Above:  Hills in Summer

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1929) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966)

Hymn Source = New Worship and Song with Worship Services and Source Materials (1942), General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches in the United States

I found a reference to this hymn and its source at hymnary.org.  I read the text today, after my copy of New Worship and Song arrived.

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Clear o’er the hills ring out the glad hosannas,

Bright shines the sunlight on the pilgrim throng,

Onward he rides to bear his wondrous message.

Seeking its truth the world has waited long.

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Will they accept him, finding God his Father;

Loving with strength and heart and soul and mind;

Will they accept and walk his way of service

Leading to wider joy for all mankind?

+++++

So through all ages still he comes appealing,

Calling the sons of men from self to God,

Quickening the love that binds man to his neighbor,

Showing the path redeeming love has trod.

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Grant us, O God, the heart of full allegiance,

Teach us the secret of his gain through loss,

Fit us to build the Kingdom of thy purpose,

So to fulfill the triumph of his cross.

Image Source = The Portsmouth Herald, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Friday, June 19, 1942, Page 1

Accessed via newspapers.com

Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966) was a U.S. Congregationalist minister, religious writer, hymn writer, and humanitarian.  He was active in parish ministry from his ordination in 1951 until his retirement (at age 74) in February 1951.  Blanchard served in three congregations, the last one (Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio) for 36 years, almost to the day (from February 1915 to February 1951).

Some of the hymnal companion volumes (especially those for the Baptist Hymnals of 1975 and 1991) I consulted stated erroneously that Blanchard retired in 1955, but I have documented independently that he retired in 1951.  I am not overly critical of such errors, for, in the age of the Internet, finding much information and checking facts is easier than it used to be.  I do, however have, a preference for accuracy.

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Before the Cross Our Lives Are Judged:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/before-the-cross-our-lives-are-judged/

Bethlehem Sleeps Beneath the Stars:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/03/29/bethlehem-sleeps-beneath-the-stars/

Clear O’er the Hills Ring Out:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/04/05/clear-oer-the-hills-ring-out/

O Child of Lowly Manger Birth:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/03/29/o-child-of-lowly-manger-birth/

O Jesus, Youth of Nazareth:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/o-jesus-youth-of-nazareth-by-ferdinand-q-blanchard/

Word of God, Across the Ages:

https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2016/03/29/word-of-god-across-the-ages/

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Above:  The Life of Christ (1863)

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-01110

Text (1906) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966)

Hymn Source = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1912), U.S. Congregationalist

This is the full version of “O Jesus, Youth of Nazareth.”

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O Child of lowly manger birth

On whose low cry the ages wait,

Lead us thy way, and every day

Guide us to see what made thee great.

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O Jesus, youth of Nazareth,

Preparing for the bitter strife,

Wilt thou impart to every heart

Thy perfect purity of life?

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O Christ whose words make dear the fields

And hillsides green of Galilee,

Grant us to find, with reverent mind,

The truth thou saidst should make us free.

+++++

O suffering Lord on Calvary,

Whom love led on to mortal pain,

We know thy cross is not a loss

If we thy love shall truly gain.

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O Master of abundant life

From natal morn to victory’s hour,

We look to thee, heed thou our plea,

Teach us to share thy ageless power.

Above:  The Reading of the Gospel, St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia, February 28, 2016

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Text (1951) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966), for the publication of the Old Testament (1952) of the Revised Standard Version

Text copyrighted 1953 by the Hymn Society of America

Copyright renewed in 1981 by the Hymn Society of America

Copyright still in effect in Baptist Hymnal (2008), Southern Baptist Convention; and the Celebrating Grace Hymnal (2010), Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Hymn Source = Baptist Hymnal (1975), Southern Baptist Convention

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Word of God, across the ages

Comes thy message to our life;

Source of hope forever present

In our toil and fears and strife;

Constant witness to God’s mercy,

Still our grace whate’er befall,

Guide unfailing, strength eternal,

Offered freely to us all.

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Story of man’s wondrous journey

From the shadows of the night;

Garnered truth of sage and prophet,

Guiding forward into light;

Words and deeds of Christ our Master,

Pointing to the life and way,

Still appealing, still inspiring,

‘Mid the struggles of today.

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In the tongues of all the peoples

May the message bless and heal,

As devout and patient scholars

More and more its depths reveal;

Bless, O God, to wise and simple,

All thy truth of ageless worth,

Till all lands receive the witness

And thy knowledge fills the earth.

Above:  The Nativity at Night, by Geertgen tot Sint Jans

Image in the Public Domain

Text (1909) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966)

Hymn Source = Songs of the Christian Life (1912), U.S. Congregationalist, via hymnary.org

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Bethlehem sleeps beneath the stars,

Midst the mystery of the night;

But where shepherds watch their flocks,

Lo! there shines a wondrous light.

Clear a joyous chorus swells,

Peals in triumph through the sky,

“Peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

Raise the alleluia high.

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Jesus, born of Mary, comes,

Dawns the new day with his birth;

Now proclaim the hope of Christ

Over all the realms of earth.

In His faith the sad are brave,

By His power men conquer sin,

Though injustice would hold sway

Truth and love their reign begin.

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Grant us then, O God of love,

Hearts where Christ shall come to-day,

May our wills be one with His,

May His spirit guide our way.

God of Jesus, may His truths

Bless the world this Christmas tide,

‘Till with all the sons of men,

Faith and hope and love abide.

Above:  Easter Cross, 1877

Copyright by Gibson and Company

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-pga-01328

Hymn Source = The Pilgrim Hymnal (1931/1935), General Council of Congregational Christian Churches

Text (1928) by Ferdinand Quincy Blanchard (1876-1966)

Dr. Blanchard answered Armin Hauessler’s request for information regarding the origin of this hymn.  Haeussler reported an edited version of the reply in The Story of Our Hymns (1952), the companion volume for The Hymnal (1941), the Evangelical and Reformed Church:

In reply to your letter…I would say that what suggested my writing the hymn was the desire to have some words which could be sung to what I always thought was the very beautiful tune of ST. CHRISTOPHER, by Frederick C. Maker.  The words ordinarily associated with it begin, as you know, “Beneath the cross I Jesus I fain would take my stand.”  They are words of a peculiar type of piety which never appealed to me, and I wanted some words which would have a modern appeal.  I therefore appealed the words of the hymn concerning which you wrote.  This was in the year 1928….The hymn was written for my own congregation and without a thought it would travel far.

–Page 292

That congregation was Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio, which has been South Euclid United Church of Christ since the summer of 2014.

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Before the cross of Jesus

Our lives are judged today;

The meaning of our eager strife

Is tested by his Way.

Across our restless living

The light streams from his cross,

And by its clear, revealing beams

We measure gain and loss.

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The hopes that lead us onward,

The fears that hold us back,

Our will to dare great things for God,

The courage that we lack,

The faith we keep in goodness,

Our love, as low or pure–

On all, the judgment of the cross

Falls steady, clear, and sure.

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Yet humbly, in our striving,

O God, we face its test,

We crave the pow’r to do thy will

With him who did it best.

On us let now the healing

Of his great Spirit fall,

And make us brave and full of joy

To answer to his call.

Relief of the Nativity, Cathedral of St. Peter, Worms, Germany

Image in the Public Domain

The Reverend Ferdinand Q. Blanchard (1876-1968) was a U.S. Congregationalist then United Church of Christ minister.  I found this hymn text in the 1957 Hymnal of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, a predecessor body of The United Methodist Church.

KRT

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1.  O Jesus, youth of Nazareth,

Preparing for the bitter strife,

Wilt Thou impart to every heart

Thy perfect purity of life?

2.  O Christ, whose words make dear the fields

And hillsides green of Galilee,

Grant us to find with reverent mind

The truth Thou saidst should make us free.

3.  O suffering Lord on Calvary,

When love led on to mortal pain,

We know Thy cross is not a loss

If we we Thy love shall truly gain.

4. O Master of abundant life

From natal morn to victory’s hour,

We look to Thee;

heed Thee our plea,

Teach us to share Thy ageless power.