****FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH

I read, this week, that The Church of Sweden has urged its clergy to use more gender-neutral language when referring to God and to avoid referring to the deity as “Lord” or “he.”

The move is one of many made by the national Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is in the process of updating a 31-year-old handbook, which will outline how services should be conducted in terms of language, and that will include necessary revisions to the hymns they sing.

It is not unusual that many of our older hymns have gone through some revisions.  Sometimes those changes have been improvements but there are some that were made for the wrong reasons.

In 1864, Folliot Pierpoint published an eight-stanza poem, “The Sacrifice of Praise.”  It was originally meant to be used as a communion hymn.

In the original refrain, “Christ, our God, to Thee we raise, This, our sacrifice of praise,” reflected the author’s intent for a communion hymn.  But it was changed to “Lord of all, to Thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.”

As it turns out, that was a good change, but it was forced by political correctness.  There were heresies then, like now, that denied the deity of Christ and there were spineless publishers who were uncomfortable with the way the text equated Christ with God.

 

Pierpoint stood firm in his defense of the original text.  He argued that there had been a long tradition of Christians singing hymns to Christ as God; and, besides, the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553), referencing 1 Cor. 2:8, affirmed that our Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified in the flesh, is true God, and the “Lord of glory”.

Nevertheless, the hymn was changed and, I think, for the better.  Two stanzas, that weren’t very good, have been omitted and two have been combined. 

So, now, FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH, is a five-stanza hymn with a new refrain.  And the focus of the original hymn has been broadened from a communion hymn to a song of praise and thanksgiving to the “Lord of all.”

The progression in the imagery of this hymn makes it a good teaching aid for children.  The thanksgiving starts with the natural creation; the world around us and then progresses to thanks for human relationships, then the Church, and finally, to the incarnation; the Gift of God’s own Son in human flesh.

****ONCE FOR ALL (Free From The Law)

Some Christian music historians have ranked Philip Bliss as the second greatest Christian songwriter in history.  In just twelve years, he had written several hundred hymn lyrics and music scores including:

I Gave My Life For Thee
It Is Well With My Soul
Almost Persuaded
Hallelujah, What A Savior!
Hold The Fort
Jesus Loves Even Me
Let The Lower Lights Be Burning
The Light Of The World Is Jesus
Wonderful Words Of Life
and ONCE FOR ALL

Philip died in a tragic train wreck at the age of 38 but, had he lived, he probably would have passed his peers, Fannie Crosby, Charles Wesley and Ira Sankey, in terms of the sheer number of compositions produced.  And he wanted his works to be freely used and enjoyed by the Church so none of his songs were ever copyrighted.

For Christmas in 1871, his wife gave him a bound copy of English periodicals called “Things New and Old.”  One of the articles referenced Romans 8:1-2 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

Another passage, in that piece, was Hebrews 10:10. …we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

That article inspired Philip to write the hymn, ONCE FOR ALL (sometimes titled Free from The Law).

There is a lot of confusion about this subject and many people have perverted the doctrine of God’s grace, to imply that, once we are saved, we have the freedom to do whatever we want with no fear of His condemnation or wrath.

So, what does it mean to be “free from the law?”

The Law is a strict prison master; It is consequential and unmerciful.  It is impossible to keep, and any infraction requires a death penalty.  That’s the environment we live in when we think that we can merit God’s favor by our own good works.  But God is merciful and has provided His free gift of undeserved grace for all who would believe. 

That is the Gospel; Jesus suffered, bled, and died so that anyone whose faith is in Christ alone, is free from the grip and the penalty of the Law.   There is no more sacrifice for sin; the penalty has been paid. 

Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, “…for you are not under law but under grace.”  But that doesn’t mean that we can go on ignoring His revealed laws or that we can live according to our own desires.  Paul’s words are prefaced by the phrase, “… For sin shall NOT have dominion over you…”

Freedom from the Law also means that, after He saves us, His Spirit lives in us and He gives us the power to resist sin, obey Him, and serve Him.          

Christ has redeemed us ONCE FOR ALL. 

****TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE CONSECRATED

What we call Contemporary Christian Music got its start in the middle of the twentieth century.  Baby boomers who were bored with the old music of the church brought new styles into the mainstream of American evangelical churches.

 

Much of the music deserved the criticism it got.  It was sometimes silly, doctrinally anemic, and borderline heretical; it was often man-centered and appealing to the flesh.  But, something amazing happened in the latter part of the century.   Contemporary Christian Music grew up. 

In the midst of all the clamor, emerged a plethora of excellent Christian composers, writers, and singers who brought us some of the best and most inspiring, classical and contemporary, God-honoring music in our lifetime.

 

It was in that musical environment, that a frustrated, renegade music professor developed a new, revolutionary approach to choral conducting.  Most of his contemporaries were highly critical but Dr. Gary Bonner’s master’s program produced hundreds of graduates who launched a rebirth in Church choir music throughout the Christian world.

Children’s music was elevated too.  A man named Ernie Rettino painted his face blue, put on some blue tights and a big foam costume in the shape of a book; and the character, Psalty, the Singing Hymnbook, was created.   Ernie and his wife, Debby, produced dozens of musicals designed to teach children biblical principles and doctrines using new and traditional hymns.

In one of their most successful productions, the characters took a Hymnological Adventure in a Time Machine.  They traveled back in history, to meet some famous hymn writers like David, the Shepherd King, Isaac Watts, and Fanny Crosby.  That musical resulted in teaching some of the greatest old hymns of our faith to a whole generation of children.

 

One of those hymns, TAKE MY LIFE AND LET IT BE, is a prayer of consecration written by Frances Havergal.   It may have been inspired by these words in Leviticus; “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. “

In Paul’s letter to the church at Rome, he wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).

 

In this hymn, Frances Havergal holds nothing back in her offering to the Lord.  She starts with a dedication of her life but then she gets specific; not only her life but all her days and every moment.  When she offers her hands and her feet, she is asking God to direct everything she does and everywhere she goes.  She submits every word from her lips and every thought to His control.  Her treasures, her will, and her heart; everything she has is Consecrated to God for His use and His glory.