July 5, 2020

Each week, you may find information here about the music in the traditional worship services at First United Methodist Church in Lewisville, Texas.  Some of this information is original; much of it is "borrowed" from other sources such as Wikipedia, GBOD, and hymnary.org.  It is my hope that this information will enhance your understanding and enrich your worship experience.   

About the Piano Music:

Turn You Eyes Upon Jesus - Heather Sorenson

Helen H. Lemmel (1863-1961) wrote the words and music of “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” in 1922, to be sung at Billy Sunday evangelical meetings. The inspiration for the hymn, originally titled “The Heavenly Vision”, came from the writings of author and artist Lilias Trotter (1853-1928).  Lilias Trotter was a brilliant artist whose talent opened the doors to wealth and influence. Her other love was missions. After struggling in prayer for two years, Trotter came to the conclusion that she must lay down her love of art in order to fix her eyes solely on Jesus, and on His calling to the mission field. She subsequently served for more than 38 years as a missionary to Muslims of Algeria. She also authored several books and tracts. The following is an excerpt from her tract, Which Passion Will Prevail?

Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen harmless worlds at once -- art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the good hiding the best." It is easy to find out whether our lives are focused, and if so, where the focus lies. Where do our thoughts settle when consciousness comes back in the morning? Where do they swing back when the pressure is off during the day? Dare to have it out with God, and ask Him to show you whether or not all is focused on Christ and His Glory. Turn your soul's vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.

Lemmel first published the hymn in England as a pamphlet in 1918 and then included it in a 1922 collection called Glad Songs. It was included in a 1924 American collection entitled Gospel Truth in Song and was widely reprinted in other collections. Today the chorus is most widely known and has become a standard reprinted in many hymnals.

O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior, and life more abundant and free.

Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there;

O’er 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.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonder face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Heather Sorenson entered the church music industry in her twenties, and her name quickly became a welcomed fixture in the publishing world.  Diversity is the characteristic that makes Heather somewhat of an anomaly in the industry: she easily maneuvers both the traditional and contemporary genres of Christian music, often combining the two for a unique blend that has become her artistic fingerprint. Initially recognized for her skill as a pianist, Heather is now known for her compositions in choral anthems, solo piano collections, and orchestrations. She taught all elementary levels of music at Grace Academy of Dallas for 4 years, served as an adjunct music professor at Baylor University, and has served on many master class panels in piano and songwriting. Heather regularly is a guest speaker and conductor at churches across America and leads scores of sessions each year at various worship conferences, schools, and universities. Heather makes her home in the Dallas, TX area with her beloved (and very vocal) beagle, Lucy. 

Amazing Grace!  How Sweet the Sound - Mark Hayes

"Amazing Grace" was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807).  With the message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction, but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was drafted into the Royal Navy, and after leaving the service became involved in the Atlantic slave trade. In 1748, a violent storm battered his vessel so severely that he called out to God for mercy, a moment that marked his spiritual conversion. However, he continued his slave trading career until 1754 or 1755, when he ended his seafaring altogether and began studying Christian theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It was first printed in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

Shout, shout for glory,
Shout, shout aloud for glory;
Brother, sister, mourner,
All shout glory hallelujah.

Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds.  Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013.  Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world”.

I Know Whom I Have Believed - Stan Pethel

Daniel Webster Whittle (1840-1901) wrote multiple hymns texts under the pseudonym “El Nathan.”  Whittle fought in the army during the American Civil War and marched with General William Tecumseh Sherman through Georgia. At the end of the war, he was given the title of Major, and is still known by many hymnologists as Major Whittle. After the war, Whittle became closely associated with the evangelistic campaigns of the famous Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899). Whittle’s daughter married Moody’s son. His war experiences served as a basis for the gospel song, “Hold the Fort for I Am Coming” by Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876). Major Whittle, who composed around 200 hymn texts, continued to travel on evangelist tours in North America and Great Britain with Moody and Bliss until his death.

His hymn “I Know Whom I Have Believed” (1883) was also given the tune name EL NATHAN. The tune, written by prominent music publisher and gospel song composer James McGranahan (1840-1907), was given this tune name to match Whittle’s pseudonym. One of his more popular hymns, it was first published in Gospel Hymns, No 4 (1883), edited by a distinguished trio of gospel song musicians and promoters that included Dwight Moody’s evangelist, Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908), McGranahan, and George C. Stebbins (1846-1945). This hymn has been extremely popular in the United States, and it can be found in every Southern Baptist hymnal since The Baptist Hymn and Praise Book (1904), in The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), as well as in more than 200 other hymnals published in the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.

