O Holy Night (Cantique de Noël)

His law is love and His gospel is peace . . .

The Christmas season is the height of the year for sacred music and the singing of hymns. Among the most popular and oft-recorded is the one known in the English-speaking world as O Holy Night, and to French speakers as Cantique de Noël.  No other hymn captures the message of Christmas more beautifully or fully, and none has a more interesting history.

 

It all started in 1847, when Placide Cappeau (1808–1877), a wine merchant and occasional poet living in Roquemaure, France, was asked  by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau, though not a regular churchgoer, agreed to try.  On December 3, in a carriage about halfway to Paris where he was headed on a business trip, Cappeau was inspired to write the poem Minuit, Chrétiens (Midnight, Christians). When Cappeau arrived in Paris he took the poem to an acquaintance, the composer Adolphe Adam (1803-1856)--who had composed the music for the famous ballet Giselle in 1841--and asked him to set Minuit, Chrétiens to music.  Adam agreed and wrote the tune in a few days, and the resulting hymn Cantique de Noël received its premier at midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1847, in Roquemaure.

 

Placide Cappeau

Adolphe Adam

The hymn soon became one of the most beloved hymns in France, and was incorporated into many Roman Catholic Christmas services. Incredibly, however, it was later denounced by the French church when Placide Cappeau abandoned Catholicism and became a socialist, and church leaders discovered that Adolphe Adam was of Jewish descent. One French bishop went so far as to criticize the hymn for its supposed "lack of musical taste and total absence of the spirit of religion." Nevertheless, Cantique de Noël remained popular among the French people.

John S. Dwight

By 1855, Cappeau's text had been translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight (1813–1893), a Unitarian minister and America's first influential classical music critic. Now titled O Holy Night, the hymn quickly found favor in this country, especially in the North during the American Civil War.

Reading Dwight's text, it's easy to see why people have been inspired by this hymn for more than 150 years: its affirmation of of hope and the promise of redemption; its celebration of the miracle of God come to earth and made man like us; and its declaration of a new kingdom of love, peace, and freedom for all God's children.

    O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
    It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
    Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
    'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
    A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
    For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

        Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
        O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
        O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

    Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
    With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
    So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
    Here come the wise men from Orient land.
    The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
    In all our trials born to be our friend.

        He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
        Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
        Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

    Truly He taught us to love one another;
    His law is love and His gospel is peace.
    Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
    And in His name all oppression shall cease.
    Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
    Let all within us praise His holy name.

        Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
        His power and glory evermore proclaim.,
        His power and glory evermore proclaim.

It's interesting to note how Placide Cappeau's strongly abolitionist views, which were shared by John S. Dwight, are clearly expressed in the third and fourth lines of the hymn's final stanza.

There is a legend that on Christmas Eve in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his trench and sang Cantique de Noël.  Moved by this brave gesture, the Germans did not fire upon the French soldier; instead, a German soldier emerged from his trench and sang Luther's Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her (From Heaven Above To Earth I Come) a
popular Christmas hymn in his country.  According to the story, fighting stopped for the next 24 hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas Day.

Perhaps the most remarkable story about O Holy Night is one that is indisputably true: it was the second piece of music ever broadcast on radio, and the first musical performance ever broadcast live.  On Christmas Eve in 1906, Canadian-born inventor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden broadcast the first AM radio program, which started with Fessenden reading the Biblical account of the birth of Christ from Luke Chapter 2 over the air, followed by a phonograph recording of Handel's aria "Ombra mai fu," and concluding with Fessenden playing O Holy Night on the violin while singing the final verse.  Broadcast from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, the program was picked up by radio operators on board a number of ships along the Atlantic northeast coast and from shore stations as far south as Norfolk, Virginia.

From that humble beginning, O Holy Night has become one of the most treasured hymns of Christmas, the world over. Watch this video for an excellent summary of its history:



Here is a remarkably beautiful rendition of O Holy Night by the all-female Irish musical ensemble Celtic Woman:



The incomparable Nat King Cole recorded O Holy Night in 1960; this rendition is presented in the lovely video below:

HAVE A BLESSED AND JOYOUS CHRISTMAS!

