About the Organ Music:
If You but Trust in God to Guide You - Darryl Hollinger
Georg Neumark (1621-1681) first published his original text, “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten,” in his Fortgepflantzter musikalisch-poetischer Lustwald in 1657. It contained seven stanzas of six lines, set to an original g-minor tune in a dance-like triple meter. He composed it after securing a tutoring post at Kiel, a point of much relief for him after a period of misfortune and instability. This Trostlied or “song of consolation” admonishes Christians to put their faith wholly in God. The hymn draws on parts of Psalm 55 as well as 1 Peter 3:8-15, which contains instructions to honor life and seek peace. This text is especially poignant in the context of the atrocities and violence of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), which would have still been fresh in the minds of the singers.
If you but trust in God to guide you
and place your confidence in him,
you'll find him always there beside you
to give you hope and strength within;
for those who trust God's changeless love
build on the rock that will not move.
Daryl Hollinger is a worship consultant, composer and author. He recently was the Dean of the Chapel, Organist and adjunct faculty member at Lancaster Theological Seminary. He served as the Minister of Music at St. Peter's United Church of Christ, Lancaster, Pennsylvania and has been active as a church musician for over thirty years.
Come Ye Disconsolate - R. M. Stults
Son of John Moore, a Dublin tradesman, Thomas Moore (1779-1852) received his education at a private school, and at Trinity College, Dublin. He studied law and held a post in the Bermuda government for a time. He was also a well-known poet and an Irish nationalist. He wrote 32 hymns, including “Come, Ye Disconsolate” was published in 1816 with the title “Relief in Prayer”. The word “disconsolate” speaks of an unhappy person who has been unable to find any consolation or comfort. Moore’s poem expresses the assurance that God provides comfort for all ills.
Come, ye disconsolate, where’er ye languish,
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.
Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrow that heav’n cannot heal.
Here see the bread of life, see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove.
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above.
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heav’n can remove.
Robert Morrison Stults (1861-1933) wrote many songs, both popular and sacred, instrumental works, film music, choral works using his own name and various pseudonymns. However, other than dates of birth and death (which are under some debate), no biographical information has been found by the libraries which have catalogued his works.
Thy Strong Word did Cleave the Darkness - Charles Ore
Martin Hans Franzmann (1907-1976) taught exegetical theology at Concordia Lutheran Seminary. “Thy Strong Word” is characteristic of his work in its careful crafting, poetic beauty and theological depth. It was written in 1961, during his tenure at Concordia, and is based on the seminary motto, “Anothen to Phos” (Light from above). The hymn takes the idea of light, beginning with creation, and takes it all the way to its fulfillment as we worship the Triune God with all the company of heaven in the splendor of God’s glory.
Thy strong word did cleave the darkness;
At Thy speaking it was done.
For created light we thank Thee,
While Thine ordered seasons run.
Alleluia, alleluia,
Praise to Thee who light dost send!
Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia without end!
In addition to being an accomplished organ recitalist, Dr. Charles Ore (b. 1936) composes organ and choral music, and is a leader in the use and development of improvisation in organ playing. He is organist at First Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Neb.
About the Hymns:
For the Beauty of the Earth
Folliott Piermont (1835-1917) was born in Bath, England and was a lay member of the Anglican Church. Following his graduation from Queen's College, Cambridge, he taught the classics for a time at Somerset College, later becoming a freelance writer. During his 82 years of life, Pierpoint published seven volumes of poems and hymn texts, many of them showing his love for nature. He is most remembered for this beautiful hymn, For the Beauty of the Earth.
Piermont was about 29 years old when he wrote the text for this joyful hymn. It was a lovely day in late spring. While enjoying the surrounding area of his native city of Bath, in England, he was inspired by the beautiful countryside with its winding cool and peaceful river, Avon, in the distance. The tuneful songbirds, the wind wispering over a vibrantly colored hillside, all seemed to be praising the Creator with their unrestrianed gladness and peace. Overwhelmed with emotion, he expressed his feelings of gratitude in the penning of this sacred song. The text was inspired by Hebrews 13:15: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." It first appeared in 1864 in a book of Eucharistic hymns and poems entitled Lyra Eucharistica, Hymns and Verses on The Holy Communion, Ancient and Modern, with other Poems with the title "The Sacrifice of Praise".
