Notes on the Notes – July 21, 2019
Welcome!
Join us this week we take a closer look at
Revelation 18:1-19
Service time is 10:30 a.m. at Windsor Park United, 1062 Autumnwood Drive.
This week’s music:
“Unbounded Spirit, Breath of God” (MV #155)
“Unbounded Spirit, breath of God, refreshing water, cleansing flame,
We give allegiance, through your call, to Christ, and to no other name.
Receive and open for review the work we do, the word we preach,
And school us, as we teach and learn, in careful thought and truthful speech.
Uncover all the hopeless ways we run, resist, rebel, or hide.
Unwrap with love and bathe in light our pain, our sadness, and our pride.
Assemble, leaven, mix, and knead our clashing norms, opposing views
And bake a loaf of joy and peace that hungry hearts will not refuse.
Inscribe on every growing skill, on every action, every vow,
The living name of Jesus Christ, beginning here, beginning now.”
This hymn, with words by Brian Wren and music by Jane Best, was written in 2004 for the 150th anniversary of Chicago Theological Seminary.
“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise” (VU #265)
“Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above,
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all, life thou givest, to both great and small,
In all life thou livest, the true life of all,
We blossom and flourish like leaves on the tree,
Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Thou reignest in glory, thou rulest in light;
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render, O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee!”
Walter Chalmers Smith published the original 6 stanzas of this hymn, based on 1 Timothy 1:17, in his Hymns of Christ and the Christian Life in 1867. ST. DENIO is a traditional Welsh melody adapted into a hymn tune during the Welsh revivals at the turn of the 19th century. It was arranged by John Roberts (Henllan) and published in the Welsh hymnal Caniadau y Cyssegr (1839).
Hear an up-tempo version of this hymn by Steve Green at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0_vB1dFtC4
Hear a traditional chorale prelude on the melody at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcWDS1yTkxM
“God, Reveal Your Presence” (VU #391)
“God, reveal your presence; as we now adore you
And with awe appear before you.
Here in this your temple; all within keep silence,
Gather now with deepest reverence.
You alone God we own,
You, our God and Saviour;
Praise your name forever.
God, reveal your presence; hear the harps resounding;
See the crowds the throne surrounding.
“Holy, holy, holy!” Hear the hymn ascending,
Angels, saints, their voices blending.
Bow your ear to us here;
Hearken, O Lord Jesus, to our humble praises.
O great Fount of blessing, purify my spirit,
Trusting only in your merit;
Like the holy angels gathered all before you,
May I ceaselessly adore you.
Let your will ever still rule your church terrestrial,
As the hosts celestial.”
God is already present. God is the primary Actor in worship.
Ours is to respond.
We turn our hearts to perceive God, welcome God and to request God’s Presence be ever more manifest among us. The author of this hymn, Gerhard Tersteegen, was a mystic, poet and renowned preacher in the early period of German Quietism, a controversial movement that believed in the need for a state of quiet in order to perceive the spirit of God. He wrote the words for this hymn in 1729 and they were translated to English in 1789 and revised in 1854. Further revisions have taken place in the interest of gender neutrality, as the original opening was “God reveals His Presence.”
Hear the tune on piano at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsdcCVTX5wc
“All Heaven Declares”
“All heaven declares the glory of the risen Lord,
Who can compare with the beauty of the Lord?
Forever He will be the Lamb upon the throne.
I gladly bow the knee and worship Him alone.
I will proclaim the glory of the risen Lord
Who once was slain to reconcile man to God.
Forever You will be the Lamb upon throne.
I gladly bow the knee and worship You alone.”
This Praise and Worship song referencing both Psalm 19 and Revelation, was written by Noel and Tricia Richards in 1987.
Hear the song at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXnvckvpBxU
“Great is Thy Faithfulness” (VU #288)
“Great is thy faithfulness, God our Creator;
There is no shadow of turning with thee;
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been thou forever wilt be.
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided.
Great is thy faithfulness, ever to me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
Great is thy faithfulness!…
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow –wondrous the portion thy blessings provide.
Great is thy faithfulness!…
Thomas O. Chisholm, a Methodist minister, wrote the poem in 1923 about God’s faithfulness over his lifetime. The conviction that God is always with us, through good times and bad, has always been a great source of comfort and strength for the faithful. William Runyan set the poem to music, and it was published that same year and became popular among church groups. The song was exposed to wide audiences after becoming popular with Dr. William Henry Houghton of the Moody Bible Institute and Billy Graham who played the song frequently on his international crusades. The version in Voices United is from the Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren (1957).
Listen to Chris Rice singing this hymn with guitar at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o
Hear a quiet instrumental version of the hymn at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoFJzsEF3ZM
Watch the Gaither version of the hymn with Wes Hampton at: https://youtu.be/yNZS5H9aNlY
