Sunday, January 30, 2022

 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; most of it is copied from other websites 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 Organ Music:

Epilogue - Alec Rowley 

(c.1955, Novello & Co)

The Epilogue is the finsl movement of the Triptych by Alec Rowley.  Alec Rowley (1892-1958)  studied at London's Royal Academy of Music, and later taught at Trinity College in the same city. He frequently performed and broadcast piano duets with Edgar Moy, and was widely known for his songs and compositions for solo piano and solo organ. He was for many years the organist of St Alban's Church, Teddington and was a contributor to “The Rotunda”, the house magazine of Henry Willis & Sons Ltd., organ builders.

About the Piano Music:

Discipleship Medley - Paul Tate 

(c.2006, GIA Publications)

"Take, O Take Me As I Am" is one of the best-known and often-used songs from the Iona Community in Scotland, having found its way into numerous hymnals, songbooks, and arrangements. The Iona Community is an ancient Christian community on the small island of Iona in the Inner Hebrides Islands of western Scotland. It was founded by St. Columba, a monk from Ireland and missionary to Scotland, in 563 A.D. It became an important monastery in the Early Middle Ages and played a major role in the conversion of the Picts to Christianity and in the evangelization of Europe. Today, the Iona Community is a place of pilgrimage from all over the world. It has become a major center for ecumenism, social justice, healing, reconciliation, and worship renewal.

John Lamberton Bell was born in 1949 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. He is a hymn writer, minister in the Church of Scotland, and a member of the Iona Community. He leads Iona's global efforts in worship renewal at the local church level. In that capacity, he travels throughout the world lecturing, writing, leading, teaching, and composing. His early career was spent in church youth work and campus ministry and later in the areas of worship and music with the Iona Community's Wild Goose Worship Group. He is a past convener of the Church of Scotland's Panel on Worship, and he also convened the Committee to revise the Church Hymnary (Fourth Edition), of which he was also music editor. He is a frequent contributor of programs and lectures on the BBC. He composed "Take, O Take Me As I Am" in 1995.

The simple, direct words of this short worship song's four phrases are profound in their content and implications for the singer:

Take, O take me as I am, Summon out what I shall be.

Set your seal upon my heart, And live in me.

“Will you come and follow me” (called “The Summons” in The Faith We Sing) is perhaps the most famous of Mr. Bell’s hymns. The hymn appeared initially in the first collection of music produced by the Wild Goose Worship Group, Heaven Shall Not Wait: Songs of Creation, the Incarnation, and the Life of Jesus (1987). Characteristic of Mr. Bell’s style, the text is prophetic, using many words not usually found in traditional hymns. “The Summons” of Christ is to a radical Christianity.

The tune is a traditional Scottish ballad entitled KELVINGROVE, named after a section of Glasgow. Mr. Bell often uses traditional melodies from Ireland, Scotland and England for his hymns. These tried and true tunes make the songs not only singable, but often provide a Celtic flavor that is popular today. 

Will you come and follow me If I but call your name?

Will you go where you don't know And never be the same?

Will you let my love be shown, Will you let my name be known,

Will you let my life be grown In you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind If I but call your name?

Will you care for cruel and kind And never be the same?

Will you risk the hostile stare Should your life attract or scare?

Will you let me answer prayer In you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see If I but call your name?

Will you set the prisoners free And never be the same?

Will you kiss the leper clean, And do such as this unseen,

And admit to what I mean In you and you in me?

Will you love the 'you' you hide If I but call your name?

Will you quell the fear inside And never be the same?

Will you use the faith you've found To reshape the world around,

Through my sight and touch and sound In you and you in me?

Lord, your summons echoes true When you but call my name.

Let me turn and follow you And never be the same.

In your company I'll go Where your love and footsteps show.

Thus I'll move and live and grow In you and you in me.

Paul A. Tate, a graduate of the University of Georgia, is a professional musician living in Sugar Hill, Georgia. As an active workshop presenter and concert performer, Paul has released a dozen recordings and published over 100 original songs and arrangements. His liturgical compositions appear in a number of hymnal resources, and his voice has been heard around the world on Sirius Satellite Radio.

About the Choral Music:

Be Not Afraid – Taylor Davis

(c. 2003, Choristers Guild)

Taylor Davis (b. 1980) is currently the Director of Music and Worship at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Houston, TX. A 2003 graduate of Centenary College of Louisiana, Taylor earned a Bachelor of Sacred Music degree while studying conducting with Dr. Julia Brasher Thorn, as well as intensive courses with Dr. Sandra Willets, Dr. Ann Howard Jones, Paul Oakley, Alice Parker and Jane Marshall. He has also studied composition with Dr. Eric McIntyre, Ms. Parker, and Ms. Marshall. In 2004 he became a Fellow of Melodious Accord. In demand across the country, with commissions coming from a wide variety of groups, his music has been performed throughout the US, Europe, South America and South Africa by youth and adults.

