The Light of Light Unfold

Psalm 148 is one of the appointed psalms for worship today in some lectionary cycles.  Today's hymn is a loose paraphrase by the English Congregationalist George Rawson, which makes a good showing of including the whole universe in the act of praising God.

 

Sing praise to God, immortal choir,

In heavenly heights above,

With harp and voice and souls of fire,

That burn with perfect love.

Shine to God’s glory, worlds of light!

Ye million suns of space,

Fair moons and glittering stars of night,

That run your mystic race!

Ye gorgeous clouds, that deck the sky

With crystal, crimson, gold,

And rainbow arches raised on high,

The Light of light unfold!

Do homage, roiling ocean floor,

With many-surging sign;

Majestic calms, be hushed before

The Holiness Divine.

Storm, lightning, thunder, hail and snow,

Wild winds that keep God’s word,

With steadfast mountains far below,

Unite to bless the Lord.

God’s name, ye forests, wave along;

And whisper, every flower;

Birds, beasts, and insects, swell the song

That tells such love and power.

Around the wide world let it roll,

Whilst we shall lead it on;

Join every joyful human soul,

In glorious unison.

Thou all creating Deity,

The God of earth and heav’n!

The great redeeming Majesty,

To whom all praise be giv’n!

George Rawson, 1853; alt.

Tune: PLUMER (C.M.D.)

Joseph Maclean, 1899

More familiar tunes that would also work well include FOREST GREEN and ELLACOMBE, though both are somewhat overused. 

It appears that George Rawson liked to include the rainbow in his hymns; both of his texts that have already appeared on the blog (here and here) also use it.

Horatius Bonar

Today is the 201st birthday of Horatius Bonar, the most well-known of Scottish hymnwriters. He was born in Edinburgh, where he lived much of his life and died in 1889. Though he was ordained in the state Church of Scotland 1n 1838, five years later he left with a number of other pastors who formed the Free Church of Scotland, a new denomination.

He wrote and published articles in church journals, books of theology, and approximately 600 hymns. Ironically, for many years the Free Church of Scotland only authorized the singing of psalm paraphrases in worship, so other churches sang his hymns long before he and his own congregation.

Like Cecil Frances Alexander in Ireland, he began writing hymns for children to explain theology in a simple way, but not expecting them to be used in formal services. His own hymns were published in several volumes, and he also compiled The Bible Hymn-Book (1845) from many writers. He also was a great admirer of the gospel songs used by Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey in their evangelical crusade meetings, and wrote some for their use.

Some of his hymns are still known and sung in different denominations, and have been presented here. This particular one, first published in his collection Hymns of Faith and Hope (1866) is not widely known, but I think deserves to be. The tune I've chosen may be one I've dismissed on occasion, but it suits these joyful words.

Fill thou my life, O Living God,
In every part with praise,
That my whole being may proclaim
Thy being and thy ways.
Not for the joy of praise alone,
Nor e’en the praising heart
I ask, but for a life made up
Of praise in every part!

Praise in the common words I speak,
Life’s common looks and tones,
In fellowship in hearth and home
With my belovèd ones;
Not in the temple crowd alone
Where holy voices chime,
But in the silent paths of earth,
The quiet rooms of time.

Fill every part of me with praise;
Let all my being speak
Of thee and of thy love, O God,
Poor though I be, and weak.
So shalt thou, God, from me, e’en me,
Receive the glory due;
And so shall I begin on earth
The song forever new.

So shall each fear, each fret, each care
Be turned into a song,
And every winding of the way
The echo shall prolong;
So shall no part of day or night
From sacredness be free;
But all my life, in every step
Be harmony with thee.

Horatius Bonar, 1866, alt.
Tune: ELLACOMBE (C.M.D.)
Württemberg Gesangbuch, 1774;
adapt. William H. Monk, 1868

Much later in life, Bonar changed his opinion on singing hymns in church and allowed some of his texts to be sung by his congregation. This was still a controversial decision; two elders of his church reportedly walked out when they were sung, and he was also sharply criticized in The Signal, a Free Church journal.

Bonar's wife, Jane Lundie Bonar, also wrote some hymns, but only one of them (Fade, fade, each earthly joy) was much known and sung.

To Give Them Songs for Sighing

As we wait during the season of Advent, stories are told of righted wrongs and promised justice, of the prosperity and peace that will prevail in the coming reign of Christ. Psalm 72, often read during Advent, is a prayer for this future.

