Hymn of the Week: 
Safe in the Arms of Jesus

Fanny Crosby, Text
William Howard Doane, Music

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul doth rest.
Hark! ’tis a song of heaven
Borne in the sweetest voice,
Echoed by saints in spirit,
Making my heart rejoice.

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast,
Thereby His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul doth rest.

Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations,
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears.

Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wait till the night is o’er,
Wait till I see the morning
Break on the golden shore.

Safe In The Arms of Jesus is a hymn that took the author Fanny Crosby, only a few minutes to compose. It was a collaboration between William Howard Doane. (yes, the Doane of Denison University) and Fanny Crosby.

It is said that Doane, a friend of Fanny Crosby, had only 40 minutes before the train that was to take him to Cincinnati was to leave but he wanted a hymn. He wanted to use this hymn the following month at a statewide Sunday School convention in Cincinnati.

Doane started playing the piano and Fanny Crosby felt the proper words for that music would be "Safe in the Arms of Jesus. She thought that would be the appropriate hymn for boys and girls at the convention. Then Fanny Crosby sat down and wrote the lyrics while Doane played through the tune as she continued to write. She says she was so caught up in the writing that nothing around her mattered.

In the end, she folded the piece of paper bearing the song and gave it to Mr. Doane. He did not read the words until he boarded the train. This hymn was wildly popular throughout the United States and was sung at President Ulysses S. Grant’s internment.

Enjoy hearing this blast from the past. Members of the Chancel Choir singing outside Middleton on October 14, 2020, during the pandemic. You should see and hear, Cindy McElroy. Karen Bovenizer, Nancy Wille, Marcy Loats, Tom Martin, and Jesse Boring. Don’t let the passing concrete truck deter you from a wonderfully sung hymn!

Enjoy!

Hymn of the Week: 
Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Glory to God #8

In honor and memory of the men and women who served in the armed forces and paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Text William Whiting 1860
Music John Bacchus Dykes 1861

Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm does bind the restless wave,
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Savior, whose almighty word
The winds and waves submissive heard,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amid the rage did sleep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Holy Spirit, who did brood
Upon the waters dark and rude,
And bid their angry tumult cease,
And give for wild confusion peace;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Trinity of love and pow'r,
Your children shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire, and foe,
Protect them where-so-e'er they go;
Thus, evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a hymn written by William Whiting in 1860 inspired by the dangers of the sea described in Psalm 107. This hymn is commonly associated with seafarers, particularly in the naval armed services, and is often referred to as the "Navy Hymn." This hymn also has a long tradition in civilian maritime settings and is regularly called upon by ship chaplains and sung during services on ocean travels.

The original hymn was penned in 1860 by William Whiting, an Anglican churchman from Winchester, United Kingdom. Whiting grew up near the shores of England, and at the age of thirty-five had felt his life saved by God when a fierce storm nearly destroyed the ship he was traveling on, instilling faith in God's control over the rage and calm of the sea. As headmaster of the Winchester College Choristers' School some years later, he was approached by a student about to travel to the United States, who expressed to Whiting a tremendous fear of the ocean voyage. Whiting shared his experiences of the ocean and wrote the hymn to "anchor his faith". Whiting is commonly believed to have been inspired by Psalm 107, which describes the power and danger of the seas in great detail:

"Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters. They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep. For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril, their courage melted away."

Psalm 107: 23–26

This hymn was popularized by the Royal Navy and the United States Navy in the late 19th century, and alterations of it were soon adopted by many branches of the armed services in the United Kingdom and the United States. Services that have adopted the hymn include the Royal Marines, Royal Air Force, the British Army, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Marine Corps, as well as many navies of the British Commonwealth. Correspondingly, it is known by many titles, periodically referred to as the Hymn of Her Majesty's Armed Forces, the Royal Navy Hymn, the United States Navy Hymn (or just The Navy Hymn), and sometimes by the last line of its first verse, "For Those in Peril on the Sea".

In December 2018, the hymn was played at memorial and funeral services for President George H. W. Bush.

Hymn of the Week: Come Down, O Love Divine
Glory to God #282
 

Pentecost Hymn

Text Bianca da Siena c.1367 Translated by Richard LIttledale 1867
Music Ralph Vaughan Williams 1906

Come Down, O Love Divine

Come down, O love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

“Come Down, O Love Divine” reflects the deep longing of the human heart for love. The text was written by Bianco da Siena, a 14th-century Italian monk, and draws upon the language of courtly love. This was the era when the feast of Saint Valentine first became associated with romance. The text was translated into English by the Anglican priest Richard Frederick Littledale, and finally set to music by Ralph Vaughan Wiliams in 1905. The tune, “Down Ampney” is named for the village where Vaughan Williams was born. At the bottom of this post are two good recordings.

The first verse invites, or even commands, “Love divine,” to descend upon the soul. Notice that Love is addressed with an “O,” an indication of direct address:

Come down, O Love divine,
seek thou this soul of mine,
and visit it with thine own ardor glowing;
O Comforter, draw near,
within my heart appear,
and kindle it, thy holy flame bestowing.

The medieval court celebrated the “ardor” of love, which over the centuries has developed into the modern celebration of romantic passion. In the hymn, however, the deeper inspiration for such love is the “Comforter,” which is the Holy Spirit. Here Bianco da Siena is making a connection between the “holy flame” of the Spirit at Pentecost (see Acts 2) and the fire of human love. It also recalls the theology of St. Augustine’s On the Trinity, which identifies the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and the Son.

The second verse explores the experience of love, both as it burns, and as it burns out:

O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let thy glorious light,
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

The fire of earthly love is deeply motivating, for good and for ill. This verse is so beautiful because it acknowledges both dynamics in the amorous turn, but also seeks to encompass it with the more constant light of the Spirit. “Shine ever on my sight,” we sing, seeking God’s constant love to come “round” us, whether our loves are in the first flower of youth or the embers of loss and age.

