Hymn and Commentary

LORD ABIDE WITH ME Christian Inspirational Hymn by Fanny Crosby and Sylv...

2011-05-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

Lord, Abide with MeWords by Fanny Crosby
Tune by Sylvester Main

arranged by Mary Katherine May

What a Gathering! Great Inspirational Christian Hymn of Joy in Heaven Jo...

2011-05-07T23:53:00.000-07:00

What a Gathering!

by John Henry Kurzenknabe

arranged by Mary Katherine May
of Quality Music and Books

Christian Hymn Cleanse, Illume, and Fill by Frederick Charles Maker and Adoniram Judson Gordon

2010-10-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

Classic Hymns for Today

CLEANSE, ILLUME, FILL
a prayer

presented by Mary Katherine May
of www.QualityMusicAndBooks.com

Somebody's Knocking At Your Door arr by Mary Katherine May

2010-09-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

Somebody's Knocking at Your Door
Spiritual
Come On In!

a song for children's choir

Somebody's Knocking at Your Door
Come On In!

arranged by Mary Katherine May
for
Sand Block, Wood Blocks, Temple Blocks
Hand Claps
Vocal
Piano optional)

Christian Hymn Take My Heart, O Father, Take It by Isaac B Woodbury

2010-09-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

Take My Heart, O Father, Take It
arranged by Mary Katherine May
of Quality Music and Books

Adobe PDF hymn for congregational singing available below (scroll down).

This instrumental arrangement is available upon request.
Please email Mary Katherine May: Mary.May@QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Arranged for The House United, a Christian variety show that airs through Comcast public access cable.

Take My Heart, O Father, Take It;
Make and keep it all Thine own;
Let Thy Spirit melt and break it
This proud heart of sin and stone.

Father, make me pure and lowly,
Fond of peace and far from strife;
Turning from the paths unholy
Of this vain and sinful life.

+Ever let Thy Grace surround me,
Strengthen me with pow'r divine,
Till Thy cords of love have bound me;
Make me to be wholly Thine.

May the blood of Jesus heal me,
And my sins be all forgiv'n;
Holy Spirit, take and seal me,
Guide me in the path to Heav'n.

From The Voice of Thanksgiving No. 3

That I may publish with the Voice of Thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works -- Psalm 26:7.

Edited and Compiled by
The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago
The Bible Institute Colportage Association,
Chicago, Ill. Copyright 1921.

Downloadable Adobe PDF: Take My Heart, O Father, Take It

+Stanza 3 taken from Baptist Hymnal, 1956. It is not present in The Voice of Thanksgiving, No. 3.

Free Hymn Sheet Music Download LORD I BELIEVE on HymnCommentary by Mary Katherine May

2010-08-08T23:08:00.001-07:00

Lord, I Believe
by Herbert Howard Booth

Transcribed by Mary Katherine May
of Quality Music and Books
from the songbook, The Glory Barn Special (1925)

Herbert Howard Booth (1862-1926) was the son of William and Catherine Booth, founders of the Salvation Army. There are not too many resources available that tell the story of Mr. Herbert Howard Booth. Included here are two links for reading more about the author and composer of this hymn.

BEST LINK to read about Herbert Howard Booth
LINK to read about Herbert Howard Booth
LINK to Booth Family images

LORD, I BELIEVE!
A hymn by Herbert Howard Booth*

Lord, I Believe is an excellent choice for congregational and solo singing for the strength of the words about remaining faithful and strong in the Lord. The tune is not difficult to learn. The text is also well-suited for devotional use.

I spent my Sunday with this hymn, entering the notes to prepare a sheet music download, reading the text many times to proofread. What an inspiration the text has been for me, and what a wonder way to have a sabbath time of rest and meditation--just thinking on these works and claiming my believe and love our our Lord and Savior.

There are two resources here in Adobe PDF download, both free and without obligation. I would be remiss, however, if I did not invite you to visit our online webstore, Quality Music and Books.

Sheet Music Download: Lord, I Believe

Inspirational Card/PostCard with Lord, I Believe Text

I recommend that this card be printed on a heavyweight paper stock. The front and optional back print on two sheets. By turning the paper according to how your printer sends through paper, it is possible to print two cards on one standard letter-size paper (8-1/2x 11 inches) and then cut in half making two card. This is also suitable for use as a bulletin cover or inspirational powerpoint media.

When sorrow and storms are besetting my track,
And Satan is whisp’ring, “You’d better turn back,”
How oft I have proved it, tho’ dark be the way,
A little believing drives clouds all away.

How easy when sailing the sea in a calm,
To trust in the strength of Jehovah’s great arm;
But somehow I find when the waves swamp the boat,
It takes some believing to keep things afloat.

“I’ll stand to the end,” I have heard people say,
“I’ll fight till I die, and will ne’er run away;”
But when by temptation so fiercely assailed,
They left off believing, and terribly failed.

And others there are full of courage and zeal,
Who go to the battle like warriors of steel;
But right in the heat of the conflict with sin,
Instead of believing, they faint and give in.

Then let us remember in running this race,
That faith is not feeling, and trust is not trace;
And when all around us seems dark as the night,
We’ll keep on believing, and win in the fight.

{Chorus}
Lord, I believe, Lord, I believe!
Savior, raise my faith in Thee,
Till it can move a mountain,
Lord, I believe, Lord, I believe!
All my doubts are buried in the fountain.

DEEPER DEEPER Hymn by Charles Price Jones C P Jones Church of Christ Hol...

2010-08-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

Deeper, Deeper
by Charles Price Jones (1865-1949)

transcribed for sheet music download in Adobe PDF format
Shape Note Notation or Standard Notation (below)

by Mary Katherine May
of Quality Music and Books

Deeper, Deeper Standard Notation

Deeper, Deeper Shape Note Notation

babamarusia tells about hymn STRAIGHT IS THE GATE Lina Sandell of Sweden

2010-07-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Straight Is the Gate
A Hymn by Lina Sandell
article by Mary Katherine May
of Quality Music and Books

Straight Is the Gate

Lina Sandell

(Karolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg) (1832-1903) is best known for the comforting hymn, Children of the Heavenly Father, written after she witnessed the death of her father by drowning. Another hymn, equally beautiful and so finely translated by Gracia Grindal, is Thy Holy Wings. If you are at least middle-aged, you will most likely remember the hymn, Day by day, and with each passing moment...," that is not used as frequently as in past years.

Recently I came across another hymn by Sandell while browing in my mother-in-law, Esther May's hymnal, that we acquired following her homecoming in Heaven. It is titled, Straight Is the Gate (Strait Is the Gate). The opening line is from the message conveyed in Matthew 7: 13-14.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (NIV)

The bulk of the hymn is about Heaven itself, and the beauty of Heaven. I felt the hymn tunes by Nicolaus Hermann in The Lutheran Hymnary, 1935, and Thomas Hastings (Ortonville) in the 1925 Augustana Hymnal didn't suit the text as well as they could, but could hear another tune in my mind that I believed would work well. That tune is Dundee, which is often used with the hymn, My God How Wonderful Thou Art (Gläser)) and I To the Hills Will Lift My Eyes (Psalter 1912, Psalm 121). I have created a score for this hymn with the text adapted to today's English. The text from which I worked was translated by G. T. Rygh, 1908, using the tune Dundee from the Scottish Psalter, 1615.

Hymn Score Adobe PDF download: Straight Is the Gate
To download this article in Adobe PDF format CLICK HERE.

There is one way to heav'n above
And narrow is the way;
Yet there is room in God's great love for you,
For you always.
For you, for you always.

In paradise there is still room
When from this earth we're free,
With our dear Lord we'll live above
Where heav'nly mansions be.
Where heav'nly mansions be.

Though thousand times ten thousands stand
White-robed in glory there,
There is a place at God's right hand
For you in heav'n so fair.
For you in heav'n so fair.

In Jesus heart there is still room,
In heav'n is room also,
The gospel message bids we come,
Praise God who loves us so.
Praise God who loves us so.

Now God be praised,
Who even me a glorious diadem
Will grant when I his glory see
In His Jerusalem.
In His Jerusalem.

Laced throughout this text is a message of worthiness attributed to sinners who on their own are unable to claim redemption. It is for those of us, knowing the saving work of the cross and resurrection by means of a powerful spiritual presence within, and knowing that our lives have changed forever, still may find no words available to explain how such an infusion took place for the awesomeness of God's omnipotence.

That there "is still room" is a promise that can confidently shared with others for the first-hand experience. And it a comfort-laden promise for we the believers, though never truly able to know another's soul relationship with God, may claim with hope for those we love and view as unredeemed. There is still room. Until the end of the last heartbeat of life there is still room.

In a similar vein is a stanza in the hymn, The Old Ship of Zion, that I have arranged as one of several Sacred Harp songs in a medley for two pianos, four hands.

In The Old Ship of Zion heaven is reached via boat that operates almost like a ferry, shuttling between earth and heaven with a full load going the heavenly way and empty upon return, with the command that those who get there first should remind God that there are more on the way. In Straight Is the Gate, the amazed sinner received a crown of gold upon reaching eternity.

In Straight Is the Gate, the sinner is reminded of the responsibility of following the straight and narrow, though once upon the narrow path there will most assuredly be a place and crown, while The Old Ship of Zion tells us that despite the hardships of life outside of our control the eternal promise is the sinner's for the taking. The first not as outspokenly Arminian in nature as the latter.

Chorus:
’Tis the old ship of Zion, hallelujah, hallelu
‘Tis the old ship of Zion, Hallelujah!

The winds may blow and the billows may foam,
Oh, glory hallelujah,
But she is able to land us all home.
Oh, glory hallelujah.

She landed all who have gone before,
Oh, glory hallelujah,
And yet she is able to land still more,
Oh, glory hallelujah.

If I arrive there, then, before you do,
Oh, glory hallelujah,
I’ll tell them that you are coming up, too,
Oh, glory hallelujah.

Both texts are positive and uplifting. Though often hymns of the past may have served the purpose of their time and place, there are good reasons for not all to survive to the present. At the same time there are hymns that for want of a good marriage with tune, or for need of a language usage update, can still be viable and good in the current era--and may be the perfect text to accompany a message, which together will fill believers and save the unsaved, leading to the golden crown in Heaven.

Hymns by Samuel M Miller Swedish American Lutheran Augustana Synod

2010-07-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

Hymns by Rev. Samuel Martin Miller
Information compiled by Mary Katherine May of Quality Music and Books.

Samuel Martin Miller, Swedish American Lutheran, a pastor in the Augustana Synod, author and composer, first pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Moline, Illinois (1913), first Dean of the new Lutheran Bible Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota (1919), wrote three hymns and two tunes that appear in the 1925 Augustana hymnal.

Photograph: Rev. Samuel M. Miller and Rev. Walter A. Tillberg

To read further about Rev. Samuel Miller, B.D., D.D., please click here.

Did you know that the log cabin came to America by way of early Swedish settlers?

Two Hymn Tunes by Samuel Martin Miller: Daystar & Lux Dei: Adobe PDF File

(#140)
In the Holy Father's Keeping,
Sheltered in His strong embrace,
Day by day my soul is resting
In that blood-bought precious place.
Here no evil e'er can harm me,
Here I'm free from sin and pain;
In the holy Father's keeping
Only peace and love can reign.

In the holy Father's keeping,
There is joy, complete, fulfilled:
Joy which Jesus died to give me,
Yea, His precious blood was spilled
That I might be kept securely,
Through the Father's precious Name,

Kept for glories grand, celestial,
Far above all earthly fame.

In the holy Father's keeping,
Jesus, I will pray Thy prayer.
Holy Father, wilt Thou take me?
Wilt Thou guard, protect me there?
By the prayer that Jesus offered,
By His cross, His blood, His love,
Holy Father, in Thy keeping
Take me to Thy realms above. (1922)

(#168)
O God, Who Saidst, "Let There Be Light."
(text & tune by Samuel Martin Miller)
We lift our hearts and hands to Thee:
Shine in our lives with glory bright,
And scatter far the shades night,
Thy Word our beacon be.

O Christ, who camest as our Light,
God's glory beaming from Thy face,
We pray Thee, raise us to the height
Where Thee we see, O precious sight,
The Lord of truth and grace.

O Holy Spirit, shed Thy light
Upon the Word, that we may know
Its saving sentences aright,
And learn to conquer by its might;
Set all our hearts aglow. (1923)

(#615)
When Jesus Comes in Glory,
(text & tune by Samuel Martin Miller)
As Lord and King of kings,
O what a wondrous story
The blessed Bible brings:
His face will shine like sunlight,
His head be white as snow,
His eyes like flaming firelight,
His feet like brass aglow.

His voice like rushing waters
Will reach with mighty sound
Into the deepest quarters
Of all creation round;
And at this wondrous greeting
The dead in Christ shall rise,
Their Lord and Saviour meeting
In glory in the skies.

