Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry
Recently I had received an email from Nigel. The following is what he had to share on Hymn #391:
"The LSM Hymnal has the well known hymn "Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah; Pilgrim thro' this barren land." .....
...What I find interesting is that when it was included in LSM's Hymns (#391) the opening line was changed. Instead of "Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah; Pilgrim thro' this barren land."
...LSM's version reads:
"Guide me, O Thou Gracious Savior; Pilgrim thro' this barren land." (LSM Hymns #391)
....The obvious question is why the change? It's not just to improve the English
My guess would be that John Ingalls realized "Jehovah" was a mistaken designation of God's name, so it was changed.
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I think the change came from the brothers' sense of intimacy with a "gracious Savior", spoken of in the New Testament and present with us in our earthly pilgrimage; rather than objectively looking away to a Great Jehovah in heaven. (Jehovah's Witnesses may look to A Great Jehovah, and they do sincerely, but we have a gracious Savior with us day by day to experience and appreciate.
Brother Lee was always looking for improvements in song, in Scripture, in ministry - not just to be different, but to be on the mark to bring more blessing to the church. This was his endeavor, I believe. And, John Ingalls helped him in uplifting our hymnal to be an outstanding collection of hymns - in accuracy, ministry of life, truth, and the enjoyment of Christ.