Notes on the Notes – August 20, 2023
This week’s music:
“Eternal, Unchanging, We Sing” (VU #223)
“Eternal, Unchanging, we sing to your praise:
Your mercies are endless, and righteous your ways;
Your servants proclaim the renown of your name
Who rules over all and is ever the same.
Again we rejoice in the world you have made,
Your mighty creation in beauty arrayed,
We thank you for life, and we praise you for joy,
For love and for hope that no power can destroy.
We praise you for Jesus, our Master and Lord,
The might of his Spirit, the truth of his word,
His comfort in sorrow, his patience in pain,
The faith sure and steadfast that Jesus shall reign.”
The lyrics of this hymn bring to mind the infinite nature of God, and give thanks for the Creation and the gifts of Jesus and the Spirit. This is one of R.B.Y. Scott’s early hymns, first published in 1938. The tune, ST. DENIO, is a traditional Welsh melody adapted into a hymn tune during the Welsh revivals at the turn of the 19th century. It is also the tune used by Ralph Vaughan Williams with the hymn “Immortal, Invisible.”
Hear the melody on pipe organ at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqgQ3_VcaKw
“Spirit, Open My Heart” (MV #79)
“Spirit, open my heart to the joy and pain of living.
As you love may I love, in receiving and in giving, Spirit, open my heart.
God, replace my stony heart with a heart that’s kind and tender.
All my coldness and fear to your grace I now surrender.
Write your love upon my heart as my law, my goal, my story.
In each thought, word, and deed, may my living bring you glory.
May I weep with those who weep, share the joy of sister, brother.
In the welcome of Christ, may we welcome one another.”
The words for this hymn were written by Ruth Duck in 1994. The hymn is an plea to God to (re-)open our hearts to the natural feelings of the human life that, over time, we may have become less responsive to. It reminds us that, if God’s love for all people is our guiding principle, we will live our lives and respond to others differently. This hymn connects to Psalm 51, which expresses the desire to have God create in us a clean/new heart, to better serve God and the world.
The words are sung to the traditional Irish melody WILD MOUNTAIN THYME, which was arranged by Arthur G. Clyde in 1997.
Hear an instrumental version of the tune at: https://youtu.be/5UnHsbWZss4
Hear the hymn sung at Geneva Presbyterian Church at: https://youtu.be/SrxqxL4_2qM
“Blest Be the Tie That Binds” (VU #602)
“Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;
The unity of heart and mind is like to that above.
We share each other’s woes, each other’s burdens bear;
And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.
This glorious hope revives our courage on the way;
That we shall live in perfect love in God’s eternal day.”
This familiar hymn was written in 1782 by John Fawcett, an English Baptist pastor, school master, and author. Fawcett spent his entire ministry in Wainsgate, Yorkshire, and most of his hymns were written to follow his sermons. He published this hymn in his Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion. The tune, arranged by Lowell Mason, is attributed to Johann G. Naegeli.
Hear an instrumental rendition of the hymn at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTJ0T6-O9CY
Hear an a cappella choral version at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNOfw1NVAyo
“Grant Us, God, the Grace” (VU #540)
“Grant us, God, the grace of giving,
With a spirit large and free,
That ourselves and all our living
We may offer faithfully.”
The text of our offering response comes from the Mennonite hymn book, “Hymnal: a Worship Book,” and reminds us to freely and faithfully share our gifts, whatever they may be. The tune is a familiar one which is also used for the Advent hymn “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” (VU #2).
“We are Pilgrims (The Servant Song)” (VU #595)
“We are pilgrims on a journey, fellow travellers on the road;
We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
Sister, let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping, when you laugh I’ll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow, till we’ve seen this journey through.”
This hymn, written in 1974 by Richard Gillard, was first published in Songs of the Kingdom (1977). This week we will be using the first four verses of the hymn. The hymn is a beautiful expression of the Christian call to community and friendship, marked by selfless service, a walking alongside, and the the bearing of one another’s joys, sorrows, and fears.
Jesus’s words to his disciples in Matthew 20:26–28 inspired the song’s main theme: “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Other scriptural allusions include “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (Matt. 5:41), “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15), and “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). (Source: https://artandtheology.org/2020/07/11/the-servant-song-by-richard-gillard/)
“Show Us Christ in One Another”
“Show us Christ in one another.
Make us servants strong and true.
Give us all your love of justice,
so we do what you would do.
Let us call all people holy.
Let us pledge our lives anew.
Make us one with all the lowly.
Let us all be one in you.”
The words for our benediction response were written by Marty Haugen (1985) and come from the hymn “God of Day and God of Darkness.” We will be using the tune BEACH SPRING (1844).
