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:
Amazing Grace - Don Hustad
(c.1971, Hope Publishing Co)
"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.
The melody sung to John Newton’s 1779 hymn “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” is, without a doubt, America’s best-loved hymn tune. Unlike Lowell Mason’s “Nearer, my God, to thee,” the “Amazing grace” tune is of unknown origin. It first appeared in print in 1829 without any composer attribution, and there were thought to be no earlier surviving instances of the tune. However, an 1828 manuscript by Lucius Chapin (1760-1842), who was famous in his day as a hymn tune writer, raises the possibility that Lucius was its composer.
Lucius and his brother Amzi (1768-1835) were among the first and most influential composers to harmonize American folk hymns, using principles they had absorbed from New England and English church music, and perhaps from the oral tradition as well. They also composed hymns in a similar style. The brothers came from a large, musical Massachusetts family. Their mother was an exceptional singer, though she did not read music, and two of their brothers also became singing masters. Lucius and Amzi moved south and west as young men and taught singing schools throughout their lives. In 1828, Lucius was living in central Kentucky and Amzi in western Pennsylvania. The 1828 manuscript was mentioned in passing in James Scholten’s 1972 dissertation on Lucius and Amzi Chapin. On July 25, 1828, Lusius’ son Cephas died from typhus in Oxford, Ohio en route home to visit his parents. There are three tender expressions of paternal love and grief on the back of Cephas’ last letter penned there by Lucius, the tunes AMAZING GRACE and BRAINARD and a brief poem.
The familiar melody had a number of titles in its early publications: ST. MARY’S, GALLAHER, HARMONY GROVE (Shenandoah Harmony), NEW BRITAIN (Sacred Harp), and more. The one title it did not have was AMAZING GRACE, though that title was used for at least two other melodies. The tune wasn’t paired with Newton’s text until 1835. The great nineteenth-century scholar W.E. Chute (1832-1900) attributed the melody to the Chapins.
It is possible that NEW BRITAIN was added to the manuscript after 1828, or copied from a source that does not survive. However, the version here doesn’t exactly match any tune found, either published or in manuscript, in Nikos Pappas’ exhaustive index of over 60,000 early American hymn tunes (1700-1870). It is closest to the tune ST. MARY’S found in Shaw and Spilman’s Columbian Harmony (1829) [4]. Like Lucius, Shaw and Spilman lived in central Kentucky.
Even if Lucius were the first to notate the tune, the concept of “authorship” in this repertoire is difficult. Composers felt free to write arrangements of popular sacred or secular melodies in oral tradition and publish them, either as unattributed tunes or with their own names attached. They also made their own versions of tunes in books or manuscripts, appropriated and rearranged European classical music, and composed music from scratch in a folk idiom.
If Lucius didn’t compose NEW BRITAIN, then who did? The basic structure of the tune is ancient. NEW BRITAIN is a folk hymn—a sacred melody that existed, in some form, in oral tradition prior to being notated. It belongs to a recognized “tune family,” or group of tunes, sacred or secular, that share enough structure and melodic phrases that they seem to be descended from a common root. Other related tunes include Amzi Chapin’s TWENTY-FOURTH (written in the 1790s) and, more distantly, the African-American spiritual “Swing low, sweet chariot” (published in 1873, but definitely older). The folk hymn CONSOLATION (attributed to the Chapins when first published in 1812) has the same contour, but is in the minor mode. However, just because a tune is a folk hymn doesn’t mean that there wasn’t an originator for a particular variant of the tune family. There were at least ten slightly different versions of NEW BRITAIN written down from 1828 to 1840 in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Three of these were from central Kentucky. This argues for oral transmission, but the fact that each version differs from the others only in the amount of ornamentation notated suggests that one person, perhaps an itinerant preacher or singing master, was the “vector” that spread the tune through this area in the late 1820s to 1830s.
Another interesting story, though tangential, is the Chapin family’s connection to the antislavery movement. If you’ve read the story of John Newton (the author of the words to “Amazing Grace”), you know that he was the captain of a slave ship who later rejected his past and advocated against slavery. The Chapin family lived in central Kentucky and some of their neighbors owned slaves, though there weren’t large plantations in the area. However, the diary of Cephas’ sister Harriet survives, and she was profoundly antislavery, though as a woman she didn’t have power to make decisions about her household. She thanks God that her father is “an Emancipator.” I don’t know if that means that he had slaves and set them free or if he didn’t believe in slavery and never owned slaves. Harriet considered it her duty to educate the two young African-Americans who worked for the family, an act that would have been illegal in many states. Harriet died in 1827, just a year before Cephas.