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord

shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you

is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
~ Luke 2:8-11

Eternal Father, Strong to Save (Navy Hymn)

And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! ~ Matt. 8:24-27

Sunday, November 11, is Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Great Britain and the Commonwealth (click here for my 2011 post on observance of this day). Established in the 1920s to commemorate the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918 that ended World War I, Veterans Day has since been re-christened in the United States as an occasion to remember and honor all men and women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States, from Revolutionary times to the present. Given how many of them made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve freedom for us all, and how close so many service members live to the edge of mortality, day in and out, the singing of hymns in their remembrance is most fitting.

John W. Fleming

Veterans Day is special to me, in large part, because my father (at left, as a young man) is a veteran of the United States Navy (and, while he served as a Hospital Corpsman with occupation forces in 1950s Japan, of the United States Marine Corps).  He is very proud of his service, and so is everyone in our family! In his honor, I'd like to feature the hymn most closely associated with the Navy and sailors in general, Eternal Father, Strong to Save.

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, the work known to United States Navy men and women as the "Navy Hymn" is a musical benediction long having a special appeal to seafarers, particularly in the American Navy and the Royal Navies of the British Commonwealth. The original text was written as a poem by a schoolmaster and clergyman of the Church of England, the Rev. William Whiting (1825-1878). He resided on the English coast near the sea and at the age of 35 survived a furious storm while on a voyage in the Mediterranean. Later, a student came to Whiting and confided to him an overwhelming fear of the ocean, which he had to cross in order to travel to America. Whiting told him of his experiences on the ocean, and assured him: "Before you depart, I will give you something to anchor your faith."

William Whiting

The compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern revised the text when they included it in their first edition in 1861 to the form in which it is now known. Whiting himself rewrote the entire hymn in 1869, and it is this version which is found in most hymnals. Also in 1861, the text was adapted to music by another English clergyman, the Rev. John Bacchus Dykes (1823-1876), who originally wrote the music as "Melita," an ancient name for the Mediterranean island of Malta, where the Apostle Paul was supposedly shipwrecked. Rev. Dykes composed the music to many other well-known hymns, including Lead, Kindly Light; Holy, Holy, Holy; Jesus, Lover of My Soul; and Nearer, My God to Thee.

John B. Dykes

Whiting's text presents us with an eloquent expression of man's frailty before God and the power of His Creation, and with a moving prayer for His continued mercy and loving protection. Dykes' music is like the sea itself, rising and falling; brooding, ascending, and finally coming to rest. No wonder it has been the sailor's favorite for more than 150 years!

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walkedst on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!   

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Eternal Father, Strong to Save has had an interesting history since its first publication. In 1879 Lt. Comdr. Charles Jackson Train, an 1865 graduate of the United States Naval Academy who went on to become a Rear Admiral, was stationed at the Academy in charge of the Midshipman Choir. In that year Train inaugurated the tradition, still observed, of concluding each Sunday's Divine Services at the Academy with the singing of the first verse of this hymn.

Winston Churchill requested the singing of Eternal Father, Strong to Save at a church service aboard the Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales during his 1941 conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt for creation of the Atlantic Charter. Ironically, this was also the last hymn sung during the Sunday, April 14, 1912 church service aboard the RMS Titanic just hours before it sank. It was sung at the funeral of President Roosevelt (who had previously served as Secretary of the Navy); played by the Navy Band at the funeral of President John F. Kennedy, a World War II PT-boat commander; sung at the funeral of former President Richard Nixon; and played by the Navy and Coast Guard Bands during the funeral of the late President Ronald Reagan. The hymn was performed by the U.S. Navy Sea Chanters   at the funeral of President Gerald R. Ford, who had served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific Theater. This was also the final hymn sung at the 2011 funeral in Australia of Claude Choules, the last living seaman and combat veteran of World War I.

