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Hymn History: Jesus United by Thy Grace

“Jesus, United by Thy Grace”
by Charles Wesley
The United Methodist Hymnal, 561

Jesus [Jesu], united by thy grace
and each to each endeared,
with confidence we seek thy face
and know our prayer is heard.

“Jesus, United by Thy Grace” was the closing hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 3, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s congregation and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Closing Hymn “Jesus United by Thy Grace” on Sunday July 24, 2022 was played by Liz Sellers on piano and sung by Brian Stevenson and the Pender Congregation.

This hymn appeared first in the collection titled Hymns and Sacred Poems (1742), one of a series of collections published by the Wesley brothers bearing this title. This hymn must have been prominent in the Wesley canon, since all nine of the original stanzas were included nearly forty years later in the monumental A Collection of Hymns for the Use of the People called Methodists (1780) in the section “For the Society, Praying.” Published initially as a long four-part hymn with twenty-nine stanzas titled “A Prayer for Persons Joined in Fellowship,” most of six stanzas in The United Methodist Hymnal come from Part IV. Though appearing as a unified theological whole in the hymnal, this is an excellent example of careful editing. Stanza 1 comes from Part IV (stanza 1). Stanza 2 is taken from Part 1 (stanza 3). Stanza 3 was first cited in Part I (stanza 5). The remaining stanzas (4, 5, and 6) are from Part IV (stanzas 4-6) (Young, 1993, p. 449).

The preface to the collection (most likely by John Wesley) focuses on the Christian perfection doctrine. A misunderstanding at that time was that Christians could achieve perfection in this life. This misinterpretation of Christian perfection was causing disunity in the Methodist fellowship (See J. Wesley, “Christian Perfection,” 1741). John Wesley states his position in the Preface of this collection in unequivocal terms:

First, we not only allow, but earnestly contend. . . that there is no Perfection in this life which implies any dispensation from attending all the ordinances of God; or from doing good unto all men, while we have time, though especially unto the household of faith. And whosoever they are who have taught otherwise, we are convinced are not taught of God. We dare not receive them, neither bid them Godspeed, lest we be partakers of their evil deeds (Wesleys, 1742, pp. i-ii).

Nourishing Christian unity was a part of the process of Christian perfection. The preface to the earlier 1739 collection offers an expansion of the strong message of Christian unity conveyed by the hymn text. Citing Ephesians 4:15-16, the Wesleys emphasize that “we are knit together [my emphasis], that we have nourishment from him, and increase with the increase of God” (J. Wesley, 1739, p. vii).

Each of the stanzas chosen for The United Methodist Hymnal emphasizes unity in some way:

Stanza 1: “united by thy grace”
Stanza 2: “Help us to help each other, Lord, / each other’s cross to bear”
Stanza 3: “Up unto thee, our living Head, / let us in all things grow”
Stanza 4: “let all our hearts agree, / and ever toward each other move”
Stanza 5: “To thee, inseparably joined, / let all our spirit’s cleave”
Stanza 6: “This is the bond of perfectness, / thy spotless charity”

Charles Wesley employs a particularly original metaphor in stanza 4—“Touched by the loadstone of thy love, / let all our hearts agree. . .”. British Wesley scholar, J.R. Watson, notes that this stanza “has proved very attractive to hymnbook editors” (Watson, Canterbury Dictionary, n.p.). A loadstone has strong magnetic qualities. Thus, the sonorous alliterative pairing—loadstone/love—is also a theological truth that stresses the magnetic (attractive) quality of God’s love—a love that draws us to God. This magnetic quality underscores the reality that God takes the initiative in God’s relationship with humanity.

The final two of the three omitted stanzas employ soaring language that moves us toward eschatological truth, a common destination in Charles Wesley’s hymns, and beyond the present-day text’s focus on Christian living while on earth:

With ease our souls through death shall glide
Into their paradise,
And thence on wings of angels ride
Triumphant through the skies.

Yet when the fullest joy is given,
The same delight we prove,
In earth, in paradise, in heaven
Our all in all is love.

The published text remains grounded in Christian unity only possible through the grace of Jesus, rather than on the commonality of opinion or politics. Given these times in which we live and the state of disunity in the church, these words serve as a reminder that we are joined with one another through our determination to be one in mind with Jesus. According to the hymn, the commitment to be one in Christ results in “the bond of perfectness,” while acknowledging continuing need to pray that we “possess the mind that was in thee” (stanza 6).

S T Kimbrough Jr. refers to Charles Wesley as a lyrical theologian, defining Charles’ theology as one “couched in poetry, song, and liturgy, characterized by rhythm and expressive of emotion and sentiment” (Kimbrough, 2014, p. 3). Kimbrough points out that some Wesley hymns (such as this one) demonstrate Wesley’s “way of working through theological issues, thought and concepts, and of shaping theological ideas,” through the use of poetry (Kimbrough, 2014, p. 54). This compelling text provides a thorough “working through” of this theme for a service focused on unity. As lyrical theology, the hymn might be sung in a variety of worship contexts. The Common Meter (C.M.) text allows for a variety of tune options in addition to ST. AGNES printed in The United Methodist Hymnal. In the more than 150 hymnals in which this hymn appears in Hymnary.org, hymnal editors pair eleven tunes with this text. Common Meter presents an opportunity to consider which tune would be the most appropriate contextually. In a lament-focused worship service, the slower, more somber ST. AGNES may be a reflective choice. If the focus on unity intends a more firm and declamatory statement of faith and unity, AZMON could be a compelling expression of the words in the opening stanza, “with confidence we seek thy face and know our prayer is heard.”

This hymn, with its focus on unity through Christ, articulates a lyrical theology that may prove helpful when considering the complex and divisive issues present today in church and society.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-jesus-united-by-thy-grace

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Posted by MaryO on November 13, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Ministries, Music, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Videos

Tags: Brian Stevenson, Centerville, Chantilly, Charles Wesley, community, congregation, Fairfax, faith, Heidi Jacobs, history, hymn, hymns, Jesus United By Thy Grace, liz sellers, Northern Virginia, NoVa, Pender Congregation, Pender UMC, pender united methodist church, piano, Sanctuary Choir, singing, The United Methodist Hymnal, United Methodist, video, Virginia, Wesley, worship

Hymn History: Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus

23 Oct

“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus” was the closing hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 17, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s Sanctuary choir, congregation and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”
George Duffield, Jr.
UM Hymnal, No. 514

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
Ye soldiers of the cross;
Lift high his royal banner,
It must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
His army shall he lead,
Till every foe is vanquished,
And Christ is Lord indeed.

George Duffield, Jr. (1818-1888) wrote this hymn out of a tragic accident that resulted in the early death of one of the most stirring preachers in the northeastern United States during the mid-nineteeth-century. Dudley Tyng (1825-1858), an inspiring Episcopalian preacher, was one of several ministers participating in a great citywide revival that swept Philadelphia in 1858. His strong doctrinal preaching and his anti-slavery rhetoric were popular for some and angered others, resulting in his resignation from an Episcopal congregation that he pastored following the retirement of his father. In addition to serving the newly organized Church of the Covenant, his midday services at the YMCA attracted crowds as large as 5,000. On one occasion, March 30, 1858, 1000 men responded to the message by committing their lives to Christ.

During this sermon, Tyng is said to have declared, “I would rather that this right arm were amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.” Prophetically and tragically, within a few weeks while visiting the countryside, his arm was caught in the cogs of a corn thrasher and severely lacerated resulting in a great loss of blood and an infection that took his life a few days later. Either in his final sermon or on his deathbed, Tyng is to have said, “Let us stand up for Jesus.” Another account states that the dying Tyng told his father, a retired Episcopal minister, “Stand up for Jesus, father, and tell my brethren of the ministry to stand up for Jesus.”

Duffield, the son of a well-known Presbyterian minister, was educated at Yale University and Union Theological Seminary. He used his independent wealth, according to the Rev. Carlton Young, “to establish small congregations and to support evangelistic endeavors.” Duffield was inspired by the funeral service for Tyng to preach on Ephesians 6:14 in his sermon the following Sunday at Temple Presbyterian Church, the text of which reads, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” (KJV) The hymn he wrote was sung at the conclusion of the sermon.

An omitted stanza five alludes to Tyng’s death in lines 5 and 6:
Stand up!—stand up for Jesus!
Each soldier to his post;
Close up the broken column,
And shout through all the host!
Make good the loss so heavy,
In those that still remain,
And prove to all around you
That death itself is gain!

Hymnologist Kenneth W. Osbeck noted that Duffield’s Sunday school superintendent was so impressed by the hymn that he shared it throughout the church’s Sunday school classes. From there, the editor of a Baptist periodical received a copy and promoted it his publication, giving it wider circulation and making it available for publication in hymnals to this day.

The inspiring story of this hymn and the countless singers who have responded to the call of Christ over the last 150 years notwithstanding, the rhetoric of the poem presents problems for Christians living in a religiously pluralistic context in the twenty-first century. Images of soldiers who “lift high [Christ’s] royal banner,” and fight “till every foe is vanquished” recall for many the militant campaigns of the Crusades in the eleventhth through thirteenth centuries. The British counterpart to this hymn is “Onward, Christian Soldiers” (No. 575), written just a few years later in 1864. Many will recall the controversy around the inclusion of this hymn in The United Methodist Hymnal (1989) before its publication. While Ephesians 6 would seem to provide an impetus for both of these hymns, the language employed is so vividly militant that they may be read by those beyond the Christian family as a call to a literal warfare.

