Notes on the Notes – March 10, 2024

Fourth Sunday in Lent

This week’s music:

“Come, Let Us Sing of a Wonderful Love” (VU #574)

“Come, let us sing of a wonderful love,
Tender and true, tender and true,
Out of the heart of the Father above,
Streaming to me and to you
Wonderful love, wonderful love
Dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Jesus the Saviour this gospel to tell
Joyfully came, joyfully came,
Came with the helpless and hopeless to dwell,
Sharing their sorrow and shame,
Seeking the lost, seeking the lost,
Saving, redeeming at measureless cost.

Jesus is seeking the wanderers yet;
Why do they roam?  Why do they roam?
Love only waits to forgive and forget;
Home, weary wanderers, home!
Wonderful love, wonderful love
Dwells in the heart of the Father above.

Come to my heart, O thou wonderful love!
Come and abide, come and abide,
Lifting my life till it rises above envy and falsehood and pride:
Seeking to be, seeking to be lowly and humble, a learner of thee.”

This hymn was written by Robert Walmsley, a jeweler in Manchester and a Congregationalist leader of the Manchester Sunday School Union, in 1900.  Adam Watson’s WONDERFUL LOVE is the tune known to Canadian congregations for Robert Walmsley’s text.  The hymn leads us from the eternal love of God for us, through the coming of Jesus, who tells of us God’s love and searches for the lost, to the yearning for God’s continuing love.

Hear the hymn sung by The Harmony Singers:

“How Deep the Peace” (MV #95)

            “How deep the peace, the confidence
            Of those whose hearts are forgiven.
            How deep the peace, the confidence
            Of those who hearts are healed.”

Our response to the Words of Assurance for the season of Lent 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.

“Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)”

“Amazing grace!  how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed! 

My chains are gone, I’ve been set free.
My God, my Savior has ransomed me, and like a flood, his mercy reigns;
Unending love, amazing grace.

The Lord has promised good to me, his word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures. 

My chains are gone…”

Today’s anthem, “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone),” is a choral setting by Joel Raney of Chris Tomlin’s Praise and Worship Song from 2006.  The original “Amazing Grace” was written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725-1807), published in 1779. Containing a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of sins committed and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, “Amazing Grace” is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.

Hear Chris Tomlin sing the song in concert at:  https://youtu.be/KKo3T0j9qqo

Hear Chris Tomlin talk about the creation of the song at:  https://www.facebook.com/christomlin/videos/facebook-live-amazing-grace-story-behind-the-song/10155340357236070/

“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy” (VU #271)

“There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea;
There’s a kindness in God’s justice which is more than liberty.

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than up in heaven;
There is no place where earth’s failings have such gracious judgment given.

There is plentiful redemption in the blood that Christ has shed;
There is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the Head.

Troubled souls, why will you scatter like a crowd of frightened sheep?
Foolish hearts, why will you wander from a love so true and deep?

For the love of God is broader than the measures of the mind,
And the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.”

This hymn is based on a poem by F.W. Faber, a 19th-century Anglican priest who converted to Roman Catholicism (1854).  The lyrics remind us that, no matter our mistakes or short-comings, we are still loved by God.  The tune we will be using is GOTT WILL’S MACHEN,  by the 18th-century Swiss composer, Johann Ludwig Steiner.

Hear the tune on pipe organ at:  https://youtu.be/rndo8V2u0hc

“These Lenten Gifts We Bring”

“These Lenten gifts we bring,
Our living faith expressed,
We offer them, most lovingly,
And thus our hearts are blessed.

O loving God receive
These gifts we gladly give,
That show our faith and hope and trust;
Your way we seek to live.”

Our Lenten offering response uses the tune FRANCONIA (VU #542), which was written by Johann Balthasar Konig (1738) and adapted by William Henry Havergal (1847).

“God of the Bible” (MV #28)

“God of the Bible, God in the Gospel, hope seen in Jesus, hope yet to come,
You are our centre, daylight or darkness, freedom or prison, you are our home.

God in our struggles, God in our hunger, suffering with us, taking our part,
Still you empower us, mothering Spirit, feeding, sustaining, from your own heart.

Not by your finger, not by your anger will our world order change in a day,
But by your people, fearless and faithful, small paper lanterns, lighting the way.

Hope we must carry, shining and certain through all our turmoil, terror and loss,
Bonding us gladly one to the other, till our world changes facing the Cross.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise, God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise, God always faithful, you do not change.”

This hymn by Shirley Erena Murray was written in 1995 and set to music by Tony E. Alonso in 2001.   The original title was Fresh as the Morning.  Through the hymn Murray emphasizes her confidence in God’s faithfulness and encourages us in our journey to make the world God’s kingdom.  God is with us in the struggle.

Hear the hymn sung at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSVCzqIK5bE&t=21s

“From this Place of Prayer and Praising”

“From this place of prayer and praising, cross and table, well-worn pews,
God, we leave to work and witness, living every day for you.
Bless us on our Lenten journey, Loving Parent, Holy Friend;
Spirit, guide your people onward till once more we meet again.”

Our benediction response for the the season of Lent will be sung to the familiar hymn tune, BEACH SPRING (VU #374).

Bonus Video: “We are a Rainbow”