magnificent

When living in Pennsylvania, I attended a small, country church, St. John’s Lutheran.  The members were an accepting, loving congregation of people who, in my humble opinion, practiced the Gospel, they walked the talk.  The pastor was ordinary, the service was ordinary, but the choir was magnificent.

These simple farm folks were renown for their ancestral singing talents back to the early 1800s when the community was founded.  A special treat on Sunday mornings was when the men of the choir sang a cappella.  It was absolutely, stunningly pure inspiration.  I never could fathom how men who spoke English with heavy Pennsylvania Dutch accents could sing together in perfect English enunciation.

I discovered, on YouTube, videos by ACAPELDRIDGE.  I want to share with you one of my favorite hymns done a cappella by an amazingly talented young man.  Soak it in and be inspired.

1 Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to thy God to order and provide;
in ev’ry change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2 Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice, who ruled them while He dwelt below.

3 Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
and all is darkened in the veil of tears,
then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
from His own fullness all He takes away.

4 Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Jean Sibelius from FINLANDIA