I've been listening to more of these Brethren hymns in recent days. They've become, in fact, the majority of what I listen to once I get home from school, since the channel they're uploaded on has such an abundance of them, and, simply put, they all sound so lovely, and so calming, especially after a long and busy day. I really like the high tenor voice on the one that I've attached to this post; his voice is almost like a church organ in how he controls it, producing such delightful harmonies with the rest of the singers. The lyrics of the songs are also, of course, quite pleasant, with the language organized in such a way as to make you look back at a line and then find a neat, individual idea packed within the few (in the case of this song, ten) syllables that are sung on that line; it's a message that then contributes to the overall theme the song is communicating in such simultaneity as to have a lesson of its own to think on, too. Take, for example, "Nor we alone, thy loved ones all, complete". It not only tells of how, in the afterlife, whether it be Heaven alone or the Earth combined with Heaven after the events of Revelation, we will be completed people, united with each other and with The Lord in peace and blessing, but in addition, this line attaches to the last line of "All it possesses with its loved co-heirs", describing God's love being with us when we do reach salvation, and in further addition, it contributes to the final lines of the song, which then speak with a closing reminder, encompassing all of the preceding lines of the hymn, of the joy we will feel when under God's divine rulership, in salvation. These tunes are sung at such a pace as to provoke both a sense of tranquility and, if one chooses to read along with and study the lyrics as they are sung, a sense of comforting analysis that helps to remind you of God's presence, and His love for us all. While I disagree with the Plymouth Brethren (both the Open and the Exclusive Brethren) on some factors of a theological basis, it can not be denied that these people write and sing some excellent hymns. It is also interesting that this very hymn, according to the video's description, was likely written by John Nelson Darby himself, the establisher not only of the Plymouth Brethren as a church, but also the formulator of, in my view, such profoundly absurd beliefs as Dispensationalism. Still, just as these hymns can tell important lessons, so too does this hymn's authorship provide one; even when a believer's faults are of such a great quantity, God can still bless them with a talent to celebrate His glory and contribute to the faith.
