The Bright Forever
Rediscovering the power and richness found in some of greatest hymns of the faith. Join us as we dive deep into the authors, the stories, and the power behind some the greatest hymns of the past.
The Bright Forever
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
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Imagine sitting across from a beloved family member, the one whose influence deeply rooted your faith through the timeless echoes of hymnody. That's precisely the journey we embark upon with my aunt, Faye Peavyhouse, in our latest episode. Together, we unravel the history and theological power of "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise," accompanied by the captivating Welsh melody "St. Denio." As the notes of Nathan Drake's poignant rendition fill the room, we celebrate not just the hymn itself but the powerful way in which such sacred music can shape our lives and beliefs.
And don't forget to join us next week for a special season finale, where we uncover more enriching insights from my Aunt Faye, and we round off our series with grace and a little extra bonus music.
SHOW LINKS:
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” from 2012 Halifax Minister Service in Halifax, England.
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” performed by Nathan Drake of Reawaken Hymns with chord charts and many other church music resources.
"Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” appears on the album Hymns of the Father available here.
www.thebrightforever.com
All songs used by permission.
If we take away any of the attributes of God, we do not weaken God, but we weaken our concept of God. Aw Tozer, this is the Bright Forever, where each week we rediscover the power and richness found in some of the greatest hymns of the faith. My name is Andy Peavyhouse and I am your host and guide on this, our adventure through hymnody. This is going to be a great episode. As a matter of fact, this is actually going to be a great double episode. In a way. I have had the amazing privilege of speaking with the one person who I credit with developing my love for singing and, in doing so, a love and an appreciation for the power and richness of the hymns that we hold so dear. Today we will be talking to my aunt, faye Peaveyhouse. I only planned on it being a normal episode, but there was so much good stuff I couldn't edit it down enough. So this week we will touch a little on her life and love for hymns and roll into some of our discussion about the hymn for today. Next week, which will be our final episode of the season, we'll have a little bit of a variety show, as I combine much of the extras and the bonus material that I have been wanting to add but haven't had the time. We'll put all of that together along with more of the interview with my aunt for next week's episode. We will listen to some music, we'll talk about just how the season has gone and how it's just flown by and, of course, we'll hear more of this interview. It's going to be a great close to our season and I can't wait to share it all with you.
Speaker 1But before we dive into today's hymn, let's take a minute and recap our last episode, where we discussed Look Ye, saints, the Sight is Glorious, by Thomas Kelly. We explored the hymn's rich history, its celebration of Christ's ascension and exaltation and how it connects to the biblical narrative of Jesus as our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It helped remind us that, even when faced with the brutality and agony of the cross and what our sin did to our perfect Savior, we can stand with bursts of acclamation and say look ye, saints, the sight is glorious, saints, the sight is glorious. Today's hymn, though not obscure to many, it was for a long time obscure to at least a couple of Baptists, who you'll hear from today. Our hymn for today is Immortal, invisible, god, only Wise, and it's another classic hymn that explores the majesty and mystery of God, and it's a hymn that praises God's transcendence and omniscience while acknowledging our limited understanding of his divine nature. Let's dive in, but before we do, don't forget to hit that subscribe button and follow us so you never miss an episode.
Speaker 1Written by Walter Chalmers Smith, a Scottish hymn writer and poet, in 1867, immortal Invisible stands as a truly beloved hymn and a powerful declaration of the attributes of our great God. Smith was a minister in the Free Church of Scotland and served in various parishes throughout his life. His deep theological knowledge and poetic abilities enabled him to craft hymns that convey profound truths about God's characteristics and his nature. Immortal, invisible, god Only Wise is based on 1 Timothy 1, verse 17, which praises God as the king of the ages. Immortal, invisible, the only God. The hymn beautifully captures the essence of God's transcendence an incomprehensible majesty emphasizing his eternal, unchanging nature and unmatched wisdom. The hymn was first published in Smith's collection titled Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life in 1867. Over the years it has become a staple in hymnals worldwide due to its rich theological content and the poetic language it uses.
Speaker 1The tune most commonly associated with the hymn is called Saint Denio, a traditional Welsh melody. The tune was named after the Welsh village of Denio, which is located in North Wales. It was arranged by John Roberts in the 19th century and is known for its vibrant, energetic character that complements the hymn's majestic themes. Saint Denio had previously been used with different texts, but it was paired with immortal, invisible, god-only wise in later hymnals, resulting in a perfect match of tune and text. This pairing helped to popularize the hymn even further and contributed to its lasting impact on church music and worship. The combination of Smith's timeless words and the traditional Welsh melody creates a powerful, uplifting worship experience that has stood the test of time. Immortal, invisible, god-only wise continues to be sung in churches around the world, celebrating the greatness and mystery of our God. Now, I don't know about you, but a song like this needs to be heard by a congregation of hundreds of people all praising God and worshiping to this powerful hymn about our great Father of glory, pure Father of light.
Speaker 2In light, in access, he will live from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days. Almighty, victorious, thy rulest in might I soar in the high mountains. I soar in the high mountains we shall. Mountains of goodness and love. To all life thou givest, to both great and small. In all life thou givest the true life of old. We blossom and flourish as leaves of a tree and wither and perish, but no change and flee and be Great. Father of glory, your Father of light, thine angels adore thee. Proclaiming thy sight, O Lord, we would render. Lord, help us to see His only last anger, all life's higher fear.
Speaker 1That was Immortal, invisible, god, only Wise, sung in a 2012 worship service at Halifax Minister, an Anglican church in Halifax, england. Before we get to our interview with my Aunt Faye, let's take a quick look at the hymn's verses and explore their theological implications. In verse 1, we hear implications. In verse 1, we hear Immortal, invisible, god, only wise In light, inaccessible, hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of days, almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise. The first verse emphasizes God's immortality, wisdom and unapproachable light. It acknowledges our limited understanding of God's essence and praises him as the eternal, victorious and all-powerful creator.
Speaker 1The opening line, as I've stated before, comes from 1 Timothy 1, verse 17,. To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever, amen. Verse 2, unresting, unhasting and silent as light, nor wanting nor wasting, thou rulest in might Thy justice like mountains, high soaring above thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love. This verse speaks to God's sovereignty and perfect rule over creation and perfect rule over creation. God's justice and righteousness are likened to towering mountains, emphasizing his unchanging character. Psalm 36, verse 6, says your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like the great, deep man and beast you save, oh Lord. This verse also highlights God's love and his goodness, which flow out abundantly from his character.
Speaker 1Psalm 145, verse 17,. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. Then it takes us to verse three. To all life thou givest to both great and small. In all life thou livest the true life of all. We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree and wither and perish, but not changeth thee. Here the hymn acknowledges God's role as the giver and sustainer of life. He is the source of all existence and though our lives are fleeting, god's nature remains constant and unchanging.
Speaker 1In Acts, chapter 17, we are reminded that God is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives all mankind life and breath and everything. And we started in 1 Timothy 1, verse 17,. And now we're going to jump to James, 1, verse 17, where we hear every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Ah, I love that verse. Psalm 102 reminds us that even the foundations of the earth will pass away, but our God and Father will remain.
Speaker 1Verse four says God and Father will remain. Verse 4 says Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight. All laud we will render, O help us to see. Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee. The final verse praises God as father of glory and father of light, reminding us again of James and God as the father of lights. It acknowledges the reverence of the angels who veil their faces before God's majesty. Revelation 4.8 tells us the four living creatures, the angels, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes, all around and within, and day and night, they never cease to say holy, holy, holy is the Lord, god Almighty, who was and is and is to come. All laud we will render, all of our praise, we give it all to you, god. And then it concludes with a plea for God to help us see and to understand this greatness that he has and to recognize his holiness. These four verses are some of the most powerful verses of who God is as our father, as our creator, as our giver of life.
Speaker 1Now comes what I think is the best part of this entire episode, and I think once you hear, you'll agree. I sat down and spoke with my aunt Faye Peavyhouse, whom, I've said many times before, was the catalyst that sparked my journey into music and hymnody. We talked about her love of hymns and what hymns have meant to her, her role as the young musician's director and, of course, our love for our hymn today Immortal, invisible, god Only Wise. Let's hear from her. Well, I'm here today with my aunt Faye, who, for those of you who have listened to this podcast before, you know, has had a huge impact on my life with regards to hymns. She was my young musician's choir director for pretty much my entire life in, I think, elementary, pretty much all of elementary, I think, maybe even kindergarten, I think too but has had a huge impact in her love of hymns and her love of teaching hymns to us as kids, and so I'm so glad to have you on our podcast. Well, thank you very much.