“Be Not Afraid” is based on Isaiah 43:1-7.

    Be not afraid, for I have redeemed you. 

Be not afraid, I’ve called you by name.

    My love for you is everlasting, my love for you shall have no end.

    You are my child, and I’ll love you always. 

Just hold my hand, and I’ll lead you home.

When you feel lost, always remember: I am right here, just call my name.

When you pass through the waters, I will surround you,

    When you pass through the floods, they will not sweep o’er.

    When you walk through the fire, you will not be consumed.

    You are my child, you are so precious to me.

About the Hymns:

I Am Thine, O Lord

Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915) set the standard for the successful writing of gospel hymns. She was the author of over 8,500 gospel songs.  Blind at six weeks of age, Crosby began composing texts at age 6. At 12, she began her study at the New York School for the Blind, a school she later served as a teacher. A friend of several presidents, she became one of the country’s most important advocates for the cause of the blind, addressing a session of Congress on the topic.

Her texts were set to the compositions of some of the most prominent gospel song composers of the day including William Bradbury, William Doane, Robert Lowry and Ira Sankey. Crosby also composed under a number of pen names. She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne, and British hymnals have always used her married name, Frances Van Alstyne.

“I am Thine” is one of many collaborations between Crosby and composer William Doane (1832-1915). The late Baptist hymnologist William J. Reynolds provides the context for the composition of the hymn in 1874 during a visit by Crosby to Doane’s home in Cincinnati:
“One evening she and Doane talked at length about the nearness of God in their lives. When Fanny went to her room, her mind and heart were flooded with ideas from their conversation. Before she went to sleep, the lines of “I am thine, O Lord” were in her mind. . . . The next morning she recited the words to Doane, who wrote down the stanzas and composed the tune.”
The text appeared with the following inscription from Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (KJV)

Crosby seems to mix her cleansing metaphors intentionally—“pure water” and “bleeding side.” The connection becomes clearer when one reads the previous verses in Hebrews 10:  “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God. . . .”

Like so many of Crosby’s hymns, “I am thine, O Lord” is written in the first person—a personal testimony of her relationship with Christ. Stanza one begins with a total surrender to Christ, “I am thine, O Lord,” and the desire to “be closer drawn to thee.” The second stanza appropriately draws upon the closeness of this relationship as an impetus of service: “Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine.”  Stanza three defines the relationship further as one forged in prayer: “When I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend!” In the final stanza, Crosby acknowledges that her relationship will not be complete until she reaches heaven (“cross the narrow sea”) and then she will find “rest in peace with thee.”  The refrain is the theological hub around which the spokes of the stanzas all connect: “Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious bleeding side.”  In this case, it is Christ’s blood that cleanses and perfects the relationship. Fanny Crosby is thoroughly Wesleyan in her understanding of grace and perfection.

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith And be closer drawn to Thee.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, And my will be lost in Thine. 

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know Till I cross the narrow sea;

There are heights of joy that I may not reach Till I rest in peace with Thee. 

Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer blessed Lord, To Thy precious, bleeding side.

O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee

In the years following the Civil War and the birth of the Industrial Revolution, the social gospel emerged. Washington Gladden (1838-1918) was one of the most distinguished clergymen of his era and a leader in the social gospel movement. Gladden was a native of Pennsylvania, and served churches in New York and Massachusetts before accepting a call to First Congregational Church, Columbus, Ohio, a parish he served for 32 years. Educated at Owego Academy and Williams College, he was the moderator of the National Council of Congregational Churches from 1904-1907. He served as one of the editors of the Pilgrim Hymnal (1904). As editor of the Independent, he made important contributions to the cause of social justice. While a pastor in Massachusetts, Gladden began preaching about labor-management problems, encouraging cooperation between employers and employees. This theme aroused opposition from those who felt the role of a minister was “to save souls, not to regulate business.” Furthermore, he challenged the idea that the Bible was inerrant in matters of science and history. Albert Bailey notes that “he found his fellow-clergymen without courage to follow him, for heresy trials were beginning in the Congregational Church.” From the Ohio pulpit, Gladden found willing listeners to his message at the State University of Columbus. He received invitations to deliver lectures at a number of universities including the Yale Divinity School. His tracts, Social Facts and Forces (1897) and Organized Labor and Capital (1904), were very influential. 

Perhaps this hymn is a paradox. Few realize that behind the relatively peaceful words of Gladden’s poem, sung to a placid Victorian melody, one can find the witness of a champion for social justice. This hymn was published in 1879 in three eight-line stanzas in Sunday Afternoon, a magazine prepared by the author, under the title “Walking with God.” C.H. Richards discovered the poem and included it in his 1880 hymnal, Christian Praise.

