Liturgy Lessons: March 26, 2017 (Fourth Sunday in Lent)
Prelude/Announcements
Call to Worship: Psalm 99:1-5; 95:1-7a (responsively)
Prayer of Invocation
Hymn of Invocation: Come Thou Almighty King (#101)
Confession of Sin: Psalm 51:1-12
Assurance: Titus 3:3-7
Hymn of Assurance: God of Grace | The Steadfast Love of the Lord
Catechism/Congregational Prayers
Tithe/Offerings
Doxology: #733
Sermon
Meditation
Supper: There is a Fountain Filled with Blood (#253); There is a Redeemer
Closing Hymn: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (#529)
Benediction
“As long as you notice and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance.
A good shoe is a shoe you don’t notice.
Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling.
The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.”
–C.S. Lewis Letters to Malcom, Chiefly on Prayer
The hope for these Liturgy Lessons is that they may establish a familiarity for old and young alike, that they would bear the fruit of delight and deeper engagement in the worship on Sunday morning. We pray each Sunday that the Lord would cause the liturgy to fade into the background and that Christ would be in HD (Holy Display)! When we gather information and instruction on the hymns in advance of Sunday, they settle deeper into our minds and hearts, like watering a seed in soil. Whether it’s an old favorite or an unknown hymn, this practice helps, particularly because our culture is more accustomed to spectating than participation. Our choice of hymns and songs in the modern era is broader and more varied than ever. And, during the week, we all have our own personalized and selective diet of music. Then, on Sunday morning, we get to form a spontaneous and sanctified flash mob in the pews with no rehearsal! May this resource encourage more confidence in our attempts to sing with spiritual vigor and understanding (1 Cor. 14:15).
Come, Thou Almighty King
Text: Anonymous (ca. 1757)
Tune: Felice de Giardini (1769)
Much like “Holy, Holy, Holy,” this is a true Trinitarian hymn. The text comes from an anonymous prayer found in a leaflet and then published in the 1757 edition of George Whitefield’s Collection of Hymns for Social Worship. The hymn is saturated with names for members of the Godhead and addresses each member exclusively in individual stanzas: God the Father (vs. 1), God the Son (vs. 2), and God the Holy Spirit (vs. 3, based on John 15:26). The hymn concludes with a doxology to the Trinity (vs. 4). Due to its odd meter, this hymn text has only historically been “fit” with one tune, composed by the very famous Italian violinist Felice de Giardini. After studying in Italy, Giardini went to London where he achieved great musical fame throughout Europe. It is doubtful that the composition of this tune was made with any consideration for this particular text, but whoever originally paired the two must have been an expert matchmaker with a keen eye for marrying form and content. The tune is written in 3/4 meter and flooded with descending and ascending triads. You can almost hear the Sesame Street announcer proclaim, “Today’s hymn is brought to you by the number 3!” I also love the winsome simplicity of measures 7 and 8 of the hymn. All voices in unison descend from the upper octave to its lower by way of intervals that outline the basic C-chord (Do-sol-mi-do). This seems the perfect musical gesture for the text “Help us to pray,” and especially fitting overall for a hymn of invocation. Just like the medieval Gothic cathedrals were built to illuminate theological truths and physically manifest Pythagorean principles of harmonious proportions, music can often “preach” of things that are beyond words. Here in this hymn we step into a cathedral-like place of wonder. After all, how can anyone fully understand the mystery of the Trinity?
Sheet music: http://www.hymnary.org/media/fetch/100131
Text and piano accompaniment: http://www.opc.org/hymn.html?hymn_id=132
There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood
Text: William Cowper (1772)
Tune: Lowell Mason (1830)
The following account is offered from Hymnary.org:
“When William Cowper, who had suffered from severe depression since the death of his mother when he was just six years old, was faced with the prospect of a final law examination before the House of Lords, he experienced a mental breakdown that he never fully recovered from. Having been sent to St. Alban’s asylum for eighteen months, he began to read the Bible, which brought some peace to his mind, and he was able to leave and live with his good family friend, famed author of ‘Amazing Grace,’ John Newton. Newton helped Cowper recover, and together Cowper and Newton wrote poetry and religious verse, which they later published in their own hymnal. ‘There is a Fountain Filled With Blood’ is one such hymn, and it is a dramatic illustration of Cowper’s faith. The last verse in particular speaks to Cowper’s hope of redemption; it reads, ‘When this poor lisping, stamm’ring tongue lies silent in the grave, then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing thy pow’r to save.’ The mental breakdown at his examination gave Cowper a lisp and stutter that he had the rest of his life, but he knew there was a greater song to be sung than any his earthly voice could raise, a song of praise to the dying Lamb.”
In 1830, Lowell Mason wrote this tune entitled “Cleansing Fountain” for Cowper’s text, and the hymn was published in 1832 in Spiritual Songs for Social Worship. The tune has a symmetric structure to it, and despite the vocal turns, it is quite simple. Its rhythmic vitality and harmonic simplicity seem straight out the pages of Sacred Harp. This is a memorable earworm for children, and parents would do well to discuss the imagery with their kids who might be prone to take literally the notion of swimming in a blood fountain. The following are scripture verses that I encourage you to read and meditate on before singing this one:
Psalm 36:8-9
Zechariah 13:1
Proverbs 14:27
Sheet music: http://www.hymnary.org/media/fetch/98112
Recording by “Selah”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMcG0JclK-A
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Text: Charles Wesley (1747)
Tune: Beecher, John Zundel (1870)
Scriptures for reflection:
Vs. 1 – Rev. 21:3, John 3:16, John 15:9
Vs. 2 – Mal. 3:1
Vs. 3 – 2 Cor. 3:18, 2 Cor. 5:17, 2 Pet. 3:14
Charles Wesley, the well-known 18th century Methodist preacher, wrote just under 9,000 hymns during his lifetime (8,989 to be exact). This is an average of 10 lines of verse each day for 50 years! Charles and his brother, John, published 56 collections of hymns in 53 years. These collections were just hymn texts. 18th-century hymnbooks did not contain musical notation. In fact, John Wesley thought that singing in parts was suspect in worship, and preferred simple melodies. The practice of “lining out” was common in that day. A song leader would sing one line of the hymn, which would then be repeated by the congregation. The original melody that was sung with this text was probably much simpler than the more sophisticated melody “Beecher,” which was written 130 years after the hymn’s authorship. This melody contains a few tricky intervals for the amateur singer. The upward leap of a major 6th is found in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th stanzas. If you want to practice this interval, just hum the opening of “It came upon a midnight clear,” “My bonnie lies over the ocean,” or the simple “NBC” jingle.
This hymn text is one of Charles Wesley’s finest and most popular. Some historians believe that title line was inspired by a John Dryden poem used in Henry Purcell’s opera King Arthur, which begins, “Fairest Isle, all Isles excelling, Seat of Pleasures and of Loves.” Opera was wildly popular in the 18th century, similar to the dominance and appeal of movies in our modern era. In fact, the Anglican church banned opera during Lent, instituting an entertainment “fast” of sorts, and only allowing sacred oratorio as an alternative for the masses. It is therefore a fitting irony that Wesley would write a fervent prayer that calls the Lord to excel all other fleeting loves and affections in our lives. And, I would argue, that makes this the perfect hymn to prayerfully sing during Lent. There is no doubt that a few minutes spent prayerfully reflecting on this text or singing the hymn would be more beneficial than scrolling through Facebook or tiring out your thumbs on your phone’s screen. I’m sure that Wesley would agree with C.S. Lewis:
“It would seem that the Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
May the Lord enrapture our hearts. Jesus is “pure, unbounded love”!
Link to sheet music: http://www.hymnary.org/page/fetch/TH1990/550/high
Link to organ accompaniment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KflYyilB7TM