He Keeps Me Singing

Have you ever felt the joy and solace that hymns can bring to your life, especially during challenging times? We have a special guest today, my mother, Janet Peavyhouse, who shares her insights on her favorite hymn, 'He Keeps Me Singing,' also known as 'There's Within My Heart A Melody.' We'll also explore the journey of Luther B. Bridgers, who after writing this hymn, was able to find solace within its words. And of course, a big shout-out goes to Kathy Koserski, and my parents, Janet and Steve Peavyhouse, for their support as BrightForever+ subscribers.

Hymns are not merely tunes we hum along to, but they carry the power of Jesus' name, providing comfort and joy. Connecting the dots with theology, we discuss how hymns can serve as a powerful learning tool and emphasize the importance of passing on these hymns to the generations to come.

Reflecting on the impact these hymns have had on us and those around us, we share our thoughts on the spiritual journey we've embarked on. We also have some exciting news to share about our new website feature where you can leave voicemails, suggest hymns, or simply ask questions. Ending on a high note, we offer a time of prayer and reflection, giving thanks for the hymns that constantly remind us of God's love and grace. Every trial we face is an opportunity for joy, knowing that we are never alone in our journey. So, tune in, and let's discover the power of hymns together.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

When I think of my God, my heart dances within me for joy. And then my music has to dance too. Joseph Hayden. This is The Bright Forever.

UNKNOWN 0:28

The Bright Forever

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Hello, and welcome to The Bright Forever, where each week we rediscover the power and richness found in some of the greatest hymns of the faith. My name is Andy Peavyhouse, and I am your host on this incredible journey through hymnody. It is great to be back with you all in season two. Last week, we kicked things off with How Great Thou Art and discussed how Carl Gustav Boberg wrote his powerful hymn on the greatness of God. After seeing the power and the majesty of a mighty storm that shook the walls and rattled the floors of the barn in which he sought shelter. We talked about my love for nature documentaries, specifically natural disaster stories. In particular, the volcanic eruption that hit New Zealand's Wakari Island in 2019. And how the version of How Great Thou Art that was played at the end of that documentary was the inspiration for last week's episode. And this week is even better. Because this week we have a celebrity guest. Well... At least I think so. And she carries the title of being the most downloaded episode guest in the Bright Forever's history. We have none other than Janet Peavyhouse, my mother. And we got her favorite hymn. She got to pick the hymn for this week because this was going to air on her birthday, and it's a couple of weeks late, and I'm very sorry. But she got to pick the hymn for this week, and it is He Keeps Me Singing. Or as some of you may know it, there's within my heart a melody. But before we get to just the greatest guest of all time, I think I'm contractually obligated to say that. I want to give a huge shout out to Kathy Kozerski and to Janet and Steve Peavyhouse for becoming active Bright Forever Plus subscribers. Your financial support means the world to us as we continue to reach out to more and more people with the deep theology and powerful message of these amazing hymns. If there are those of you out there who would like to help reach a greater audience with these amazing songs, take a moment and go to www.thebrightforever.com and click on the support the podcast tab in the menu. You can subscribe and give three, five, eight or$10 a month to help support what we are doing here at The Bright Forever. And if you're not ready to commit to every month, you can always click the yellow coffee icon at the bottom left of our page and give a$5 or greater one time gift through our buy me a coffee supporter account. Thank you again to Kathy and to my parents for giving to this podcast endeavor. I pray that God uses it to reach more and more lives. Also, We'll be right back. And without further ado, let's get some background on the hymn that we're going to be talking about today. He Keeps Me Singing by Luther B. Bridgers. Luther B. Bridgers was born in 1884 and came from a family deeply rooted in the Methodist ministry. His father, James B. Bridgers, was a minister. and young Luther's formative years were spent under his father's guidance. Bridger's commitment to the ministry began at a young age, and he had significant strides in his career as a preacher and a revivalist. In 1906, at the age of 22, Luther B. Bridgers was already gaining attention as a revival preacher. His energetic and impactful preaching style drew crowds seeking spiritual growth and conversions. He was known for his fearlessness in denouncing sin and his clear, logical arguments, which resonated with those who attended his revivals. Bridgers was not only a charismatic preacher, but also a talented singer. His singing ability was often highlighted in news reports of his revivals. The combination of preaching and singing made him a captivating figure in the religious community, and his influence extended well beyond the pulpit. During his time at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, Bridgers met his wife, Sally, and the two were married around 1905. Their union resulted in the birth of three children. Bridger's musical talents extended to songwriting and composition. When his youngest was just an infant, in 1909, Bridger's composed the hymn, He Keeps Me Singing. Eight of his songs, including He Keeps Me Singing, were published in Charlie Tillman's The Revival No. 6 in 1910. This hymn, with its original five stanzas and a refrain, quickly became one of his most enduring compositions. He Keeps Me Singing is a hymn that captures the essence of faith and hope. The lyrics of the hymn speak to the theme of perseverance through hardship. As seen in the lines, all my life was wrecked by sin and strife. Discord filled my heart with pain. Jesus swept across the broken strings and stirred the slumbering chords again. It's unclear whether these words were inspired by previous personal experience or they were drawn from his pastoral work in counseling others. However, these lines would prove to be prophetic in Bridger's life as a devastating heartbreak struck his family the very next year. While Bridgers was away conducting revival meetings, a fire broke out in the residence where his wife and three children were staying with their parents. The fire claimed the lives of his wife, Sally, and all three of their children. The news of this heartbreaking incident was widely reported, and Bridgers said, who was in Middlesboro at the time, return to face the unimaginable loss. And in the face of this profound tragedy, Bridgers would later be able to find solace in the very words he composed in, He Keeps Me Singing. The hymns message of faith and the ability of Jesus to sweep across the broken strings and restore hope took on a deeply personal significance for him. Despite the tragic loss of his family, Bridgers remarried a few years later to Aileen Winburn and continued his ministry. His preaching and singing remained influential. He continued to be recognized as a captivating revivalist. And his hymn has long been associated with his personal testimony of how he could keep singing in the face of profound loss. His story reflects Habakkuk 3, 17 and 18, of finding joy and hope in the midst of adversity. It reads, Though the fig tree should not blossom nor fruit beyond the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food. The flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. And this hymn continues to be sung and cherished for its message of that enduring faith and hope, making it a testament to Bridger's enduring legacy in the world of hymnody. I would like to Talk about the hymn. And there is nobody I would rather talk with about this than the number one most downloaded guest of Bright Forever History. And that is my mother, Janet Peavy House. She joined us for the last episode of this past season, The Old Rugged Cross, and she is back again in all her glory to... To lift the ratings and to lift the number of downloads that we have at the beginning of the season. Welcome.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 11:12

