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:
Praise Him - Charles Ore
(c.2002, Concordia Publishing)
“Praise Him” is based on Hal’lulu, a Telugu folk song from southeastern India setting Psalm 150.
Charles W. Ore (b.1936) was born in Winfield, Kan. A 1958 graduate of Concordia University in Seward, he was awarded a master of music degree from Northwestern University in. Evanston, Ill., and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. From 1966 to 2001, Charles was professor of music and chair of the Music Department at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. He was also the cantor of Pacific Hills Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska from 1975-2001 and Associate Organist at First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Lincoln, Nebraska from 2001-2006. Charles is an accomplished organ recitalist, composer of organ and choral music, and is a leader in the use and development of improvisation in organ playing. Charles Ore is best known for his organ compositions. His nine volumes of 11 Compositions for Organ, which appeared from 1971 to 2012, comprise the longest-running series in Concordia Publishing House history.
Praise Him, praise with trumpet and drum, with strings and winds and voice.
Praise Him, praise, with song and with prayer, with joy, with dance, and with love.
Let all who breathe sing praise to the Lord. Hallelujah!
About the Handbell Music:
With Praises Ring - Barbara Kinyon
(c.1991, Agape)
Barbara Baltzer KIinyon (b. 1929) received her Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, and her Masters Degree from the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester) in Rochester, NY. Barbara has spent her professional life as a solo pianist, college professor, church organist, private piano and pipe organ instructor, as well as handbell conductor, composer and clinician. Ms. Kinyon's college teaching career has spanned 25 years as professor of music theory and composition at Suffolk Community College on Long Island. She has been deeply involved with the church music ministry as organist and conductor of handbell choirs at the Setauket Presbyterian Church in Setauket, NY. Barbara has written and has had published over 225 handbell compositions. Barbara is also a composer/arranger of choral music, and she resides in Stony Brook, NY.
About the Choral Music:
The Awakening - Joseph Martin
(c.1996, Malcom Music, div of Shawnee Press)
"The Awakening” has been a well-loved song of musicians since it was composed. It speaks of a world without music and thanks God that we have music in our world. Little did anyone know in 1996, that because of a pandemic, we would experience that world. We rejoice that we can worship with singing again.
Joseph Martin (b. 1959 ), a native of North Carolina, earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Subsequently he earned a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Texas, Austin. Joseph taught for five years in the Piano Pedagogy Department of the University of Texas.. He is a member of the staff of Shawnee Press as Director of Sacred Publications, with responsibilities for overseeing the editorial and creative direction of the company’s sacred publications and also coordinating the recording and production aspects of future sacred publishing efforts. Joseph has performed solo piano recitals and has been the featured artist with symphony orchestras in the United States and Mexico. As winner of the Nina Plant Wideman Competition, he performed with the Guadalajara Symphony Orchestra. His solo recital in Ex-convento del Carmen was broadcast nationally throughout the country. Though he continues to perform in concert, he now devotes his efforts to playing in churches and for conferences of church musicians Recognized throughout the United States for his many choral compositions, over 1200 compositions are currently in print and the list continues to grow.
Joseph Martin has written this about “The Awakening”:
When I was asked to write the commissioned anthem for the 20th anniversary of TCDA (Texas Choral Directors Association), I knew that the piece would be sung first to music teachers and I wanted to encourage them in their work and remind them of how important they are to the lives of our young people.
When I was in Junior High school, I had a wonderful teacher who created a sanctuary for her students in the choir room. She opened many windows of artistic thought that were new to me, and she helped me fall in love with choral music. I wasn't much of a singer and so played the piano for the group (my degrees are in piano performance). It was a violent time in the inner city school where I was bused everyday and music became a deeply important part of my life for many reasons during those years. This dear teacher, Doris Clark, had a special nurturing spirit and her kind but disciplined manner was both an inspiration and a challenge for us to do our best. She was energetic and insightful. She connected the dots of musical expression and the greater lessons of life in a way I had never considered. She also inspired a great sense of the sacred in the music and that was a tremendous impact on me and how I was to view my musical gifts through the years. She was one of my first true mentors. In a tragic turn of events, following one of our concerts my final year she was brutally murdered in the choir room. We returned to a music suite surrounded by police tape and padlocks. That wondrous place that had been such a special sanctuary for us was turned in an instant into reminder of the hatred and violence that was part of that awful time. “The Awakening” is my journey back to joy... it is my testament to the power of music to heal and the determination that we all discovered while trying to honor the life-song of our beloved teacher.
The piece lays out into three sections. The first section is a dream sequence...or should I say a nightmare, where there is only silence and despair. Music of course is also a metaphor for life in the anthem, and I tried to write the piece so that even non-musicians might be able to relate to the feelings of hopelessness that are represented in this opening tableau. The music is replete with tone painting, and as this section settles into deep despair, all melody is smothered and this haunting section ends with just gasping whispers of silence.
The middle section is representative of the coming of dawn and the hope of a new day. The song, no longer dormant, emerges from the shadows and begins to shine. The whole of creation begins to sing in a festive ostinato and confident calls to praise are heard from each section. The hidden message of “Soli Deo Gloria” harkens back to the works of Bach (he often wrote these words at the ends of his music) and celebrates my personal conviction that the source of the “Song” is divine.
This spiritual admonition transports the piece headlong into the Finale which is a hymn of praise to the “Giver of the Song.” The final shouts of exaltation banish the darkness of the opening dream forever with the proclamation “Let Music Live! Hopefully, both performer and listener will understand through the journey of the piece that they are part of the sacred song of life. I also hope that teachers and music directors will rediscover the joy of sharing the gift of music with their pupils and that they will feel encouraged even as my teachers encouraged me to celebrate that song in everything they say and do.
I dreamed a dream, A silent dream, Of a land not far away.
Where no birds sang, No steeples rang, And teardrops fell like rain.
I dreamed a dream, A silent dream Of a land so filled with pride
That ev'ry song, Both weak and strong, Withered and died.
I dreamed a dream.
No alleluia, Not one hosanna, No song of love, No lullaby.
And no choir sang to change the world.
No pipers played; no dancers twirled.
I dreamed a dream, A silent dream.
Silent. Silent….
Awake! Awake! Awake! Awake!
Soli Deo Gloria! Awake! Awake!
Awake! Awake, my soul, and sing! The time for praise has come.
The silence of the night has passed; A new day has begun.
Let music never die in me! Forever let my spirit sing!
Wherever emptiness is found, Let there be joy and glorious sound.
Let music never die in me! Forever let my spirit sing!
Let all our voices join as one To praise the Giver of the song!
Awake! Awake! Let music live!
A Call to Praise - Jim Taylor
(c. 1998 Choristers Guild)
Jim Taylor is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Fine Arts at LeTourneau University, a private, interdenominational Christian polytechnic in Longview, Texas, where he conducts two choirs, teaches classes, and oversees the department. Before this appointment he served as Director of Choral Activities at Kilgore College, also in East Texas. Prior to his career in academia he served as full-time director of music in several large churches in Florida, Colorado, and Alabama, directing children’s and youth choirs as well as adult and orchestral activities. Dr. Taylor studied composition at Florida Atlantic University and the University of North Texas, earned a Master of Music degree in Studio Writing and Production from the University of Miami, and completed a doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Alabama, where he was the Narramore Scholar. Jim founded the Jacksonville (FL) Children’s Chorus in 1995 and saw it grow in five years to 100 singers with performances at Disney World, Jaguars Stadium, and Carnegie Hall. In East Texas, Jim founded and directed the Kilgore College Children’s Chorus.
Praise Him with music, praise him with dancing,
praise him with singing, all the day long,
praise him with laughing and crying and working together;
God is our strength and song.
Praise him with trumpets, praise him with cymbals,
praise him with keyboard, French horn and gong,
praise him with strumming and drumming and clapping together,
praise him with joyful song.
God is in music, God is in dancing,
God is in singing all the day long.
God is in laughing and crying and working together;
praise him with joyful song.
Praise him with joyful song. Praise him with song!
With Joy and Music - Eugene Butler
(c.1992, Sacred Music Press)
Eugene Butler (b. 1935) is a native of Durant, Oklahoma. His undergraduate degree was earned at Oklahoma University. His masters degree in Sacred Music is from Union Theological Seminary in New York and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition was earned from the University of Missouri in Kansas City. He has published over 1000 compositions. For most of his adult life he served as Director of Choral Activities at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas.
We praise, we praise our great Redeemer’s name,
With song, with song, his majesty proclaim;
For many blessings still abound With joy we let our praise resound;
With joy and music, bells and strings, We lift our praise to the King of Kings!
For life and song, for these we give our praise;
Our God, the Lord, put music in our days
So sound the trumpet, ring the chimes, For these are great and glorious times,
With joy and music, bells and strings, we lift our praise to the King of Kings!
With instruments our praise enhance, In moods of thanks we sing and dance;
We praise him for his mighty deeds, With gifts sublime he meets our needs,
With joy and music, bells and strings, We lift our praise to the King of Kings,
King of Kings!
We praise, we praise our great Redeemer’s name,
With song, with song, his majesty proclaim;
For many blessings still abound With joy we let our praise resound;
With joy and music, bells and strings, We lift our praise to the King of Kings!
Why We Sing - Greg Gilpin
(c.2009, Shawnee Press)
Originally from Missouri, Greg Gilpin resides in Indianapolis, IN. He is a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Music Education, K-12. Gilpin is a well-known, ASCAP award-winning choral composer and arranger with hundreds of publications to his credit. He is also in demand as a conductor for choral festivals, all-district and all-state choirs and is a member of MENC and ACDA. As Director of Educational Choral Publications for Shawnee Press, Inc., Gilpin oversees creation of the educational music products for this distinguished publisher.He works as a studio musician and producer in the recording industry for commercial jingles, CD projects, Broadway and Disney. He has worked musically with Ray Boltz, Bill and Gloria Gaither, Sandi Patty, David Clydesdale as well as principal pops conductor, Jack Everly and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
A sound of hope, a sound of peace,
a sound that celebrates and speaks what we believe.
A sound of love, a sound so strong,
it’s amazing what is given when we share a song ...
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, why we stand as one in harmony!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, take my hand and sing with me!
Sooth a soul, mend a heart, bring together lives that have been torn apart.
Share the joy, find a friend, it’s a never-ending gift that circles back again.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, why we stand as one in harmony!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, take my hand and sing with me!
Music builds a bridge, it can tear down a wall!
Music is a language, that can speak to one and all!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, why we stand as one in harmony!
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, take my hand and sing with me!
This is why we sing, we sing, We sing!
About the Vocal Solo/Duet Music:
How Beautiful Your Songs of Praise - Jeff Lippencott
(c.2009, Belden Street Music Publishing)
Jeff Lippencott is an Emmy-nominated composer responsible for the music of many hit television series and film scores, including Shark Tank, MasterChef, and Grace Unplugged. In 2003, Lippencott, along with Mark T. Williams, founded Ah2 Music in Valencia, CA. Since that time, Ah2 has grown to be one of the most sought-after composing teams in the world, garnering gold and platinum records, multiple ASCAP and BMI Film and Television awards, and two Primetime Emmy nominations, among other industry accolades. Jeff Lippencott was honored during the prestigious 2019 Western Heritage Awards weekend on April 12 - 13 for Original Western Composition 2019 - “Frontier Symphony.”His mission statement is simply that "I write music to convey the beauty of creation and the glory of God through melody, chord, and lyric.”
In the stillness of my heart I will wait for You,
In the silence of my soul, I will speak Your name,
With my voice I will proclaim:
How beautiful Your songs of praise, how true and steadfast are Your ways.
Let all that is within me rise and sing,
How beautiful Your holy name, How marvelous Your saving grace,
That You would call me as Your own; How beautiful.
In the movement of a breeze I can hear You speak.
In the works Your hands have made, sun and moon and stars,
I see everything your are.
How beautiful Your songs of praise, how true and steadfast are Your ways.
Let all that is within me rise and sing,
How beautiful Your holy name, How marvelous Your saving grace,
That You would call me as Your own; How beautiful.
How beautiful Your songs of praise, how true and steadfast are Your ways.
Let all that is within me rise and sing,
How beautiful Your holy name, How marvelous Your saving grace,
That You would call me as Your own; How beautiful, how beautiful, beautiful.
His Eye is on the Sparrow - Patti Drennan
(c.2013, Alfred Music)
Civilla Durfee Martin (1866-1948) was born in Nova Scotia and died in Atlanta, Ga. In “His eye is on the sparrow” (1905), she has provided one of the most influential and often-recorded gospel hymns of the 20th century. Martin was the daughter of James N. and Irene Harding Holden, and was a schoolteacher with modest musical training. Together with her husband, Walter (1862-1935), they often wrote gospel songs for revival meetings. “Be not dismayed” is an example of their collaboration. Walter Stillman Martin was a Baptist minister who received his education at Harvard. He later became a member of the Disciples of Christ, teaching at Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in Wilson, N.C., before moving to Atlanta in 1919, a location that became the base for revivals that he held throughout the U.S.
The song was inspired by Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Gather feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Later in Matthew (10:29-31), the Gospel writer continues on this theme: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Similar thoughts are cited in Luke 12:6-7. Stanza two quotes part of John 1:14 directly, “Let not your heart be troubled...”
Civilla Martin describes the context out of which the hymn was born: “Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheelchair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s response was simple: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.’ The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn ‘His Eye Is on the Sparrow’ was the outcome of that experience.” The next day she mailed the poem to Charles Gabriel, a famous composer of gospel songs, who wrote a tune for it.
Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart feel lonely And long for Heav’n and home?
When Jesus is my portion, A constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear;
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth But one step I may see:
His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.
I sing because I’m happy, and I sing because I’m free.
For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.
I sing because I’m happy, and I sing because I’m free.
For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.
For HIs eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Watches me.
Patti Drennan taught Choral Music for twenty-eight years in Norman, OK public pchools and was awarded the coveted “Director of Distinction Award” given yearly by the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association.An active composer and arranger, Drennan has published over 425 anthems. She has served as a clinician for school and church workshops, guest director at numerous churches, and adjudicator for choral contests in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas. Drennan retired from teaching in 2004 in order to compose and stay active as a clinician and workshop presenter. For almost ten years she served as Music and Worship Arts Director at First Baptist Church, Norman.
How Can I Keep from Singing? - Sally DeFord and James Loynes
(c.2009, Sally DeFord and James Loynes)
How Can I Keep From Singing?" (also known by its incipit "My Life Flows On in Endless Song") is a Christian hymn with music written by American Baptist minister Robert Wadsworth Lowry. The song is frequently, though erroneously, cited as a traditional Quaker or Shaker hymn. The original composition has now entered into the public domain, and appears in several hymnals and song collections, both in its original form and with a revised text. Though it is not, in fact, a Quaker hymn, twentieth-century Quakers adopted it as their own and use it widely today.
The first known publication of the words was on August 7, 1868, in The New York Observer, Titled "Always Rejoicing", and, attributed to "Pauline T." These words were published by Robert Lowry in the 1869 song book, Bright Jewels for the Sunday School. Here Lowry claims credit for the music, but gives no indication as to who wrote the words. These words were also published in a British periodical in 1869, The Christian Pioneer, but no author is indicated. Lewis Hartsough, citing Bright Jewels as source of the lyrics and crediting Lowry for the tune, included "How Can I Keep from Singing?" in the 1872 edition of the Revivalist. Ira D. Sankey published his own setting of the words in Gospel Hymns, No. 3 (1878), writing that the words were anonymous. The song has often been attributed to "early" Quakers, but Quakers did not permit congregational singing in worship until after the American Civil War. It was published in the Quaker songbook Songs of the Spirit, and the original words were included in the much more ambitious Quaker hymnal project, Worship in Song: A Friends Hymnal] in 1996.
During the 20th century, this hymn was not widely used in congregational worship. Diehl's index to a large number of hymnals from 1900 to 1966 indicates that only one hymnal included it: the 1941 edition of The Church Hymnal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, titled "My Life Flows On". It was also published in the earlier 1908 Seventh-day Adventist hymnal, Christ In Song, under the title "How Can I Keep From Singing?" The United Methodist Church published it in its 2000 hymnal supplement, The Faith We Sing, giving credit for the lyrics as well as the tune to Robert Lowry. The Faith We Sing version changes some of the lyrics and punctuation from the 1868 version.
This arrangement, with slightly altered text, was written and graciously shared by Sally DeFord and James Loynes. Sally DeFord (b. 1959) is an American composer from Eugene, Oregon. DeFord is one of those people so filled with gratitude for her gifts, that she shares them for free. Her original pieces and arrangements are always creative, top-quality musical offerings. James Loynes is a Welsh baritone who works primarily in musical theater, but often collaborates with Sally DeFord in arrangements of choral music.
My life flows on in endless song,
Above earth´s lamentations,
I hear the sweet, though far-off hymn
That hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing,
It finds an echo in my soul.
How can I keep from singing?
What though my joys and comforts die?
The Lord, my Savior liveth.
What though the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night He giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm,
While to that Refuge clinging.
Since Christ is lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing?
I lift mine eyes, the cloud grows thin,
I see the blue above it.
And day by day this pathway smooths,
Since first I learned to love it.
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing.
All things are mine since I am His.
How can I keep from singing?
How can I keep from singing?
About the Hymns:
When in Our Music God is Glorified
(c.1972, Hope Publishing Co.)
Noted British hymnologist John Wilson (1905-1992) suggested that the Methodist poet and hymn writer Fred Pratt Green write a text to the tune ENGELBERG, composed in 1904 by the famous British composer Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924). Stanford’s tune had been well-known in the earlier 20th century until Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) composed the immensely popular SINE NOMINE in the same metre (sung to “For All the Saints”) for the English Hymnal (1906). Wilson urged Pratt Green to write a text for a Festival of Praise which could be sung to Stanford’s neglected tune.
Pratt Green based his text on Psalm 150 but alluded to Mark 14:26 in stanza four of the hymn, a stanza recalling the hymn sung by the disciples at the Last Supper. The hymn, composed in 1972, first appeared in New Church Praise (1975) and in the single-author collection The Hymns and Ballads of Fred Pratt Green (1982) with the title, “Let the People Sing!”
This hymn is groundbreaking in many ways. There are numerous examples in the history of hymnody where music is a metaphor for some theological theme or experience. In Babcock’s “This Is My Father’s World,” for example, “all nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres.” Charles Wesley speaks of “the music of the heart” in his paraphrase of Psalm 150, “Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above.”
However, Pratt Green uses music not just as a metaphor that points us to another idea, but explores music-making as a phenomenon in the Christian’s experience in its own right. The second stanza concludes with the marvelous thought that “making music . . . move[s] us to a more profound Alleluia!”
In this way, Pratt Green seems to agree with Martin Luther who said, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” Luther and Pratt Green seem to ascribe a quasi-sacramental quality to music—music as a means of revelation and grace.
Pratt Green (1903-2000) was born in Roby just outside of Liverpool, England. Following his education, he was ordained in 1924 as a Methodist minister and served in various parishes throughout England well into the 1940s. Although he had a long interest in poetry, he did not focus on hymn writing until his retirement from active ministry.
When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride,
it is as though the whole creation cried, Hallelujah!
How often, making music, we have found a new dimension in the world of sound,
as worship moved us to a more profound Hallelujah!
So has the church, in liturgy and song, in faith and love, through centuries of wrong,
borne witness to the truth in every tongue: Hallelujah!
And did not Jesus sing a Psalm that night when utmost evil strove against the Light?
Then let us sing, for whom he won the fight: Hallelujah!
Let every instrument be tuned for praise! Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise!
And may God give us faith to sing always: Hallelujah! Amen.
Wonderful Words of Life
Philip Bliss (1838-1876) went to Chicago in the employ of Dr. George F. Root, the musician, where he was engaged in conducting musical Institutes, and in composing Sunday School melodies. Originally a Methodist, he became, about 1871, a choirman of the First Congregational Church, Chicago, and the Superintendent of its Sunday Schools. In 1874 he joined D. W. Whittle in evangelical work. To this cause he gave (although a poor man) the royalty of his Gospel Songs, which was worth some thirty thousand dollars. His death was sudden. It occurred in the railway disaster at Ashtabula, Ohio, Dec. 30, 1876. He had escaped from the car, but lost his life in trying to save his wife. In spite of the shortness of his life, Philip Bliss is one of the most important and influential gospel song writers of the nineteenth century.
Christian publisher Fleming H. Revell (Dwight Moody’s brother-in-law) was about to launch a new Sunday School paper. He wanted a song that would capture the overall focus of the publication, which was to emphasize the vital importance of studying the Word of God. The name of the paper was to be Words of Life, so Mr. Revell asked Philip Bliss if he could come up with a song to fit, suggesting the key text, John 5 & 6. In the passage, many who had followed Christ were drifting away. The Lord turned to His disciples and asked, “Do you also want to go away?” And Peter made this reply on behalf of the other men: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life”. Bliss duly produced a song, as requested, calling it Wonderful Words of Life. It’s a simple song. Bliss wrote both the text and the tune, WORDS OF LIFE. And after it served its purpose, in the first issue of the publication, it was all but forgotten. But Revell passed on a copy of the Sunday School paper to another hymn writer, George Stebbins. Stebbins began using Philip Bliss’s song in evangelistic meetings, with he and his wife Elma singing it as a duet. It caught on, after that, and became very popular. Simple though it is, it reminds us that we have a precious treasure in the Scriptures–words of life.
Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life;
let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life;
words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty:
Christ, the blessed One, gives to all wonderful words of life;
sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life;
all so freely given, wooing us to heaven:
Sweetly echo the gospel call, wonderful words of life;
offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life;
Jesus, only Savior, sanctify forever,
Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.
All Creatures of Our God and King
(c.1989, United Methodist Publishing House)
The words of the hymn were initially written by St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) in 1225 in the Canticle of the Sun poem, which was based on Psalm 148. The words were translated into English by William Draper, who at the time was rector of a Church of England parish church at Adel near Leeds. Draper paraphrased the words of the Canticle and set them to music. It is not known when Draper first composed the hymn but it was between 1899 and 1919. Draper composed the hymn for his church's children's Whitsun festival celebrations and it was later published in 1919 in the Public School Hymn Book. The hymn is currently used in 179 different hymn books. The words written by St Francis are some of the oldest used in hymns after "Father We Praise Thee", written in 580 AD. The hymn is set to the tune of "Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr", a German Easter hymn written by Friedrich Spee, published in 1623 in his book Auserlesene, Catholische, Geistliche Kirchengesäng. It was first used in English hymn books in 1906.
St. Francis is famous for many things, including love of animals. Pictures of him usually have birds flying nearby and small animals at his feet. A popular story tells of him stopping to preach a sermon to a flock of birds. He reminded them that God had blessed them with beautiful clothing even though they had never learned to spin or weave–– and that God had blessed them with food even thought they had never learned to sow or reap. Then he called them to sing their songs as praises to God. St. Francis wrote this hymn near the end of his life. Sick and suffering bouts of blindness, he was going home to die when he stopped to visit friends at the St. Damien monastery. While there, he felt the inspiration to compose this joyful hymn. It calls all God's creatures ––sun and moon ––wind and water––fruits and flowers––and all who are of tender heart––to sing, "Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!" to honor our God.
LASST UNS ERFREUEN was originally published in the Jesuit hymnal, Ausserlesene Catlwlische Geistliche Kirchengesänge, in 1623 in Cologne, Germany. The tune is believed to have been composed by Friedrich Spee, a Jesuit priest and hymn writer who was most well known as an activist who opposed trials for witchcraft. Spee’s 1631 book, Cautio Criminalis, or a Book on Witch Trials, is one of the first written works to present strong arguments against the use of torture. Spee’s opening melodic phrase in “LASST” has its origins in a setting of Psalm 68 in the Genevan Psalter, a collection of psalm settings composed between 1539-62 in Geneva, Switzerland. While its original publication featured an Easter text, “Lasst uns erfreuen herzlich sehr” (“let us rejoice most heartily”), its most well-known version appeared in the English Hymnal in 1906, edited by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Vaughan Williams reharmonized the tune and set it in a triple meter.
All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing
alleluia, alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam, thou silver moon with softer gleam,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou rushing wind that art so strong, ye clouds that sail in heav'n along,
O praise him, alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice, ye lights of evening, find a voice,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Thou flowing water, pure and clear, make music for thy Lord to hear,
alleluia, alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright, that givest man both warmth and light,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
And all ye men of tender heart, forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye, alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, praise God and on him cast your care,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Let all things their Creator bless, and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son, and praise the Spirit, three in one,
O praise him, O praise him, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
First United Methodist Church, Lewisville, Texas
A Community of Everyday People Learning to Love Like Jesus