This paraphrase of Psalm 72 is by James Montgomery. It was written for the British Moravian community at Fulneck and was first sung on Christmas Day, 1821. Montgomery then sent it to George Bennett, an acquaintance who was then in the South Seas, thus beginning its long use as a missionary hymn as well as a prophetic Advent text.

Hail to you, God’s anointed,
Messiah yet to come!
Hail in the time appointed,
Your reign on earth begun!
You come to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression
And rule in equity.

You come with succor speedy
To those who suffer wrong;
To help the poor and needy,
And bid the weak be strong;
To give them songs for sighing,
Their sadness put to flight,
Whose souls, condemned and dying,
Are precious in your sight.

You shall come down like showers
Upon the fruitful earth;
And love, joy, hope, like flowers,
Spring in your path to birth.
Before you, on the mountains,
Shall Peace, the herald, go,
And righteousness, in fountains,
From hill to valley flow.

Kings shall fall down before you,
And gold and incense bring;
All nations shall adore you,
Your praise all people sing;
For you shall have dominion
O’er river, sea and shore,
Far as the eagle’s pinion
Or dove’s light wing can soar.

To you shall prayer unceasing
And daily vows ascend;
Your commonwealth increasing,
A reign that has no end:
The mountain dews shall nourish
The seed which you have sown,
Whose fruit shall spread and flourish,
A garden grace has grown.

O’er every foe victorious,
You on your throne shall rest;
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all blest.
The tide of time shall never
Your covenant remove;
Your Name shall stand forever,
That Name to us is Love.

James Montgomery, 1821; alt.
Tune: ES FLOG EIN KLEINS WALDVOGELEIN (7.6.7.6.D.)
German folk tune, 17th c.

More denominations know this hymn to the ubiquitous tune ELLACOMBE, but that's not a favorite of mine. Few hymnals still include six stanzas of this text; often the fourth and fifth stanzas are combined into one by using only the first four lines of each one. Montgomery's original actually has two more, the original third and fifth:

By such shall you be fearèd
While sun and moon endure;
Beloved, obeyed, reverèd;
For you shall judge the poor
Through changing generations,
With justice, mercy, truth,
While stars maintain their stations,
Or moons renew their youth.

Arabia’s desert ranger
To you shall bow the knee;
The Ethiopian stranger
Your glory come to see;
With offerings of devotion
Ships from the isles shall meet,
To pour the wealth of oceans
In tribute at your feet.

Eight eight-line stanzas is probably a bit overlong even for me.


One Year Ago: Hark, the Voice of One That Crieth

Isaac Watts

We have come around again to the birthday of the "Father of English Hymnody," Isaac Watts. Writer of more than 700 hymns, Watts has inspired much scholarship and commentary beyond what I customarily summarize here.

One aspect of his work that I find intriguing is his verse for teaching children. An important part of children's education at the time included lessons in correct behavior, and children would memorize verses to help in this training. One of Watts's most popular books, Divine and Moral Songs for Children (1715) contained a poem entitled "Against Idleness and Mischief" which began:

How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!

How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.

This particular poem was so familiar to generations of schoolchildren that Lewis Carroll could satirize it in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland a hundred and fifty years later and know that his readers would understand the joke.

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws!

Another one hundred and fifty years later, and it's now Carroll's satire that's better remembered than the original by Isaac Watts. However, there is another poem from Divine and Moral Songs for Children that we do still know -- now considered one of Watts's greatest hymns. There it was titled "Praise for Creation and Providence."

I sing the mighty power of God,
That made the mountains rise,
That spread the flowing seas abroad,
And built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
The sun to rule the day;
The moon shines full at God’s command,
And all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord,
Who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures with a word,
And then pronounced them good.
God, how thy wonders are displayed,
Where’er I turn my eye,
If I survey the ground I tread,
Or gaze upon the sky.

There’s not a plant or flower below,
But makes thy glories known,
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
By order from thy throne;
While all that borrows life from thee
Is ever in thy care;
And everywhere that we can be,
Thou, God, art present there.

Isaac Watts, 1715; alt.
Tune: FOREST GREEN (C.M.D.)
English traditional melody,
arr. Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906

This hymn has endured some changes here and there over the last three hundred years, as have many of those of Watts and his contemporaries. Watts would still recognize his verse, though he might be surprised that the grownups have appropriated it from the children.

One of the speakers at this week's Hymn Society Conference included this text in his presentation and suggested that we sing it to the tune ELLACOMBE. You will not be surprised, perhaps, to hear that a roomful of three hundred people immediately broke into the four-part harmony without accompaniment or the printed music.

The Victor Palm Branch Waving

Holy Week begins today with Palm Sunday, as we commemorate Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, only days before everything would change.

There are many different traditions in various Christian denominations, but a procession of some kind with palm branches is often included, and many churches encourage their youngest members to participate. This hymn first appeared in a collection of poems primarily for children, Sunshine and Shadow (1873) by Jennette Threlfall, but it has entered many hymnals for general use (often with a combination of the second and third verses, with some lines left out).

Hosanna, loud hosanna,
The little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple
The lovely anthem rang --
To Jesus, who had blessed them
Close folded to his breast,
The children sang their praises,
The simplest and the best.

From Olivet they followed
'Mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving,
And chanting clear and loud.
Bright angels joined the chorus
Beyond the cloudless sky,
"Hosanna in the highest!
Glory to God on high!"

Fair leaves of silvery olive
They strewed upon the ground,
While Salem's circling mountains
Sent back the joyful sound.
The Savior of the nations
Rode on in lowly state,
Nor scorned that little children
Should on his bidding wait.

“Hosanna in the highest!”
That ancient song we sing,
For thou art our Redeemer,
To thee our thanks we bring.
O may we ever praise thee
With heart and life and voice,
And in thy blissful presence
Eternally rejoice!

Jennette Threlfall, 1872; alt.
Tune: ELLACOMBE (C.M.D.)
Württemberg Gesangbuch, 1774;
adapt. William H. Monk, 1868

ELLACOMBE is one of those tunes everyone seems to know and that congregations sing well. I've managed to hold off from using it for more than a year because it's not a favorite of mine (three of its four lines are practically identical), but I can't deny that it works.

One Year Ago: Palm Sunday

Opus One or, Embarking on a New Adventure

If you recognize the title of this blog, you’re in the right place. Or, you might sort of recognize the verse above from which it’s taken. It’s the second verse of Jerusalem the golden, a very proper Victorian hymn generally paired with an extremely Victorian hymn tune (EWING).

They stand, those halls of Zion,
Conjubilant with song,
And bright with many an angel
And all the martyr throng...

I don’t remember when I first encountered this hymn but I always loved that word. Conjubilant! Some hymnals (even the online one I linked to!) render the phrase “All jubilant with song,” no doubt in an effort to keep the congregation from stumbling over an unfamiliar word, but diminishing the sumptuous text in the process. Hymnal editors and their notions! (I can say that as someone who’s done a fair amount of that work myself). Microsoft Word’s spellcheck doesn’t recognize it either, but Bill Gates is no Victorian.

It was John Mason Neale who came up with that word in that particular place when he translated a large portion of De contemptu mundi by Bernard of Cluny. Bernard wrote a poem of nearly three thousand lines, “a satirical arraignment of the twelfth century for its vices in Church and society.” Parts of the work, however, proclaimed the beauty of the heavenly Jerusalem, and those parts made up Neale’s Rhythm of Bernard de Morlaix, Monk of Cluny, in the Celestial Country, published in 1858. In addition to Jerusalem the golden, Neale also cut-and-pasted together at least three more hymns from his translated Rhythm:

Brief life is here our portion
For thee, O dear, dear country
The world is very evil (not much in use these days, as you might imagine)

The more I look into this, the more interesting it looks. So maybe you’ll be hearing more about the Celestial Country. I’ve been told that Jerusalem the golden is not particularly relevant or useful to a modern congregation: the tune’s “unsingable” (I don’t think so, though admittedly, it's not ELLACOMBE) and the text is overly archaic (OK, maybe). Maybe there’s another hymn waiting to be excavated from Bernard’s opus that would be more useful in these times.

I’m a singer. Not a Singer! (as in pro) Hymns were probably the first things I sang, and my interest in them has only grown over the years. Moved on to choral music through church choirs and other singing and theater societies, even a little opera chorus work. It’s all singing, and it’s all a deep, deep part of who I am and what I do in my spare time. Lately I decided that I wanted to put down some of my thoughts about it all, and here we are. More to follow!