And we who are believing
And His appearing love,
Shall know we are receiving
His glory from above;

His resurrection power
Will raise us to the place
Where we that wondrous hour
Shall see Him face to face.

O hasten Thine appearing,
Thou Bright and Morning Star!
Lord, may we soon be hearing
The trumpet sound afar;
Thy people all are yearning
To be Thy raptured bride,
And at Thine own returning
Be caught up to Thy side. (1922)

Rev Phillips Brooks More Than a Christmas Carol

2009-07-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hello! Everyone has their own pleasure, and for me there is nothing better than delving into history and finding out interesting facts that I didn't know. In my library I have had a little book about Phillips Brooks for quite some time. He is the man who wrote the Christmas Carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem.

There is much more about Rev. Brooks that is worth knowing, and it will enrich and give you inspiration ... and be a resource for pastors and those who teach Sunday School, homeschool, or in a Christian setting.

The following article can be read here, or downloaded in Adobe PDF format. Both are included. I invite you to also take advantage of the second PDF file included here, that of the gift book from early 20th-century titled Jewels from Phillips Brooks. The cover of my copy is in poor condition, but the pages still show the fabulous illustrations along with the quotations from the Reverend Brooks.

The Rev. Phillips Brooks ... More Than Just a Christmas Carol

article by Mary Katherine May
of www.QualityMusicandBooks.com

PhillipsBrooks.pdf
JewelsFromPhillipsBrooks.pdf

Phillips Brooks, is known today mostly for his authorship of the favorite Christmas hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem. During his lifetime he was known for his powerful sermons and friendly relationship with those whom he served.

The Brooks family tree leads back to the Puritans who came to America for religious freedom. Though their roots were Christian, the story of their history shows that many on both Phillips’ mother and father’s family rejected their faith for Unitarian leanings. It was by the influence of Phillips’ mother, Mary Ann Phillips Brooks, who decided it was time for a change that the Brooks family began to attend the Episcopal Church in Boston. Here they were nurtured by a loving pastor, Dr. Vinton, and within a few years the father of this large family, William Gray Brooks, accepted the Christian faith as his own by rite of Confirmation.

Phillips Brooks entered Harvard College right before his sixteenth birthday, where he excelled in the classics. In a paper he contributed to the Harvard Monthly titled “The English Table Talkers” in 1854, Brooks stated, “Men like to be talked to rather than preached at; they prefer the easy chair to the pulpit”. It was a rather prophetic statement, as it is this type of philosophy that would follow him into the role he was called by God to fill, that of a pastor.

Following graduation, Brooks took a position teaching at the Boston Latin School where he had attended before Harvard. Just nineteen, he was transferred from a class of younger boys to teach a class that included young men no more than a year or two his junior. He failed at discipline, and left his post.

What followed was a complete sense of failure and soul searching. Encouraged by his pastor, Dr. Vinton, young Mr. Brooks traveled away from home for the first time in his life to seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It was pre-Civil War, and his conviction that slavery is wrong was not popular. Among his fellow students he was known as a modest, quiet and reserved man who expressed himself eloquently through words.

Home during a summer break, on Sunday, July 12, 1857, Phillips Brooks “ratified his baptismal vows” through the rite of Confirmation at the age of 21. In his mother’s recorded thoughts of this event, she wrote “I will thank God forever that He has answered my lifelong prayers in making him a Christian and His servant in the ministry.”

It was tumultuous times in the United States. Anger over control and power of rights was escalating. There was also great economic instability that became known as “the panic of 1857.” From this time of depression, however, with hurting people everywhere, a Christian revival arose that rivaled the Great Awakening of the previous century.

Correspondence was regular and frequent between Alexandria and Boston, with his mother addressing her son, barely yet a man, as “my dear Philly.” Each year in seminary brought spiritual growth to the soul and mind of Phillips. It was early in his first year that he noticed the depth of faith of his fellow students in comparison to his own, and though not clearly stated, I believe it is this comparison that fired a longing in him for the same. At the time of his graduation in 1859, his previous classical education had blended with a maturing faith, and he accepted his first position as a pastor.

Brooks first pastoral call was to Church of the Advent in Philadelphia, and soon after church attendance was growing. His preaching—not usually done in formal clergy attire but only a simple, black robe, often presented next to the pulpit or from the chancel steps, left no doubt about his passion for Jesus Christ. It is in this fashion that we see the wisdom in his previous words, Men like to be talked to rather than preached at; they prefer the easy chair to the pulpit.

In 1865, now serving his second church and following the death of President Lincoln, Brooks set out for England and a year abroad. Through letters to his family he related all that he saw, but it was in the Middle East that he added Scripture. The impact of being where Jesus lived led him to write, “Christ is not merely the greatest, but the only presence that fills the landscape in Palestine ...”

Phillips Brooks rode into Bethlehem on horseback Christmas 1865. From this experience came our beloved carol that has stood the test of time, O Little Town of Bethlehem.

The Rev. Brooks would become a bishop of the Episcopal Church and head of the new theological seminary at Cambridge, Massachusetts, yet his heart’s desire was always and only to be a parish priest. “Some men’s faith only makes itself visible,” he wrote, “other men’s lightens everything within its reach.”

For his Sunday school at Holy Trinity, Christmas time 1868, Brooks penned his famous Christmas carol, to which was added the music written by organist Lewis Redner of same church. There is a stanza not included in our hymnals and songbooks that was present in the first program.

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where Charity stands watching,
And Faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

In the chill of winter, January 1893, what began as a cold led to the death of Phillips Brooks. On January 26, activity in the city of Boston virtually ceased as Brooks’ casket was carried on the shoulders of Harvard students to Trinity Church, where thousands came to pay their respects. Following the service where the hymns Jesus, Lover of My Soul and For All the Saints were sung, another service was held outside for the crowd that filled Copley Square.

Many sermons were given to honor this man’s humility and service, yet he had not been one to speak of his accomplishments, but rather one who acted upon God’s Living Word. He was a big man, standing over six feet tall and weighing 300 hundred pounds, but the size of his character was greater than his girth.

“Some men’s faith only makes itself visible, other men’s lightens everything within its reach.” Brooks would never have claimed his statement for himself, yet his whole life was dedicated to being that light.

How good it is that the divine light shines on many mirrors and completes its revelation in no single soul! … P. Brooks

Sources
Phillips Brooks, 1835-1893; memories of his life with extracts from his letters and note-books by Alexander Allen, published by Dutton, New York 1907.
Jewels from Phillips Brooks, Berger Publishing Company, Buffalo NY, 1907.

Mary and Rick May own the Christian music, book and gift store, QualityMusicandBooks.com. The retail store, Quality Music and Books, is in the process of opening in a new location.

Frydetoner Jeg behøver dig o Jesu You Raise Me Up

2009-07-06T00:46:00.000-07:00

A new acquisition for my hymn library came this past week in Wisconsin, when I purchased for a modest price a volume from the Norwegian community in America of the past.

In Minnesota, the first immigrants from Scandinavia that came in large group were from Sweden at around the time of Minnesota’s entry into the Union in 1858. It was several years before there was an influx from Norway.

Along with the Swedes and Norwegians, Germans and others followed, many being of the Lutheran Christian denomination. And though becoming acculturated into the American way of life, it was not so difficult to maintain ties to their heritage if for no other reason than there were so many living in both Minnesota and Wisconsin as well as other Midwest states. One of these ties was to worship and study about their faith in the native language of their country of origin, but that is getting ahead of that for which I wish to share with you.

It seems that even back in the 1890s young adults would express their “growing pains” of progress through music. What was the standard fare for their parents seemed to them obsolete. One way to meet this need was in the publication of songbooks that included styles of music found in their new country. Decried by the leaders of the Norwegian Synod as not of good quality, the new songbooks being published contained a wide range of styles that were not traditional to the Lutheran church.

Frydetoner, or Joyful Songs, published by in Minneapolis, was one of these songbooks. The book I have is large and seems to be a compilation of three volumes bound as one. Each portion has its own title page and frontispiece, and has its own numbering.

Included are a few Christian songs in English and a few instrumental pieces. I can see that there are also liturgical pieces.

FRYDETONER.
(Første Bind.)
SANGE
FRA
UNGDOMMENS VEN.
1890-1893.
Minneapolis, Minn.“UNGDOMMENS VEN’’S FORLAG.
144 pages

FRYDETONER
(Andet Bind.)
SANGE
FRA
“UNGDOMMENS VEN.”
18194-1896.
Minneapolis, Minn.
UNGDOMMENS VENS FORLAG.
136 pages

FRYDETONER
(Tredie Bind.)
SANGE FRA “UNGDOMMENS VEN.”
1897-1899.
Minneapolis, Minn.
UNGDOMMENS VENS FORLAG.
134 pages

Mrs. Clara Erickson of Meroa, Iowa, related the following memory.

The choir director in churchwas Deacon Anderson from Norway. He was always so please with mother as she could easily sing the high notes. He would call before each rehearsal and say exactly the same words, "Clara, please, bring the first book of Frydetoner'. Then he would hang up, never asking to see if he had the right party or not. (http://iagenweb.org/mitchell/localdat/meroa-7b.htm )

On my first browse through the pages to look for a hymn to enter into my finale program, I came upon Jeg behøver dig, o Jesu!, which seems to have had an interesting life upon which I can present a report. If I have this correct from what I can put together through internet research, the story goes as follows.

The hymn I Need Thee, Precious Jesus, was written by Frederick Whitfield (1829-1904), an Anglican priest in England. It was then translated into the Swedish language by Lina Sandell (1832-1903), who wrote the well-known hymn, Children of the Heavenly Father. It’s first appearance in a Norwegian-language hymnal is unknown to me at this time. The message of the hymn is presented as a person telling Jesus why there is a need for the Savior in his life. It is a personal hymn of a sentimental nature.

The following brief reference comes from English Hymns: Their Authors and History by Samuel Willoughby Duffield, Second Edition, revised and corrected, Funk & Wagnalls, New York, 1866.

"This hymn is found in the Rev. Frederick Whitfield's Sacred Poems and Prose, 1859. The author is the son of H. Whitfield, and was born at Threapwood, in Shropshire, January 7th, 1829. He was graduated at Dublin University in 1859; ordained deacon, 1859; ordained priest, 1860; curate of Otley Yorkshire, 1859-61; rector of Kirkby-Ravensworth, 1861; and has been incumbent of St. John's, Bexley Heath, London, and vicar of St. Mary's, Hastings. he has also been Secretary for Irish Church Missions, and has some repute as an author and poet. This hymn is based on the words, 'Unto you who believe, his is precious.'" (1Peter 2:7)

As presented on the website, http://www.cyberhymnal.org/, the hymn included five stanzas. Lina Sandell’s hymn has seven stanzas, as does in Norwegian in Frydetoner, volume one, page 27. In this hymn is a confession of sin, and statement of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the world. The text states, in essence, Jesus Christ's gift of salvation and freedom from the penalty of sin through His death on the cross is what makes us complete. It is the missing link between us and the creator.

Below you will find a link to this hymn in pdf format, which I have transcribed. The English text works very well with this hymn tune. There is a very interesting connection between this particular hymn tune and the very recent popular song, You Raise Me Up, and the tune arranged by Rolf Løvland, a Norwegian composer.

I need Thee, precious Jesus,
For I am full of sin;
My soul is dark and guilty,
My heart is dead within.
I need the cleansing fountain
Where I can always flee,
The blood of Christ most precious,
The sinner’s perfect plea.

I need Thee, precious Jesus,
For I am very poor;
A stranger and a pilgrim,
I have no earthly store.
I need the love of Jesus
To cheer me on my way,
To guide my doubting footsteps,
To be my strength and stay.

I need Thee, precious Jesus,
I need a friend like Thee,
A friend to soothe and pity,
A friend to care for me.
I need the heart of Jesus
To feel each anxious care,
To tell my every trouble,
And all my sorrows share.

I need Thee, precious Jesus,
I need Thee, day by day,
To fill me with Thy fullness,
To lead me on my way;
I need Thy Holy Spirit,
To teach me what I am,
To show me more of Jesus,
To point me to the Lamb.

I need Thee, precious Jesus,
And hope to see Thee soon,
Encircled with the rainbow
And seated on Thy throne.
There, with Thy blood bought children,
My joy shall ever be,
To sing Thy praises, Jesu,
To gaze, O Lord, on Thee.

What is of particular interest is the tune. (Which works very well with the English version, I Need Thee, Precious Jesus) Upon first playing it was very familiar without being able to place how I knew it. Several hours later it be unmistakably clear to me how I knew the tune. It is the tune in the song You Raise Me Up which as stated in the music, was written by Rolf Løvland, and made popular by Josh Groban and the group Selah.

