The River Beneath the River

 Our parish church of St. John the Evangelist, Strathroy ON, has a Joyful Noise worship service four or five times a year.  These services, which I participate in by playing my guitar, are under the capable leadership of Carolyn Hull-Johnston.  We have music which is not the usual traditional Anglican music provided by guitars, drums and squeeze box and, of course, voices.  The service, scheduled in a few weeks, has the theme of ‘water’.  This will give us an opportunity to worship using traditional and nontraditional music which includes songs such as Down to the River to Pray, Wade in the Water, and Healing River.  These songs, and more like them, happen to be some of my favorites.  I am certainly looking forward to this service as I do all the worship services at St. John’s

My wife, Lorna Harris, did some research into the history of some of these songs and found that many of the traditional ones in the genre of gospel music had hidden meanings.  I have written recently about the hidden meaning in songs with numbers such as the Twelve Days of Christmas and the hidden meaning in nursery rhymes, so I was especially appreciative of Lorna’s investigation into this genre of music which have been called “signal songs”.  Here is what she found out:

AI Overview

"Enslaved people used spirituals as coded "signal songs" on the Underground Railroad to navigate toward the Ohio River and freedom. Songs like "Wade in the Water" advised walking in water to hide scents from hounds, while "Follow the Drinking Gourd" provided directions to the North Star. 

 

Key coded songs used near the Ohio River include:

·       "Wade in the Water": Instructed fugitives to get into the river to hide their trail from pursuers.

·       "Follow the Drinking Gourd": Provided navigational clues to travel north, mentioning the riverbank as a road.    

·       "Steal Away (to Jesus)": Signaled that an escape attempt was planned.

·       "Go Down Moses": Used by Harriet Tubman to announce her arrival as a conductor in the area.

·       "Down in the River to Pray": Believed to contain coded messages about escaping to freedom. 

These songs functioned as map, instruction, and warning, particularly for crossing the Ohio River, which was a major boundary between slave and free state."  I like the Canadian connection, as for many escaping slaves, their goal was Canada as you know!

 

I recently heard a description of the hidden meaning in such things as, “the river beneath the river” which is particularly appropriate in this case.  If you dig beneath the surface of things, you just never know what you might find – perhaps a pearl of great price.   I invite you to do some digging and see what pearls you might find.  Blessings.  

 

What is the Meaning in the Numbers

The last time I explored the meaning of the numbers in the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Each of the twelve days represents something e.g. the Four Calling Birds of day four represent the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). This time I want to explore further two of those twelve numbers – specifically day 7 and day 9.    

The Seven Swans a-Swimming of day 7 refers to the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The Nine Ladies Dancing on the ninth day of Christmas represents the nine Fruits of the Spirit.  That said, it is reasonable to ask, what are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit; and what are the nine fruits of the spirit?

Fortunately, we can find out the answers to these questions with the help of our friend Google.  The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are an enumeration of seven spiritual gifts first found in the book of Isaiah. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.

The nine fruits of the Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23 of the Bible, are: love, joy, peace, patience (or forbearance), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These are divine qualities that grow in a believer's life through the work of the Holy Spirit, reflecting God's character.

Of course, this calls for further exploration of each of these qualities e.g. wisdom or love.  However, those are subjects for other days.  I want to close with the significance of numbers in another old song which is reminiscent of the Twelve Days of Christmas – Green Grow the Rushes O.  This is one I used to sing in my childhood, and which is, I believe, an old English folk song.  It is in a familiar call and response setting:

I will sing you one o, green grow the rushes O. 

What is your one O. 

One is one and all alone and ever more shall be so. 

As in the twelve Days of Christmas, each number has a meaning.  The exact meanings and lyrics can vary depending on tradition.

One: Is one and all alone, generally referring to the single, all-alone God.

Two: The lily-white boys, clothed all in green, often interpreted as Jesus and John the Baptist, or sometimes the Old and New Testaments.

Three: The rivals (sometimes "thrivers" or "strangers"), usually interpreted as the Three Magi (Wise Men), or possibly the Holy Trinity.

Four: For the Gospel makers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the four Evangelists.

Five: The symbols at your door, often linked to the five wounds of Christ or the five points of a protective pentagram.

Six: For the six proud walkers (or "six water-pot bearers"), referencing the six water pots at the Wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine.

Seven: For the seven stars in the sky, typically the seven classical planets or the Pleiades star cluster.

Eight: For the April rainers (or "eight archangels"), possibly referring to the eight people saved on Noah's Ark or the eight Beatitudes.

Nine: For the nine bright shiners, often seen as the nine orders of angels or the nine joys of Mary.

Ten: For the Ten Commandments.

Eleven: For the eleven who went to heaven, referring to the twelve Apostles minus Judas Iscariot.

Twelve: For the twelve Apostles.

There is often meaning underneath the surface in numbers as there is in many things.  Take some time to explore the hidden things.  Blessings