Eternal Father, Strong to Save, and variants of it for every branch of service from submariners, Marines, Seabees, and airmen to Coast Guardsmen, nurses, astronauts, and even Arctic explorers, has been performed in such popular films as Crimson Tide, The Right Stuff, The Perfect Storm, and Titanic.

*****

The video below features a congregation singing Eternal Father, Strong to Save with moving scenes of seamen, ships, crashing waves, and cathedral windows memorializing the sea service:



This presentation is by the Naval Academy Men's Glee Club in a 2008 visit to San Antonio, Texas:



There are many times in life when we feel utterly helpless and in peril of our lives, at the mercy of dark, raging forces we cannot stem. We call upon God to save us, as He is the only One with power and love enough to move all Creation to protect us from destruction. Give joyful thanks and praise always that we can trust always in the arms of such a faithful Lord!

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. ~ Psalm 107:23-30

All People That on Earth Do Dwell (Old 100th)

For the believer, praising God is as natural and as vital as breathing.  We praise Him for all his wonderful works (1 Chronicles 16:9; Luke 19:37); for his protection (Psalm 56:4); for His mercy (Psalm 106:1); for the countless, undeserved blessings he showers upon us; for the joy and peace he brings into our lives. As we praise God we grow in humility and in awareness of His power, His providence, and His presence in our lives and everything around us. Others see and hear our praise, the manifestation of our contentment in God, and are moved to seek Him out for themselves (Psalm 40:3).

Among the best ways to praise our Lord is in "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in [our] heart[s] to the Lord . . ." (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).  And surely among the most inspiring of such hymns is All People That on Earth Do Dwell. The text calls on us to rejoice in the wonder of our own creation, in God's loving care for us, and in His goodness, mercy, and truth. We are urged to "praise, laud, and bless His Name always," just because "it is seemly so to do."

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.
Him serve with fear, His praise forth tell;
Come ye before Him and rejoice.

The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
Without our aid He did us make;
We are His folk, He doth us feed,
And for His sheep He doth us take.

O enter then His gates with praise;
Approach with joy His courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless His Name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good;
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

To Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom Heaven and earth adore,
From men and from the angel host
Be praise and glory evermore.

According to a good capsule history of the hymn at Lectionary.org, the text first appeared in the Anglo-Genevan Psalter of 1561 and is attributed to the Scottish clergyman and Bible translator William Kethe, (died 6 June 1594) (of whom no image is known to exist)  who had fled to Switzerland from the persecutions of Catholic Queen Mary in England.  Kethe helped with the translation of the Geneva Bible in 1560 and contributed 25 psalms to the Anglo-Genevan Psalter, which he carried with him back to England in 1561, after the restoration of Protestantism there by Mary's half-sister Queen Elizabeth I. The text is based on the short, beautiful Psalm 100:

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us,
and not we ourselves;
We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
Be thankful unto him,  and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth
endureth to all generations.

Even more famous throughout Christendom is the music matched with Kethe's text in the 1561 Anglo-Genevan Psalter. The melody has come to be called "Old 100th" or "Old Hundredth," based on the text's paraphrase of Psalm 100. Generally attributed to the French composer Loys "Louis" Bourgeois (c.1510–1560) (also of whom no known image exists), this hymn tune first appeared in the 1551 edition of the Genevan Psalter (although, at that time, it accompanied a paraphrase of Psalm 134). Bourgeois was the individual most responsible for the tunes in that Psalter, which--thanks in large part to William Kethe a decade later--became the source for the hymns of both the Reformed churches in England and the Pilgrims in America. Nevertheless, Bourgeois fell out with the musical authorities in Geneva and was imprisoned in 1551 for changing the tunes of some well-known psalms "without a license" (he was released only on the personal intervention of John Calvin)!