The tune of this hymn sounds like a typical gospel hymn tune with modest harmony and simple melodic lines. The direct quotation of Scripture results in an extended phrase in the refrain. The text of this hymn is a direct quotation from 2 Timothy 1:12: “. . . I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (KJV). In this letter, the apostle Paul has been imprisoned, yet he feels empowered in his suffering because it mirrors the suffering of Jesus Christ. Paul uses his plight to encourage his fellow Christian Timothy to remain strong in his faith, no matter the difficulties he is facing. Paul would argue that even though he feels that he may not able, he is made able through the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. Like in the first stanza, while we are unworthy, “Christ in love” has “redeemed me for his own.”

I know not why God’s wondrous grace To me He hath made known,

Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love Redeemed me for His own.

I know not how this saving faith To me He did impart,

Nor how believing in His Word Wrought peace within my heart.

I know not how the Spirit moves, Convincing men of sin,

Revealing Jesus through the Word, Creating faith in Him.

I know not what of good or ill May be reserved for me,

Of weary ways or golden days, Before His face I see.

I know not when my Lord may come, At night or noonday fair,

Nor if I walk the vale with Him, Or meet Him in the air.

But “I know Whom I have believed, And am persuaded that He is able

To keep that which I’ve committed Unto Him against that day.”

Dr. Stan Pethel is Chair of the Fine Arts at Berry College near Rome, Georgia. He has been on the music faculty there since 1973. In addition to his duties as Chair of Fine Arts at Berry College Dr. Pethel teaches music theory, composition and arranging, world music, and low brass lessons. He is a widely published composer and arranger with over 1000 works in publication with 26 different publishers. His writing includes works for choir, piano, organ/piano duet, symphonic band, jazz ensemble, orchestra, handbells, solo instrument and piano, and various chamber music ensembles. He is a regular recipient of the ASCAP Standard Award.

About the Hymns:

O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

"O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" was written by Charles Wesley, who wrote over 6,000 hymns. Wesley was suffering a bout of pleurisy in May, 1738, while he and his brother were studying under the Moravian scholar Peter Böhler in London. At the time, Wesley was plagued by extreme doubts about his faith. Taken to bed with the sickness on May 21, Wesley was attended by a group of Christians who offered him testimony and basic care, and he was deeply affected by this. He read from his Bible and found himself deeply affected by the words and at peace with God. Shortly, his strength began to return. He wrote of this experience in his journal and counted it as a renewal of his faith; when his brother John had a similar experience on the 24th, the two men met and sang a hymn Wesley had written in praise of his renewal.

One year from the experience, Wesley was taken with the urge to write another hymn, this one in commemoration of his renewal of faith. This hymn took the form of an 18-stanza poem, beginning with the opening lines “Glory to God, and praise, and love Be ever, ever given” and was published in 1740 and entitled “For the anniversary day of one's conversion”. The seventh verse, which begins, 'O for a thousand tongues to sing', and which now is invariably the first verse of a shorter hymn, recalls the words of Peter Böhler who said, “Had I a thousand tongues I would praise Him with them all.” The hymn was published first in John Wesley's A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists in 1780. It has appeared first in every Methodist hymnal since that time.

Open My Eyes that I May See

Clara H. Scott (1841-1897) provides us with a hymn of consecration that has been sung for over 100 years.  In 1856, Scott attended the first Music Institute held by C.M. Cady in Chicago, Ill. By 1859, she was teaching music at the Ladies' Seminary, Lyons, Iowa. She married Henry Clay Scott in 1861, and published in 1882 the Royal Anthem Book, the first volume of choir anthems published by a woman.  Horatio R. Palmer, an influential church musician in Chicago and later New York City, was a source of encouragement for Scott, and helped her publish many of her songs. Three collections were issued before her untimely death, when a runaway horse caused a buggy accident in Dubuque, Iowa.

The text of "Open My Eyes" was written in 1895 shortly before Scott's death. Each stanza reveals an increasing receptiveness to the "Spirit divine." Open eyes lead to "glimpses of truth." Open ears lead to "voices of truth." An open mouth leads to sharing the "warm truth everywhere." An open heart leads to sharing "love to thy children."

The image of open eyes is common in the Bible. In some cases, this is a sign of Christ's healing power, as when Jesus gave sight to the blind man at the pool of Siloam in John 9. Closed eyes, on the other hand, could be a metaphor for avoiding the truth as in the case of John 12:40, a passage following the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem and beginning his journey to the cross: "He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."

The image of open ears is also significant in the biblical witness. Matthew often reprises the theme "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Closed ears become a metaphor for a lack of understanding: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them" (Matthew 13:15).

While the eyes and the ears are receptive organs, the mouth has the capacity to project. The mouth may project "cursing and deceit and fraud" (Psalm 10:7), or it may be an organ that projects praise, as Psalm 51:15 exhorts us: "O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise."

The heart is the only organ included in this hymn that is not visible. It may harbor deceit. Jesus asks in Matthew 9:4, "Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?" But Jesus also realized that the heart has the capacity for purity: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). 

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus

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