Speaker 3I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 1Awesome For my audience out there who doesn't know you other than the things I've said about you. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, about your life and specifically about how hymns have kind of influenced your life?
Speaker 3Well, I came under the influence of my mother's family when we moved to Seminole Heights no-transcript and it really was a changing point in my life. We had a music director who had youth choirs and as early as I could join, I joined the youth choir and then, when I was 16, he asked me to direct a children's choir. Little did I know, you know, how influential that would be. And I made lots of mistakes, but evidently none of them terminal mistakes, but evidently none of them terminal. So all during my youth I was in the choir at Spencer Memorial and Dick Winters was my choir director and he was the kind who watched over you very, very carefully, especially during those teen years, watched over you very, very carefully, especially during those teen years. One Sunday morning he asked me who did I like now, you know these are the, you know who do you have a crush on, kind of thing. And I said to him if you think I'm going to tell you you're nuts, because I knew too well what he would do. Well, the boy that I happened to like at that moment was named Bill. At school, he was not at church, he was at school. And I thought there's no way this man can possibly find this out. Our youth choir started at 5 or 5.30 on Sunday afternoon. When I walked in he stopped all the music and they played a when have you Been, billy Boy? Billy Boy. So in less than five hours he found out. But that was the lovely, lovely upbringing in my church. It was fabulous.
Speaker 3Also, during those years as a youth, we had a very active youth group and one of the things we did was every Monday night we held services at what was then the Lighthouse Mission on Franklin Street, which at that time was Skid Row, and we would be the choir there would be maybe 20 of us and the rules at the mission was that the people who came mostly men, some women, but mostly men they could not eat until after the worship service and they had to attend the worship service in order to get the meal afterward. And so one of the hymns we would sing a great deal let me see if I can remember I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more. Love lifted me, love lifted me. Well, I tease now we don't sing that song very often, but I tease now that every time I sing that song. I look out and all I see is a bunch of drunks. Is a bunch of drunks? Because that's what was sitting before me. That's awesome.
Speaker 3Occasionally we would see a man saved and it was a miracle what God did in those lives. There would be no other explanation. It was amazing. I started out in college going into church music. I don't know, you may not have known that.
Speaker 3I don't think I did yes, but my very practical father now see, this was 1958. And so my very practical father said to me you will not get a job in church music. I was a woman, a Baptist woman, in 1958. He said you can't get a job. And so I switched my major to elementary education and got a job. But church music has always been something I loved from the very beginning.
Speaker 1And I had no idea.
Speaker 3Yes.
Speaker 1And now everything makes so much more sense. So you've talked about kind of how you started with hymns. Why do you think hymns and singing hymns and learning hymns is so important for us as Christians?
Speaker 3Well, as you and I have discussed at various times, when a magnificent text is set to magnificent music, it touches the soul in a way that few other things do, perhaps nothing. And then, in addition to that, as again you and I have discussed often before, often before, that's where most of us get our theology and that's why the text of any Christian music needs to be absolutely truthful. If there is any shade of error, it needs to be eliminated. When you get something that powerful, then it must be truth.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's absolutely.
Speaker 3But most of us do not have the opportunity to study theology, we don't go to seminary, and when we sing it, it simply becomes a part of us, and I think it's one of our great, great losses in the church, in the modern church, is that we're not singing the hymns with the consistency that we used to and therefore our theology is sometimes faulty.
Speaker 1Yeah, and the one thing and I say this to my high school students, who I teach all the time because they listen To junk yeah, that's the nicest word. Like it's just atrocious music. Yeah, that's that, that, that's the nicest word, like it's just atrocious music. Yes, um, that talk about things I'm not even going to talk about right now. No, um, and they tell me that it doesn't have. Like they can listen to it for the beat or they listen to it because it's just a cool sound or something and I'm going.
Speaker 1You do not understand what putting the words of those songs into your head does. It may not happen right now, but it slowly changes the way you think. It's going to make you think certain ways about the opposite sex. It's going to make you think certain ways about how the world works, about how you should treat other people, and the more you fill your mind with that and I understand, because I was their age too and I had people saying you can't fill your mind with that.
Speaker 1I'm like oh, yes, I cannot. I've said the exact same things and I'm going man, did I sound this stupid as a kid? Yes, I did. I absolutely sounded like that, and I've said before just these last couple of years doing this podcast, I have been so just God has slapped me in the face, reminding me of all of the theology that I have learned from hymns, absolutely, and has also made me humble myself in going back over some of the songs that I have sung and go oh Lord, I taught people this. I taught people this is taught people. This is not biblical, that's right. And I sang it because it was the up-and-coming song, that's right. And I didn't look at what it was saying, absolutely, and I didn't really know the. I had forgotten the theology because I had stopped listening and filling my head with these powerful hymns.
Speaker 3In fact, andy, to me and again, your audience may not know that I'm approaching 85, so they probably need to know that 25, 20, 20. The hymns that we currently have, say in our hymnal, are the ones that survived yeah, yep the, the junk.
Speaker 3And I I mean, okay, the junk did not survive because it was junk, oh yeah. And so through the centuries we have the distillation of the best that there was out there. Now Psalms says sing unto the Lord. A new song, yep, and I know every generation needs to express and create their music. It needs to be done, and some of the new songs are magnificent and they will be classics. If the Lord does not come back in the next hundred years, they will be the ones that survive.
Speaker 3But once again, some of the junk that's out there and this is true in every field, this is not just yeah, it's not just hymnody, it's any field the cream rises to the top, yes, and they will be there, but a lot of the stuff we sing will not be there because it doesn't deserve to be there. And to me, that's one advantage of bringing music to the church from across the centuries, not just contemporary music. We get a very narrow view if we only look at the little 20 or 30 years that we're talking about, when we've had centuries of Christian music, and there's a reason why those songs have lasted for centuries.
Speaker 3And the thing you were talking about about your students saying they can listen to secular music with horrible lyrics and not be affected is indeed a bunch of malarkey, and they probably know it also. Just like I was quoting that hymn to you, I can probably sing all four verses of that hymn because I sang it over and over and it was in my youth. And in my brain are these routes that I made? Well, in their brain there are routes that they're making that will not be profitable to them, will lead them astray.
Speaker 1So let's talk about the hymn Immortal, invisible, god Only Wise.
Speaker 3Yes, this is not a standard Baptist hymn. It is not. That's true. It is in our hymnal, or at least it was in the hymnal that we used at that time. I suppose it still is.
Speaker 3If it isn't. Somebody has made a drastic mistake. We ought to fire them right now. I never sang this song until I was in my late 30s or early 40s, and it was sung in one of our morning worship services. Now the tune is simple. It fits the words so well.
Speaker 3It's a beautiful marriage of the text and the music and as I was singing it, what it says about God and says so magnificently, just absolutely touched my heart. It took me to another place. I would—it wouldn't have mattered where I was. The text is so magnificent and— In very simple phrases he gets a depth of meaning that I admire so much. I just I admire that a person could write like this. But and now I know it comes straight out of 1 Timothy, right, yeah, immortal, invisible God, only wise, yes, and that's another topic for another day, I suppose. But the actual, those hymns that are actual Scripture sung, oh yeah. Now this one. Of course it takes off from Scripture. It does. To me those are some of the most effective of all scripture and to me those are some of the most effective of all. But as I sang through it, having never sung it before, it was simply an overwhelming experience and it immediately became one of my go-to hymns. I adore it and I had a funny experience.
Speaker 3You can cut it if you want to, but when my oldest daughter married, she married an Englishman and the wedding was to be in the United States, but we went to England to celebrate with his family before the wedding and it was a small ceremony in the Church of England.
Speaker 3If you were going to draw an English church, not a cathedral, a small English church, this is what you would draw Large stones, it'd probably been there three or four hundred years with a graveyard with sheep in the graveyard typically English and I did not feel at home at all. It was a very strange kind of thing to me and I did not know the services more formal than Baptist services, and so I was a tiny bit nervous about the whole thing. And the first hymn, immortal, invisible, and I thought, no, I'm home. The rest of it really doesn't matter, I'm home. And so it has just increased in its meaning for me as the years go on, and it's one of those ones that, if you understood all the things about God that are listed in this hymn, I doubt seriously that you'd need a whole lot more True. So on one page with four stanzas. The man was Presbyterian, he was a minister, he was yeah, he certainly did good work.
Speaker 1I would love to have heard his sermons. Same here. Same here. Immortal, invisible God, only wise In light, inaccessible hid from our eyes. Amen. Most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of days, Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Speaker 1That's just beautiful. That's right, and I've had this conversation with every person I've interviewed. Every single time we come back to is just the poetic beauty in hymns. And I'm not again, I'm not saying that songs can't be great now, but, man, many of the hymns did not start off as songs, they started as a poem and then they set the poem to Because, I'm going, nobody sits down and writes a song like this, do they? Can people really do that? Yes, and of course they can. But I'm going, I'm like I can't even imagine writing in light, inaccessible, hid from.
Speaker 3I know it's magnificent, it's beautiful poetry poetry and my understanding is that the melody was an old scotch melody I mean, it was something that was traditional in there yeah, um, no, in fact that's one of the interesting things to me about um hymns.
Speaker 3I think sometimes hymns have a life moment and because sometimes the poet will write the words, and the words are wonderful, and they'll try it to all kinds of different and nothing works and nothing works. And then 100 years later, poet dead and in his grave the music will be attached and then it comes to life. This is to me one of those instances, because it was set to several other melodies Exactly, and they may have been popular in their day, I have no idea, but set to the melody it now has, it is a powerful, powerful song.
Speaker 1That's one of the things that Isaac Watts did. That's why people also hated Isaac Watts. They couldn't stand it because he would take well-known songs and he was like they're boring so he would put them to new music. Yes, he would take traditional hymns and put them to. That's why when people get angry about about well, you can't change that hymn. That's a traditional. I'm going it was. It's an Isaac Watts hymn that he actually changed. Yes, when, like yes, it's, it's traditional to us now, but it it was brand new when Isaac Watts changed it way back, you know and and and just to.
Speaker 1to go, yes, way back, you know. And just to go, yeah, I don't mind the songs taking on new tunes. No, just don't take away the words.
Speaker 3No, absolutely Don't take away the depth.
Speaker 1No, absolutely, I mean one of my favorite verses of this hymn. Actually, I can't say it because I think all four of them are one of my favorite verses of this hymn but unresting unhasting and silent as light I know. And you're just going.
Speaker 3Nor wanting nor wasting. Oh, I know, and you're just going. Nor wanting nor wasting, oh I know. It's just magnificent how he put it down.
Speaker 1Nor wanting nor wasting. You don't think like that. And when you look at words like that and when you start and I know it's not scripture but when you start singing that over and over again and it reminds you that you have a God who rules, yes, and he does not want anything but what he has, he does not waste. Yes, I know, and that's how he rules. Yes, and you go. I want to live under a ruler like that. Especially we're in a year where we're going to elect somebody to run our country. That's right, and you're going wanting and wasting. I see that a lot. Yes, on both sides. Yes, On all sides. Yes, I'm going, man. I want a ruler who does not want, who does not waste that's right who rules in might, and I can trust him.
Speaker 1I just, oh, it's a good song, it's a good song. It's absolutely lovely. In all life thou givest to both great and small. In all life thou livest the true life of all Love it. We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree and wither and perish, but not change of thee that God doesn't change, he doesn't turn, he doesn't.
Speaker 1He is always who he says he is. He always does what he says he will do. And we blossom and we flourish, and then we wither and perish. And then we wither and perish. That's right, and God knew that. God knew that from the very beginning, when he told Adam and Eve to not eat of the fruit of the knowledge tree and evil, because you will surely die. Yes, because in creation we were made to live eternally. Yes, we were not made to die. No, we were made to live eternally. And only now, by his mercy and by his grace, can he restore us to that perfection. And he doesn't change. That's what is so hard for people like us to understand, I think, because we change all the time.
Speaker 3Well and I'm on the wither and perish side of that. Well, I mean, let's be. Yeah, I don't know if you ever watched Dr Phil, but he puts down what he calls a life ruler. That life ruler goes to 85. I would have no place on Dr Phil's life ruler, but I mean, it's a fact of life. You do indeed wither and perish and we, for the short time we're here, there are times in our sufferings that it doesn't seem so short, but it is. And yet he has never changed. He doesn't change, he will not change. He was and is and is to come, and he's exactly the same. Yes, and he can be trusted Often. That's what the hymns say yeah, the truths are there and they don't change.
Speaker 1They don't the circumstances change, yep change, and I think that's one of the things and why I think music is so important and why I think Martin Luther thought music was important.
