PRAY Lord, thank you that through your life you bring comfort when I am faint, silence to my fears, and calm to my troubled heart. In this difficult season, I trust that you are already planning on redeeming this season and bringing unimaginable life and beauty out of it beyond what we can even comprehend. Amen. LYRIC I know that my Redeemer lives; what joy this blest assurance gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my everliving Head. He lives triumphant from the grave, He lives eternally to save, He lives all-glorious in the sky, He lives exalted there on high. He lives to bless me with His love, He lives to plead for me above, He lives my hungry soul to feed, He lives to help in time of need. He lives to grant me rich supply, He lives to guide me with His eye, He lives to comfort me when faint, He live to hear my soul's complaint. He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears, He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives all blessings to impart. He lives, my kind, wise, heav'nly friend, He lives and loves me to the end; He lives, and while He lives, I'll sing; He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives and I shall conquer death; He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there. He lives, all glory to His name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" SCRIPTURE Job 19:25-27 BACKGROUND This lyric was written by Samuel Medley, and although there are a few slight variations in a few lines based on which hymnal you happen to be using, all versions of the hymn are attributed to Medley. Born the son of an English schoolmaster, he received a great education, but joined the Royal Navy upon his dissatisfaction with an apprenticeship he was completing. He was wounded in a battle with the French and converted to Christianity after hearing a sermon by Dr. Watts during his recovery process. He went on to run a school and ultimately become a preacher at a local Baptist church where he served, while also writing hymns for pamphlets and literature until his painful health struggles brought him into the arms of his Redeemer. Although the tune DUKESTREET is only used in conjunction with these lyrics about 50% of the time, it is the most popular tune associated with the hymnists words and the tune we have used in this particular Hymns from Home series. It was composed by John Warrington Hatton in 1793. Hatton supposedly lived on Duke Street in Lancashire, England, which is where the name for the tune was derived, and basically nothing else seems to be known about him other than he was likely a Presbyterian, and he was supposedly killed in a stagecoach accident. PERSONAL For the past few months or so our beloved church organist needed to take a short leave of absence, and somehow we were blessed enough to have the talented but also incredibly kind-hearted Jane Metcalfe fill in as our substitute. Not only is being at the helm of the pipe organ on a worship team that also includes guitars and drums and such no small task, but the timing lined up with this bizarre season of pandemics and Jane has slid right into her roll with such ease as if she's been playing the pipe organ on live-streamed church services her entire life.
She graduated with her degree in organ performance last year from Covenant College in Chattanooga, TN where she currently lives, and i've no doubt that both her talent and the care and gentleness with which she approaches all those she meets will carry her far. I've had the pleasure of being part of the 4 person skeleton music crew for the live-stream worship services at my church and getting to play with Jane each week during this season has been a true joy. A few weeks ago we did this particular hymn and I was moved not only by Jane's incredibly beautiful extended intro, but also by the lyric. As soon as the service ended I asked her if she'd be willing to play through it once more and let me film for this series, and with absolutely no notice whatsoever she kindly obliged. I love the confidence with which the lyricist proclaims all the things he knows to be true about his heavenly father. Like Job who originally proclaimed "I know that my Redeemer lives and at last He shall stand upon the earth..." author Samuel Medley had also experienced loss and hardship, so it is with no small faith that he recounts all that the Lord has done for him despite the hardship he has endured. I also love the use of the word Redeemer. There are so many names that we can call God that are accurate and true and describe facets of His Nature. But instead of calling out to God as his "Savior" or "Lord" or "Master" I think it's worth noting that Job chose Redeemer signifying that God will "bring goodness and honor back" to him. That he won't erase the hardship, but that he will allow it to remain all the while bringing greater value and beauty than ever existed before which was certainly true in Job's story. I'm certain the pain of loosing his family remained for the rest of his earthly life, but God also brought new joy by giving him additional family and descendants as well as multiplying his earthly possessions beyond their original value. I would encourage you to begin to ask the Lord to redeem what has been lost in this season. To bring an experience greater than the one that was missed, a job better than the one that was lost, a depth of relationship that didn't exist when we we were all so preoccupied with the trimmings of earth.
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PRAY Lord, thank you for being our comfort when our souls are weary and troubled, for being the ultimate conqueror of death, and for never failing us. May we turn our eyes upon you and fix our gaze there until in Glory we can see nothing but your beauty forever and ever. Amen. LYRIC O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. Thro' death into life everlasting, He passed, and we follow Him there; O’er us sin no more hath dominion-- For more than conqu’rors we are! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. His Word shall not fail you--He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell! Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. SCRIPTURE Hebrews 12: 1-3 BACKGROUND Both the lyrics to Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, and the hymn-tune LEMMEL were written by Helen H Lemmel in the early part of the twentieth century. Lemmel was a prolific hymnist who wrote an entire hymnal, and well over 500 hymns during her lifetime. She was the daughter of a Methodist minister and emigrated to America from England with her family when she was 12 years old. She moved around bit serving as a vocal coach, teacher and conductor of vocal groups as well as teaching at Moody Bible College in Chicago for some time. This particular tune was written after she read a tract published by missionary Lilias Trotter called "Focussed: A Story + A Song" act Although the two women had never met, Lemmel was so moved by the last line of the tract which reads, "Turn full your soul's vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him, and the Divine "attrait" by which God's saints are made, even in this 20th century, will lay hold of you. For "He is worthy" to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win." There are also claims that Lemmel wrote this tune after she lost her vision and her husband left her due to the development of this disability. I have been unable to find specific details to substantiate these claims however - many people are of the opinion that it is true, and certainly it would make for a powerful story behind the text, however many others claim this is just an urban legend. This beautiful piano arrangement of the tune was written by tonight's special guest, Randy McClellan. Randy is a brilliant singer/songwriter/instrumentalist who also serves as the director of music at Church of The Good Shepherd in Brentwood, TN. He and his wife Pamela live in East Nashville with their two human kiddos and one four-legged fur-baby. PERSONAL I'll admit that at this point in the pandemic age, my soul is weary and troubled. Not just by the process of living in survival mode for the past 54 days, but by the state of the world in general. It's hard to understand why we are living in an age where an entire race of people don't feel safe going out for a jog. An era where just last night in my beloved town of Nashville, TN someone scaled a fence and put an actual target on the house of a family because of the equality they continue to fight for. If you feel like "no light in the darkness you see," take heart. You are not alone. But also, take truth...there is a light in the darkness...one bright enough that we can see the Savior. Admittedly, these days I often feel like stamping my foot a la my toddler and saying, "but Jesus my eyes ARE fixed on You! I'm straining in the darkness begging to see even a flicker of the brilliance of Your Glory. Show yourself to me!" But as the hymnist penned, His Word will not fail me. And I know that soon, these things of earth will grow strangely dim, and His Glory and Grace will be all illuminated beyond comprehension so that His Face is all I see. I had the great fortune to attend church with Randy McClellan and his wife Pamela for several years at St. B's. Whenever I saw either of their names on the musician list for a Sunday morning I knew it was going to be a good day. But I will never forget the first time I really heard Randy play. We were having some sort of special evening service and Randy did a vocal/piano solo...I'd never had the opportunity to hear him by himself in a "let loose" and boy did he ever let loose. I about fell off the pew in amazement. In a bittersweet turn of events, Randy was hired shortly thereafter to be the music minister at Church of The Good Shepherd and while we are all very proud of him and how he serves this sister congregation, he and his family are dearly missed as our church body will never be quite the same without their spirits and their talent. See Randy "LIVE" in concert every week! Like many musicians, Randy as made musical lemonade out of the lemons that 2020 has handed us all thus far. Covering Gospel favorites, jazz classics, 90's country and everything in-between live from his official FaceBook page, Randy continues to bring joy and inspiration to the greater online community. I would encourage you to tune in every Friday at noon (central) to hear his livestream concerts. PRAY Lord, may we continually praise you for who you are, and what you do daily in our lives providing shelter, health, and ultimately salvation. Thank you that your goodness and mercy attend us daily. May we praise you forevermore. LYRIC Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation! Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near, join me in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning; sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining! Have you not seen all that is needful has been sent by his gracious ordaining? Praise to the Lord, who will prosper your work and defend you; surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend you. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with his love he befriends you. 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 his people again; gladly forever adore him. SCRIPTURE Psalm 103:1-6 & Psalm 150 BACKGROUND The lyric to Praise To The Lord The Almighty was originally written by Joachim Neander in the late 1600s. Joachim was an unlikely hymnist...as a young man he was "riotous and fond of questionable pleasures." In fact, he and two friends once went to church on the sole mission to make fun of the preacher but instead, Neander found himself deeply moved by the sermon and joined the German Reformed Church. He would be their most important hymn-writer and many of his works center on praise and thanksgiving. He also deeply felt God's presence in nature and it is likely that many of his songs were written in a cave that he particularly enjoyed visiting. Almost two hundred years after it's composition, his text "Lobe den Herren den mächtigen König" was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth who was basically well known for her knowledge of German Hymnody and German-to-English translations of hymn texts, and for her pioneering work in the area of women's rights. The tune, LOBE DEN HERREN, was anonymously written around 1665 and is most frequently paired with this set of lyrics, although occasionally used with other texts. This particular arrangement was created by Ronnie Dennis, worship leader at Avenue South Church, a regional campus of Brentwood Baptist Church. As a college student and young twenty-something he traveled with a successful regional Christian band, and then served as a worship leader at several churches before moving to Nashville and accepting his current position at Avenue South. Ronnie and his wife Shaunti have two awesome kiddos and live in Nashville, TN. PERSONAL Tonight I am so glad to have Ronnie Dennis as my special guest. I've been a friend of the congregation at The Church At Avenue South for a long time now, and I'm grateful to get to serve with Ronnie every few months on Sunday mornings. He is a kind and humble soul who finds joy in giving others the opportunity to use their gifts, values input from those serving alongside him, and generally puts others ahead of himself. Ronnie is a fellow Mississippian which is always sweet to get to serve with someone who knows where you've come from...even if where you've come from is leading worship at a Bible study in a bar on Monday nights when they were closed...which we actually did together on several occasions back in the day.
Yesterday Nashville had a line of storms come through. Wind speeds were clocked at 76 miles per hour. Lots of damage happened. 101,000 customers are still without electricity, down from 130,000 last night. Two of our friends have trees on their cars, a few more have trees on their houses and fences. On this, the 10-year anniversary of the great Nashville Flood of 2010, many citizens of our fair city are now facing the reality of being quarantined, without power, in damaged homes or without vehicles. We're still limping along from the tornados and COVID-19 and now we're gearing up for a second night of straight line winds. I know many of you might feel this way about things in your own lives...maybe you keep experiencing loss or hardship or sadness and it seems overwhelmingly too much. This hymn has long been a favorite of mine. The melody is sing-able and lilting, the words uplifting and comforting. It pulls you in to a joyful space where one can't help but simply sing, "Praise to the Lord! Praise! Praise!" When I scheduled this one for tonight, I certainly had no idea it would come on the heels of more bad weather and loss for our town, but maybe it's the reminder that we need right now. That even in this, the Lord is still worthy of adoration and praise. That He is our health, our salvation, He is wondrously reigning, He shelters us, sustains us...I find that comforting in a season like this where everything seems upside down. PRAY Lord, we are grateful for the beauty You created, for the Divine and human love we get to experience and return, and for Your great sacrifice for us. Accept this song as an offering of gratitude. LYRIC For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light, Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild, Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For yourself, best gift divine, to the world so freely given, agent of God's grand design: peace on earth and joy in heaven. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. SCRIPTURE Psalm 8 BACKGROUND The text "For The Beauty Of The Earth" was written by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint in 1863. Sitting on a hilltop outside his home in Bath, he wrote these lyrics in appreciation for the beauty of God's creation in the nature he saw all around him. Although he wrote several volumes of poetry and contributed to a number of hymnals, For The Beauty Of The Earth is the only hymn that we still sing today. One commentary noted, "Above all, Pierpoint thought of the sacrifice of Christ, in the greatest of sacrifices, that of his life in return for ours. He thus originally wrote the text of “For the Beauty of the Earth” as a hymn for the Lord’s Supper. The original chorus read, “Christ, our God, to thee we raise this, our sacrifice of praise.” The hymn was meant not only as a song of thanksgiving, but as the only thing we could give Christ in return for his mercy and love: a hymn of praise laid upon the altar as a sacrifice. Editors have since altered the refrain so it has become a more generic hymn of thanksgiving, but as it stands, it takes on a deeper meaning when understood as something we not only sing, but offer up to God." The hymn-tune to which this lyric is set is entitled DIX and was composed by Conrad Kocher, a German who initially aspired to be a teacher but ultimately became a musician due to his love for musical greats Haydn and Mozart. He spent most of his life working in and around the church for whom he composed an abundance of music. The version of this tune that has been accepted as "DIX" is actually a version of his chorale melody for “Treuer Heiland, wir sind hir,” which William H. Monk shortened and edited. "Minuet No. 2" as it is often called, is popularly attributed to Johann Sebastian Bach, although it is likely that it was actually written by his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. In either case, in 1725, Bach included it in his "Notenbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach" as 7. Menuet, BWV Anhang 116. This composition was originally written for keyboard instruments (in that time period, likely it would have first been performed on harpsichord or organ) but has been adapted for many solo instruments. PERSONAL If you've been struggling to figure out the new frequency with which I plan on posting new Hymns From Home, you're not alone. I've been trying to figure it out as well! I've landed on once-a-week as a frequency that is sustainable in my new found role as an unemployed, full-time-stay-at-home-mom-to-a-toddler-that-gave-up-napping-for-Lent-and-has-continued-with-no-forseeable-end-in-sigh. Monday nights at 8:00 pm central are my target, and as always, that 8pm central part has a big ole window of grace next to it.
Last night as I set up my gear to record something for tonight, not having a clue what I wanted to record, I flipped open an old hymnal that happened to be on my bookshelf that my mother rescued from a church that was getting rid of them. For the Beauty of the Earth basically fell open and I loved the idea that it was one I could have fun with so I started literally fiddling around with it and in the middle it hit me that although it was in a different time signature, it felt reminiscent of a Minuet I'd learned on the violin when I was about 4. If you've ever had a kiddo in the Suzuki program, you've likely heard this tune screeched out during practice sessions. I've taken liberty with it so if you're a Baroque purist, don't send me mean emails. However, Bach both wrote for the church AND took a few liberties in life, so I'm decently confident that if he were here today he would be fine with it. It's probably been over 20 years since I've thought to play this tune, so it may not be accurate, but I thought it paired nicely with the hymn and gave us a result that was both happy and worshipful. PRAY Lord, remind us even at the close of this day, that morning will break again tomorrow and Your Mercies are new EVERY MORNING. Put a praise on our lips and a song in our hearts. LYRIC Morning has broken Like the first morning, Blackbird has spoken Like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them, springing Fresh from the Word! Sweet the rain’s new fall Sunlit from Heaven, Like the first dewfall On the first grass. Praise for the sweetness Of the wet garden, Sprung in completeness Where his feet pass. Mine is the sunlight, Mine is the morning, Born of the one light Eden saw play. Praise with elation, Praise every morning, God’s re-creation Of the new day! SCRIPTURE Lamentations 3:21-23 BACKGROUND Morning Has Broken was written by Eleanor Farjeon, best known as a children's author who was particularly popular in Britain in the first half of the 20th century. However there is nothing childish about Farjeon at all who was an incredibly talented writer across the board both of stories and of lyrics...even having co-composed the libretto to an opera at age 16 with her brother. The hymn-tune was Gaelic melody that was first formally published in 1888 as the setting for different hymn text by Mary MacDonald. The tune was formally named BUNESSAN after MacDonald's birthplace and the name stuck even when applied to Morning Has Broken in 1931, and a few other texts as well. I'm not certain the validity of this story, but the origin of the text that I most commonly found in my research was simply that a children's hymnal needed a song giving thanks to God in the morning, and she was contracted to write one. Simple, but in this season as I think about how we are each seeking to meet needs, I find this story both plausible and beautiful. PERSONAL I've always loved the singable folk quality of this hymn, particularly, as one may be able to guess, the version that streamed out of my parents' record player from the Cat Stevens LP I'd often put on. I couldn't imagine doing a Hymns series without it...and to capture that fun folky feel I knew I'd need "The Stephens."
I first met producer/guitarist/studio engineer Stephen Leiweke about five years ago while working on a project with Kelly Minter. Since then, we've had the pleasure of playing as part of the band for the Cultivate: A Gathering Around The Word events as well as few studio sessions at his amazing Yackland Studio, and many many hours on the road. He was also gracious enough to play guitar on my solo show last summer. Stephen sets the bar high both as a musician and roadmate. Everything he does is executed with precision and perfection as if he is simply incapable of making a mistake. He also happens to have one of the kindest, servant-hearted attitudes of anyone I know. If you find your self needing something, he's probably already anticipated the need, sniffed out the resources, and got a solution all ready and waiting for you. This video project is no exception. My friends and I up to this point have been sort of gleefully winging things - playing with neither count in nor click track and crossing our fingers that it all works out. (Which is has because Michelle Margiotta is a patient, video-editing genius). However, when I opened the dropbox folder Stephen sent me I saw not only his flawlessly beautiful video and audio tracks, but also a written chart, three different versions of click track, written notes on what he'd played to help me out, and he'd already sent the whole enchilada to our ukulele friend too. Because of course he had. I had the immense pleasure of becoming dear friends with Stephen Mason's wife, Jude, before I ever knew him at all. She and I were part of a group that was equal parts poetry/writing/art/therapy/friendship and a couple years later when I first set foot in our now-church, I was beyond delighted to see her there in a pew. Fast forward a few years and her husband Stephen has become one of my most favorite fellow music makers. His presence in our church music loft brings color and shine both figuratively and literally as he recently refinished his bass in sparkly glitter. After spending 20 years as a founding member in the band "Jars Of Clay," Mason qualified as a Master Barber and opened his own shop called "The Handsomizer." From straight-razor shaves to haircuts, he does it the old-fashioned "right" way and clients walk out not only looking, well...handsomer, but also with lighter souls from having spent an hour with one of the best listeners in town. Beyond the fact that I thought the talents of these gentlemen would just lend themselves well to this tune, I also felt like the lyric fit them both. Though different from one another for sure, both these fellows are the type that find the good in each day, gently remind me of that good when I struggle to find it for myself, and faithfully praise the Lord. May we remember that His mercies are new every morning and will be until there are no more mornings except the Eternal morning in His Presence. |
#lifeontheroadStories and thoughts and current happenings in music and life Archives
January 2022
CategoriesAbout BethanyBethany is a freelance violinist/fiddler and tour manager who works with artists & events such as Kelly Minter, Cultivate: A Gathering Around The Word and Laura Story. She and her husband Keith live in Nashville, TN with their daughter Clare, cat & 6 backyard chickens. For more info on Bethany, visit her bio page!! |