My Life Flows On In Endless Song

I fell in love with the song "How Can I Keep From Singing?" the very first time I heard it.  The tune is beautiful, the words are meaningful, and the harmonies blend magnificently.  I've been pondering on it for a while now, singing it to myself often after I decided to use the first line as a wall hanging above my piano.

Often I think of the title as a moment of rejoicing; it reminds me of Psalms 8:3:

           When I consider the heavens, the works of thy fingers....

Or the words to "How Great Thou Art".  We're told in the scriptures that singing is a form of praise, and the title of the song seems to suggest that we should always be ready to sing praises of happiness.  Well, technically we should.  But it's hard.  And then I really read through the words, and I realized that isn't necessarily the message.  Our life isn’t the same song; the music will be different depending on our moods, our situations, our trials, our triumphs. 

My life flows on in endless song;

I was on vacation last week in the mountains along the New River.  Rocking slowly, sheltered by a wrap-around porch, my whole body seemed in tune with the natural symphony around me.  Crickets chirped in cadence with the sweet chaos of unique bird song, the river rushed against the rocks, and cicadas buzzed intermittently in a slow sforzando.  The song of that moment was overwhelming peaceful, the kind of peaceful that you want to capture in a bottle and be able to open at will. 

Above earth's lamentation,

But here, in the second line of the song, the lyricist acknowledges the fact that life is hard.  The world can be a terrible place.

I hear the sweet, tho' far-off hymn

That hails a new creation;

And often the music of our life has stopped being a hymn, has become a discordant mess that pushes the Spirit away, and then we can hear, if we are silent, still, and listen closely, that there is a hymn back there.  We can hear the hymn of the Gospel; and it is the sweetest, most reassuring sound we can imagine.

Thro' all the tumult and the strife

I hear the music ringing;

I am reminded of “Silent Night” wafting over Flanders during World War I in German and English, and of the personal motivational songs we cling to, trying to overpower our bad moments.

It finds an echo in my soul—

How can I keep from singing?

What a tender expression!  Our souls, longing for an unknown song we want to sing, resonate with music meant just for us.

What tho' my joys and comforts die?

The Lord my Saviour liveth;

What tho' the darkness gather round?

Songs in the night he giveth.

I felt this last night, as I tossed and turned until almost 3 am.  Exhausted, uncomfortable, stressed about the next day, it was a minor setback in my life.  But in the moment it seemed interminable.  And I was going to let it ruin my sabbath.  In this case I used an actual song and turned Bing Crosby singing Irish Lullaby on repeat.

No storm can shake my inmost calm

While to that refuge clinging;

I picture Peter on the water, panicking as the sea rose around him, the Lord reaching out to him.  Peter is my favorite apostle because he was so human.  He is the example of what so many of us would do, and I vividly imagine crushing waves and thunder piercing his faith to the point his inmost calm is gone, his only refuge the Savior.  How often do we allow our inmost calm to be shaken?  Maybe if we can better recognize the endless songs in our life that refuge will be easier to cling to.

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;

My heart swells even recalling this phrase, and tears prick my eyes.  In my favorite version of this piece this line is four part women’s harmony, and for a moment I can fathom the everlasting serenity that our Savior can provide.

All things are mine since I am his—

How can I keep from singing?

I love this ending, as it encompasses our role in the eternities, and the covenant we have entered into that as his children we can inherit all that is his, if we live worthy.

I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father, who loves me and I love him.  With the wonders of the world around me day to day, I need but look for them, seek them out. 

Since Christ is Lord of Heaven and Earth, How Can I Keep From Singing?