Here are my completed Hymnals:
Presbyterian 1955 Hymnbook: http://amzn.to/2zSRdpL
Episcopal 1940 Hymnal: http://amzn.to/2DEOl1H
Broadman 1940 Hymnal: http://amzn.to/2C1WuwK
Lutheran 1941 Hymnal: http://amzn.to/2zUmYi2
Methodist 1939 Hymnal: http://amzn.to/2CfJ1Wq
Pilgrim 1935 Hymnal: http://amzn.to/2DDvbJC
Now Sings My Soul, New Songs for the Lord by: Linda Bonney Olin: http://amzn.to/2DQ6gUy
Here are my new projects:
Choice Hymns of the Faith 1945 http://amzn.to/2Dx97nA
J S Bach Riemenschneider 371 Harmonized Chorales http://amzn.to/2DSy5f9
References:
Dictionary of Hymnology: http://amzn.to/2BxPabk
John Greenleaf Whittier 1807-1892
Repton: https://youtu.be/W4xvi3ZkDs0
Hermann: https://youtu.be/uL064EPmXcA
Rest: https://youtu.be/LaZfDMZFdOI
- Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise.2. In simple trust like theirs who heard,
beside the Syrian sea,
the gracious calling of the Lord,
let us, like them, without a word,
rise up and follow thee.3. O Sabbath rest by Galilee,
O calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love!4. With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works that drown
The tender whisper of Thy call,
As noiseless let Thy blessing fall
As fell Thy manna down.5. Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of thy peace.6. Breathe through the heats of our desire
thy coolness and thy balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.
This hymn is drawn from a much larger work by Whittier known as: “The Brewing of Soma.” Whittier was reading “The Sacred Books of the East” by Max Muller. Within it there is an account of the ritual brewing of a drink called Soma which had an intoxicating affect when drunk. It was used ritually in an attempt to get closer to the spirit world, not unlike many, especially in the entrepreneurial class use hallucinogenic drugs still today. The priests of Vedic would brew the drink and mix it with milk and honey and drink themselves into a frenzy. Whittier, a Quaker, equated this frenzy which the Vedic priests hoped would bring them closer to their god, to the ecstatic proclamations and frenzy of many revival camp meetings which were very common in his day. The Quakers valued quiet contemplation over noisy actions and don’t even sing during their services.
After describing the wildness of Soma’s affect and the emptiness it inevitably leaves, Whittier ties it the Christian’s attempts to have similar experiences whether drug induced or not.
And yet the past comes round again,
And new doth old fulfill;
In sensual transports wild as vain
We brew in many a Christian fane
The heathen Soma still!
With that, Whittier moves into our hymn. He starts with asking God to forgive man’s foolishness. “Reclothe” can also bring to mind the first “clothing” by God as he covered the sin of Adam and Eve with the skins of animals. This right mind includes purer lives and service with a deep reverence.
In the second stanza you can see the Quaker influence with the call for a simple trust and to rise and follow without a single word. And in the third stanza the ideas of rest and calm and silence are very much Quaker ideals.
In the fourth stanza he begins to reflect the words of 1 Kings 19:11-13, especially vs 12: “And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” The theme for the finale stanzas are drawn directly from this text. Phrases such as: “The tender whisper,” lead us to the final phrase: “speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still, small voice of calm.”
The entire hymn portion of the longer poem is in complete contrast to the frenzy of those caught up in Soma. Instead of frenzy, we should have a calm and peaceful quietness, awaiting for the still small voice of God.
