Friday, February 26, 2021

Music for Anywhere Worship: Sunday, February 28, 2021




As long as we live, as long as we have breath, while we "have being"...we will sing to the Lord! 

Thank you for joining in today as we share a simple song service together once again. We delight in the ability we have to lift our voices in praise wherever we are, even if we are still physically distanced from one another. May the music, stories, scripture verses and images shared here encourage you in your faith and equip you to magnify the name of Jesus Christ at the start of a new week.

If you are a first-time visitor, click here to find out the story of "Notes of Glory." (You will also find some tips for listening to music using the SoundCloud windows).  Turn up the volume on your device, feel free to click on the sheet music images to enlarge them, warm up your voice, and prepare to sing with joy!

Here's an alphabetical list of all "Notes of Glory" music with links so that you can revisit your favorite hymns/songs and sing them once again!


PRELUDE
(to help you prepare to worship)

O Could I Speak the Matchless Worth



Words by Samuel Medley, Music attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ("Ariel" hymn tune), arranged by Lowell Mason.  Solo piano arrangement by Larry Shackley

Psalm 89:6
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord?

John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Revelation 5:11-12
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
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For our prelude today, bask in the lyrics penned by English Baptist minister and hymn writer Samuel Medley (1738-1799) that reflect a heart full of praise, seeking ever new ways to glorify God.  In "O Could I Sing the Matchless Worth," the hymnwriter exalts God's power and glory that cannot be measured or matched, speaks of God's holy righteousness and also the love shown in paying our debt at the cross  "for the dreadful guilt of sin."  The hymn concludes by looking forward to a beautiful future in heaven, anticipating the "delightful day" when "my dear Lord will bring (me) home."  

Samuel Medley, the son of a schoolmaster, entered the Royal Navy and was severely wounded during his time of service. After recovering from his injuries, Medley ran his own school in London in the early 1760s: it was during this period that he heard a sermon by Isaac Watts which led to his conversion. Medley was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1768 and went on to serve as pastor at a church in Liverpool, England for 27 years. He had a special ministry to sailors in that area and understood them well because of his own naval service. Medley wrote many hymns which were published in several collections, including Hymns: The Public Worship and Private Devotions of True Christians, Assisted in some Thoughts and Verse; Principally Drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God. (1800).  (What a title!)  

Many modern hymnals eliminate Medley's original first verse for "O Could I Sing the Matchless Worth."  It's so beautifully crafted that I wanted to include it here:

Not of terrestrial mortal themes,
Not of the world’s delusive dreams
My soul attempts to sing:
But of that theme divinely true,
Ever delightful, ever new,
My Jesus and my King.

Some hymnals attribute the tune for "O Could I Sing the Matchless Worth" to composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) due to a resemblance of its first phrase to the opening of the duet "Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen" from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. However, the rest of the melody was composed by Lowell Mason (1792-1872), often described as the "Father of American Church Music" who composed over 1600 hymn tunes.  Today's piano arrangement by Larry Shackley of this hymn definitely has a "Mozartean" feel, with its lyrical quality, crisp articulation, and accompaniment patterns characteristic of the Classical period in music history. 

O could I speak the matchless worth,
O could I sound the glories forth
Which in my Savior shine,
I'd soar, and touch the heav'nly strings,
and vie with Gabriel while he sings
in notes almost divine,
in notes almost divine.

I'd sing the precious blood he spilt,
my ransom from the dreadful guilt
of sin, and wrath divine:
I'd sing his glorious righteousness,
in which all perfect, heav'nly dress
my soul shall ever shine,
my soul shall ever shine.

I'd sing the characters he bears,
and all the forms of love he wears,
exalted on his throne:
in loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
I would to everlasting days
make all his glories known,
make all his glories known.

Well, the delightful day will come
when my dear Lord will bring me home,
and I shall see his face;
then with my Savior, Brother, Friend,
a blest eternity I'll spend,
triumphant in his grace,
triumphant in his grace.

HYMNS TO SING WHEREVER YOU ARE
(transposed to easily singable keys)

I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath



Words by Isaac Watts, Music by Matthäus Greiter ("Old 113th" hymn tune)

Psalm 146
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners;
he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
____________________________________

Our opening hymn, abounding in praises to God our Creator, Savior, and Helper, displays the giftedness of hymn writer Isaac Watts as a poetic paraphraser. The hymns of Isaac Watts are regularly featured here on Notes of Glory (last week we included two of them!), and this week is no exception. Psalm 146, listed above, was the direct inspiration for "I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath," a hymn which is thematically similar to "O Could I Sing the Matchless Worth," our prelude for today. Both speak of a fervent desire to praise God now and in the future, and both elaborate the reasons why He is worthy of praise. The list of all those helped by the Lord in Psalm 146 is artfully and vividly paraphrased here by Watts: God "pours eyesight on the blind," he "supports the fainting mind," and "sends the laboring conscience peace." 

The melody for this hymn, titled "Old 113th" (also called "Genevan 68" due to its inclusion in the Genevan Psalter) is generally believed to have been composed by Matthäus Greiter (c. 1495-1550), who was a German priest, cantor, and composer.  Originally a monk, Greiter joined the reformation movement in 1524 and taught at the University of Strasbourg. This tune begins exactly like "Lasst Uns Erfreuen," the melody associated with  the well-known hymn "All Creatures of our God and King."  In fact, because Greiter's tune came first historically, "Lasst Uns Erfreuen" actually "borrowed" from it, rather than the other way around! 

If this wonderful praise and worship song is new to you, here's a recording featuring organ and singing from the Westminster Choir College that will help you become better acquainted with the words and melody.  Listen, and then come back here to sing along with the piano accompaniment below, using the sheet music provided, praising your Maker while you've breath!  



I'll praise my Maker while I've breath;
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall employ my nobler powers.
My days of praise shall ne'er be past
while life and thought and being last,
or immortality endures.

How happy they whose hopes rely
on Israel's God, who made the sky
and earth and seas with all their train;
whose truth forever stands secure,
who saves the oppressed and feeds the poor,
and none shall find God's promise vain.

The Lord pours eyesight on the blind;
the Lord supports the fainting mind
and sends the laboring conscience peace.
God helps the stranger in distress,
the widowed and the parentless,
and grants the prisoner sweet release.

I'll praise my Maker while I've breath;
and when my voice is lost in death,
praise shall employ my nobler powers.
My days of praise shall ne'er be past
while life and thought and being last,
or immortality endures.

Give Me Jesus



African-American Spiritual

Psalm 5:3
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Galatians 6:14
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which[a] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Philippians 3:7-11
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
______________________________

Our next song, "Give Me Jesus," usually listed in hymnals as a traditional African-American spiritual, has a fascinating and rich history. The origins of this wonderful song have already been detailed so thoroughly in an excellent post by Thomas L Baynham, Jr. and C. Michael Hawn that I'm going to simply share that link here.  I hope you enjoy reading this article and learning more about "Give Me Jesus" and other spirituals. 


This spiritual is deeply meaningful to many because of its simple but powerful lyrics and its gorgeous melody which starts gently, at a lower pitch level, then builds in pitch and intensity as it approaches the climactic phrase, "You can have all this world, but give me Jesus."  If this is a new song to you, you might enjoy hearing a version with singing before trying it out yourself.  Here's an arrangement by singer Lynda Randle, and one by Fernando Ortega.



In the morning, when I rise,
in the morning, when I rise,
in the morning, when I rise,
give me Jesus.

Refrain:
Give me Jesus.
give me Jesus,
you may have all this world,
give me Jesus.

Dark midnight was my cry,
dark midnight was my cry,
dark midnight was my cry,
give me Jesus. [Refrain]

Oh, when I come to die,
oh, when I come to die,
oh, when I come to die,
give me Jesus. [Refrain]

Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me



Words by Edward Hopper, Music by John Edgar Gould

Psalm 89:8-9
O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.

Psalm 107:29-30
He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.

Luke 8:22-25
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
________________________________

As you may recall, the lyrics for today's prelude, "O Could I Sing the Matchless Worth" were written by former sailor Samuel Medley, who, in his later career as a pastor in Liverpool, England, had a special ministry to seamen and those who worked on merchant vessels. Our final hymn, "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me," has a similar ministry backstory: both lyric writers felt called to evangelize those who sailed around the world. American poet, author and pastor Edward Hopper (1816-1888) was born in New York City and studied at New York University and Union Theological Seminary. (Just in case you're wondering: this is a different Edward Hopper than the celebrated American artist). Hopper was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in 1843 and served at the Sag Harbor Presbyterian Church at Long Island before becoming pastor of The Church of  Sea and Land, located on the Lower East Side in New York City, in lower Manhattan. (This structure, the second oldest church building in NYC and a historic landmark, now houses the First Chinese Presbyterian Church).  

Edward Hopper was a perfect fit for this church located in the busy harbor section of New York City, and he cared deeply for the spiritual needs of the many sailors and sea merchants who overwhelmingly comprised the congregation. He composed a number of hymns specifically for these seamen, including "All The Fullness of the Sea," and "Wrecked and Struggling in Mid-Ocean."  In 1871 Hopper wrote "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me," rife with maritime imagery, and submitted it for publication in The Sailor's Magazine.  It was published anonymously and became a great favorite of many who titled it "The Sailor's Hymn," including parishioners in Hopper's church who had no idea their pastor had authored this hymn with such relevance to their lives.  Hopper's authorship of this hymn was revealed in 1880 when he presented it as an anniversary celebration gift for the New York Seamen's Friend Society.

The music for "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" was composed by John Edgar Gould (1821-1875), a composer and hymn publisher who also managed music stores in New York and Philadelphia. Gould came across Hopper's hymn and was so moved by the lyrics that he composed music to match these words just before sailing to Africa in an effort to improve his ailing health.  

We are reminded in "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" that our Savior is with us during the tempestuous storms of life.  When we are tossed about by the waves of our circumstances, the Lord calms the sea (and our souls) by saying "Peace! Be still!" (Mark 4:39). He is in control and we can trust him to be our "chart and compass."

Whether you're familiar with this hymn or not, you'll want to listen to the great Mahalia Jackson singing "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me." Here's another version from the King's Heralds quartet that you might also enjoy.  This hymn is not difficult to sing and is enormously comforting...after listening to one or both recordings of it, I hope you come back here and give "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" a try!  




Jesus, Savior, pilot me,
Over life's tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rocks and treach'rous shoal;
Chart and compass come from Thee–
Jesus, Savior, pilot me!

As a mother stills her child,
Thou canst hush the ocean wild;
Boist'rous waves obey Thy will
When Thou say'st to them, "Be still!"
Wondrous Sov'reign of the sea,
Jesus, Savior, pilot me!

When at last I near the shore,
And the fearful breakers roar
'Twixt me and the peaceful rest–
Then, while leaning on Thy breast,
May I hear Thee say to me,
"Fear not– I will pilot thee!"

POSTLUDE
(to send you forth with joy!)

O Zion, Haste!



Words by Mary Ann Thompson, Tune by James Walch, arranged for solo piano by Cindy Berry

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Romans 10:14-15
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Hebrews 12:22
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
________________________________

The mission field may not be the first thing on the mind of a mother nursing a very ill child, but to one such mother in post-Civil War Philadelphia, it was a subject of great importance.  British-born American poet and hymn writer Mary Ann Fulkner Thompson (1824-1923) related the story of creating "O Zion, Haste" some years after its composition. 

I wrote the greater part of the hymn, "O Zion, haste," in the year 1868. I had written many hymns before, and one night, while I was sitting up with one of my children who was ill of typhoid fever, I thought I should like to write a missionary hymn to the tune of the hymn beginning "Hark, hark, my soul, angelic songs are swelling," as I was fond of that tune; but as I could not then get a refrain I liked, I left the hymn unfinished, and about three years later I finished it by writing the refrain which now forms part of it. (from Hymn Writers of the Church by Wilber F. Tillett and Charles S. Nutter, 1915, as cited on Hymnary.org)

Unlike many missionary hymns of that era, Thompson's poem "O Zion Haste" has a winsome quality to it because of its tone of compassion for those who have not yet found saving faith in Christ.  There is such tenderness present in every line of this text which speaks of Christ's sacrificial love, emphasizing "that he who made all nations is not willing one soul should perish, lost in shades of night." (In the first line of this hymn Thompson alludes to the church on earth, rather than Jerusalem/Israel, as "Zion." Some modern hymnals use "O Christians, Haste" instead). 

The tune commonly sung with "O Zion, Haste"  was composed by British music instrument dealer and organist James Walch (1837-1901) in 1875. The piano solo arrangement of "O Zion, Haste" by Cindy Berry captures the noble and straightforward quality of Walch's "Tidings" hymn tune. My prayer is that listening to this recording and meditating on the scriptures listed above along with Thompson's stirring text (her only hymn still sung today) may stir all our hearts in compassion for those who do not know Christ, whether around the globe or around the corner. 


O Zion, haste, your mission high fulfilling,
to tell to all the world that God is light;
that he who made all nations is not willing
one soul should perish, lost in shades of night.

Refrain:
Publish glad tidings, tidings of peace;
tidings of Jesus, redemption, and release.

Behold how many thousands still are lying,
bound in the darksome prison-house of sin,
with none to tell them of the Savior's dying,
or of the life he died for them to win. [Refrain]

Proclaim to ev'ry people, tongue, and nation
that God, in whom they live and move, is love:
tell how he stooped to save his lost creation,
and died on earth that we might live above. [Refrain]

Give of your own to bear the message glorious;
give of your wealth to speed them on their way;
pour out your soul for them in pray'r victorious;
and all your spending Jesus will repay. [Refrain]

Here is a playlist of all the music featured in today's post
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