Making melody

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. — Ephesians 126:1-3

Do you know why bees hum? It’s because they can’t remember the words!

Ironically, that old joke reminds me of a serious story I read about a man awaiting heart bypass surgery. He was aware that people die during surgery. As he thought about all that could go wrong, he felt very much alone.

Then an orderly walked into his room to take him to surgery. As the young man began to push his gurney along the corridor, the patient heard him humming an ancient Irish hymn, “Be Thou My Vision.” It prompted his memories of lush green fields and the ancient stone ruins of Ireland, the land of his birth. The hymn flooded his soul like a fresh breath of home. When the orderly finished with that song, he hummed Horatio Spafford’s hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.”

When they stopped outside the surgical suite, the man thanked him for the hymns. “God has used you this day,” he said, “to remove my fears and restore my soul.” “How so?” the orderly asked in surprise. “Your ‘hums’ brought God to me,” the man replied.

“The Lord has done great things for us” (Ps. 126:3). He has filled our heart with song. He may even use our “hums” to restore someone’s soul. — David Roper

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart —

Nought be all else to me, save that Thou art;

Thou my best thought, by day or by night —

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. — Irish hymn

READ: Psalm 126:1-3

Praise flows freely from the choir of the redeemed.

The Bible in one year:

• Leviticus 23-24

• Mark 1:1-22