September 9, 2025 - Good Morning! It’s Tuesday, September 9.
I love spirituals. I love the simplicity, the honesty of these old songs, created by the Black church before the Civil War. Songs of courage and inspiration. Songs of faith, like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Deep River,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” They often contain a touch of melancholy, but also a sense of hope. They are, in every sense, songs of the heart.
Spirituals frequently take their inspiration from Old Testament stories, tales of the struggles of the Israelite people for freedom and salvation. One of my favorite spirituals is based on Jeremiah 8:22. The prophet Jeremiah - the “weeping” prophet - is standing at the gate of the Temple in Jerusalem delivering God’s message to God’s people.
“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why, then, is there no healing for the wounds of my people?”
Gilead was a mountainous region east of the Jordan River. It was known for the production of a perfume that was used as a medicine, a balm. Gilead was just a day’s travel from Jerusalem, from where Jeremiah stood as he delivered this message. The remedy for the sufferings of God’s people was so near. But they had refused to accept it, refused to repent and turn back to God. The songwriter chose to rephrase the words of Jeremiah - turning the plaintive question into a statement of hope.
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work’s in vain
But then the Holy Spirit revives my soul again
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole
There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin sick soul
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
