Sister Sheri Peterson
Ward Music Director
Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord;and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.... O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, If I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.
2 Nephi 4:16, 34-35
Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfuness answer me, and in they righteousness.
Psalm 143:1
Though not of Latter-Day Saint origin, this hymn strikes a meaningful chord among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in its humble pleading for the constant presence of the Savior. In this hymn we petition him repeatedly to be with us, not only in our church meetings, not only in times of trial, not only on special spiritual occasions, but every hour.
The word "afford" in verse one may be confusing to some. It carries here the specialized meaning of "provide" or "make available".
This hymn was first published in 1873.
I wake up with this song running through my mind almost every morning. On one point it doesn't make any sense at all, I'm not a musical being, I sing hymns at church and a song can change my mood on a dime, but I'm not one to be found singing around the house and more often than not the radio in my car is not even turned on. But on another point I know that I don't make it through even a day on my own, my Savior walks besides me every hour cheering me on and sometimes dragging me along. I am so thankful to know that I don't have to do this alone and that my Savio…