Above:  Icon of the Crucifixion, by Andrei Rublev

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (1838) by John Hampden Gurney (1802-1862)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lord, as to Thy dear cross we flee,

And plead to be forgiven,

So let Thy life our pattern be,

And from our souls for heaven.

+++++

Help us, through good report and ill,

Our daily cross to bear;

Like Thee, to do our Father’s will,

Our brethren’s griefs to share.

+++++

Let grace our selfishness expel,

Our earthliness refine;

And kindness in our bosoms dwell,

As free and true as Thine.

+++++

If joy shall at Thy bidding fly,

And grief’s dark day come on,

We, in our turn, would meekly cry,

“Father, Thy will be done.”

+++++

Should friends misjudge, or foes defame,

Or brethren faithless prove,

Then, like Thine own, be all our aim

To conquer them by love.

+++++

Kept peaceful in the midst of strife,

Forgiving and forgiven,

O may we lead the pilgrim’s life,

And follow Thee to heaven.

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (1855) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Break, new-born year, on glad eyes break,

Melodious voices move;

On, rolling time, thou canst not make

The Father cease to love.

+++++

The parted year had winged feet;

The Saviour still doth stay:

The new year comes; but Spirit sweet,

Thou goest not away.

+++++

Our hearts in tears may oft run o’er;

But, Lord, Thy smile still beams:

Our sins are swelling evermore,

But pardoning grace still streams.

+++++

Lord, from this year more service win,

More glory, more delight:

O make its hours less sad with sin,

Its days with Thee more bright.

+++++

Then we may bless its precious things

If earthly cheer should come,

Or gladsome mount on angel wings

If Thou wouldst take us home.

+++++

O golden then the hours must be;

The year must needs be sweet;

Yes, Lord, with happy melody

Thine opening grace we greet.

©Photo. R.M.N. / R.-G. OjŽda

Above:  Saint John on Patmos

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (November 22, 1868) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

Gill worked on this text for most of St. Cecilia’s Day, 1868.  He reported that November 22, 1868 was “almost the most delightful day of my life.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We come unto our fathers’ God:

Their Rock is our salvation;

The eternal arms, their dear abode,

We make our habitation;

We bring Thee, Lord, the praise they brought,

We seek Thee as Thy saints have sought

In every generation.

+++++

The fire Divine their steps that led

Still goeth bright before us,

The heavenly shield, around them spread,

Is still high holden o’er us;

The grace those sinners that subdued.

The strength those weaklings that renewed,

Doth vanquish, doth restore us.

+++++

The cleaving sins that brought them low

Are still our souls oppressing,

The tears that from their eyes did flow

Fall fast, our shame confessing;

As with Thee, Lord, prevailed their cry,

So our strong prayer ascends on high,

And bringeth down Thy blessing.

+++++

Their joy unto their Lord we bring,

Their song to us descendeth;

The Spirit who in them did sing

To us His music lendeth:

His song in them, in us, is one;

We raise it high, we send it on,–

The song that never endeth.

+++++

Ye saints to come, take up the strain,

The same sweet theme endeavor;

Unbroken be the golden chain!

Keep on the song for ever!

Safe in the same dear dwelling-place,

Rich with the same eternal grace,

Bless the same boundless Giver.

Above:  Two Yoked Oxen, 1860

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-USZ62-136943

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (1866) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Lord and Master, mine,

Thy happy servant see;

My Conqueror, with what joy Divine

Thy captive clings to Thee!

+++++

I love Thy yoke to wear,

To feel Thy gracious bands;

Sweetly restrained by Thy care,

And happy in Thy hands.

+++++

No bar would I remove,

No bond would I unbind;

Within the limits of Thy love

Full liberty I find.

+++++

I would not walk alone,

But still with Thee, my God;

At every step my blindness own,

And ask of Thee the road.

+++++

The weakness I enjoy

That casts me on Thy breast;

The conflicts that Thy strength employ

Make me Divinely blest.

+++++

Dear Lord and Master mine,

Still keep Thy servant true;

My Guardian and my Guide Divine,

Bring, bring Thy pilgrim through.

+++++

My Conqueror and my King,

Still keep me in Thy train;

And with Thee Thy glad captive bring

When Thou return’st to reign.

Above:  Icon of Christ Pantocrator

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (1850) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O mean may seem this house of clay,

Yet ’twas the Lord’s abode;

Our feet may mourn the thorny way,

Yet here Emmanuel trod.

+++++

This fleshly robe the Lord did wear,

This watch the Lord did keep,

These burdens sore the Lord did bear,

These tears the Lord did weep.

