September 6, 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:

I Need Thee Every Hour - Mary McDonald

Annie S. Hawks’ (1836-1918) poems first began appearing in newspapers when she was 14 years old. She married Charles H. Hawks in 1857. They lived in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the Hanson Place Baptist Church, where Robert Lowry was pastor. She wrote 400 hymns in her life, mostly for use in Sunday schools.

“I Need Thee Every Hour” was written by Hawks in 1872. She showed Lowry her poem, and he wrote the lyrics of the refrain and the tune. The song was first sung publicly at the 1872 meeting of the National Baptist Sunday School Association in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its first publication was in 1873 in a Sunday School hymnbook compiled by Lowry and William H. Doane, Royal Diadem for the Sunday School.

When this hymn was first published in 1873, this Bible verse was included underneath the title: “Without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5 KJV). Each of the first four stanzas of this hymn dwells on a different facet of our dependence on God: our need for His peace, our inability to resist temptation alone, our need to find true meaning in life, and our desire to see God's promises fulfilled. The fifth stanza is an intense plea for God's presence.

I need Thee every hour, Most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine Can peace afford.

I need Thee every hour, Stay Thou near by;

Temptations lose their power When Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, In joy or pain;

Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour, Teach me Thy will;

And Thy rich promises In me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, Most Holy One;

Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee; Every hour I need Thee;

Oh, bless me now, my Savior! I come to Thee.

Mary McDonald’s sacred music career spans over thirty-five years. More than eight hundred anthems, seasonal musicals and keyboard collections testify to her significant contribution to sacred literature. In 2000, Mary became the first ever woman President of the Southern Baptist Church Music Conference. In addition, she has served as accompanist for the Tennessee Men's Chorale since 1985. Her greatest desire is "to give God glory for the songs He has allowed me to compose. He alone, is the true Creator behind my pen."  In 2011, after serving as sacred music editor for The Lorenz Corporation in Dayton, Ohio for more than twenty years, Mary answered a new call. Now she takes her tremendous passion and love for music making directly to churches as an independent artist by holding Composer Weekend workshops. 

Heavenly Sunlight - Larry Shackley

A familiar song which praises Jesus as the light of the world in whom we must walk to please God is "Heavenly Sunlight". The text was written by Henry Jeffreys Zelley (1859-1942), a Methodist pastor in southern New Jersey, who served 19 different churches over a 41-year ministry. Educated in the Mt. Holly public schools, at Pennington Seminary, and at Taylor University, where he earned his M. A., Ph. D., and D. D. degrees, he became a Methodist minister in 1882 and first served in the New Jersey Conference as a statistical secretary, treasurer, and trustee, becoming a promoter of the campmeeting movement. He also found time to write about 1,500 poems, hymns, and gospel songs, including this song, the only song of Henry’s still sung today.  “Heavenly Sunlight” might have been tucked away and lost to history, too, if not for radio pioneer, Charles E. Fuller (1887-1968). He changed the word “sunlight” to “sunshine”, and featured this song every Sunday on his Old Fashioned Revival Hour radio program. Aired nationally, his show opened each week with “Heavenly Sunshine”.  Thanks to his very popular radio program, Charles Fuller is said to have told the gospel story to more people than anyone else in history up until the time of evangelist Billy Graham.

The tune (Sunlight) for "Heavenly Sunlight" was composed by George Harrison Cook (1864-1946 or 1948). Little is known about the composer.  Converted at age fourteen, he spent his life in the ministry of preaching, composing, and song training. Toward the end of his life, he was living at Ocean Grove, NJ.  Around 1899, Cook set down the music and brought it to Zelley, asking him to provide words for it. Zelly and Cook sold the song to Henry Lake Gilmour (1836-1920). Gilmour copyrighted it and included it in his 1899 Gospel Praises, published by Hall-Mack at Philadelphia, PA, in association with William James Kirkpatrick (1838-1921).

Walking in sunlight all of my journey,

over the mountains, through the deep vale;

Jesus has said, I’ll never forsake thee—

promise divine that never can fail.

Shadows around me, shadows above me

never conceal my Savior and Guide;

He is the light, in Him is no darkness,

ever I’m walking close to His side. 

In the bright sunlight, ever rejoicing,

pressing my way to mansions above;

singing His praises, gladly I’m walking,

walking in sunlight, sunlight of love. 

Heavenly sunlight!  Heavenly sunlight!

Flooding my soul with glory divine;

Hallelujah!  I am rejoicing,

singing His praises, Jesus is mine!

Larry Shackley (b. 1956) is a full-time composer and editor from Columbia, SC. He studied composition at the Eastman School of Music and his Master in Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in composition from the University of South Carolina. From 1995-2007, he taught and directed the music program at Columbia International University in Columbia, SC. Prior to that, he worked for several years at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, creating original music and producing radio programs for the Moody Broadcasting Network. He has been active in church music since his teens, and served as staff keyboardist for ten years at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL. Currently, Shackley is on the staff of Gateway Baptist Church in Irmo, SC. He has produced over twenty books of keyboard arrangements and more than one hundred choral anthems. He has won ASCAP standard panel awards every year since 1998, and has received commissions from churches, schools, and community choirs across America.

About the Vocal Solo Music:

He Touched Me - William J. Gaither

When it comes to evangelical gospel song in the last half of the twentieth century, two of the primary forces that kept this genre alive in their respective gatherings were the Billy Graham Crusades under the musical leadership of Cliff Barrows (1923-2016) and George Beverly Shea (1909-2013) and the Homecoming concerts of William James “Bill” (b. 1936) and Gloria Lee (b. 1942) Gaither (née Sickal).  These gatherings featured a wide range of gospel music from the early gospel-quartet style and the Gaither Vocal Band to more harmonically daring and complex current African American gospel styles. The Homecoming events combined the melodic accessibility of southern gospel music and the warm hospitality conveyed by the host Bill Gaither with the star power of the finest gospel artists of the day. These artists ranged from traditional “old-time” gospel quartets like the Statler Brothers and The Oak Ridge Boys to African Americans Andraé Crouch (1942-2015), Wintley Phipps (b. 1955), and Lynda Randle (b. 1962). Other well-known contemporary Christian artists began their careers while touring with the Gaithers, including Michael W. Smith (b. 1957), Sandi Patti (b. 1956), Steve Green (b; 1956), Amy Grant (b. 1960), and Cynthia Clawson (b. 1948).

The Gaithers’ compositions and performances have earned them Grammys, dozens of Dove Awards in various categories, including Southern Gospel Album of the Year, Southern Gospel Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Long Form Video of the Year, and induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (1999). In a conversation with this writer, Bill Gaither said rather self-effacingly, “I’m not much of a singer, and not that great of a composer, but I know how to get good people together” (June 2018). Indeed, he is a producer, and the Gaither recording studio in Alexandria, Indiana, is a meeting place of artistry and fellowship. This spirit of community building has been a primary characteristic of the Gaithers’ ministry, especially in nurturing younger artists and ministering to them in times of need. They are long-time residents of Alexandria, Indiana, where Bill, a native of nearby Anderson, began as a high school English teacher and met Gloria, a teaching colleague, originally from Michigan.

“He Touched Me” was composed in 1963, soon after the couple’s wedding in 1962. While not their first song, “He Touched Me” was the first of several early songs that defined their career, including “Because he lives” (1971), “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, There’s just something about that name” (1970), and “The King is coming” (1970). Though the songs were recorded by many notable gospel singers, the Bill Gaither Trio, begun by Bill in 1956, made them popular initially. Bill’s melodies were so singable that soon the songs became adapted for congregational use. The first version of “He Touched Me” to appear in hymn form was in Hymns for the Family of God (1976), edited by Fred Bock. Gloria, a writer and poet, joined the trio in 1964 and remained the ensemble’s primary alto until the disbanding of the group in 1991.

Bill Gaither’s inspiration for the writing of the song “He Touched Me” came very late one night. He had been asked to play the piano for a revival meeting in Huntington, Indiana. He was accompanying Doug Oldham [1930-2010], who was providing the music for his father, Dr. Dale Oldham, the speaker for the evening. After the meeting, as the three rode back to Bill’s home in Anderson, Indiana, they discussed how deeply they had felt the Spirit at the meeting. Dr. Oldham dropped Bill off at home and his parting words were, “You should write a song that says, ‘He touched me, oh, He touched me’”.

Gaither completed the song, working throughout the night, and revised it with Gloria the next morning. Doug Oldham first recorded it in 1964, followed quickly by the Bill Gaither Trio. 

