Notes of Glory: Music for Anywhere Worship: Sunday, March 7, 2021

Thank you so much for being here as we unite in song and spirit as brothers and sisters in Christ. 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.

We are approaching the one-year mark since the first "Notes of Glory" post, and it would be so meaningful to hear which hymns/songs and scripture featured here ministered to you during the past twelve months. You can read more about how to share your reflections at the end of this post.

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!

PRELUDE

(to help you prepare to worship)

The Lord's Prayer

Musical setting by Albert Hay Malotte. Piano transcription by Carl Dais.

Matthew 6:7-14
And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

____________________________

Although Jesus's instructions regarding prayer have been used as the basis for musical works throughout Christian history, the best-known musical setting, and the most frequently sung today, was created by American composer, organist, pianist, and music educator Albert Hay Malotte (1895-1964). Matlotte was born in Philadelphia, where he sang in a boy's choir at a local church during his school years. He pursued a career in music and studied composition with Victor Herbert in America as well as organist George Jacob in Paris. His early work included playing piano for silent films as well as presenting concerts both in the U.S. and Europe. During World War II, Malotte served with the USO, entertaining troops around the world. After the war, he settled in Hollywood where he found success composing for film companies like Disney Studios (Malotte wrote music for 22 of their "Silly Symphonies" among other projects). He was greatly in demand as a composer; however, much of his film work was uncredited. Malotte also composed cantatas, oratorios, musicals, and ballets, along with sacred vocal settings of the Beatitudes as well as the 23rd Psalm.

Malotte's setting of the Lord's Prayer is the work for which he is best remembered today. It was published in 1935, the year after it was first recorded by American baritone John Charles Thomas (you can listen to that original recording here).

Here is a piano transcription by Carl Dais of Malotte's setting of the Lord's Prayer: because it is a transcription rather than an arrangement, you should find it easy to sing along with if you'd like to do that. The beauty of Malotte's composition is that it effectively mirrors the prayer in both atmosphere and syllabic pacing. You can hear as the song unfolds that Malotte understood, as a film composer, how to write music that complements the story being told through the text. May the beauty of this prayer given to us by Jesus Christ come alive to you today in a fresh way as you listen to Malotte's wonderful musical setting.

GloryNotes · The Lord's Prayer.WAV

Our Father which art in heaven
Hallowed be Thy name
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we forgive our debtors
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom
And the Power and the Glory
Forever
Amen

HYMNS FOR YOU TO SING ANYWHERE

(transposed to easily singable keys!)

Praise Ye The Triune God

(Praise Ye the Father for His Lovingkindness)

Words by Elizabeth Rundle Charles, Music by Friedrich Ferdinand Flemming (1778-1813)

2 Corinthians 13:14

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Ephesians 2:13-18

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

1 Peter 1:1-2
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

____________________________________

In the past year we've sung a number of hymns with lyrics that praise God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Some of these trinitarian hymns include the following:

The Gloria Patri,

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be:
world without end. Amen.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Christ Has Made the Sure Foundation
Laud and honor to the Father,
Laud and honor to the Son,
Laud and honor to the Spirit,
Ever Three and ever One;
One in might, and One in glory,
While unending ages run.

Of the Father's Love Begotten
Christ, to thee, with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
and unwearied praises be:
honor, glory, and dominion,
and eternal victory
evermore and evermore! Amen.

All Creatures of Our God and King

Let all things their Creator bless
and worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O praise Him, O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Today we'll add another hymn to this list by singing "Praise Ye the Triune God" which is also sometimes titled "Praise Ye the Father for His Lovingkindness" (after its first line). British author Elizabeth Rundle Charles (1828-1896) created this hymn around 1858, the same year that she published a book titled The Voice of Christian Life in Song: or, Hymns and Hymn-Writers of Many Lands and Ages. Charles was the author of over fifty books, many of which were biographies of historical Christian figures (you can read some of Elizabeth Charles's books online here at the Internet Archive). Charles also wrote many hymns including "Come and Rejoice with Me" and "Never Further than Thy Cross;" in addition, she translated a number of early Latin hymns into English. In "Praise Ye the Triune God," Charles succintly presents each Person of the Godhead and invites the reader/singer to offer exuberant praise and worship. It's interesting to note that Charles was recognized early in her life for her poetry, some of which caught the attention of famed British poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. In "Praise Ye the Triune God," her best-known hymn, Charles does not incorporate a standard rhyming structure, but rather uses a creative non-rhymed approach which was unique in hymn writing of this era.

The composer of the tune sung with "Praise Ye the Triune God" was Friedrich Ferdinand Flemming (1778-1813), a German physician who also composed music in his free time. He composed a musical setting for the ode "Integer Vitae" ("Upright of Life and Free from Wickedness") by the early Roman lyrical poet Horace, and this music was later adapted as the hymn tune "Flemming."

"Praise Ye the Triune God" may be new to you, but you can listen to a couple of great vintage recordings of this hymn to get a feel for it: here's one from Dick Anthony's "Horizons in Harmony" album featuring the Lakewood Choristers, and here's a choral version from the Second Edition Choir directed by Delton Alford. Then go ahead and confidently join in with the piano accompaniment and lyrics provided below!

GloryNotes · Praise Ye The Triune God.WAV

Praise ye the Father for His loving-kindness,
tenderly caring for His erring children;
praise Him, ye angels; praise Him in the heavens;
praise to the Father!

Praise ye the Savior, great is His compassion,
graciously cares He for His chosen people;
young men and maidens, ye old men and children,
praise to the Savior!

Praise ye the Spirit, Comforter of Israel,
sent from the Father and the Son to bless us;
praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Praise to the triune God!

O To Be Like Thee

Words by Thomas Chisholm, Music by William Kirkpatrick

Exodus 15:11

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Romans 8:29
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Philippians 1:19-20

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

______________________________________

The author of our next hymn is making a repeat appearance here on Notes of Glory: we previously featured Thomas Obediah Chisholm (1866-1960) on March 29, 2020 as the lyric creator for the beloved hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness." In his book The Singers and their Songs: Sketches of Living Gospel Writers, Charles Gabriel (himself a renowned gospel song composer whose works we've also included in past posts) provided a biographical profile of Chisholm.

T.O. Chisholm was born near Franklin, KY, in 1866. His boyhood up to the age of twenty-one was spent on a farm and in teaching district schools. He was for five years editor of the local paper at Franklin, was converted at 26, and soon afterward was business manager and office editor of the Pentecostal Herald of Louisville, KY. In 1903, he entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Prior to conversion, he had done versifying, contributing to the Louisville Courier-Journal, and was chosen poet for the Kentucky Press Association. His first hymns were sent to Fanny Crosby for criticism, who returned them with kindly suggestions and such words of commendation as to encourage him in the work. His first success was “O, to be like Thee.” His aim in writing is to magnify the Word, incorporating as much Scripture, either literally or in paraphrase, as possible, and to avoid any flippant or sentimental themes, choosing subjects from the inexhaustible storehouse of the Bible.
“Having been led, for a part of my life,” he tells us, “through some difficult paths, I have sought to gather from such experiences material out of which to write hymns of comfort and cheer for those similarly circumstanced.”

Chisholm wrote "O to Be Like Thee" at age 27, after having been converted at a revival service through the teaching of renowned pastor and evangelist Dr. Henry Clay Morrison (1857-1942). Each verse of the hymn begins with a repetition of the title phrase, emphasizing the earnestness of the desire to imitate Christ, aided and equipped by the Holy Spirit. The melody for "O to Be Like Thee" was composed by Irish-born American hymn writer William J, Kirkpatrick (1838-1921), who also wrote melodies for "He Hideth My Soul," "Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It," "My Faith Has Found a Resting Place," and "We Have Heard the Joyful Sound (Jesus Saves!)," all featured in previous Notes of Glory posts.

If "O to Be Like Thee" is new to you and you'd like to hear a recording with vocals, here's one featuring the London Fox Choir with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and here is a unique version from Nathan Drake's "Awaken Hymns" project.

GloryNotes · O To Be Like Thee.WAV

Oh! to be like Thee, blessed Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Refrain:
Oh! to be like Thee, oh! to be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

Oh! to be like Thee, full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wand’ring sinner to find.

Oh! to be like Thee, Lord, I am coming,
Now to receive th’ anointing divine;
All that I am and have I am bringing,
Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

O, For a Closer Walk with God

Words by William Cowper, Music by William Gardiner ("Belmont" hymn tune)

Job 29:2-3

Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
as in the days when God watched over me,
when his lamp shone upon my head,
and by his light I walked through darkness,

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

___________________________________

Most of us are familiar with "Just a Closer Walk with Thee," the beloved African-American spiritual which we featured here on July 19, 2020. Fewer contemporary Christians are familiar with the hymn "O for a Closer Walk with God" which was composed by British poet and hymn writer William Cowper (1731-1800) in 1772 and has a very similar theme: the desire for a more intimate daily journey with the Savior. Over the past year we've enjoyed a number of hymns written William Cowper and his good friend, pastor and hymn writer John Newton (1725-1807) who worked together to create the influential collection Olney Hymns in 1779. These hymns were written specifically by Cowper and Newton for those who lived in and around Newton's rural parish in Olney, an area rife with poverty. The love of these writers for this small community radiates through the words in Newton's preface to the published version of the Olney Hymns.

This publication, which, with my humble prayer to the LORD for his blessing upon it, I offer to the service and acceptance of all who love the LORD JESUS CHRIST in sincerity, of every name and in every place, into whose hands it may come; I more particularly dedicate to my dear friends in the parish and neighborhood of Olney, for whose use the hymns were originally composed; as a testimony of the sincere love I bear them, and as a token of my gratitude to the Lord, and to them, for the comfort and satisfaction with which the discharge of my ministry among them has been attended.

William Cowper, a brilliant poet and scholar, suffered from chronic depression for much of his life. The challenges Cowper faced as well as the solace and comfort he found through his relationship with God are reflected in many of his hymns, including "Sometimes A Light Surprises," "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" and today's hymn, "O for a Closer Walk with God." There is a sweet, nostalgic longing to recapture the some of the freshness and vitality experienced "when (I) first knew the Lord, " and the hymn writer also expresses a desire to remove anything that serves as an "idol" and stands in the way of Christ. Originally titled "Walking with God" in the Olney Hymns collection, Cowper based the hymn on Genesis 5:24, "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him."

In researching the history of "O for a Closer Walk with God," I marveled at the large number of tunes it has been matched with over the last 240 years! Today we'll sing Cowper's deeply moving text with "Belmont," a very beautiful hymn tune written by British composer William Gardiner (1770-1853), who we also encountered this past January as the arranger of the tune for "Great God, We Sing That Mighty Hand." "Belmont" is such a tender and sweetly lyrical tune that it has also been matched with many texts, including "When All Thy Mercies, O My God" by Joseph Addison (1672-1719), which we sang together last May (thus it may sound familiar to those of you who have been following along since then).

If you'd like to hear a recording of this hymn with singing before trying it yourself, here's a version from the St. Michael's Singers that will give you a feel for this lovely combination of text and music so that you can confidently join in here with the piano accompaniment.

GloryNotes · O For A Closer Walk With God.WAV

O for a closer walk with God,

a calm and heav'nly frame,
a light to shine upon the road
that leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew
when first I sought the Lord?
Where is the soul refreshing view
of Jesus and His Word?

The dearest idol I have known,
whate'er that idol be,
help me to tear it from Thy throne
and worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,
calm and serene my frame;
so purer light shall mark the road
that leads me to the Lamb.

Cowper's original hymn included these two additional verses (as verses 3 and 4):

What peaceful hours I then enjoyed!
How sweet their mem'ry still!
But they have left an aching void
the world can never fill.

Return, O holy Dove, return,
sweet messenger of rest;
I hate the sins that made Thee mourn,
and drove Thee from my breast.

POSTLUDE

(to send you forth with joy!)

Praise Ye the Triune God

(Praise Ye the Father For His Lovingkindness)

Words by Elizabeth Rundle Charles, Music by Friedrich Ferdinand Flemming, Piano solo arrangement by Larry Shackley

Sometimes it's helpful to prepare a congregation for a new hymn/song by incorporating it into an instrumental prelude. Today I'd like to musically remind you of a hymn we sang together that may have been new to you today, "Praise Ye the Triune God," by sharing a piano arrangement of it as a postlude. That way, as you "exit the worship center/sanctuary" you can have this powerful hymn ringing in your ears! For more information and scripture references, see the opening hymn, above.

GloryNotes · Praise Ye The Triune God (piano Solo).WAV

Praise ye the Father for His loving-kindness,

tenderly caring for His erring children;
praise Him, ye angels; praise Him in the heavens;
praise to the Father!

Praise ye the Savior for His deep compassion,
graciously caring for His chosen people;
young men and maidens, ye old men and children,
praise to the Savior!

Praise ye the Spirit, Comforter of Israel,
sent from the Father and the Son to bless us;
praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Praise to the triune God!

Here's a playlist with all the music from today's post

GloryNotes · Music for Anywhere Worship: Sunday, March 7, 2021

**Seeking your reflections on music/scripture featured on Notes of Glory

Over the past year, some of you have kindly shared such beautiful stories of your personal connections with hymns/songs featured on Notes of Glory, and others have expressed how much a new hymn (or a new "old" hymn) shared on the site has blessed, encouraged, or comforted you. Thank you for these wonderful email messages!

It might greatly encourage others to hear some of these comments, so you are invited to look over the list below of all the music posted here since March 22, 2020, and, if you'd like, share your reflections on any hymns, songs, or scripture verses that particularly ministered to you.

If you feel so inclined, you are most welcome to share your reflections/comments this coming week (March 6-12) with me either via email or through the comment section on the blog.

If you comment on "Notes of Glory" by using the comment feature, feel free to share your first name if you're comfortable with that, your initials, or just comment anonymously. This website is categorized as "private" (only those with the link are able to see it, it's not searchable via Google, etc.) so you're among a small and faithful group of friends and believers here!

I'll collect any comments you might be willing to share regarding the songs (and scripture) featured on Notes of Glory that the Lord has used to specially minister to you, and will include them in next week's post. Thank you!

Here's our complete song list to date, with active links so that you can revisit any hymns/songs in their original post.

Complete Notes of Glory Song List (with links!)

A Mighty Fortress is Our God 10/25

After the Harvest (piano solo) 11/08

Ah! Holy Jesus (piano solo arrangement) 4/10 (Good Friday)

Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed 4/10 (Good Friday)

Alleluia! Sing to Jesus 1/10/21

All Creatures of Our God and King 8/16

All Glory, Laud and Honor 4/5 (Palm Sunday)

All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name 4/19

All People That on Earth Do Dwell 9/20

All The Way My Savior Leads Me 8/16