Monday, April 26, 2010

The Hymns of Good Shepherd Sunday

Surely the hymns we sang yesterday have to be some of the greatest and grandest of all the hymns...

Our Paschal Lamb, that sets us free,
Is sacrificed. O keep
The feast of freedom gallantly;
Let alleluias leap:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Again
Sing alleluia, cry aloud: Alleluia! Amen!

Let all our lives now celebrate
The feast; let malice die.
Let love grow strong anew, and great,
Let truth stamp out the lie.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Again
Sing alleluia, cry aloud: Alleluia! Amen!

Let all our deeds, unanimous,
Confess Him as our Lord
Who by the Spirit lives in us,
The Father’s living Word.
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Again
Sing alleluia, cry aloud: Alleluia! Amen!  

I have printed out the words above because this hymns is not as well known as it deserves to be.  Add to that the sublime The King of Love My Shepherd Is and the choral setting by Thomson of My Shepherd Will Supply My Need and the lessons and sermon are set between such rich and wondrous hymns that it is sheer delight to sing them.  Then during the distribution we encounter the marvelous text and tune by Gerald Coleman, The Lamb, the Swedish delight of Children of the Heavenly Father, the well sung traditional setting of Psalm 23, The Lord's My Shepherd I'll Not Want, and then we are led home with the sounds of  Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.  

I will admit to extreme prejudice and frustration at why LSB chose NOT to include the Henry Letterman text to Brother James Air that I love so much -- The Lord's My Shepherd, Leading Me.


1 comment:

Rev. Weinkauf said...

Agreed! Pax Domini, dear brother. Much like ours, but we had Sunday School children sing verse 1 of LSB740 with the congregation joining in verse 2,3. And worship prelude with Bach's great work "Sheep may safely graze"