Tag: hymn

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Congregational Song

Hymn Analysis of “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted”

Thomas Kelly’s hymn “Stricken, smitten, and afflicted” beautifully portrays the suffering of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. In this brief analysis, I consider the hymnist, hymn tune, and text.

Born in Dublin on July 13, 1769, Thomas Kelly was educated at Dublin’s Trinity College. He served as a judge for the Irish Court of Common Pleas. According to John Julian, Kelly “was designed for the Bar, and entered the Temple, London, with that intention, but having undergone a very marked spiritual change he took Holy Orders in 1792” (A Dictionary of Hymnody [1892 edition], 614). After seceding from the established church, Kelly “erected places of worship . . . where he conducted divine worship and preached “ (ibid.). On May 14, 1854, Kelly breathed his last.

Penning 765 hymns, Kelly was a successful hymnographer. Of his hymnody, Julian writes,

As a hymn-writer, Kelly was most successful. As a rule his strength appears in hymns of Praise and in metres not generally adopted by the older hymn-writers.

A Dictionary of Hymnody [1892 edition], 614.

This crucifixion hymn often is sung to the tune O MEIN JESU, ICH MUSS STERBEN. The aforementioned tune was first published in the 1850 Geistliche Volkslieder. One may listen to the tune by clicking on the following link, https://hymnary.org/media/fetch/181301.

Since I have succinctly considered the hymnist and the tune, I now turn to the text.

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,

see him dying on the tree!

‘Tis the Christ by man rejected;

yes, my soul, ’tis he, ’tis he!

‘Tis the long-expected Prophet,

David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;

by his Son God now has spoken:

’tis the true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear him groaning,

was there ever grief like his?

Friends thro’ fear his cause disowning,

foes insulting his distress;

many hands were raised to wound him,

none would interpose to save;

but the deepest stroke that pierced him

was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly

nor suppose the evil great

here may view its nature rightly,

here its guilt may estimate.

Mark the sacrifice appointed,

see who bears the awful load;

’tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed,

Son of Man and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation,

here the refuge of the lost;

Christ’s the Rock of our salvation,

his the name of which we boast.

Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,

sacrifice to cancel guilt!

None shall ever be confounded

who on him their hope have built.

The first stanza portrays the prophesied Messiah, the faithful Word, being beaten and crucified, and it expresses that Christ was rejected by men. The second stanza further describes the derision and bruising suffered by the Lord Jesus Christ. The third stanza points the sinner to the sacrificial lamb that bears the load of sin and wrath of God. The fourth stanza proclaims that Christ is the firm foundation in which sinners can hope. Christ is the rock of salvation, and sinners that trust in him find atonement for their transgressions, atonement that comes only through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Dear reader, to better understand the deep doctrine found in this beautiful hymn, I beseech you to seriously ponder the following passages of Scripture.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:3-7 (KJV)

He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:11-12 (NASB)

But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.


Romans 4:24-25 (KJV)

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.


Hebrews 1:1-2 (NASB)

For further information on “Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,” search https://hymnary.org/text/stricken_smitten_and_afflicted_see_him_d.

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Congregational Song

Forgotten Hymn Series: Part 3, “God the Saints Dwelling Place”

The purpose of this series is to rediscover and share forgotten hymns of the faith. I encourage you to both read and deeply ponder the text of this hymn. Further, I hope this hymn will provide opportunity for dialogue.

A Hymn by Benjamin Keach (1640–1704)

“God the Saints Dwelling Place”

Psalm 90:1

Thy saints Lord have a dwelling strong

    And thou that dwelling art,

No habitation like to this,

    Hath any haughty heart.

For ’tis the low and humble soul

    That in the Lord does dwell:

Where such do rest, and have repose,

    This dwelling doth excell.

A house, ah ’tis our home always,

    And when we absent be:

How do we long for to return,

    So do our soul till we

Return again unto our God,

    When we from thee do stray:

O bring us to our bless’d abode,

   Christ Jesus is the way.

We here no perfect rest shall find,

    Until we fixed are

In our brave house that is above,

    No palace like to it here.

The Second Part

A House preserves from heat and cold,

    From winds and cruel storms;

Those who Lord dwell in thee are bold,

    Being safe from fear of harms.

And in our house our comforts lie,

    And all our chiefest treasure:

God is our joy, our souls delight,

    In whom is sweetest pleasure.

Propriety unto a house

    Doth make it valued;

Our interest in our God, alone,

    Makes us lift up our head.