In general, the early revivals in Kentucky were far more democratic than were churches later in the 19th century. Both white women and African-Americans—even slaves—were called on to testify and even preach, and everyone participated in group singing, which was one of the hallmarks of these revivals. So the fact that this particular tune, whoever wrote it, is often associated with black spirituals and related to “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” is not surprising, as it was first popular in a mixed environment.
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.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come:
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures;
he will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease:
I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine;
but God, who called me here below, will be forever mine.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun.
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.
Celebration on "To God Be the Glory" - Grimoaldo Macchia
(c.2019, Sacred Music Press)
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.
Grimoaldo Macchia (b.1972) was born in Rome and began his musical studies at the Arts Academy of Rome. In the context of his generation can be considered an eclectic musician, composer, pianist, organist, arranger and conductor. He graduated with honors from the Conservatory "f. Morlacchi" of Perugia and later graduated with honors in Music at the Conservatory of Perugia. As soloist he has performed for the Pontifical Institute of sacred music, Roman Academy of the arts, Ministero dei Beni Culturali, among others. He took part in several musical events in Italy and abroad, among the most important Festival of sacred music of Rome, Viterbo, Baroque Festival Harmonia Festival in Assisi, Festival di Ischia, and Einlandung zum Neujahrsempfamg at the Ministry of the Interior in BerlinUniverCity of Perugia. He is also an instrumentalist and arranger with the "Synth-Orchestra" of the Ensemble Ausonia.
Macchia is a member of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission for sacred music and head of the Diocesan Choir and Organist of Albano, the Constantinian Basilica Perinsigne Basilica Cathedral of St. Pancrazio Martire. On the occasion of the rite of dedication of the altar of the Cathedral of San Pancrazio in Albano, he performed for Pope Benedict XVI, composing and performing a "Toccata et Fugue" in his honor.
On 14 June 2009, he performed his compositions at the mass for the "Corpus Christi" broadcast live via satellite on Rai Uno from Collegiate Santissima Trinità di Genzano. Recently graduated magna cum laude from the Conservatory "l. Reficie" of Frosinone, he was awarded the Diploma of merit. He is Professor of music at the Junior International Institute in Rome. He recently recorded for GDE editions of Rome and Varese SONITUS CD "Liturgic Organ" of his music for organ, receiving the Holy Father Benedict XVI a special Apostolic Blessing and gratitude for the work.
About the Piano Music:
I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary - Fred Bock
(c.1976, William J. Gaither)
Gospel musicians and couple Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the lyrics to the song “I Believe in a Hill Called Mt. Calvary.” It’s a tune honoring the symbolic hill called Mt. Calvary. Mt. Calvary is that notable hill in the Holy Bible where Jesus did the greatest sacrifice. It’s actually a hill of life. Christ’s death on the cross in Mt. Calvary signifies the beginning of a new life for mankind. Hence, the song displays strong conviction toward that hill and the old rugged cross.
The story of Corrie Ten Boom inspired the Gaithers to write “I Believe in a Hill Called Mt. Calvary.” Ten Boom is the sole survivor among her family members from the concentration camps during the World War II. Her experiences became a powerful testimony of her faith in Christ and later resulted in a beautiful song.
During the latter years of her life, Ten Boom recalled a conversation that she had with her father. He told her that whatever God has called her to go through, He’ll surely give her the strength she needed. Additionally, she shared the tough process she went through learning to forgive those who committed such cruelties. One day, she was in direct confrontation with the very S.S. Officer who mocked her. At that time, she felt that she won’t be able to forgive the man. Hence, she prayed to God to provide her the strength to do so.
William James Gaither (b. 1936) is an American singer and songwriter of Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music. He has written numerous popular Christian songs with his wife Gloria; he is also known for performing as part of the Bill Gaither Trio and the Gaither Vocal Band (GVB). In the 1990s, his career gained a resurgence (as well as the careers of other southern gospel artists), as popularity grew for the Gaither Homecoming series. Bill Gaither was born in Alexandria, Indiana in 1936 to George and Lela Gaither. He formed his first group the Bill Gaither Trio (consisting of Bill, his sister Mary Ann (1945–2018), and brother Danny Gaither) in 1956 while a college student at Anderson College, to which he had transferred after one year at Taylor University. He graduated from Anderson in 1959 with a major in English and a minor in music, after which he worked as an English teacher. He married the former Gloria Sickal in 1962. He tried for a few years to manage both a music career and his full-time teaching job, but he quit his teaching job in 1967 and worked full-time in the Christian music industry. He recorded his breakthrough song "He Touched Me" in 1964.
