Notes on the Notes – March 13, 2022
Lent 2
Full to the Brim – Under God’s Wings
This Week’s Music:
“Let Us Build a House (All are Welcome)”
“Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions, rock of faith and vault of grace;
Here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where prophets speak, and words are strong and true,
Where all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness and as symbol of God’s grace;
Here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.
Let us build a house where all are named, their songs and visions heard
And loved and treasured, taught and claimed as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace;
Let this house proclaim from floor to rafter;
All are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.”
Our opening hymn of welcome and inclusion was written by Marty Haugen in 1994. This week we will be using the first, second and fifth verse of the hymn.
“Fill My Cup, Lord”
“Fill my cup, Lord,
I lift it up, Lord,
Come and quench the thirsting of my soul.
Bread of heaven, feed me ‘til I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.”
During the season of Lent, we will be using the chorus of this song, written by Richard Blanchard in 1959. The chorus is an earnest plea for God to fill us with divine forgiveness, mercy and love, making us whole.
Hear the song at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4l2yY2r95g
“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!
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!
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!
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!”
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).
Hear a quiet instrumental version of the hymn at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoFJzsEF3ZM
Hear the hymn sung by Chris Rice at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o
“Under His Wings”
“Under His wings I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort, and there I am blessed.
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
Under His wings, oh, what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me,
Resting in Jesus, I’m safe evermore.
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
William Orcutt Cushing (December 31, 1823 – October 19, 1902) was an American Unitarian minister and hymn writer from Hingham, Massachusetts. During the late 19th century, Cushing wrote the hymn titled, “Under His Wings.” The words of this hymn reflected Cushing’s personal suffering, and were inspired by Psalm 17:8, which states “keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings.” Ira Sankey eventually added a tune to this piece.
When he was a teenager and started to read The Bible alone, Cushing became a follower of the Orthodox Christian school of thought. When he was 18, he stated that he felt that God wanted him to become a minister. In 1854, Cushing wrote his first hymn, “When He Cometh”, for children in his Sunday School.
In 1870 and shortly after his wife’s death, Cushing suffered from a “creeping paralysis” that caused him to lose his voice, requiring him to retire from the ministry after 27 years in it. After retiring, Cushing asked God for something to do to occupy his time. He discovered he had a talent for hymn writing and made that a way to keep busy after work in the ministry. Throughout the rest of his life, Cushing wrote 300 hymns. “Under His Wings” was one of Cushing’s later hymns. (Source: Wikipedia)
Hear the hymn at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeHcf_EtZ6A
“God, Make Us Servants of Your Peace” (VU #676)
“God, make us servants of your peace:
Where there is hate, may we sow love;
Where there is hurt, may we forgive;
Where there is strife, may we make one.
Where all is doubt, may we sow faith;
Where all is gloom, may we sow hope;
Where all is night, may we sow light;
Where all is tears, may we sow joy.”
Our closing hymn is based on the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, written around 1220. The paraphrase is by James Quinn. The tune WINSCOTT was written by Samuel Sebastien Wesley (1872).
“Peace for the Children” (MV #149 v. 5)
“Peace for the nations, peace, peace.
Peace for the nations we pray.
Following the path of One of peace,
We work for healing, we work for peace;
Peace for the nations today.”
This week’s benediction response was written by Doreen Lankshear-Smith in 1993, arranged by David Abramsky in 1998.
