CHRISTIAN CHURCH >> COMMUNITY IN CHRIST
SDAH 346
Lord, who dost give to Thy church for its healing
Gifts, and the grace to sustain and renew,
Hear as we pray that today and each morrow
We to Thy purpose may show ourselves true.
Text
1
Lord, who dost give to Thy church for its healing
Gifts, and the grace to sustain and renew,
Hear as we pray that today and each morrow
We to Thy purpose may show ourselves true.
2
Clear be the voices of preachers and prophets
Fearlessly speaking the word of the Lord,
Word of redemption thro‘ God’s Son incarnate,
Blessing for cursing, and peace for the sword.
3
Tender and wise be the hearts of the pastors,
Guiding and guarding the souls in their care,
Firm with the wayward, a strength to the doubting,
Helping the needy their burdens to bear.
4
May those who teach grow in knowledge and patience,
Guiding to wisdom the young and the old,
Training for worship and witness and service,
Foes to all falsehood, in truthfulness bold.
5
Lord, ever give to us gifts in due measure,
Each needing other, and all having worth;
So to the Father, the Son, and the Spirit,
Glory be shown by the church here on earth.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Eph 4:8 (c) Gal 6:2 (e) 1 Cor 12:25
Author
Ernest A. Payne (1902-)
Year Published
1966
Performance Suggestions
Unison
Copyright
Words copyright 1966 by the Hymn Society of America, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX 76129. Used by permission. Music 1975 by Broadman Press. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.
Hymn Tune
SEVENTH AND JAMES
Metrical Number
11.10.11.10.
Composer
Charles F. Brown (1942-)
Year Composed
1974
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Notes
Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.
Although placed in the SDAH section Community in Christ, this hymn was written when the author realized, in 1965, that there was an acute shortage of ordination hymns. In 1966 the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, asked the Hymn Society of America to conduct a hymn-writing contest to celebrate the school’s one hundredth anniversary. Of the 107 new texts submitted, this one was chosen and published in Ten New Hymns on the Ministry.
Ernest Alexander Payne was born February 19, 1902, in Hackney, London, England. After he spent four years as minister of Bugbrooke Baptist Church, his career embraced a variety of posts: secretary of the young people’s department; editorial secretary for the Baptist Missionary Society; moderator of the Free Church Federal Council; general secretary of the Baptist Union; vice president of the Baptist World Alliance; and president of the World Council of Churches. Among his published books is The Free Church Tradition in the Life of England.
Charles F. Brown composed SEVENTH AND JAMES for this text especially for the Baptist Hymnal, 1975, and named it after the Seventh and James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, where he was director of the college choir.
Brown was born June 28, 1942, at Nixon, Texas. After graduation from Baylor and Old Dominion universities he taught theory, arranging, and trumpet at the U.S. Navy School of Music. For a number of years he served as minister of music in Texas and Virginia churches, then he became director of music publications for Word Music, Inc., of Waco, Texas. More than 50 of his choral compositions have been published, including the successful “Reach Out and Touch.”
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