Gloria Gaither (b. 1942) is a Christian songwriter, author, speaker, editor, and academic. She is the wife of Bill Gaither and also sang in the Bill Gaither Trio, one of the most influential groups in recent Christian music. She was born in Michigan, a daughter of a pastor. She attended Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana. There, she triple majored in English, French, and Sociology. Upon her graduation, she took a job at Alexandria Monroe High School as a French teacher. There, she met Bill Gaither, who was teaching English at the time. She attended Ball State University and received a Master of Arts in Literature. She taught as an adjunct professor at Anderson University for periods in the late 80s and late 90s. In 1996, she spearheaded the creation of Gaither Family Reources in Alexandria, Indiana, and currently serves as co-owner and managing director. In 2002, Gaither launched Homecoming, and she currently acts as writer, interviewer, and contributing editor.
Gloria Gaither often writes the lyrics while Bill writes the music, although composing is usually a collaborative project between the two. As of 2005, they had composed 600 songs and by 2012 that number had increased to over 700.
I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary. I believe whatever the cost.
And when time has surrendered And earth is no more,
I'll still cling to the old rugged cross.
Oh, I believe that this life With its great mysteries
Surely someday will come to an end. Oooh, but faith will conquer
The darkness and death And will lead at last to my friend.
I believe that the Christ Who was slain on the cross
Has the power to change lives today, For He changed me completely;
A new life is mine, And that is why by the cross I will stay.
Fred Bock (1939-1998) was born in New York City just before the advent of World War II. The son of a Physician, he was always a bright and precocious, uniquely talented individual. He received a B.S. in Music Education from Ithaca College and a M.M. in church music from the University of Southern California. Fred was awarded an honorary Ph.D. from Taylor University, Upland, Indiana in the 1980's. Bock founded his own sacred music publishing company, Fred Bock Music, publishing anthems, organ folios and, with his wife Lois, a book Creating Four-part Harmony - Effective Ideas for Ministers of Music and their Wives. He was also a church musician, first at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles and later at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. It was from Bel Air, that he realized the need for a new hymnal and in 1976, he put together a committee that produced Hymns for the Family of God, one of the most successful hymnals published by an independent company during the last half the 20th century. Bock was very active in the Church Music Publishing Association, served on its Executive Board for many years and as its President on three different occasions.
About the Choral Music:
Because He Lives - Jack Schrader
(c.2003, Hope Publishing Co)
UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young says this gospel hymn “is one of the five most requested... to be included in this hymnal.” Based on John 14:19c—“because I live, you also will live”—the hymn’s theme is effectively supported by a soaring melody in the refrain. The words were written by two of the longest-lasting performing couples of Christian contemporary music, Gloria (b. 1942) and William J. (b. 1936) Gaither. “Because He Lives” was awarded the recognition of Gospel Song of the Year for 1974 by the Gospel Music Association and the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP). This gospel song has undoubtedly offered hope for many people because of its connection between the Resurrection and a “life... worth the living.”
The Gaithers said this about this hymn: “‘Because he lives’ [1971] was written in the midst of social upheaval, threats of war, and betrayals of national and personal trust. It was into this world at such a time that we were bringing our third little baby. Assassinations, drug traffic, and war monopolized the headlines. It was in the midst of this kind of uncertainty that the assurance of the Lordship of the risen Christ blew across our troubled minds like a cooling breeze in the parched desert. Holding our tiny son in our arms we were able to write:‘How sweet to hold our newborn baby, And feel the pride, and joy he gives; But greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain day because He lives.’”
Bill Gaither began as a teacher of English, literature and journalism in 1959 in his hometown of Alexandra, La. Gloria Sickal taught French and English in the same high school. They started to sing together and were married in 1962. By 1967, the couple left the teaching profession to become full-time recording and performing artists. Gloria Gaither has authored several books since 1971 including Make Warm Noises, Rainbows Live at Easter, Because He Lives, Decisions: A Christian Approach to Making Right Choices and Let’s Make a Memory (co-authored with Shirley Dobson). In addition to a number of popular Christian musicals, the Gaithers co-edited the hymnal Hymns for the Family of God (1976) with the assistance of the late composer Fred Bock.
Jack Schrader (b. 1942), arranger, composer, conductor, vocalist, and organist/pianist, is past editor with Hope Publishing Company, retiring in January of 2009. His association with Hope began in 1978. A 1964 graduate of Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, where he majored in Voice and Organ, he also received the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Nebraska (1966). Further studies in theology culminated in Jack's ordination by the Evangelical Free Church of America (1975). Schrader is the best-selling choral composer in the Hope catalog. In addition to choral music Jack has published collections for keyboardists, instrumentalists and vocal soloists. He was a member of the editorial committee for Hope's most recent hymnal, Worship & Rejoice (2001), in which he has 24 hymn credits. His music is heard in hundreds of churches across the country each Sunday, and he can be seen throughout the year as a guest clinician at choral reading sessions and workshops.
God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know, I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!
How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know, I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!
About the Hymns:
How Great Thou Art - UMH #77
(c.1981, Manna Music)
"How Great Thou Art" is a based on a Swedish poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg (1859–1940) in Sweden in 1885. “O Store Gud” (O Great God) is a paraphrase of Psalm 8 and has nine verses. It was sung in the underground church in Sweden in the late 1800s when the Baptists and Mission Friends were persecuted. Boberg himself gave the following information about his inspiration for this hymn:
It was that time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest colouring;; the birds were singing in trees and everywhere. It was very warm; a thunderstorm appeared on the horizon and soon thunder and lightning. We had to hurry to shelter. But the storm was soon over and the clear sky appeared. When I came home I opened my window toward the sea. There evidently had been a funeral and the bells were playing the tune of “When eternity’s clock calling my saved soul to its Sabbath rest”. That evening, I wrote the song, “O Store Gud”.
Boberg first published "O Store Gud" in the “Mönsterås Tidningen” (Mönsterås News) on 13 March 1886.The poem became matched to an old Swedish folk tune and sung in public for the first known occasion in a church in the Swedish province of Värmland in 1888. It was soon published in additional hymn collections and was translated into German and Russian.
British Methodist missionary Stuart Wesley Keene Hine (1899-1989) heard the Russian translation of the German version of the song while on an evangelistic mission to the Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, near the Polish border, in 1931. Upon hearing it, Hine was inspired to create his English paraphrase known as “How Great Thou Art". According to Michael Ireland, "Hine and his wife, Edith, learned the Russian translation, and started using it in their evangelistic services. Hine also started re-writing some of the verses --- and writing new verses (all in Russian) --- as events inspired him." Hine finalized his English translation in 1949
When the Billy Graham team went to London in 1954 for the Harringay Crusade, they were given a pamphlet containing Hine's work. They worked closely with Hine to prepare the song for use in their campaigns. They sang it in the 1955 Toronto campaign, but it didn't really catch on until they took it to the Madison Square Garden in 1957. According to Cliff Barrows (Dr. Graham's longtime associate), they sang it one hundred times during that campaign because the people wouldn't let them stop.
George Beverly Shea's recording of the beloved hymn ranks number 204 on the top recordings of the 20th century according to the Recording Industry Association of America. It was voted the United Kingdom's favourite hymn by BBC's Songs of Praise. "How Great Thou Art" was ranked second (after "Amazing Grace") on a list of the favorite hymns of all time in a survey by Today's Christian magazine in 2001.
Evangelist Billy Graham indicated: “The reason I like 'How Great Thou Art' is because it glorifies God. It turns Christian’s eyes toward God, rather than upon themselves. I use it as often as possible because it is such a God-honoring song.”
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze,
And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in.
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And there proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
He Touched Me
(c.1963, William J. Gaither)
“He Touched Me” was composed in 1963, soon after the Gaither’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 (Nashville, 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.
The origins of this song correspond with an account in the Anderson Daily Bulletin newspaper in 1966: 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.
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. On the one hand, this song is a first-person account of an encounter with Jesus who transformed the singer’s life stained with “guilt and shame” (stanza 1) to a life “cleansed and made. . . whole” (stanza 2). On the other hand, this song bears witness to several biblical narratives and extends them to the present day. The singer of this hymn steps into the biblical story.
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.
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.
Today’s music is dedicated to the memory of Paul Sackett, long-time staff member, musician, counselor, missionary, and friend to all.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
No comments:
Post a Comment