Rivers of Unfailing Joy

A portion of Psalm 36 is the appointed Psalm for the day in the Revised Common Lectionary. It's always appropriate to sing a paraphrase of the day's psalm, so we have here another one from The Psalter (1912), a collection we have seen before which was published in cooperation with a number of Presbyterian bodies in the United States.

Thy mercy and thy truth, O God,
Transcend the lofty sky;
Thy judgments are a mighty deep,
And as the mountains high.

Lord, thou preservest all on earth;
Since thou art ever kind;
Beneath the shadow of thy wings
We may a refuge find.

With the abundance of thy house
We shall be satisfied,
From rivers of unfailing joy
Our thirst shall be supplied.

The fountain of eternal life
Is found alone with thee,
And in the brightness of thy light
We clearly light shall see.

From those that know thee may thy love
And mercy ne’er depart,
And may thy justice still protect
And bless the upright heart.

The Psalter, 1912; alt.
Tune: ST. STEPHEN (C.M.)
William Jones, 1789

Six Years Ago: Glory to thee O Christ (available on Facebook at "Conjubilant W. Song")

When Right Shall Triumph Over Wrong

It's a new beginning as we come 'round again to the opening of the church year and the First Sunday in Advent, a time of preparation for the coming Christmas season (four weeks to go!). As usual, we will not see any Christmas carols here until the season of Advent is over. It's our fourth Advent here at CWS, and we have not yet run out of material for the season.

On this first Sunday you may have noticed that the lessons and hymns in your church frequently refer not only to the prophesied birth of a Savior, but also to the Second Coming of Jesus, linking us to both the past and the future.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light triumphant breaks;

When beauty gilds the eastern hills,

And life to joy awakes.

Not as of old, a little child,

To bear, and fight, and die,

But crowned with glory like the sun,

That lights that morning sky.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And earth’s long night is past;—

O, haste the rising of that morn,

That day that e'er shall last.

And let the endless bliss begin,

By weary saints foretold,

When right shall triumph over wrong,

And truth shall be extolled.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light and beauty brings;

Hail. Christ the Word! Thy people pray.

Come quickly, King of kings!

John Brownlie, 1907; alt.

Tune: ST. STEPHEN (C.M.)

William Jones, 1789

In many hymnals, this text is said to be originally from the Greek, and translated by John Brownlie, a Scottish Presbyterian. It was first published in his Hymns from the East (1907), a collection of translations. However, no Greek original has ever been identified, and some more modern sources believe that Brownlie wrote the text himself, perhaps using a concept from an older text.

Three Years Ago: Lo, he comes with clouds descending

Two Years Ago: Jesus came, the heav'ns adoring

One Year Ago: Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates

Harriet Auber

On October 4, 1773, hymnwriter Harriet Auber was born in Middlesex, England, the daughter of an Anglican priest. She grew up in the Church of England, and eventually published a collection of poetry titled The Spirit of the Psalms, or, A Compressed Version of the Psalms (1829) which included original poems of her own, as well as selections by other authors. Many of her poems were later used as hymns. Even today, a number of modern Anglican hymnals include at least one of her hymns.

O God, our strength, to thee our song
With grateful hearts we raise;
To God, and God alone, belong
All worship, love and praise.

In trouble’s bleak and stormy hour
Thine ear has heard our prayer;
And graciously thine arm of power
Has saved us from despair.

Led by the light thy grace imparts,
Ne’er may we bow the knee
To idols, which our wayward hearts
Set up instead of thee.

So shall the bounties of thy Word
Thy faithful people bless;
For them shall earth its stores afford,
And heav’n its happiness.

Harriet Auber, c. 1829; alt.
Tune: ST. STEPHEN (C.M.)
William Jones, 1789

For many years, Auber lived in the town of Hoddesdon with another "spinster lady," Mary Jane Mackenzie, another writer of religious works. One of Auber's widely-known hymns written during this time has a unique story behind it, as told in Popular Hymns and Their Writers (1944) by Norman Mable.

"There is a story that Harriet Auber was sitting alone in her bedroom, thinking over the sermon she had heard that morning, when the words of Our blest Redeemer, ere he breathed came to her mind. As it happened, she was unable to find either pencil or paper to hand, and being anxious to set down the words while fresh in her memory, she took from her finger a diamond ring, and scratched the verses on a window pane.

After her death, a dealer in curios tried to purchase this interesting and peculiar manuscript from the owner of the house, but without success. It were better had he bought it, for not long afterwards the glass was cut out and stolen, and its whereabouts has never been discovered."

There are other stories of hymns and tunes being written on unusual media (remember the asylum wall?) but none quite like this one.