After various tunes had been set to this text, Gladden insisted on the use of MARYTON. Composed by H. Percy Smith (b. Malta, 1825; d. Bournemouth, Hampshire, England, 1898), the tune was originally published as a setting for John Keble's "Sun of My Soul" in Arthur S. Sullivan's Church Hymns with Tunes (1874).  Henry Percy Smith (1825-1898) was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England, and ordained a priest in the Church of England. He served five churches, including St. Michael's York Town in Farnborough, Great Barton in Suffolk, Christ Church in Cannes, France, and the Cathedral in Gibraltar. MARYTON is his only tune found in contemporary hymnals and is thought to be the only tune he published.

O Master, let me walk with Thee in lowly paths of service free;
tell me Thy secret; help me bear the strain of toil, the fret of care.

Help me the slow of heart to move by some clear, winning word of love;
teach me the wayward feet to stay, and guide them in the homeward way.

Teach me Thy patience, still with Thee in closer, dearer company,
in work that keeps faith sweet and strong, in trust that triumphs over wrong.

    In hope that sends a shining ray far down the future's broad'ning way;
    in peace that only Thou canst give, with Thee, O Master, let me live.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus

Sunday, January 23, 2022

 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; most of it is copied from other websites 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 Organ Music:

Bellevue - Don Hustad 

(c.1972, Broadman Press)

The authorship of “How Firm a Foundation” is one of the great hymnological mysteries. When John Rippon, pastor of Carter Lane Baptist Church in London, published A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors in 1787, the attribution for this hymn appeared only as “K—.” Hymnologist William Reynolds notes that the 1822 edition designated the author as “Kn,” and the 1835 edition of the collection indicated “Keen.” Finally, an 1844 edition ascribed authorship to “Kirkham.” Robert Keene (or Keen), a close friend of Rippon’s, was the song leader at the Carter Lane Church from 1776-1793. Mr. Reynolds believes that Keene assisted Rippon in preparing the compilation. But no hymn in the early editions appears to have been written by Keene. Six tunes bear the attribution “R. Keene” or “Keene,” and logic would dictate that if Keene had written the text, this would have also been clearly indicated. It is safe to say that compilers of collections in the 18th and 19th century did not take the same care to assign authorship as we have come to expect in modern hymnals. 

We know that Rippon’s Selection was very popular, with 11 editions published in England and one in the U.S. (1820) before his death in 1836.  “How firm a foundation” was sung frequently in both the North and the South before the Civil War. Mr. Reynolds notes that it was a favorite hymn of Theodore Roosevelt, and that Andrew Jackson requested it be sung at his deathbed, and that Robert E. Lee asked it be sung at his funeral. 

The anonymous folk tune FOUNDATION is an American contribution to the hymn that first appears with the text in Joseph Fund’s 1832 Genuine Church Music under the tune name PROTECTION. Hymnology scholar Harry Eskew has concluded that PROTECTION was a new tune and not previously published. The composer remains unknown. The tune appears in other famous American 19th-century collections such as The Sacred Harp(1844) and Southern Harmony (1854) with some melodic variations and with changes in harmony, but R.M. McIntosh’s Tabor: or, the Richmond Collection of Sacred Music (1866) provides us the present form found in most Baptist and Methodist hymnals.

Originally written with seven four-line stanzas, five are included in The United Methodist Hymnal with only one small alteration. Much of the hymn’s text is straight from The Bible, such as Isaiah 41:10, Isaiah 43:2, 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Hebrews 13:5.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

Don Hustad (1918-2013) was one of the giants of Christian music of the 20th century. Hustad had a distinguished ministry and a life-long profession as a recording artist, composer, arranger, teacher, conductor, hymnal editor, and author.  He began work as staff musician of Chicago's WMBI in the early 1940s, worked with soloist George Beverly Shea on a weekly broadcast called "Club Time," and served for some 20 years as organist for a popular radio broadcast "Songs in the Night." He taught at Olivet Nazarene College in Kankakee, Illinois from 1946 to 1950, at which time Hustad was appointed director of the Sacred Music Department at Moody Bible Institute—a position he held until 1961.  During his 11-year tenure at Moody he developed the Moody Chorale into a superior choral ensemble that achieved fame nationally and internationally.   In 1961 he became Crusade organist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and directed the Crusader Men Choir in the "Hour of Decision" broadcasts.  His publications include over 100 articles and five books.  Throughout his career, Hustad devoted considerable energy to music arranging and hymnal editing, serving as editorial consultant and musical advisor to Hope Publishing Company. Among his editorial contributions are fourteen hymnals and songbooks, as well as dozens of collections.  In 1989, Hustad was awarded Fellow of the Hymn Society for his outstanding contribution to American hymnody.  In 2008, he was honored by the American Choral Director's Association Southern Division Conference for his contributions to church music. He earned diplomas as an Associate of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), London, UK.

About the Piano Music:

Come, Thou Fount - C. E. Walz 

(c.2018, Lorenz Publishing Co)

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” was written by the 18th century pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. Robert Robinson (1735-1790) was eight years old at the time of his father's death. He was a very bright, headstrong boy who became increasingly more difficult for his mother to handle. When Robert turned 14, she sent him to London for an apprenticeship with a barber. Robert proceeded to get into even more trouble, taking on a life of drinking and gambling.  

At 17, Robert and some of his drinking buddies decided to attend an evangelistic meeting, with a plan to make fun of the proceedings. When George Whitfield began to preach, Robert felt as if the sermon was just for him. He did not respond to the altar call that night, but the words of the evangelist would haunt him for the next three years.  On Dec. 10, 1755, at age 20, Robert finally yielded his life to Christ, and very soon thereafter answered a call to the ministry. Three years later, as he was preparing to preach a sermon at the Calvinist Methodist Chapel in Norfolk, England, Robert wrote “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” to complement his sermon. The music for the hymn was composed by Asahel Nettleton in 1813.

The lyrics, which dwell on the theme of divine grace, are based on 1 Samuel 7:12, in which the prophet Samuel raises a stone as a monument, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us". The English transliteration of the name Samuel gives to the stone is Ebenezer, meaning Stone of Help. The unusual word "Ebenezer" commonly appears in hymnal presentations of the lyrics.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon it Mount of Thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer Hither by Thy help I've come
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger Wandering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger Interposed His precious blood

Oh, that day when freed from sinning I shall see Thy lovely face
Clothed then in blood washed linen How I'll sing Thy wondrous grace
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry Take my ransomed soul away
Send Thine angels now to carry Me to realms of endless day

Oh, to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be
Let thy goodness like a fetter Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it Seal it for Thy courts above

C.E. (Carolyn) Walz was born and raised near Atlanta, Georgia, where, at age ten, she began piano lessons with Robert Fraumann, the minister of music at her church. By age twelve, Carolyn was playing piano solos for church services and accompanying children’s choirs.  Apart from her musical studies, Carolyn had a keen interest in teaching English and writing children’s books. She earned her Bachelor of Art Degree in Christian Education from Atlanta Christian College and her Master of Science Degree in Middle Grades Education from Georgia State University. She authored several books for children and became a full-time English teacher at Woodward Academy. In 2015, she retired as English Department Head of the Middle School after more than thirty years of service.

Since retirement, Carolyn has become an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a two-time national winner of the DAR’s American Heritage Instrumental Music Award. Today she continues to serve as a church musician, accompanist, and children’s choir director as she pursues her new interest: composing and arranging piano solos and choral anthems for Lorenz and other publishing companies.

About the Choral Music:

My Jesus, I Love Thee - Sandy Willard Rogers

(c.2009, Sandy Willard Rogers)

Sixteen year old William Featherston (1846-1873) of Montreal, Canada wrote this simple but profound hymn in 1862, not long after he was converted to Christ. William wrote no other hymns that we know of and his brief life ended just before his twenty-seventh birthday.  Featherstone, a Weslyan Methodist, sent the poem to his aunt in Los Angeles, and somehow, it made its way to England where it was published anonymously in The London Hymn Book two years later.

The tune used here is a traditional Irish folk song, usually set to “The Last Rose of Summer.”  The Last Rose of Summer was published in Moore’s Irish Melodies which was immensely popular in the first half of the 19th century.  The words were set to an old Irish folk tune by Moore’s collaborator, the Irish musician Sir John Stevenson. The tune he used was The Young Man’s Dream.  In 1792 ten mostly elderly Irish harpers met in Belfast. They realized that the old medieval harping tradition was dying out and needed preservation. The oldest of the harpers was Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh, or Dennis O’Hampsay. He was said to be 97 years old at the time of the meeting and he was the only one playing the really old repertoire. He had learned the harp from Bridget O’Cahan, who was from the great clan around Limavady. At the meeting there was also a 19-year old boy, Edward Bunting. He was given the task of writing the music down for preservation. His notebooks survived the ages and are now preserved at Queens University in Belfast.”  Aisling An Óig-fhir (the Young Man’s Dream) is found in this notebook.

This arrangement uses a derivative of “Young Man’s Dream” known as “The Groves of Blarney”.  Other editors of Irish songbooks made use of his variant. The first one was George Thomson in Edinburgh. He had already produced several volumes of his Select Collection of Scottish Airs (since 1793) as well as two books of Welsh tunes (1809/11) and at that time was busy working on an Irish collection, no doubt inspired by the great success of Moore's series. Thomson had hired Ludwig van Beethoven in Vienna to write the arrangements and in April 1814, very shortly after the publication of the 5th volume of the Irish Melodies he send him two of its highlights, not only "Groves of Blarney" but also the tune of "Minstrel Boy”"Groves of Blarney" appeared in 1816 in the second volume of George Thomson's Select Collection of Original Irish Airs, arranged by Ludwig van Beethoven.  Interestingly, Beethoven later also wrote some instrumental variations for this tune that were published in 1819 in Vienna (Six Themes Varies, op. 105, No. 4, "Air Ecossais” at Beethoven-Haus, Bonn).

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;

for thee all the follies of sin I resign;

my gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me

and purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;

if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,

I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow:

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. 

Sandy Willard Rogers has been involved in church music ministry for the over 20 years and has been composing and arranging music since high school. She is Minister of Music at a United Methodist church in North Carolina where she directs the Chancel Choir, children's and youth praise choirs, handbells, liturgical dance, drama, and adult praise ensemble.

About the Hymns:

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee

Jesu Dulcis Memoria is often attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153). The name can refer either to the entire poem, which, depending on the manuscript, ranges from forty-two to fifty-three stanzas, or only the first part.  Three sections of it are used as hymns in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus: "Iesu dulcis memoria" (Vespers), "Iesu rex admirabilis" (Office of Readings), "Iesu decus angelicum" (Lauds).  Several English hymns sung today are based on translations of Jesu Dulcis Memoria. These include "Jesus, Thou Joy of Loving Hearts" (1858 translation by Ray Palmer) and "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee" (1849 translation by Edward Caswall).

Bernard of Clairvaux, saint, abbot, and doctor, was born at his father's castle on the eminence of Les Fontaines, near Dijon, in Burgundy. His father, Tecelin, or Tesselin, a knight of great bravery, was the friend and vassal of the Duke of Burgundy. Bernard was educated at Chatillon, where he was distinguished for his studious and meditative habits. One would expect the world to have had overpowering attractions for a youth who had all the advantages that high birth, great beauty, graceful manners, and irresistible influence could give, but, strengthened by night visions of his mother (who had died in 1105), he chose a life of asceticism and became a monk. He entered the monastery of Citeaux, the first Cistercian foundation, in 1113. Two years later he was sent forth, at the head of twelve monks, from the rapidly increasing and overcrowded abbey, to found a daughter institution in the Valley of Wormwood, about four miles from the Abbey of La Ferté on the Aube. On the death of Pope Honorius II., in 1130, the Sacred College was rent by factions, one of which elected Gregory of St. Angelo, who took the title of Innocent II., while another elected Peter Leonis, under that of Anacletua II. Innocent fled to France, and the question as to whom the allegiance of the King, Louie VI., and the French bishops was due was left by them for Bernard to decide. At a council held at Etampes, Bernard gave judgment in favour of Innocent. Throwing himself into the question with all the ardour of a vehement partisan, he won over both Henry I., the English king, and Lothair, the German emperor, to support the same cause, and then, in 1133, accompanied Innocent II., who was supported by Lothair and his army, to Italy and to Rome. When Lothair withdrew, Innocent retired to Pisa, and Bernard went to his abbey of Clairvaux. It was not until after the death of Anacletus, the antipope, in January, 1138, and the resignation of his successor, the cardinal-priest Gregory, Victor II., that Innocent II., who had returned to Rome with Bernard, was universally acknowledged Pope.  The influence of the Barnard now became paramount in the Church, as was proved at the Lateran Council of 1139, the largest council ever collected together. After having devoted four years to the service of the Pope, Bernard returned to Clairvaux. Bernard continued to exert strong influence on the appointment of bishops and cardinals and on doctrinal disputes.  He was also called upon to use his powers of persuasion over the people of France and Germany to join the second crusade.  The population seemed to rise en masse, and take up the cross. In 1147, the expedition started, a vast horde, of which probably not a tenth ever reached Palestine. It proved a complete failure, and a miserable remnant shared the flight of their leaders, the Emperor Conrad, and Louis, King of France, and returned home, defeated and disgraced. The blame was thrown on Bernard, and his apology for his part in the matter is extant. 

One of the hymns by which St. Bernard is best known as a writer of sacred poetry is "Jesu duicis memoria," a long poem on the " Name of Jesus"—known as the "Jubilus of St. Bernard," and among mediaeval writers as the " Rosy Hymn." It is, perhaps, the best specimen of what Neale describes as the "subjective loveliness" of its author's compositions. Many other hymns and sequences are attributed to St. Bernard.  Hymns, translated from, or founded on, St. Bernard's, will be found in almost every hymnal of the day.

Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills the breast!

Yet sweeter far Thy face to see And in Thy Presence rest.

