Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the Second Sunday of Advent are:
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a
Mark 1:1-8

Our first hymn was People Look East
People, Look East was written by Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) and first published in The Oxford Book of Carols in 1928. The author saw her journey of faith as a progression rather than a single conversion experience. This is reflected in the seasonal themes of this Advent hymn. Farjeon also wrote books for children and the poem Morning Has Broken, a familiar and favorite hymn.

People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love the guest is on the way.

Furrows, be glad. Though each is bare,
One more seed is planted there:
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love the rose is on the way.

Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love the bird is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love the star is on the way.

Angels, announce with shouts of mirth
Christ who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming.
People, look east and sing today:
Love the Lord is on the way.

The second hymn today was Hail to the Lord's Anointed. The hymn was written by James Montgomery in 1821. It was written for a Christmas Day Moravian meeting in Fulneck, Yorkshire, England. The hymn tune is called Ellacombe. It is from the Gesangbuch der Herzol published in 1784 and harmonized by William H. Monk in 1868.

1. Hail to the Lord's Anointed,
great David's greater Son!
Hail in the time appointed,
his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
to set the captive free;
to take away transgression,
and rule in equity.

2. He comes with succor speedy
to those who suffer wrong;
to help the poor and needy,
and bid the weak be strong;
to give them songs for sighing,
their darkness turn to light,
whose souls, condemned and dying,
are precious in his sight.

3. He shall come down like showers
upon the fruitful earth;
love, joy, and hope, like flowers,
spring in his path to birth.
Before him on the mountains,
shall peace, the herald, go,
and righteousness, in fountains,
from hill to valley flow.

4. To him shall prayer unceasing
and daily vows ascend;
his kingdom still increasing,
a kingdom without end.
The tide of time shall never
his covenant remove;
his name shall stand forever;


Our anthem today was one of my favorites: Comfort, Comfort Ye My People The hymn was written by Johann G. Olearius in 1671 and translated by Catherine Winkworth in 1863. The hymn tune is called Psalm 42, but I don't know anything about its origin.

Comfort, comfort ye my people,
speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
comfort those who sit in darkness,
mourning 'neath their sorrow's load;
speak ye to Jerusalem
of the peace that waits for them;
tell her that her sins I cover,
and her warfare now is over.

For the herald's voice is crying
in the desert far and near,
bidding all men to repentance,
since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet him,
and the hills bow down to greet him.

Make ye straight what long was crooked,
make the rougher places plain:
let your hearts be true and humble,
as befits his holy reign,
For the glory of the Lord
now o'er the earth is shed abroad,
and all flesh shall see the token
that his word is never broken.

Our Eucharistic hymns for the day were:Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence . It is from the Liturgy of St. James, from the Fourth Century. It was translated from the Greek by Gerard Moultrie in 1864. The hymn tune is Picardy, a French carol melody.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six wingèd seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

The second Eucharistic hymn was Of the Father's Love Begotten
The hymn was written by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius in the Fourth Century and translated by John Mason Neale in 1854 and Henry Williams Baker in 1861. The hymn tune is called Divinum mysterium (Corde natus).

Of the Father's love begotten,
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore!

At his word the words were framèd;
he commanded; it was done:
heaven and earth and depths of ocean
in their threefold order one;
all that grows beneath the shining
of the moon and burning sun,
evermore and evermore!

O that birth for ever blessèd,
when the Virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bare the Savior of our race;
and the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

This is he whom seers in old time
chanted of with one accord;
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now he shines, the long expected,
let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven, adore him;
angel-hosts, his praises sing;
powers, dominions, bow before him,
and extol our God and King;
let no tongue on earth be silent,
every voice in concert ring,
evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men,
thee let boys in chorus sing;
matrons, virgins, little maidens,
with glad voices answering:
let their guileless songs re-echo,
and the heart its music bring,
evermore and evermore!

Christ, to thee with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving,
and unwearied praises be;
honor, glory and dominion,
and eternal victory,
evermore and evermore!


The final hymn was Lift High the Cross . It has nothing to do with the Second Sunday of Advent, but rather it is the name of a fund raising campaign we're in the middle of. We're building a huge new addition to our church. The new addition includes no increase in the amount of space for worship and no new space for music rehearsal rooms. So, I'm not too thrilled about the building project. However, I do love this hymn. It was written by George W. Kitchin and modified by Michael R. Newbolt in 1916. The hymn tune is called Crucifer written by Sydney H. Nicholson in 1916. This hymn always makes me feel as if we should be carrying banners in a large religious procession.

Refrain

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim,
Till all the world adore His sacred Name.

Led on their way by this triumphant sign,
The hosts of God in conquering ranks combine.

Refrain

Each newborn servant of the Crucified
Bears on the brow the seal of Him Who died.

Refrain

O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree,
As Thou hast promised, draw the world to Thee.

Refrain

So shall our song of triumph ever be:
Praise to the Crucified for victory.

Refrain




One hymn I love for this second Sunday of Advent is On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry
Unfortunately it isn't in the current edition of the United Methodist Hymnal. The hymn was written by Charles Coffin in 1736 and translated by John Chandler in 1837. The hymn tune is called Winchester New.


On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
announces that the Lord is nigh;
awake and hearken, for he brings
glad tidings of the King of kings.

Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
make straight the way for God within,
prepare we in our hearts a home
where such a mighty Guest may come.

For thou art our salvation, Lord,
our refuge and our great reward;
without thy grace we waste away
like flowers that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out thine hand,
and bid the fallen sinner stand;
shine forth and let thy light restore
earth's own true loveliness once more.

All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
whose advent doth thy people free;
whom with the Father we adore
and Holy Ghost for evermore.

Another wonderful Advent hymn that has disappeared from our hymnal is There's a Voice in the Wilderness Calling written by James Lewis Milligan in 1930.