In a great house are many rooms

To dine and also lye,

Fare secret chambers also we

    Do in thee clearly Spy.

Each attribute is as a room

    Whither thy saints do go

By precious acts of faith, and then

    Nothing they fear below.

Another house, tho stately ’tis,

    It may be batter’d down;

But thou art such a house, o Lord,

    That can’t be overthrown.

Hast then away to your abode,

    Let all with speed hast home,

For dreadful storms you may expect

    Will very quickly come.

The Third Part (Chambers of Safety)

O come, o come, God’s people all,

    With speed hast ye away,

Enter your chambers great and small,

    No longer do you stay:

For God, the mighty God above,

    Is rising out of’s place,

And will the hills and mountains move,

    And vengeance pour apace.

There is a way found out that ye

    May be secured,

When sinners shall consumed be

    Who basely are misled.

Doth it not thunder afar off,

    It lightens also fore:

O tremble all, and do not scoff,

    For hark ’tis more and more.

Children get home, and do not stay,

    Hast to your dwelling place;

For if you make the least delay,

    Then sad may be your case.

All who abroad or in the fields

    Do foolishly remain,

They may as the Egyptians were,

    Be ruined and slain.

Benjamin Keach, Spiritual Melody, 6–9

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Congregational Song

Forgotten Hymn Series: Part 2, “God the Portion of his People”

The purpose of this series is to rediscover and share forgotten hymns of the faith. I encourage you to both read and deeply ponder the text of this hymn. Further, I hope this hymn will provide opportunity for dialogue.

A Hymn by Benjamin Keach (1640–1704)

Psalm 73:26

A portion Lord thou didst design

    On thine for to bestow;

Nought didst thou think was good enough

    For them of things below.

Nor things in heaven, which excel,

    And therefore dost impart,

Thy self as the portion alone

    Of all upright in heart.

Who then is able to conceive

    How rich thy children are?

For they have all, since they have thee,

    And each an equal share.

All have a God, all have a Christ,

    Nay, all that thou hast too;

Each one hath thee intirely,

    This does their riches show.

And they, Lord, never shall have less,

    Their portion can’t be spent,

Nor treacherously by wicked ones

    From them it can’t be rent.

Fire can’t their bless’d portion burn,

    Nor thieves steal it away;

Nor moths, nor rust, it can’t corrupt,

    O happy, happy they!

The Second Part

All things are theirs who have thee Lord,

    Tho under age they be:

But yet that day will quickly come

    Of their felicity.

When full possession they shall have

    Of all that is their own,

And every one of them thou wilt

    With lasting glory crown:

This portion, ah, how doth it suit!

    And answer every want,

And fully does it satisfie

   The soul of every saint.

All glory and high praise therefore

    Let us together sing,

To God the Father, and the Son,

    From whence such riches spring.

Benjamin Keach, Spiritual Melody, 4–6
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Congregational Song

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts” Hymn Analysis

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!

Isaiah 6:2–3 ESV

The congregational song of a local church provides many opportunities for the congregants to learn Scripture and the doctrines of the faith. Unfortunately, one doctrine that is often neglected in the corporate worship service is the Trinity. “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts,” written by Christopher Wordsworth (1807–85), is a Trinitarian hymn of exaltation that is often sung to Edward J. Hopkins tune ST. ATHANASIUS. In this post, I analyze the aforementioned hymn for its doctrinal content.

Christopher Wordsworth

Wordsworth, born in Lambeth on October 30, 1807, was educated at Trinity College and Winchester. The Harrow School elected him Head Master in 1838, and in 1844 Robert Poole appointed him to a Canonry at Westminster. He held the position of a parish priest for nineteen years before becoming Bishop at Lincoln in 1869. According to John Julian, Wordsworth wrote voluminously (John Julian Dictionary of Hymnology, 1907). One of his many works is The Holy Year (1862) which included hymns that followed the Book of Common Prayer’s church calendar. Wordsworth’s similarities to Eastern hymnwriters led Julian to state that “Christopher Wordsworth, like the Greek hymnwriters, drew his inspiration from Holy Scripture, and he loved, as they did, to interpret Holy Scripture mystically” (Julian).  Wordsworth wrote “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts” for Trinity Sunday in the first edition of The Holy Year (Julian).

Analysis

Wordsworth’s Trinity Sunday hymn contains six stanzas each ending with the exaltation of “the blessed Trinity.”

1 Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord 
God of hosts, Eternal King,
by the heav’ns and earth adored!
Angels and archangels sing, 
chanting everlastingly
to the blessed Trinity.