No voice can sing, no heart can frame, Nor can the memory find,

A sweeter sound than Jesus' Name, The Saviour of mankind.

O hope of every contrite heart! O joy of all the meek!

To those who fall, how kind Thou art! How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah! This Nor tongue nor pen can show

The love of Jesus, what it is, None but His loved ones know.

Jesus! our only hope be Thou, As Thou our prize shalt be;

In Thee be all our glory now, And through eternity.

To God Be the Glory

Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915), born in New York and died in Connecticut, wrote over 8,500 gospel hymns. In 1972, Hope Publishing Co. found over 1,000 unpublished manuscripts. Her work defined what it meant to be a successful writer of gospel hymns.  By the age of six weeks, Fanny Crosby was completely blind. She entered the New York School for the Blind at age twelve. She began writing hymns and poetry at age twelve.  Her collaborators in publishing gospel hymns included the most successful and popular composers of her day, including William Bradbury, William Doane, Robert Lowry, Ira Sankey, and William Kirkpatrick. Crosby used numerous pen names in publishing her songs, including: Ella Dale, Mrs. Kate Gringley and Miss Viola V. A.  She married blind musician Alexander Van Alstyne, and the British most often refer to her by her married name rather than Fanny Crosby.  She was a lifelong Methodist and her contributions to The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) include: “Blessed Assurance,” “Close to Thee,” “I Am Thine, O Lord,” “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross,” “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” “Rescue the Perishing,” and “To God Be the Glory.”

This text is unique from Crosby’s other hymns because, rather than focus on our experience of God, the words are wholly about God and His perfect glory. In a sense, the hymn perfectly displaces us, removing us from the pedestal on which we so often place ourselves. This displacement is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith. It feels very natural for us to seek attention, approval, and our own glory. We like to be in control and present our own image to the world, an image we seek to improve through any means possible. On the other hand, there is great comfort in knowing that the image we try to make for ourselves doesn’t matter. We are made in the image of God, which means that whatever we do has to bring Him and Him alone glory. Our lives are wrapped up in God, and so too are the mistakes we make, the wounds we inflict, and all of our shortcomings. These are the things we try to avoid while we maintain control of our lives. But what a joy and a comfort to know that though these things may happen, because God is ultimately in control, and because our own image does not matter, God is still glorified. While we should still try to live a holy and upright life, we should do so to bring God glory, not ourselves. What a beautiful freedom that is.

Frances Jane Crosby’s hymns have historically been among the most popular songs sung by Methodists.  The tune TO GOD BE THE GLORY was written and the refrain was added by George Washington Doane (1799-1859). “To God be the glory” was included in William Doane’s Songs of Devotion in 1870.  Ira Sankey probably saw the hymn in Doane’s collection and incorporated it into the first edition of his Sacred Songs and Solos (1875).  Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey helped to establish the hymn’s popularity during their revivals in Great Britain in the late 19th century.  It also appeared in some British hymnals including the Methodist Hymn Book (1933). 

However, it was not until the 1954 Billy Graham Crusade in Nashville that Cliff Barrows introduced this song to congregations in the United States.  Mr. Graham and Mr. Barrows had learned the song during the 1952 revivals they had conducted in Great Britain.  Hymnologist William J. Reynolds, writing in his hymnal companion Hymns of Faith (1964), documented the return of this hymn to the USA: “It is most extraordinary that this long-forgotten American gospel song should have been imported from England and become immensely popular during the last decade.” 

To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in. 

Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!
Oh, come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He hath done.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus

Sunday, January 16, 2022

 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; most of it is copied from other websites 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 Organ Music:

Toccata - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, (1562-1621, Dutch organist and composer, one of the principal figures in the development of organ music before J.S. Bach.  Sweelinck succeeded his father as organist of the Oude Kerk (Old Church), Amsterdam, in about 1580 and remained in this post until his death.

Although he composed much sacred and secular vocal music in the polyphonic traditions of France and the Netherlands (including the Chansons, the Cantiones sacrae, and settings of the Psalms), Sweelinck was chiefly known as an organist and keyboard composer. His keyboard music includes chorale variations, toccatas and fantasias showing the influence of the Venetian organ school, and sets of variations on secular tunes.  Sweelinck’s fantasias are among the first organ fugues, in which a single theme is subjected to augmentation, diminution, and changes of rhythm and combined with counter themes.  

Sweelinck’s keyboard playing was widely known. His organ pupils included the German composers Samuel Scheidt and Heinrich Scheidemann; Scheidemann’s pupil J.A. Reinken handed on this tradition of organ playing to the Danish organist Dietrich Buxtehude. Many outstanding organists of the following generation, particularly in northern Germany, were pupils of Sweelinck; Handel and Bach were influenced by this northern German school of organ playing.

