March 11, 2012: The Third Sunday in Lent

Mar 11 2012

Hymn: I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art

Today we’re singing a hymn traditionally attributed to John Calvin, one of the most important Reformation theologians. Calvin was a strong proponent of singing the Psalms (and very little else) in worship; this hymn and its tune comes from two separate Psalters. Psalters are songbooks in which the Psalms are set to metrical tunes so the congregation can more easily sing them (decently and in order!). Singing the Psalms is an important part of Presbyterian worship, and is even more emphasized in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.

Hymn: In the Cross of Christ I Glory

The attribution of this hymn is not without controversy; some have ascribed it to Pope Gregory “the Great,” while others believe it to be of English origin. The original translation of the work, done for the 1906 English Hymnal, included a fifth stanza to serve as a doxology: “Father and Son and Spirit blest, to thee be every prayer addrest. Who art in threefold Name adored from age to age, the only Lord.”

Hymn: How Firm a Foundation

MaryJo McKim writes, “The text first appears in John Rippon’s A Selection of Hymns (1787). Rippon, an English Baptist, became famous and wealthy by publishing a hymnbook containing a collection of texts by [Isaac] Watts and ‘A Selection of the Best Authors.’ The hymn is actually a poetic sermon. The first stanza speaks of the foundation of Christian life as being rooted in God’s Word. The subsequent stanzas are paraphrases from both the Old and New Testaments. FOUNDATION is an American folk melody originally entitled PROTECTION. It is a pentatonic tune [one that uses only five notes in the scale, like ‘Amazing Grace’] written for this text.”

Anthem: Who At My Door is Standing?

A minister’s wife and teacher, Mary Slade was assistant editor of The New England Journal of Education. Slade has had around one hundred hymn texts and poems published in various collections and hymnbooks. This text, written circa 1875, has been included in at least seventy-nine collections, ranging from camp meeting songbooks to denominational hymnals. The text is tied to Revelation 3:20, which reads, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”