Gloria Dei Lutheran Church

From the compilation,

The One-year Book of Hymns

Edited by Kathryn S. Olson

Be Still, My Soul

During the psalmist's troubles, the Lord said, "Be still and know that I am God." These words spoke to Katharina von Schlegel in the turbulent times of post-Reformation Germany. A century after Luther's reforms, central Europe was racked by the Thirty-Year War, which pitted Catholics against Protestants. The Lutheran church lapsed into formalism and dead orthodoxy. In the darkness of that time, God raised up the Pietist movement, which stressed personal holiness, charity, missions, and music.

The Pietists' songs were largely unknown outside of Germany until three British women – Jane and Sarah Borthwick and Catherine Winkworth – began to translate the poetic lyrics into English a hundred years later. Today's hymn, penned by the leading woman of the Pietist movement, a canoness of a women's seminary, was among those forgotten songs.

Be Still, My Soul

Katharina Amalia von Schlegel

(1697-?)

Translated by Jane Laurie Borthwick

(1813-1897)

Music by Jean Sibelius

(1865-1957)

Be still, my soul! The Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In ev’ry change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul! Thy best, thy heavenly Friend.

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul! Thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul! The waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul! The hour is hast’ning on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul! When change and tears are past.

All safe and blessed, we shall meet at last.

An addition by David:

I am reminded of a tune from the 1980s by Randy Stonehill (Still, Small Voice) that detailed this message: “I. Can Hear. That Still, Small Voice. Whispering. ‘I AM’.” As I’ve grown enough to realize the benefits of listening to God speaking in that still, small voice, His will becomes more alive. At times, life gets in the way of hearing that still, small voice; however, God affirms, "Be still and know that I Am God!"

Paraphrased by Music Director, David K. Bakken, Ed.D.

April 18, 2021

When Love Comes

David offers his apologies~

Lyric correction *noted below

From Pastor Pat:

"When Love Comes" were David's words to begin this song's collaborative process with me. They led me to think about the many ways God has expressed His love to His people over the ages: in the creation; the salvation of His people, both Israel and humankind in general; provision for our needs; in the Incarnation and sacrifice of His Son, Jesus; just to name a few. And, of course, since God is love, His love comes constantly. But for me, it is the realization that his love has come to me,

something that didn't really hit me until I was in my mid-twenties. But that realization changed my life and continues to fill me with joy and hope. And that leads me to worship, serve and cherish God, whenever and always "When Love Comes."

From David:

When this song's melody was written sometime in the wee hours of the morning in 2000, I was filled with a message from Jesus who said, "When Love Comes ." That was a darker time in my life when I felt as though God had drifted from me. Instead, it was I who drifted. The melody wrote itself that night as I transferred from melodic to harmonic transformation through Christ. When I met with Pat mid-year, we penned this tune, which wasn't copyrighted until 2005.

The second verse, brought to everyone's attention on Good Friday's Message by Pastor Pat, delved into the angels’ reaction. “Angels held from response as condemned He’s crucified.” Can you imagine that scene? “Do I get him now, God? Now? Now?” Incessantly they ask, to which God answers, “No.” Thankfully, the debt has been paid. “But His death paid a price that the world be justified. Daylight comes. Open tomb. Now proclaim death is DISARMED!” Praise the Lord, our Risen Savior…When Love Comes.

When Love Comes

Music and Lyrics

by David K. Bakken

and Rev. J. Patrick Fitzgerald

By your gift at the cross, you have made us one with you.

Nailed our sin with you there;

Perfect sacrificial Lamb.

Lord, we’re drawn by your love, just the way you want us to

Come to know and to live in the presence of “I AM!”

CHORUS

When love comes, the Savior reveals life everlasting

He brings from the Father above.

In seeing your dying and rising *for all people,

We’re set free to worship

When love comes.

Angels held from response as condemned, he’s crucified.

Burning hearts, anguish torn, want to save him from all harm.

But his death paid the price that the world be justified.

Daylight comes, open tomb, now proclaim death is disarmed.

CHORUS

When love comes, the Savior reveals life everlasting

He brings from the Father above.

In seeing your dying and rising *for all people,

We’re set free to serve you

When love comes.

For God loved the world that he gave his only Son

That believing in him, we will live eternally.

For he came to the world not condemning everyone.

That the world might be saved and in him forever free!

CHORUS

When love comes, the Savior reveals life everlasting

He brings from the Father above.

In seeing your dying and rising *for all people,

We’re set free to cherish

When love comes, the Savior reveals life everlasting

He brings from the Father above.

In seeing your dying and rising * for all people,

We’re set free to worship

When love comes.

"God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again." JOHN 3:17 The Message

Photo credit: Getty Images/kieferpix

From the compilation,

The One-year Book of Hymns

Edited by Kathryn S. Olson

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Every once in a while, a verse jumps out of the Old Testament and takes on a new meaning. Job lost his fortune, family, and much of his health. In a stunning display of faith, he expressed his only remaining hope: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last” (Job 19:25). The words find fulfillment in Jesus.

Jesus gave His life to redeem us, to repurchase us from our bondage to sin. His death was the price of our freedom. But that's not the bottom line. As the sun rises on Easter morning, we can say with Job, "I know that my Redeemer lives!" He lives! Death could not hold Him. He lives to finish the work of salvation in me.

Hymnwriter Samuel Medley often repeated words and phrases in his songs. Here, repeated is the most important concept: "He lives…HE Lives…HE LIVES!"

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Samuel Medley (1738-1799)

I know that my Redeemer lives:

What joy the blest assurance gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead;

He lives, my everlasting Head!

He lives to bless me with His love;

He lives to plead for me above;

He lives my hungry soul to feed;

He lives to help in time of need.

He lives and grants me daily breath;

He lives, and I shall conquer death;

He lives my mansion to prepare;

He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives, all glory to His name;

He lives, my Savior, still the same;

What joy the blest assurance gives:

I know that my Redeemer lives!

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body, I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought! JOB 19:25-27

Paraphrased by Music Director, David K. Bakken, Ed.D.

Easter Weekend April 4, 2021

From the compilation,

The One-year Book of Hymns

Edited by Kathryn S. Olson

All Glory, Laud, and Honor

When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, hopeful crowds filled the streets, waving palm branches and praising God. But, less than a week later, when it became clear that Jesus was not the political and military revolutionary they expected, this same crowd demanded his crucifixion.

When life keeps pace with expectations, praise comes quite easily. For Theodulf, who King Charlemagne had made bishop of Orléans in the late 700s, acclaim was born of painful circumstances. After Charlemagne's death, Theodulf was exiled to Angers, France, on the charges of conspiracy. In the dark prison at Angers, Theodulf apparently wrote the text of this hymn, which has become the grand Palm Sunday processional of the Western church– a celebration of God's grace sung by millions throughout the centuries.

All Glory, Laud, and Honor

Theodulf of Orléans

(ca. 750-821)

Translated by John Mason Neale (1818-1866)

All glory, laud, and honor

To Thee, Redeemer, King,

To whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring:

Thou are the King of Israel,

Thou David’s royal Son,

Who in the Lord’s name comest,

The King and blessed One!

All glory, laud, and honor

To Thee, Redeemer, King,

To whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring!

The company of angels

Are praising Thee on high,

And mortal men and all things

Created make reply:

All glory, laud, and honor

To Thee, Redeemer, King,

To whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring!

The people of the Hebrews

With palms before Thee went;

Our praise and prayer and anthems

Before Thee, we present.

All glory, laud, and honor

To Thee, Redeemer, King,

To whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring!

To Thee, before Thy passion,

They sang their hymns of praise

To Thee, now high exalted,

Our melody we raise:

All glory, laud, and honor

To Thee, Redeemer, King,

To whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring!

Thou didst accept their praises–

Accept the praise we bring,

Who in all good delightest,

Thou good and gracious King!

All glory, laud, and honor

To Thee, Redeemer King,

To whom the lips of children

Made sweet hosannas ring!

"Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, "Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in the highest heaven!" MARK 11:9-10

An addition by David:

As we turn from Palm to Passion Week, later that week, on Friday, the angels were anxiously awaiting an opportunity to save Jesus. As Pastor Pat so eloquently wrote in “When Love Comes,” the second verse captures that moment: “Angels held from response, as condemned he’s crucified. Burning hearts, anguish torn, wants to save him from all harm.”

From the compilation,

The One-year Book of Hymns

Edited by Kathryn S. Olson

In the Cross of Christ, I Glory

Tradition has it that John Bowring – linguist, author, and British governor of Hong Kong – was inspired to write this hymn by the sight of a massive cross on Macao's cathedral ruins on the Southern Chinese coast. Apparently, the cathedral, built by Portuguese colonists, had been leveled by a typhoon, but the wall with this bronze cross remained standing. The imagery is a strong one – the cross, "tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time" above Macao's shore.

In the Cross of Christ, I Glory

John Bowring (1792-1872)

In the cross of Christ, I glory,

Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gathers ‘round its head sublime.

When the woes of life o’ertake me,

Hopes deceive, and fears annoy,

Never shall the cross forsake me:

Lo! It glows with peace and joy.

When the sun of bliss is beaming

Light and love upon my way;

From the cross the radiance streaming,

Adds more luster to the day.

Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure,

By the cross are sanctified;

Peace is there, that knows no measure,

Joys that through all time abide.

In the cross of Christ, I glory,

Tow’ring o’er the wrecks of time;

All the light of sacred story

Gather ‘round its head sublime.

I CORINTHIANS 2:1-2, 4-5

"When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the One who was crucified…

And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God."

Paraphrased by Music Director, David K. Bakken, Ed.D.

From the compilation,

The One-year Book of Hymns

Edited by Kathryn S. Olson

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Helen Lemmel was already a noted Christian singer and voice teacher on that day in 1918 when a missionary friend handed her a tract called "Focused." It said, "So, then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face, and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness."

The tract struck a chord in Lemmel. “Suddenly,” she said later, “as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses were written the same week, after the usual manner of composition.”

Later the same year, the song was published in London in pamphlet form. It quickly became a favorite of Christians in England (especially at the Keswick Convention), then in America and worldwide .

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." COLOSSIANS 3:1-3

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul, are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There is light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Chorus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting

He passed, and we follow Him there;

Over us sin no more hath dominion –

For more than conquerors, we are!

Chorus

His Word shall not fail you – He promised:

Believe Him, and all will be well;

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

Chorus

Helen H. Lemmel (1864-1961)

Go to a world that is dying…" –This line brings me to a conversation we had back "in April 2020, when the worship team met, and all concurred that we are on the brink of massive revival! Let the revival begin with us. Peace to you....David

Paraphrased by Music Director, David K. Bakken, Ed.D.

From the compilation,

The One-year Book of Hymns

Edited by Kathryn S. Olson

O Love That Will Not

Let Me Go

George Matheson went completely blind when he was eighteen years old. Still, he became a great preacher in the Church of Scotland, assisted by his sister, who learned Greek and Hebrew to help with his research. This hymn was written on the evening of June 6, 1882. Matheson later wrote, “It was the day of my sister’s marriage… Something happened to me, which was known only to myself, which caused me the most severe mental suffering. The hymn was the fruit of that suffering."

What was it that happened to him? Some think he remembered when his fiancée broke their engagement when she learned that he was going blind. Or perhaps it was difficult for him to have his devoted sister getting married. In any case, he was led to ponder God's eternal love, which would turn his "flick’ring torch” into blazing daylight.

O Love That Will Not

Let Me Go

O Love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee;

I give Thee back the life I owe,

That in Thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,

I yield my flick’ring torch to Thee;

My heart restores its borrowed ray,

That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day

May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that sleekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from Thee;

I lay in dust life’s glory dead,

And from the ground, there blossoms red.

Life that shall endless be.

An addition from David – a song from yonder years:

I am persuaded to believe nothing can separate us from the wonderful love of God…

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." Romans 838

Paraphrased by Music Director, David K. Bakken, Ed.D.