The final verse speaks to the great power of God’s constant love:

And so the yearning strong,
with which the soul will long,
shall far outpass the power of human telling;
for none can guess its grace,
till Love create a place
wherein the Holy Spirit makes a dwelling.

God’s love can put a deeper “yearning” in the heart, whose exploits escape even the romantic poetry of the court, or any other “human telling.” Indeed, no one would guess that men and women, even into their older years, would continue to burn with a passion for their God. But that greater “Love” has made himself “a place” in the human heart, a “dwelling” for the Spirit and the ultimate triumph of love (see Ephesians 3:14-19 and 1 Corinthians 3:10-17). This explanation comes to us from www.trinitylafayette.com

Enjoy the following recording. He uses the third verse that our hymnal doesn’t include but it is still a stirring interpretation of a stunning hymn with a centuries-old history.

Hymn of the Week: Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above
#645 in Glory to God

Text Johann Jacob Schutz 1675 translated Elizabeth Cox 1864
Music Bohemian Brethren’s Kirchengesang 1566 Harmonized by Maurice F. Bell 1906

Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above

Sing praise to God who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled
and every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.

What God’s almighty power has made
God’s gracious mercy keepeth;
By morning glow or evening shade
God’s watchful eye ne’er sleepeth.
Within the kingdom of God’s might,
Lo! All is just and all is right:
To God all praise and glory!

The Lord is never far away,
but through all grief distressing,
an ever present help and stay,
our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother's tender hand,
God gently leads the chosen band:
To God all praise and glory.

Thus all my toilsome way along,
I sing aloud thy praises,
that earth may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart,
both soul and body bear your part:
To God all praise and glory.

This stately hymn has many events in history that have helped shape it into the hymn we know and continue to sing today almost 400 years later. Two major events occurred. One was the Protestant Reformation around 1517. There was much excitement around this time for the church, but like all things, the fire reduced to glowing embers of what became the traditions of Lutheranism. The other event was the Thirty Years War from 1618-1648. Germany was the battleground of this conflict between Catholic and Protestant forces from various countries around Europe. The German population dwindled from 16 million to 6 million. Out of this terrible epoch, however, were wrung some of the noblest expressions of praise in all hymnody. As often happens, it took a great tragedy to draw people’s attention back to God.

One of the events the blossomed during and after this period was the Lutheran Pietist movement. The leader of this movement was a Lutheran pastor named Philip Spener (1635-1705) Spener taught his congregation the meaning of inner personal faith in Christ and the demands that such faith makes upon the believer for holy Christian living.

One of the characteristics of the Pietist movement was involvement by Laymen in the ministry of the church. One such layman was the author Johann Schutz who penned the poetry for today’s hymn. He wrote a total of 5 hymns and other writings but only this hymn has survived to today.

The music for this amazing hymn comes from the Bohemian Brethren hymnal Kirchengesange. The Moravians are a subject unto themselves and we will look at them in greater detail over the summer months!

As with all German hymns, it wasn’t until the 19th century that there began to be translations of these hymns. Many thanks to Elizabeth Cox and finally to Maurice Bell in the 20th century for harmonizing the tune to be the hymn we know and sing today.

Enjoy the Presbyterian Church in Lincoln Nebraska’s singing of this jubilant hymn

Hymn of the Week: My Redeemer 

Text Philip P. Bliss 1838-1876
Music James McGranahan 1840-1907

My Redeemer

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His wondrous love to me;
On the cruel cross He suffered,
From the curse to set me free.

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me;
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will tell the wondrous story,
How my lost estate to save,
In His boundless love and mercy,
He the ransom freely gave. 

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me;
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant pow’r I’ll tell,
How the victory He giveth
Over sin, and death, and hell.  

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me;
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

I will sing of my Redeemer,
And His heav’nly love to me;
He from death to life hath brought me,
Son of God with Him to be.  

Sing, oh, sing of my Redeemer,
With His blood He purchased me;
On the cross He sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt, and made me free.

This poignant gospel hymn, while not one we sing often, is a beloved Gospel hymn with a moving story behind its creation.  Philip Bliss, the author, was on his way from Pennsylvania to Chicago, with his young wife, leaving their four and one-year-old sons behind in Pennsylvania.   Bliss, like many hymn writers during this time, were not only poets and composers but missionaries who, led by Dwight Moody, traveled the country sharing the gospel and their songs.  On a trip to Chicago at Christmas 1876, the young couple was traveling on the Pacific Express Train.  On reaching Ashtabula, Ohio, the train plunged into a ravine, sixty feet below.  The train caught fire and over 96 of 156 passengers died in the crash.  Philip Bliss was able to climb out of a window but, on learning that his wife was still in the train, went back into the flames to pull her from the wreckage.   They both died in the fire.   It is said that Bliss, upon learning his wife was still inside the train stated: “If I cannot save her, I will perish with her.”

This hymn text was found in a trunk that was among Bliss’ belongings that miraculously survived the train crash.   The tune was composed by James McGranahan, shortly after Bliss’ death.   I Will Sing of My Redeemer was one of the first songs recorded by Thomas Edison on his new recording device. 

Other well-known hymns by Philip Bliss include: It Is Well with My Soul, Let the Lower Lights Be Burning, I Give My Life for Thee, and Hold the Fort.

Enjoy this youtube clip I found. Simple, straightforward, and conveys the text and meaning beautifully.

Hymn of the Week: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less 
The Solid Rock

Glory to God #353

Music William Batchelder Bradbury 1863
Text Edmund Mote 1864

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less 
The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

In ev’ry rough and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the vale.
When all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. 

