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Hymn History: Standing on the Promises

“Standing on the Promises”
R. Kelso Carter
UM Hymnal, No. 374

“Standing on the Promises” was the middle hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on June 18, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and guitar by Brian Stevenson.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Opening Hymn “Standing on the Promises” on Sunday November 6, 2022 was played by Liz Eunji Moon on piano, accompanied on guitar by Brian Stevenson and sung the Pender Sanctuary Choir and congregation.

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let his praises ring;
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928) was a man of diverse interests and abilities. A native of Baltimore, Md., Carter was known as an outstanding athlete in his younger days. The Methodist Holiness camp meeting movement had a profound impact on his life and he was ordained into ministry in 1887.

Carter held a number of teaching posts at the Pennsylvania Military Academy including professor of chemistry, natural science, civil engineering and mathematics. Not only did he teach, but he also published text books in his various disciplines and even authored several novels. Other interests included sheep-raising and practicing medicine.

If this were not enough, Carter also edited hymnals. He assisted A.B. Simpson in the compilation of a hymnal for the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, Hymns of the Christian Life (1891), a collection that contained 68 of his tunes and 52 of his texts.

“Standing on the Promises” was composed in 1886 while Carter was teaching at the military academy. He was a member of the first graduating class in 1867 and had a strong affinity for the school. Author Phil Kerr makes a connection between the music and the military academy in his book, Music in Evangelism, stating that Carter’s military experience was reflected in the martial musical style of the hymn.

Published the year it was written in the collection, Songs of Perfect Love, edited by John K. Sweeny and Carter, the original text had five stanzas. The missing stanza reads:

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

The second line of this stanza has a particular Wesleyan tone with its focus on perfection and cleansing blood. The Rev. Carlton Young, editor of the UM Hymnal, notes: “As in other single-theme evangelical hymns and songs of this period, the biblical source of the hymn is not clear. ‘Stand firm’ from Ephesians 6:14 has often been cited as the theme of the hymn, although the word ‘promise’ tends to be reinforced as well.”

Thus, two passages of Scripture seem to undergird the central premise of this gospel song: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. . . .” (Ephesians 6:14). Several passages relate to the promises of God including 2 Samuel 22:31: “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried; he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.”

Dr. Young points out that this hymn was not included in authorized hymnals for Methodists (or in the 1957 hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren Church) until the current hymnal. He states, “Its place in our hymnal came from its inclusion in a list of hymns determined to be widely used by evangelical United Methodists.”

As is the case of many gospel songs, this song revolves around its refrain. The stanzas, rather than serving to develop a sequential train of thought, are more like the spokes of a bicycle—all serving as an entry point to the refrain from various perspectives. One could reorder the stanzas and not lose any train of thought.

Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck places the hymn in its context: “The hymn has been widely used in the great evangelistic crusades throughout the past century.” It is in this context that its single focus and rousing, martial music may be best suited.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-stirring-promises-serves-as-popular-crusade-hymn

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Posted by MaryO on July 10, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Music, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: Brian Stevenson, guitar, Heidi Jacobs, Hymn History, Liz Eunji Sellers, piano, Standing on the Promises

Hymn History: When in Our Music God Is Glorified

26 Jun

“When in Our Music God Is Glorified”
Fred Pratt Green
UM Hymnal, No. 68

“When in Our Music God is Glorified” was the opening hymn at Pender’s Music Appreciation Sunday on June 11, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and directed by Brian Stevenson.

“When in Our Music God Is Glorified” was played by Pender’s pianist-organist, Liz Eunji Moon at the Traditional Service Postlude on September 11, 2022

Sometimes a great tune can keep a hymn text alive. Sometimes a great text can revive a neglected tune. The latter is true in this case.

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).

Hymnologist J.R. Watson records that “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!”

The opening line (called the incipit) originally read, “When in man’s music, God is glorified. . . .” Pratt Green reluctantly altered this to the current title for the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and this change has universally been accepted in North American hymnals.

The Rev. Carlton Young, editor of the UM Hymnal, notes that the change in text, though an important “social witness” in the area of inclusive language, weakens the theological and aesthetic qualities of the hymn: 1) Theologically, “the change tends to weaken the affirmation that mere mortal musicians and their music may and often do glorify God”; 2) aesthetically, the wonderful alliteration between “man’s” and “music” paralleled by “God’s” and “glorified” is lost.

Dr. Young speculates that this “text has probably been set in anthem form more than any other of the late twentieth century.”

Ministry of music

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.

Eminent British hymnologist Erik Routley (1917-1982) suggested that in Fred Pratt Green, Methodists finally had a successor to Charles Wesley.

Dr. Hawn is professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology, SMU.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-when-in-our-music-god-is-glorified

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Posted by MaryO on June 26, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: Brian Stevenson, Heidi Jacobs, history, hymn, liz eunji moon, Music Appreciation Sunday, piano, postlude, video, when in our music god is glorified

Hymn History: Come, Christians, Join to Sing

26 Jun

“Come, Christians, Join to Sing” was the closing hymn at Pender’s Music Appreciation Sunday on June 11, 2023. It was sung by Pender’s congregation and Sanctuary Choir, accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs and combined handbell choirs (Joy and Carillon Ringers) directed by Brian Stevenson.

“Come, Christians, Join to Sing” was the opening hymn at Pender’s Traditional Service on May 29, 2022. It was accompanied by piano (Liz Sellers) and organ (Brian Stevenson).

“Come, Christians, Join to Sing”
Christian Henry Bateman
UM Hymnal, No. 158

Come, Christians, join to sing:
Alleluia! Amen!
loud praise to Christ our King:
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
before his throne rejoice;
praise is his gracious choice.
Alleluia! Amen!

Christian Henry Bateman (1813-1899) was ordained into the Church of England after being a Congregational minister.

His ministerial studies were under the auspices of the Moravian Church, where he served for a time before changing to the Congregational Church at age 30. Following his ministry at Richmond Place Congregational Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, and successive Congregational parishes in Hopton, Yorkshire, and Reading, Berkshire, he took Holy Orders in the Anglican Church at age 56 and served as a curate and vicar in several Anglican parishes.

Australian hymnologist Wesley Milgate (1916-1999) noted that Bateman’s hymn is actually a rewritten version of the hymn “Join Now in Praise, and Sing” by William Edward Hickson (1803-1870). Hickson’s text uses the same melody, MADRID (SPANISH HYMN), and is structured in much the same way. Compare Bateman’s text at the beginning of this article with the first stanza of Hickson’s hymn:

Join now in praise, and sing
Hallelujah, Amen!
Praise to our heavenly King,
Hallelujah, Amen!
By love and gratitude
Still be the song renewed,
And be our hearts subdued,
Hallelujah, Amen!

Bateman probably found the earlier hymn in the collection Hickson published, Singing Master (1836). Hickson’s five stanzas were reduced to three by Bateman and first appeared in a collection published in Edinburgh, Sacred Melodies for Children (1843). The original “Hallelujah, Amen!” was changed by the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., in their 1933 hymnal, to “Alleluia! Amen!” It has remained that way ever since.

Each stanza begins with an exhortation—an imperative command to “Come” or “Praise.” In stanza one, Bateman provides the children with the reason for singing: We offer “loud praise to Christ our King . . . before his throne. . . .” Christ desires our praise: “praise is his gracious choice. . . .”The original incipit (opening line of the hymn) was “Come, children, join to sing.” Though changed in the Presbyterian hymnal to include all age groups, Bateman’s text contains direct, uncomplicated language suited for children. Since very few of the words have more than two syllables and “Alleluia! Amen!” is interjected three times in each stanza, the hymn is easy for children to learn and sing.

Stanza two reassures the children (and all of us) that this King is also “our guide and friend” and that “his love shall never end.” This King will “condescend” to be a friend to the children. To condescend surely did not mean to patronize as it tends to mean today, but implies that Christ the King humbles himself to be in a personal relationship with us.

Stanza three ends on an eschatological note. The author reassures children that they need not fear death. Beyond life, our songs will continue on “heaven’s blissful shore . . . singing forevermore: Alleluia! Amen!”

Dr. Hawn is professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-come-christians-join-to-sing

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Posted by MaryO on June 26, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Music, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: Carillon Ringers, Christian Henry Bateman, Combined Bell Choirs, Come Christians Join To Sing, congregation, handbells, history, hymn, Joy Ringers, Music Appreciation Sunday, pender sanctuary choir, video

Hymn History: ‘Doxology’

19 Jun

Pender’s current Doxology is “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”.

On May 28, 2023, Pender Pianist, Heidi Jacobs played a prelude which incorporated the Doxology into a medley of hymns.

In general usage, the Doxology is a short statement of praise, glory, and thanksgiving to God. It is often a short hymn designed to be sung by the worshiping congregation. Pender sings it to give thanks after the offering.

Chuck Knows Church — Doxology.

Chuck sings! Kinda. Bet you can’t guess the name of the most played piece of music in Protestant churches each Sunday? You looked at the title of this episode, didn’t you?

Chuck sings and explains on this his show!

“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow”
by Thomas Ken
The United Methodist Hymnal, 95

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.

Born in Hertfordshire, Bishop Thomas Ken (1637–1711) was orphaned as a child and raised by his sister Anna and her husband Izaak Walton. They enrolled him in the all-boys school at Winchester College (1651–1656). After his education there, he attended Hart Hall, Oxford, and New College, Oxford (B.A., 1661, M.A., 1664).

Ken was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1662, serving as rector to several parishes and as a chaplain to Princess Mary of Orange (1679–80), King Charles II (1683), and the Tangier Expedition (1683–84). In 1685, he was appointed Bishop of Bath and Wells. During the reign of King James II, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to sign the Declaration of Indulgence (1687), a decree designed to promote the king’s Catholic faith. Ken was acquitted of the charge. When, however, King William III ascended to the throne, Ken refused to swear loyalty to him and resigned his office, living the rest of his life at the home of his friend, Lord Weymouth, at Longleat, Wilshire (Doyle, Canterbury Dictionary, n.p.).

The original date of composition by Ken for the text of “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” is unknown. The first mention of the hymn is in 1674 as the presumed final stanza of two longer hymns: “Awake, My Soul and with the Sun” and “Glory to Thee, My God, this Night.” These two hymns were referenced along with a third as Morning, Evening and Midnight Hymns in a later edition of a pamphlet written for his students titled A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College (1695). The following directive is from the first edition:

. . . be sure to sing the Morning and Evening Hymn in your chamber devoutly, remembering that the Psalmist, upon happy experience, assures you that it is a good thing to tell of the loving kindness of the Lord early in the morning and of his truth in the night season (Ken, 1675, n.p.).

This directive is most often interpreted to mean that the hymns were meant for private devotion, not the gathered assembly, and yet these four lines, often referred to as The Lesser Doxology, have “been sung more often than any other lines ever written” (Gealy, 1993, 200). The hymn texts were published later as an appendix in his 1695 pamphlet as “revised” versions.

Much of the beauty of these four lines lies in its reflection of the joyous outbursts of the psalms. Here we see both the “host” of heaven and the “creatures here below” of earth praising God as in Psalm 96:11-12a and the final jubilant line of Psalm 150:6:

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it. (Psalm 96: 11-12a, NRSV)
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! (Psalm 150:6, NRSV)

Commonly called “The Doxology,” Ken’s acclamation of praise is actually one of many doxological declarations that appear in many hymns, often in final stanza. See, for example, the last stanzas of the fourth-century hymn “Of the Father’s Love Begotten,” William Draper’s versification (c. 1919) of a thirteenth-century poem by Francis of Assisi, “All Creatures of Our God and King,” and Catherine Winkworth’s translation (1858) of Lutheran pastor Martin Rinkart’s “Now Thank We All Our God” (1647). Though less common now, the pattern for many mainline Protestant congregations has been to sing another doxological acclamation, the “Gloria Patri,” earlier in a worship service, and Ken’s stanza at the time of the offertory. Of note is the cosmic character of Ken’s praise—“all creatures here below” and “above ye heavenly hosts”—calling on the entire cosmos to praise God.

The Trinitarian structure of Ken’s hymn has also led to its common liturgical use. The first line describes the person of God the Father as the source of all blessings (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:3). The second line, though, speaks to God the Spirit through whom all creatures praise God (Psalm 104:24-30; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13). The third line points to God the Son, who is begotten of the Father, firstborn of heaven and superior to angels and the heavenly host (Hebrews 1:4). The fourth line summarizes the stanza and all of praise in general, since all praise is directed toward God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The United Methodist Hymnal pairs this text with the hymn tune OLD 100^th, which is attributed to John Calvin’s composer, Louis Bourgeois (c. 1510–1559). The first two lines of Ken’s text were later adapted with additional inclusive words by United Methodist pastor Gilbert H. Vieira (b. 1926) to be sung with LASST UNS ERFREUEN from Ausserlesene Catholische, Kirchengesänge (1623), harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Pastor Vieira’s use of inclusive language reflects his continuing strong stands for inclusive and carefully chosen language (see Vieira, 2020, n.p.).

The hymn tune MORNING HYMN was composed by François Hippolyte Barthélémon (1741–1808) for the text of “Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun.” The appropriateness of the tune works well for this final stanza, where the words of the second phrase, “Praise him, all creatures here below,” are sung by descending stepwise through an entire scale. The third phrase, “Praise him above, ye heav’nly host,” is sung through a similar ascension that returns to the highest note of the tune in the final stanza, acknowledging the Trinitarian nature of God. Sheila Doyle comments on the hymn text saying, “The language is simple and precise, and the opening images of light and rising up, appropriate to morning, pervade the hymn and convey a powerful sense of renewal and aspiration” (Doyle, “Awake, My Soul,” n.p.).

SOURCES:

Sheila Doyle, “Awake, My Soul, and with the Sun,” The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, https://hymnology.hymnsam.co.uk/a/awake,-my-soul,-and-with-the-sun (accessed September 27, 2020).

_____, “Thomas Ken,” The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/thomas-ken (accessed September 27, 2020).

Fred D. Gealy, Research Files for the 1970 Companion to the Hymnal [1966] quoted in Young, Carlton R. Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1993), 200.

Thomas Ken, A Manual of Prayers for the Use of the Scholars of Winchester College
(London: Printed for John Martyn, 1675), http://anglicanhistory.org/ken/manual.html (accessed September 27, 2020).

Gilbert H. Viera, “Let’s Watch Our Language,” United Methodist Insight (February 24, 2020), https://um-insight.net/perspectives/let-s-watch-our-language (accessed September 27, 2020).

From https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-praise-god-from-whom-all-blessings-flow

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Posted by MaryO on June 19, 2023 in Chuck Knows Church, Hymn History, hymns, Music, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Videos

Tags: Chuck Knows Church, Doxology, hymn, pianist, Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Hymn History: Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love

30 May

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Opening Hymn “Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love” on Sunday May 14, 2023 was played by Heidi Jacobs on piano and Brian Stevenson on organ.

This was Heidi’s first Sunday as Pender’s Pianist.

“Jesus, Thine All-Victorious Love,”
by Charles Wesley
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 422.

Methodists need no introduction to Charles Wesley. For that matter, neither do most singing Christians! Perhaps no other hymn writer except Isaac Watts is so well loved as Charles Wesley. Few were as prolific, at least, or as wide-ranging with regard to the theological topics they addressed….

“Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love” is found in the United Methodist Hymnal at No. 422. As with many Wesley hymns that we sing today, the four stanzas given in the UMH are but part of a much longer hymn called “My God! I know, I feel thee mine.” The complete hymn is found in Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists in the section, “For Believers, Groaning for Full Redemption.” Atop the hymn text in the early editions sits a scripture reference to Romans 4:13, which speaks of the promise God made to Abraham and the righteousness of his faith. The full hymn has twelve stanzas, which can be divided thematically into four groups. Stanzas 1 to 3 articulate an individual’s desire for intimate communion with God the Father using physical, even visceral, images. Stanza 2 is particularly beautiful and connects to the passage from Romans 4, using the language of faith:

I hold Thee with a trembling hand,
But will not let Thee go,
Till steadfastly by faith I stand,
And all Thy goodness know.

This opening group of stanzas speaks of how such an intimate relationship with God not only sustains us, but gives us “health, and life, and power, and perfect liberty.” The use of superlatives such as “all Thy goodness” and “perfect liberty” highlights well the Wesleyan idea of Christian perfection.

The second section focuses on the love of Jesus and that love’s redemptive power. There are several scriptural images at play, and as one might expect from Wesley, or indeed from most anyone writing about love, conversion of the heart is central to this section. The United Methodist Hymnal version begins with this stanza, which is number 4 in the original.

Jesus, thine all victorious love
shed in my heart abroad;
then shall my feet no longer rove,
rooted and fixed in God.

The third section of the text focuses on the Holy Spirit; its three stanzas are all included in The United Methodist Hymnal. One particularly potent stanza speaks of the sanctifying power of the Spirit, highlighting another key tenet of Wesleyanism.

Refining fire, go through my heart,
Illuminate my soul;
Scatter Thy life through every part,
And sanctify the whole.

The fourth section brings to completion the sanctification of the believer and the experience of Christian perfection. The poetry of Wesley’s final stanza is both beautiful and unequivocal in its theological witness:

My steadfast soul from falling free,
Shall then no longer move;
But Christ be all the world to me,
And all my heart be love.

Those who might bravely choose to sing all twelve stanzas of this hymn would experience a beautiful, thoroughly trinitarian witness to the redemptive power of God’s love in Jesus Christ through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. However, most congregations will probably opt to sing a subset of stanzas. The four stanzas found in the United Methodist hymnal are well suited to the Easter season. Beginning with a stanza about the “victorious love” of Jesus Christ reminds us of Jesus’s resurrection and victory over death, that is, of Easter. Following that stanza, then, the next three stanzas about the working of the Spirit seem to suggest the kind of liturgical flow that the Church experiences in the transition from Easter to Pentecost. That liturgical flow is made especially apparent in Year C of the Sunday lectionary, when the gospel of Luke is read.

“Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love” is a common meter text (8.6.8.6.) and could be sung to a great many tunes. It is often paired with Lowell Mason’s version of AZMON, which is ideal for most stanzas of the text. The iambic structure of the hymn aligns well with the fact that AZMON begins with a pickup note. However, because two lines of the stanza “Jesus, thine all victorious love” begin with a stressed syllable (“Je-sus” and “root-ed”), using AZMON, which has both a pickup and fast note values on the downbeat of each measure, could be awkward. One might consider singing the hymn to a common meter tune that begins without a pickup, such as ST. AGNES. Regardless of the tune chosen, though, or the number of stanzas one endeavors to sing, “Jesus, Thine All Victorious Love” is an exemplary Wesleyan hymn. Consider it the next time you sing during Eastertide.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-jesus-thine-all-victorious-love-wesley