JegBehøverDigOJesu.pdf

My research on the internet states that his melody is based upon “Derry Air” or “Londonderry Air” so familiar around the world as the song, O Danny Boy. I didn’t find much of O Danny Boy in the notes of You Raise Me Up. What I did find is a beautiful melismatic variation based upon the tune of unknown origins that I found in the songbook, Frydetoner, used with the him Jeg behøver dig, o Jesu!

If anyone knows whether the tune is a folk melody or composed tune, where it comes from or who composed it, if it has a name…. I would sure like to know. In the meantime, let’s give credit where it is due for this beautiful melody, as least as much as we can without knowing more than I have discovered in my research thus far.

Babamarusia (Mary Katherine May) & Rick May are owners of the website www.QualityMusicandBooks.com, where books, printed music and gifts are sold. We invite you to browse our website and visit our other blogs available through the about me page of this blog found along the right side.

Christian Student Sheet Music Free Download SHE LOVED HER SAVIOR

2009-03-25T13:08:00.001-07:00

She Loved her Savior

The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 14

Spikenard

In this chapter of the Gospel of Mark we hear the story of an unnamed woman whose love for her Savior is so very precious to her that she annoints his head with expensive oil.

I found the hymn, She Loved Her Savior, in a 19th century Methodist hymnal, and have arranged it for voice and piano with an optional flute obligato suitable for the beginning flutist.

It is an excellent teaching tool for the homeschool family when studying Mark 14. The arrangement is also suitable for recital or youth service, and certainly not only for performance by young people.

I have taken the liberty of using words of today, but have not altered gender language.

She loved her Saviour,

And to Him her costliest present brought;

To crown His head, or grace His name

No gift too rare she thought.

So let the Saviour be adored,

And not the poor despised;

Give to the hungry from your store,

But all, give all to Christ.

Go, clothe the naked, lead the blind,

Give to the weary rest;

For sorrow's children comfort find,

And help for all distressed.

But give to Christ alone your heart,

Your faith, your love supreme,

Then for His sake your gifts impart,

And so give all to God.

SheLovedHerSavior_Vocal.pdf

King James Version

1After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. 2But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. 3And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

4And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. 6And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. 7For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

8She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. 9Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

William Cutter also wrote for children's publications, one being Robert's Merry Museum under the pseudonymn of Hiram Hatchet. Robert's Merry Museum was a subscription publication, and each issue would continue the story.

Mary Katherine May and husband, Richard, own www.QualityMusicandBooks.com, an online Christian music, books, and gifts webstore. QMB's retail store is currently in the process of moving to a new location.

QMB Hymn Commentary PENTECOST O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing Wesley

2009-03-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

A hymn still commonly sung today is the wonderful, O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (1739), taken from a longer poem authored by Charles Wesley for the one-year anniversary of his coming to salvation to Jesus Christ, which was on the Day of Pentecost, May 21, 1738.

Previous to May of 1738, Charles had been earnest in his efforts to be a man of God, preaching salvation, but for all of the trying he was fairly ineffectual. During the period prior to this date, Wesley himself understood that his faith was of the legalistic kind, rather than that of a flowing of the Holy Spirit.

Charles was known to have been ill often during his life. On February 24, in the year that would bring him a new life he wrote…

Soon after Peter Bohler came to my bedside. I asked him to pray for me. He seemed unwilling at first, but, beginning very faintly, he raised his voice by degrees, and prayed for my recovery with strange confidence. Then he took me by the hand, and calmly said, "You will not die now." I thought within myself," I cannot hold out in this pain till morning. If it abates before, I believe I may recover." He asked me, "Do you hope to be saved ]" "Yes." "For what reason do you hope it?" "Because I have used my best endeavours to serve God." He shook his head, and said no more. I thought him very uncharitable, saying in my heart, "What, are not my endeavours a sufficient ground of hope? Would he rob me of my endeavours? I have nothing else to trust to."

The Reverend Wesley, however, was not ready yet to let go of his human attempts at success. Again in April, he fell ill.

Fri., April 28th. No sooner was I got to James Hutton's, having removed my things thither from his father's, than the pain in my side returned, and with that my fever. Having disappointed God in his last visitation, he has now again brought me to the bed of sickness. Towards told-night I received some relief by bleeding. In the morning Dr. Cockburn came to see me; and a better physician, Peter Bohler, whom God had detained in England for my good. He stood by my bedside, sad prayed over me, that now at least I might see the divine intention, in this and my late illness. I immediately thought it might he that I should again consider Bohler's doctrine of faith; examine myself whether I was in the faith; and if I was not, never cease seeking and longing after it, till I attained it.

Charles, very sick with bodily illness, wrote in his diary after the fact:

Sun., May 21st, 1738. I waked in hope and expectation of His coming. At nine my brother and some friends came, and sang an hymn to the Holy Ghost. My comfort and hope were hereby increased. In about half-an-hour they went: I betook myself to prayer; the substance as follows:--``O Jesus, thou hast said, `I will come unto you'; thou has said, `I will send the Comforter unto you'; thou hast said, `My Father and I will come unto you, and make our abode with you,' Thou art God who canst not lie; I wholly rely upon thy most true promise: accomplish it in they time and manner.''

Having said this, was composing myself to sleep, in quietness and peace, when I heard one come in (Mrs. Musgrave, I thought, by the voice) and say, ``In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise, and believe, and thou shalt be healed of all thy infirmities.'' I wondered how it should enter into her head to speak in that manner. The words struck me to the heart. I sighed, and said within myself, ``O that Christ would but speak thus to me!'' I lay musing and trembling: then thought, ``but what if it should be Him? I will send at least to see.'' I rang, and, Mrs. Turner coming, I desired her to send up Mrs. Musgrave. She went down, and, returning, said, ``Mrs. Musgrave had not been up here.''

My heart sank within me at the word, and I hoped it might be Christ indeed. However, I sent her down again to inquire, and felt in the meantime a strange palpitation of heart. I said, yet feared to say, ``I believe, I believe!'' She came up again and said, ``It was I, a weak, sinful creature, spoke: but the words were Christ's: he commanded me to say them, and so constrained me that I could not forbear.''

I sent for Mr. Bray, and asked him whether I believed. He answered, I ought not to doubt of it: it was Christ spoke to me. He knew it; and willed us to pray together: ``but first,'' said he, ``I will read what I have casually opened upon: `Blessed is the man whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered: blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth no sin, and in whose spirit is no guilt.''' Still I felt a violent opposition and reluctance to believe; yet still the Spirit of God strove with my own and the evil spirit, till by degrees he chased away the darkness of my unbelief. I found myself convinced, I know not how, nor when; and immediately fell to intercession...

I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ. My temper for the rest of the day was, mistrust of my own great, but before unknown, weakness. I saw that by faith I stood; by the continual support of my faith, which kept me from falling, though of my self I am ever sinking into sin. I went to bed still sensible of my own weakness, (I humbly hope to be more and more so), yet content of Christ's protection.

Thus we see that revival is not something only for congregations, communities, or even larger groups, it also happens individually. How many of us, if we had the gift of Charles Wesley, would express ourselves otherwise than as he did? We also see the difference between professing Christian faith and of having been convicted in the faith.

1. Glory to God, and praise and love be ever, ever given, by saints below and saints above, the church in earth and heaven.

2. On this glad day the glorious Sun of Righteousness arose; on my benighted soul he shone and filled it with repose.

3. Sudden expired the legal strife, 'twas then I ceased to grieve; my second, real, living life I then began to live.

4. Then with my heart I first believed, believed with faith divine, power with the Holy Ghost received to call the Savior mine.

5. I felt my Lord's atoning blood close to my soul applied; me, me he loved, the Son of God, for me, for me he died!

6. I found and owned his promise true, ascertained of my part, my pardon passed in heaven I knew when written on my heart.

7. O for a thousand tongues to sing my dear Redeemer's praise! The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace.

8. My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim, to spread through all the earth abroad the honors of thy name.

9. Jesus! the name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease; 'tis music in the sinner's ears, 'tis life, and health, and peace!

10. He breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free; his blood can make the foulest clean; his blood availed for me.

11. He speaks, and listening to his voice new life the dead receive; the mournful, broken hearts rejoice, the humble poor believe.

12. Hear him, ye deaf, his praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ; ye blind, behold your Savior come, and leap, ye lame, for joy.

13. Look unto him, ye nations, own your God, ye fallen race! Look, and be saved through faith alone, be justified by grace!

14. See all your sins on Jesus laid; the Lamb of God was slain, his soul was once an offering made for every soul of man.

15. Harlots and publicans and thieves, in holy triumph join! Saved is the sinner that believes from crimes as great as mine.

16. Murderers and all ye hellish crew, ye sons of lust and pride, believe the Savior died for you; for me the Savior died.

17. With me, your chief, you then shall know, shall feel your sins forgiven; anticipate your heaven below and own that love is heaven.

TheConversionofCharlesWesley.pdf

In the United States of America, O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing is very much married to the tune name AZMON, composed in 1828 by Carl Gotthelf Gläser of Germany. Interestingly, the was introduced here in America by Lowell Mason (1792-1872) but coupled to a different hymn written by Isaac Watts, titled with the comment, “Access to the Throne of Grace by a Mediator”. Mason is the one who titled the tune AZMON, the Hebrew word for “fortress.”

Isaac Watts, for the hymn aficionado, needs no introduction. He is known as the “Father of the English hymn,” for the significant contribution of versifying the Psalms. The story goes, that as a youth Watts was dissatisfied with Psalm singing in church. One day he went to his father, a pastor, and requested permission to write the Psalms in poetic form, which was distractedly granted, the Reverend Watts being in the process of writing a sermon. Son Isaac replied that he had already done so -- and here is one now.

Access to the Throne of Grace by a Mediator

Come, let us lift our joyful eyes
Up to the courts above
And smile to see our Father there
Upon a throne of love.

Once ‘twas a seat of dreadful wrath,
And shot devouring flame
Our God appeared “consuming fire,”
And Vengeance was his name.

Rich were the drops of Jesus’ blood
That calmed his frowning face
That sprinkled o’er the buring throne,
And turned the wrath to grace.

Now we may bow before his feet,
And venture near the Lord;
No fiery cherub guards his seat,
Nor double-flaiming sword.

The peaceful gates of heav’nly bliss
Are opened by the Son;
High let us raise our notes of praise,
And reach th’ almighty throne.

To thee ten thousand thanks we bring,
Great Advocate on high;
And glory to th’ eternal King,
That lays his fury by.

babamarusia (Mary Katherine May) and husband, Richard, own www.QualityMusicandBooks.com . We invite you to browse our website. During the month of APRIL 2009 QMB is featuring an easy piano solo arrangement of AZMON for piano students as a free PDF download on its home page.

References

www.visionofBritain.org.uk
www.hymnsite.com
www.cyberhymnal.com
www.wikipedia.org
English Hymns: Their Authors and History by Samuel Willoughby Duffield, Funk & Wagnalls, 1866.
The Presbyterian Hymnal Companion by LindaJo H. McKim, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.
www.Cyberhymnal.org

Christian Hymn ABOVE THE BRIGHT BLUE SKY 150th Anniversary THERE'S A FRIEND FOR LITTLE CHILDREN Albert Midlane IN MEMORIAM John Stainer

2009-03-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Above a Bright Blue Sky
There's a Friend for Little Children

Albert Midlane, Author

The Sesquicentennial of the Hymn
Whose Jubilee Was Celebrated on February 7, 1909.

A congregation of 3,000 children sang this
hymn on its celebration day in St. Paul's Cathedral.

150 years ago, in 1859, Albert Midlane penned a hymn at the end of his work day that would be included in hundreds of hymnals, travel around the globe, and be translated into 50+ languages.

Anyone might wonder why look to the sesquicentennial of a hymn written by a man who in 2009 is rarely known -- yet, he wrote the hymn that had an actual celebration of its Jubilee (50th) year!

Mr. Midlane (1825-1909) was the son of a devout Christian woman, his father having died before his birth. During his lifetime, he wrote of his of mother, (source)

"How often from the cares of the family would the dear mother lead me into a quiet room; and there kneeling by my side would she, with holy fervour, by prayer bring God into all her circumstances down here; or by sweet communion be with God above them all".

The story as related by Albert and his wife, Miriam, is that the thought of this poem had been on his mind for some time, and at the end of the day, having closed his shop, he sat down to afix the words to paper. When he didn't return to the family quarters, Miriam sought him out, and found him slouched unconscious over his papers.

Volume 50 of the 1909 Musical Times gives us the following information.

Initially, there were additional stanzas, having a relationship to 2Corinthians 2. Some time during it first years, the stanzas were put in their present order. Originally the sequence being, (1) There's a rest, (2) There's a home, (3) friend, (4) crown, (5) song and (6) robe, the keyword in each stanza in italics.

