The first reading for today, the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, was Genesis 32:22-31:
"The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip."
All of the Old Testament texts since Pentecost have been about Abraham and his family. Today's story about Jacob wrestling with God gave us an opportunity to sing a rarely sung hymn, "Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown" by Charles Wesley. It was one of my father's favorite hymns. I wanted to have it sung at his funeral last week, but there were so many other hymns that we couldn't fit this in. The tune in the Methodist Hymnal is the Scottish melody Candler arranged by Carlton R. Young. Other hymnals use the tune St. Petersburg by Dmitri S. Bortniansky or Melita by John Bacchus Dykes . That's the hymn tune known mostly as the Navy hymn "Eternal Father Strong to Save."
Wesley wrote many verses to this hymn, but these are the four that are included in most hymnals today.
Come, O thou Traveler unknown,
Whom still I hold, but cannot see;
My company before is gone,
And I am left alone with Thee,
With Thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.
With Thee all night I mean to stay,
And wrestle till the break of day.
I need not tell Thee who I am,
My misery or sin declare;
Thyself hast called me by my name,
Look on Thy hands, and read it there.
But who, I ask Thee, who art thou?
Tell me thy name, and tell me now.
But who, I ask Thee, who art thou?
Tell me thy name, and tell me now.
Yield to me now, for I am weak
But confident in self-despair;
Speak to my heart, in blessings speak,
Be conquered by my instant prayer.
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move,
And tell me, if thy name is Love.
Speak, or thou never hence shalt move,
And tell me, if thy name is Love.
'Tis Love, 'tis Love! Thou diedst for me!
I hear thy whisper in my heart:
The morning breaks, the shadows flee.
Pure universal Love thou art;
Thy mercies never shall remove,
Thy nature and thy name is Love.
Thy mercies never shall remove,
Thy nature and thy name is Love.
The Gospel lesson for July 31 is Matthew 14:13-21, the story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. We didn't have a hymn to go with this reading at our church today. I can't think of any hymns that are about loaves and fishes, but all of the Eucharistic hymns fit the text. Here's one I like.
O Food to Pilgrims Given
It's from the Maintzich Gesangbuch, translated by John Athelstan Laurie Riley. The tune is a German melody, O Welt, Ich Muss Dich Lassen.
O food to pilgrims given,
O bread of life from heaven,
O manna from on high!
We hunger; Lord, supply us,
Nor thy delights deny us,
Whose hearts to thee draw nigh.
O stream of love past telling,
O purest fountain, welling
From out the Savior's side!
We faint with thirst; revive us,
Of thine abundance give us,
And all we need provide.
O Jesus, by Thee bidden,
We here adore thee, hidden in forms of bread and wine.
Grant when the veil is risen,
We may behold, in heaven,
Thy countenance divine.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Two Sorrowful Weeks
I haven't posted any new hymns for quite awhile because I've been out of town. The third week of July is traditionally my family's annual reunion in Kentucky, a time of fun at the lake and catching up with my brother and sisters and all the nieces and nephews. But this year my aunt died a week before the reunion. I came here for the funeral and planned to stay until it was time to go to the lake. But then my daddy died twelve days after his little sister. It's been a very sad time for us. The funeral was yesterday. It was a wonderful service. Here are the hymns we sang.
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Words: by Henry J. Van Dyke, 1907. Van Dyke wrote this hymn while staying at the home of Harry A. Garfield at Williams College, Massachusetts. It was first published in the Presbyterian Hymnal in 1911. It also appeared in the Poems of Henry van Dyke, 1911.
Van Dyke wrote: These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.
Music: “Hymn to Joy,” from the 9th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven; adapted by Edward Hodges, 1824
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals, join the happy chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us,
Brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.
I'll Praise My Maker Wile I've Breath
Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, 1719.
Music: “Old 113th,” attributed to Matthaus Greiter, Strassburger Kirchenamt, 1525
.
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp, and power,
And thoughts, all vanish in an hour,
Nor can they make their promise good.
Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God: He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train:
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th’oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
The Lord has eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labr’ing conscience peace;
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow, and the fatherless,
And grants the pris’ner sweet release.
I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Be Thou My Vision
Words: Attributed to Dallan Forgaill, 8th Century (Rob tu mo bhoile, a Comdi cride); translated from ancient Irish to English by Mary E. Buyrne, in “Eriú,” Journal of the School of Irish Learning, 1905, and versed by Eleanor H. Hull, 1912, alt.
Music: “Slane,” of Irish folk origin
Slane Hill is about ten miles from Tara in County Meath. It was on Slane Hill around 433 AD that St. Patrick defied a royal edict by lighting candles on Easter Eve. High King Logaire of Tara had decreed that no one could light a fire before Logaire began the pagan spring festival by lighting a fire on Tara Hill. Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it), he let him continue his missionary work. The rest is history.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
For All the Saints
William W. How, Hymns for Saint’s Days, and Other Hymns, by Earl Nelson, 1864.
Music: “Sine Nomine” Ralph Vaughan Williams, in The English Hymnal (London: Oxford University Press, 1906), number 641
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Words: by Henry J. Van Dyke, 1907. Van Dyke wrote this hymn while staying at the home of Harry A. Garfield at Williams College, Massachusetts. It was first published in the Presbyterian Hymnal in 1911. It also appeared in the Poems of Henry van Dyke, 1911.
Van Dyke wrote: These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth overthrow the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.
Music: “Hymn to Joy,” from the 9th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven; adapted by Edward Hodges, 1824
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!
All Thy works with joy surround Thee,
Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals, join the happy chorus,
Which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us,
Brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.
I'll Praise My Maker Wile I've Breath
Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David, 1719.
Music: “Old 113th,” attributed to Matthaus Greiter, Strassburger Kirchenamt, 1525
.
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Why should I make a man my trust?
Princes must die and turn to dust;
Vain is the help of flesh and blood:
Their breath departs, their pomp, and power,
And thoughts, all vanish in an hour,
Nor can they make their promise good.
Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel’s God: He made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train:
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves th’oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
The Lord has eyes to give the blind;
The Lord supports the sinking mind;
He sends the labr’ing conscience peace;
He helps the stranger in distress,
The widow, and the fatherless,
And grants the pris’ner sweet release.
I’ll praise Him while He lends me breath,
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.
Be Thou My Vision
Words: Attributed to Dallan Forgaill, 8th Century (Rob tu mo bhoile, a Comdi cride); translated from ancient Irish to English by Mary E. Buyrne, in “Eriú,” Journal of the School of Irish Learning, 1905, and versed by Eleanor H. Hull, 1912, alt.
Music: “Slane,” of Irish folk origin
Slane Hill is about ten miles from Tara in County Meath. It was on Slane Hill around 433 AD that St. Patrick defied a royal edict by lighting candles on Easter Eve. High King Logaire of Tara had decreed that no one could light a fire before Logaire began the pagan spring festival by lighting a fire on Tara Hill. Logaire was so impressed by Patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it), he let him continue his missionary work. The rest is history.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
For All the Saints
William W. How, Hymns for Saint’s Days, and Other Hymns, by Earl Nelson, 1864.
Music: “Sine Nomine” Ralph Vaughan Williams, in The English Hymnal (London: Oxford University Press, 1906), number 641
For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Patriotic Hymns
Patriotic hymns are always a problem. Do they belong in a regular church service or not? I've been in parishes where they were never sung, and I've also lived in parishes where they were sung at every national holiday. They don't fit in the liturgy. There's also the problem that they somehow smack of civil religion which isn't what church should be about. But they are wonderful hymns sung to stirring hymn tunes. Unless one belongs to a community chorus where else but church would one get to sing them? My current church is very pro-patriotic hymns. We sang three of them on Sunday, and the fourth one was played as a postlude.
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original version in 1893. She wrote the 2nd version in 1904. Her final version was written in 1913.
Here is a note from Katharine Lee Bates:
"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse."
Here's the version we sing.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self the country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Written by Julia Howe. This hymn was born during the American civil war, when Howe visited a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, D. C. She heard the soldiers singing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was taken with the strong marching beat. She wrote the words the next day. The hymn appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. It was sung at the funerals of British statesman Winston Churchill, Senator Robert Kennedy, and President Ronald Reagan. There are two other verses, but most hymnals only include these four.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His day is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
While God is marching on.
America
Written by Samuel Francis Smith; the tune used for this song is "God Save the Queen", the British National Anthem.