Speaker 1And why I think anybody who is a pastor should think that music is important is because of that, because it doesn't matter the circumstance music. Music can can find its way through any circumstance to speak to the heart of something. Yes, and that's why I think these hymns are so important, because they can apply to so many different circumstances. Same words, different circumstances and so many different circumstances.
Speaker 2Absolutely.
Speaker 1Same words, different circumstances. Yes, and it still touches hearts.
Speaker 3Yes, and just as you and I would know from our study of the Bible, there is a circumstances change. The Bible does not, but the Bible speaks to those circumstances in every age. That's the way I feel about hymns also, maybe because they're based on Scripture, maybe that's the reason that this happens, but whatever the circumstance, there is an appropriate hymn for that circumstance, for everything.
Speaker 1Yes, I know this hymn is not based off of this scripture, but every time I hear this song, it reminds me of Colossians 1, because it says he is the image of the invisible God, yes, the firstborn of all creation, for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and I love this. And in him all things hold together. Amen, all things hold Our immortal, invisible God. That's right. The image of that invisible God Is in Christ. That's Jesus. That's so we could understand. So that we in Christ. That's Jesus. That's so we could understand. So that we can understand. That's right. We can't. There is not a religion on this earth where God would humble himself enough to be made into human flesh. No, who would come to earth? Who would want to come to earth? Yeah, who would want to lower himself to that of his creation?
Speaker 3No, it would have been unthinkable. Yeah, it would have been unthinkable. Yeah, and really it amazes me, because when the disciples asked Jesus to teach us to pray, and he said our Father, they didn't think of God as a Father. He was a distant, he was powerful, he was holy, he was I mean, they had a lot of things right about him, but they never, never, thought of him as our father. And that makes all the difference in the world. And when Jesus said our father, he's saying to the disciples, he's saying to the disciples we have the same Father and you're my brother.
Speaker 1Yes, yes, and that we are adopted into that family.
Speaker 1That's exactly right. Oh, my goodness, I know the picture of adoption is so beautiful. Is so beautiful? Yes, it is. And the fact that and again it goes back to the fact that Jesus is the picture, this hymn Jesus is the picture of the immortal, invisible God of wisdom and grace and mercy, and every other attribute you can think of the picture of that is Jesus, and that he wanted us to see, that. He wanted us to see him, he wanted us to know this God, this invisible God. That's right.
Speaker 3And to think of him as our father.
Speaker 1And he wanted to know us like that, I know. He wanted to know our sorrow and our pain and he wanted to take it away.
Speaker 3I know that's the ultimate compliment.
Speaker 1That he knew. And what is so amazing is you really think back on it. God knew from the foundation of the world that we were going to sin. He knew before he created us that we were going to fall and that he was going to have to step in and that he was going to have to give his life and that it was going to be torturous and it was going to be humiliating and it was going to be all of these things. And he made us anyway because he wanted us to experience the same love that the Father had for the Son and the Son for the Spirit and the triune nature of who he was, the relational nature of who God is. He wanted to share that with his creation. And he made us, even knowing from the foundation of the world, knowing we were going to fail miserably and that he would have to take drastic steps to save us, and he still wanted to make us.
Speaker 1It's amazing, isn't it? It really is, I think, to close us out. Great father of glory, pure father of light, thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight, all laud we would render. Oh, help us to see Tis. Only the splendor of light hideth thee. And it goes to that one day, when there's a new heaven and a new earth and the light that we have will be him.
Speaker 1We don't need a sun anymore. We don't need a sun, we don't need a star the light of our Heavenly Father, of God Himself. It's the only thing that hides Him from us right now is he's too bright, he's too much for us to see.
Speaker 3Yeah, we can't even look at the sun. Yeah, exactly, we've been taught just this last week.
Speaker 1Exactly exactly. We've been taught just this last week, Exactly exactly.
Speaker 3Yes, and he would be. His brightness would the sun would dim in comparison to his brightness?
Speaker 1Yes, Well, thank you for being on the podcast.
Speaker 3Thank you, I've enjoyed it.
Speaker 1I'm glad. I'm glad Because I know at the beginning you were just like this is not something I do. I'm glad. I'm glad Cause I cause I know. I know at the beginning you were just like this is not something I do.
Speaker 3That's right, it isn't.
Speaker 1But thank you so much you you, you probably I know I've said it a lot of times, but you probably really do not understand, sorry, um, not understand, sorry. How formative, how much what you did when I was a child to love these hymns, what that's done for me in my life and in growing spiritually, and I know that you've done that for a lot of other people. I hope so, I know so, I absolutely know so.