This hymn was your choice, actually, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Yes, this was my choice. This is a hymn that I grew up with, which probably would account for all those hymns, since I'm substantially older than you are. But, yeah. Yeah. And I think the reason that the old rugged cross was so popular was not necessarily me, but was the, um, was the fact that it was the old rugged cross and it's one of the most famous songs around, but this is not necessarily, but it is a happy song. And, um, we used to have him night at church on Sunday night when people used to go to church on Sunday night and, um, you would get to call out your number in the hymn book, and you would sing your song. Usually, like I was saying to you earlier, you sung the first, second, and third, well, the first, second, and last verse.

UNKNOWN 12:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

They did not sing all the verses unless the music director really liked the song. But my mother... would always get upset with me because she wanted somebody else to have a chance. And I always raised my hand because I love this song. And I thought everybody ought to sing it because it made me it just made me feel good. It's a song that if I'm having a hard time going to sleep at night, I will repeat it to myself. And It's just a joyful song. It's got some sad parts to it. And some of the parts, probably at the time when I was learning it as a six, seven, eight-year-old little girl, I did not understand. But the ones that I did understand very well were probably the first and the third verse. And so... I sang it a lot. I just found it to be very uplifting. It had a more exciting beat to it, and it was my favorite. When you asked me what my favorite song was, that was the first one that came to me, because I have always loved it, and I don't think that's ever going to go away. It's all about Jesus. I just love that part of it. In fact, when my fourth grandchild was born, your daughter, Zoe, I thought about that song, and I was trying to get the girl that was going to do a gift for me for your wife at the shower. I wanted a particular song that said something about... about singing and i got hooked on a song i got hooked on a verse in of all places zephaniah and um 317 and it was about and i guess you looked at it for a lot of years because it hung over her bed um that He delights in us, but that He rejoices over us with a joyful song. So as much as we love to sing joyful songs to Him, He loves to sing them back to us and for us to hear them. So it's a very comforting song to me.

SPEAKER_00 14:59

Well, and just that idea that God sings over us is a very...

