I’ve been exploring some of the very modern worship songs as an old guy 😀. But now, I’ve decided to alternate between very modern hymns, old hymns, and in-between hymns, namely the worship songs from the 60s to the 90s that feature in hymnbooks such as Mission Praise. Today it’s the turn of the in-between hymns.
Today’s song is From the Rising of the Sun from 1978.
This one was very popular in Cork back in the early 1980s. I don’t hear it much these days, but I have heard some newer songs based on the same verse. But I like this one best 😀.
Here are the verses on which it’s based:
Psalm 113:3
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
Malachi 1:11
11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.
Back in the Old Testament, generally speaking, only Israel knew the Scriptural revelation of God. Yet, the other nations knew something of God, but they had all sorts of ideas about god and gods. Yet the true God revealed Himself through creation. And now, the Bible, which is a more specific revelaation is accessable almost everywhere. Even in New Testament times, the Apostle Paul rejoiced that the gospel went out to the nations. It hadn’t got very far at that stage, but the point being made is that this isn’t a little Jewish sect, but it’s spreading throughout the wider world.
Psalm 19: 1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
Col 1:5
…..In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace
Sometimes, conservative Christians are cynical about all things modern – such as the Web and AI – but these can play a huge role in spreading the good news, in the way that printing did back in the 16th Century and so much other technology over the years. And of course – music!
I don’t see many versions of the song on YouTube, but here are a few – and some other songs based on the passage:
Hibernia Gospel 