Each week, you may find information here about the music in the worship services at Trinity United Methodist Church in Duncanville, 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.
"Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role as Dorothy Gale. "Over the Rainbow" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became Garland's signature song. It has been included in several all-time lists, and has been covered by several artists in varying languages. In 2017, it was selected for induction into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The song was almost cut from the film because the studio felt a slow ballad early on stalled the story; the film's producer and director, however, insisted it remain.
Composer Harold Arlen and lyricist Yip Harburg often worked in tandem, Harburg generally suggesting an idea or title for Arlen to set to music, before Harburg contributed the lyrics. For their work together on The Wizard of Oz, Harburg claimed his inspiration was "a ballad for a little girl who... was in trouble and... wanted to get away from... Kansas. A dry, arid, colorless place. She had never seen anything colorful in her life except the rainbow". Arlen decided the idea needed "a melody with a long broad line”.
By the time all the other songs for the film had been written, Arlen was feeling the pressure of not having the song for the Kansas scene. He often carried blank pieces of music manuscript in his pockets to jot down short melodic ideas. Arlen described how the inspiration for the melody to "Over the Rainbow" came to him suddenly while his wife Anya drove: "I said to Mrs. Arlen... 'let's go to Grauman's Chinese ... You drive the car, I don't feel too well right now.' I wasn't thinking of work. I wasn't consciously thinking of work, I just wanted to relax. And as we drove by Schwab's Drug Store on Sunset I said, 'Pull over, please.' ... And we stopped and I really don't know why—bless the muses—and I took out my little bit of manuscript and put down what you know now as 'Over the Rainbow.’"
When all the world is a hopeless jumble And the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane.
When all the clouds darken up the skyway There's a rainbow highway to be found,
Leading from your window pane To a place behind the sun, Just a step beyond the rain.
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow; why, then, oh why can't I?
Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops away above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow; why, then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, Why, oh why can't I?
Jesus Calls Us
Cecil Frances Alexander (1823-1850) married William Alexander, an Anglican clergyman who later became the Anglican Archbishop for all of Ireland. Alexander was an outstanding young woman by virtue of ability, education, and service. While still quite young, she and her sister operated a school for the deaf, and she also published a highly successful book of hymns for children––designating the profits for the benefit of the school. Her hymns are mostly for children, and were published in her Verses for Holy Seasons, with Preface by Dr. Hook, 1846; Poems on Subjects in the Old Testament, pt. i. 1854, pt. ii. 1857; Narrative Hymns for Village Schools, 1853; Hymns for Little Children, 1848; Hymns Descriptive and Devotional, 1858; The Legend of the Golden Prayers 1859; Moral Songs, N.B.; The Lord of the Forest and his Vassals, an Allegory, &c.; or contributed to the Lyra Anglicana, the S.P.C.K. Psalms and Hymns, Hymns Ancient & Modern, and other collections. She wrote 400 hymns during her lifetime –– mostly children's hymns––but "Jesus Calls Us" and "All Things Bright and Beautiful" are the best known.
Impressed by her hymns, her husband, Bishop Alexander, asked her to write a hymn for use during the coming Sunday worship on St. Andrew's Day based on the call of Simon, Andrew, James, and John (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-18). She wrote this hymn, "Jesus Calls Us," for that occasion. The first verse of this hymn begins, "Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea"––acknowledging the call of those first disciples by the Sea of Galilee. A recurring theme is "Christian, love me more"––"Christian, love me more than these" ––"serve and love thee best of all." Those words were inspired by John 21:15, where Jesus, after the resurrection, asked Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Her text was published in the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge's (SPCK) Hymns for Public Worship (1852). Though written for a relatively minor saint's day, this hymn quickly gained popularity.
The tune GALILEE was written for this text by W. H. Jude in 1887. William Herbert Jude (1851-1922) was an English composer and organist. He was a precocious child, and attended Wisbech Grammar School where records note that by age eight he was composing incidental music for school plays. He later attended Liverpool Organ School and Liverpool College of Music. By 1881, he was organist for the Blue Coat Hospital and Stretford Town Hall near Manchester, as well as being a lecturer and teacher. As a recitalist, he was asked to "open" over 1000 new organs across the UK, Ireland and Australia. He was frequently referred to as "the most brilliant organist of the day". Christian texts and topics appear frequently in Jude's compositions. He was an admirer of the British evangelist Rodney "Gipsy" Smith, and published a collection of Gipsy Smith's Favourite Solos in 1903. Jude appears to have supported the temperance movement; "Fight the Drink", a song by Jude with lyrics by A Sargant, appears in a collection of his music with the note that it was "sung at the Crystal Palace Festival by 5000 people". Between 1890 and 1894, the composer embarked on a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Beginning in 1904, he served as editor for several musical periodicals, including Monthly Hymnal, Minister of Music, and Music and the Higher Life. He also compiled several hymnbooks: Mission Hymns in 1911 and Festival Hymns in 1916.
Jesus calls us o'er the tumult of our life's wild, restless sea;
day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying "Christian, follow me."
As, of old, apostles heard it by the Galilean lake,
turned from home and toil and kindred, leaving all for his dear sake.
Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world's golden store,
from each idol that would keep us, saying "Christian, love me more."
In our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease,
still he calls, in cares and pleasures, "Christian, love me more than these."
Jesus calls us; by thy mercies, Savior, may we hear thy call,
give our hearts to thine obedience, serve and love thee best of all.
Gloria Patri
Many congregations may take these words, sung weekly, for granted. Like many parts of liturgy, their roots extend to the deepest levels of our praise and prayer.
The text of the Gloria Patri falls into the broader category of doxology – in the Greek doxologia or “words of glory.” Doxology finds its roots in the Hebrew liturgy and the psalms as the kaddish. The kaddish is a doxology recited after the verses of a song. Its recitation signals the conclusion of one of the sections of the liturgy and has many different forms and purposes. In the Jewish context, a doxology blesses the One God and God’s everlasting nature. For example, Psalm 41:13 states: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen and Amen” (KJV). This is a form of berakhah (blessing or benediction) that pervades Jewish liturgy and life. The Sh’ma is the most famous and prevalent statement in Reform Jewish liturgy that addresses these criteria:
Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad (שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָֽד):
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Baruch shem k’vod malchuto l’olam vaed (בָּרוּךְ שֵׁם כְּבוֹד מַלְכוּתוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד):
“Blessed is/be the name of the glory/honor of His kingdom forever and ever.”
The “Baruch” is a berakhah added in the rabbinic tradition. It is very similar to Psalm 72:19: “Blessed be His glorious name forever.”
Given this heritage, early Christians adapted the Jewish form to include the Triune God and the Trinity’s eternal nature – “world without end.” Scholars suggest that the opening trinitarian formula is taken from the Great Commission in Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (28:19). Any trinitarian affirmation at the conclusion of a prayer became known as a “doxology.”
The Lesser Doxology has for centuries been chanted in Latin at the conclusion of psalms and canticles, especially in the daily monastic prayers:
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
The Greater Doxology is the fourth-century hymn Gloria in excelsis Deo, the incipit (opening line) of which was drawn from the angel’s canticle, Luke 2:14. This non-biblical canticle was introduced during the fourth-century Christological controversies as a corrective to Arianism – a doctrine attributed to Arius (c. 256–336) claiming that Jesus was subordinate to God the Father. The Gloria became a stable part of the ordinary (fixed) sections of the Roman Catholic mass except during Advent and Lent when it is omitted.
Protestants often limit the doxology to a single stanza from morning and evening hymns composed by Anglican Bishop Thomas Ken (1637–1711) for a resident boys’ school. While the four lines of this well-known stanza are Trinitarian, Ken does not specifically mention the eternal nature of the Trinity. However, he references the cosmic perspective of our praise to God – taking place both on earth and in heaven:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heav’nly host,
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
The Gloria Patri, also known in English as the Glory Be to the Father or, colloquially, the Glory Be, is also referred to as the Minor Doxology (Doxologia Minor) or Lesser Doxology, to distinguish it from the Greater Doxology, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo. The lesser doxology is of Syrian origin:
shubho labo w-labro wal-ruho qadisho
men 'olam w'adamo l'olam olmin, Amin.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
from everlasting and for ever and ever (literal translation).
The Greek wording is as follows:
Δόξα Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ καὶ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι,
καὶ νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
Both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The Latin version differs from the Greek version because of the insertion of "sicut erat in principio", which is now taken to mean "as it (glory) was in the beginning", but which seems originally to have meant "as he (the Son) was in the beginning", and echo of the opening words of the Gospel according to John: "In the beginning was the Word". In 529, the Second Synod of Vasio (Vaison-la-Romaine) in Gaul said in its fifth canon that the second part of the doxology, with the words "sicut erat in principio", was used in Rome, the East, and Africa, and ordered that it be said likewise in Gaul. Writing in the 1909 Catholic Encyclopedia, Adrian Fortescue, while remarking that what the synod said of the East was false, took the synod's decree to mean that the form originally used in the West was the same as the Greek form. From about the 7th century, the present Roman Rite version became almost universal throughout the West.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,
sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, and now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
The following traditional form is the most common in Anglican usage and in older Lutheran liturgical books:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
The translations of "semper" as "ever shall be", and "in saecula saeculorum" as "world without end" date at least from Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer (1552).
Congregations use several traditional musical settings. One is by Charles (Christoph) Meineke (1782–1850), a German-born organist who moved to England around 1810 and then to Baltimore in 1820. He served as organist of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for several decades. Meineke authored Music for the Church . . . Composed for St. Paul’s Church, Baltimore (1844). His musical setting, included in this collection, is usually given the name MEINEKE.
We Are Travelers on a Journey - Mark Hayes
(c.2018, Lorenz Publishing)
Richard Gillard (b. 1953) was born in England and raised in New Zealand. His faith background is a mixture of the Anglican Church on his mother’s side and the Pentecostal Church on his father’s side of the family. He has had little systematic musical training, but from the age of seven began the ukulele, often to accompany his own singing, learning by experiment and later with the help of his father and of Pentecostal church musicians. “We are Travelers on a Journey (The Servant Song) was first published in 1978 on a record album by Scripture in Song called Father Make Us One and has appeared subsequently in other publications including Songs of Praise, which is widely used by New Zealand congregations.
This song is a challenge to the notion that Christianity is about a vertical relationship between the believer and God. It is also about a horizontal relationship between all of us on this planet. And the way we live our lives in service tells us a whole lot more about who we are as Christians than do the words we say. Living out our salvation so that others might be redeemed and served is what it’s all about. It is about being pilgrims on a journey together. Matthew 20:26b-28 provides the primary scriptural background for the song: “. . . Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (NIV)
Brother, sister let me serve you. Let me be as Christ to you.
Pray that I might have the grace To let you be my servant, too.
We are pilgrims on a journey. We are travelers on the road.
We are here to help each other Walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you In the night time of your fear.
I will hold my hand out to you; Speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping. When you laugh, I'll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow Till we've seen this journey through.
When we sing to God in heaven, We shall find such harmony,
Born of all we've known together Of Christ's love and agony.
Mark Hayes is an award-winning concert pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. His personal catalog, totaling over 1,000 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds. Mark received a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in Piano Performance from Baylor University in 1975. He has conducted the SWACDA and MCDA Community and Church Honor Choir, and served as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall, featuring his Te Deum and Magnificat. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Mark arranged and orchestrated the music for Civil War Voices, which won six awards including "Best Musical" in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York. He conducted the world premiere of his work for chorus, orchestra and narrator, The American Spirit, at Lincoln Center in May 2011 and the world premiere of his Requiem in Lincoln Center in May 2013. Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission "to create beautiful music for the world”.
Trust and Obey
This hymn was inspired in 1886 when the composer of the music, Daniel B. Towner (1850-1919), was the music leader during one of Dwight L. Moody’s famous revivals. Towner provided the following account cited by Moody’s musical partner, Ira D. Sankey, in his biography, My Life and the Story of the Gospel Hymns: “Mr. Moody was conducting a series of meetings in Brockton, Massachusetts, and I had the pleasure of singing for him there. One night a young man rose in a testimony meeting and said, ‘I am not quite sure—but I am going to trust, and I am going to obey.’ I just jotted that sentence down, and sent it with a little story to the Rev. J. H. Sammis, a Presbyterian minister. He wrote the hymn, and the tune was born.”
Sammis is said to have composed the lines of the refrain upon receiving the letter:
“Trust and obey—for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
As is the case with most gospel songs, these lines provide the central theme around which all of the stanzas were written. The text and first Towner’s tune, TRUST AND OBEY, appeared in the 1887 collection, Hymns Old and New, and has been included in countless hymnals since. Methodist hymnals in the United States have carried it since 1897.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will, he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey.
But we never can prove the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet,
or we'll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do, where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place
(c.1977, Lanny Wolfe Music)
Lanny Wolfe (born 1942) is a Christian songwriter who has won numerous awards. Wolfe served for a number of years as the Dean of the School of Music at Jackson Bible School, Jackson College of Ministries, but his most significant influence has been introducing black Gospel music to Pentecostal churches.
"Surely the Presence of the Lord Is in This Place" is based on Jesus promise, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst" (Matthew 18:20). It emphasizes the senses––feeling, hearing, touching, and seeing. We can feel the presence of the Lord––and hear the brush of the angel's wings––and see glory on each face. Wolfe was inspired to write this song in 1977 when a friend invited The Lanny Wolfe Trio to sing at a dedication service for a new building. "Surely the Presence" is the song that the Trio sang for that occasion.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place;
I can feel his mighty power and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels’ wings, I see glory on each face;
Sure the presence of the Lord is in this place.
I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" is a Christian hymn originating from India. The lyrics are based on the last words of a man in Assam, north-east India, who along with his family was converted to Christianity in the middle of the 19th century through the efforts of a Welsh missionary. The story, as related by Dr. P.P. Job, an Indian preacher, in His book “Why God Why” is as follows:
At the time, north-east India was not divided into many states as it is today. The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes. The tribal communities were quite primitive and aggressive by nature. The tribals were also called head-hunters because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible. A man’s strength and ability to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected. Into this hostile and aggressive community, came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the message of love, peace and hope of Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. One Welsh missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity. Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man instantly composed a song which became famous down the years. He sang: "I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back."
Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.” But the man sang these words in reply: "Though no one joins me, still I will follow. No turning back, no turning back."
The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.” In the face of death the man sang the final memorable lines: "The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back, no turning back."
He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some supernatural power behind the family, and I too want that supernatural power.” In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
The formation of these words into a hymn is attributed to the Indian missionary Sadhu Sundar Singh. The melody is also Indian, and entitled "Assam" after the region where the text originated. An American hymn editor, William Jensen Reynolds, composed an arrangement which was included in the 1959 Assembly Songbook. His version became a regular feature of Billy Graham's evangelistic meetings in America and elsewhere, spreading its popularity.
I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back.
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow, Tho' none go with me I still will follow,
Tho' none go with me, I still will follow; No turning back, no turning back.
My cross I'll carry, till I see Jesus; My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus,
My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus; No turning back, No turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me, The world behind me, the cross before me;
The world behind me, the cross before me; No turning back, no turning back.
A Closing Prayer - Don Besig
(c.1978, Harold Flammer, Inc.)
Don Besig was a public school music teacher for over thirty years in western New York. He taught at all levels and since his retirement has continued to serve as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator. Recognizing a need for choral music written especially for student singers and volunteer church choirs, he began composing for his own choral groups in 1960. He is also the recipient of several ASCAP Plus Awards Don is a graduate of Ithaca College and a member of Phi Mu Alpha and ASCAP. He and Nancy Price collaborate to write music and lyrics.
The time has come, O Lord, for us to leave this place.
Guide us and protect us and lead us in thy grace.
Wherever life may take us as we go our separate ways,
Help us share with others the things we've shared today.
To God be the Glory - John Carter
(c.1991, Hope Publishing)
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.
John Carter (b. 1930) has enjoyed a long and productive writing career with many choral compositions, both sacred and secular; over sixty collections of piano works including settings of hymns and carols, and more recently original compositions for piano. He taught in public schools in Ohio and was on the faculty at Morehead State University in Kentucky. John has been a church musician since college days, and has held Minister of Music and Pastoral Musician positions in Presbyterian, Methodist, American Baptist and UCC congregations. Many of his choral works have been written in collaboration with his wife, Mary Kay Beall, and they have written numerous musicals, both for schools and drama groups, and a musical drama, “Ruth” based on the Biblical story. They have collaborated on numerous commissioned choral works for schools, churches and community choral groups. John holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and a Master of Music degree from Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee. He studied composition with Forrest Goodenough and Philip Slates.
Trinity United Methodist Church, Duncanville, Texas
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