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:
Beneath the Cross of Jesus - David Cherwien
(c.1989 Morning Star Music Publishers)
Elizabeth Cecilia Douglas Clephane (1830-1869) was born in Scotland, the daughter of a county sheriff; she lived most of her brief life near Edinburgh. Though in frail health most of her life, Elizabeth found the strength to help the poor and sick in her town. She and her sister gave all that they could spare to charity including, it is said, selling their horse and carriage for the benefit of the needy. The townspeople of Melrose referred to Elizabeth as “the Sunbeam.”
“Beneath the cross of Jesus,” focusing on the shelter of the cross, was first published three years after the author’s death in 1872 under the title “Breathings on the Border,” perhaps a double entendre referring to a geographical location near Melrose, the Scottish Borders, and a reference to the border between life and death. This poem and others of hers appeared in the Scottish Presbyterian magazine The Family Treasury, submitted by an anonymous source, perhaps a family member or friend. One source suggests that this hymn was written within one year of her death in 1868. British hymnologist. J.R. Watson mentions that an editorial emendation attached to the poem by the anonymous source submitting the poems said, these lines “express the experiences, the hopes and the longings of a young Christian lately released.”
Contained in the same collection was her famous narrative poem, “There were ninety and nine that safely lay.” Both of these hymns were promoted by the well-known American musical evangelist and songwriter Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908), who published them in his Sacred Songs and Solos (1873). Though Sankey composed a tune for the song entitled CLEPHANE, the almost universal pairing is with ST. CHRISTOPHER, composed by Bristol, England, musician, Frederick C. Maker (1844-1927).
The hymn is full of comforting, and perhaps paradoxical language, about the cross, after all, an instrument of the cruelest torture. These include in stanza two “the shadow of a mighty rock,” “a home within the wilderness,” “a rest upon the way.” The original third stanza provides additional images of consolation: a “happy shelter,” “refuge tried and sweet,” a “trysting place,” and “a ladder up to heaven,” a reference to Jacob’s ladder.
Originally five stanzas, the original last stanza, perhaps autobiographical, provides further insight into the comfort that the writer found in the shadow of the cross and the inspiration that the cross gave her as she anticipated her own death. Such explicit anticipation of and longing for death may seem somewhat morbid today, but echoes the Romantic literary sentiment of her time. Though appropriately sung during Lent and Holy Week today, this hymn is more of a personal meditation on the cross and one’s own mortality than a hymn written for a specific time of the Christian Year.
Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,
the shadow of a mighty Rock within a weary land;
a home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
from the burning of the noontide heat and the burden of the day.
Upon the cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see
the very dying form of One who suffered there for me:
and from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess,
the wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.
O safe and happy shelter, O refuge tried and sweet,
O trysting place where heaven’s love and heaven’s justice meet!
As to the exiled patriarch that wondrous dream was given,
so seems my Savior’s Cross to me - a ladder up to heaven.
There lies beneath its shadow, but on the further side,
the darkness of an open grave that gapes both deep and wide;
and there between us stands the cross, two arms outstretched to save,
like watchman set to guard the way from that eternal grave.
I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place:
I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss;
my sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.
Dr. David Cherwien (b. 1957) is currently serving as Director of Music at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, and in 2002 was appointed Music Director for the National Lutheran Choir, also based in the Twin Cities. He has also held full time parish music positions in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Chicago, Seattle, and Berlin. He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance, and the Master of Arts degree in Theory and Composition, both from the University of Minnesota. His undergraduate work was in organ performance and music education at Augsburg College, Minneapolis, where he was honored as distinguished alumni in the fall of 2000.
Praeludium: "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" - Christlieb Binder
(c.1992, Bärenreiter-Verlag)
Johann or Johannes Agricola (originally Schneider, then Schnitter; 1494-1566) was a German Protestant Reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He was a follower and friend of Martin Luther, who became his antagonist in the matter of the binding obligation of the law on Christians. Agricola was born at Eisleben, whence he is sometimes called Magister Islebius. He studied at Wittenberg, where he soon gained the friendship of Martin Luther. In 1519 he accompanied Luther to the great assembly of German divines at Leipzig, and acted as recording secretary. After teaching for some time in Wittenberg, he went to Frankfurt in 1525 to establish the Protestant mode of worship. He had resided there only a month when he was called to Eisleben, where he remained until 1526 as teacher in the school of St Andrew, and preacher in the Nicolai church.
In 1536 he was recalled to teach in Wittenberg, and was welcomed by Luther. Almost immediately, however, a controversy, which had been begun ten years before and been temporarily silenced, broke out more violently than ever. Agricola was the first to teach the views which Luther was the first to stigmatize by the name Antinomian, maintaining that while non-Christians were still held to the Mosaic law, Christians were entirely free from it, being under the gospel alone. After he wrote an attack on Luther shortly after Luther had given him shelter when he was fleeing persecution, Luther had nothing further to do with him. As a consequence of the bitter controversy with Luther, in 1540 Agricola left Wittenberg secretly for Berlin, where he published a letter addressed to Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, which was generally interpreted as a recantation of his prior views. Luther, however, seems not to have so accepted it, and Agricola remained at Berlin. Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, having taken Agricola into his favour, appointed him court preacher and general superintendent. He held both offices until his death in 1566, and his career in Brandenburg was one of great activity and influence. Along with Julius von Pflug, bishop of Naumburg-Zeitz, and Michael Helding, titular bishop of Sidon, he prepared the Augsburg Interim of 1548, a proposed settlement under which Protestants would accept all Catholic authority, being permitted to retain the Protestant teaching on communion under both kinds and married clergy, but otherwise compelled to accept Catholic doctrine and practice, including the rejection of justification by faith alone. From that time, he was an outcast among Protestant theologians. It was an irony that one of the most radical Reformers ended his life viewed as having capitulated to Catholics.
He endeavored in vain to appease the Adiaphoristic controversy.
He died during an epidemic of plague in Berlin.
Agricola wrote a number of theological works. He was among the first to make a commentated collection of German proverbs. The first volume contains 300 proverbs and was published in 1529 (Drey hundert Gemeyner Sprichworter, der wir Deutschen vns gebrauchen, vnd doch nicht wissen woher sie kommen; first published in Low German the year before); the second volume contains 450 proverbs and was published in 1530 (Das ander teyl gemainer Tewtscher Sprichwörter, mit jhrer außlegung : hat fünffthalb hundert newer Wörtter). A revised edition containing the seven hundred and fifty proverbs of the previous two volumes was published in 1534 (Sybenhundert und fünfftzig teütscher Sprichwörter, verneüwert und gebessert) and later republished with updated orthography, for example, in Wittenberg in 1592. He also wrote a number of hymn texts, including “Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ”.
English translation by Francis Browne (May 2002)
I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, hear my lamentation,
bestow your grace on me at this time, do not let me despair;
I think that I have the right faith, Lord, which you wanted to give me,
to live for you, to be useful to my neighbour, to keep your word properly.
I pray still more, o Lord God, you can indeed give me this:
that I shall never again be mocked, and along with these things, give me the hope
-assuming now the time when I have to depart from here -
that I may place my trust in you and not rely
only on my own works, otherwise I shall regret it for ever.
Grant that from the bottom of my heart I may forgive my enemies
pardon me also at this hour, give me a new life;
let your word always be my food with which to nourish my soul,
to defend myself when misfortune comes upon me
that might soon lead me astray.
Let no pleasure or fear in this world turn me away from you,
Give me constancy until the end, you alone have it in your power,
and the person to whom you give it has it for free
No man can inherit nor acquire
through his works your grace that delivers us from dying.
I lie amidst strife and I resist, Help me, o Lord Christ, in my weakness!
To your grace alone I cling, you can make me stronger.
If temptation now comes, Lord, defend me, so that I may not be overthrown.
You can measure it so that it may not bring danger to me;
I know you will not allow it.
Christlieb Siegmund Binder (1723-1789) was a German composer , harpsichordist and organist. Binder originally came from a Naumburg town piper family; his father was an oboist in the Saxon cadet corps. From 1751, Binder played the Pantaleon in the court orchestra . In 1764 Binder became organist at the Hofkirche in Dresden (the Catholic court chapel), a position he remained until his death. A very prolific composer, Binder was one of the first to adopt the “elegant” style in his instrumental and symphonic works.
About the Choral Music:
God Weeps - David Haas
(c.2005, GIA Publications)
“God Weeps” is a setting of an incredibly powerful text by hymn writer Shirley Erena Murray. A true and authentic lament, this piece digs deep in expressing the pain and suffering that can be found everywhere around the world. It focuses on themes of social justice, the poor, and our ongoing need for compassion for those who suffer. The text of "God Weeps" recognizes that tragedies are a part of human existence. It is only through human action that these evils will be corrected. Until we change the way we love, win, and care for one another, God continues to weep, bleed, and cry. God waits for us to understand the Christ, to understand the message of Jesus. That understanding will change human hearts, minds, and actions.
