“I Know That My Redeemer Lives–Glory, Hallelujah!” performed by ChurchFolk Project of Weaton College
You may know this hymn by another arrangement and more words. Samuel Medley wrote the words in 1775, and an uncredited someone paired it with a new refrain and this American folk melody. It’s a strong, foot-stomping song that can get a body going.
1 I know that my Redeemer lives– glory, hallelujah! What comfort this sweet sentence gives– glory, hallelujah!
Refrain: Shout on, pray on, we’re gaining ground– glory, hallelujah! The dead’s alive and the lost is found– glory, hallelujah!
2 He lives, he lives, who once was dead– glory, hallelujah! He lives, my everlasting Head– glory, hallelujah! [Refrain]
3 He lives, to bless me with his love– glory, hallelujah! He lives to plead for me above– glory, hallelujah! [Refrain]
4 He lives, all glory to his name!- glory, hallelujah! He lives, my Jesus, still the same- glory, hallelujah! [Refrain]
“New Songs of Celebration Render” is an adaptation of Psalm 98 taken from Calvin’s psalter using a tune by Louis Bourgeois (1510-1561) or Claude Goudimel (1505-1572). The English translation appears to be by Eric Routley in 1974 and is still under copyright, so I’ll link to a version of the lyric instead of copying it here.
“Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed” sung to a traditional Irish tune
This classic hymn, written by Isaac Watts in 1707, has been printed in over 2000 hymnals with one of a couple tune arrangements. The recording above pairs it with a traditional Irish song that has been called the Banks of Moorlough Shore and Foggy Dew. The mournful quality of this tune fits the words well, though they need to be rearranged.
1 Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sov’reign die! Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I?
Was it for crimes that I had done he groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!
2 Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut his glories in, when Christ, the mighty Maker, died for man the creature’s sin.
Thus might I hide my blushing face while his dear cross appears; dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt mine eyes in tears.
3 But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe; here, Lord, I give myself away, ’tis all that I can do. . . .
I have nothing to review today. That leaves me with no alternative to writing about stuff I’ve been thinking about – and that, as you know, can get weird.
Tonight’s subject, to take an example at random, is “broken rhyme.” You can find several examples of broken rhyme in the song, “Mountain Greenery,” by Rodgers and Hart, embedded above (the song was debuted on Broadway by the actor Sterling Holloway, who would live long enough to be the original voice of Winnie the Pooh in the Disney cartoons). A meme is going around Basefook where somebody asks to quote the greatest line from any song, ever. I haven’t responded to it yet, but when I do it’ll be:
We could get no keener re-
ception in a beanery
Bless our mountain greenery home!
That, my friends, is broken rhyme. At first I thought it was “enjambment,” and I prepared a long disquisition on that subject for this post, but then I found out enjambment is something else, so I cut that part. All in all, probably for the best.
Lorenz Hart was known for using broken rhyme in his songs. Cole Porter employs it in his song, “I Get a Kick Out of You,” where you have the lines (in the original, unexpurgated version):
Some get a kick from cocaine I'm sure that if I took even one sniff That would bore me terrif- Ically, too Yet, I get a kick out of you
I’ve always been fascinated by broken rhyme. Love those word tricks in verse. It’s one of the reasons contemporary popular music leaves me cold. Today’s lyrics are generally simplistic, intended to be yelled. That’s why I like the old songs. There’s a station in St. Cloud, Minnesota (Uptown 1010, Ring-a-Ding Radio) that I make a point of listening to, every time I drive north on I-94. All oldies, with an emphasis on Sinatra and the crooners. Songs with lyrics worth paying attention to.
I could move on to the subject of Contemporary Christian Worship Music, but I think you can guess my opinion on that.
“Come, Christians, join to sing” sung by a congregation at St. Olaf’s College for the graduate conducting recital of Michael Devine
This classic hymn was written by English Moravian minister Christian H. Bateman (1813-1889) and is sung to a traditional Spanish melody, arranged by American Benjamin Carr. Carr studied music under Charles Wesley and Samuel Arnold.
1 Come, Christians, join to sing Alleluia! Amen! loud praise to Christ our King; Alleluia! Amen! let all, with heart and voice, before his throne rejoice; praise is his gracious choice: Alleluia! Amen!
2 Come, lift your hearts on high, Alleluia! Amen! let praises fill the sky; Alleluia! Amen! he is our guide and friend, to us he’ll condescend; his love shall never end: Alleluia! Amen!
3 Praise yet our Christ again; Alleluia! Amen! life shall not end the strain; Alleluia! Amen! on heaven’s blissful shore, his goodness we’ll adore, singing forevermore, “Alleluia! Amen!”
“I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art,” performed by Zachary Harris
This hymn is attributed to John Calvin and his arrangement of the Genevan Psalter for his congregation. He promoted lively psalms and spiritual songs in worship and leaned on such musicians as Claude Goudimel and Louis Bourgeois to compose them. This tune was published in 1551, and from what I understand was sung much quicker than the beautiful performance above.
1 I greet thee, who my sure Redeemer art, my only trust and Savior of my heart, who pain didst undergo for my poor sake; I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take.
2 Thou art the King of mercy and of grace, reigning omnipotent in ev’ry place: so come, O King, and our whole being sway; shine on us with the light of thy pure day.
3 Thou art the Life, by which alone we live, and all our substance and our strength receive; O comfort us in death’s approaching hour, strong-hearted then to face it by thy pow’r.
4 Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness, no harshness hast thou and no bitterness: make us to taste the sweet grace found in thee and ever stay in thy sweet unity.
5 Our hope is in no other save in thee; our faith is built upon thy promise free; O grant to us such stronger hope and sure that we can boldly conquer and endure.
“Jerusalem,” the unofficial anthem of the United Kingdom
The glorious hymn sung in the video above is William Blake’s original poem and is consequently theologically off-base. When we’ve sung it in church, we used this lyric by British composer C. Hubert Parry (1848-1918) and adapted it even further.
1 When did those feet in ancient times walk upon Israel’s mountain green? And did the Christ of Heaven come down, was God in flesh both heard and seen? And did He die to prove His love, and did He rise again more powerful still? And was His rule on earth started there upon Golgotha’s tragic hill?
2 Bring me my bow of burning gold; bring me my arrows of desire; Bring me my spear, O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariots of fire! I will not cease to spread His light. My faith a shield, His word my sword. ‘Til Christ my Lord is crowned King, and all the earth shall own him Lord!
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” performed by The Brandenberger Family
Irish-Canadian Joseph Medlicott Scriven (1819-1886) wrote this very popular hymn that has a bluegrass feel to me, probably because I live in the South. The tune is originally from Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1868 by composer Charles Converse(1832-1918).
1 What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
2 Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer! Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer!
3 Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge– take it to the Lord in prayer! Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In his arms he’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Yesterday, the socials were torn up with complaints about the Wordle word of the day. Wordle renews at midnight, and some people rush to solve it first. I usually play it in the middle day, and yesterday I happened to see the angst from other players ahead of time.
The word was parer. It’s not Merrium-Websters or Oxford, but it is the American Heritage. This is enough to inspire fulminating effusions of grief over how hard the game is or the loss of a win streak. It’s not even a real word, they say.
I did guess this word, perhaps because it’s one in another word game I play but perhaps because the perceived difficulty of a Wordle level depends on your starting word. You could go vowel heavy (audio, ideas, adieu) or consonant heavy (smart, plumb, track). You could attempt more common letters (scope, trace, broke).
I like word light (or sight, might, fight) because of the common letters. If H is eliminated, then CH and SH are too. If I is out, then AI, OI, EI are too.
But with a word like parer, if you approach it as PA_ER, then you can see the potential for angst. Is it paper, paver, pager? When you have a word like this, it’s good to attempt a word with three possible letters, like grave, so if all three out, you can attempt a fourth option, like the P if the R hadn’t been the answer.
I’m sure, as they say in the podcasts, nobody cares. Let’s move on.
Manhood:For the Church | Episode 177: Brant Hansen on The Men We Need. Here’s an enjoyable podcast ep. on a manhood book that may be more grounded than some of those you’ve heard about. Hansen, an “Avid Indoorsman,” appears to keep his advice within the bounds of Scripture and argue for flip-flops as a sign of failed masculinity.
True Crime:“Nothing But the Night takes readers back to 1924, when two students at the University of Chicago, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, kidnapped a fourteen-year-old boy named Bobby Franks and callously killed him. When the crime came to trial, Leopold and Loeb were defended by the celebrity lawyer Clarence Darrow, whose passionate courtroom antics were read in newspapers and circulated like the latest radio drama.” (Get the book here)
Education: In the book Letters Along the Way, a young believer says he intends to go to Yale to help Christians gain academic respectability. The corresponding senior saint writes, “At the risk of sounding pedantic (though realizing I sometimes come across that way), I doubt very much that evangelicals are wise to pursue academic respectability. What we need is academic responsibility. There is a world of difference.”
Jazz: In the current issue of ByFaith (not yet online), there’s a conversation with jazz pianist William Edgar, who is also a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary. He says, “I used to be fairly pessimistic about the future of jazz, but then I listen to these guys like Jon Baptiste or the guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, and it’s the real thing. . . . it’s the theme of my book, ‘from deep misery to inextinguishable joy.’ You can’t take a shortcut to the joy, because it becomes happiness instead. You also can’t swell in the sin without becoming morbid. Jazz is that journey that goes from one place to the others.”
You can listen to Jon Baptiste with friends in this recording from 2020.
Photo: Fire Department, Columbus, Indiana. 1977. John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972-2008), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
“Newton’s practice was to write hymns to be sung following his sermons. When he preached on 1 Chronicles 17:16 –17 in January 1773, he introduced his congregation to the hymn ‘Faith’s Review and Expectation’ (which was only later retitled ‘Amazing Grace’).
Newton wrote, “If the LORD whom I serve, has been pleased to favor me with that mediocrity of talent, which may qualify me for usefulness to the weak and poor of his flock, … I have reason to be satisfied.”
This hymn might have slipped into obscure, at least for a while, had it not been taken up by American revivalists and abolition movement, specifically Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Three verses of Newton’s “Amazing Grace” performed by Andrea Bocelli and Alison Krauss
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
These cookies are used for managing login functionality on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
wordpress_logged_in
Used to store logged-in users.
Persistent
wordpress_sec
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
15 days
wordpress_test_cookie
Used to determine if cookies are enabled.
Session
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
A video-sharing platform for users to upload, view, and share videos across various genres and topics.
Registers a unique ID on mobile devices to enable tracking based on geographical GPS location.
1 day
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE
Tries to estimate the users' bandwidth on pages with integrated YouTube videos. Also used for marketing
179 days
PREF
This cookie stores your preferences and other information, in particular preferred language, how many search results you wish to be shown on your page, and whether or not you wish to have Google’s SafeSearch filter turned on.
10 years from set/ update
YSC
Registers a unique ID to keep statistics of what videos from YouTube the user has seen.
Session
DEVICE_INFO
Used to detect if the visitor has accepted the marketing category in the cookie banner. This cookie is necessary for GDPR-compliance of the website.
179 days
LOGIN_INFO
This cookie is used to play YouTube videos embedded on the website.