Another text widely associated with the Old 100th is Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow, which is commonly sung as a doxology (a short hymn of praises to God often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns)--in fact, traditionally referred to as The Doxology--and written in 1674 by Anglican clergyman Thomas Ken as the final verse of two companion hymns, Awake, My Soul, and With the Sun and Glory to Thee, My God, This Night:

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

As demonstrated by these and other iconic pieces, traditional Christian hymnody resembles a great tapestry woven together by men and women working under God's inspiration at widely different times and places, and from diverse faith traditions, to create a priceless treasure that moves us to give the greatest thanks and praise to God!

All People That on Earth Do Dwell was sung at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, with harmonization and arrangement by the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. This version was sung again at the National Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty at St Paul's Cathedral on Tuesday, 5th June 2012 (among other prominent figures you'll see in the congregation are Prime Minister David Cameron (at 0:53) and Queen Elizabeth; Charles, the Prince of Wales; and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwal) (at 1:06):



And now for something completely different: an absolutely stunning a capella rendition by by the Christian group The Martins (this is my favorite!):



Try this: memorize the text and learn the tune by heart, and then sing this to yourself (or even out loud) ever morning before going to work or school. It's guaranteed to send your spirit soaring, and put you in most humble, thankful, and confident frame of mind!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
~ Psalm 103:1-5 (ESV)

In the Garden

Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?
~  John 20:15


Among the most precious experiences for any believer is peaceful communion with our Savior. Through the Word and prayer we can walk and talk with Him in those quiet moments at the beginning or end of the day, or even with the noise and tumult of the workaday world swirling about us. For many such communion is most sublime when one is surrounded by the glories of God's creation, as in a beautiful garden.

C. Austin Miles

Such a moment is poignantly captured in the beloved hymn In the Garden. The text and music were composed and first published in 1912 by American pharmacist-turned-Christian music publisher C. Austin Miles (1868-1946). While the hymn presents a vision of perfect peace and contentment, it was inspired by the heart-rending experience of Mary Magdalene, related in John 19:41-42 and 20:11-18 when, while searching with broken heart for His body, she encounters Jesus at the garden sepulcher on the morning of His resurrection. Moreover, according to Miles' great-granddaughter, the song "was written on a cold, dreary day in a cold, dreary and leaky basement in New Jersey that didn't even have a window in it let alone a view of a garden."  Miles himself gave this account:

One day in March, 1912, I was seated in the dark room, where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I drew my Bible toward me; it opened at my favorite chapter, John 20-whether by chance or inspiration let each reader decide. That meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power to charm.

As I read it that day, I seemed to be part of the scene. I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary's life, when she knelt before her Lord, and cried, "Rabboni!"

My hands were resting on the Bible while I stared at the light blue wall. As the light faded, I seemed to be standing at the entrance of a garden, looking down a gently winding path, shaded by olive branches. A woman in white, with head bowed, hand clasping her throat, as if to choke back her sobs, walked slowly into the shadows. It was Mary. As she came to the tomb, upon which she place her hand, she bent over to look in, and hurried away.

John, in flowing robe, appeared, looking at the tomb; then came Peter, who entered the tomb, followed slowly by John.

As they departed, Mary reappeared; leaning her head upon her arm at the tomb, she wept. Turning herself, she saw Jesus standing, so did I. I knew it was He. She knelt before Him, with arms outstretched and looking into His face cried "Rabboni!"

I awakened in full light, gripping the Bible, with muscles tense and nerves vibrating. Under the inspiration of this vision I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed the poem exactly as it has since appeared. That same evening I wrote the music. (as related in 25 Most Treasured Gospel Hymn Stories, by Kenneth W. Osbeck)

Here are the words to this simple and most comforting hymn:

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain:

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

Refrain

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Refrain

Being from outside the Protestant music tradition, my first encounter with In the Garden came when I saw the Academy Award-winning movie Places in the Heart in 1984. In my last post, I featured the hymn Blessed Assurance, which opened that same remarkable movie. In its final scene, the congregation of a small country church in mid-1930s Texas is taking communion as the minister reads 1 Corinthians 13, and the choir strikes up In the Garden behind him. Communion is gently passed from person to person, and the viewer suddenly realizes that some of these people are living and some are dead; some were hurt or mistreated in the film's story, and others passing them communion were the ones who did the hurting or mistreating--including the last pair, the late husband of Sally Fields' character and the young black boy who had shot him in a drunken stupor and was lynched for it--and who seems to whisper "Peace of God” to him as he takes communion from the older man. It is one of the most moving scenes I've ever seen in any film, and maybe the best for conveying the power of forgiveness, as well as the truth of eternal life. Here is that scene:



In the Garden lends itself to moving solo performance as a "gospel song," as well. One of the best I've seen is by country music legend Loretta Lynn:



Yet another touching rendition is by the golden-voiced Jim Reeves, graced (appropriately enough) with lovely garden scenes:



Other fine performances available on video include those by Ella Fitzgerald, Mahalia Jackson, Alan Jackson, and Elvis Presley.

When confounded by the problems and stresses of everyday life, it's a priceless comfort to know that we can walk and talk with our Savior any time, In the Garden or anywhere else!

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
~ Psalm 23:1-3

Blessed Assurance

These are trying times in which to live. We naturally want to ground our lives on things that are certain, reliable, and true, yet modern culture insists that everything we would put our faith in--especially anything pertaining to religion and morality--is doubtful, untrustworthy, and relative. It's hard not to feel lost in all the confusion--unless you have a strong faith in the Rock of our salvation, Jesus Christ!  With all the "change and decay" around us, He is the One "who changeth not" (see the timeless old hymn Abide With Me).  Ever sure are the hope and the promise He brings the believer--of comfort and guidance in time of trouble, of peace and joy, and of eternal salvation with Him. It is the "hope within us" (1 Peter 3:15) that gives the believer the strength and confidence to overcome even the greatest challenges in life, praising God all the while.

Scripture often sums up these truths in the term "assurance." Modern dictionaries define it both as the act of assuring--that is, a declaration or other act tending to inspire full confidence--and the state of being assured: firm persuasion; full confidence or trust; freedom from doubt; certainty.  God provides assurance of many things, in different ways. For example, the prophet Isaiah states that "the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." (Isaiah 32:17)  In the Book of Acts we are told that God "hath given assurance unto all men" that the Lord will come again to judge the world in righteousness. (Acts 17:31)  The faithful believer is given "the full assurance of understanding" (Colossians 2:2) and of the power of the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 1:5)  Diligence in following Christ brings "the full assurance of hope unto the end" (Hebrews 6:11), and a pure, true heart a "full assurance of faith." (Hebrews 10:22)

Fanny Crosby

These truths are celebrated in one of the most beloved of Christian hymns, Blessed Assurance. The text was written in 1873 by America's most prolific and inspiring hymnist, Frances Jane "Fanny" Crosby (1820 - 1915). Her very life was a testament to the "blessed assurance" that a follower of Christ enjoys, as she wrote more than 8000 sacred songs and hymns over a life of almost 95 years, all while completely blind due to a doctor's mistake in treating a cold when she was six weeks old. However, Fanny never felt resentment against the doctor and at an early age resolved to not to be defeated by her handicap, believing that it had been permitted by the Lord in order to fulfill His plan for her life. She is reported to have said, "if I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind . . . for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Savior." She eventually became a household name, a friend of Presidents, and the "mother of modern congregational singing in America."

Phoebe Knapp

The story behind the composition of Blessed Assurance is both simple and intriguing. Fanny (her married name was van Alstyne) was visiting her friend Phoebe Palmer Knapp while a large pipe organ was being installed in the Knapp home (Mrs. Knapp lived in a luxurious mansion, while Fanny lived in the Manhattan slums and worked in rescue missions). Since the organ was incomplete, Mrs. Knapp played on the piano a new melody she had composed and asked her friend, "What do you think the tune says?"  "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!", answered Fanny almost instantly. Fanny soon provided the rest of the text, and the hymn was published in the July 1873 issue of Palmer's Guide to Holiness and Revival Miscellany, a magazine printed by Mrs. Knapp's evangelist parents. This printing, though perhaps not the first, helped to popularize what eventually became one of the most beloved hymns of all time. Because of its close association with Crosby's lyrics, the tune is now called "Assurance."

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels, descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Some have noted the many references to sight in this hymn ("visions," "sight", "watching"), even though Fanny had never been able to see--proof that there is no blindness in a soul so well-attuned to our Lord.  No other hymn or song I know of so perfectly captures the thankfulness, confidence, and joyful anticipation that comes from the "perfect submission" of faith!

Those raised in church-going Protestant families have probably been familiar with Blessed Assurance since childhood. My upbringing was in a different tradition, so my first exposure to this hymn was in what became one of my favorite movies, the beautiful and moving Places in the Heart (1984), about a young widow's struggle to survive as a cotton farmer in 1930s Waxahachie, Texas.The film opens with a small church congregation singing the hymn behind scenes of everyday life there, and gives the viewer a remarkably true feeling for a place, a people, and a time perhaps closer to God.  Here is a clip of that portion of the movie:



Blessed Assurance has also proven very adaptable to more contemporary arrangements (though I love the traditional best). Here is one, with moving images and lyrics, by the Christian artist Jadon Lavik:



Here is another good contemporary rendition from Spring Harvest, with a short introduction and postscript providing more details about Fanny Crosby and the writing of this beautiful hymn:

May you, too come to know the blessed assurance that faith in our Savior brings!

Mansions of the Lord

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire. ~ Psalms 46:9

Tomorrow, May 28, is Memorial Day in the United States. On this day we remember and honor those men and women in the Armed Forces who gave their lives in service to our country. Today, for those who have never lost a close relative or friend serving in the military, Memorial Day seems to mean little more than an extra day off from work and an occasion for picnics and used car sales. But for those who have borne such a loss, or who have simply made it their business to honor our fallen heroes and support their families, Memorial Day is a profoundly moving time.

But not always a somber, wretched time. Perhaps because Memorial Day falls in the fullest flower of spring, it has always cast for me a ray of light and hope, just behind the dark wall of painful remembrance. As a child I would go with my grandmother every "Decoration Day"--as it was then called--to the cemetery behind our family's church, where we laid a pot of flowers at my long-departed grandfather's grave and with Grandma would say a brief, silent prayer. I recall it as always being sunny and warm. All the veterans' graves were adorned with colorful flags. Yes, we often had a family picnic too, but it was always preceded by that quiet remembrance.

This bonding of grief and hope, sadness and peace is reflected in a moving contemporary hymn to fallen servicemen called Mansions of the Lord. The text was composed by Christian songwriter, screenwriter, and director Randall Wallace, and the music by English film score composer Nick Glennie-Smith.It was sung by the U.S. Military Academy Glee Club during the closing credits of the 2002 film We Were Soldiers, which chronicled the November 1965 Battle of Ia Drang in Viet Nam. The hymn also served as the recessional in the 2004 funeral of President Ronald Reagan.

  

 Randall Wallace and Nick Glennie-Smith

The text consists of three short stanzas that dwell not on war and death, but on the eternal peace of Heaven--the "Mansions of the Lord"--to which a fallen soldier (or sailor or airman) is commended by his comrades, who promise to stand guard and remember him always. The hymn reminds us that in that blessed place there is no more war, no fear or pain, no anguish or loss--just "divine embrace, eternal light." The music is likewise simple, dignified, and uplifting, and reinforces the text's message of hope (as the hymn is not in the public domain the sheet music can't be reproduced here, but if you'd like to view and download it for a fee, click here).

To fallen soldiers let us sing,
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight,
No prayers pleading through the night,
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep,
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,
All through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord.

  Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Washington, DC, USA

The presentation below is the original version of the hymn sung in We Were Soldiers by the Cadet Glee Club of West Point, along with a stirring orchestration and a moving video tribute to fallen warriors and their families:



You'll notice that this presentation includes a solo voice portion not part of the hymn itself, excerpted from the lament "Sgt. MacKenzie" by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie, as sung in a Scottish dialect and with a "translation" to standard English:

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun

Ains a year say a prayer faur me
Close yir een an remember me
    *****
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Lay me down in the cold cold ground
Where before many more have gone

Once a year say a prayer for me
Close your eyes and remember me

 Below is another presentation, also sung (I believe) by the Cadet Glee Club but without orchestration--except for a very poignant bugle introduction--and is accompanied by another very moving video.



The video below presents the Cadet Glee Club itself performing Mansions of the Lord, with an introduction that provides some very thought-provoking information on just how many men and women have given their lives in America's service in the last hundred years:



War, though sometimes necessary in the defense of truth, justice, and national survival, is perhaps the greatest scourge in human experience. The believer--especially the believing soldier and his or her family--longs and prays for the day when war and conflict are no more, and we rejoice eternally, together, in the presence of our Savior and Heavenly Father.  It is this hope that we share with departed loved ones, and which, perhaps, inspired these beautiful passages from Scripture:

[T]hey shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore. ~ Isaiah 2:4

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:
for the former things are passed away. ~ Revelation 21:4

May the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of today live to see it,
and lock arms with their departed comrades once more.

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

As the story goes, one day in 1887 Anthony J. Showalter (1858-1924), a Presbyterian elder and principal of a music school in Dalton, Georgia, was leading a singing school in a local church in Hartselle, Alabama. After dismissing the class for the evening, he returned to his boardinghouse and found that two letters had arrived, both from former students of his. And each had recently suffered the same heartbreaking loss, the death of his wife. Seeking to comfort them, Showalter wrote back to the young men and included this passage from Deuteronomy 33:27: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms . . ."  Reflecting on these words, Showalter thought of a simple stanza: "Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms; Leaning, Leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms." After finishing the letters, Showalter wrote another to his friend, Presbyterian minister and hymnist Elisha Albright Hoffman (1839-1929), saying, "Here is the chorus for a good hymn from Deuteronomy 33:27, but I can't come up with any verses."  Hoffman obligingly wrote three stanzas and sent them back to his friend in Dalton. Showalter (or, perhaps his nephew Sam E. Duncan) then set the text to music, and published it later that year in the hymnal Glad Evangel for Revival, Camp, and Evangelistic Meetings. The result was one of America's most beloved gospel songs, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.

Anthony J. Showalter and Elisha A. Hoffman

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Refrain
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

In the simplest yet sweetest terms possible, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms expresses the inner peace and sense of safety that the believer enjoys. Even in the gravest trouble and the deepest grief, we know that the Lord is near ("I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5));He is "with [us] always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20)  With faith in Him, we need never fear for our souls or for the endless life with Him that we have been promised. Just as Anthony Showalter reminded his grieving friends, we have our Eternal God for a refuge, and are upheld by His everlasting arms! (for perhaps the most complete and compelling expression of these wonderful truths, see Psalm 91)

You can still visit the place where Leaning on the Everlasting Arms was, according to local folks, first sung in public: the 1850s-vintage Old Stone Church in Ringgold, Georgia--just a few miles south of where I used to live in Chattanooga, Tennessee (and where Anthony Showalter passed away in 1924). They say that Mr. Showalter led singing in the church twice a month while its pastor was away in Dalton; one Sunday after services he was invited home for lunch by one of the church members, and while there put the finishing touches on the song, which the Ringgold congregation debuted that evening. Watch the video below for the full story:



From a review of the available video rendition, it appears that Leaning on the Everlasting Arms is usually sung at a very sprightly tempo--perhaps in keeping with its positive, happy message. Here is a version by an unidentified church congregation, performed at the song's normal rhythm:



I prefer a more stately, heartfelt rendition, which keeps the song's message of perfect hope and joy, while infusing it with a greater reverence. Here is one by the great Mahalia Jackson:



But my favorite is the rendition by American folk singer Iris DeMent, which served as the underlying musical theme and closing number in the 2010 Western film True Grit. In my opinion, no version better captures the simple earnestness and peaceful assurance that the text conveys. The video below features Ms. DeMent's singing, along with beautiful country scenes and images of the Savior.



May you feel the Lord's arms enfolding you and bearing you up every moment of every day!

Listen to me . . .
you who have been borne by me
from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.

~  Isaiah 46:3-4 (ESV)

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here;
He has risen, just as He said." ~ Matthew 28:5-6

Easter is the happiest and holiest of holy days in the Christian faith. It is the day we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of God's promise of redemption and salvation for all men who would receive Him--the victory of Goodness and Love over Sin and Death, making possible Eternal Life with Him. Even as a youngster I was awestruck by the dramatic swings of the Easter story, from the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through the darkness and horror of Jesus' trial and crucifixion only a few days later, and finally His miraculous Resurrection and loving reassurance to His grieving disciples. The anguish and despair they must have been feeling in the immediate wake of the Master's death is beyond comprehension. Equally unimaginable is their joy upon seeing Him again, hearing His voice, and even touching Him. He lives still today, and forever--and so the disciples' joy is ours too!

The perfect theme for history's greatest triumph might be the beloved hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today, with text written by Anglican minister, preacher, and co-founder of Methodism Charles Wesley (1707-1788). Considered by some the greatest hymnist of all time, Wesley wrote many thousands of hymns, far more than the only other possible candidate, Isaac Watts. Among his earliest was Christ the Lord is Risen Today, which was written to be sung at the first worship service in London's Wesleyan Chapel (the famous "Foundry Meeting House") on Easter Sunday in 1739. The hymn was then titled “Hymn for Easter-Day,” but we know it today by the first line of Wesley's text. This exuberant song is one of the most popular Easter hymns in the English language.

The hymn's appeal lies in its perfect marriage of inspiring words and soaring music. Originally comprising eleven four-line stanzas and published by John and Charles Wesley in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739), the text celebrates exultantly our Savior's everlasting triumph over evil and death through His own death and resurrection, which redeems us from Hell and opens for us the door to Eternal Life.














Christ the Lord is Risen Today ("Hymn for Easter-Day"), as it appeared in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739)

The most distinctive element of the hymn as sung today is the conclusion of each line with an extended "Alleluia," the anglicized form of a Hebrew term meaning “Praise the Lord!” Alleluia is meant to convey emphatic joy, thanksgiving, and triumph; early Christians greeted each other on Easter with the call and response: "Alleluia! He is risen!" "Alleluia! He is risen indeed!"

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is o’er, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

The tune "Easter Hymn," to which Christ the Lord is Risen Today is now commonly sung, was first published anonymously in Lyra Davidica (1708). Its sprightly rhythm and major C key give the hymn a positive, infectious, rafter-ringing quality loved by everyone who sings it!

As it turns out, however, the hymn we know as Christ the Lord is Risen Today differs significantly from the one written by Charles Wesley and sung in the Foundry Meeting House 173 years ago. First, whatever tune Wesley used with his hymn, it was not the "Easter Hymn" tune that we associate with it today. In Lyra Davidica, "Easter Hymn" is paired with the different, if quite similar, hymn Jesus Christ Is Risen Today, which was translated from a 14th Century Bohemian Latin carol. Moreover, the original Wesley hymn had no "alleluias." Someone whose name has been lost to history apparently decided to set Wesley's words to the "Easter Hymn" tune that we now use--a tune composed by still another unknown person--and since those words didn't fit that tune, he added the "alleluias" to make it fit. Thus, Christ the Lord is Risen Today is actually a hybrid of the work of several different people who lived hundreds of years apart!

Surprisingly, there seem to be few good video presentations of Christ the Lord is Risen Today. Following is one by the incomparable Mormon Tabernacle Choir:



Here is another (though it's a static, single-image video) by an unidentified full choir, and nicely orchestrated, with lyrics:



In the name of our risen Lord and Savior, I pray that each and every one of you has a joyous Easter this and every year!