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move;
I rest upon unchanging love.
I trust his righteous character,
his counsel, promise, and his pow’r. 

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

When he shall come with trumpet sound,
oh, may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. 

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

Edward Mote (1797-1874) falls into the rare category of hymn writers who grew up without religious training and whose parents were pub owners. He was apprenticed at a young age by his parents to a cabinetmaker but found faith when he heard the preaching of John Hyatt at the Tottenham Court Road Chapel in London at age 15. Living in Southwark near London, he established a successful cabinet-making enterprise and became a Baptist minister in 1852, at 55 years of age. He ministered for 21 years at Strict Baptist Church in Horsham, Sussex. Singing hymns was of great interest to him. The master cabinetmaker became a prolific hymn writer, composing more than 100 hymns. He published his hymns with selections

by others in 1836 in Hymns of Praise, A New Selection of Gospel Hymns. Hymnologists note that this is the first time the now-common term “gospel hymn” appears.

Mote is quoted as saying, “One morning it came into my mind as I went to labour, to write a hymn on the ‘Gracious Experience of a Christian.’ As I went up to Holborn I had the chorus, On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand. “In the day I had four verses complete and wrote them off... On the Sabbath following... by the fireside [I] composed the last two verses... Brother Rees of Crown Street, Soho, brought out an edition of hymns (1836) and this hymn was in it.” Baptist hymnologist William Reynolds summarizes the rest of the story: “The next Sunday [Mote] visited the home of some fellow church members where the wife was very ill. The husband informed Mote that it was their custom on the Lord’s Day to sing a hymn, read the Bible, and pray together. Mote produced the new hymn from his pocket, and they sang [“The Solid Rock”] together for the first time.”

The “foot-stomping” tune was composed by American gospel song composer, William Bradbury (1816-1868), a fellow Baptist and known for his hymn Softly and Tenderly, for Mote’s text in 1863 and appeared during the American Civil War in Bradbury’s Devotional Hymn and Tune Book (1864).

Enjoy!

Philip

Enjoy members of the Festivo Bell Choir as they ring this timeless hymn!

Hymn of the Week: I Love to Tell the Story 
Glory to God #462

Katherine Hankey Text. 1866
William G. Fischer Music 1869

I Love to Tell the Story 

I love to tell the story of unseen things above:
of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true.
It satisfies my longings as nothing else could do.

I love to tell the story,
’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story. ’Tis pleasant to repeat
what seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
the message of salvation from God’s own holy word.

I love to tell the story,
’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting to hear it, like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

I love to tell the story,
’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.
 

A. (Annabelle) Catherine Hankey (b. Clapham, England, 1834; d. Westminster, London, England, 1911) was the daughter of a wealthy banker and was associated with the Clapham sect of William Wilberforce, a group of prominent evangelical Anglicans from the Clapham area. This group helped to establish the British and Foreign Bible Society, promoted the abolition of slavery, and was involved in improving the lot of England's working classes. Hankey taught Bible classes for shop girls in London, visited the sick in local hospitals, and used the proceeds of her writings to support various mission causes. Her publications include Heart to Heart (1870) and The Old, Old Story and Other Verses (1879). Another fun and interesting fact about this remarkable poet is that she traveled on her own to South Africa to serve as a nurse and to help her ailing brother. What a trip that must have been in the 19th century!

In his youth, William G. Fischer (b. Baltimore, MD, 1835; d. Philadelphia, PA, 1912) developed an interest in music while attending singing schools. His career included working in the bookbindery of J. B. Lippencott Publishing Company, teaching music at Girard College, and co-owning a piano business and music store–all in Philadelphia. Fischer eventually became a popular director of music at revival meetings and choral festivals. In 1876 he conducted a thousand-voice choir at the Dwight L. Moody/Ira D. Sankey revival meeting in Philadelphia. Fischer composed some two hundred tunes for Sunday school hymns and gospel songs. What is also interesting about this hymn is that the composer, wrote the text for the Refrain.

It is important to understand in viewing this text, that it speaks in first person making the personal relationship with Christ much more intimate. This is true of many hymns in the 19th century and seemed to be a way that composers of the time wrote hymns. While this is a characteristic, it is not particular just to the 19th century hymn writers. One can look at Bernard of Clairvaux's 12th-century Latin text, "Jesus, the very thought of thee with sweetness fills my breast" and Paul Gerhardt's 17th-century pietistic text, "Jesu, thy boundless love to me no thought can reach, no tongue declare" Many thanks to the website www.hymnary.com and www.umcdiscipleship.org

Enjoy the piano composition by Michael Hassell who has written many jazz-influenced arrangements of much-beloved hymns.

Hymn of the Week: Thine Is the Glory
Glory to God #238

Music from G.F. Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus
Text Edmund Louis Budry

Thine Is the Glory

Thine is the glory, Resurrected One!
Endless is the victr’y now for us begun!
Angels clothed in glory rolled the stone away,
leaving only graveclothes where his body lay.

Thine is the glory, Resurrected One!
Endless is the victr'y now for us begun!

Lo! Jesus meets us. Risen from the tomb,
lovingly he greets us, scatters fear and gloom.
Let our doubting spirits find a voice to sing:
Christ who died is living; death has lost its sting. 

Thine is the glory, Resurrected One!
Endless is the victr'y now for us begun!

No more we doubt thee; glorious Prince of Life!
Life is naught without thee; aid us in our strife.
Make us more than conquerors through the deathless love,
Bring us safe through Jordan to thy home above. 

Thine is the glory, Resurrected One!
Endless is the victr'y now for us begun!
 

Today’s hymn comes to us from two very different sources. The text comes to us from the composer born in Vevey, Switzerland (near Lausanne). Budry was ordained in the Free Church of Switzerland and was fluent in many languages using this ability to translate hymns from German, English, and Latin into French. In 1884, he wrote Thine Is the Glory, (À toi la gloire, O Ressuscité!).

It was thought that Edmond Budry wrote this hymn in response to the death of his wife. Their faith assured them that her death was not the end – and that there was a final victory because of the resurrection of Christ Jesus. His inspiration in writing his text, according to English hymnologist J. Richard Watson, was based on the story of Christ’s resurrection as found in the Gospels as well as the Apostle Paul’s writings from I Corinthians chapter 15. Budry’s embrace of the phrase ‘endless is the victory thou o’er death has won’ comes from I Corinthians 15:57 where Paul says, “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The message of this hymn is all about Jesus having broken down the barriers of sin that separate us from God, thereby enabling us to pass over the spiritual Jordan into the promised land of heaven.” (Geoffrey Foote).

The music of course comes from the first Handel’s oratorio titled, Joshua and he later used a chorus from that oratorio and put it in his more widely known work, Judas Maccabaues.

Today’s arrangement comes from a wonderful hymn tune arranger who has written piano works for the entire church year, Thomas Keesecker. His music is at once timeless and altogether contemporary at

the same time. I especially love how he has set this triumphant hymn into a setting that is almost more suitable for an intimate prayer service.

Enjoy!
Philip

Hymn of the Week: God, the Sculptor of the Mountains
Glory to God #5

Rev. John Thornburg Text 1994
Amanda Husberg Music 1995

God, the Sculptor of the Mountains

God the sculptor of the mountains,
God the miller of the sand,
God the jeweler of the heavens,
God the potter of the land:
you are womb of all creation,
we are formless; shape us now.

God the nuisance of the Pharaoh,
God the cleaver of the sea,
God the pillar in the darkness,
God the beacon of the free:
you are fouint of all deliv’rance,
we are aimless; lead us now.

God the dresser of the vineyard,
God the planter of the wheat,
God the reaper of the harvest,
God the source of all we eat:
you are host at every table,
we are hungry; feed us now.

God the unexpected infant,
God the calm, determined youth,
God the table turning prophet,
God the resurrected Truth:
you are present every moment,
we are searching; meet us now.

Where do hymn writers get their inspiration? Inspiration can come from almost any place; but, in this case, the author was inspired by a trip to the wilds of Alaska.

John Thornburg (b. 1954) is a fourth-generation minister. The Rev. Thornburg has written well over 150 texts for use as hymns, choruses, anthems, and vocal solos.

The author comments on the formation of the text: "I got the commission just before traveling to Alaska, and while there, got to see all manner of things I'd never seen before including bald eagles, moose, salmon running, etc. I got to pondering the relation of the wind to the eagle’s wing, and found myself saying, 'God, the updraft of the eagle....' When I got home, I disciplined myself on paper to write, 'God, the...' and then to see how many things I could name. It all started with that. Interestingly, the original phrase didn't make it into the final draft."

Stanza one focuses on God, the Creator of the natural order. Stanza two summarizes God’s acts of deliverance in Exodus. Stanza three draws upon images of food in the New Testament — "vineyard," "wheat," and "harvest" — leading ultimately to an image of the Eucharist.

The final stanza, beginning with "God, the unexpected infant," traces the birth and ministry of Christ in four short phrases. The author comments on this phrase: "I've been criticized for the use of the phrase 'unexpected infant' in stanza four, to the effect that some think I've never read the prophecy of Isaiah. I customarily respond, 'I have read the prophet Isaiah, but I've also read the Gospel of Luke, and according to Luke, Mary was surprised!'"

This hymn employs a catalog technique found in a number of hymns by recent hymn writers. In this poetic approach, an author collects several images -- snapshots -- that engage our imagination and then ties them together with a thematic or theological thread. Such hymns usually make frequent allusions to passages of Scripture and employ an economy of language. This is in contrast to longer lines of thought or a theological narrative developed over several stanzas found in the hymns of earlier centuries. The singer needs to bring a spirit of adventure to work with the author to discover the message.

Several well-known composers have set this text. The Faith We Sing sets Thornburg’s text to a rousing tune by Amanda Husberg (b. 1940), a Missouri Synod Lutheran musician who has led music at St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church, a predominately multicultural congregation in New York City, for nearly 50 years! She has composed 190 hymn tunes that appear in hymnals both in the United States and internationally. Her most popular tune, JENNINGS-HOUSTON, provides a wonderful black gospel swing that supports Rev. Thornburg’s text beautifully. Not only does the melodic contour respond beautifully to the theological and poetic structure of the hymn text, the slower relaxed gospel-style allows the singer more time to absorb the meaning of the text.

"God the sculptor" is the Rev. Thornburg’s most published hymn. It was commissioned in honor of James E. Kirby upon his retirement as Dean of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in 1993.

Hymn of the Week: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Glory to God #221 

Text: Latin 12th century. Paul Gerhardt (german)
Translated by: James Waddell Alexander 1830
Music: Hans Leo Hassler 1601. Harmonized by J.S. Bach 1729

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded

O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, thine only crown!
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call thee mine.

What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
Was all for sinners’ gain.
Mine, mine was the transgression,
But thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
’Tis I deserve thy place.
Look on me with thy favor,
And grant to me thy grace.

What language shall I borrow
To thank thee, dearest Friend,
For this, thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever,
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never,
Never outlive my love to thee.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" is based on a long medieval poem attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, 'Salve mundi salutare'. This poem talks about Christ's body, as he suffered and hung on the cross. It has seven sections, each addressing a part of Jesus' body-his feet, knees, hands, side, breast, heart, and head. Our hymn is a translation of the seventh section 'Salve caput crucentatum', focused on Jesus' head.