My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
Our father's God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!
God of Our Fathers
Written by Daniel C. Roberts
The tune is "National Hymn" by George W. Warren.
God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.
Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast,
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.
From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.
Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original version in 1893. She wrote the 2nd version in 1904. Her final version was written in 1913.
Here is a note from Katharine Lee Bates:
"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse."
Here's the version we sing.
O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self the country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
Written by Julia Howe. This hymn was born during the American civil war, when Howe visited a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, D. C. She heard the soldiers singing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was taken with the strong marching beat. She wrote the words the next day. The hymn appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. It was sung at the funerals of British statesman Winston Churchill, Senator Robert Kennedy, and President Ronald Reagan. There are two other verses, but most hymnals only include these four.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His day is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
While God is marching on.
America
Written by Samuel Francis Smith; the tune used for this song is "God Save the Queen", the British National Anthem.
My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died!
Land of the Pilgrim's pride!
From every mountain side,
Let freedom ring!
My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love.
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills;
My heart with rapture fills
Like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom's song.
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.
Our father's God to, Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King!
God of Our Fathers
Written by Daniel C. Roberts
The tune is "National Hymn" by George W. Warren.
God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.
Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast,
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.
From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.
Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Faith, While Trees Are Still in Blossom
Faith, While Trees Are Still in Blossom
This hymn by Anders Frostenson was written in 1960 and translated by Fred Kaan in 1972. The scripture reference is Hebrews 11:1-2, but it also fit the Old Testament reading for June 26, which was Genesis 22:1-14
Anders Frostenson was born in Killeberg in Småland in 1906. He studied languages, literature, and theology in the University of Lund, taking a degree in English, Slavic languages, and philosophy in 1928 and in Theology in 1932. He then served as a priest in several cities in Sweden, including Stockholm. In 1941 he married Ulla Lidman, a missionary and parliamentary representative. They had three children. He retired in 1971. In 1955 he was appointed Royal Minister to the castle at Drottningholm. In 1981 he earned a doctorate in theology at Lund. Frostenson has written and translated into Swedish over six hundred hymns, but most of them have not been translated into English. I have not been able to discover if Pastor Frostenson is still alive.
Faith, while trees are still in blossom,
plans the picking of the fruit;
Faith can feel the thrill of harvest
when the buds begin to sprout.
Long before the dawn is breaking,
faith anticipates the sun.
Faith is eager for the daylight,
for the work that must be done.
Long before the rains were coming,
Noah went and built an ark.
Abraham, the lonely migrant,
saw the light beyond the dark.
Faith, uplifted, tamed the water
of the undivided sea,
And the people of the Hebrews
found the path that made them free.
Faith believes that God is faithful:
God will be what God will be!
Faith accepts the call, responding,
“I am willing, Lord, send me.”
This hymn by Anders Frostenson was written in 1960 and translated by Fred Kaan in 1972. The scripture reference is Hebrews 11:1-2, but it also fit the Old Testament reading for June 26, which was Genesis 22:1-14
Anders Frostenson was born in Killeberg in Småland in 1906. He studied languages, literature, and theology in the University of Lund, taking a degree in English, Slavic languages, and philosophy in 1928 and in Theology in 1932. He then served as a priest in several cities in Sweden, including Stockholm. In 1941 he married Ulla Lidman, a missionary and parliamentary representative. They had three children. He retired in 1971. In 1955 he was appointed Royal Minister to the castle at Drottningholm. In 1981 he earned a doctorate in theology at Lund. Frostenson has written and translated into Swedish over six hundred hymns, but most of them have not been translated into English. I have not been able to discover if Pastor Frostenson is still alive.
Faith, while trees are still in blossom,
plans the picking of the fruit;
Faith can feel the thrill of harvest
when the buds begin to sprout.
Long before the dawn is breaking,
faith anticipates the sun.
Faith is eager for the daylight,
for the work that must be done.
Long before the rains were coming,
Noah went and built an ark.
Abraham, the lonely migrant,
saw the light beyond the dark.
Faith, uplifted, tamed the water
of the undivided sea,
And the people of the Hebrews
found the path that made them free.
Faith believes that God is faithful:
God will be what God will be!
Faith accepts the call, responding,
“I am willing, Lord, send me.”
The Words Are the Hymn, The Music Is the Hymn Tune
I have been singing in church choirs since I was 12. That's more than fifty years. I love hymns and also hymn tunes, but mostly the hymns. I have a fairly large of collection of hymn books. Most of the antique ones have no printed music. The congregation was just expected to know the tune. If you move from parish to parish and denomination to denomination you'll find that the hymn tune you expect to go with certain hymns is strange to other people. My daughter, who is a choir director, was always annoyed when the priest at the church where she worked always expected "O, Little Town of Bethlehem" to be sung to the tune "Forest Green", a tune she associates more with the hymn "How Beautiful the March of Days".
I'm going to attempt to post the text of the hymns for each week's readings in the Revised Lectionary. When I have time I may include a little history of the hymn, for every hymn, like all poetry, has a poet and a story behind it.
What Gift Can We Bring?
This fairly new hymn was written by Jane Marshall in 1980 for the 25th anniversary of her congregation, Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas.
What gift can we bring, what present or token?
What words can convey it, the joy of this day?
When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing,
What song can we offer on honor and praise?
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life by Frank Mason North
This hymn is well suited to the Gospel reading for June 26 - Matthew 10:40-42
1. Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of man.
2. In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.
3. From tender childhood's helplessness,
from woman's grief, man's burdened toil,
from famished souls, from sorrow's stress,
your heart has never known recoil.
4. The cup of water given for you
still holds the freshness of your grace;
yet long these multitudes to view
the sweet compassion of your face.
5. O Master, from the mountainside
make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
among these restless throngs abide;
O tread the city's streets again.
6. Till all the world shall learn your love
and follow where your feet have trod,
till, glorious from your heaven above,
shall come the city of our God!
Here's a history of this hymn written by C. Michael Hawn of the Perkins School of Theology.
Frank Mason North (1850-1935) composed one of the first social gospel hymns devoted to the special needs of the increasing urban poor population... With New York City as his backdrop, North wrote "Where cross the crowded ways of life" at the suggestion of Caleb T. Winchester, for the committee that prepared the 1905 Methodist hymnal... When North was asked to compose a hymn on a missionary theme, he protested his ability to write hymns but promised to try his hand. Shortly before this appeal to prepare a hymn, he had preached a sermon on Matthew 22:9 with a translation of the passage as "Go ye therefore into the parting of the highways." This idea captured his imagination as he thought of the traffic of the great urban centers of the United States and beyond.
I'm going to attempt to post the text of the hymns for each week's readings in the Revised Lectionary. When I have time I may include a little history of the hymn, for every hymn, like all poetry, has a poet and a story behind it.
What Gift Can We Bring?
This fairly new hymn was written by Jane Marshall in 1980 for the 25th anniversary of her congregation, Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas.
What gift can we bring, what present or token?
What words can convey it, the joy of this day?
When grateful we come, remembering, rejoicing,
What song can we offer on honor and praise?
Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life by Frank Mason North
This hymn is well suited to the Gospel reading for June 26 - Matthew 10:40-42
1. Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of man.
2. In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.
3. From tender childhood's helplessness,
from woman's grief, man's burdened toil,
from famished souls, from sorrow's stress,
your heart has never known recoil.
4. The cup of water given for you
still holds the freshness of your grace;
yet long these multitudes to view
the sweet compassion of your face.
5. O Master, from the mountainside
make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
among these restless throngs abide;
O tread the city's streets again.
6. Till all the world shall learn your love
and follow where your feet have trod,
till, glorious from your heaven above,
shall come the city of our God!
Here's a history of this hymn written by C. Michael Hawn of the Perkins School of Theology.
Frank Mason North (1850-1935) composed one of the first social gospel hymns devoted to the special needs of the increasing urban poor population... With New York City as his backdrop, North wrote "Where cross the crowded ways of life" at the suggestion of Caleb T. Winchester, for the committee that prepared the 1905 Methodist hymnal... When North was asked to compose a hymn on a missionary theme, he protested his ability to write hymns but promised to try his hand. Shortly before this appeal to prepare a hymn, he had preached a sermon on Matthew 22:9 with a translation of the passage as "Go ye therefore into the parting of the highways." This idea captured his imagination as he thought of the traffic of the great urban centers of the United States and beyond.
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