In this same Musical Times entry, the following instructions are given: The tune should not be sung too quickly, or both music and words will be spoilt, and the concluding two lines of the last verse naturally suggest a much slower speed in order to give full significance to the prayer which forms the peroration* of this supremely beautiful hymn.
The Musical Times, January to December 1909, Volume L. London, Novello and Company, Limited, 1909, p. 167.

*peroration: concluding section of a discourse (wiktionary)

There's a Friend for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
A Friend who never changes,
Whose love will never die;
Our earthly friends may fail us,
And change with changing years,
This friend is always worthy
Of that dear name He bears.

There's a rest for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
Who love the blessed Saviour,
And to the Father cry;
A rest from every turmoil,
From sin and sorrow free,
Where every little pilgrim
Shall rest eternally.

There's a home for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
Where Jesus reigns in glory,
A home of peace and job;
No home on earth is like it,
Nor can with it compare;
For every one is happy,
Nor could be happier there.

There's a song for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
A song that will not wear,
Though sung continually;
A song which even angels
Can never, never sing;
They know not Christ as Saviour,
But worship Him as King.

There's a crown for little children
Above the bright blue sky,
And all who look for Jesus
Shall wear it by and by;
All, all above is treasured,
And found in Christ alone:
Lord, grant Thy little children
To know Thee as their own.

Stainer tune IN MEMORIAM in pdf file

Smith tune EDENGROVE in pdf file
Please read below for more about these 2 hymn tunes.

Albert was saved, accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, at a Sunday School teacher's prayer meeting, and baptized by immersion. Baptized within the Baptist faith, he eventually transferred his worship and faith life to the Brethren denomination. He was called the "poet-preacher of the Strict Brethren." (source)

The total of Albert's hymn texts numbers over 1,000. He was known for the positive spiritual images within his words. The best known of his hymns, though, is the one of which we speak today. As the 19th century turned to the 20th, There's a Friend for Little Children, was such a well-known hymn and popular enough that on February 7, 1909, under the auspices of the Sunday School Union, its Jubilee year was celebrated.

The last of the facts that I have currently about Albert Midlane's life, are first, that he and his wife were the parents of three children, they lived to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, and that he was a better preacher and poet than businessman, for his friends "relieved" him of his business matters that financially were not solvent.

Further Source Comments (source)
Hymns Hymn Writers of the Church
by Charles S. Nutter, Nashville: Smith & Lamar, 1915.

Dr. John Julian, Editor in Chief of an important 19th century work, The Dictionary of Hymnology, gives the following comment about Mr. Midlane.

They are full of spiritual thought, careful in their wording, and often very pleasing without reaching the highest form of poetical excellence. A marked feature of these hymns is the constant and happy use of Scripture phraseology.

Albert Midlane wrote the following about his poetry.

Most of my hymns have been written during walks around the ancient and historic ruins of Carisbrooke Castle. The twilight hour, so dear to thought,and the hushed serenity the pervading nature have often allured my soul to deep and uninterrupted meditation, which, in its turn, has given birth to lines which, had not these walks been taken, would never probably have been penned.

THIS LINK will bring you to the New York Times announcement for Albert Midlane's death. You will need to click there to bring up the PDF file.

Regarding the tune, there are two commonly used for this hymn. The first for further elaboration in this discussion, was composed by John Stainer upon request by the 1875 Hymns Ancient and Modern Committee. It was first in print in a publication titled, "Good News for the Little Ones" edited by Charles Henry Mackintosh, whose Christian affiliation was with the Plymouth Brethren.

IN MEMORIAM was composed rather on the spur of the moment, the 1875 Hymns Ancient and Modern Committee meeting at the Langham Hotel, having difficulty deciding upon a tune for Midlane's song. It was suggestion to Mr. Stainer that he retire to his room and attempt to remedy the problem. Soon to follow was this tune.

The 1909 Musical Times relates that Mr. Stainer named the tune in memory of his son, Frederick Henry Stainer, who departed this life on December 30, 1874.

The second tune most commonly in use was composed by Samuel Smith (1804-1873) and given the name EDENGROVE or EDEN GROVE. At this point in time I have found very little information about Mr. Smith, other than the most common--he was a resident of Bradford, England, and an organist. Smith held the office of town mayor or two years.

In comparison to the Stainer tune, the melody is more stepwise and presents a predominantly sentimental, comforting emotion, while IN MEMORIAM though sentimental, sounds much more playful with a dance-like 6/8 meter and many more leaps. Both span an octave, with EDENGROVE extending two tones below tonic at the ending cadence.

Mary Katherine May
http://www.qualitymusicandbooks.com/

To view or save this article in pdf format please click here>> Albert Midlane

Hymn and Commentary English Hymns Their Authors and Hisory by Duffield 1886 THOMAS HASTINGS Hymn GENTLY LORD O GENTLY New York Choralist

2009-02-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

The New York Choralist:
A New and Copious Collection
Thomas Hastings, William B. Bradbury
1847

English Hymns: Their Authors and History.
by Samuel Willoughby Duffield
Second Edition, Revised and Corrected.
Funk & Wagnalls. New York, 1886,
pages 163-165

The entry from 1886 posted in this blog article is close to being a first account resource on the life of Thomas Hastings. There is no mention as to whether Mr. Duffield knew Hastings himself, and he references Mr. A. D. F. Randolph's "little memoir" as his source. There is great value in researching source documents, as the authors of these earlier books, periodicals, etc., can be either contemporaries of the research, or give a different slant on history due to the current events and influences of an earlier time.

Thomas Hastings began his music career teaching in one of the singing schools of his time, which were employed toward the end of the 18th century and into the 19th century, initially to improve congregational singing that had fallen into a disastrous state. In early America the custom was for churches to use "lining out" for singing, with no instrumental accompaniment. The song leader would sing a line of a hymn, and the congregation would then repeat the line. It was not uncommon, though, for the song leader not to maintain pitch and in some cases not even the same tune, or begin to high or too low. Congregational responses were often not sung altogether, some beginning sooner or later, and with a multitude of simultaneous tones. To make matters even more un-harmonious, psalters and early hymn books contained no printed music. Rather, the meter was given for the lyrics and then any tune using that meter could be applied.

William Billings is generally named as the father of the singing school movement in America, though there were others teaching its roots are in England.* The schools were not only for singing, as Duffield explains in the following article from his book, but were also a place where young men and women could socialize together.

The hymn for which Mr. Duffield is supposed to be giving information is Gently, Lord, oh, gently lead us, written by Thomas Hastings, though there is no mention of the it in the article. I do have in my possession one of Thomas Hastings' publications, and this hymn is present.

On this blog you will find transcribed from The New York Choralist: A New and Copious Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes Adapted to All the Various Metres in General Use with a Large Variety of Anthems and Set Pieces. by Thomas Hastings and William B. Bradbury, New York, Published by Mark H. Newman & Co., 1847, the Preface and Spirit of Praise.

212 Rosefield. 8's & 7's. Single. (tune) Ferrari

1. Gently, Lord, O gently lead us,
Through this lowly vale of tears;
Through the trials still decreed us,
Till our last great change appears.

2. When temptation's darts assail us,
When in devious paths we stray,
Let thy goodness never fail us,
Lead us in thy perfect way.

The hymn as shown above is without a doubt based upon Psalm 23.

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk throught the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

In this 1847 edition from which I quote the stanzas, there are two numbered lines, as shown in this article. Many renderings online of this hymn also have two stanzas, but with 1. and 2. here as the first stanza, followed by another stanza. With the second stanza as shown below, the hymn is often title "In Sorrow." There are also different versions of the first stanza, with the second phrase being "Pilgrims in this vale of tears." http://www.cyberhymnal.org/ gives the composition date as 1831, and thus there is time before or after for Hastings to have edited the lyrics. The possibilites are that (a) one stanza was left out of the New York Choralist, (b)

Hastings added another stanza (c) there is another author for the second stanza.

In the hour of pain and anguish,
In the hour when death draws near,
Suffer not our hearts to languish,
Suffer not our souls to fear;
And, when mortal life is ended,
Bid us in Thine arms to rest,
Till, by angel bands attended,
We awake among the blest.

An interesting tidbit of information brings me to the conclusion that there is still more research that can be done with this hymn, and there is a possibility that the conclusion thus far drawn is incorrect. Several music history books, very likely all drawing from the same source, have referenced the tune used for Gently, Lord, (as shown in the 1847 New York Choralist) to be the same as Batti, Batti, in Mozart's Le Nozze de Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), where Zerlina flirtingly makes a plea for peace to Masetto.

The Hastings & Bradbury book shows the tune name to be "Rosefield" by Ferrari. It seems that a contemporary of Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791) was composer Giacomo Gotifredo Ferrari (?1759-1842). Ferrari was noted as a skilled composer who had contact with all of the major composers of his time. There is certainly enough information here to question who actually composed the tune.

That it is very similar to Batti, Batti is true. The opening motive of the aria, however, begins with a descending stepwise motion, where the tune as named "Rosefield" begins with ascending stepwise motion. Thus, the tune may be (a) a variation of Batti, Batti as composed by Mozart, (b) composed by Giacomo Ferrari and similar to Mozart's melody, or (c) composed by Ferrari, used by Mozart in his opera in variation to the original, and then taken for Gently, Lord, O gently lead us. Because it was not uncommon for composers to share each others musical compositions in the 18th century as well as other centuries (J. S. Bach did it.), and it was also common to take popular and folk song tunes and use them for Christian hymns, all of the choices are very possible.

Who the composer of the tune was for the New York Choralist, is in our time an interesting documentation of the past, and demonstrates how hymns evolve over time. As I have stated elsewhere, time is an excellent editor of all forms of composition, both musical and literary. Today the tune "Rosefield" is entirely different and actually wedded quite well to another text. (G. G.) Ferrari has become an obscure composer of the 18th century, but the Thomas Hastings text is still alive and well. There may still be a better melody for the inspirational words of this hymn. It may have already be composed and waiting to be "married" to the text, or it may be still a thought of God's waiting to be instilled into the right mind.

English Hymns: Their Authors and History.
by Samuel Willoughby Duffield
Second Edition, Revised and Corrected.
Funk & Wagnalls. New York, 1886, pages 163-165

Dr. Thomas Hastings was born in Washington, Litchfield County, Conn., October 15th 1784. His parents removed, in 1796, to Clinton, N.Y., making their way through what was then an unbroken wilderness, in sleighs and ox sleds. The lad was thus inured to the hardships of a pioneer life, and his early youth was spent in the routine duties of the farm. But with the winter months came the eager desire for knowledge, to gratify which he counted it no hardship to go six miles daily, on foot, to the school. He had already begun the study of music from a six-penny primer of four small pages. Next he became fifth chorister in the village choir, and his musical career was commenced in earnest. Deriving from a treatise on music many valuable ideas, he puzzled out its difficult places, and finally mastered its contents. Then he turned to what was to be his profession, and endeavored to secure a situation in some school to teach music. At first this was a failure; but finally, in 1806-7, he was intivited to Bridgewater, Oneida County, and Brookfield, Herkimer County.

It must not be forgotten that the singing-schools of that time and region were by no means places of hard work. Those who went were mainly young people, bent on fun and flirtation. Hence a conscientious instructor had no sinecure. But Mr. Hastings was inflexible in his purpose, and he not only enforced his rules, but managed to obtain very apparent good results by the end of the third season. In 1816, after a period of five years spent in business and on the farm, Mr. Hastings returned to music, and compiled, with Professor Norton, the famous Musica Sacra. In 1818 he was invited to Troy, and at this date he appears to have given his first distinctive attention to religious music.

The year 1822 witnessed the outcome of those thoughts, in a work On Musical Taste. In this he took the ground that"religion has the same claim substantially in song as in speech." And it was under this banner that he fought all the rest of his life.

In his management of the singing at Dr. Chester's church in Albany, he carried these views into immediate practice, and with the best results. He had arranged his singers so that the congregation was really led by several trained voices, though it seemed as if he stood forward alone as precentor. The church became celebrated for its congregational singing, and Mr. Hastings wrote articles upon this new departure for the Utica papers. As one thing usually leads to another, this led to his being invited to the editorial chair of a religious newspaper, called The Recorder. His salary was fixed at six hundred dollars per annum, half the amount being conditioned on the support which the paper received.

He accepted these meagre terms, and in 1823 he removed to Utica. The Recorder was first issued as a fortnightly publication in January, 1824. It was an era of revivals, followed by equally great dissensions--facts which have indelibly stamped their record on the population of Oneida County. The editor continued his relations with the paper until its ninth volume had appeared. He never lost sight of the interests of sacred music in these years, and hence he came to be known, more and more widely, as the advocate of many reforms. In 1832, New York City sought his aid; twelve churches combining to secure him for the metropolis. While the matter was tentative, a meeting was held in the old Broome Street (Presbyterian) church. At this Mr. Hastings spoke, and with such power and persuasiveness that the case was decided at one, for it was felt that he must be obtained.

From 1832 to 1872, Dr. Hastings (as we must now style him) was a resident of New York City, devoting himself to its psalmody, and affecting the entire country from this commanding situations. To him church music had become a sacred duty, "an holy calling," and he gave himself up to it in all its aspects. This, of course, included the hymns themselves; and, in point of fact, he composed no less than six hundred original pieces. He also corrected many of the older hymns, according to a more elevated standard of taste. To do this without detracting from their piety was, of itself, no slight achievement. Dr. Hastings, however, was a man eminent in his knowledge of the Scriptures, and of a truly devout spirit. He Church Psalmist, published in 1836, was therefore a marked example of his methods. It was severely criticised, but gained a wide circulation, as Spiritual Songs, 1833, had done before it.

The educational influence of all these various publications was becoming more and more apparent. In 1844 his connection with William B. Bradbury added great strength to the cause. It would be tedious and unneccessary to enumerate the different works which these friends produced, alone, or in partnership. Of them all, Dr. Hastings felt that Selah, 1856, was his best. The Church Melodies, 1858, was the pioneer of modern works of the combined hymn-book and tune-book class. Like the Plymouth Collection, 1855, it aimed to secure congregational singing in public worship.

It should be added that this was by no means an easy task to which Dr. Hastings so devotedly consecrated his powers of mind and will. The oppositions and discouragements of it are known to those who have trodden the same path. Its success is seen in the present opinions which prevail in the deep heart of the Church, undisturbed by the ambitious designs of less religious professional musicians.

On the 15th of May, 1872, he went to join the choir of the saints about the throne. It is simply marvellous (as Mr. A. D. F. Randolph has remarked, in the little memoir which furnishes our facts) that Dr. Hastings should have accomplished so much. He was hampered by the perpetual drawback of imperfect eyesight, and yet, in spite of this and other hindrances, he carried out a life-work which is its own best memorial. Whenever "Ortonville" or "Rock of Ages" is sung, there is still the presence of the singer whose priase is in all the churches.

This article, original thoughts and transcription, was written and typed by Mary Katherine May, owner of www.QualityMusicandBooks.com. You are invited to check out our website ... our retail store is in the process of being moved to a new location. ... Thanks!

GOD always leaves a light on for YOU!!

Hymn & Commentary: Devotional Hymns of Grace and Comfort When Life Is Hard

2009-01-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

This evening I have a hymn presentation that is of a more personal note.

Recently my husband's mother passed away. It was quite sudden and unexpected, and it followed the death of her husband and his sister -- all in the course of about two years.

When a loved one goes home to be with the Lord, we rejoice and are happy for them. At the same time, the loss of personal contact will make a difference in our lives. As it should be, emotions will run higher, which in turn can make us more vulnerable to outside influences. It is important to acknowledge whatever emotion comes along, confront them and deal with them. The length of time this takes will be different for each individual.

Here is where a cautionary note must be offered, because emotions from outside influences can begin to govern our lives, which in turn can lead to ups and downs, thinking that isn't clear, and depression. Trusting and being guided by this type of emotion can quickly become a very slippery slope.

There must be something else that we can fall back upon when our guard is lowered by life-changing circumstances, and that "something" is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus will be our joy amidst sorrow and pain. That is our promise. Jesus is where we should focus every moment of our lives, by keeping our eyes on the promise of the empty cross. Jesus has given us our role in life, our call for His purpose, and the call is that for which we much live every moment of our lives.

It is important to both acknowledge our feelings and keep our eyes focused on heavenly things. This is what will see us through. Jesus said that He is the light of the world. When times are tough, make Jesus Christ your light at the end of the dark tunnel. That light is filled with love -- millions and billions of love particles, all for you.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
(Hebrews 12:2)

Helen Lemmel's life bridged two centuries. She was born in 1864, and left for heaven in 1961, living over 90 years for her Lord and Savior. Musician and author, she wrote the music and lyrics for the enduring hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. She was born in England, the daughter of a Methodist pastor. The family came to the United States when Helen was twelve years old. Much of the rest of her life was spent in the Midwest.

She was inspired to write this hymn by a missionary tract titled FOCUS by Lilias Trotter: "So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness. "

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s a light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conquerors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

It Is Well With My Soul

This next story, very much reading like the Old Testament book of Job, is so unbelievable, that anyone not a Christian would deem it impossible -- however true it is.

Horatio Spafford lived with his wife, Anna, and their four daughters quite successfully in the windy city of Chicago, Illinois. As a profession he was a lawyer and businessman. In the church that he helped build, Fullerton Presbyterian Church, he was very respected. However, the darling life was not to continue.

The first circumstance to strike was the Great Chicago Fire. The Spafford family survived with no loss of life. Financially, however, it brought them to ruin because Horatio had invested heavily in land speculation. Though all six were due to board ship for Europe, at the last minute it was decided that Horatio would travel later as there was the possibility of a land sale. Thus, Anna and the girls left without husband and father with them on the voyage.

Many who are interested in hymnody know what follows. In a freak accident, the French ship on which the Spaffords were making their journey, the Ville du Havre (City of the Harbor), was split apart in the dark of night when hit by another vessel from England. Desperately trying to save themselves, the terrible discovery was made. Very few of the life boats could be used. Recently painted, they were rooted to the spots where placed before voyage. Anna survived, but her four little girls of whom the oldest was eleven years, were torn from her arms by the sea.

Now it was left to Horatio to join only his wife. Knowing of his circumstances, the ship's captain notified the bereft father when they passed over the spot where three-fourths of the people on board the Ville du Havre lost their lives.

As happens when God comforts those he loves, Horatio went to his cabin and wrote the words of the much beloved hymn of comfort and strength, It Is Well with My Soul. It was later set to music by one of the musicians who worked with evangelist Dwight L. Moody, Philip Bliss, who named the tune, Ville du Havre.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Tragedy led to tragedy for the Spafford family. Upon Horatio and Anna's return to their home in the Lake View area of Chicago, they were blessed with another child, this time a boy. Little Horatio was followed by a sister, Bertha. Disease and death of young children in the late 1800s was extremely high, and when Horatio as a toddler contracted Scarlet Fever it led to his death.

People began to question what this couple who had braved such losses had done to bring the wrath of God down upon them. Horatio, with his reasoning attempting to understand all that had happened, began to have theological perspectives outside the mainstream of Christian thought. It led to the family, already having gone through so much, to be asked to leave the church they helped build.

It was time for a fresh start. We don't know what it was that led the couple to move to Jerusalem, but that is exactly what they did. Upon hearing of their plans, several others chose to join them. Others, hearing of their intent, subjected the band to ridicule, giving them the name Overcomers. In 1881, eighteen seeking souls, including the Spaffords new daughter, Grace, left to take up residence in the Holy Land, calling themselves the American Colony.

The colony joined themselves together and lived as a community, sharing what each had. Over the course of years, they responded to the needs presented to them with true Christian charity. With Horatio's death in 1888, Anna continued with their work, and following her death Bertha did also. When Anna visited Chicago, she returned with more who wish to live as she did. Their home, known as a place of peace, over the years has been a place of major diplomatic meetings. The group served the displaced and injured during WWI and at other times, and a children's center also emerged to fill a need.

Today the Spafford Children's Center still exists, serving over 30,000 children in Jerusalem in 2008.

Here is real proof of the faithfulness of God to see us through all circumstances. God loves you as though you are His one and only child. Trust Him -- focus on Him -- lean on Him. Then you will also be able to claim what so many others never will, that it is well with your soul. That in itself will make you a walking miracle.

References
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/
http://www.spafford-kids.org/
Horatio and Anna Spafford and Jerusalem's American Colony
http://www.conservapedia.com/Horatio_Spafford
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_With_My_Soul

This article was written by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books, online and retail Christian music and bookstore, specializing in classics and educational material, including homeschool books.
Quality reading ... for the thinking Christian

CHRISTIAN HYMN & COMMENTARY Choice Songs from CROWNING GLORY REVISED Bilhorn

2009-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Choice Songs from Crowning Glory
by P. P. Bilhorn (1865-1936)
Published by Bilhorn Bros., Chicago ILL.
6 published editions noted in Worldcat

Peter Philip Bilhorn was a musician in the last 1800s who worked with the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody and others. To further his work he invented a portable organ, the Bilhorn Telescope Organ, that would fold up into a case, for which he developed many models.

Interest for this year, 2009, is the Abraham Lincoln connection. Bilhorn's surname was originally Pulhorn until changed by Judge Abraham Lincoln in Ottawa, Illinois.

This particular edition, 1888 (I believe), has a softcover of a slightly heavier weight than the pages. The paper appears and feels to be of a newsprint-type quality. This particular copy was owned by a Willard G. Thompson of Wells, Minnesota. Songs are of the nature one would expect from a musician working with evangelists. Most are invitation songs, and "I have been saved songs," and many have as the tune composer P.P. Bilhorn, of which some he also wrote to lyrics. A theme still popular today in many Christian circles are what we call "blood songs," those that speak of the blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross for our salvation.

Here is an example of a "blood song" by the famous English poet, William Cowper of Olney Hymns fame. I find it too graphic for my taste.

No. 40: Glorious Fountain, Stanza 1

There is a fountain filled with blood, filled with blood, filled with blood, There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel's veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood, beneath that flood, beneath that flood, And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.

Most of the songs are presented in standard 4-part hymn score style, while at the end are a few pages where a beginning motive only in the treble followed by text, presumably because these particular songs were so well known as to definitely not need a complete score. Those for which Bilhorn is the author, his identity is shown as P.B., as composer he is shown as P. Bilhorn or P.B. Bilhorn with copyright dates at the bottom of pages stating his ownership in the same manner.

* Indicates hymns where Bilhorn is noted as the composer. ** Indicates hymns where Bilhorn is noted as both composer and author.

Please note, as stated for hymn no. 5, that all hymn numbers are not included. My deduction is that this paper wraps edition, as indicated by its title, is not the complete Choice Songs edition, but rather a group selected and used at evangelistic tent meetings, probably available for a small cost or distributed for free to attendees.

Hymns of the 19th-century with different language usage and tendencies than we have today, we often more graphic in nature than those to which we are accustomed. There is a reason some hymns or hymn stanzas have not stood the test of time.

Revive Us Again (revival)

Glory to Jesus, He Saves** (1885)

Go Forth! Go Forth!* (1894) (missions)

Are You Washing in the Blood? (blood song, salvation)

hymns numbered 5, 6, and 7 appear to be missing, but there are no missing pages. Hymn No. 4 is followed by Hymn No. 8

Please see no. 5

none

My Jesus, I Love Thee (commitment)

Let the Savior In (invitation)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Sunshine in My Soul (joy of salvatioin)

Throw Out the Life-Line (missions, evangelism, water song)

Showers Refreshing* (prayer for blessing, missions, revival)

Jesus Saves (missions)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

The Savior Is My All in All (1886) (Jesus as Redeemer, praise)

please see no. 5

Bid Him Come In** (1891) (invitation)

Art. Thou Drifting?** (1891) (invitation, water song))

I Will Sing the Wondrous Story* (praise)

Savior, Pilot Me (prayer for guidance, water song)

Sweet Peace the Gift of God's Love** (1887) (peace in salvation)

Stand Up for Jesus (armor of God, battle to overcome)

When My Savior I Shall See* (1887) (heaven)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Blessed Be the Name (praise)

Room in Heaven for Thee* (1891) (invitation)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

On the Cross* (1889) Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed (salavation through the cross)

Please see no. 5

He Calleth for Thee* (1891) (invitation)

Conquer Through His Word* (1898) (God's army, overcome obstacle b Jesus' power)

Glory to His Name (saved at the cross, blood song)

Bringing In the Sheaves (missions, evangelism)

Glorious Fountain (blood song)

God Be with You (benediction)

While Jesus Whispers (invitation)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Standing on the Promises (praise)

We'll Never Say Good By (eternity, heaven)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

The Half Has Never Been Told (prayer, personal Jesus, praise)

Blessed Jesus, Keep Me White** (1885) (help me not to sin)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

The Man of Galilee* (arr. © 1894) (overcomer)

Please see no. 5

Redeemed (praise)

Do Not Pass Me Buy* (1894) (asking for God to come into life)

Please see no. 5

Drifting Away from God* (1891) (invitation to those lost from church, water song)

The Best Friend Is Jesus** (1891) (personal Savior)

Behold! a Stranger (invitation)

Bring Them In (missions, looking for lost sheep

More Forward! (time is short, go out to harvest souls)

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms (comfort, praise)

Blessed Assurance (saved, praise)

Tell It Out!* (1891) (missions, evangelism)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

While Shepherds Watched (Christmas)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

What Will Your Harvest Be? (missions)

Antioch (Joy to the World) (Christmas)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

My Name in My Mother's Prayer (1893) (mother song)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

A Story Sweet and True* (1886) (praise, Easter)

The Bird with the Broken Wing (4th verse by Peter Bilhorn, copyright transfered to Bilhord 1895) (healing)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

No To-night (become saved, for death could come at any time)

Please see no. 5

Trusting in Jesus Alone* (1894) (Jesus will holden our burdens, missions)

The Master Is Come** (1894) (invitation)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Softly and Tenderly (invitation)

Christ Is All (we only need Jesus)

Lead Me Savior (keep me from straying)

Keep Us Revived* (1894) (revival)

Steading Marching On (praise)

Art Thou Weary? (invitation)

Jesus, Thou my Only Refuge* (1894) (refuge)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Shall I Be Saved Tonight? (invitation before it's too late)

What Will You Do with the King? (invitation, call)

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy (healing, forgiveness)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

My Redeemer Lives (praise)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Meet Me There (heaven)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

His Yoke Is Easy (Scripture hymn)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Having Done All, to Stand* (1891) (stand firm, armor of God)

My Title's Clear* (1891) (saved, salvation, heaven promised is mine)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

They Sing a New Song* (1891) (heaven for those who have been forgiven)

Take My Life and Let It Be (commitment)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Some Mother's Boy* (1894) (Mother's Boy is lost in sin, who will go and save him?)

