Notes on the Notes – October 27, 2019

Sinner!

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22        Luke 18:9-14

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 at Strathroy United Church at:  https://youtu.be/AYRsRdZLD64

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (VU #220)

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, who rules all creation;
O my soul, praise him, at all times your health and salvation.
Come, all who hear; brothers and sisters draw near;
Joining in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord,
Above all things so mightily reigning,
Keeping us safe at his side, and so gently sustaining.
Have you not seen how all you needed has been
Met by God’s gracious ordaining?

Praise to the Lord who will prosper our work and defend us,
Surely his goodness and mercy will daily attend us;
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
Who out of love will befriend us.

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath come now with praises before him!
Let the Amen sound from God’s people again;
Gladly with praise we adore him.”

Joachim Neander rebelled against his family’s piety, but was converted at age twenty at St. Martin’s Church in his native city of Bremen.  This hymn was written in 1680, the year of his death at age thirty from tuberculosis.  The text is based on Psalm 103: 1-6 and Psalm 150 and is a joyful, truimphant expression of praise to God for his sovereign care over his creation and for his people. The tune, LOBE DEN HERREN is an adaptation by Neander of an anonymous German chorale tune first published in 1665.  In Voices United, an effort has been made to modernize the words and make them more inclusive.

See the hymn sung with original English text at Westminster Abby in celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary of her coronation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JvCmvlm-Qg

“Holy Spirit, Hear Us” (VU #377)

This simple hymn of prayer, with words by William H. Parker and music by James Frederick Swift,  was first published in The School Hymnal (1880) by the General Baptist Association in England.

“Holy Spirit! hear us; help us while we sing;
Breathe into the music of the praise we bring.

Holy Spirit! shine now on the book we read;
Light its holy pages with the truth we need.

Holy Spirit! prompt us when we bow to pray;
Speak within and teach us what we ought to say.

Holy Spirit! help us daily by your might,
What is wrong to conquer and to choose the right.”

Hear the hymn played on piano at:  https://youtu.be/um_VBREPbmc

“Speak, O Lord”

“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You,
To receive the food of Your holy Word.
Take Your Truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness;
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.
Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of power that can never fail;
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds,
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us.
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time,
That will echo down through eternity;
And by grace we’ll stand on Your promises;
And by faith we’ll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, ’til Your church is built,
And the earth is filled with Your glory.”

This week’s anthem is by Stuart Townsend and Keith Getty.  It has been arranged by Fred and Ruth Coleman and comes from the collection “In Christ Alone.”

Hear the original version at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my90e3a_nlM

“Take My Life and Let It Be” (VU #506)

“Take my life, and let it be consecrated, all for thee;
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be swift and purposeful for thee.

Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from thee;
Take my intellect, and use every power as thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine;
Take my hearts, it is thine own; it shall be thy royal throne.

Take my love: and I will pour at thy feet its treasure story;
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for thee.”

This hymn was written by Frances Ridley Havergal early in 1874 to celebrate a period of religious awakening at a household where she was visiting.  The anonymous tune is derived from the “Kyrie” of a mass long thought to have been composed by Mozart. The words express our commitment to God as we go into the world. Hear the hymn sung with piano accompaniment at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf11rReeWIs

To ponder:

Personally, do you feel that you are in the place of abundance or of emptiness?

Bonus Video!