An intensely personal hymn, "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" acknowledges the pain and shame that Christ endured when he paid the price for our sin. The poet cries out "I joy to call Thee mine." And we join the poet as we each confess "Mine, mine was the transgression." We go on to sing, "Lo here I fall my Savior" as we fall prostrate, knowing the price of our salvation, and the pain with which it was paid.

Language fails us as we accept this gift of salvation: The words we know aren't adequate to describe Jesus' sacrifice. But in the final stanza, we declare our heart's desire, asking God to uphold us that we may, to the very end of our days, always live full of gratefulness and love for our blessed Savior.

James Alexander (the translator of Gerhardt's German text) received his education from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, and theological education from the seminary at Princeton. Alexander was then ordained in the Presbyterian Church and served at churches in New Jersey and New York. It is Alexander’s translation that is widely used today in most North American hymnals. PASSION CHORALE, as this hymn tune is often called, was first found in Hans Leo Hassler’s (1564-1612) Lustgarten neuer teutscher Gesäng, Balletti, Galliarden und Intraden (1601). Originally this melody was set to a secular love song entitled “Mein gemüth ist mir verwirret” (My heart is distracted by a gentle maid). Hymnologist Linda Jo McKim notes that it first appeared with the Gerhardt text in Praxis Pietatis Melica (1656) and has been associated with the text ever since. During the early 18th century, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) harmonized this hymn and used the tune in many of his works. Bach’s harmonization is the one that is most used in the North American hymnals. The setting in Glory to God comes from Bach’s harmonization of the tune which is used all over the globe.

“O Sacred Head” is a hymn for Holy Week, a time of reflection on what Christ has done for us. Specifically, this hymn takes place at the time of the crucifixion on Good Friday.

Hymn of the Week: Beneath the Cross of Jesus
Glory to God #216  

Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane Text. 1868
Frederick Charles Maker Music 1881

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty Rock
within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness,
a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat
and the burden of the day.

Upon the cross of Jesus
mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One
who suffered there for me:
and from my stricken heart with tears
two wonders I confess,
the wonders of redeeming love
and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place:
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain nor loss;
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.

Elizabeth Cecilia Douglas Clephane was born in Scotland in 1830 and died in 1869. The daughter of a county sheriff, she lived most of her brief life near Edinburgh.

Though in frail health most of her life, Elizabeth found the strength to help the poor and sick in her town. She and her sister gave all that they could spare to charity including, it is said, selling their horse and carriage for the benefit of the needy. The townspeople of Melrose referred to Elizabeth as “the Sunbeam.”

“Beneath the cross of Jesus,” focusing on the shelter of the cross, was first published three years after the author’s death in 1872 under the title “Breathings on the Border,” perhaps a double entendre referring to a geographical location near Melrose, the Scottish Borders, and a reference to the border between life and death. This poem and others of hers appeared in the Scottish Presbyterian magazine The Family Treasury. In publishing the first of these in the Treasury, the late Rev. W. Arnot, of Edinburgh, then editor, thus introduced them:—

"These lines express the experiences, the hopes, and the longings of a young Christian lately released. Written on the very edge of this life, with the better land fully, in the view of faith, they seem to us footsteps printed on the sands of time, where these sands touch the ocean of Eternity. These footprints of one whom the Good Shepherd led through the wilderness into rest, may, with God's blessing, contribute to comfort and direct succeeding pilgrims."

Hymn of the Week: Danny Boy

Arranged by Percy Grainger

Enjoy the special homage to St. Patrick’s Day. While not a hymn per se, it is a beloved tune that speaks to us all in one way or another, much as a hymn does.

Danny Boy

O Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen and down the mountainside
The summer's gone and all the roses dying
It's you, it's you must go and I must bide

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow
O Danny boy, O Danny boy, I love you so

And when you come and all the flowers are dying
If I am dead, as dead I well may be
You'll come and find the place where I am lying
And kneel and say an Ave there for me

And I shall hear, though soft your tread above me
And all my grave shall warmer, sweeter be
For you will bend and tell me that you love me
And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me

In 1910, in Bath, Somerset, the English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly initially wrote the words to "Danny Boy" to a tune other than "Londonderry Air". After his Irish-born sister-in-law Margaret Enright Weatherly (known as Jess) in the United States sent him a copy of "Londonderry Air" in 1913 (an alternative version of the story has her singing the air to him in 1912 with different lyrics), Weatherly modified the lyrics of "Danny Boy" to fit the rhyme and meter of "Londonderry Air".

Weatherly gave the song to the vocalist Elsie Griffin, who made it one of the most popular songs in the new century. In 1915, Ernestine Schumann-Heink produced the first recording of "Danny Boy".

Hymn of the Week: Near the Cross

Fanny Crosby, Text
William Howard Doane, Music 1923

Near the Cross

Jesus, keep me near the cross,
There a precious fountain;
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calv'ry's mountain.

Near the cross, Near the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the Bright and Morning Star
Shed His beams around me. 

Near the cross, Near the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross! O lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me. 

Near the cross, Near the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

Near the cross! I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever;
Till I reach the golden strand,
Just beyond the river. 

Near the cross, Near the cross
Be my glory ever,
Till my ransomed soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
 

Fanny Crosby’s (1820-1915) texts were set to the compositions of some of the most prominent gospel song composers of the day including William Bradbury, William Doane, and Ira Sankey. Crosby composed under a number of pen names. She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne. British hymnals identify her as Frances Van Alstyne, her married name. This hymn first appeared in the collection Bright Jewels (1869), compiled by Bradbury, Doane, W.F. Sherwin, and Chester G. Allen, at least two of whom were famous writers of gospel song tunes. Indeed, it was Doane who wrote the music and then gave it to Fanny Crosby to add the text—a practice that was not uncommon in their relationship.