Note, by contrast, the language of Charles Wesley’s 1749 exposition of Ephesians 6:13-18, “Soldiers of Christ, Arise” (No. 513), a hymn tied closely with the Scripture. At the conclusion of the third stanza, Wesley entreats us to “pray always, pray and never faint,/pray, without ceasing pray.” Wesley makes it clearer that we are engaged in spiritual warfare, and Christ provides us with spiritual weapons with which to wage our struggle.

While hymns like “Stand up, stand up for Jesus” may have inspired revival and mission efforts in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, our rhetoric today needs to match the gospel of compassion and love that we seek to share in the twenty-first century. Let us claim the call to the spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6 and balance this with the God who came in Christ to love a lost and suffering world.

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-stand-up-stand-up-for-jesus

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Posted by MaryO on October 23, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Ministries, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: accident, Centerville, Chantilly, community, congregation, Fairfax, faith, George Duffield Jr., Heidi Jacobs, Hymn History, hymns, Northern Virginia, NoVa, Pender UMC, pender united methodist church, Sanctuary Choir, singing, Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus, The United Methodist Hymnal, United Methodist, video, Virginia, Wesley, worship

Hymn History: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

09 Oct

“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
Henry Van Dyke
The UM Hymnal, No. 89

“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”, set to the famous “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony, Symphony No. 9, was the opening hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 10, 2023. It was sung by Pender’s Sanctuary choir, congregation and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

“Ode to Joy” was the postlude at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on July 9, 2023, played by Heidi Jacobs on the piano.

On June 20, 2022, a Memorial Concert was held for long-time choir member, Diane Martini. The Pender Sanctuary Choir and The Choral Arts Society of Washington sang several of Diane’s favorites.

“The Hymn of Joy” (often called “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” after the first line) is a poem written by Henry van Dyke in 1907 with the intention of musically setting it to the famous “Ode to Joy” melody of the final movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s final symphony, Symphony No. 9.

Former Pender UMC Music Director, Ann Rollins, directed the combined choirs and congregation in singing Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee with organ accompaniment.

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
Opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
Drive the dark of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day.

This joyful ode is one of the best-known hymns in the English language. Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was inspired in 1907 by the beauty of the Berkshire mountains where he was serving as a guest preacher at Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.

It has been said that Van Dyke handed the poem to the president of the college, saying: “Here is a hymn for you. Your mountains were my inspiration. It must be sung to the music of Beethoven’s ‘Hymn to Joy.’” The hymn appeared in the 3rd edition of Van Dyke’s Book of Poems (1911).

While this story may be true, Methodist hymnologist Fred Gealy commented on this hymn from a different perspective (as cited by UM Hymnal editor Carlton Young):

“Van Dyke countered [the doom prior to World War I] by speaking a gay cheery all’s-right-with-the-world note which was in complete harmony with the widely held belief in an easy if not inevitable progress. . . . The daintiness of phrase and the lilt of rhythm suggest Elysium or Eden before the Fall.”

The adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) stirring melody from the final movement of his Ninth Symphony is the perfect companion to this exuberant text. Beethoven never wrote a hymn tune, per se, though a number of texts have been adapted to this melody. Van Dyke’s is by far the most closely associated hymn text with this tune.

The metaphor of light, the antithesis of darkness—a common theme in Romantic poetry—provides the overarching vehicle for expressing joy in stanza one. “Flowers . . . [open] to the sun above.” “Clouds of sin and sadness” disperse. “Dark and doubt” are driven away. The final line of stanza one petitions the “Giver of immortal gladness” to “fill us with the light of day.”

The second stanza paints a vivid picture of God manifest in the beauty of nature, also a common theme of the Romantic era. The third stanza extends to the human creation and the brotherhood of humanity. Since God is the Father of humanity, Christ is our brother.

The belief that ultimately humanity is progressing culminates in the final stanza, “Ever singing, march we onward,/ Victors in the midst of strife.”

Beethoven’s “joyful music” was adapted by British composer Edward Hodges (1796-1867). The United Methodist Hymnal restores Beethoven’s original syncopation that begins the final line of each stanza.

Dr. Young comments on this bold move with a combination of humor and irony: “Its restoration in our hymnal has spawned complaints from those for whom congregational song is devoid of surprises—and resurrection!”

Van Dyke was a Presbyterian minister. Most of his career (1899-1922) was spent as a professor of English literature at Princeton University.
He also served in civil posts, including his appointment to the Netherlands and Luxembourg by Woodrow Wilson, a personal friend, and was a lieutenant-commander in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps during World War I. Van Dyke wrote some 25 books and chaired the committee that in 1905 prepared the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church.

Given Van Dyke’s experience in Europe and service as a military chaplain, it is unlikely that this famous hymn, written during the bleak days before the World War I, was composed with a Pollyanna worldview of denial. Rather this poem, composed by a minister and English professor, reflects the Romantic poetic themes of its day while imbued with a Christian sense of ultimate hope.

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

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-joyful-joyful-we-adore-thee

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Posted by MaryO on October 9, 2023 in Hymn History, hymns, Ministries, Music, Music Ministry, Pender UMC, Posts of Interest, Videos

Tags: Ann Rollins, Beethoven, Choral Arts Society Of Washington, congregation, Diane Martini, Heidi Jacobs, Henry Van Dyke, history, hymn, Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee, Ludwig van Beethoven, Memorial Concert, Ode To Joy, pender sanctuary choir, piano, Symphony, Symphony No 9, video

Hymn History: When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee

25 Sep

“When Jesus the Healer Passed through Galilee”
Peter D. Smith
The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 263

“When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee” was the closing hymn at Pender’s 9:00 am Traditional Service on September 10, 2023 It was sung by Pender’s Sanctuary choir, congregation and accompanied on piano by Heidi Jacobs.

The Pender UMC Traditional Service Closing Hymn “When Jesus the Healer Passed Through Galilee” on Sunday June 19, 2022 was accompanied by Liz Sellers on piano, Brian Stevenson on guitar and sung by Brian and the Pender Congregation.

During the season of Epiphany, we recall those actions of Jesus, especially the miracles, that demonstrate that he was indeed the Christ, the Son of God. “When Jesus the healer” provides a compendium of many of Christ’s miraculous healing activities.

Peter David Smith was born in Weybridge, Surrey, England, in 1938. After working for a time in the aircraft industry, he became a Methodist minister. A hallmark of his ministry was his gift as a folksinger. Though trained as a classical pianist, the folk guitar became his instrument of choice. He edited several popular song collections including Faith, Folk, and Charity (1968), Faith, Folk and Nativity (1969), Faith, Folk, and Festivity (1969), and New Orbit (1972). These collections appeared during the height of the popularity of the folk music idiom.

The folk idiom in the service of the church provides an immediacy and accessibility to great biblical truths. While classical hymnody often engages through the depth of metaphors and symbolic use of language, the more colloquial language of the folk idiom captures us with its earthiness—what you see is what you get. The music of a successful folksong must be easily learned—captured immediately—or it works against the directness of the language.

Folk Songs often tell stories, or have a narrative quality. The guitar is the preferred instrument of the folksinger. Its portability and accessibility invite participation. An organ or even a piano might separate the singer and the people, both in physical and psychological space, but not the guitar.

In many ways, Christian folk singers of the 1960s and 1970s find their roots in the songs of Woody Guthrie (1912-1967), Pete Seeger (b. 1919) and Bob Dylan (b. 1941), to name a few. However, the prototype of the Christian folksong may be found in Sydney Carter (1915-2004) and his famous “Lord of the Dance” (1963). Carter shocked the faithful and endeared himself to the prophets in the church. While he is known primarily for “Lord of the Dance” in the United States, many more of his songs are commonly sung in England.

The overarching narrative of Jesus as healer guides this hymn. In a mere 22 syllables and a brief refrain, the author opens up an entire healing narrative in each stanza: stanza 1, Luke 4:31-41; stanza 2, Mark 2:3-12; stanza 3, Mark 5:22-24, 35-43; stanza 4, Mark 10:46-52; stanzas 5 and 6, Matthew 10:5-15. A soloist carries the weight of the narrative in the third person while the people respond from the perspective of those needing healing in the first person plural: “Heal us, heal us today!”

Mr. Smith composed this song during a course he was teaching on contemporary worship for the Iona Community in 1975. Later, he served on the editorial committee for the hymnal, Partners in Praise (1979), and this was one of ten contributions by the composer included in its contents.

One stanza was omitted due to sensitivity to discriminatory language and a slight alteration to one line in stanza five was made for the same reason. Other than that, the hymn comes to us as originally composed.

The composer skillfully draws the people into the narrative in the final stanza by pointing out that the need for Christ’s healing power is still with us today: “There’s still so much sickness and suffering today. . . . We gather together for healing and pray: Heal us, Lord Jesus!”

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

Adapted from https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-when-jesus-the-healer-passed-through-galilee