Category Archives: Music

Authors, Music, Religion

This is my Father’s world, no matter what Weldon thought

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I thought, since it’s Friday, I’d post some music consistent with my overheated musings in yesterday’s post. So here’s a lovely arrangement of “This Is My Father’s World,” one of my old favorite hymns. It was originally published in 1901, with lyrics by Rev. Maltbie D. Babcock (1858-1901), a sadly short-lived Presbyterian pastor who published several popular hymns. The tune is Terra Beata, based on an English folk song. (And I’m pretty sure they cribbed the first line for the Shire theme in the Lord of the Rings movies.)

Here’s an interesting item from the latest issue of the Bulletin of the New York C. S. Lewis Society. It’s all the better for being written by our good friend Dale Nelson:

Pages 22 and 23 feature Dale’s article on Thomas Dewar Weldon (1896-1958), with whom Lewis had a variable relationship. They came to Oxford at the same time, and were good friends for a while. But even before he stopped being an atheist, Lewis grew weary of Weldon’s relentless, materialist cynicism. As a tutor in Moral Philosophy his teaching method (according to R. W. Johnson’s book, Look Back in Laughter: Oxford’s Postwar Golden Age) was to first demolish his students’ conventional beliefs, and then to demolish whatever new beliefs they constructed, until they were left “in a state of free-floating agnostic cleverness.”

 Weldon declared, in a 1944 lecture at Bomber Command Headquarters, near Oxford, that the carpet bombing of German cities was justified because it would shorten the war and save lives. Lewis was already on the record, along with a number of Anglican clergy, as rejecting that argument categorically.

Weldon was (according to George Sayer) that “hardest-boiled atheist” who remarked to Lewis in his rooms one day that the evidence for the Resurrection of Christ was remarkably good, saying, “Rum thing,” as Lewis recalled in Surprised By Joy.

Weldon was also the model for the Dick Devine, the cynical, flippant character who’s so annoying in Out of the Silent Planet and (promoted to the title, Lord Feverstone) in That Hideous Strength.

Music, Uncategorized

Birthday post: Going sane

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I’ve loved the song above for a long time. And to my mind, it harmonizes with my theme tonight.

This will be my birthday post (my age is for me to know and you not to care about). In honor of this auspicious occasion, I’m going to break my custom of putting commemorative posts up on the day of the event (so it’s too late) and post it the day before (so you’ll have time to get me a present).

Also because I have something to say that may be significant, and I want to share it. It’s been about three weeks now, and that fact suggests to me that the effects I’m seeing may be permanent.

I believe I’m going sane.

Nobody could be more surprised than I am. Let me tell you about it.

First of all, I think I won’t be surprising anyone when I say that I’ve always been a little… weird. Socially. Depressive. Awkwardly shy. Unable to make eye contact. Easily offended. Not one to pick fights, but one to distance myself, taking refuge in solitude. My great plague has been intrusive thoughts – shameful memories that came into my mind and would not be ignored. I knew of no way to handle them except to face them, experience the full shame, and then try to find something to distract me from them.

This was tremendously tiring for me. In social situations, half my energy got wasted in dealing with those intrusive thoughts. This was how I lived.

Then something happened to me, about three weeks ago.

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Music

Sunday Singing: How Great Thou Art

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One of the greatest hymns of the 20th century was written by poet and member of the Swedish parliament Carl Gustav Boberg (1859 – 1940). A member of the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, he wrote “O store Gud” in 1885 in response to church bells and the beauty of a summer evening. Englishman Stuart K. Hine translated and arranged the text to a Swedish folk melody in 1949. The great George Beverly Shea sings with a choir in the recording above.

“I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1–2 ESV)

Music

Sunday Singing: How Firm a Foundation

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“A wind has wrapped them in its wings,
and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices”
(Hosea 4:19 ESV).

We don’t recognize how we undermine our foundations with today’s sacrifices. We assume our wealth, privilege, and security will continue. We redefine the terms of the sacrifice God asks for us and pronounce it good. We chip away at our foundations, thinking they will never crumble.

But if Christ is our foundation, we will continue to stand. We will not sow to the wind as Ephraim did in Hosea 4. We will sow to fields that will turn a harvest as the Lord wills it.

The author of today’s hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” was not identified in the 1787 publication in which the song first appears. It is believed to be Robert Keen of Carter Lane Baptist Church in London. The tune sung in the video above is an American one, published in 1832.

1 How firm a foundation, you saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

2 “Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed;
for I am your God, and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

3 “When through the deep waters I call you to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be with you, your troubles to bless,
and sanctify to you your deepest distress.

4 “When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie,
my grace, all-sufficient, shall be your supply;
the flame shall not hurt you; I only design
your dross to consume and your gold to refine.

5 “E’en down to old age all my people shall prove
my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.

6 “The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

Music

Sunday Singing: Jesus, I Come

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Today’s hymn of faith is another one I hadn’t heard before Indelible Grace wrote new music to it. William T. Sleeper (1819-1904) was a native of New Hampshire and Congregationalist minister in Wor­ces­ter, Mass­a­chu­setts, wrote the words in 1887. It’s a moving confession of coming to Christ with nothing. No bargaining, no promises, no attempts to merit the grace he offers.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3 ESV).

1 Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my sickness into thy health,
Out of my want and into thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into thyself,
Jesus, I come to thee.

2 Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of thy cross,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of earth’s sorrows into thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to thee.

3 Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my self to dwell in thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to thee.

4 Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of thy home,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of thy sheltering fold,
Ever thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to thee.

Music

Sunday Singing: I’m Not Ashamed to Own My Lord

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“I’m Not Ashamed to Own My Lord” performed by Nathan C. George and family

Today’s hymn of faith is from the profound and marvelous writer Isaac Watts. The tune is called Pisgah and was written by J.C. Lowry according to the Kentucky Harmony tunebook (1811). The wonderful performance above captures the feel of the tune.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is ethe power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

1 I’m not ashamed to own my Lord,
or to defend his cause,
maintain the honor of his Word,
the glory of his cross.

2 Jesus, my God! I know his name,
his name is all my trust;
nor will he put my soul to shame,
nor let my hope be lost.

3 Firm as his throne his promise stands,
and he can well secure
what I’ve committed to his hands
’til the decisive hour.

4 Then will he own my worthless name
before his Father’s face,
and in the new Jerusalem
appoint my soul a place.

Music

Sunday Singing: Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners

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I was surprised to learn today’s hymn of the faith is not more popular than it is, because it’s one of my favorites. “Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!” (also called “Our Great Savior”) has been published in only 77 hymnals. It was written by Presbyterian minister John Wilbur Chapman (1859-1918), who was advocated large evangelistic events around the turn of the 20th century. The tune is a wonderful Welsh piece by Rowland H. Prichard (1811-1887).

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children” (Luke 7:34–35 ESV).

1 Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! lover of my soul;
friends may fail me, foes assail me,
he, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain:
Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
he is with me to the end.

2 Jesus! what a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in him;
tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
he, my strength, my vict’ry wins. [Refrain]

3 Jesus! what a help in sorrow!
While the billows o’er me roll,
even when my heart is breaking,
he, my comfort, helps my soul. [Refrain]

4 Jesus! what a guide and keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
storms about me, night o’ertakes me,
he, my pilot, hears my cry. [Refrain]

5 Jesus! I do now receive him,
more than all in him I find;
he hath granted me forgiveness,
I am his, and he is mine. [Refrain]

Music

Sunday Singing: How Sweet and Awful Is the Place

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Today’s hymn comes from the great English hymnist Isaac Watts (1674-1748). It was published in 1707, while Dr. Watts was pastor of Independent Church of London. The tune is a familiar Irish melody called St. Columba. (And since I found it, let me share this organ prelude to St. Columba. You’ll want headphones for both recordings to catch the subtleties.)

“Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15 ESV)

1 How sweet and awful is the place
with Christ within the doors,
while everlasting love displays
the choicest of her stores.

2 While all our hearts and all our songs
join to admire the feast,
each of us cries, with thankful tongue,
“Lord, why was I a guest?

3 “Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
and enter while there’s room,
when thousands make a wretched choice
and rather starve than come?”

4 ‘Twas the same love that spread the feast
that sweetly drew us in;
else we had still refused to taste,
and perished in our sin.

5 Pity the nations, O our God,
constrain the earth to come;
send Thy victorious Word abroad,
and bring the strangers home.

6 We long to see Thy churches full,
that all the chosen race
may, with one voice and heart and soul,
sing Thy redeeming grace.

Music

Sunday Singing: My Faith Has Found a Resting Place

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“My Faith Has Found a Resting Place,” performed by Danielle Franklyn & Waneisha Denny

This month, our theme will be faith, which will gather in popular song this one from Li­die H. Ed­munds (1851-1920). Edmunds, a native Philadelphian, was home-bound for many years. In order to use her time well, she studied literature and wrote hymns.

“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV).

1 My faith has found a resting place,
from guilt my soul is freed;
I trust the ever-living One,
his wounds for me shall plead.

Refrain:
I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
it is enough that Jesus died,
and that he died for me.

2 Enough for me that Jesus saves,
this ends my fear and doubt;
a sinful soul, I come to him,
he’ll never cast me out. [Refrain]

3 My heart is leaning on the Word,
the written Word of God,
salvation by my Savior’s name,
salvation thro’ his blood. [Refrain]

4 My great Physician heals the sick,
the lost he came to save;
for me his precious blood he shed,
for me his life he gave. [Refrain]

Music, Religion

Memorial Day, Battle Hymn

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Today is Memorial Day. It was raining here today, so I couldn’t fly my flag. I’d better lose no (more) time in posting my virtual commemoration of the holiday. The video above was (oddly), compiled by a Canadian, using footage from some of our more patriotic movies and TV series, the kind they don’t do anymore.

The Memorial Day tradition goes back (according to Wikipedia, to a proclamation by John A. Logan, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (the Civil War veterans’ organization), declaring May 30, 1868 to be a day for placing flags on the graves of fallen soldiers. Decoration Day, it was called. (That was what my grandmother used to call it. The official name was changed in 1971, some time after her death.) However, the Veterans’ Administration credits the idea to a woman named Mary Ann Williams.

The hymn tune, “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is obscure in its origins. It seems to have risen in the camp meeting culture of the American south, and possibly echoes a Negro spiritual. The tune was picked up by the 2nd Infantry Battalion, Massachusetts Militia (the “Tiger Battalion”). They used the coincidence of one of their members being named John Brown to make up a song that teased him, when he was late to report for duty (apparently a frequent occurrence). They joked that this was excusable on the grounds that he was dead – all the papers said that John Brown (the abolitionist) had been hanged. Other units picked the song up without the teasing, as the conviction grew in the ranks that they were carrying on John Brown’s work.

Julia Ward Howe, the abolitionist, felt the lyrics were not worthy of the cause, and sat down to write a nobler version, which was first published in 1862 in the Atlantic Monthly. It is a stirring song, and I remember thrilling as I sang it as a member of the Waldorf College Choir in 1969.

A few years back I discussed the hymn with a scholarly friend whose field is American religion. He pointed out to me – and I should have been aware of this, but emotion dulls the sight – that the theology here is in fact rather bad. A political/moral cause is elevated to the level of the work of salvation. The fighting of a war is compared to Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

Howe was in fact a progressive, my friend pointed out. She had left Calvinism to embrace Unitarianism. In the manner of progressive Christians, she downplayed the atonement for sin and focused on the creation of a more just society. She and her compatriots were the forerunners of today’s social justice warriors.

There has never been a nobler cause in human history than the abolition of slavery. It’s a supreme triumph of Christian civilization – one for which Christian civilization gets insufficient credit. But it wasn’t the same thing as Christ’s redemption.

Having conceded that, I still have to say I’ll always love the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It’s not a true Christian hymn, but it’s a very good earthly sentiment. I’ll put it up against secular sentiments from anybody’s culture you care to name.