Give Me Jesus (commitment, choose Jesus)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Saved to the Uttermost (salvation, saved) (Ark of Praise

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Nobody Knows But Jesus (Jesus understands)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Cast All Your Care Upon Him* (1891) (Jesus understands.)

Please see no. 5

Abiding in Him (saved, so now resting)

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Please see no. 5

Blest Be the Tie (unity)

Come, Thou Fount (praise)

What a Friend (comfort)

Rock of Ages (comfort)

Cross and Crown (cross) (Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone)

Jesus, Lover of My Soul (refuge)

Just As I Am (commitment)

Am I a Soldier (called to service)

Nearer, My God to Thee (commitment)

Work, for the Night Is Coming (work)

There is a Fountain (blood song, forgiveness, washed clean)

I Hear the Savior Say (cross, justification, blood, washed clean)

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice (blood, forgiveness, washed clean)

All Hail the Power(praise)

Come to Jesus (invitation)

Come, Every Soul (invitation, commitment)

I Have a Savior (testimony)

Doxology (praise, Trinity)

Old Hundred praise, Trinity)

Gloria Patri

Presented by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books, online website and retail store. QMB's retail store is in the process of moving. We buy Christian books, music, and homeschool materials. Please check our website for contact information.

CHRISTIAN HYMN & COMMENTARY The Spirit of Praise: The New York Choralist A New and Copious Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes Bradbury & Hastings 1847

2009-01-04T20:38:00.000-08:00

The Spirit of PraiseTranscribed from “ The New York Choralist: A New and Copious Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Adapted to All the Various Metres in General Use. Anthems and Set Pieces. By Thomas Hastings and William Bradbury. New York: Published by Mark H. Newman & Co., No. 199 Broadway, 1847, page 35.

[I transcribed this article in January of 2007 for another of my blogs. Please feel free to reprint as needed. I would appreciate, if you could the acknowledgement: "Transcribed by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books." Thank you, and God bless. ... babamarusia]

Is the owner of this volume associated with those who lead in the songs of Zion? A precious privelege! Delightful employment! It is the occupation of angels and of glorified spirits in the temple above. Prayer and the ministrations of the word will cease with the termination of earthly things; but praise shall endure forever. The blessed ones on high are never weary, never negligent. Their golden harps are always strung, and their voices forever in tune. The soft echoes of their minstrelsy have come down to us, that we may learn to emulate their strains and begin on earth the everlasting song.

But do we enter into the true spirit of praise? The manner of song has indeed its claims. There must, as we have seen, be melody, and harmony, and time, as well as verbal utterance, which is distinct and impressive; yet if there is nothing more than this, the office of praise will be deprived of its choicest influences.

But the reader of these pages goes a step farther. He delights in the exercise, and his feelings are often deeply interested. This is well. There is much in the commingling of harmonious voices, which is adapted to call forth the sweet sympathies of our nature. The pleasures of taste are very properly allowed to mingle with the fervors of devotion: but the danger is, that the former will have a preponderating influence.

You advance, then, an additional step. You carefully notice the sentiments of the psalm or hymn you are singing; and endeavor at all times to give them an effective utterance. This also is well. Strictly speaking, there can be no good singing without it. So much as this is expected of the vocalist at the oratorio, and the secular concert. Unless he rightly conceives of his subject, and appears to enter into the spirit of it, with becoming emotion, he is considered a dull performer. And shall the hallowed theme of the gospel be less appreciated by the singer, and be uttered with less emotion?

But the most important point yet remains to be considered. Do you enter into the spirit of religious song as a mere sentimentalist; or do you make the hallowed sentiments of the Psalm or Hymn your own, as in the immediate presence of the heart-searching God? To do the former is comparately easy. Even the infidel may become a successful personator of devotion. He can assume the sentimentalist in a religion which he despises, just as he may give the appearance of times so delightful that their real nature is liable to be misunderstood.

The true worship of God is a much higher exercise. You are speaking in the eloquence of song, in the midst of a worshipping assembly. We love to listen to your language, and to gather heavely fragrance from your breathing accents: but do you intend to be individually responsible for what you are uttering? When the hymn is didactic, do you feel any thing of the responsibilities of a religious teacher? When it is hortatory, do you really desire that there may be among the listeners an increase of practical godliness? When you say “have mercy upon me” are you personally engaged in supplication? When you say “Praise God in his holiness,” do you take delight in that attribute of the Divine Nature? When you say “Lord search my heart and try my ways” do you really desire that he may search and try you? When you utter the language of contrition, faith, hope, love, joy, do you really repent of sin, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, hope in God, exercise supreme love to him and rejoice in his government? If you can truly answer such questions as these in the affirmative, your lot is among the favored ones: You know the blessed privilege of those who have commenced the undying song. Sing on through your earthly pilgrimage with holy delight. The sweetest notes you here can raise, will prove but a faint prelude to the raptures which remain to be revealed – But if on the contrary, truth compels you continually to reply in the negative to such questions; then is it not too painfully manifest, that with all your pleasing sentimentalities, you are a mere personator of devotion, and know nothing of the peculiar priveleges which appertain to the holy office of praise? Continuing thus a mere formalist in religion, your songs however delightful to yourself and to others, must at last give place to interminable wailings!

Full well we know that even the Christian is not always on the mount of privilege. He is often in darkness and doubt – troubled with conflicting emotions, while his affections seem languid and his sensible comforts are few and feeble. He scarcely knows at such times, what he should pray for, or how he should give thanks. Still there is a wide difference between him and the mere sentimentalist. The one has at least, the willing mind – He desires to exercise right affections; and will sometimes be graciously accepted when he knows it not. There is but the ingenious mechanist who operates upon the human sympathies, the mimic painter who portrays the influences which surround him, or the studied orator who moves for the time being, in an assumed character.

Under this distinction we recognize two very different classes of singers. To which of them does the reader belong? Do not presume for a moment that any sacrifice of praise will be accepted of God which springs not from the deep seated affections of the heart. Secular music may admit feigned emotion: not so, the music which is devotional. Here every man is bound to bcome an actual, conscientious, spiritual worshipper. The bible plainly teaches this one method, and approves no other.

The object of this article is, not to undervalue musical cultivation, for there is need of unceasing efforts and accumulating numbers. But why amidst the enjoyment of sweet sounds, should the affections of the heart be withholden? Why should any one persist in offering to God, that same species of heartless homage which he himself would disdain to receive from a fellow worm? Oh there is guilt in this! “Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person?” Is it not a shame to be offering from sabbath to sabbath, a professed oblation of gratitude and praise which one knows in his conscience ought never to be accepted!

Why should we not worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness? What has the Saviour done that he should be greeted with the mockings of heartless praise! What is there in the tender mercies of our Heavenly Father, in the love and condescension of the Holy Spirit, — O what is there in the ineffable glories of the Godhead, that can ever excuse us from rendering the full homage of our affections! It is through his infinite condescension that we are ever permitted to tune the notes of praise. And shall we abuse such a privilege as this? Shall the very offerings of gratitude become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal? And yet how prevalent is this heartless worship! To say nothing of the multitudes who are deficient in manner, — who bring, in this aspect, the lame and the blind in sacrifice – how many, even in the midst of cultivation and refinement have fallen into this sin. We see in many places a zeal for elementary drilling which sufficiently absorbs the attention of the pupils; and an increasing thirst for musical novelties, which is well night insatiable : but where, O where is the genuine spirit of praise! It never springs up unbidden, like the tares of the field. It comes not in the winning forms of pleasure to the careless heart. It withers and dies, even in the heart of the Christian, whose mind is engrossed by the details of art or enchanted with the pleasures of taste. Such a spirit will be connected only with holy living in other walks of duty; and be found in our songs of praise only as the result of Christian vigilance and private, persevering prayer.

Singers, like other men, are under the strong influences of habit: and if the spirit of praise is not assiduously cultivated during the hours of practise, it will doubtless be wanting in the solemn assembly. This we know both from reason and from painful experience. Singers and teachers should think of this, and act accordings. Let it never be forgotten, that, the precise influences which habitually prevail at the rehearsals, will inevitable characterize the offerings at the sanctuary.

How holy, how glorious is the God we worship! How wonderful are his perfections! “It is good to sing praises unto his name: from the affections of an overflowing heart. What can be more delightful than the songs of joy issuing from lips that taste the love of God! Such were the psalms of David; and such the songs of the primitive Christians and martyrs and reformers. Such are the songs we should cultivate. They will prove a rich foretaste of joys unseen and eternal.

Transcribed by Mary Katherine
May19 January 2007

Advent Christmas Hymns O COME O COME EMMANUEL John Mason Neale O Antiphons Eschatology

2008-12-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

The Hymns of Advent: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Text: John Mason Neale
Tune: Thomas Helmore
Photo source: WikiPedia, the Free Online Encyclopedia

Somber, haunting, meditative, personal … some of the adjectives that might be used to describe the emotions produced the Advent hymn, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, authored by John Mason Neale (1816-1866), who drew upon a very old source for composition, a group of verses named the O Antiphons from the Liturgy of the Hours. By searching the internet it can be determined that there is a possible brief mention of the antiphons by Ancinius Manlius Severinus Boethius in the sixth century. I think it completely sufficient simply to state that the O Antiphons were in use some time in the early centuries of the Christian Church.

What is an antiphon?
Literally translated from the Greek it means against sound. In the Christian church, an antiphon is a response, spoken or sung that is relational to a Bible passage. Many denominations use antiphons. Though not used in all Lutheran churches, antiphons may included as part of their worship liturgy. In the Eastern Orthodox church, one of the ways antiphons are used is in response to a Psalm, containing the fundamental thought of the Psalm. (http://orthodoxwiki.org/Antiphon)

What is the Liturgy of the Hours?
The Liturgy of Hours or Divine Office or Divine Hours, is a daily series of prayers to be said throughout the day. This custom, though performed mainly within monastic communities of both Eastern and Western Christian Church denominations, is not only for the religious. Its basis in history is scriptural, which calls upon all faithful to pray without ceasing. Continuous prayer both consciously and within the soul keeps us in communion with God and strengthens our spiritual armor. Along with the following links, there are many internet sites that have free offers to download, both print and audio, prayers for the Liturgy of the Hours.
http://www.yale.edu/adhoc/research_resources/liturgy/hours.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_the_Hours

John Mason Neale was from his early years as a youth a voracious reader. Following in his father’s footsteps, became a priest of the Anglican Church, and in 1866 was conferred a doctorate by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, though in his own country he was “inhibited” (not allowed) to offer the sacraments due to his activities with revival work and his outspoken views, because they were distrusted..

Neale had a strong interest in history and the writings of the early church. Adept at languages, he would learn them to further his research and writing. By the time Rev. Neale died, he knew and could use over twenty languages. Particularly fond of children, he wrote many books for children as well as significant history volumes and hymns. What he is best known for, however, are his translations of texts from their original Greek and Latin. At the young age of fourteen he had already begun his first translation project, translating into English the poetical works for Coelius Sedelius, named as one of the first five Christian poets.

Neale was not fearful of speaking his convictions, and was the friend of others who felt the same. Among them was Charles Simeon who preached to the sound of breaking glass and shouted threats for many years while trying to bring reform and revival to the Anglican Church in England. For Neale, it meant derogatory comments over his translation efforts, because many felt that he was trying to romanize the Anglican Church. Despite the threats, he persevered.

