How Can I Keep From Singing

Last night I participated in Singspiration at St. James Anglican Church in Parkhill.  This was an old-time hymn sing which is the brain child of the Ernie Harris who is one of the pastors at the Nairn Mennonite Church in our neighbouring community. 

Singspiration is an outreach program by the Nairn church where they conduct an evening of singing favourite hymns in the gospel tradition.  They organize the event and ask a host church to provide the facility and some refreshments following the event.  It is intended as an ecumenical event which will bring together different churches in the community.  In my estimation it was a success by that and any other measure.   My role was to represent St. James church and officially welcome people and to thank all the participants. 

We sang a selection of old hymns, some of which were familiar to me and some which weren’t.  However, all of them were easy to sing and ones which everyone sang with great feeling.  There were a couple of song performed by Ernie and his wife, Jan.  I also performed a song which I first heard at the Dream Conference I attended at Kanuga a year ago, How Can I Keep From Singing.  This is a song which could have been written yesterday but was actually written in the 19^th century by Robert Wadsworth Lowry.  As I noted last night, I don’t know where this song has been all my life as I have come across it numerous times since.  It is included in church hymnals and of course performances can be found by various performer on YouTube.

The song resonated with me deeply the first time I heard it and has been in my heart ever since, becoming my favourite song to hear and perform.  After the event, two people mentioned that they intend to have the song performed at their funerals, which strikes me as the perfect summation of any life where music and singing was an integral part; that certainly is my life.

I will leave you with the lyrics of the song and a link to a performance by Enya for your enjoyment and reflection, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MM8mOKfxmWw

My life flows on in endless song;

Above earth's lamentation,

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?

What tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

What tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,

How can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes; the cloud grows thin;

I see the blue above it;

And day by day this pathway smooths,

Since first I learned to love it,

The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,

A fountain ever springing;

All things are mine since I am his—

How can I keep from singing?