Speaker 3Well, andy, let me say I am a broken vessel. I always was a broken vessel, I always was a broken vessel and it is encouraging to me to know that simple faithfulness to whatever task God gives you, he's the one in charge of the outcome. We follow our shepherd. We walk one step at a time, sometimes not seeing where the next step is. He's our shepherd and we can make it so hard, you know, get theologically wound up, you know and forget that what he requires of us is simple faithfulness. We just walk. And I was certainly blessed, and I'm glad to know that it was this significant in your life and, as you say, I hope it was significant in the lives of many of the children. It's a wonderful thing to be able to work with children. So I don't want anyone thinking that I'm Saint Faye because I'm not, that I'm Saint Faye because I'm not, and I made lots and lots of errors along the way, for which God has forgiven.
Speaker 1But to know that he blesses anyway, even when we're not perfect, he can still bless, and that he works in spite of us sometimes Absolutely, absolutely Well again thank you, you're more than welcome.
Speaker 4I'm not sure, if I can do it. Immortal, invisible, god, only wise, enlightened, accessible, hid from our eyes. Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty, victorious. Thy great name we praise, unresting, unhasting and silent as light, nor wanting nor wasting. Thou rulest in might Thy justice, like mountains high soaring above Thy clouds, which are fountains Of goodness and love. Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight Of all Thy rich graces. This grace, lord impart, take the veil from our faces, the vow from my heart, oh Lord, we would render, oh, help us to see. Tis only the splendor of a light-hearted theme. And so let Thy glory, almighty impart Through Christ in His story, by Christ to the heart, his story, thy Christ to the heart, oh God, we will pray. Oh, help us to see. To the soul, we must pray, oh light, light and free.
Speaker 2And so let thy glory almighty impart Through Christ in His story, Thy Christ to the heart.
Speaker 1That was Immortal, invisible, performed by Nathan Drake of Reawaken Hymns from the album Hymns of the Father. For more information about this song and all the amazing resources available at Reawaken Hymns, check out the links in the show notes for this episode. In the show notes for this episode. I'd like to say another amazing thank you to Faye Peaveyhouse, my aunt, for appearing on the podcast today. Recording in mics she kept telling me not her thing, but let me tell you you were a natural Aunt, faye, and I loved getting to hear about your love of hymns and the stories of a life lived loving hymns and seeing hymns transform the way you think and the way you worship. And great news, we will get to hear even more next week. So don't forget to tune in next week for our very special season finale episode of the Bright Forever. Please remember to follow us, review us and, of course, subscribe and check us out on our website at thebrightforevercom. Post a comment on Facebook or a review on our website or any of the other myriad of platforms that you can find us on. We'd love to hear from you too. Consider sending us an email at podcast at the bright forevercom. Again, that's podcast. At the bright forevercom, you can also send us a message through our contact form on our website. You can tell us what you think. You can actually speak it to us by clicking the radio microphone at the bottom right corner of our website and recording a message of up to two minutes and let us know what you think of the show. Like I said last week, it has been absolutely one-time. Gifts come into the podcast for help with equipment and for advertising and things that we can do. It's been absolutely amazing and humbling. If you feel a call to help us reach a greater audience with these amazing hymns, I would love for you to take a moment. Go to thebrightforevercom and click on the support the podcast tab in the menu. You can subscribe by giving three, five, eight or $10 per month to help support what we are doing here at the Bright Forever and if you don't feel like you're ready to commit to every single month, you can click the yellow coffee icon at the bottom left of our page and give a $5 or greater one-time gift through our Buy Me A Coffee supporters account. Thank you again for listening and I hope you all have a great week.
Speaker 1Before we go, let me close us out in prayer. Lord, we thank you for revealing yourself to us in your word and through the hymns that praise your name. As we contemplate your immortal and invisible nature, grant us deeper and deeper understanding of your majesty and your wisdom. And deeper understanding of your majesty and your wisdom Help us to trust in your sovereignty and goodness in all aspects of our lives. We pray that you would guide us as we seek to honor you in all that we do. May your light shine through us, bringing glory to your name and drawing others closer to you. God, we love you, we praise you, and it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. God bless you all. Have a great week and we'll see you back here next week. We're out.
Speaker 2Thank you.