John Mason Neale didn’t live a long life. His health failed early, making the job of pastoring a church too strenuous. For a brief time he lived in Medeira off the coast of Africa, but it brought no respite for his lung disease. It was there that he learned the Russian, Syriac and Georgian languages for the cause of beginning his great work, History of the Holy Eastern Church. Although his knowledge and efforts were not recognized in his own country of Britain, they were elsewhere, as in the Doctorate from Trinity College. John Neale corresponded with many great theologians and thinkers, including the first among equals, the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1846 he was placed in charge of a poorhouse called Sackville College and with his wife lived and worked their the remainder of his life. The conditions Neale found at the almshouse led him to co-found The Society of St. Margaret, whose work within the Anglican Church was to nurse the sick. This too came under scrutiny when others felt that he was creating a monastic order, and at the funeral of one of the sisters, he was beaten.

It was not until after his death that was Neale honored for his devout faith, ministry and work in the Anglican Church of England. Like Catherine Winkworth who translated hymns from the German, Neale performed for hymnody a great service by translating and preserving some of the early hymns and writings of the Christian church, both east and west. It is an interesting note that Reverend John Mason Neale died in his 48th year on the day of the Feast of the Transfiguration, August 6, 1866.
http://anglicanhistory.org/bios/jmneale.html

"...Resurrection" he had said, "is promised, and can be promised, only to the dead. If we are not dead with Christ, how can we live with Him? But one or the other we must be. Dead to sin, or dead in sin; dead to Christ, or dead with Christ." … John Mason Neale

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
first published in Medieval Hymns, 1851,
and with music in Carols for Christmas-Tide by Neale and Helmore.

Essentially what Neale and hymn tune composer Thomas Helmore did was to compose a new, 19th-century medieval hymn based upon medieval sources. For either stanza or tune there is no concrete documentation of source material to deduce more than this.

Rev. Neale used the monastic O Antiphons for his inspiration. These antiphons date to as early as the eighth century, and most likely earlier as noted above. From the Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic tradition, these were used the last eight days preceeding Christmas, known as the Octave before Christmas or Golden Night of Christmas.

These in turn are based upon an acrostic for the Latin phrase ERO CRAS, which translates will be tomorrow, or tomorrow I come. Used in order right to left as devotional prayer, each first letter of a word represents a title for Jesus Christ as well as an Old Testament prophecy from the books of Isaiah and Micah.

Sapienta : Wisdom : Isaiah 11:2-3, 28:29
Adonai : Lord of Israel : Isaiah 11:4-5, 33:22
Radix Jesse : Root of Jesse : Isaiah 11:1, 11:10, Micah 5:1
Clavis David : Key of David : Isaiah 22:22, 9:6
Oriens : Radiant Dawn, Dayspring : Isaiah 9:2
Rex Gentium : King of All Nations : Isiah 9:7, 2:4
Emmanuel : God with Us : Isiah 7:14

I recommend two internet sources for more information:
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0374.html

Thomas Helmore (1811-1890) was an ordained minister of the Church of England. Together with John Mason Neale he published two hymn books, Carols for Christmas-Tide (1853) and Hymnal Noted, Part Two (1856).

Emmanuel – God With Us: Isaiah 7:14
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Each stanza of this hymn is an invitation to come, which follows with the Advent lenten season of Jesus coming to us rather than us going penitentially to him, as with the Great Lent before Easter.

And ransom captive Israel… during the first century of the church the prevailing view of atonement was satisfaction, or substitution. The people wait in mourning (sin) alone (exile), separated from God until he will appear. People are held captive, as hostage to sin, until the ransom is satisfied.

Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

After each invitation comes the promise statement of fulfillment, that Emmanuel will come. This is in the manner of responsive psalmody, and as in the manner the creation story telling in the book of Genesis. It is also antiphonal in nature, as in call > response.

Sapientia – Wisdom: Isaiah 11:2-3
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Wisdom, who orders all things well (mightily) is called upon to show us how to gain knowledge and teach us the right path. To gain the true meaning of the text, however, the chapter as a whole must be read and studied. The text speaks of what is to come, when Jesus returns at the end of time as we know it.

Seeing another perspective on this text, look to how Christians seek out God's message for them personally, it is by studying His Living Word--that is, the Bible. It is said that unless one know's God, His wisdom will remain hidden. For guidance upon how to study Holy Scripture, we often use the Old Testament book of Proverbs, which encourages diligance and discipline.

When Jesus taught as an adult during the three years before his death, he gave instruction to his disciples on how to lead, teach others, minister, and most importantly share the Good News of his life.

Radix Jesse – Root of Jesse: Isaiah 11:1, 10
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

When looking at this stanza, please note that it needs to be read not by line but with the punctuation as marked. Here again is text based upon eschatological text, that of chapter 11 of the book of Isaiah. As it stands, however, the invitation is for freedom from sin and death, which Jesus accomplished by his resurrection.

Another perspective and certainly well-known thought, let us think upon the events following our Lord's crucifixion. In our creedal statements we say, ... he was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day He rose... Take another look at this stanza. You will see this message clearly conveyed.

John Mason Neale translated an eighth-century hymn by Cosmas the Melodist in the same vein as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, titled The Rod of the Root of Jesse, using the topic of two stanzas of our present hymn. The text of this hymn is triumphant and conquering, using the same stanza/refrain format. It is worth noting here for the similarity of subject. What is different is that it is written as accomplished work rather than expectant of what is to come. (source: cyberhymnal.com)

Rod of the Root of Jesse,
Thou, Flower of Mary born,
From that thick shady mountain
Cam’st glorious forth this morn:
Of her, the ever virgin, Incarnate wast Thou made,
The immaterial Essence,
The God by all obeyed!
Glory, Lord, Thy servants pay
To Thy wondrous might today!
The Gentiles’ expectation,
Whom Jacob’s words foretell,
Who Syria’s pride shall vanquish,
Samaria’s power shalt quell;
Thou from the Root of Judah
Like some fair plant dost spring,
To turn old Gentile error
To Thee, its God and King!
Glory, Lord, Thy servants pay
To Thy wondrous might today!
In Balaam’s ancient vision
The eastern seers were skilled;
They marked the constellations,
And joy their spirits filled;For
Thou, bright Star of Jacob,
Arising in Thy might,
Didst call these Gentile first-fruits
To worship in Thy light.They,
in holy reverence bend,
Gifts acceptable present.
As on a fleece descending
The gentle dews distill,
As drops the earth that water,
The virgin didst Thou fill.
Tarshish and Ethiopia,
The Isles and Araby,
And Media, leagues with Sheba,
Fall down and worship Thee.
Glory, Lord, Thy servants pay
To Thy wondrous might today!

Oriens – Dayspring: Isaiah 9:2
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Used during the week before Christmas, Jesus is called the Dayspring, or dawn of a new era—the era when sin is put in its place … death’s dark shadows put to flight. There is the feeling of expectation soon to be fulfilled… come and cheer our spirits by your advent … break apart the gloomy (depressive) clouds of night (sin).

The phrase "by Thine advent" is somewhat deceiving. For, though Jesus' birth heralded the Messiah on earth, the expectation still presented itself until the resurrection. If one was to go no further than this stanza, upon reflection the prophetic nature is apparent and obvious. Now, as children of God, we wait again with anticipation for Jesus' return, when he will put a final end to all suffering and sorrow.

Clavis David – Key of David, Isaiah 22:22
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life … John 14:6. Jesus holds the Key to the House of David, God’s house. It is through Him that salvation comes. The invitation is to open the door wide and allow safe passage to our heavenly home, keeping us away from the path to misery (sin).

Think of what this means when we pray in the Lord’s Prayer… Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Or, in more contemporary language, Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil.

There is a hymn recently (relatively speaking) translated from the German by the well-known hymnologist, Gracia Grindal that speaks of this subject in a gloriously triumphant manner.

I invite you to view this hymn by clicking on this link. It will be well worth your effort >> http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/w/fwdtdoor.htm

Adonai – Lord of Israel: Isaiah 11:4-5, 33:22
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

When looking at this stanza with its creating verses alone, the invitation now comes from an historical perspective, that God came with the law, which when followed gave Old Testament salvation.

The invitation recalls another time when God came and gave the law to his chosen people, giving them instruction -- the rules -- on how to live uprightly within his purpose. God, Lord of Israel, is called upon to come in a manner that will display his great glory and power. Prophecy tells us that this is how Jesus will return.

Just as Isaiah 11 is speaking of a time to come, however, so does chapter 33 with extremely sharp, harsh words of of warning. In the center of these, verses 15 and 16, answer is given to question of how salvation comes – Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?

15 He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil- 16 this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. His bread will be supplied, and water will not fail him. (KJV)

Looking ahead to the time when Jesus does return, when his children reach their heavenly home is the most beautiful verse. It is noted as an aside, a commentary upon the verses of future reference.

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty and view a land that stretches
afar.

Radix Jesse – Root of Jesse: Isaiah 11:1, 10
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

An ensign in this context is a banner/flag or emblem that represents a group of people who belong together, such as the flag that represents the people of the United States of America. Though the American flag is an inanimate object, people give it life by ascribing human emotions to its identity. In this stanza, the emblem is life itself—the Root of Jesse, Jesus Christ, who is honored by reverent silence and seen as the source of mercy and compassion.

There will come a time when all opposition will end. No longer will those who deny Jesus as God, Lord, and Savior be allowed to malign or deny his goodness, glory or justice.

... That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Phillipians 2:10-11 KJV.
and as follows...
No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:3-4
NIV

Rex Gentium – Desire of Nations: Isaiah 9:7, 2:4
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

The Desire of Nations, Jesus Christ, will bring an end to war, and peace shall reign over the earth, making all mankind into one people in kind. There is no truer statement for that which we on earth desire for our world is peace. When we have complete peace, this will mean that all will recognize their belonging to God, for there is no other way to that end.

The stanza requesting peace is a fitting end to this hymn that is both in the present of God’s salvation coming to us as well in the future when Christ will return. Through theological study of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel we have discovered an inner meaning to the season of Advent that reaches far beyond personal reflection, that with the expectancy of Christ coming as a child the time is also about the expectancy of Christ’s coming again—to not only judge but also to bring final peace to the world.

We have also discovered a hymn that has uses outside of the Advent season, it is also for worship when Christ’s return with all of its implications is preached. The hymn is solid theologically and is appropriate for topical Bible study and devotional use. Lastly, through this hymn based upon texts in use for at least 2,000 years brings us together with fellow saints who have gone before us, who lived with the same expectations and hopes we have today.

Advent, Atonement and Christian Hymns Part 1: Of the Father's Love Begotten

2008-12-05T01:09:00.000-08:00

Of the Father's Love Begotten by Prudentius, Fourth Century. Ancient Christmas season hymn.

(A) The Time of Advent

Advent is what many Christians call the time before Christmas, lasting four weeks. The word Advent stems from the Latin, advenio, which literally means I come or I arrive.

Ad (to) + venio (come)

What may come to mind is the famous phrase of Cæsar, “Veni, vidi, vici”, or I came, I saw, I conquered.

Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of Christmas, and many of the hymns used during the Advent season are about the expectation, justification, or release from sin. This expectation dwells on what Jesus will do for us by His coming, while in comparison during the time before Easter the hymns are more about self-reflection and why we need to come to Him.

The Eastern Christian Church doesn’t know Advent as the western church does, or as the Roman Catholic and many Protestant churches do. For example, the time before Christmas in the Eastern Orthodox church is a forty-day lent, just as it is before Easter, and is called Little Lent.

When did the Christian Church begin to celebrate Jesus’ Nativity?
It was around the middle of the fourth century. How the date of December 25 came to be chosen is still up for some speculation, but most likely it was determined that it would take the place of pagan celebrations for the winter solstice.

The WHY of Jesus' Coming
Returning to the topic of how the season of Advent is used, as stated earlier we often reflect upon the WHY of Jesus’ coming, that being his saving grace, the atonement or freeing from sin. Atonement theory is an interesting subject, and falls within the spectrum of soteriology, or salvation theology.

This may seem to be complicated, but it might interest you to know why and how of the differing views held by Christians about the saving work of Jesus, and how these theories reflect on what you believe as a Christian. Atonement theory comes into play at this time because many of our Advent hymns throughout the denominations use the word ransom or an equivalent, and what that means for us from various perspectives.

What Is Atonement?

Two of the Christian Atonement Theories
First, let us take a brief view of two of the atonement theories, one being called the penal substitution or satisfaction theory, and the other is Christus Victor or Christ Victorious theory. Some will say that one or another denomination adheres to a particular theory, but I think it quite alright for each person to decide for themselves from within the spectrum of standard Christian thought. In the grand scheme of things, what truly matters is that you have given yourself to Jesus Christ as written in John 3:16.

Penal Substitution
Substitution theory by name or any of its other names reflects the thought that Jesus took our place as payment for our sins. Penal satisfaction, that He satisfied the necessary penalty meted out by God to clear away our debt—our “jail time,” so to speak. With this theory a "ransom" payment would make sense. The question is, Where does the ransom payment go? If it goes to Satan, that gives evil far too much power. It could be said to go to God--but does God need anything that we might have to give?