About the Piano Music:

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need - C. E. Walz 

(c.2018, Lorenz Publishing Co)

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was the son of a schoolmaster and was born in Southampton. He is said to have shown remarkable precocity in childhood, beginning the study of Latin, in his fourth year, and writing respectable verses at the age of seven. At the age of sixteen, he went to London to study in the Academy of the Rev. Thomas Rowe, an Independent minister. In 1698, he became assistant minister of the Independent Church, Berry St., London. In 1702, he became pastor.  The number of Watts' publications is very large. His collected works, first published in 1720, embrace sermons, treatises, poems and hymns. His "Horae Lyricae" was published in December, 1705. His "Hymns" appeared in July, 1707. The first hymn he  composed for religious worship, "Behold the glories of the Lamb," was written at the age of twenty.  Some of his hymns were written to be sung after his sermons, giving expression to the meaning of the text upon which he had preached. Montgomery calls Watts "the greatest name among hymn-writers," and the honor can hardly be disputed. His published hymns number more than eight hundred.  There is a monument to his memory in the South Choir of Westminster Abbey.  The inscription reads, "Happy will be that reader whose mind is disposed, by his verses or his prose, to imitate him in all but his non-conformity, to copy his benevolence to men, and his reverence to God."

Psalm 23 has inspired numerous paraphrases and hymn texts, including this text by Isaac Watts. Watts included it in his large 1719 collection of psalm paraphrases, The Psalms of David Imitated.  Psalm 23 remains the most well-loved and often recited psalm, and Isaac Watts' powerful paraphrase, coupled with the peaceful yet strong American folk tune, make this hymn a moving rendition of that psalm. Watts’ interpretation of the last line of psalm, “and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever,” gives a new understanding to the original psalm: “No more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home.” Watts gives us a concrete image of dwelling – a child, knowing he or she is safe and secure, and in a place of love and comfort – to help us understand what it is we hope for. The same peace we find in the pasture and by the stream, we find in the house of the LORD, to which our Shepherd is leading us day by day.

Watts’ text is set to the plaintive, pentatonic folk tune RESIGNATION. The anonymous tune was first printed in Freeman Lewis’ The Beauties of Harmony, 5th ed. (1828), where it was called HOPEWELL, set to “Come, humble sinner in whose breast” by Edmund Jones (1722–1765).  This tune was renamed RESIGNATION in Joseph Funk’s Genuine Church Music (1832). It was first paired with Watts’ text in J.W. Steffy’s The Valley Harmonist (Winchester VA: Robinson & Hollis, 1836). This text-tune pairing was more widely disseminated via the Revised Edition of William Walker’s Southern Harmony (Philadelphia: E.W. Miller, 1854). As with the 1828 printing, Walker used shape notes, the four-shape system originally espoused by William Little and William Smith in their Easy Instructor (1801).

My Shepherd, you supply my need, most holy is your name;

in pastures fresh you make me feed, beside the living stream.

You bring my wand'ring spirit back. when I forsake your ways;

you lead me, for your mercy's sake, in paths of truth and grace.

When through the shades of death I walk, your presence is my stay;

one word of your supporting breath drives all my fears away.

Your hand in sight of all my foes, does still my table spread;

my cup with Blessings overflows, your oil anoints my head.

Your sure provisions gracious God attend me all my days;

oh, may your house be my abode, and all my work be praise.

Here would I find a settled rest, while others go and come;

no more a stranger, nor a guest, but like a child at home.

C.E. (Carolyn) Walz was born and raised near Atlanta, Georgia, where, at age ten, she began piano lessons with Robert Fraumann, the minister of music at her church. By age twelve, Carolyn was playing piano solos for church services and accompanying children’s choirs.  Apart from her musical studies, Carolyn had a keen interest in teaching English and writing children’s books. She earned her Bachelor of Art Degree in Christian Education from Atlanta Christian College and her Master of Science Degree in Middle Grades Education from Georgia State University. She authored several books for children and became a full-time English teacher at Woodward Academy. In 2015, she retired as English Department Head of the Middle School after more than thirty years of service.

Since retirement, Carolyn has become an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a two-time national winner of the DAR’s American Heritage Instrumental Music Award. Today she continues to serve as a church musician, accompanist, and children’s choir director as she pursues her new interest: composing and arranging piano solos and choral anthems for Lorenz and other publishing companies.

