Common ground Song 58 ‘I know that my redeemer lives’
Words: Samuel Medley (public domain)
YouTube recording: see notes below
Featured image: free from pngimg.com
A note, first, on the selection of recording: this is an old hymn, and an American one (words 18th century, tune 19th century). Therefore there are many recordings of it online, mainly from the USA. But for the same reason, there is a wide variety of versions of the words and of musical arrangements. I found none that use the exact arrangement and words found in my Scottish hymn book. Those recordings sung by professional choirs with organ accompaniment miss the point, which is that this hymn comes from a simple-living settler community who would not have had such fancies. For an unaccompanied performance, probably how it would have been sung originally, try this one. But it only has the first verse in common with the Common Ground version, preceded by one presumably in Gaelic (since it’s an Irish choir). To read all the words, try this one (CG uses the 1st, 2nd and 7th of those verses) which however is sung solo in a very different style, and to a different melody. And if you read music, try this one which has no singing, but the music played with score and words on screen.
With that out of the way, this is a joyful Easter hymn that expresses the simple but confident faith that the Protestants of Europe took with them to the New World. The singer ‘takes comfort’ in the Resurrection, and lists the benefits that come from knowing Christ is alive: ‘He lives to bless me with his love … to plead for me above … my hungry soul to feed … to help in time of need’. That is how Christians understand Christ’s presence with us, as an intermediary who conveys our needs to God the Father and in return makes God’s love known, along with meeting practical needs. That is prayer in a nutshell.
But prayer should not only be personal, it should be corporate as well. The lines forming the first part of the first verse (in CG) and repeated in each verse in some of the recordings I found, are distinctive: ‘Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground’. This reflects a theology common in some Protestant / Evangelical traditions, that of spiritual warfare, where the prayers of groups of Christians actually aid Christ’s unseen fight against the evil powers in the world. There are different understandings of the nature of evil, but what I think all Christians agree on is that Christ’s death and resurrection were a turning point in history, ensuring that the spiritual battle will eventually be won, and God’s kingdom be established on earth. No wonder that every line of the hymn is echoed with ‘Glory, hallelujah!’