Let Us Break Bread Together
Some of the stanzas of this African American spiritual may date back to the eighteenth century. Other stanzas have been added by oral tradition. A look through modern hymnals will reveal an array of variations on the text. The most notable alteration in the Psalter Hymnal is the phrase "to the Lord of life" in place of the original "to the rising sun," in which "rising sun" was a metaphor referring to the Son rising. The song's use at communion services probably dates from after the American Civil War. Miles Mark Fisher notes in Negro Slave Songs in the United States (1953),
[Originally the hymn] relates hardly at all to holy communion, which does not necessarily require early morning administration or a devotee who faces east. It was a signal song of Virginia slaves during the eighteenth century who used it and similar ones to convene their secret meetings.
The text describes participation in the Lord's Supper as a humble act in which we not only eat the bread and drink the wine, but also praise our God "on our knees." The refrain ends with a prayer for mercy, an African American Kyrie that reminds us of the tax collector's prayer in Luke 18:13.
Help Us Accept Each Other
Fred Kaan (1929-2009), though ordained in the United Reformed Church and serving in England, was a native of Haarlem, The Netherlands. Carlton R. Young, editor of The UM Hymnal, says of Kaan, “His linguistic ability, ecumenical service, and fervent concern for the powerless are apparent in his hymns, numbering more than 200.” Collections of his hymns appear in this country as The Hymn Texts of Fred Kaan (1985), Planting Trees and Sowing Seeds (1989) and The Only Earth We Know (1999). He was elected Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in 2001. His hymns have been translated into more that 15 languages. Kaan died at the age of 80 after a long struggle with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. Though one of the most prophetic and vigorous voices in 20th-century hymnody has been silenced, we shall continue to sing his hymns.
Kaan explains the origins of the hymn, “Help us accept each other”: “This text was set in motion upon reading a Bible study article Mrs. Jackie Mattonen had written for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the USA. . . . It was almost accidentally and at the last moment included in the fourth edition of Cantate Domino [an ecumenical and cross-cultural hymnal published by the World Council of Churches in 1974], … and it so happened that my “Hymn of acceptance” was just the right length to fill the two blank pages that needed filling.” The text appeared in Kaan’s collection Break Not the Circle (1975) for the first time in the U.S. The words became more widely sung when they were set to music by American composer John Ness Beck (1930-1987) as an anthem. Beck’s anthem setting was then adapted as a hymn tune Acceptance. This is one of the most powerful hymns on reconciliation and forgiveness composed in the last half of the 20th century. Romans 15:7 provides a scriptural basis for stanza 1: “Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory.” The hymn also reflects Ephesians 4:15: “But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head.”
Kaan explains the origins of the hymn, “Help us accept each other”: “This text was set in motion upon reading a Bible study article Mrs. Jackie Mattonen had written for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the USA. . . . It was almost accidentally and at the last moment included in the fourth edition of Cantate Domino [an ecumenical and cross-cultural hymnal published by the World Council of Churches in 1974], … and it so happened that my “Hymn of acceptance” was just the right length to fill the two blank pages that needed filling.” The text appeared in Kaan’s collection Break Not the Circle (1975) for the first time in the U.S. The words became more widely sung when they were set to music by American composer John Ness Beck (1930-1987) as an anthem. Beck’s anthem setting was then adapted as a hymn tune Acceptance. This is one of the most powerful hymns on reconciliation and forgiveness composed in the last half of the 20th century. Romans 15:7 provides a scriptural basis for stanza 1: “Receive one another, then, just as Christ also received you, to God’s glory.” The hymn also reflects Ephesians 4:15: “But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head.”
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