About the Choral Music:

He Shall Feed His Flock – John Ness Beck

(c. 1986, Beckenhorst Press)

John Ness Beck (November 11, 1930 - June 25, 1987) graduated from Ohio State with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees with a major in English. After working for a year in Student Union activities at the State College of Washington, he spent two years in the U.S. Army. During this time, he became increasingly involved in arranging for various musical groups. After his discharge from military service, he returned to Ohio State and completed Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees in music with composition as his major.  Beck was a faculty member of Ohio State University School of Music for seven years, teaching harmony and theory. He left the university to become owner and manager of The University Music House, a retail sheet music store in Columbus. In this capacity, he was able to observe the business side of the music industry, gaining insight into the complexities of music publishing and merchandising. As his compositions found their way into print and popularity, he joined forces in 1972 with John Tatgenhorst in the creation of Beckenhorst Press. His reputation as a composer and his experience as a choral director soon led to an increasing demand for appearances as guest conductor and lecturer at various musical clinics and festivals throughout the country.

Tender and sincere are the two words which characterize John Ness Beck’s setting of these beloved verses from Isaiah 40 and Psalm 23. 

He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs in His arm,

And carry them in His bosom, and gently shall lead those that are with young.

He shall gather the lambs in his arm, He will shelter them, 

And carry them close to His heart; 

        and gently, so gently, ever so gently shall lead those with young.

The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want.  Amen.

About the Hymns:

He Leadeth Me

Although Joseph Gilmore (1834-1918) became a distinguished university and seminary professor, an author of several textbooks in Hebrew and English literature, and a respected Baptist minister, he is best remembered today for this one hymn, hurriedly written when he was just twenty-eight. Gilmore scribbled down these lines in 1862, while visiting with friends after preaching about the truths of the 23^rd Psalm at the Wednesday evening service of the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia. He left this account:

At the close of the service we adjourned to Deacon Watson’s pleasant home, where we were being entertained. During our conversation the blessedness of God’s leading so grew upon me that I took out my pencil, wrote the text just as it stands today, handed it to my wife, and thought no more of it.

Without telling her husband, Mrs. Gilmore sent the verses to the “Watchman and Reflector Magazine”, where it first appeared the following year. Three years later Joseph Gilmore went to Rochester, New York, as a candidate to become the pastor of Second Baptist Church. He recalls:

Upon entering the chapel I took up a hymnal, thinking—I wonder what they sing here. To my amazement the book opened up at “He Leadeth Me,” and that was the first time I knew that my hurriedly written lines had found a place among the songs of the church.

William Bradbury, an important American contributor to early gospel hymnody, added two additional lines to the chorus: “His faithful foll’wer I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me.” 

He leadeth me: O blessed thought!  O words with heavenly comfort fraught!

Whate'er I do, where'er I be, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom, sometimes where Eden's flowers bloom,

by waters calm, o'er troubled sea, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me. 

Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine, nor ever murmur nor repine;

content, whatever lot I see, since 'tis my God that leadeth me. 

And when my task on earth is done, when, by thy grace, the victory's won,

e'en death's cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me. 

He leadeth me, he leadeth me; by his own hand he leadeth me:

his faithful follower I would be, for by his hand he leadeth me.

Jesus is All the World to Me

“Jesus is All the World to Me” was written by Will Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909) of East Liverpool, Ohio. Thompson was composing songs by the time he was a teenager, including “My Home on the Old Ohio” and “Gathering Shells from the Seashore.” He was both a lyricist and a composer.  After graduating from Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, he entered he New England Conservatory of Music in 1873. He later continued his musical studies in Leipzig, Germany.

He eventually opened the W.L. Thompson Music Company in East Liverpool, which became “one of the most prominent and successful such businesses in the United States.” Thompson later founded a music and publishing company in Chicago.

He became known as a great writer and composer of gospel songs and hymns, which also included Lead Me Gently Home, Father and Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling.  Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck describes Thompson’s personal characteristics: “He was always known as a kind, quiet and unassuming Christian gentleman, greatly loved and admired by his associates.”

Thompson had a great love for history and continued to serve the Lord through service and various generously giving to various civic organizations. He was also aware of the fact that small town people had very little exposure to good music, so he loaded a piano on a horse-drawn wagon and went through small Ohio towns giving concerts of his music.

“Jesus is all the World to Me” first appeared in the 1904 New Century Hymnal.

Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy, my all;

He is my strength from day to day, Without Him I would fall.

When I am sad, to Him I go, No other one can cheer me so;

When I am sad, He makes me glad, He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, My Friend in trials sore;

I go to Him for blessings, and He gives them o’er and o’er.

He sends the sunshine and the rain, He sends the harvest’s golden grain;

Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain, He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, And true to Him I’ll be;

Oh, how could I this Friend deny, When He’s so true to me?

Following Him I know I’m right, He watches o’er me day and night;

Following Him by day and night, He’s my Friend.

Jesus is all the world to me, I want no better Friend;

I trust Him now, I’ll trust Him when Life’s fleeting days shall end.

Beautiful life with such a Friend, Beautiful life that has no end;

Eternal life, eternal joy, He’s my Friend.

First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas

A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus