What Song Will the Next Generation Hear?

"I've caught the sound of saints on higher ground."
I think Joshua would have understood that phrase from the hymn Higher Ground. "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua...did not leave the tent" (Exodus 33:11).
The wonder of Moses' holy encounter with God held Joshua there. What would it take and what would it be like to know the Almighty in such a way that he could speak to Him as he spoke to a friend?
I caught the sound of saints on higher ground from my parents. My father, who died suddenly when I was 15, led family devotions morning and evening. He made certain we never missed any of the three weekly services even though it was a 30-minute drive over gravel roads. If a three-week revival came during harvest, working late to gather crops rather than attend church was not a consideration.

During one of the Missouri blizzards, the pastor called planning to cancel services in our small church because no one in town wanted to venture out.

"What do you think about having service today?" he asked Dad.
Undaunted by blinding snow and icy roads, Dad replied, "Why, yes, we'll be there." So church was not canceled.
If a consistent family devotion habit and church attendance had been the most prominent parts of spiritual life in our home, I doubt that the sound of saints on higher ground would have reached me. But in that little church we were taught that it is possible to live a holy life, and my parents not only believed that, they practiced it. Their love for Jesus affected all they did.
The sound of saints on higher ground is a beautiful sound.
"Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed" (Psalm 112:1-2).