Liturgy Lessons: Oct. 23rd, 2016
Prelude
Call to Worship: Psalm 99
Opening Hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy (#100)
Confession: Psalm 130
Assurance of Pardon: Micah 7:18-19
Song of Assurance: God of Grace (Getty)
Catechism/Congregational Prayers
Tithes/Offerings
Gloria Patri
Sermon: Rev. Eric Irwin
Meditation
Lord’s Supper Hymns: Jesus Paid it All (#308); I Surrender All (#562)
Closing Hymn: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (#529)
Benediction
“So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding;
I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding”
1 Cor. 14:15
“I am a husband, a father and a grandfather, and professionally I was privileged to be a teacher. One question haunts me continually; what shades of beauty and nuances of spirit have we taken from our children, our young people, our fellow outpourers in the name of the idiocies of mass culture and easy Christianity?
What are they missing that the art to which they have naively grown accustomed claims to offer but cannot grant?
It is their forced ignorance, not their present choices, that grieves me so. We may have many reasons for fussing over this or that monstrosity or lapse in some artistic diets, but fussing can in no way compare to the reconstructive teaching we must do to bring them a fuller aesthetic, spiritual and intellectual measure of understanding and worship.”
Dr. Harold Best, Unceasing Worship
In our song choice at CPC, we strive to balance the best of the old with the best of the new. This week’s lessons highlight one of each. The hope is that the old family recipes can combine with new ones to bring depth and delight to our weekly feast. Beyond stylistic preference we desire to judge repertoire based on theological and musical content. There is discussion and discernment regarding the fittingness of each song within the liturgy. Music is often an area of conflict within the church. We all know what we like, and like what we know. But we all know the Lord, who is the great composer, and the giver of every good song. May the Lord give us eyes to see, hearts full of His grace, and unified voices raised for His glory.
Hymn: God of Grace
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Jonathan Rea (2003)
Keith Getty is a northern Irish composer of modern hymns. He writes many hymns in partnership with his wife, Kristyn, and English songwriter Stuart Townend. Together they have provided the modern church with a broad catalogue of songs that combine orthodox Christian doctrine with contemporary and universally accessible melodies. We include many of their hymns in our worship at CPC, and they are a wonderful and welcome supplement to our Trinity Hymnal. In the index of our hymnal, starting on pg. 883, is a list of over 500 hymn writers and translators that have contributed to “portable theology” that we sing. There are some names you would recognize. From Wesley, to Watts, Cowper to Crosby, and Bradbury to Bonar, there is a rich heritage of poetic praise! But most of the names are less “who’s who” and more “who?” Time will tell whether the name of Getty will be added to the list of recognizable hymn writers throughout history, but there is no doubt that the Gettys are at the forefront of a welcome renaissance in hymn-writing. “In Christ Alone,” “The Power of the Cross,” “M Heart is Filled with Thankfulness,” “There is a Higher Throne,” all these and many more have enriched the early 21st century church’s singing, and I am grateful for well-crafted new songs, thoughtful marriages of text and tune, that help “put a new song” in our hearts (Psalm 40:3).
Link to lyrics (sheet music is under copyright): http://www.gettymusic.com/god-of-grace/
Link to piano accompaniment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gj441msASc
Hymn: 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 your spare time. 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 Our 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