Somewhat ahead of Good Friday, we sang this for Palm Sunday 2014, ever fresh. Rite 1 again, as through Lent. Those old prayers, unchanged, still shine through in the 1979 BCP. The older folks know those old phrases and cadences full of robust doctrine, sober piety and devout worship.
In the Episcopal hymnal, 4 of 5 verses were written by the German Lutheran Paul Gerhardt. Liberal theologians can say one thing while the hymns, creeds, and liturgy say quite another. A graduate of the University of Wittenberg and a stout Lutheran, he also lived through the hell of demons, principalities, powers and darknesses of that horrific 30 Years Wars between the Demons of Rome and God's Word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gerhardt
The fifth verse in the Episcopal Hymnal was written by the Presbyterian biblical scholar and son of Princeton Seminary's first President and Professor, Archibald Alexander. The son's name was James Waddell Alexander.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Waddel_Alexander
A word about Mr. Alexander. His published works include his sermons and a book on the life of his father. Alexander's English translation of the hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded," became the most widely used version in 19th and 20th century hymnals. His books include "A Gift to the Afflicted" (1835), The American Mechanic and Workingman (2 vols., 1847, a collection of papers to mechanics first printed under the pseudonym of "Charles Quill"), Thoughts on Family Worship (1847), Sacramental Addresses (1854), The Revival and its Lessons (1859), Thoughts on Preaching (1861), Faith (1862), and many juvenile books for Sunday-school libraries.
Thus, Palm Sunday 2014, we reviewed Lutheran and Reformed thought in a solid hymn at our Episcopal parish. Here's a rendition from King's College, Cambridge.
In the Episcopal hymnal, 4 of 5 verses were written by the German Lutheran Paul Gerhardt. Liberal theologians can say one thing while the hymns, creeds, and liturgy say quite another. A graduate of the University of Wittenberg and a stout Lutheran, he also lived through the hell of demons, principalities, powers and darknesses of that horrific 30 Years Wars between the Demons of Rome and God's Word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gerhardt
The fifth verse in the Episcopal Hymnal was written by the Presbyterian biblical scholar and son of Princeton Seminary's first President and Professor, Archibald Alexander. The son's name was James Waddell Alexander.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Waddel_Alexander
A word about Mr. Alexander. His published works include his sermons and a book on the life of his father. Alexander's English translation of the hymn "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded," became the most widely used version in 19th and 20th century hymnals. His books include "A Gift to the Afflicted" (1835), The American Mechanic and Workingman (2 vols., 1847, a collection of papers to mechanics first printed under the pseudonym of "Charles Quill"), Thoughts on Family Worship (1847), Sacramental Addresses (1854), The Revival and its Lessons (1859), Thoughts on Preaching (1861), Faith (1862), and many juvenile books for Sunday-school libraries.
Thus, Palm Sunday 2014, we reviewed Lutheran and Reformed thought in a solid hymn at our Episcopal parish. Here's a rendition from King's College, Cambridge.
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