The blessings are falling tonight;
There's joy, joy, joy in my heart,
Since Jesus made everything right;
I gave Him my old tattered garment,
He gave me a robe of pure white;
I'm feasting on manna from heaven
And that's why I'm happy tonight.
Remembered songs have a context. Where did we learn the tune? What were the circumstances? Why do we recall quaint and apparently long-forgotten lyrics? In my case it’s been 50 years or more since I sang the words of testimony throbbing with rhythmic truth, "There's joy, joy, joy in my heart, since Jesus made everything right."
As I recall, "The windows of heaven are open" was a "Sunday night song," usually inserted between "testimonies," the impromptu reports of simple saints reporting Jesus’ work in daily life. The "testimony service" was always risky. Some people spoke up far too frequently, some didn’t speak loudly enough to be heard, and a few went on, and on, and on! But, during those evenings of story telling, the testimonies added layers of support to our scaffold of faith.
Testimonies reinforced the idea that God answers prayer. Simple folk without formal theological training taught profoundly important truths as they reported how God was at work in the rough and tumble of life. One good brother, Kurt Nierhause, a German immigrant, would become animated and weep while reporting the goodness of God in testimony and prayer. I can still see him mopping his brow while passionately telling of the goodness of the Lord. Faith grew! Hope shoved fears and doubts aside. New evidence of God had been presented.
The testimony service experience reminded us that there is a great God in heaven who cares about what is happening here on earth. Jehovah is still acting on behalf of His people! The mid-fifties was a difficult era for the industrial North. Auto makers closed plants for months at a time. Unemployment numbers soared, homeowners defaulted on mortgages and despair was common. Invariably someone would speak of a special provision from the hand of the Lord. Another might urge us to trust the Lord. And, the tune would begin,
Got any rivers you think are impossible?
Got any mountains you cannot tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible
And he can do what no other God can do.
I can hear the tune now! I am encouraged now! New faith is bubbling up!
Testimonies multiplied joy! A faithful sister might report that her agnostic and abusive husband had begun to listen to a radio preacher, or had been seen reading the Pentecostal Evangel. The room filled with celebrating praise. Parents fearing the worst for their wayward child heard the report and laid hold of the possibility of the miraculous happening in their family. In our church a retired immigrant barber played his clarinet on the front pew. Spontaneously, without pastoral permission or allotted time on the printed spreadsheet for evening worship, Brother Kaiser would excite us into singing, "I’m so happy, here’s the reason why; Jesus took my burdens all away!" The music was amateurish, but the joy was authentic. Our surrounding were unsophisticated but our experiences with God were deeply meaningful, heart-felt and lasting. The experience was so effective that I awakened to one of the songs this morning.
For old times’ sake, could we gather somewhere, quietly, without alarming church leaders or appearing rebellious. We could tell our stories and sing, "I gave Him my old tattered garment, He gave me a robe of pure white; I'm feasting on manna from heaven; And that's why I'm happy tonight." There is joy, joy, joy in my heart" because "Jesus made everything right!"
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