The origins of this song correspond with an account in the local Anderson newspaper, given three years after its composition: “People often ask us how we write our songs. . .. Often they have the idea that we sit down at the piano a certain time each week and stay there until we have produced a song. This is far from what happens. First of all, I doubt that we have one song that we could claim as our own personal accomplishment. Songs are more like whispered answers to the questions of the heart, or manna provided to supply need. We seem to have very little to do with how often or at what time a song is written. When it is there, we simply stop everything and record it on paper. . .. [I]f it is ignored, it slips away like a vapor and is never recalled. . .. Many times we hear a phrase spoken in a sermon or a prayer that “rings a bell.”. . . Often during family worship we read a Scripture that seems new and fresh and beautiful, that seem to sing itself into our hearts. Many times we have had experiences. . . that have produced the seeds of a song (Anderson Daily Bulletin, 1966, p. 4).

Though inspired by a revival sermon, touch was a significant part of Jesus’ healing ministry, both touching others and others touching him. For example, a woman with a flow of blood touched Jesus from behind (Matthew 9:20-21). The sick begged Jesus to let them touch the hem of his cloak (Matthew 14:35-36; Mark 3:10; 6:56). The blind man at Bethsaida begged Jesus touch him (Mark 8:22). The story of the leper that begged Jesus to cleanse him (Matthew 8:1-3; Luke 5:12-13) corresponds particularly well with the refrain of the song. The strength of this song lies in its combination of personal witness and biblical narrative.

Shackled by a heavy burden, 'Neath a load of guilt and shame.

Then the hand of Jesus touched me, And now I am no longer the same.

He touched me, Oh He touched me, And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know, He touched me and made me whole.

Since I met this blessed Savior, Since He cleansed and made me whole,

I will never cease to praise Him, I'll shout it while eternity rolls.

He touched me, Oh He touched me, And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know He touched me and made me whole.

About the Hymns:

Heal Us, Emmanuel, Hear Our Prayer

The Olney Hymns (1779) is one of the most important of the 18th-century collections. It includes 67 hymns by William Cowper (1731-1800) and 281 by the famous slave trader turned Anglican rector, John Newton (1725-1807).  According to hymnologist Albert Bailey, Newton took a bold step when appointed to the Olney parish by “begg[ing] from Lord Dartmouth the use of a large old manor house, the former residence of the Earl’s family, to teach children the Bible and religion, in the evenings to teach the older people. No orthodox rector ever did a thing like that! And worse still, he used hymns instead of singing Psalms from Sternhold and Hopkins!” 

When the collection appeared, it was seen as a modern collection because rhymed metrical psalm singing with Sternhold and Hopkins’ “Old Version,” first published in 1549, was the main source of congregational song for the Anglican Church. Hymn singing—metrical texts that explored poetic ideas and biblical texts beyond metrical settings of the psalter—was quite controversial in its early days.  The Olney Hymns had the primary purpose of “promoting the faith and comfort[ing] . . . sincere Christians,” or as Dr. Bailey contends, “religious education took first place over the conversion of sinners.” 

Cowper was a gifted poet of his day, but also suffered depression, delusions and attempted suicide on several occasions. Cowper began the Olney Hymns when he was relatively well, but John Newton finished the collection alone as Cowper became increasingly incapacitated by his illness. Given the poet’s struggle with his own mental health, it is likely that this hymn is in part autobiographical; indeed, we know that Cowper was among the “deeply wounded souls” alluded to in stanza one.

“Heal us, Emmanuel, hear our prayer” was included in the Olney Hymns under the title of “Jehovah-Raphi, I am the Lord that healeth thee, Exod. xv.”  The text draws upon different healing narratives found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In Mark 9:14-27, Jesus encounters a boy “who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid”.  The father of the young boy describes the manifestations of the illness and requests, “if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us”. Jesus responds, “‘If you are able?’ All things are possible for the one who believes”. 

Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands

Margaret Cropper (1886-1980), poet and playwright, lived all her life in Kendal, Scotland, where she was superintendent of a Sunday kindergarten. Her writing ranged from full-length plays, including comedy, to nativity and Easter plays. She wrote a biography of her friend Evelyn Underhill, well known writer on spiritual matters, as well as studies of Anglican saints. Her publications included prayers and hymns for children. 

“Jesus’ Hands Were Kind Hands” was written ca. 1926, and published in Margaret Cropper’s Hymns and Songs for the Church Kindergarten (1939).  It was also published in The School Hymn Book of the Methodist Church (1948) and in Sunday School Praise (1958)

The delightfully simple tune AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE is a folk tune from 18th century France.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus