Notes on the Notes – April 2, 2023

Palm Sunday 

This Week’s Music:

“Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” (VU #123)

“Hosanna, loud hosanna!” the happy children sang;
Through pillared court and temple the joyful anthem rang;
To Jesus, who had blessed them close folded to his breast;
The children sang their praises, the simplest and the best.

From Olivet they followed ‘mid an exultant crowd,
The victory palm-branch waving, and singing clear and loud;
The Lord of earth and heaven rode on in lowly state,
Content that little children should on his bidding wait.

“Hosanna in the highest!” That ancient song we sing,
For Christ is our Redeemer; earth, let your anthems ring.
O may we ever praise him with heart and life and voice,
And in his humble presence eternally rejoice!”

The text for this hymn is based on Christ’s triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and the children’s role in that event. The text was written by Jeannette Threlfall in 1873.    The first two verses tells how the children shared in the songs during Christ’s procession into Jerusalem. The closing verse is our cue to also participate in praising our Redeemer.

The melody, ELLACOMBE, is a Roman Catholic tune from late 18th-century Germany, which was first published in 1874.

Hear the hymn with organ and trumpeter Timothy Moke at: https://youtu.be/yOAsWh316kY

“How Deep the Peace” (MV #95)

“How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose wrongs are forgiven.
How deep the peace, the confidence, of those whose hearts are healed.”

Our response to the Words of Assurance is based on Psalm 32.  Having left our concerns with God through prayer, we hear of God’s unfailing love. This hymn was written by Linnea Good in 2004.

“With Palms We Come”

With palms we come to praise our King,
“Hosanna” is the song we sing,
All praise the One who rides this day,
And brings us hope in every way.  Amen. 

Our Palm Sunday offering response has words written by John H. Danner for the tune OLD 100TH, more familiar as the doxology, “Praise God from Whom All blessings Flow.”

“Bread of Life” 

“At this table, Lord, we lay our burdens down;
At your feet we humbly kneel to pray.
At the foot of the cross, we contemplate the cost as we share this feast today.

Lord, break your bread of life for me;
Feed my hunger, set my spirit free;
Pour out your grace on me.
Lord, fill my cup from the fountain of your love.
Open my eyes that I might see;
Break your bread of life, Lord, for me.

At this table, Lord, we renew our strength;
From this cup we drink of boundless grace.
Teach us, Lord, how to share that bounty of your care
When we leave this holy place.

Lord, break your bread of life for me…”

Joel Raney’s anthem encourages us to lay our guilt and our burdens down, knowing that we are forgiven through grace.   Through the sacrament of communion, we are transformed.

“O Jesus Who Travelled”

“O Jesus who traveled from valley to shore,
Who offered us questions too deep to ignore,
Whose stories uncover the truths we’ve denied,
Why did we forsake you, O Jesus, our guide?

O Jesus who treasured the lost and the least,
Who called for the exile to join in the feast,
Who ventured to touch and to ease and to mend,
Why did we forsake you, O Jesus, our friend?

O Jesus who challenged the wealthy and strong,
Who fearlessly called us to right what is wrong,
Who went to Jerusalem, into the strife,
Why did we forsake you, O Jesus, our life?

O Jesus who taught us to serve and to share,
To light for each other a way through despair,
To bless and to break, until all mouths are fed,
Why did we forsake you, O Jesus, our bread?

O Jesus whose courage persisted through pain,
Who offered forgiveness again and again,
Who cried out to God; who still cries out today;
Why do we forsake you, O Jesus, our way?”

This new hymn (2023), with text by Hannah C. Brown and music by Sally Ann Morris, reflects on the gifts that Jesus offers us while also recalling the many people and systems that betray him.  The questions in each verse invite us to consider our own role in the story, collectively and individually, past and present.

“Lead Me to Calvary”

Our closing anthem leads us into reflection in preparation for Good Friday.   The words are by Jennie Evelyn Hussie with music by Don Chapman.  “Lead Me to Calvary” first appeared in New Songs of Praise and Power in 1921.  Don Chapman composed this arrangement in 2002.

“King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorny crown, lead me to Calvary.

Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget, O Lord, Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.

Show me the tomb where Thou wast laid, tenderly mourned and wept;
Angels in robes of light arrayed guarded Thee whilst Thou slept.

Lest I forget Gethsemane, 
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget, O Lord, Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.

May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for Thee;
Even Thy cup of grief to share, Thou hast borne all for me.

Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget, O Lord, Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.”

“Let it Be Said of Us” 

“Let it be said of us that the Lord was our passion
That with gladness we bore every cross we were given
That we fought the good fight, that we finished our course
Knowing within us the power of the risen Lord

Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song
By mercy made holy, by the Spirit made strong
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song
‘Till the likeness of Jesus be through us made known
Let the cross be our glory and the Lord be our song

Let it be said of us we were marked by forgiveness
We were known by our love and delighted in meekness
We were ruled by his peace, heeding unity’s call
Joined as one body that Christ would be seen by all

Let the cross be our glory….”

Our benediction response was written by Steve Fry.  As we move into Holy Week, we are commissioned to be Christ’s servants in the world.

Hear the Bethel Presbyterian Church Choir at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmktC8IayC4

Bonus Video by The Harmony Singers: