How Auld Lang Syne Was Transformed Into A Christian Hymn And Then Into The National Anthem Of North Korea…And How You Can Help Transform It Back

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Pastor Foley

WLO_worshippingThe 100 Days of Worship with the North Korean Underground Church campaign comes to a rousing finale on New Year’s Eve with the singing of a song which enjoys perhaps the most diverse popularity of any song ever written, drawing acclaim equally from North Korean dictators to Scottish pub crawlers to far-flung missionaries…though for very different reasons and in very different iterations.

J.K. Gayle’s Whose Auld Lang Syne? is a nice primer on the background of this, the second most popular song in the world behind Happy Birthday.

One note to add to Gayle’s fine post is that the North Korean national anthem, which today doesn’t sound anything at all like Auld Lang Syne, actually has its origin in the song, though the lyrics and then the tune were ultimately changed to become more North Korean. (You can hear something a little closer to the original Korean version here–quite a bit more beautiful than what you may hear warbled out at midnight later this week.)

But for Christians the most interesting and moving version of the song may be this one, written by missionary Amos Sutton in 1833. Though he wrote it with Northern England in mind, we think it speaks even more appropriately of North Korea and our underground brothers and sisters there–which is why we made this the hymn for the 100 Days campaign.

So even if you were not able to join us for the first 99 days of the campaign, I hope you’ll join us in prayerfully remembering North Korean Christians at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve by singing this version of the song.

Hail! sweetest, dearest tie that binds
Our glowing hearts in one;
Hail sacred hope, that tunes our minds
To harmony divine.

It is the hope, the blissful hope
Which Jesus’ grace has giv’n;
The hope when days and years are passed,
We all shall meet in Heav’n.

What though the northern wintry blast
Shall howl around thy cot,
What though beneath an eastern sun,
Be cast our distant lot;

Yet still we share the blissful hope!
Which Jesus’ grace has giv’n;
The hope when days and years are passed,
We all shall meet in Heav’n.

Until we all shall meet in heaven, Happy New Year from Mrs. Foley and me and everyone at Seoul USA.

Posted in 100 Days of Worship in the Common Places, North Korea, Worship | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Video – Christ Did Not Come Simply To Die For Our Sins

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Pastor Foley

Pastor Foley takes one of the all-time favorite Christmas Scriptures, Isaiah 9:6-7, and challenges a common understanding of why God actually became flesh.  Many people think that Christ came solely for the forgiveness of sins, missing the whole point of Christ’s rule and reign as expressed by Isaiah.  Pastor Foley says, “The forgiveness of sins, that God gives to us, is a means to an end not an end in itself.”

For all of the latest podcasts on Presentation and on past Works of Mercy visit our Seoul USA Podcast Page!

Posted in Presentation, Videos | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Millisecond For Worship: Christmas In North Korea

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Pastor Foley

These_are_the_Genera_Cover_for_Kindle, smallerSince writing These are the Generations with underground North Korean Christians Mr. and Mrs. Bae, I never look at Christmas lights the same way.

The excerpt below from the book (a Kindle version is available for your last minute gift giving exigencies) gives new meaning to that old song lyric “Over the river and through the woods”: Here Mrs. Bae, her pregnant daughter, and her son flee North Korea right into the Tumen River at night…at Christmas.

Note the amazing millisecond of worship on the other side:

Finally, we selected a location to cross. The decision came with a lot of concern for me because of my daughter’s pregnancy. In order to cross the river, we’d have to first lower ourselves down a cliff face about 3½ meters high. My daughter saw my worry and urged me to trust in God—an admonition that became a whole lot easier when we found a rope nearby, which I knew was God’s provision. So my son jumped down. I jumped down. And my daughter hesitated not at all, scrambling down without a trace of fear and taking off running in a mad dash with the rest of us once she reached the bottom.

The river was about 150 meters wide at that point, and we had to just throw ourselves into it and swim across it as fast as we could, ignoring the piercing liquid cold and the possible impact on my daughter’s pregnancy. The last voices I heard in North Korea were the shouts of people in the city crying out, “Catch them! Catch them!” Maybe God didn’t exactly part the river for us, but he restrained those who sought to do us harm until we could safely reach the other side. That was exodus enough.

Who can forget that first glimpse of the land outside of North Korea? We were greeted by a blaze of Christmas lights. Christmas—I had almost forgotten! The birth of Emmanuel, God with us: Surely God is with us.

But there was no time to stop, stand, reflect, or even thank him for this, as guards ply both sides of the river. Still, it was impossible not to be struck by the contrast between the panoply of lights on the China side and the impenetrable blackness of the North Korean night. On the far side of the river, the citizens had no idea it was Christmas and certainly no concept of the God who is Emmanuel.

Pray for Mrs. Bae. She and her family are now safe in South Korea, but as readers of These are the Generations know, Mrs. Bae has struggled for years with declining health. This year has been harder for her than previous ones. She is under a doctor’s care, but I trust you will join me in praying for the intervention of the Greater Physician–and Mrs. Bae’s restoration to full health–this Christmas.

Surely God is with her, and us. Merry Christmas from Mrs. Foley and me, and everyone at VOM Korea.

Posted in North Korea, Worship | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments