June 19, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, June 19.
Most Texans grow up knowing what "Juneteenth" is. That name, a blend of "June" and "19th" is a reminder of the day in 1865 when the Emancipation Proclamation was announced in Galveston. June 19th immediately began to be an annual day of celebration among African Americans in Texas, and the tradition soon spread across the South. And as African Americans began to resettle in the North and in the West, they took this tradition with them. In 2021 it became a national holiday. Happy Juneteenth!
Many of today's celebrations across America will certainly include the singing of a very special patriotic hymn, "Lift Every Voice and Sing." This song was written in 1900 by 28-year-old James Weldon Johnson, a poet, a songwriter, and a leader in the African American community. It has gained a national following as Juneteenth has become a national holiday. With inspiring words and a stirring melody, it finds its place among other great patriotic hymns like "America the Beautiful" and "My Country, 'Tis of Thee." And like those songs, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" gives God a prominent place in its theme and in its lyrics. Here are a few of those stirring lyrics.
Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmony of liberty
Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won!
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way
Thou who hast by Thy might, led us into the light
Keep us forever in the path, we pray
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God where we met Thee
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand
True to our God, true to our native land!
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
