Monday, July 30, 2007

History of the Hymns

July 29, 2007
‘Forgive Our Sins as We Forgive’ (1966) Page 390
Words: Rosamond E. Herklots (1905 – 1987)
Music: Supplement to ‘Kentucky Harmony’

The author of this hymn writes how the theme of this hymn came to her years before when she was digging up rocks in a long neglected garden. “I realized how these deeply-rooted weeds were choking the life out of the flowers in the garden, I realized that deeply-rooted resentments in our lives could destroy every Christian virtue and all joy and peace unless, by God's grace, we learned to forgive."
And what were the “deep resentments” in her life? It is reported that Rosamond’s family could only afford to send one child to college, and that child was her older sister. Only after her sister died did Rosamond realize how deeply she had resented her sister because of the advantages she had through her college education. This hymn becomes an affirmation of the power of the gospel to influence her life – too late to restore the lost relationship with her sister, but not too late to heal the resentment in her spirit.
The hymntune, named ‘DETROIT,’ is from The Sacred Harp. The Sacred Harp was a collection of religious songs in early America that were based on, or composed in the style of, folk songs brought over from England and Ireland. So it is a very fitting musical setting for this hymn text from a British poetess.

Meanwhile…1966…41 years ago…in the United States…
President: Lyndon Banes Johnson…V.P.: Hubert H. Humphrey
Bread: 22¢/loaf, Milk: 27¢/qt., Eggs: $1.05/dz., Stamps: 5¢, Gas: 32¢/gal.
Min. Wage: $1.00/hr., Teacher’s Salary: $5,174/yr. Unemployment: 4.5%
Top Songs: ‘We Can Work It Out’ (Beatles), ‘Monday, Monday’ (The Mamma’s & Pappa’s), ‘I’m a Believer’ (Monkees), ‘Winchester Cathedral’ (New Vaudeville Show)
On TV: Hogan’s Heroes, Mission Impossible, Lost In Space, I Dream of Jeenie,
Get Smart, Star Trek, Batman, Green Acres
Deaths: Montgomery Clift, Walt Disney

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