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:
Jesus, Refuge of the Weary - David Johnson
(c.1969, Augsburg Publishing)
This Lenten hymn is full of beautiful imagery that teaches us of Christ and His work for us. He is the living water given by God Himself to provide life and rest for us sinners. Though our sin has offended Him, yet God has willingly taken our pain upon Himself on the cross. When we consider Christ crucified, the Lord brings us to repentance over our sins, knowing that the grace He shows here grants us eternal peace. In this faith, the Lord sustains us until the end when we are with Him in glory forever.
The hymn’s author, Girolamo Savonarola (1454-1498), was a born to a family in Ferrara, a city in northern Italy. He was highly inteligent and initialy studied philosophy and medicine. In 1474 on a trip he heard a sermon on repentance and resolved to leave behind his worldly ways and enter the religious life. He acted on this immediately, without teling his parents. He entered the Dominican Order at Bologna and immediately began to write against the depravity of the Renaissance, especialy seen in his poem, “On the Decline of the Church.” While at the monastery he became highly trusted by the leadership and was entrusted with the instruction of the novices. In 1481, he was sent by his superior to Florence to preach. Now in the center of the Renaissance, his opposition to the immoral life becoming prevalent was more noticeable. His preaching was often directed against the court of Lorenzo de Medici. Though few were impacted by his preaching, he kept on. In 1486 he began preaching on the Book of Revelation and became highly absorbed in ideas about God’s judgment of his own era, especially against the Church for its seeming complicity with the immorality of the age. He predicted a reformation of the Church. By 1496 he was preaching openly against the Roman Catholic Church and he was excommunicated on May 12, 1497. However, he ignored this excommunication and continued preaching and even conducted the Christmas Mass that year. His preaching and actions caused such an uproar that he was eventualy executed on May 22, 1498 for “the enormous crimes which he had committed.” However, because of his prediction and calling for a reformation in the Church, he is often referred to as a forerunner of the Reformation, and a statue of him is at the feet of the statue of Martin Luther in Worms. Next to Savonarola are other forerunners of the Reformation—Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, and Jan Hus.
Originally a folk song ("Sollen nun die grünen Jahre") dating from around 1700, O DU LIEBE MEINER LIEBE was used as a hymn tune in the Catholic hymnal Bambergisches Gesangbuch (1732). The tune name is the incipit of the text to which it was set in Johann Thommen's Erbaulicher Musicalischer Christen-Schatz oder 500 Geistliche Lieder (1745). The Psalter Hymnal version is from a manuscript chorale book of the Moravian Brethren compiled in Herrnhut in 1735. Johannes Thommen (1711-1783) was a Swiss pietist, who traveled through Scandinavia singing hymns and accompanying himself on his 10-string guitar.
Jesus, refuge of the weary, Blest Redeemer, whom we love,
Fountain in life’s desert dreary, Savior from the world above:
Often have Your eyes, offended, Gazed upon the sinner’s fall;
Yet upon the cross extended, You have borne the pain of all.
Do we pass that cross unheeding, Breathing no repentant vow,
Though we see You wounded, bleeding, See Your thorn-encircled brow?
Yet Your sinless death has brought us Life eternal, peace, and rest;
Only what Your grace hath taught us Calms the sinner’s deep distress.
Jesus, may our hearts be burning With more fervent love for You;
May our eyes be ever turning To behold Your cross anew
Till in glory, parted never From the blessed Savior’s side,
Graven in our hearts forever, Dwell the cross, the Crucified.
David N. Johnson (1922-1987) was an American organist, composer, educator, choral clinician, and lecturer. He studied organ and composition at Curtis Institute of Music. Between 1942 and 1946 he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps/Air Corps in India, Burma, and China, receiving a Meritorious Service Award and campaign ribbons. He continued his music studies at Trinity University (Texas) and Syracuse University. He also held the associate certificate from the American Guild of Organists (AAGO). He was college organist and music department chair at St Olaf College, Minnesota. In 1967, he succeeded Arthur Poister as professor of music and university organist at Syracuse University. Johnson published well over three hundred compositions, most of them for church use, and was author of an Instruction Book for Beginning Organists (1964) and an Organ Teacher's Guide (1971).
There is a Balm in Gilead - Adolphus Hailstork
(c.2001, Concordia Publishing)
This is a well-known traditional African-American spiritual. The “balm in Gilead” is a reference from the Old Testament, but the lyrics of this spiritual refer to the New Testament concept of salvation through Jesus Christ. The Balm of Gilead is interpreted as a spiritual medicine that is able to heal Israel (and sinners in general). In the Old Testament, the balm of Gilead is taken most directly from Jeremiah chapter 8 v. 22: "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wounds of my [God's] people?" (Another allusion can also be found in Jeremiah chapter 46, v. 2 and 11: “This is the message (of the Lord) against the army of Pharaoh Neco … Go up to Gilead and get balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt, but you multiply remedies in vain; here is no healing for you” - see also Jeremiah chapter 22, v. 6.)
The first appearance of the spiritual in something close to its current form is uncertain. A version of the refrain can be found in Washington Glass's 1854 hymn "The Sinner's Cure”. Glass attributed this hymn to himself, but like several of the hymns so attributed, it is substantially the work of another. The 1925 7-shape Primitive Baptist songbook Harp of Ages has an unattributed song "Balm in Gilead" with a similar chorus, but verses drawn from a Charles Wesley hymn, "Father I Stretch My Hands to Thee."
The second verse ("If you can't...") is also found in some versions of another well-known spiritual "(Walk That) Lonesome Valley." "Wandering verses," as they are often called, are quite common in the camp meeting and revival context, and were already found in the African-American community, as shown by Richard Allen's 1801 "A Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs Selected from Various Authors.”
There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul.
Some times I feel discouraged, And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit Revives my soul again.
If you cannot sing like angels, If you can’t preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus, And say He died for all.
Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork III (b. 1941) is an American composer and educator. Hailstork studied composition at Howard University, Washington, DC (BMus 1963). In the summer of 1963 he attended the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, France, where he studied with Nadia Boulanger. Hailstork also received a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. Hailstork received his PhD in composition from Michigan State University. He served as professor at Youngstown State University in Ohio from 1971 to 1976, and in 1977 accepted a post as professor of music and Composer-in-Residence at Virginia's Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Hailstork is of African American, Native American and European ancestry and his works blend musical ideas from the African, American and European traditions. In 2022, he was featured as "Composer of the Week" on BBC Radio 3.
Jesu, meine Freude - A. W. Leupold
(c.1955, Augsburg Publishing House)
"Jesu, meine Freude" (Jesus, my joy) is a German hymn, written byJohann Franck in 1650, with a melody by Johann Crüger. The song first appeared in Crüger's hymnal Praxis pietatis melica in 1653. The text addresses Jesus as joy and support, versus enemies and the vanity of existence. The first stanza sets the theme of love of Jesus and the desire to be united with him, who is named Lamb, as in Revelation 5:6, and Bridegroom, based on Revelation 22:17. It is a variant of the love song "Flora, meine Freude", published in 1645 by Heinrich Albert, organist at the Königsberg Cathedral. The second stanza describes the protection by Jesus against threats from Satan, enemies, thunder, hell and sin, all pictured in drastic images. The third stanza repeats three times Trotz (defiance), facing the enemies "old dragon" (alter Drachen), death (Tod), and fear (Furcht). The believer, feeling safe even in adverse conditions as expressed in Psalms 23:4, stands singing (Ich steh hier und singe.). The fourth stanza turns away from worldly treasures and honors, which should not separate the believer from Jesus. The fifth stanza repeats four times "Good night", to existence in the world, to sins, to pride and pomp, and to a vile life. The last stanza imagines the entry of Jesus as the "Freudenmeister" (master of joys), as a comforter in every misery. It alludes to Jesus returning after the resurrection (Luke 24:36).
Jesus, my joy, my heart's pasture, Jesus, my treasure!
Ah, how long, ah long has my heart suffered and longed for you!
God's lamb, my bridegroom, besides You on earth
nothing shall be dearer to me.
Under your protection I am safe from the storms of all enemies.
Let Satan rage, let the enemy fume, Jesus stands with me.
Whether now it thunders and flashes, whether sin and Hell terrify,
Jesus will protect me.
Defiance to the old dragon, defiance to the vengeance of death,
defiance to fear as well! Rage, world, and attack;
I stand here and sing in entirely secure peace!
God's strength holds me in watch; earth and abyss must fall silent,
however much they might rumble.
Away with all treasures, you are my delight, Jesus, my joy!
Away, you vain honors, I don't want to listen to you, remain unknown to me!
Misery, want, torture, shame and death shall, although I must suffer much,
never part me from Jesus.
Good night, existence that cherishes the world! You do not please me.
Good night, sins, stay far away, never again come to light!
Good night, pride and glory! To you utterly, life of corruption,
be good night given!
Hence, you spirits of sadness, for my Master of joy, Jesus, comes here.
For those who love God, even their troubles must be pure sugar.
Though I endure mockery and shame here already,
nevertheless you stay with me even in sorrow, Jesus, my joy.
Anton Wilhelm Leupold (1868-1940) studied at the Stern Conservatory, Berlin and the Academy of Music, Berlin. He was organist of St. Peter’s, Berlin, 1899-1939. He taught at the Lindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory. He is considered on of the leaders of the German revival of the chorale.
About the Choral Music:
The Holy Heart – Molly Ijames
(c.2007, Beckenhorst Press)
This sacred song takes us on a journey into the heart of Christ's mercy and grace. The music has the sonority of a folk hymn and yet there is fresh quality in the sound. This arrangement uses the richness of the choir to go from whispered silence to soaring crescendos of praise. The words and melody were originally written by Anne Barbour and Marsha Skidmore. Anne Barbour has been active in the arena of contemporary worship as a singer and songwriter for 35 years. She was a founding member of the Maranatha Praise Band, now the Tommy Coomes Band, and has traveled the world leading worship on platforms for Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Chosen Women, Harvest Crusades, Anne Graham Lotz, Jill Briscoe and many others. Marsha Skidmore, Director of Contemporary Worship at First Presbyterian Church, Bakersfield, California, incorporates the blending of hymns and sacred music with the new songs of this generation, believing that all styles of music can bring glory to God and draw peopleʼs hearts closer to Him in worship. Marsha has been in music ministry for most of her life. A gifted soloist, songwriter and worship leader, Marsha has also traveled the world with the Tommy Coomes Band supporting the ministries of the Billy Graham Evangelical Association and Samaritanʼs Purse International Relief Organization (also known for their “Operation Christmas Child” shoebox ministry). Marsha still has opportunity throughout the year to travel with the band sharing in evangelistic events around the world.
This arrangement is by Molly Ijames, a native of Flint, Michigan, who holds a B.S. in Music Education from Bob Jones University. Her love for sacred music began as a church pianist in her teenage years, and now as an adult, her ministry as an accompanist expands to church and community choirs, Christian camps, schools, and local congregations. She spent seven years working for SoundForth Publishing and BJU in Greenville, South Carolina. She is widely recognized for her sacred compositions and arrangements in various catalogs with over 200 choral anthems, several seasonal cantatas, multiple piano solo and duet collections, keyboard magazines, and instrumental ensemble pieces in publication.
The Holy Heart was broken, sent from the Father’s side;
The Son of God forsaken, the Holy Sacrifice.
For me He was forsaken, for me He died alone,
My sin forever taken, that I might be His own.
The Holy Lamb was stricken, abandoned and alone,
He bore the world’s affliction, He bore it as His own.
And when my heart is broken, Torn by my sin and pride,
The Son of God now risen, now risen will draw me to His side.
For me He was forsaken, for me He died alone,
My sin forever taken, that I might be His own,
And now I am His own.
About the Hymns:
Take Up Thy Cross
A passage from the synoptic gospels sets the stage for this hymn: "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it"
Charles W. Everest (1814-1877) first recited a poem, "Vision of Death," on August 2, 1837, as a student in a class at Washington College, Hartford, Connecticut (now Trinity College). By request, he published it a month later. In 1845, the poem was included with others that the author called "Fugitive Poems" in a collection entitled Vision of Death; and Other Poems. "Take up thy cross" was among the other poems. It is likely, however, that this poem was written at least a decade earlier. Baptist hymnologist Paul A. Richardson notes its appearance in Union Sabbath-School Hymns (1835). Indeed, this must have been one of the poems referred to by the author in the preface to Vision of Death (1845) when he said, "many have appeared in magazines and other periodicals."
This hymn is distinctive because it was one of only two hymns by American authors to appear in the significant British collection Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861). "Take up thy cross" remains one of the great hymns of Christian discipleship. As is the case with many hymns from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, faithfulness and even suffering in this life leads to heaven, or as Everest states: “For only those who bear the cross, May hope to wear the glorious crown!”
Take up your cross, the Savior said, if you would my disciple be;
take up your cross with willing heart, and humbly follow after me.
Take up your cross; let not its weight fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ's strength shall bear your spirit up and brace your heart and nerve your arm.
Take up your cross, heed not the shame, and let your foolish pride be still;
the Lord for you accepted death upon a cross, on Calvary's hill.
Take up your cross, then, in Christ's strength, and calmly every danger brave:
it guides you to abundant life and leads to victory o'er the grave.
Jesus, Tempted in the Desert
(c.1993, GIA Publications)
Herman G. Stuempfle, Jr. (1923-2007) was one of the most prolific and theologically thoughtful hymn writers in the United States. Originally from Clarion, Pennsylvania, he was educated at Susquehanna University (A.B.), Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg (B.D.), Union Theological Seminary, New York (S.T.M.), and Southern California School of Theology at Claremont (Th.D.). After serving parishes in Pennsylvania and Maryland between 1947 and 1959, the Rev. Stuempfle joined the staff of the Board of Social Missions of the United Lutheran Church in America. He became Professor of Preaching at Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg. Dr. Stuempfle also served the seminary as Dean and as President. He was active in much of his retirement in Gettysburg, continuing to teach, preach, lead workshops and conferences, and write hymns.
"Jesus, tempted in the desert" appeared in the author's first published collection of hymns, The Word Goes Forth (1993). Drawing upon the gospel accounts found in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13, the hymn has the feel of a sung sermon. Each stanza quotes the words of Satan followed by a response from Jesus.
The fourth stanza reveals Dr. Stuempfle as a preacher. This stanza offers the "So what?" or the hermeneutical application of the passage to the life of the singer. Beginning with "When we face temptation's power. . .," we understand that Christ was tempted just as we are. The fourth line of the stanza offers an imperative statement: "Come and be our living bread." A source of strength may be found in Christ, the Bread of Life (John 6:35) and in the Eucharist itself. Two of the principles of worship – the sacrament and the hearing of the Word – are included in the final stanza as sources to resist temptation. God's grace is a source of protection and preservation. Grace is revealed most completely through the gospel and the sacrament. By capitalizing "Word," Stuempfle reminds us that Jesus himself is the most fundamental expression of God's word, along with Scripture and preaching.
Dr. Stuempfle was the author of several books on preaching and theology including Theological and Biblical Perspectives on the Laity (1973), Preaching in the Witnessing Community (1973), Preaching Law and Gospel (1978), and Images for Ministry: Perspectives of a Seminary President (1995). His collections of hymn texts are published by GIA Publications, Inc. and include The Word Goes Forth (1993), Redeeming the Time (1997), Awake Our Hearts to Praise (2000), and Wondrous Love Has Called Us (2006). His hymn texts have also been published by the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada and are found in numerous hymnals and choral works. Dr. Stuempfle was honored as a Fellow of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in 2004 for his contributions to hymn writing. Stuempfle promoted the relationship between preaching and hymn writing: "hymns are the sung testimony to God's mighty acts of grace and judgment." To compose hymns was for Dr. Stuempfle a "fundamental vocation to communicate the Gospel.”
Ebenezer also known as Ton-y-Botel (Tune in a Bottle) is a famous Welsh hymn tune composed by Thomas John Williams A.T.S.C. (1869–1944) and extracted from the second movement of his anthem "Goleu Yn Y Glyn" (Light in the Valley). The tune was first published in 1897 in the periodical Yr Athraw ('The Teacher'), vol. 71, in tonic sol-fa notation, and its first appearance in a hymnal was in 1900, in The Baptist Book of Praise. The famed English composer and music historian Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) referred to this as one of the greatest hymn tunes. As the musical editor Vaughan Williams included it in The English Hymnal in 1906.
Ebenezer means "Stone of Help" in the Bible. The tune is named after Ebenezer Chapel in Rhos near Pontardawe, South Wales, which T. J. Willams attended while composing the tune.
T. J. Williams was born in Llangiwg, Ynysmeudwy, near Pontardawe, and lived in Llanelli, South Wales, from 1903. He served as organist and choir director at Mount Elim Baptist Chapel, Ynysmeudwy near Pontardawe, for fifteen years, Zion Baptist Chapel, Llanelli, (1903–1911) and Calfaria Baptist Chapel, Llanelli (1913–1931).
The myth that the tune was discovered in a bottle on a Llyn Peninsula beach in North Wales was published in the Daily Mail in 1902. It has affectionately been known as Ton-y-Botel ever since and is even referred to as "Ebenezer, Ton-y-Botel" on his grave headstone, this also includes the first music phrase and below it the text "Dyma Gariad Fel Y Moroedd”
Jesus, tempted in the desert, lonely, hungry, filled with dread:
“Use your power,” the tempter tells him; “Turn these barren rocks to bread!”
“Not alone by bread,” he answers, “Can the human heart be filled.
Only by the Word that calls us Is our deepest thunder stilled!”
Jesus, tempted at the temples. high above its ancient wall:
“Throw yourself from lofty turret; angels wait to break your fall!”
Jesus shuns such empty marvels, feats that fickle crowds request:
“God whose grace protects, preserves us, we must never vainly test.”
Jesus, tempted on the mountain by the lure of vast domain:
“Fall before me! Be my servant! Glory, fame, you’re sure to gain!"
Jesus sees the dazzling vision, turns his eyes another way:
“God alone deserves our homage! God alone will I obey!”
When we face temptation’s power, lonely, struggling, filled with dread,
Christ, who knew the tempter’s hour, come and be our living bread.
By your grace protect, preserve us lest we fall your trust betray.
Yours, above all other voices, be the Word we hear, obey.
Come and Fill Our Hearts
(c.1991, Les Presses de Taize, admin. GIA Publications)
The hymn “Come and Fill Our Hearts” was written in 1982 by the Taizé community in France. The tune CONFITEMINI DOMINO was composed by Jacques Berthier. The hymn is a prayer of healing and centering.
Jacques Berthier (1923-1994) studied music at the Ecole Cesar Franck in Paris. From 1961 until his death he served as organist at St. Ignace Church, Paris. Although his published works include numerous compositions for organ, voice, and instruments, Berthier is best known as the composer of service music for the Taizé community near Cluny, Burgundy. Influenced by the French liturgist and church musician Joseph Gelineau, Berthier began writing songs for equal voices in 1955 for the services of the then nascent community of twenty brothers at Taizé. As the Taizé community grew, Berthier continued to compose most of the mini-hymns, canons, and various associated instrumental arrangements, which are now universally known as the Taizé repertoire. In the past two decades this repertoire has become widely used in North American church music in both Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
You alone, O Lord are holy.
Come and fill our hearts with your peace.
Have mercy on us.
Give Me a Clean Heart
(c.1970, Margaret P. Douroux)
A song that captures the essence of the confessional spirit of Ash Wednesday both in its text and music is Margaret Pleasant Douroux's "Give Me a Clean Heart," inspired by Psalm 51:10. The Faith We Sing contains only the refrain. Dr. Douroux also has written stanzas to this refrain.
A Californian, Dr. Douroux (b. 1941) is a pioneer in the gospel music tradition. "Give Me a Clean Heart" (1970) was her first composition. More than 200 have followed. Dr. Douroux comes from a family that appreciated gospel music. In an interview granted in 2005, she notes that "both my father and mother, Rev. and Mrs. Earl A. Pleasant, are mentioned in the Smithsonian Archives as being pioneers of West Coast Gospel Music. They were my strongest mentors." Her father was a singer who toured with Mahalia Jackson. Following this Mr. Pleasant founded the Mount Moriah Baptist Church near the Coliseum in Los Angeles. Her mother, Olga, took on musical leadership at the church, organized choirs and taught all six children -- five daughters and one son -- to play the piano. Margaret was a shy organist, but took on more choral leadership in the 1960s, eventually succeeding her mentor at the church, Thurston G. Frazier.
When she wrote her first song, "Give Me a Clean Heart," Frazier introduced it at a national gospel song convention. It was composed soon after Margaret's father had died. Even though he had founded Mount Moriah Church, many people had been unkind to the family after his death, wanting them to move out of the manse with no place to go. In her prayers to God, she asked how she might respond to the ungratefulness of the congregation. Dr. Douroux heard God's response: “God said that he would give me a clean heart.”
Dr. Douroux holds a bachelor's degree in music from California State University, Los Angeles, and masters and doctoral degrees in education, working as an educational psychologist in the Los Angeles schools. She has been honored by the McDonald's Corporation with the Golden Circle Award for Lifetime Achievements made to Gospel Music. As the founder and CEO of the non-profit The Heritage Musical Foundation (www.hmrgospel.com), she has taken up the cause of promoting and preserving the African-American gospel music tradition.
I’m not asking for the riches of the land,
I’m not asking for high men to know my name.
Please Lord give me a clean heart, so that I may follow thee.
Give me a clean heart, a clean heart, and I’ll follow thee.
Sometimes I am up and sometimes I am down.
Sometimes I am almost level to the ground.
Please Lord give me a clean heart, so that I may follow thee.
Give me a clean heart, a clean heart, and I’ll follow thee.
Refrain:
Give me a clean heart, so I may serve thee.
Lord fix my heart, so that I may be used by thee.
For I’m not worthy, of all these blessings.
Give me a clean heart, and I’ll follow thee.
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
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