The glory of the Cross, a theme of the refrain, is a common metaphor of Romantic-era hymnody. The Cross, a place where the pain of the earth and the joy of heaven come together, is a kind of spiritual altar to which we might draw near for refuge and solace. From it flows a “precious fountain”—an image perhaps borrowed from the 18th-century poet William Cowper and his hymn “There is a fountain filled with blood”

The famous evangelist Dwight L. Moody was said to have asked Crosby the following question toward the end of her life: “If you could have just one wish granted, what would it be?” Moody expected her to ask for sight. Sensing this she is said to have replied, “If I could have one wish, I’d wish that I might continue blind the rest of my life.” Moody was taken back and asked, “How can you say that?” Crosby was said to have responded, “Because, after being blind for all these years, the first face I want to see now is the face of Jesus.” The eschatological theme of “Near the Cross” captures the hope and joy of heaven that is so characteristic of Crosby’s hymns: “Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.”

Enjoy Molly James’ arrangement of this beloved hymn.

Hymn of the Week: What Wondrous Love is This
Hymn 213 in Glory to God

Text: American folk hymn 1811
Music: Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835; harmonized Carlton R. Young 1963

What Wondrous Love is This

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this, O my soul?
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing,
To God and to the Lamb I will sing,
To God and to the Lamb who is the great I Am,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on,
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on.
 

We have few clues as to the author and composer of this profound hymn of wonder and the love of Christ for all humanity.

"What Wondrous Love Is This" captures our attention right from the beginning with its simplicity and persistence – "What wondrous love is this" sung three times. This repetition is not the sign of a weak poet who has a narrow range of expression, but a fellow traveler who has experienced profoundly the sacrificial love of Christ and can only express again and again – "What wondrous love is this." It is the kind of repetition that sounds trite when spoken, yet gains strength and power through singing. These are not the carefully crafted words of a theologian, but utterances directly from the heart or, even more profoundly, from the soul.

Thanks to the careful work of scholars, we do have some suggestions about the origins of this hymn. According to correspondence with Carlton Young, the text appeared as early as 1811 in a collection by Stith Mead titled General Selection of the Newest and Most Admired Hymns and Spiritual Songs Now in Use (second enlarged edition). William J. Reynolds traced a variant of this text to Hymns and Spiritual Songs, Original and Selected by Starke Dupuy, also published in 1811.

Famous Appalachian folksong collector George Pullen Jackson noted that the structure of the text was very similar to the English ballad "Captain Kidd." Robert Kidd was a pirate who was executed in 1701. All of this suggests a song with its origins in oral tradition sung in several variants but eventually stabilized by being printed in a widely circulated collection.

Hymnologist Harry Eskew suggests that the tune first appeared in the second edition (1840) of William Walker's shaped-note collection, The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion (originally 1835). Walker himself (also known as "Singing Billy" Walker) states unambiguously that the song may be attributed to a James Christopher of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Scholars such as Deborah Carlton Loftis find this very suspicious for many musicological and hymnological reasons. We can say, however, that The Southern Harmony put this song on the lips of many singers in the antebellum south.

The text is sometimes attributed to Alexander Means (1801-1883), a physician, professor, President of Emory College (now University) from 1854-1855, and a licensed preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. While an impressive individual for sure, he would have been only ten years old when the text appeared in 1811 in the collection cited above by Stith Mead.

Dr. Hawn (who wrote this article) is a distinguished professor of church music at Perkins School of Theology. He is also the director of the seminary's sacred music program.

Enjoy Robert Shaw and Alice Parker’s stirring arrangement of this timeless and magnificent hymn.

Hymn of the Week: Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Hymn 39 in Glory to God

Thomas Obadiah Chisholm Text 1923
William Marion Runyan Music 1923

This week’s hymn inspired by Don Hilkerbaumer who says it’s his all-time favorite!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father.*
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not.
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. 

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow;
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! 

Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866. He received his education in a little country schoolhouse, and at age 16 began teaching at the same school. He became a Christian at age 27, and with no college or seminary training was ordained to the Methodist ministry at age 36. Chisholm served as a Methodist minister for a year, but ill health made it impossible for him to continue. He moved to Vineland, New Jersey, where he opened an insurance office.

Chisholm wrote hundreds of poems during his lifetime. In 1923, he was inspired by Lamentations 3:22-23 to write the text for the hymn, “Great is thy Faithfulness.” Those verses are as follows, “The steadfast love of the Lord never

ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

He suffered ill health most of his adult life and therefore had a smaller than average income. Of this circumstance, he said, “God has given me many wonderful displays of his providing care, which have filled me with astonishing gratefulness.”

Chisholm sent the words to one of his poems, “Great Is thy Faithfulness” to his friend, William Runyan, and Runyan wrote a musical setting.

Runyan was born in 1870, in Marion, New York. As a youth, he served as a church organist. Runyan was ordained as a Methodist minister at age 21 and then pastored various congregations in Kansas.

Runyan was a friend of Dr. Will Houghton, the president of Moody Bible Institute, and “Great is thy Faithfulness” soon became Houghton’s favorite. He invited George Beverly Shea, an unknown singer at the time, to sing hymns on the Institute’s radio station. Shea, of course, included Houghton’s favorite hymn in his repertoire.

All I have needed thy hand hath provided-

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.”

Through those radio broadcasts Billy Graham, then a student at Wheaton College became familiar with George Beverly Shea and the song, “Great is thy Faithfulness.” Graham asked Shea to become part of his ministry of evangelism. It was through their crusades that this hymn became internationally popular.

Even though he suffered ill health for most of his adult life, Chisholm lived to the ripe old age of 94 and wrote more than 1,200 poems. During his later years, he lived in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, a Methodist camp meeting town, where he passed away in 1960.

“It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” -Lamentations 3:22-23

Enjoy this majestic version sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!

Hymn of the Week: Blessed Assurance, Jesus Is Mine
Hymn 839 in Glory to God

Fanny Crosby, text 1873
Phoebe Palmer Knapp, music 1873

Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine 

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Tune composer Phoebe Palmer Knapp (1839-1908) played a melody to Fanny Crosby and asked, "What does the melody say to you?" Crosby replied that the tune said, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!" and proceeded to recite the entire first stanza of the now-famous hymn. Knapp was one of several tune writers that worked with Fanny Crosby. It was not unusual for one of her texts to be inspired by a preexisting tune. Knapp was the composer of more than five hundred gospel hymns and tunes.

Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), blind at the age of six weeks, was a lifelong Methodist who began composing hymns at age six. She became a student at the New York Institute of the Blind at age 15 and joined the faculty of the Institute at 22, teaching rhetoric and history. In 1885, Crosby married Alexander Van Alstyne, also a student at the Institute and later a member of the faculty. He was a fine musician and, like Fanny, a lover of literature.

An author of more than 8,000 gospel hymn texts, she drew her inspiration from her own faith. Crosby published hymns under several pen names including "Ella Dale," "Mrs. Kate Gringley," and "Miss Viola V. A." Her hymn texts were staples for the music of the most prominent gospel songwriters of her day.

This hymn appeals to the senses in a rich way. Not only do we have a "foretaste of glory," we experience "visions of rapture [that] burst on my sight," and we hear "echoes of mercy, whispers of love" [stanza 2].

The refrain calls us to "prais[e]. . . my Savior all the day long," echoing I Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing."

Because of her long life, Fanny Crosby had an extraordinary relationship with several United States presidents, even penning poems in their honor on occasion, and she was influential on the spiritual life of or a friend to Presidents Martin Van Buren (8th), John Tyler (10th), James K. Polk (11th), and Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th). She addressed a joint session of Congress on the topic of education for the blind.

Middle-class women in the nineteenth-century United States had little voice in worship, however. One of the only ways for a woman to claim the authority to be heard was by direct personal revelation from God. Fanny Crosby readily claimed God's personal revelation as a source for her hymns; her personal revelation then became a communal inspiration as Christians throughout the world sang her hymns and confirmed her faith experience as their own.

Enjoy this stirring hymn sung by Plymouth Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Hymn of the Week: Every Time I Feel the Spirit
Hymn 66 in Glory to God

African American Spiritual
Arr. Joseph T. Jones
Adapted by Melva Wilson Costen 1989

Every Time I Feel the Spirit

Upon the mountain, when my Lord spoke,
out of God's mouth came fire and smoke.
Looked all around me, it looked so fine,
till I asked my Lord if all was mine. 

Every time I feel the Spirit
moving in my heart I will pray.
Yes, every time I feel the Spirit
moving in my heart I will pray

Jordan River, chilly and cold,
it chills the body but not the soul.
There is but one train upon this track.
It runs to heaven and then right back. 

Every time I feel the Spirit
moving in my heart I will pray.
Yes, every time I feel the Spirit
moving in my heart I will pray

After yesterday’s Lessons and Songs service around the African American Spiritual, I thought it would be great to reflect on yet another stirring spiritual. This hymn is usually sung around the time of Pentecost but can be sung at any point in the year with the possible exception of Lent and Advent.

The following is from Eileen Guenther’s book: In Their Own Words that we used in Sunday’s service:

The Holy Spirit gives life and provides inspiration. This spiritual affirms that, no matter the circumstances, whenever the Spirit is “moving in my heart, I will pray.”

Testimony from Unknown Slave

“I tell you it’s a wonderful feeling when you feel the spirit of the Lord God Almighty in the tips of your fingers, and the bottom of yo’ heart.. I didn’t know then what was the matter with me. I knows now when I feel that spirit rising in my body, yessiree.”

Please relax and enjoy this stirring rendition by the singer, Paul Robeson.

Hymn of the Week: O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee
Hymn 738 in Glory to God

Text Washington Gladden 1879
Music Henry Percy Smith 1874

O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee

O Master, let me walk with thee
In lowly paths of service free;
Tell me thy secret, help me bear
The strain of toil, the fret of care.

Help me the slow of heart to move
By some clear, winning word of love;
Teach me the wayward feet to stay,
And guide them in the homeward way.
 
Teach me thy patience; still with thee
In closer, dearer company,
In work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
In trust that triumphs over wrong.

In hope that sends a shining ray
Far down the future's broad'ning way,
In peace that only thou canst give,
With thee, O Master, let me live.

In the years following the Civil War and the birth of the Industrial Revolution, the social gospel emerged. Washington Gladden (1838-1918) (minister at First Congregational Church in downtown Columbus, Ohio for 32 years) was one of the most distinguished clergymen of his era and a leader in the social gospel movement.

The hymn addresses Christ as “Master” both at the beginning of stanza one and end of stanza four. The more commonly used reference to Christ, “Lord,” indicates a relationship of a feudal noble to a vassal, while “Master” perhaps implies more reciprocal respect between a teacher and disciple.

Throughout the stanzas, the singer makes several petitions to the Master. In stanza one, we petition for the privilege of walking with Christ “in lowly paths of service.” We want to understand the “secret” of how we, as we serve Christ and others, can “bear the strain of toil, the fret of care.” In stanza two, we petition Christ for sensitivity toward “the slow of heart”—those who do not recognize the wisdom offered by the Master. We ask to be taught how to guide those with “wayward feet” along “the homeward way.” Stanza three turns inward, as we request to be taught “thy patience” so that we may dwell with Christ “in closer, dearer company.” Our labor will maintain a “faith [that is] sweet and strong” and our “trust” in the Master will help us “triumph... over wrong.” In the final stanza, we look “far down the future’s broadening way” with “hope” and therefore have “peace” that only the Master “canst give” when we dwell with him.

Educated at Owego Academy and Williams College, he was the moderator of the National Council of Congregational Churches from 1904-1907. He served as one of the editors of the Pilgrim Hymnal (1904). As editor of the Independent, he made important contributions to the cause of social justice. While a pastor in Massachusetts, Gladden began preaching about labor-management problems, encouraging cooperation between employers and employees. This theme aroused opposition from those who felt the role of a minister was “to save souls, not to regulate business.” Furthermore, he challenged the idea that the Bible was inerrant in matters of science and history.

Perhaps this hymn is a paradox. Few singers realize that behind the relatively peaceful words of Gladden’s poem, sung to a placid Victorian melody, one can find the witness of a champion for social justice.

The information gleaned about Washington Gladden can be found on many websites. I encourage you to read more about this fascinating preacher who made quite an impact in mid-Ohio while pastoring at First Congregational Church.

Hymn of the Week: There Is a Place of Quiet Rest  (Near to the Heart of God)
Hymn 824 in Glory to God

Cleland Boyd McAfee 1901

There Is a Place of Quiet Rest 

There is a place of quiet rest,
near to the heart of God,
a place where sin cannot molest,
near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
sent from the heart of God,
hold us, who wait before thee,
near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,
near to the heart of God,
a place where we our Savior meet,
near to the heart of God. 

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
sent from the heart of God,
hold us, who wait before thee,
near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,
near to the heart of God,
a place where all is joy and peace,
near to the heart of God. 

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
sent from the heart of God,
hold us, who wait before thee,
near to the heart of God.

I came upon this song of our faith in our hymnal, and on reading more about it was struck by how similar to the lives we are living in now, the story of the creation of this hymn is.

Cleland Boyd McAfee (September 25, 1866 – February 4, 1944) was an American theologian, Presbyterian minister, and hymn writer, best known for penning the gospel hymn, "Near to the Heart of God," and its tune called "McAfee". He wrote the song after the concurrent deaths of two of his young nieces, caused by diphtheria. McAfee’s daughter tells of the composition of this hymn in her own words:

My father’s father, John A McAfee, was one of the founders and the first president of Park College in Missouri. In the last years of the past century, his five sons (Lowell, Howard, Lapsley, Cleland, Ernest) and his only daughter (Helen) were all living in Parkville, serving the college. My father was the college preacher and director of the choir, and it was his custom, when communion services came, to write the words and music of a response which his choir could sing and which would fit into the theme of his sermon.

One terrible week, just before the communion Sunday, the two little daughters of my Uncle Howard and Aunt Lucy McAfee died of diphtheria within 24 hours of each other. The college family and town were stricken with grief. My father often told us how he sat long and late thinking of what could be said in word and song on the coming Sunday….

So he wrote (“Near to the Heart of God”). The choir learned it at the regular Saturday evening rehearsal, and afterward, they went to the Hoard McAfee’s home and sang it as they stood under the sky outside the darkened, quarantined house. It was sung again on Sunday morning

at the communion service. (Then Sings My Soul 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories Robert J. Morgan page 246).

McAfee was born in Ashley Missouri, in 1866, as one of five children. His father, John A. McAfee, was the founder of Park College in Parkville, Missouri. The younger McAfee graduated from Park College in 1884 and later graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York. McAfee went on to serve as a professor of philosophy, choir director, pastor, and dean of Park College until 1901 when he left to minister at the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago. McAfee moved from First Presbyterian in 1904, to pastor the Lafayette Avenue Church of Brooklyn, in Brooklyn, New York. McAfee also taught systematic theology at McCormick Theological Seminary, from 1912 to 1930.

Enjoy this stirring rendition of this timeless hymn found on youtube.

Hymn of the Week:

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
Hymn 182 in Glory to God

Horatius Bonar, text 1846
Music English Country Song

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

I heard the voice of Jesus say
"Come unto Me, and rest
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down
Thy head upon My breast"
I came to Jesus as I was
Weary and worn and sad
I found in Him a resting place
And He has made me glad

I heard the voice of Jesus say
"Behold, I freely give
The living water-thirsty one
Stoop down, and drink, and live"
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream
My thirst was quenched, my soul revived
And now I live in Him

I heard the voice of Jesus say
"I am this dark world's Light
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise
And all thy day be bright"
I looked to Jesus, and I found
In Him my Star, my Sun
And in that Light of life I'll walk
Till trav'lling days are done.

Horatius Bonar was born just before Christmas in 1808, one of 11 children, Some refer to him as “the prince of Scottish hymnists.” His father, two of his older brothers, John and Andrew, and himself were outstanding preachers in their day. Horatius had a small country parish in Kelso, Scotland. Kelso is located on the eastern side of Scotland near the England/Scotland border next to the North Sea. He wrote this hymn for his Sunday School children to sing in church. It is interesting to note that on the page he wrote the lyrics, he also doodled pictures of four faces and a man wearing a hat. He based his three verses on three wonderful promises of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, John 4:14, and John 8:12. The first half of each stanza echoes our Lord’s promise and the last half of each stanza reflects our response to that promise.

Matthew 11:28 from NRSV Come unto me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens; and I will give you rest.

John 4:14 from NRSV but those that drink from the water I will give them will never be thirsty. The water I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.

John 8:12 from NRSV, Again Jesus spoke to them saying “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.