Old Hymns and the Arab Spring

I find that there are still a few rewards in store for the regular church-goer. The other Sunday, we sang the old nineteenth century hymn, "How Can I Keep from Singing." This hymn begins with sort of a mystical theme -- focused on the experience of a reality beyond the daily adversity and hardship of this world:

Above the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing;

It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing?

These are pretty striking and evocative lyrics, and suggest the notions of unspeakable joy and a peace that passes understanding -- that not even your beliefs can account for.

But, you know, when you sing from a hymnal, you don't really have a chance to read ahead. So, I was completely unprepared for the last verse:

When tyrants tremble, sick with fear, And hear their death-knell ringing,

And then the response: How can I keep from singing?

Here, we suddenly move from the sublime to the very worldly and concrete. I must admit that even in my most militant moods, I don't like the idea of celebrating even the worst persons death. So, that gave me pause as soon as I saw it. But, perhaps, all we're meant to sing about is tyrants trembling, and not their actual death. In any event, it didn't take me long to make the connection between the lyrics and the Arab revolt, and how at that very moment as we sang the tyrants of Libya and Syria were trembling, probably sick with fear.

The slaughter of civilians is of course horrifying and contemptible. But at the same time think of the thrill and hope we've felt at the courage, resourcefulness and dedication to democracy of people throughout the Middle East. I decided that the hymn was correct: how can I keep from singing?