Christus Victor
Christus Victor, or Christ Victorious, is actually very much like what is stated in the first paragraph—I came, I saw, I conquered. Jesus is victorious, laying waste to Satan and sin, and banishing darkness forever. The plus of this theory is that God doesn’t expect a payment and is not punishing Jesus for our sin, nor does Satan receive a payment of sorts for our freedom. Rather, Jesus becomes the conqueror of sin--overcoming and triumphant.

Without putting our feet into the quagmire of Arminianism and predestination, let us leave the two theories as they stand without further pursuing the subject. It isn't necessary to delve into freewill to move ahead with the subject at hand.

Ransom
Moving on to the word, for which I am presenting hymns with its inclusion, let us now look define “ransom”. Ransom as defined in the Free Online Dictionary, is this: Release of property in return for payment of a demanded price. Well, that certainly does sound like satisfaction—or does it?

Release of property: People in bondage were set free
In return for payment: Ranson payment was Jesus’ life
Of a demanded price: Blood, or spilling out of what is vital to live was the price.
It just might be satisfaction—if this were the end, but it is not. The resurrection is the end, not death on the cross.

The first hymn we will look at was written in the fourth century, at a time soon after the Christian Church began celebrating the Nativity of the Christ Child.

Prudentius
Of the Father’s Love Begotten was written by (Marcus) Aurelius Prudentius of Spain (348-after 405), a law practitioner and governor, and later in life a Christian poet. This ancient hymn comes from a group of twelve hymns called the Cathmerinon or Book in Accordance with the Hours. Prudentius is known as the author of the first European allegorical poem, and also for his setting of Christian doctrines into literary forms.

It was in 325 and 381 that the first two Ecumenical Councils were held, during which time the Trinitarian Nicene-Constatinopolitan Creed was written to combat the non-trinitarian heresy of Arianism.

The Hymn and The Creed
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!

The Nicene Creed: Articles 1, 2, 3
John 1: In the beginning was the word... the Father's Love Begotten...Jesus came from God; ere the worlds began to be...from the beginning of time; ...Alpha and Omega...the source...Jesus as God with God created all that was, is, and will be.

evermore and evermore.... for all eternity

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds(æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made.

At his word the words were framed; 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!

Heaven and earth and depths of ocean in their threefold order one – Trinity?

O that birth for ever blessed, 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!

Nicene Creed: Article 4-7 ... incarnation, virgin birth; world's redeemer... human form, crucifixion, resurrection...

who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;

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!

Nicene Creed: Article 8 ... Jesus foretold by prophecy

Isaiah 9:2 … Matthew 4:16
Prophecy: God said he was coming, and now the Promise is here.

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

Isaiah 45:23 … Romans 14:11 … Philippians 2:10

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!

Nicene Creed: Article 7... Jesus will come again. Article 9-12 ... the church as all of the people of God in union as one Body of Christ; evermore and evermore... our resurrection and "life of the world to come."

From thence He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

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!

Nicene Creed: Article 8... God as Trinity: The Father, Son and Holy Spirit

And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who
proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by t look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Over the course of time atonement theory has developed and various theories have been put forth for consideration. At the time Prudentius lived, a form of satisfaction or substitution thinking was the prevalent thought. How much the nearness of time to the actual events of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection affected thought is not clear. It is important to look at it from the perspective that the church as the living Body of Christ on earth was still in its formative stages.

The fact that Prudentius used lyric poetry as a way to define the nature of the church proves this out. The outcome of the two fourth-century ecumenical councils during which the Nicene Creed was written was the specific defining of the Trinity and the two natures of Jesus Christ. During this century the Nativity as a church holiday began to be celebrated for the first time.

The point is this: everything was a new event. Creedal statements, standards for Christian thought, and much more should be looked upon as the people of faith being guided and led by their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as to how to keep His post-resurrection church within the confines of His teaching and not swayed away from the straight and narrow by heresy.

References
http://www.antiochian.org/midwest/Articles/Origin_Of_The_Feast_Of_ChristmasNB.htm
http://www.theopedia.com/Atonement_of_Christ
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12517c.htm

Hymn and Commentary is written by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books, online and retail store. To visit the Quality Music and Book website, please CLICK HERE. Mary also writes commentary on a variety of Christian topics. To visit the Quality Music and Books blog please CLICK HERE.

For book reviews please click here: BABAMARUSIA'S CHRISTIAN BOOK REVIEW.

CHRISTIAN HYMN & COMMENTARY The Gospel Choir by Ira D. Sankey and James McGranahan 1885

2008-11-27T22:56:00.000-08:00

Ira David Sankey
1840-1908

James McGranahan
1840-1907

The Gospel Choir
by Ira D. Sankey
and
James McGranahan

Biglow & Main, Publishers
Copyright 1885, Biglow & Main

No. 76 East Ninth Street, New York
No. 81 Randolph Street, Chicago

Soft blue cloth cover
Gilt Lettering
128 pages

(Preface)
The Gospel Choir is largely composed of NEW SACRED SONGS, DUETS, CHORUSES and ANTHEMS, specially prepared for use in connection with Evangelistic work as conducted by Mr. D. L. Moody, D. W. Whittle, and others.

This collection is not intended to take the place of "GOSPEL HYMNS CONSOLIDATED," but to supplement it, by furnishing NEW and tried NUMBERS, which we trust will add interest to the Service of Song, and prove a blessing wherever used.

Ira D. Sankey
James McGranahan

CHRISTIAN Hymn & Commentary THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING Whittle / McGranahan

2008-11-27T22:27:00.000-08:00

4. " There Shall Be Showers of Blessing"
from THE GOSPEL CHOIR 1885
by Ira D. Sankey & James McGranahan
Biglow & Main, Publishers
Copyright 1885 by Biglow & Main.

" There Shall Be Showers of Blessing "
Ezekiel 34:26
Hymn by El Nathan
Music by James McGranahan © 1882

4.
“There Shall Be Showers of Blessing”
Hymn by El Nathan [ Daniel Webster Whittle (1840-1901)]
Tune by James McGranahan (1840-1907)
1883

“There shall be showers of blessing:” This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing, Sent from the Saviour above.

“There shall be showers of blessing:” Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys, Sound of abundance of rain.

“There shall be showers of blessing:” Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing, Come, and now honor Thy Word.

“There shall be showers of blessing:” Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing, Now as on Jesus we call!

Chorus:
Showers, showers of blessing, Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy drops round us are falling, But for the showers we plead.

The theology presented is that God has promised multiple blessings and that they can be requested. There is an expectation and need for blessing, and though God has sent some (drops) many more are needed (showers). Also evident in the text is the promise of revival and renewal, calling upon Jesus for the request to be fulfilled. There is no description, however, of what the showers of blessings are to be.

El Nathan and Elias Nathan, as well as W. W. D. are all pseudonymns used by the American evangelist Daniel Webster Whittle, who witnessed to crowds at approximately the same time as Dwight L. Moody. Major Whittle fought and was wounded in the American Civil War, and then imprisoned. Having nothing to do while recuperating from his injury (he lost his right arm), he picked up a nearby Bible and began reading.

One night, the major was awakened by a guard and asked to pray for a dieing soldier. Being convinced to go, he went and knelt by the young soldier’s bed, confessed his sins and prayed with the man’s during the last minutes of his life. It was the deciding moment for Major Whittle, and He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

I dropped on my knees and held the boy’s hand in mine. In a few broken words I confessed my sins and asked Christ to forgive me. I believed right there that He did forgive me. I then prayed earnestly for the boy. He became quiet and pressed my hand as I prayed and pleaded God’s promises. When I arose from my knees, he was dead. A look of peace had come over his trou bled face, and I cannot but believe that God who used him to bring me to the Savior, used me to lead him to trust Christ’s precious blood and find pardon. I hope to meet him in heaven.

Following the war, the Major went on to do the Lord’s work, speaking the message of salvation and bringing the lost into the Good Shepherd’s fold. Major Whittle traveled with musician Philip Bliss until a tragic Thanksgiving train accident took the talented singer and his wife’s lives. As it happened, Bliss had a friend who was somewhat younger than himself by the name of James McGranahan, who was still in school, studying music. The Lord had laid upon Philip’s heart the need to write to his friend about his salvation and life’s work. Concerned that his message be correct, Bliss shared the letter with Major Whittle before mailing it. Once received and read, James replayed one sentence from the letter over and over in his mind, not being able to dislodge it from repeating itself.

“Strike into the grain to reap for the Master…to reap for the Master…to reap for the Master!

It was because of the train accident that McGranahan and Major Whittle met and began to work together as an evangelism team, traveling throughout the United States, Great Britain and Ireland. Whittle later wrote of their meeting, “Here before me stands the man that Mr. Bliss has chosen to be his successor.” It is said that Moody may have taken the idea of coupling music with preaching as an effective evangelism tool from Whittle.

Sources:
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/
They Gathered at the River: The Story of the Great Revivalists and Their Impact Upon Religion in America by Bernard A. Weisberger. Little, Brown and Company, Boston. Copyright © 1958 by Bernard A. Weisberger.

Hymn and Commentary is written by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Book, an online website and retail store located in Osseo, Minnesota. Please CLICK HERE to go to the website.

Christian Hymn & Commentary A CROWN FOR ME Cushing & Sankey in THE GOSPEL CHOIR 1885

2008-11-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

3. A Crown for Me
THE GOSPEL CHOIR
by Ira D. Sankey & James McGranahan
Biglow & Main, Publishers
Copyright 1885 by Biglow & Main.

A Crown for Me
Scripture noted under hymn title: 2Tim 4:8
Rev. William Orcutt Cushing (1823-1902)
Tune by Ira D. Sankey, 1884

When my feet shall come to the golden gate, how glad my heart will be,
When the King shall say, as I stand and wait, “Come in: there is room for thee!”

Oh the joy to stand on the golden floor of that bright home above:
Oh the joy to hear, thro’ the open door, sweet welcome words of love!

I will trust His word, I know His love is large, and rich, and free:
When the race is run, and the vict’ry won, the prize He will give to me.

Chorus:
Oh the joy to be there on that holy ground, my precious Lord to see!
Oh the joy to receive when the race is run, the crown prepared for me!

Scriptural references: Entering the gates of heaven, hope of a better future, Jesus invitation and welcome to enternal life, the door to salvation, free gift of salvation, running the race, winning the prize, God’s plan for my salvation.

The few references I have found tell us that William Orcutt Cushing generally signed his name as W. O. Cushing. Although raised in a Unitarian home, Cushing became convinced of the Gospel while reading the Bible as a teenager, and felt called to ministry. Following his wife’s death he retired to the city of his first pastorate, and then lost his voice to something called “creeping paralysis.” It was during this time that the majority of Rev. Cushing’s approximately hymns were written, most on the subject of going to our heavenly home.

Hymn and Commentary is written by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books, online and retail store. Please CLICK HERE to visit the website.

Christian Hymn & Commentary GUIDE ME, O THOU GREAT JEHOVAH The Gospel Choir 1885

2008-11-27T01:40:00.000-08:00

2. GUIDE ME
THE GOSPEL CHOIR
by Ira D. Sankey and James McGranahan
Biglow & Main, Publishers
Copyright 1885 by Biglow & Main.

2.
Guide Me
Rev. William Williams
Tune by William. L. Viner (1790-1867) [DISMISSAL (Viner) 1845 8.7.8.7.8.7.]

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim thro’ 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.

Open now the crystal fountain, When the healing waters flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar Lead me all my journey through:
Strong Deliv’rer, Strong Deliv’rer, 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.

Scripture references: Israelites lead by Moses through the wilderness. Manna sent from heaven as food each day to sustain their needs, led by the cloudy pillar, the weakness of human nature compared to the greatness of God. Crossing the river-whether as a biblical event from from death to new life, the need to praise God in all circumstances.

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, was first titled by its author as Strength to Pass Through the Wilderness. It was translated into English by Peter Williams.

William Williams was a Welsh evangelist, traveling over 100,000 miles throughout his life, bringing the news of salvation to the people of his own country, Wales. Williams declared his Christian faith after listening to a street-side sermon given by evangelist Howell Harris. Here is a link for further information. >> www.bsrich.tripod.com/calvinistic/welshcalmeth.html

William L. Viner studied organ with Charles Wesley, Jr. At the age of 20, be became organist at St. Michael’s Church in Bath, England, serving in that capacity for 25 years, and was considered to be a gifted teacher. Viner emigrated to the United States in 1859, and died in Westfield, Massachusetts in 1867. www.esm.rochester.edu/sibley/specialc/findaids/Viner.htm

Hymn & Commentary is written by Mary Katherine May, owner of Quality Music and Books, online and retail store. To visit the website, click Quality Music and Books.