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Just an awesome thought to have. The God of the universe... sings over us.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Now, I didn't know too much else about it until I started reading up on it, and I didn't know about Luther and what he went through with his children and just all the sadness that that involved. And then I began to understand the other verses, which I had not sung that often,

SPEAKER_00 15:29

those other verses. But he wrote these verses before that tragedy ever happened. Before that

SPEAKER_01 15:35

tragedy ever happened.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

But then... it just perfectly parallels what happened. And it almost makes you wonder, are we sure it wasn't written after?

SPEAKER_01 15:49

Because it makes complete sense. When you said that, I wanted to look back and go, well, maybe we're wrong about that. But we're not. He wrote it later. I mean, he wrote it before, and God... was laying a foundation for him for what he knew he was going to have to go through, even though there was a lot of depression and deep sorrow in his life for many years until he found someone else. And it's a wonderful worship song because, you know, worship songs don't have to have a real heaviness about them. They can have a very joyful one sometimes. Last week in my BSF class, I asked my ladies what form of worship did they love the most. And almost out of all 14 ladies, almost every one of them said worshiping with music. Because I think it just helps us. It gives us a peace and a calm, just like... Zephaniah said he wanted to calm our hearts. So he sang over us with joy. So I love it. I love every I love every word. But I will tell you, when I was a little bitty girl and I wasn't a very good reader, you can go to the first verse and say, Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still, in all of life's ebbs and flow. I had no earthly idea. So I used to, when that was sung, I sort of, in all the... I just acted like I was singing along. I had no earthly idea what ebbs and flow was in my life. And I often wondered after I would sing it, what was that at the And so as I grew up older, I learned what it meant. But I think the best part of the whole one is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go. I just love that. And so it's a really special song. special hymn to me, but lots of hymns are very special to me. Like I said, I grew up with them.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

The chorus, I think, is what kind of ties everything, the whole song, together. And it emphasizes that role that Jesus has in not just being our savior but he brings us joy his name just is a sweetness in our life when i hear the name jesus yes i'm reminded that he died on the cross for my sins but the feeling is not oh jesus had to die for me it was and jesus died for me yeah i have life It's sweet to hear his name because of all of these things. Because when I hear his name, he says, fear not, I am with you. Peace be still. That though my life was wrecked with sin and strife, he sweeps across the broken strings. And it's that reminder of... There is joy to be found even in the most tragic, even in the most gut-wrenching times in our lives. God takes those things and he tells us he will work all things for our good and for his glory. And this is a song that just reminds us of God taking the bad and making it good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

And it flows so well. It's a very easy song to remember, to sing. You carry it with you. I can remember Sundays when it was sang, and I would go out of church singing it again. It was just a part of our lives that we just— We love His name. His name brings calm. It brings comfort. It brings us joy. And so, therefore, it's the name we love to hear.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

And the name of Jesus has power.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

There is power. In the name of Jesus. I mean, there's hymns all about that. There is power, power, wonder-working power. Well, that's in the blood of the Lamb. But the blood of the Lamb is Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

There's a lot of them. I mean, you could do this podcast forever, and you would never, I think, be able to do all the hymns.

SPEAKER_05 21:14

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

That are written. And those that speak of Jesus. I mean, that was the main point. So

SPEAKER_00 21:23

I loved it. That's the one fear I have in this podcast. That you may run out

SPEAKER_01 21:29

of songs?

SPEAKER_00 21:29

No, I know I'm never going to run out of songs. I may run out of songs that people know. Yes. Because there are tens of thousands of hymns written. hymns people know and recognize.

SPEAKER_01 21:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

And especially one of the reasons why I want to, I want to expand this podcast and I would love to be able to reach a younger generation is because I think the love for hymns is slowly beginning to dwindle.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

Oh, I think

SPEAKER_00 22:06

it is, too. Actually, I won't say slowly. I think it's quickly. I think it's

SPEAKER_01 22:09

scary what's happening, because they're how you learned your theology when you were a young little boy. Poor little Gemma, outside of her daddy, you know, at nine months old. I'm not sure she'll know very many hymns, because they are

SPEAKER_00 22:28

becoming extinct some more

SPEAKER_01 22:30

and more. And somebody said the other day, without them, we have no... That's where our theology was. You heard theology in hymns.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

And music has a way of speaking to us the way sometimes spoken word does.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

