Psalm 23; John 10
Text: Dorothy Thrupp (1779-1847) Tune: William Bradbury (1816-1868)
1. Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
Much we need Thy tender care;
In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,
For our use Thy folds prepare:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast bought us, Thine we are.
2. We are Thine, do Thou befriend us,
Be the guardian of our way;
Keep Thy flock, from sin defend us,
Seek us when we go astray:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Hear, O hear us when we pray.
3. Thou hast promised to receive us,
Poor and sinful though we be;
Thou hast mercy to relieve us,
Grace to cleanse, and pow'r to free:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Early let us turn to Thee.
4. Early let us seek Thy favor,
Early let us do Thy will;
Blessed Lord and only Savior,
With Thy love our bosoms fill:
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still;
Blessèd Jesus, blessèd Jesus,
Thou hast loved us, love us still.
MEDITATION
Sunday evenings, my father always made a light supper. My mother needed rest
after the big Sunday noon meal of roast beef, gravy, mashed potatoes and dessert.
We would then go our separate ways--studying, letter writing, reading the Sunday
paper, especially in the summers when there were no evening services. Midway, my
mother would begin playing the piano. She would start with the old piano bench
songs of her mother: “Forgotten,” “Mighty Lak’ a Rose,” and “The Holy City.” Then
the old gospel hymns, like this one. If my great aunt and uncle, who had helped raise her,
were there we had a choir: bass, tenor, altos, sopranos. My great-uncle Freddie
remembered the bass notes even after he had drifted away into mild dementia. I can
still hear his strong bass, and the high soprano of my aunt, a bit quavery as she got
older.
The barbershop harmonies were what we loved, not the tunes. They matched the
sweetness of the text—the picture of Jesus as a gentle Shepherd, our friend and
guide, caring for his flock and leading us into green pastures, as per Psalm 23.
When I started working on the Text Committee for the Lutheran Book of Worship in
1973, I was not surprised to find that the committee, all men at least twenty years
my senior, preferred the strong tunes of the Reformation, like “A Mighty Fortress,”
to be sung in unison as recommended by Dietrich Bonheoffer. The Bradbury setting
was out of fashion, it reminded them of an era they thought passé, so they looked for
another. They found a Lindeman tune many of you know, “Her vil ties, her vil bies.”
The tune was fine, but it was not what people associated with this text. I disagreed
with the choice, but was outvoted, 7 to 2. They argued it was our job to raise the
aesthetic level of music in the church. Arguments about taste in church
music are treacherous. They are cultural or generational clashes. What one
generation loathes, another loves. One monkeys with these traditions at their peril.
A couple of decades later, while planning a Songfest with the Augustana, Sioux Falls
college choir and community, I discovered that one of their founders, Andreas
Wright (1835-1917), had included this hymn with some other American gospel
songs in his little song book, Turtleduen/The Turtle Dove (1877), spiritual songs from both Norway and Sweden. We sang it. There were many hundreds present at Central Lutheran
Church that evening. For the middle stanzas the organ dropped out. The
congregation sang this prayer for Jesus to lead them like it was singing around a piano on Sunday evening, melting into the sweet harmonies of the night.
My father would say when we finished our singing, it was like standing at the portals
of heaven. Looking out at the congregation singing to the Savior, asking him to lead
them into green pastures, I had to agree.
HYMN INFO
Dorothy Ann Thrupp, like many women writers of her era, frequently wrote under a pseudonym, Iota. Scholars think she wrote this. Bradbury always looking for
Sunday school texts found this in a book of hers. As a young man, Bradbury studied
with Lowell Mason in Boston. He traveled to Europe, especially Leipzig, where he
learned composition from the great teachers there. When he returned, he moved to
Brooklyn where he continued composing and compiling hymnals for Sunday
schools. By the end of his life he had edited over fifty such books. The Bradbury tune remains popular—one can find grand organ settings, along with jazz and country western on the web. This tune will be sung in many churches this Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday. Stand around the computer and sing along!
LINKS
Kaoma Chenda Quartet—for some barbershop and by one singer!
Martin Nystrom
The Haven of Rest Quartet
The Discover Singers/kind of Swingle Singers style