{"id":3690,"date":"2024-05-27T10:27:13","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T14:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=3690"},"modified":"2024-05-27T10:27:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T14:27:53","slug":"god-is-nigh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/god-is-nigh\/","title":{"rendered":"God is Nigh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>

During the summer of 1862, while the Civil War was raging between North and South, Union General Daniel Butterfield was searching for a new way to signal \u201clights out\u201d at the end of the day. 

Butterfield wrote a simple tune that his bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, first performed at Harrison\u2019s Landing, Virginia.

A few months later a highly regarded member of a Union battery was killed in combat. It was tradition at the time to fire three volleys after a soldier\u2019s burial. But the unit occupied an advanced position, and it was determined that gunfire might compromise their security. 

Someone suggested that Butterfield\u2019s new bugle call be played instead.

Traditionally, the call to \u201cextinguish lights\u201d always ended with three beats of a drum \u2013 the so-called \u201cdrum taps\u201d or simply \u201ctaps.\u201d By the end of the nineteenth century, the drumbeats had been replaced with the bugle call, and the name \u201ctaps\u201d was passed along as well.

For more than a century and a half, Taps<\/em> has been sounded at the burial of America\u2019s veterans. Here\u2019s a memorable rendition: “Taps” – Bugle Call: USMC Drum & Bugle Corps (youtube.com)<\/a>

And here are the three verses originally penned to accompany those 24 lyrical notes:

Day is done, gone the sun<\/em>
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky<\/em>
All is well, safely rest<\/em>
God is nigh.<\/em>

Fading light dims the sight<\/em>
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright<\/em>
From afar, drawing near<\/em>
Falls the night.<\/em>

Thanks and praise for our days<\/em>
Neath the sun, neath the stars, neath the sky<\/em>
As we go, this we know<\/em>
God is nigh.<\/em>

Whenever you hear Taps<\/em> \u2013 at a burial, during a Memorial Day service, at a time of incalculable loss \u2013 may the meaning of those last three notes endure.

God is not somewhere else, taking care of some faraway galaxy or managing international trade talks.  

God is here. God is nearby.  

God is nigh.<\/em>

May you know God\u2019s nearness \u2013 and the hope and peace that come with that knowing \u2013 on this Memorial Day.<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here During the summer of 1862, while the Civil War was raging between North and South, Union General Daniel Butterfield was searching for a new way to signal \u201clights out\u201d at the end of the day.  Butterfield wrote a simple tune that his bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton, first performed at Harrison\u2019s Landing,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[742,743],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-civil-war","tag-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3690"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3693,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690\/revisions\/3693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}