Doesn't reach. There's an, there's an emotional tie to it. Not that everything needs to be emotionally tied. I mean, your, your faith needs to be well thought and well reasoned, but there's an emotional tie to it. And one of the reasons why I, and I've mentioned this before, some of the reasons I know scripture so well is because of the kids praise albums that I used to listen to where I would sing scripture. And I know the song, I still know songs today that I learned when I was first, second grade that I can look back to when I know, when I'm having a problem or when I need a scripture verse, I have scripture that I have memorized for my entire life because I learned it in a song. We learn through music. And these hymns have the potential to teach if we use them. And I just wish we would use them more.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

I do too. And maybe, you know, pendulums swing back and forth. And so maybe they're going to be used a little bit more. Your girls are going to know hymns because their daddy loved hymns. And so... You know, Matthew, my oldest, he loves hymns. So I think that, you know, they, to some degree, they'll carry on, but not to where I had them and especially not to where my mother had them because they were just a part of worship. That was what they were. They're not a part of worship as much in a lot of churches.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

If you go back to season one, episode one, when I talked about the actual hymn, The Bright Forever. Mm-hmm. And the bride forever was one of, I mean, hymns were the first recorded songs. I mean, there was a huge boom. Like everyone was singing hymns. That's what was recorded. Like recording artists were people who sang hymns because at the turn of the century, that was the music. Hymns were the music of the culture. And now they're, I won't say they're completely forgotten because they're not, but it feels sometimes like they're like, not that they're completely forgotten, but they're beginning to be forgotten. And just this song, this song, I cannot tell you. I'm driving up to see my in-laws a few weeks back. This song was on my heart the whole time. Because we were dealing with tragedy. We were dealing with a death in the family. And you sit back and go, you're asking why? You're going, what? God, what can you do in this situation? I mean, it's so difficult to understand. And it's so difficult to come to grips with loss and with tragedy in your life. And can I ever be happy again? And this song, this song for what it speaks about, I mean, especially when it goes into that fourth verse where it says those, sometimes he leads through waters, deep trials fall across the way though. Sometimes the path seems rough and steep, see his footprints all the way. And it's this it's. this happy song dealing with the tragedy of life going, you know what? Yes. Horrible, terrible things happen in your life. And every single one of them, God, if you will let him, God has the ability to turn it for good. God has the ability to take the, the worst sin in your life. the worst moment of your life, the most tragic part of your life, and turn it around. We worship a transformative God, a God that takes our ashes and makes beauty out of it. And that's what this song is all about. This song is all about, this is bad, But God can make it good. You're going through bad times. Look back and you'll see his footprints. You'll see him. And I talked about this last week when we talked about the two people who survived the volcano and the hand on the wrist and going after the tragedy to look back and to see Yeah. Yeah. Well,

SPEAKER_01 28:28

you like that verse because of being a guitar player. But I like the last verse, soon he's coming back. Because when you're 71 years old, you think a lot more about soon he's coming back to welcome me far beyond the starry skies. I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown. I shall reign with him on high. And I just love it. And it's a time right now that when the world is in turmoil that we're going through, thinking of him coming back is a wonderful, wonderful thought. So I think it's a great song, along with the old rugged cross, but a little bit more than the old rugged cross. I do have other hymns, so you will be hearing from me at other times. Not necessarily to be on, but to give you suggestions of hymns

SPEAKER_00 29:22

that you may want to... is you can actually leave a, I guess you could call it a voicemail on our webpage. And you can actually suggest hymns to me. People may be actually singing to

SPEAKER_01 29:37

you.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

They can sing to me if they want to. They

SPEAKER_01 29:39

can sing it to you if they don't know whether it's a viable hymn or not. Exactly. They can sing it to you. Daddy and I were listening today to YouTube, and we clicked on gospel hymns for a little bit, and they were all country gospel hymns. And I told your dad, I said, well, I don't remember any of these. He said, that's because we didn't listen to country music, and it wasn't sung properly. as a hymn in our church. The Baptist hymnal was sung as hymns. That's what was sung.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

If it wasn't in the Baptist hymnal, it wasn't a real

SPEAKER_01 30:16

hymn? It just did not. It didn't make it. It didn't make it, at least on the Sunday nights of hymn night.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

And Luther B. Bridgers was a Methodist Episcopalian.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

Yeah, I don't even know what that

SPEAKER_00 30:31

is. I'm not sure either, but he ended up in the Baptist hymnal. Yeah, he did.

UNKNOWN 30:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

So good for Luther. But there's different ones, and so there are country ones, and then there are Baptist hymnal ones. So I love it. I love all of them.

SPEAKER_00 30:50

So would How Great Thou Art be a country one, and this is a Baptist one? Well, you

SPEAKER_01 30:53

know, it could have been a rock and roll one when you think about Elvis.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

Well, I didn't really realize that Baptist was a genre of music.

SPEAKER_01 31:01

No.

SPEAKER_00 31:02

There's rock and roll, there's country, there's Baptist. For

SPEAKER_01 31:05

those of you who are listening, it is not. It is not. There's lots of wonderful hymns out there that are sung in all sorts of denominations, so that makes it great. I will search out the hymn book for another tried and true one. I had never heard of The Bright Forever before you did that. And the one that Daddy did. with you. I

SPEAKER_00 31:35

had never

SPEAKER_01 31:35

heard of that one.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

That one's called Thy Mercy, My God. Let's not bring that one up because

SPEAKER_01 31:40

dad's

SPEAKER_00 31:40

only gotten 58 downloads. He got low

SPEAKER_01 31:43

ratings and that was sort of upsetting to him. Not

SPEAKER_00 31:48

that it's a competition.

SPEAKER_01 31:50

No, it's not at

SPEAKER_00 31:51

all. But you are beating him solidly.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

But I'm beating him with the old rugged cross, which is just the best song in the world. So,

SPEAKER_00 32:02

so, so here's what we're going to do. So I'm going to have dad on when we talk about amazing grace. There you

SPEAKER_01 32:06

go. Get a good one for daddy. Cause God loving, he wants a good one. He needs a good one.

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Well, thank you so much for being on the podcast. I

SPEAKER_01 32:16

think we went over.

SPEAKER_00 32:17

We, We did.

SPEAKER_01 32:18

You'll cut me back, though, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 32:21

Oh, I will erase 90% of this. No, I'm just kidding. But yeah. But thank you.

SPEAKER_01 32:27

You're welcome. I'm glad to have been doing it, and thank you for doing my song. You're welcome.

UNKNOWN 32:37

Thank you.

SPEAKER_05 32:52

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I

SPEAKER_04 33:11

go. There's within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers soft and low. Fear not, I am with thee, peace be still, in all love life's ebb and flow.

SPEAKER_05 33:31

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every law. Keeps me singing

SPEAKER_03 33:50

as I go All my life was wrecked by sin and strife Discord fills my heart with pain Jesus swept across the broken strings Stirred the slumbering chords again

SPEAKER_05 34:11

Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know, fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go. Jesus, sweetest name I know Keeps me singing as I go Keeps me singing as I go Coming back to welcome me far beyond the starry sky. I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown. I shall reign with him on high. Sing it with us. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 37:28

Thank you so much. Anybody listens. And the fact that you listen every single week is just amazing to me. So thank you again. Take a minute and visit our new website, www.thebrightforever.com. From there, you can follow this podcast either through Apple, Spotify, Google, Amazon. We'll see you next time. podcast at the bright forever.com. You can also click the contact us tab at the top of our website and you can send us a message through the contact form. Uh, there are some other new ways that you can contact us, uh, and you can talk to us. There is at the bottom right hand side of the webpage. There is a little radio microphone. If you click on that, you can leave us up to a two minute conversation. voicemail and just kind of talk to us about whether you have questions about the episode or if there's some suggestions or you just want to tell us what you think of the podcast. Go right ahead and click on that and you can leave us a message that way. You may even end up on the podcast at some point. There is also a review page on our website where you can actually post a review. So if you love The Bright Forever, if you love listening to it, if you want to share a five-star rating or less, but I would assume five-star. You can leave that on our website. You can also do it on Apple, on Spotify, and on Podchaser. Those all feed directly onto that page. So if you leave a review, we will get it and we will post it on our page. And again, thank you. Thank you for watching. in your car, in your earbuds, whatever it is that you listen to us on, whether it's at home, whether it's on the go. Thank you so much for listening to this podcast every week. Before we go, let me pray and then we'll be out of here. Father, thank you so much for who you are. Thank you that God, there is joy to always be found in whatever we face. whether it's trial or tribulation, whether it is tragedy, God, whether things in our life feel like they are falling apart, you, you, God, are working all things for our good and for your glory. And God, thank you for a hymn like he keeps me singing. that reminds us that there's always a melody in our hearts. There is always a joy that we can have and we can hold onto that reminds us that you are always there. No matter what we're going through, we can find joy because of what you have done for us. God, we love you. We praise you. We thank you for your son, Jesus. Move. Move in us this week and draw us closer to you. In your son's name we pray. Amen. God bless you all. Have a great week and we'll see you back here next week. We're out.