Notes on the Notes – February 17, 2019

“To be Blessed, to be a Blessing”

Dedication of window
in memory of
Thelma and Ernie Mallard

This week’s scripture readings:

   Jeremiah 17:5-10    Luke 6:17-26

This week’s music:

“All Things Bright and Beautiful” (VU #291)

This classic text, from Cecil Frances Alexander’s Hymns for Little Children (1846), is based on the phrase “Maker of heaven and earth” in the Apostles’ Creed.  The tune, ROYAL OAK, is an English traditional melody associated with the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, arranged by Martin Shaw (1915).

“All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful
in love, God made them all.

Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colours, God made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountains, the river running by,
The sunset and the morning that brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden: God made them every one.

The rocky mountain splendor, the lone wolf’s haunting call,
The great lakes and the prairies, the forest in the fall.

God gave us eyes to see them, and lips that we might tell how great is God our maker, who has made all things well.”

“Creator, We Gather” (VU #532)

“Creator, we gather to offer you praise,
The source of our lives and the strength of our days,
Recalling our past, yet aspiring in faith,
Lord, accept our thanks.

For beauty of building in wood and in stone,
Where Christians may gather, approaching your throne,
For faith, hope and love which this edifice raised,
Lord, accept our thanks.

For artistry fashioned in lead and in glass,
For love and the talent that brought it to pass,
For colour in nature our eyes can behold,
Lord, accept our thanks.

For scriptures directing our lives for today,
For teaching that opens our minds to your way,
For words of salvation received from your Son,
Lord, accept our thanks.

For music of spirit that lifts us in song,
For great hymns that urge us in faith to be strong,
For sounds of creation, now heard in our ears,
Lord, accept our thanks.

To you, God Creator, the source of all joy,
Who gave varied talents, our minds to employ,
Our lives in your service we offer anew,
Lord, accept our thanks.”

This song of praise for the church was written by Gordon M. Fleming from Richmond Hill, Ontario.  It was first published in 1990.  The lyrics remind us of the spiritual nature of our physical surroundings in worship.

“Sing Praises to God” (VU #228)

“Sing praises to God! Sing praise in the height;
Rejoice in God’s word, blest angels of light;
High heavens, recalling by whom you were made,
Come, offer your worship in brightness arrayed.

Sing praises to God! Sing praise upon earth,
In tuneful accord, you saints of new birth;
Praise God, who has brought you rich grace from above,
And showered your life with abundance of love.

Sing praises to God, all things that give sound;
Each jubilant chord re-echo around;
Loud organs, your glory tell out in deep tone,
And trumpets, the story of what God has done.

Sing praises to God! Thanksgiving and song
Be ever outpoured, all ages along;
For love in creation, for hope spread abroad,
For grace of salvation, sing praises to God.”

This hymn is based on Psalm 150, and was originally written as “O Praise Ye the Lord” by Henry Williams Baker (1875).   The hymn tune LAUDATE DOMINUM, was adapted from an anthem composed by Hubert Parry in 1894.

“I Shall Not Be Moved”

“Glory hallelujah, I shall not be moved;
Anchored in Jehovah, I shall not be moved;
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
I shall not be moved.

In His love abiding, I shall not be moved;
And in Him confiding, I shall not be moved;
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
I shall not be moved.

Tho the tempest rages, I shall not be moved;
On the Rock of Ages, I shall not be moved;
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
I shall not be moved.

I shall not be, I shall not be moved,
I shall not be, I shall not be moved,
Just like a tree that’s planted by the waters,
I shall not be moved.”

This Southern gospel song was first published by music editor V.O Fossett in “Favorite Revival Songs” in 1944.  “I Shall Not Be Moved” is an African American spiritual. The song describes how the singer is “like a tree planted by the waters” who “shall not be moved” because of their faith in God.  The text is based on Jeremiah 17:8-9 – Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. (Source: Wikipedia)

“Blessed are the Poor in Spirit”    

“Blessed are the poor in spirit; all God’s realm is surely theirs.
Those in mourning will find comfort as an answer to their prayers.
Meek ones whom this world despises will inherit everything.
God, your kingdom still surprises; may we seek the reign you bring.

Blessed, too, are those who hunger and who thirst for what is right.
They will not be prone to wander, for your will is their delight.
Those who show God’s care and mercy will receive that mercy too.
God, in Christ you show us clearly of the joy we have in you.

Those who share the peace God gives them will find blessings as
God’s own.
Those oppressed for faithful living will call heaven’s kingdom Home.
When the world’s ways seem distressing and we feel life’s painful sting,
God, remind us of the blessings of the wondrous life you bring.”

This new hymn is based on the Beatitudes (Luke 6: 20-26).  It was written by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (2009).

To ponder:

 What do each of the beatitudes or blessings mean in your life?