you by hymns for Worship, a website dedicated to help church members sing with spirit and understanding. If you want more resources on hymns, please go to www.hymnsforworship.org.