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:
Pisgah - Dale Wood
(c. 1970, Sacred Music Press)
The oldest English-language religious music in oral tradition in North America, the lined-out, congregational hymnody of the Old Regular Baptists, is heard in the heart of the coal-mining country of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. This music of worship once was the common way of singing sacred song in the American Colonies. In this rare and beautiful music lies the roots of the high, lonesome mountain sound of elaborate melodic turns and graces. A descriptive booklet provides perspectives on the people, their beliefs and practices, their history and theology, and their music.
Richard Burnham (1749-1810) was for many years pastor of a Baptist Church in London, first in Little Chapel Street, and afterwards in Grafton Street, Soho. He is said to have been an excellent preacher. His hymns, 452 in all, rank with the most intensely Calvinistic in the English language, and have been much used by congregations of Calvinistic sentiments. His best known hymns are, “Jesus! Thou art the sinner's Friend," and "O glorious God of grace."
The hymn tune PISGAH is attributed to J. C. Lowry and first appeared in Kentucky Harmony (1817). It is commonly used with the hymns “When I Can Read My Title Clear” and “Jesus, Thou Art the Sinner’s Friend”.
Jesus, Thou art the sinner's Friend; As such I look to Thee;
Now, in the fulness of Thy love, O Lord, remember me.
Remember Thy pure word of grace, Remember Calvary's tree,
Remember all Thy dying groans, And then remember me.
Thou wondrous Advocate with God, I yield my soul to Thee;
While Thou art pleading on the throne, Dear Lord, remember me.
Lord, I am guilty, I am vile, But Thy salvation's free;
Then, in Thine all-abounding grace, Dear Lord, remember me.
Howe'er forsaken or despised, Howe'er oppressed I be,
Howe'er forgotten here on earth, Do Thou remember me.
And when I close my eyes in death, And human help shall flee,
Then, then, my dear redeeming God, O then remember me.
Dale Wood (1934-2003) was a prominent composer, organist, choral director, and clinician. He was honored many times by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) for his “very important contribution towards the creation and development of contemporary American church music”. He wrote many collections of organ works, most of which are based on both old and new hymn tunes. Over eight million copies of his publications have been purchased in over 50 countries.
About the Piano Music:
Whiter Than Snow - Bill Wolaver
(c.1986 Word Music)
“Lord Jesus, I Long to be Whiter than Snow” is based on Psalms 51: 7 and asks the Lord to wash us from our sins. The text was written by James Nicholson (1828-1876) who was born in Ireland. Nothing is known of his childhood or early years, but he immigrated from Ireland to the United States at around age 25 shortly after 1850 and settled in Philadelphia, PA, where he lived for almost twenty years and was an active member of the Wharton St. Methodist Episcopal Church. About 1871 he moved to Washington, DC, where he worked as a clerk in the U.S. Post Office Department. During his spare time, Nicholson remained active in various types of religious work, such as teaching Sunday school classes, leading singing, assisting in evangelistic efforts, and producing hymn texts. The words to "Whiter Than Snow," originally in six stanzas, may have been penned in 1871. The song first appeared in a 16 page pamphlet entitled Joyful Songs No. 4, published in 1872 at Philadelphia by the Methodist Episcopal Book Room. The tune FISHER was composed by William Gustavus Fischer (1835-1912). Seven of the twelve songs in that pamphlet had music by Fischer.
Each of the stanzas of "Whiter than Snow" originally began, "Dear Jesus" instead of "Lord Jesus." It is not known who made this and other alterations, but the present version is taken from Gospel Hymns No. 2, published in 1876 by Ira David Sankey (1840-1908). Sankey often altered the hymns which appeared in his collections, but the inclusion of this one in his books is undoubtedly responsible for its popularity.
Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul,
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up myself, and whatever I know,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet;
By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, Thou seeest I patiently wait,
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never saidst "No,"
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Bill Wolaver received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Oklahoma City University. He is a prolific and renowned composer and arranger in Nashville, TN, working with multiple publishing companies. He and his wife, Robin, have been involved with Christian music for over 20 years, with songs, musicals, and arrangements published by a number of leading Christian publishers. Together, they composed Make His Praise Glorious, recorded by Sandi Patty and nominated for Dove Award for 'Song of the Year.' In addition, they have received an ASCAP Award for 'Inspirational Song of the Year.' He is also the pianist/composer/arranger for the Annie Moses Band. He offers numerous arrangements and compositions at ManAlivePublishing.com.
About the Choral Music:
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me - David Cherwien
(c.2018, Birnamwood Publications)
This text is an anonymous spiritual, most likely of the African-American tradition. Paul Westermeyer categorizes the song as a “communal lament”. Robert Anderson classifies it as a 'sorrow song,' meant for individual rather than group singing” Both concur that this is not a happy song. It is a plea for the companionship of Jesus throughout life, using the metaphor of a journey on foot. The tune is also anonymous. It is named after Sojourner Truth, the freed slave woman who publicly spoke for freedom and equality for all. Though this spiritual focuses on a plea for Jesus to walk alongside us, there is an element of assurance that His answer is “yes.” As the psalmist writes, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4, ESV). It speaks of the presence of God, even when no human companionship is available.
The composer of the hymn tune SOJOURNER is also unknown. The tune is named for Sojourner Truth.
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.
I want Jesus to walk with me. I want Jesus to walk with me.
All along my pilgrim journey Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
In my trials, Lord, walk with me. In my trials, Lord, walk with me.
When my heart is almost breaking, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
When I’m in trouble, Lord walk with me. When I’m in trouble, Lord walk with me.