Shirley Erena Murray (b.1931) studied music as an undergraduate but received a master’s degree (with honors) in classics and French from Otago University, New Zealand. Her upbringing was Methodist, but she became a Presbyterian when she married the Reverend John Stewart Murray, who was a moderator of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. Shirley began her career as a teacher of languages, but she became more active in Amnesty International, and for eight years she served the Labor Party Research Unit of Parliament. Her involvement in these organizations has enriched her writing of hymns, which address human rights, women’s concerns, justice, peace, the integrity of creation, and the unity of the church. In recognition for her service as a writer of hymns, the New Zealand government honored her as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit on the Queen’s birthday on 3 June 2001. Murray has published three collections of her hymns: In Every Corner Sing (1992), Everyday in Your Spirit (1996), and Faith Makes the Song (2002). The New Zealand Hymnbook Trust, for which she worked for a long time, has also published many of her texts. In 2009, Otaga University conferred on her an honorary doctorate in literature for her contribution to the art of hymn writing.
David Robert Haas (b.1957) is an American author and composer of contemporary Catholic liturgical music. Haas studied vocal music performance at Central Michigan University. He was a seminarian for the Diocese of Saginaw, studying at St. John Vianney Seminary and the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Haas served as a pastoral musician at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in St. Paul, Minnesota, Our Lady's Immaculate Heart Church in Ankeny, Iowa, and St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St. Paul Park, MN. Haas was Composer-in-Residence/Adjunct Instructor at Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1991, Haas completed his B.A. in Theology and Vocal Music Performance from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He served as Composer-in-Residence / Pastoral Musician at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Haas served as Director of The Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry in his hometown of Eagan, Minnesota. Haas worked at the preparatory school Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, where he was Campus Minister and Artist-in-Residence and served as Campus Minister at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He has produced over 45 original collections and recordings of liturgical music and is the author of several books on the topics of prayer and liturgical music. Haas directed the program Music Ministry Alive!, a five-day liturgical program for youth and adult leaders that met on the campus of St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Haas served as a Faculty/Team Member for Institutes with the North American Forum on the Catechumenate, helping develop liturgical and musical aspects of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
Haas has set the text “God Weeps” to an original tune, SORROW.
God weeps at love withheld, at strength misused, at children's innocence abused,
and till we change the way we love, God weeps.
God bleeds at anger's fist, at trust betrayed, at women battered and afraid,
and till we change the way we win, God bleeds.
God cries at hungry mouths, at running sores, at creatures dying without cause,
and till we change the way we care, God cries.
God waits for stones to melt, for peace to seed, for hearts to hold each other's need,
and till we understand the Christ, God waits.
About the Hymns:
Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet
(c.1984, Meadowgreen Music Co.)
This direct quotation from the King James Version is the refrain of Amy Grant’s well-known praise chorus. Amy Grant (b. 1960) was born in Augusta, Ga., where her father, Burton Paine Grant, was doing his medical residency. After living briefly in Houston, Texas, her family moved to Nashville, Tenn., where they were one of the most prominent and prosperous families. She grew up in the Church of Christ, a faith tradition that bans the use of instruments in worship.
Her recording career began with sweeping floors and demagnetizing tape heads in a Nashville recording studio where she made her first album singing her original, contemporary Christian music at the age of seventeen.
Following her first album in 1977, she accepted concert appearances with Billy Graham Crusades and as an opening act for the Bill Gaither Trio. Grant’s albums and performances have won multiple Dove and Grammy awards and multiple platinum records, indicating millions of sales. Although Amy Grant cannot claim to have invented the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) style of gospel music, she did the most to popularize it in the 1970s and 1980s before successfully crossing over to pop music in the ’80s and early ’90s.
“Thy Word Is a Lamp” was written in 1984 and set to music composed by Michael W. Smith (b.1957) This song is not at all ambiguous in its affirmation of the importance of God’s word in our lives and the role of Jesus as a guide who is beside us to the end. Now a classic in the CCM genre, this song expresses a personal relationship with Jesus.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
When I feel afraid, think I've lost my way,
still you're there right beside me,
and nothing will I fear as Iong as you are near.
Please be near me to the end.
I will not forget your love for me,
and yet my heart forever is wandering.
Jesus, be my guide and hold me to your side,
and I will love you to the end.
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).
Open my eyes, that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
place in my hands the wonderful key that shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my ears, that I may hear voices of truth thou sendest clear;
and while the wavenotes fall on my ear, everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine!
Open my mouth and let me bear gladly the warm truth everywhere;
open my heart and let me prepare love with thy children thus to share.
Silently now I wait for thee, ready, my God, thy will to see.
Open my heart, illumine me, Spirit divine!
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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