Joshua 3:7-17
Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Matthew 23:1-12
The first hymn for today was Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
The hymn was written by William Williams in 1745 and translated from the Welsh by Peter Williams in 1771. The hymn tune is "Cwm Rhondda" composed by John Hughes in 1907.
Guide me, O thou great Jehovah,
pilgrim though this barren land;
I am weak, but thou art mighty;
hold me with thy powerful hand;
Bread of heaven, Bread of heaven,
feed me till I want no more,
feed me till I want no more.
Open now the crystal fountain,
whence the healing stream doth flow;
let the fire and cloudy pillar
lead me all my journey through;
strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer.
be thou still my Strength and Shield,
be thou still my Strength and Shield.
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
bid my anxious fears subside;
bear me through the swelling current,
land me safe on Canaan's side;
songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to thee,
I will ever give to thee.
The second hymn was one based on a folksong from Ghana that we sing a lot, Jesu, Jesu . Thomas S. Colvin wrote the words in 1969. The hymn tune is also by Colvin. It's called "Chereponi.
© 1969 and 1989 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. Used by permission.
Jesu, Jesu,Fill us with Your love,
show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
Kneels at the feet of his friends,
Silently washes their feet,
Master who acts as a slave to them.
Jesu, Jesu,Fill us with Your love,
show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
Neighbors are rich and poor,
Neighbors are black and white,
Neighbors are near and far away.
Jesu, Jesu,Fill us with Your love,
show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
These are the ones we should serve,
These are the ones we should love;
All these are neighbors to us and You.
Jesu, Jesu,Fill us with Your love,
show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
Loving puts us on our knees,
Serving as though we are slaves,
This is the way we should live with You.
Jesu, Jesu,Fill us with Your love,
show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
Kneel at the feet of our friends,
Silently washing their feet,
This is the way we should live with You.
Jesu, Jesu,Fill us with Your love,
show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
Our anthem was an interesting arrangement of the American folk hymn On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand.
The text is by Samuel Stennett (1727-1795).
The hymn tune is called Promised Land from that important book The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion by William Walker, first published in 1835. The University Press of Kentucky has published a fascimile of the book. Here's what their publisher's notes say about the work.
The Southern Harmony
was the most popular tune book of the nineteenth century, containing 335 sacred songs, dominated by the folk hymns of oral tradition and written in the old four-shape notation that was for generations the foundation of musical teaching in rural America. Born in 1809 in South Carolina, William Walker grew up near Spartanburg and early became devoted to the Welsh Baptist Church of his ancestors and to the musical heritage that church had brought to early America. Walker became a singing master, and Southern Harmony was compiled for his students in hundreds of singing schools all over North and South Carolina and Georgia and in eastern Tennessee. Southern Harmony reached Kentucky in the company of music-loving pioneers, and today an annual singing in Benton, Kentucky, remains the only such occasion on which Southern Harmony is consistently the source of the music.I really enjoyed singing the anthem. The amazing thing to me was that about half of the choir members did not know this familiar tune. The choir members who didn't know the tune were all Yankees. I guess The Southern Harmony
never got too far north. Here are the original words. Our anthem left off the refrain, which I thought was a bit strange.1. On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
and cast a wishful eye
to Canaan's fair and happy land,
where my possessions lie.
Refrain:
I am bound for the promised land,
I am bound for the promised land;
oh, who will come and go with me?
I am bound for the promised land.
2. O'er all those wide extended plains
shines one eternal day;
there God the Son forever reigns,
and scatters night away.
(Refrain)
3. No chilling winds or poisonous breath
can reach that healthful shore;
sickness and sorrow, pain and death,
are felt and feared no more.
(Refrain)
4. When I shall reach that happy place,
I'll be forever blest,
for I shall see my Father's face,
and in his bosom rest.
(Refrain)
The final hymn was A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.
The hymn, of course, is by Martin Luther. The hymn tune is called "Ein' Feste Burg" which is just German for "A Mighty Fortress". The last Sunday in October used to be celebrated as Reformation Sunday, but churches don't seem to do that anymore. When I was growing up Reformation Sunday was a big deal in Louisville, with thousands attending an afternoon service at Freedom Hall at the fairgrounds with some famous preacher preaching.
This is a hymn that will be sung robustly even by those people in the congregation who hardly ever sing the hymns.
1. A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing;
our helper he amid the flood
of mortal ills prevaling.
For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and power are great,
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.
2. Did we in our own strength confide,
our striving would be losing,
were not the right man on our side,
the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabbaoth, his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must win the battle.
3. And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
4. That word above all earthly powers,
no thanks to them, abideth;
the Spirit and the gifts are ours,
thru him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment