458. Sing to the Lord of Harvest

1 Sing to the Lord of harvest,
sing songs of love and praise;
with joyful hearts and voices
your alleluias raise.
By him the rolling seasons
in fruitful order move;
sing to the Lord of harvest
a joyful song of love.

2 God makes the clouds drop fatness,
the deserts bloom and spring;
the hills leap up in gladness,
the valleys laugh and sing.
He fills from his great fullness
all things with large increase;
he crowns the year with goodness,
with plenty, and with peace.

3 Heap on his sacred altar
the gifts his goodness gave,
the golden sheaves of harvest,
the souls Christ died to save.
Your hearts lay down before him
when at his feet you fall,
and with your lives adore him
who gave his life for all.

Text Information
First Line: Sing to the Lord of harvest
Title: Sing to the Lord of Harvest
Author: John S. B. Monsell (1866, alt.)
Meter: 76 76 D
Language: English
Publication Date: 1987
Scripture:
Topic: Commitment & Dedication; Songs for Children: Hymns; Creation and Providence (6 more...)
Tune Information
Name: WIE LIEBLICH IST DER MAIEN
Composer: Johann Steurlein, 1546-1613 (1575)
Meter: 76 76 D
Key: A♭ Major


Text Information:

Scripture References:
all st. = Ps. 65:9-13

In simple, vivid language derived from biblical images in the second half of Psalm 65, this text thanks the Lord for the harvest (st. 1-2) and offers to God the harvest of our lives (st. 3). Written by John S. B. Monsell in four stanzas, this text was published in Monsell's Hymns of Love and Praise in 1866.

John Samuel Bewley Monsell (b. St. Colomb's, Londonderry, Ireland, 1811; d. Guilford, Surrey, England, 1875) was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and served as a chaplain and rector of several churches in Ireland after his ordination in 1835. Transferred to England in 1853, he became rector of Egham in Surrey and was rector of St. Nicholas Church in Guilford from 1870 until his death (caused by a construction accident at his church). A prolific poet, Monsell published his verse in eleven volumes. His three hundred hymns, many celebrating the seasons of the church year, were issued in collections such as Hymns and Miscellaneous Poems (1837), Spiritual Songs (1857), Hymns of Love and Praise (1863), and The Parish Hymnal (1873).

Liturgical Use:
Harvest thanksgiving and similar services; offertory hymn; hymn of dedication; stanza is fitting for dedication of our gifts and our whole lives for kingdom service/missions.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

This tune was originally a love song composed in 1575 by Johann Steurlein (b. Schmalkalden, Thuringia, Germany, 1546; d. Meiningen, Germany, 1613) as a setting of "Mit Lieb bin ich umfangen." Steurlein studied law at the University of Wittenberg. From 1569 to 1589 he lived in Wasungen near Meiningen, where he served as town clerk as well as cantor and organist in the Lutheran church. From 1589 until his death he lived in Meiningen, where at various times he served as notary public, mayor, and secretary to the Elector of Saxony. A gifted poet and musician, Steurlein rhymed both the Old and New Testaments in German. A number of his hymn tunes and harmonizations were published in Geistliche Lieder (1575) and Sieben und Zwantzig Neue Geistliche Gesenge (l588).

His tune WIE LIEBLICH IST DER MAIEN gets its name from its original use as a setting for Martin Behm's hymn text that began with those words in 1581; text and tune were published together in Gregor Gunderreitter's David's Himlische Harpffen. The Steurlein tune was later set to Monsell's text in W. Garrett Horder's Worship Song in 1905 and popularized through the 1954 anthem by Healey Willan (PHH 258). The harmonization is by Willan, simplified from his anthem.

The tune is a rounded bar form (AABA) whose melodic variation in the fourth line sometimes confuses congregations. Use bright organ tone on that line to support the tune, but use a lighter touch on other lines. The tune can be sung in harmony by agile voices, but congregations may prefer to sing in unison.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook


Media
MIDI file: MIDI
MIDI file: MIDI Preview
(Faith Alive Christian Resources)
More media are available on the text authority and tune authority pages.

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