When my head is bowed in sorrow, Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
to walk with me, to walk with me, to walk with me, to walk with me.
Come My Way, My Truth, My Life
Not all texts in hymnals began as poetry for congregational singing. Such is the case of the mystical verse by the famous Welsh poet George Herbert (1593-1633). In his nearly 40 years of life, Herbert accomplished much. He held positions at Cambridge University and in Parliament, and later in life became a Anglican priest and one of the leading metaphysical poets of his time.
Herbert was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, with the intent of becoming a priest. But King James I, who shepherded the King James translation of the Bible, was interested in his scholarly skills. So Herbert was called to service in the court until the king died in 1625, followed soon by the death of Herbert’s patrons. Herbert then returned to his earlier calling in the church, serving for six years in two parishes. At the time, the Church of England employed many psalm singers. John Donne, Herbert and others contributed to a culture of devotional poetry that later inspired great 18th-century hymn writers like Isaac Watts (1674-1748) and Charles Wesley (1707-1788), whose hymnody eventually broke the stranglehold of singing only metrical psalms in worship.
Herbert’s most enduring work was The Temple (1633). The Temple was popular for a time, then ignored until John Wesley made use of its poems in various collections, including the 1737 Charleston Collection [the first hymnal published in the American colonies], where he altered their meters and subdued their humor. This text comes from a section of The Temple entitled “The Call,” a work published the year after Herbert’s death from tuberculosis. He wrote poetry while serving as a parish priest, partly to supplement his own funds and to help to rebuild the church he was serving at Bremerton, a rural parish about 75 miles southwest of London. John Wesley included this poem in his Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739).
Herbert’s text expands John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” by incorporating additional metaphors: Light, Feast and Strength, and Joy, Love and Heart. The three-fold structure of the first verse is repeated in the other two; there is a trinity in each verse, and three verses, making a trinity of trinities.
Famous British composer and hymn tune writer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) set several of Herbert’s poems in a song cycle entitled Five Mystical Songs (1911). Vaughan Williams’ tune and harmonization were adapted by E. Harold Geer for congregational singing in Hymnal for Colleges and Schools (1956). Singing 17th-century metaphysical poetry demands much from the 21st-century singer. However, each time one returns to Herbert’s poetry and Vaughan Williams’ majestic tune, something new is revealed.
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life: such a way as gives us breath;
such a truth as ends all strife; such a life as killeth death.
Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength: such a light as shows a feast;
such a feast as mends in length; such a strength as makes a guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart: such a joy as none can move:
such a love as none can part; such a heart as joys in love.
About the Hymns:
Blessed Assurance
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.”
Phoebe Knapp (1839-1908) was a composer of music for hymns and an organist. Knapp was born in New York City. Her parents were Walter C. Palmer and Phoebe Worrall Palmer. She married Joseph Fairchild Knapp, one of the founders and the second president of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and he had a pipe organ installed in their apartment. She and her husband were members of the John Street Methodist Episcopal Church in New York City. The hymn writer Fanny Crosby was also a member of that church and a friend of the Phoebe’s. She wrote over 500 hymn tunes, the most familiar being the tune now called ASSURANCE for Fanny Crosby's lyrics “Blessed Assurance”.
Crosby was visiting her friend Phoebe Knapp as the Knapp home was having a large pipe organ installed. The organ was incomplete, so Mrs. Knapp, using the piano, played a new melody she had just composed. When Knapp asked Crosby, "What do you think the tune says?", Crosby replied, "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine." The hymn appeared in the July 1873 issue of Palmer's Guide to Holiness and Revival Miscellany, a magazine printed by Dr. and Mrs. W. C. Palmer.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Perfect communion, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
Perfect submission, all is at rest. I in my Savior am happy and bless’d,
watching and waiting, looking above, filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
Spirit of the Living God
This is one of the most long-lasting and widely used choruses in Christian worship. Every aspect of the song embodies a simple sincerity. The melody encompasses only five notes, and three of the four lines repeat the same nine words. Yet for many, the straightforward petitions of this song draw the singer into an attitude of prayer.
During January and February of 1926, the George T. Stephans Evangelistic Party conducted a citywide revival in the tabernacle in Orlando, Fla. Daniel Iverson, a Presbyterian minister from Lumberton, N.C., spent several days in Orlando visiting with the Stephans team. The day he arrived, he was greatly impressed by a message on the Holy Spirit given by Dr. Barron, a physician from Columbia, S.C. Later that day Iverson went to the First Presbyterian Church in Orlando, sat down at the piano, and wrote this song. Miss Birdie Loes, the pianist for the Stephans team, wrote it out on manuscript paper. E. Powell Lee, the team song leader, was immediately impressed and taught it to the people that evening in the tabernacle, and used it throughout the campaign.
While the inspiration for the hymn is not known for certain, it is likely that Iverson knew a hymn by Adelaide Pollard (1862-1934), “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” based on Jeremiah 18:6: “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel” (KJV). The first stanza of Pollard’s hymn uses similar language (“Mold me and make me”). The final stanza also contains a petition to the Spirit (“Fill with thy Spirit”). Pollard’s hymn was written about 25 years before Iverson’s 1926 composition.
The authorship of “Spirit of the Living God” was lost for a time because the song could so easily be taught without music or even printed words. It first appeared in Revival Songs (1929) in a slightly revised version. Southern Baptist gospel song composer B.B. McKinney made slight alterations and published it again in his Songs of Victory (1937). E. Powell Lee, the song leader for the Stephans evangelistic team, brought Iverson’s name to light and his name was restored to the song in later printings of the Baptist Hymnal in the 1960s.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, Fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, Fall afresh on me.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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