October 19, 2023 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, October 19.
We begin a new millennium today. This is Daily Devotion #1001. These little thoughts began going out during the last week of March in 2020. As they continue, three and a half years later, I thank you for being a faithful reader. On this special occasion I reprint a devotion from that very first week, one of my favorites, a story behind one of my favorite hymns.
I love the stories behind the hymns. So many are amazing and inspiring. And some hymns truly have traveled a long and winding road to get to our door. Google "How Great Thou Art" and you'll see what I'm talking about. But today is all about... "Morning Has Broken"
The tune is ancient, anonymous, and Scottish. In 1888 a Scottish poet named Mary McDonald set Christmas words to it and created the carol "Child in the Manger". Maybe you've sung it - it's in our Baptist hymnal. In 1931 a new hymnal was being prepared and the editors asked English writer, Eleanor Farjeon, to write new lyrics to this old tune. Her poem was titled "Morning Has Broken" and was intended to be sung by children.
The hymn had moderate success but was not included in every hymnal. It wasn't in the 1956 Baptist Hymnal or the Broadman Hymnal that I grew up singing. And so, most of my generation had never heard this song, until 1971, when a pop singer-songwriter named Cat Stevens was recording an album. He needed a couple more songs to fill it out and was looking through the shelves of a bookstore hoping for a fresh idea when he came upon an old hymnal... published in 1931.
He had never heard this song either, but immediately fell in love with it and recorded it. But the recording was only 2 minutes long and his producer told him that that would keep it from getting any radio air play. As luck would have it, Rick Wakeman, the legendary rock keyboardist of the group "Yes", happened to be in the studio that day. Stevens asked him to write an introduction and some interludes for the recording. In a personal note, I vividly recall spending several weeks, at the age of 15, trying to learn that piano part. Wakeman, to this day, recalls never being paid for his efforts!
And so, this ancient tune, with words almost 90 years old, brought to a new generation by a musician who now calls himself Yusuf Islam... finds its way to us. And reminds us of the beauty of creation, the power of our Creator, and the way that hope springs again at the break of every new morning.
Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing, praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the Word!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