Stanza one expresses the eternality and sovereignty of God, and the praise that he is given from the angelic hosts. Scripture proclaims God’s eternality in passages including: Psalm 90:1–4, Revelation 1:8, Isaiah 57:15, Deuteronomy 33:27, and 1 Timothy 1:17. Psalm 22:28 expresses God’s rule by stating that “For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.” Scripture reveals angelic praise to God in passages such as Luke 2:13–14, Job:38–7, and Isaiah 6:2–3.

2 Since by Thee were all things made,
and in Thee do all things live,
be to Thee all honor paid;
praise to Thee let all things give, singing everlastingly
To the blessed Trinity.

Stanza two reveals that God is worthy of praise because he is Creator and Sustainer. Holy Scripture begins with God’s act of Creation in Genesis 1:1-2. This passage shows that not only God created, but the Spirit of God hovered over “the face of the waters.” John 1:1-3 explains that creation occurred through Christ. Scripture describes God as Sustainer when it states that “the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (ESV), and Hebrews 1:3 shows Christs role as creator stating, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (ESV).

3 Thousands, tens of thousands stand,
spirits blest before Thy throne,
speeding thence at Thy command;
and, when Thy command is done,
singing everlastingly
to the blessed Trinity.

Stanza three points to the worship of the Ancient of Days as expressed in Daniel 7:10. The passage states that “A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened” (ESV).

4 Cherubim and seraphim
veil their faces with their wings;
eyes of angels are too dim
to behold the King of kings,
while they sing eternally
to the blessed Trinity.

Stanza four reflects the reverent worship offered to the King of Kings, as revealed in Isaiah 6:2. The seraphim covered their faces while they were in the presence of Almighty God. The angels praise the Godhead when they proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory” (ESV).

5 Thee, apostles, prophets, Thee,
Thee, the noble martyr band,
praise with solemn jubilee,
Thee, the Church in ev’ry land;
singing everlastingly
to the blessed Trinity.

Stanza five conveys the universal church’s eternal praise to the Godhead . Scripture passages expressing the praise of God that the church will take part in include: Revelation 6: 9–11, Revelation 11: 17–19, Revelation 19:1-9, and Revelation 22: 3–5.

6 Alleluia! Lord, to Thee,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Three in One, and One in Three,
join we with the heav’enly host,
singing everlastingly
to the blessed Trinity.

 The final stanza is clearly Trinitarian, and it points to the orthodox doctrine that God is one essence and three persons. It also expresses the Christian’s role of lifting their praises and joining the heavenly host in worship to the Godhead.

Evaluation:

Christopher Wordsworth’s hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts” is an example of a Trinitarian hymn that can aid churches in teaching the doctrine of the Trinity. It exalts the Triune God reverently, and it is thoroughly biblical. In closing, I encourage all readers to examine and ponder the doctrine included in their congregational songs, family worship, and personal devotion, and I challenge pastors to not neglect the singing of Trinitarian hymns.

https://hymnary.org/hymn/HTLG2017/page/6 Hymns to the Living God (2017), p.6

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Congregational Song

Forgotten Hymn Series: Part 1, “A Father doth His Child Beget”

The purpose of this series is to rediscover and share forgotten hymns of the faith. I encourage you to both read and deeply ponder the text of this hymn. Further, I hope this hymn will provide opportunity for dialogue.

A Hymn by Benjamin Keach (1640–1704)

Matthew 5:16

A father doth his child beget,

    So we begotten are,

By thy own Word and Spirit Lord,

    And do thine image bear.

He likewise doth his children cloath,

    And doth them also love;

So thou most richly cloaths all such

    That are born from above.

A father feeds and does protect

    Such who his children be:

So thou dost feed and save all those

    Who do belong to thee.

And also doth delight in them

    Who him resemble do:

To such who are most like to thee,

    Thou dost chief favour show.

Second Part

A father loves his children should

    All live in unity;

So thou delights to see thy saints

    Walk in sweet harmony.

He ever does o’relook the faults,

    Which he in them does spy

So all thy people’s faults likewise

    Thou dost, O Lord, pass by.

’Tis a high honour to descend

    From such who noble be;

Kings Children are all but base born,

    To those, Lord, born of thee.

Rich parents may soon poor be made,

    And also they do die:

Thou Lord art rich, and so wilt be

    Unto eternity.

All praise and glory unto God

    Our Father, be therefore:

And unto Christ that ransome’d us,

    Be praise for evermore.

Benjamin Keach, Spiritual Melody, 1–2