+++++

Our very frailty brings us near

Unto the Lord of heaven;

To every grief, to every tear,

Such glory strange is given.

+++++

But not this fleshly robe alone

Shall link us, Lord, to Thee;

Not only in the tear and groan

Shall the dear kindred be.

+++++

We shall be reckoned for Thine own

Because Thy heaven we share,

Because we sing around Thy throne,

And Thy bright raiment wear.

+++++

O mighty grace, our life to live,

To make our earth Divine:

O mighty grace, Thy heaven to give,

And lift our life to Thine.

Above:  Icon of the Holy Trinity, by Andrei Rublev

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Text (1864) by Thomas Hornblower Gill (1819-1906)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place

In every generation;

Thy people still have known Thy grace,

And blessed Thy consolation:

Through every age Thou heard’st our cry;

Through every age we found Thee nigh,

Our Strength and our Salvation.

+++++

Our cleaving sins we oft have wept,

And oft Thy patience proved;

But still Thy faith we fast have kept,

Thy Name we still have loved;

And Thou hast kept and loved us well,

Hast granted us in Thee to dwell,

Unshaken, unremoved.

+++++

No, nothing from those arms of love

Shall Thine own people sever;

Our Helper never will remove,

Our God will fail us never.

Thy people, Lord, have dwelt in Thee,

Our dwelling-place Thou still wilt be

For ever and for ever.

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Holy Family, Jasper, Georgia, June 21, 2015

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1857) by James Drummond Burns (1823-1864)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  Still with Thee, O my God,

I would desire to be,

By day, by night; at home, abroad,

I would still be with Thee.

2.  With Thee when dawn comes in

And calls me back to care,

Each day returning to begin

With Thee, my God in prayer.

3.  With Thee amid the crowd

That throngs the busy mart,

To hear Thy voice, where time’s is loud,

Speak softly to my heart.

4.  With Thee when day is done,

And evening calms the mind;

The setting as the rising sun

With Thee my heart would find.

5.  With Thee when darkness brings

The signal of repose,

Calm in the shadow of Thy wings,

Mine eyelids I would close.

6.  With Thee, in Thee, by faith

Abiding, I would be;

By day, by night, in life, in death,

I would be still with Thee.

©Photo. R.M.N. / R.-G. OjŽda

Above:  Saint John on Patmos

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1858) by James Drummond Burns (1823-1864)

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  Thou, Lord, art Love, and everywhere

Thy Name is brightly shown,

Beneath on earth, Thy footstool fair,

Above, in heaven, Thy throne.

2.  Thy word is love; in lines of gold

There mercy prints its trace;

In nature we Thy steps behold,

The gospel shows Thy face.

3.  Thy ways are love; though they transcend

Our feeble range of sight,

They wind, through darkness, to their end

In everlasting light.

4.  Thy thoughts are love, and Jesus is

The living voice they find:

His love lights up the vast abyss

Of the eternal Mind.

5.  Thy chastisements are love; more deep

They stamp the seal Divine,

And by a sweet compulsion keep

Our spirits nearer Thine.

6.  Thy heaven is the abode of Love:

O blessed Lord, that we

May there, when time’s deep shades remove,

Be gathered home to Thee:

7.  There with Thy resting saints to fall

Adoring round Thy throne;

Where all shall love Thee, Lord, and all

Shall in Thy love be one.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is post #1600 of GATHERED PRAYERS.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Apotheosis of War, by Vasily Vereshchagin

Image in the Public Domain

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is a hymn for use in time of war.  Sadly, we human beings keep acting is ways which keep the sentiments of the hymn current.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is one of those great Anglican contributions to English-language hymnody.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART THE FIRST:  THE BEGINNING

The story begins with Henry Fothergill Chorley (1808-1872), a Quaker-born novelist, playwright, libretticist, and literary and music critic in London, England, the United Kingdom.  In 1842 he published a hymn, “God, the All-Terrible! Thou Who Ordainest.”  My sources identified the the publication as having occurred in Part Music (1842), by John Pike Hullah (1812-1884).  A search at hymnary.org led me to my reprint of the Plymouth Collection of Hymns and Tunes (Henry Ward Beecher, Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn, New York, 1855), where I found these verses:

1.  God, the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest

Thunder Thy clarion, and lightning Thy sword;

Show forth Thy pity on high where Thou reignest,

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

2.  God, the Omnipotent! mighty Avenger,

Watching invisible, judging unheard;

Save us in mercy, O save us from danger,

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

3.  God, the all-merciful! earth hath forsaken

Thy ways all holy, and slighted Thy word;

But not Thy wrath in its terror awaken,

Give to us pardon and peace, O Lord.

4.  So will Thy people with thankful devotion,

Praise Him who saved them from peril and sword;

Shouting in chorus, from ocean to ocean,

Peace to the nations, and praise to the Lord.

(Hymn #1101)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART THE SECOND:  UNITARIANS DURING THE CIVIL WAR

Hymns of the Spirit (American Unitarian Association, 1864), included an abbreviated and different version of the text, starting with the second stanza.  Thus the hymn became “God, the Omnipotent! Mighty Avenger!”  The context of the U.S. Civil War was evident:

1.  God the Omnipotent! mighty Avenger!

Watching invisible, judging unheard!

Save Thou our land in the hour of her danger,

Give to us peace in Thy time, O Lord!

2.  Thunder and lightnings Thy judgment have sounded;

Letters of flame have recorded Thy word,

‘Only in righteousness true peace is founded’:

Give us that peace in Thy time, O Lord!

3.  So shall the people, with thankful devotion,

Praise Him who saved them from peril and sword;

Shouting in chorus, from ocean to ocean,–

‘Peace to the nation, and praise to the Lord!’

(Hymn #262)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART THE THIRD:  ENTER JOHN ELLERTON

In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), John Ellerton (1826-1893), a priest of The Church of England and author of no fewer than 86 hymns, wrote “God the Almighty One, Wisely Ordaining,” based on Chorley’s hymn.  The text debuted in Robert Brown-Borthwick’s Select Hymns for Church and Home (The Church of England, 1871).  I found the original version of that hymn via Google Books.

1.  God the Almighty One, wisely ordaining

Judgments unsearchable, famine and sword;

Over the tumult of war Thou are reigning;

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord!

2.  God the All-righteous One! man hath defied Thee;

Yet to eternity standeth Thy word;

Falsehood and wrong shall not tarry beside Thee;

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord!

3.  God the All-pitiful, is it not crying,

Blood of the guiltless like water outpoured?

Look on the anguish, the sorrow, the sighing;

Give to us peace in our time, O Lord!

4.  God, the All-wise! by the fire of Thy chastening

Earth shall to freedom and truth be restored;

Through the thick darkness Thy kingdom is hast’ning,

Thou wilt give peace in Thy time, O Lord!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART THE FOURTH:  THE JOINING AND SUBSEQUENT VARIATIONS AND ALTERATIONS

The first joining of the Chorley and Ellerton texts occurred in the 1874 revision of Church Hymns (The Church of England, 1871), as one can read for oneself by following the hyperlink and seeking hymn #262.  Since then many hymnals have contained various composites of the Chorley and Ellerton texts, frequently with alterations to them.  The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) contained the hymn, but listed it as “God, Lord of Sabaoth, Thou Who Ordainest.”  The hymn was “God the All-Merciful! Earth Hath Forsaken” in the Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church (1917) but “God the Omnipotent! King, Who Ordainest” in the Service Book and Hymnal (1958).  The influential Hymnal (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 1895) and its successor from 1911 listed the hymn as “God, the All-Terrible,” but The Hymnal (1933) changed the title to “God the Omnipotent.”  Among more conservative Presbyterians (especially in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America) who use either the 1961 or the 1990 versions of the Trinity Hymnal, God remains “All-terrible.”  God was “All-terrible” in The Methodist Hymnal (Methodist Episcopal Church and Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 1905), but “Omnipotent” in The Methodist Hymnal of 1935 (Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Protestant Church, and Methodist Episcopal Church, South; later The Methodist Church, 1939-1968).  As late as The Hymnal of 1918 (Episcopal Church, authorized in 1916) God was “All-Terrible,” but the deity was “Omnipotent” instead in The Hymnal 1940 (published in 1943).  The consensus among hymnal committees is that God is “Omnipotent,” not “All-terrible.”

The variation on the hymn in The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal Church, 1985) contains four stanzas–two from Chorley, two from Ellerton, and all of them altered.  This is the version I sing in church:

1.  God the Omnipotent! King, who ordainest

thunder thy clarion, the lightning thy sword;

show forth thy pity on high where thou reignest:

give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

2.  God the All-merciful! earth hath forsaken

thy ways all holy, and slighted thy word;

bid not thy wrath in its terrors awaken:

give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

3.  God, the All-righteous One! earth hath defied thee;

yet eternity standeth thy word,

falsehood and wrong shall not tarry beside thee:

give to us peace in our time, O Lord.

4.  God the All-provident! earth by thy chastening

yet shall to freedom and truth be restored;

through the thick darkness thy kingdom is hastening:

thou wilt give peace in thy time, O Lord.

Hymn writer Brian Wren (1936-) wrote of hymns in Praying Twice:  The Music and Words of Congregational Song (Louisville, KY:  Westminster John Knox Press, 2000, page 297):

I have shown that congregational songs are communal.  Though they usually originate from particular authors, their primary purpose is to give shared expression to shared experience, not parade the author’s personality.  Because they are communal a faith community may, in principle amend them.

The story of “God the Omnipotent!” fits that statement well.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

PART THE FIFTH:  DROPPING THE HYMN

Denominations revise their official hymnals from time to time.  In so doing they add some texts and remove others.  Here is a partial list of denominations which have removed “God the Omnipotent!” (however they have listed it) from their official hymnody as of 2015, based on hymnals of which I own physical copies:

1. the American Baptist Churches U.S.A., during their transition from the Hymnbook for Christian Worship (1970) to no official hymnal;
2. the Anglican Church of Canada, during the transition from The Hymn Book of the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada (1971) to Common Praise (1998);
3. the Evangelical Covenant Church of America, during the transition from The Covenant Hymnal (1973) to The Covenant Hymnal:  A Worshipbook (1996);
4. the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, during the transition from the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) to Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006);
5. The Evangelical Lutheran Synod, during the transition from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) to the Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary (1996);
6. the Free Methodist Church of North America and the Wesleyan Church, during their transition from Hymns of Faith and Life (1976) to no official hymnal;
7. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, during its transition from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) to Lutheran Worship (1982) and the Lutheran Service Book (2006);
8. the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), by way of its predecessors, the Presbyterian Church in the United States and The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., during the transition from The Hymnbook (1955) to The Worshipbook–Services and Hymns (1972);
9. the Reformed Church in America, during its transition from Rejoice in the Lord:  A Hymn Companion to the Scriptures (1985) to Lift Up Your Hearts:  Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs (2013);
10. the Southern Baptist Convention, during the transition from Baptist Hymnal (1956) to Baptist Hymnal (1975); the text is absent even from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship‘s Celebrating Grace Hymnal (2010);
11. the Unitarian Universalist Association, sometime after Hymns of the Spirit (American Unitarian Association, 1864) and before Hymns of the Spirit (American Unitarian Association and Universalist Church of America, 1937);
12. The United Methodist Church, during its transition from The Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1957) and The Methodist Hymnal/The Book of Hymns (1966) to The United Methodist Hymnal:  Book of United Methodist Worship (1992); and
13. the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, during the transition from The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) to Christian Worship:  A Lutheran Hymnal (1993); neither is the hymn present in Christian Worship:  Supplement (2008).

That list covers a wide theological range.  So does the list of denominations which have retained it–from The Episcopal Church to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to the United Church of Christ to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the Presbyterian Church in America.  The list of denominations which have never added it to their official hymnody is also diverse, ranging from the Christian Reformed Church of North America to the Church of Nazarene.  Sometimes the presence or absence of the hymn indicates more about tastes in hymnody and worship style than about theology.

Another piece of supporting evidence for that conclusion comes from two non-denominational Evangelical hymnals Tom Fettke edited:  The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration (1986) and The Celebration Hymnal:  Songs and Hymns for Worship (1997).  The former contains the hymn which is the subject of this post, but the latter does not.  A Victorian hymn set to the majestic former Russian national anthem does not fit with contemporary worship, with its seven-eleven songs, does it?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 21, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF J. B. PHILLIPS, BIBLE TRANSLATOR AND ANGLICAN PRIEST

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Above:  Nativity, by Sandro Botticelli

Image in the Public Domain

Hymn Source = The Hymnal (1895), Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

(My lead, The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941, contains an altered translation.)

Words (circa 1816) by John Cawood (1775-1852)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1.  Hark! what mean those holy voices,

Sweetly warbling in the skies?

Sure the angelic host rejoices,

Loudest alleluias rise.

2.  Listen to the wondrous story,

Which they chant in hymns of joy:

“Glory to God in the highest, glory;

Glory be to God Most High!

3.  “Peace on earth, good-will from heaven,

Reaching far as man is found;

Souls redeemed, and sins forgiven;

Loud our golden harps shall sound.

4.  “Christ is born, the great Anointed;

Heaven and earth His glory sing:

Glad receive whom God appointed

For your Prophet, Priest, and King.

5.  “Hasten, mortals, to adore Him;

Learn His Name, and taste His joy;

Till in heaven you sing before Him,

Glory be to God Most High!”

6.  Let us learn the wondrous story

Of our great Redeemer’s birth,

Spread the brightness of His glory,

Till it cover all the earth.