Today’s hymn is written by John Newton. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously said in his book Spiritual Depression: “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.” Use this hymn today to talk to yourself this morning if unbelief comes knocking on the door of your thoughts. Enjoy!

Begone, unbelief,
My Saviour is near,
And for my relief
Will surely appear;
By prayer let me wrestle,
And he will perform;
With Christ in the vessel,
I smile at the storm.

Though dark be my way,
Since he is my guide,
‘Tis mine to obey,
‘Tis his to provide;
Though cisterns be broken
And creatures all fail,
The word he has spoken
Will surely prevail.

His love in time past
Forbids me to think
He’ll leave me at last
In trouble to sink;
Each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review
Confirms his good pleasure
To help me quite through.

Since all that I meet
Shall work for my good,
The bitter is sweet,
The medicine food;
Though painful at present,
‘Twill cease before long,
And then O how pleasant
The conqueror’s song!

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Today’s song is written by Matt Papa and Matt Boswell and performed by The Trails Church. They write “‘Our God Will Go Before Us’ echoes a common theme throughout scripture — the nearness of God. As you listen, we hope you’ll be reminded that it is the Lord who leads the way, guides our steps, and brings us safely to our eternal home with him”¹. Enjoy!

Our God will go before us
And guide us by His presence
What confidence this promise is
We will never walk alone

Through unknown paths through shadows
Our hearts fear not tomorrow
For every step His faithfulness
Is the truth that lights our way

Refrain
Our God will go before us
The Lord of Hosts is with us
O praise the One who leads us on
For His grace will bring us home

Though evil forms against us
All heaven will defend us
The gates of hell shall not prevail
For the battle is the Lord’s

Refrain

Now send us with Your presence
And lead us on to heaven
Where songs of sorrow strain no more
And our every breath is praise

Refrain

¹gettymusic.com/ourgodwillgobeforeus

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Today’s hymn by Anglican churchman William Whiting was popularised by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy in the late 19th century, and variations of it were soon adopted by many branches of the armed services in the United Kingdom and the United States. Whiting grew up near the ocean on the coasts of England and at the age of thirty-five had felt his life spared by God when a violent storm nearly claimed the ship he was travelling on, instilling a belief in God’s command over the rage and calm of the sea. In 1860, as headmaster of the Winchester College Choristers’ School some years later, he was approached by a student about to travel to the United States, who confided in Whiting an overwhelming fear of the ocean voyage. Whiting shared his experiences of the ocean and wrote the hymn to “anchor his faith”. In writing it, Whiting is generally thought to have been inspired by Psalm 107, which describes the power and fury of the seas in great detail¹. Enjoy!

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

O Saviour, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee 
For those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and pow’r,
Your children shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e’er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

¹wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Father,_Strong_to_Save

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