Friday 8 May. Song 35 ‘For your generous providing’
Words: Leith Fisher © Panel on Worship / Music: American traditional
YouTube recording:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ein7Gblf_v8 (from 41’ 30”)
Featured image: Corryvreckan whirlpool © Walter Baxter cc-by-sa-2.0

Although the last verse of this hymn refers to the breaking of bread at communion, I have not allocated it to a Sunday, because it is about more than that. The opening line (‘For your generous providing which sustains us all our days) reminds us that God’s provision for us is constant. He wants to feed us constantly with his love and with whatever is good for us…… That verse continues ‘Through the depths of joy and sorrow, though the road be smooth or rough’, which describes most people’s lives. God is with us in the best and worst of times.

The second verse refers to ‘seductive voices’ and ‘siren noises’. ‘Siren’ presumably used here in its original sense from ancient mythology, of a spirit that sings seductively to lure sailors ashore, not into promised delights but into danger. We have seen that in this week’s local elections in Britain, in which a party promising reformation and better times has attracted  many new voters, while being seen by opponents as a siren voice that tends to draw people into a dangerous whirlpool of hate and division.

The hymn reminds us that Jesus came to save people from all kinds of dangers, physical and relational as well as spiritual. In the world of his day, he himself had to resist the call to become just another provider of promises of political freedom or economic prosperity. Not that these are bad ideals in themselves, but delivering prosperity for some without creating poverty for others is a difficult task for even a skilled politician. And Jesus was not a politician. He came as an incarnation of God to save us from the dangers within ourselves, the whirlpools into which we get drawn and cannot escape.

Notes on lyrics and music: The video linked above (part of a livestreamed church service, the hymn starts at 41’ 30” in) only includes the first verse, but sung to the tune found in Common Ground (‘Holy Manna’, an American folk tune which with a AABA pattern of lines is easy to pick up). Other recordings used the better known Welsh tune Hyfrydol, but as the metre is the common 87.87.D, there are many other options. The words of course are copyrighted and I have not found a full version online, other than behind a paywall.