Angels from the Realms of Glory | Gathered ‘Round Your Table | Thou Who Wast Rich | Good Christian Men, Rejoice

Liturgy Lessons: December 15, 2019 (Advent 3)
Prelude
Welcome/Announcements
Musical Introit – O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Call to Worship: Isaiah 42:5-10 and Psalm 145:1-3
Prayer of Invocation
Hymn of Adoration: Angels From the Realms of Glory
Confession: Job 38:1-7, 16-18 and Job 40:4, 42:2,6
Prayer and Song of Confession
Word of Assurance: 1 Jn. 1:1-3, 2:2
Hymn of Praise: All My Heart Today Rejoices
Advent Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7
Congregational Prayers
Reading of the Word: Isaiah 53:1-12
Advent Doxology
Sermon: Rev. Eric Irwin
Tithes/Offerings
Supper: Gathered ‘Round Your Table; Thou Who Wast Rich
Closing Hymn: Good Christian Men, Rejoice
Benediction
Sung response: Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

Angels from the Realms of Glory
Text: James Montgomery, 1816
Tune: REGENT SQUARE, Henry Smart, 1867

December 24, 1816 was a good day for Christmas songs in Europe. While “Silent Night” was being set to music in Germany, this hymn was being published in Sheffield, England by James Montgomery, editor of the local newspaper. James was a lifelong poet (started at age 10) who even wrote verse while being jailed for protests against the slave trade. He was influenced greatly by Watts and Wesley (who came a generation before him), and stands as another member in the long line of great Anglican hymnwriters of the early 19th century. “Angels from the Realms of Glory” was later published in Montgomery’s hymn book The Christian Psalmist in 1825 under the title “Good tidings of great joy to all people.” The hymn originally had five stanzas, each of which invites a different group of people to “come and worship Christ the newborn King.” The first three—angels, shepherds, and sages (wise men)—are key players in the biblical Christmas narratives. In the fourth stanza, “Saints” could refer to Simeon and Anna, who had been “watching long in hope” for the Messiah to come. The original fifth, which is usually omitted, is addressed to “Sinners, wrung with true repentance,” announcing that redemption has come. Two other stanzas are occasionally added. One is from another Montgomery hymn based on Philippians 2; it begins “Though an infant now we view Him.” The other is a doxological stanza from the Salisbury Hymn Book of 1857, which begins “All creation, join in praising.” This last one is the final verse that exists in our Trinity Hymnal. Because of its sense of urgency and enthusiasm, this hymn makes a stirring opening to our worship service. If I could insert one more verse into the hymnal for us to use this Sunday, it would be this one:

People of the Modern City, bowing down before your phone
Hear the heav’nly chorus bidding, greater Joy for you is born.
Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King.

Or perhaps this one that really speaks to the congested Seattle context. Stuck in a gridlock? Tired of traffic? Try singing this verse:

All commuters join in praising Jesus Christ who now has come
He who travelled so much farther, knows your woe, and then some
Come and Worship, come and worship, worship Christ, God’s only son.

In the United States, this hymn is sung almost exclusively to REGENT SQUARE, which was composed in 1867 by Henry T. Smart for Horatius Bonar’s doxology, “Glory be to God the Father.” The tune’s name comes from Regent Square in London. It is interesting to note that in Britain, this hymn is better known with GLORIA, the French carol tune associated with “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

– Sheet music
– Choral/orchestral recording

Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor
Text: Frank Houghton (1894-1972)
Music: French Carol Melody, arr. 1930

This relatively young hymn is one of my favorite in all hymnody. It has an accessible, poetic text set to an exquisite, lilting French melody. It is inspired by 2 Cor. 8:9. The original French verse “Quelle est cette odeur agreeable?” is translated loosely as “what is that nice smell?”. In the Oxford Book of Carols, the sensual and flowery original is translated as follows:

Whence is the goodly fragrance flowing, stealing our senses all away,
Never the like did come a-blowing,Shepherds, in flow’ry fields of May, 
Whence is that goodly fragrance flowing, stealing our senses all away?

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love’s sake becamest poor
Thrones for a manger didst surrender, sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.

This carol puts a sublime poetic touch on the paradox of Christ’s birth. It is one of the few songs of this season that really highlights the O magnum mysterium (great mystery) of the God-man, the Creator-child, the infinite infant. The sheer wonder of this miracle has fascinated the imaginations of poets for centuries. Consider this anonymous Dutch medieval hymn:

Come and stand amazed, you people, see how God is reconciled!
See his plans of love accomplished, See his gift, this newborn child.
See the Mighty, weak and tender, See the Word who now is mute.
See the Sovereign without splendor, See the Fullness destitute
See how humankind received him; See him wrapped in swaddling bands,
Who as Lord of all creation, Rules the wind by his commands.
See him lying in a manger Without sign of reasoning;
Word of God to flesh surrendered, He is wisdom’s crown, our King.

Or this gem from 1646, courtesy of Richard Crenshaw:

Welcome to our wondering night, Eternity shut in a span!
Summer in winter! Day in night!
Heaven in earth! God in man!
Great Little One, whose glorious birth
Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth.

And, lest we think all the good poetry is from the past, how about this brilliant contemplation on the infant Lord from Luci Shaw? This is just an excerpt from her poem entitled ‘Mary’s Song’:

Quiet he lies
whose vigor hurled
a universe. He sleeps
whose eyelids have not closed before.
His breath (so slight it seems
no breath at all) once ruffled the dark deeps
to sprout a world.
Charmed by doves’ voices, the whisper of straw,
he dreams,
hearing no music from his other spheres.
Breath, mouth, ears, eyes
he is curtailed
who overflowed all skies,
all years.
Older than eternity, now he
is new.

The phrase that stands out in this hymn may be the most obvious and humble: “All for love’s sake.” We repeat that line twice in each of the first two verses, and are reminded that as great as this mystery is, greater still was the love that set it all in motion.

In the final verse, the hymn reaches a climax where we are reminded that the purpose of it all is worship. So, perhaps the original wasn’t so bad after all. It invites us with childlike wonder to “haste away” and “find the redeemer.” “What is that goodly fragrance?”, it asks. That is the perfume of Christ’s all-exceeding loveliness and the scent of fire from He who is the very flame of love. Jesus, Savior, and King, we worship you!

– Sheet music
– Choral version (original French)
– Guitar/folk version

Gathered ‘Round Your Table
Text: Margaret Clarkson, 1986
Tune: SHEPHERDS LAMB, Ross Hauck, 2017

Margaret Clarkson was a robust defender of reformed doctrine, and apparently, even as a child, loved both the Presbyterian hymnal and the Westminster Catechism. Her hymns fold very easily into our worship. They are full of Christocentric language, biblical metaphor, and heartfelt devotion. “Gathered ‘Round Your Table” is a communion hymn intended for use at Christmas time. In very short and simple verses it connects the Incarnation to the Crucifixion. We sing about how “Bethlehem’s stable” leads to “Calvary’s bitter cross.” Margaret seamlessly and beautifully weaves a theological tapestry, an image of Christ that is both sorrow and joy. For me, it is the musical equivalent of a Rembrandt, that chiaroscuro master, where the darker elements only enhance the focal points of light. So it is with Jesus’ birth, the light of light come to dispel our darkness. The night sky made the Bethlehem star more resplendent. And the same is true with the passion of Christ. His suffering and death make his birth more glorious. Understanding the cross makes Christmas more brightly shine.

I wrote music for this text that I hope maintains the solemnity and simplicity of Margaret’s hymn. I added a short refrain of “Alleluia” at the end of every verse, borrowing heavily from the tune for “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” My goal was to find a tune that sounds timeless and transcendent. I chose to use a modal sonority that feels ancient, and a melody that includes both a sense of surprise and an inevitability of arrival. These are all elements that are perfectly portrayed by the Christ child. Because the music is new, there is no recording of it; However, the full text of the hymn, and the lead sheet with the melody can be found at the link below.

– Hymn text and lead sheet

Good Christian Men (and women and children), Rejoice
Text: Medieval Latin Carol
Tune: IN DULCI JUBILO, German Melody (14th cent.)

Are you familiar with the famous Sussex Carol, commonly known by the title “On Christmas Night All Christians Sing”? It is a close twin in meter and form to this tune, In Dulci Jubilo,known in most English hymnals as “Good Christian Men, Rejoice.” These two equally famous swinging melodies could easily form a spritely medley. This is because they share the same DNA (Dancing Nimbly if Able!). Sadly, there is not a rich history of dancing in the Presbyterian Church. However, if a closeted Calvinist suddenly felt an urge to let loose a Presbyterian Pirouette, a Jig for Jehovah, or an all-out Hallelujah Hoedown, these lively and rhythmic carols would be great musical choices for accompaniment.

IN DULCI JUBILO (“In sweet joy”), was an old German folk dance from the 14th century, and it may be older than that. Judging by its exuberant nature and childlike simplicity of form, it could have existed in fragments for centuries. Here’s a challenge: Hum it and try to sit still! Does not your head start bopping, or foot start tapping? I can easily imagine this was played on wooden flute and drum as the shepherds skipped along toward the manger. And that is precisely the right spirit for a medieval carol that celebrates the accessibility of Christmas story for all men.

In the late medieval period, there was a tradition of using folk songs to teach illiterate church-goers the Gospel story. With that purpose in mind, this hymn was written in an original combination of Latin and German, so it would be familiar in both the vernacular and the language of the Church. When set to a familiar folk tune, the people would be able to sing along with ease, and would understand the story.

Over the centuries, this hymn has been translated into many different languages. A missionary diary claims that on September 14, 1745, at the Moravian mission in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, this hymn was simultaneously sung in thirteen different languages! What a marvelous prelude to heaven that must have been, all languages joined in universal celebration of the story that began all of our own stories.

John M. Neale translated the hymn and paraphrased it rather loosely, but his translation is the most commonly used today. Most modern hymnals include almost the same text, but in a day of “inclusive” language, some hymnals such as the Psalter Hymnal, have replaced “men” with “friends” or “all.”

– Sheet music
– Suggested recording
– Early Renaissance version for cathedral choir and orchestra