Monthly column on hymns and songs

This month I write for the two main groupings among evangelical Christians: those who observe Christmas and those who do not. I wish to recommend a hymn which all of us can use in December. To show the unbiased nature of this column, this is one which did not make it into Praise! or Hymns for Today's Church. Its proper tune was not classy enough for the Anglican Hymn Book and it contains one line which is less than scriptural.

Let us then stand to sing 'Who is he in yonder stall'. An 1866 offering from Ohio by the author of 'Darling Nelly Gray' - though you may not wish to announce it in that way. A hymn with alternating question and answer; responsive, antiphonal if you like. When we sang it earlier this year, it struck me as an ideal example of the art of repetition which I touched on controversially in April. Its model is Psalm 136; for his mercy endureth for ever.

For like that psalm, it tells a story, carefully and regularly punctuated by its refrain. The repeated chorus, with a melody not much more demanding than its elementary verse-tune, but composed for its proper climax, gives us time to reflect on the words of the stanza we have just sung. No one could complain that we repeat too much, or not enough.

Yet interleaved with that simple outpouring of worship come the two-line verses, each powerful enough to take us to one great moment of the gospel, and the narrative of our Saviour's life, death and triumph. And just as vital as the repeat of the chorus is the non-repeat of the verse! 'Lo! at midnight, who is he / prays in dark Gethsemane'; that is not a couplet which anyone would wish to sing twice. To do so would be not to intensify but to lessen its effect. Which is one point I tried to make at Eastertide.

A song for all seasons

Easter: another controversial topic? But this hymn is one which may be helpfully chosen at many seasons or none. For some it has a special relevance and beauty when it matches particular moments of our church's calendar; yet who can deny that it is a text for all seasons? Christ is always Lord of all.

So where is the imperfect line? Read John 11, and see that it is not at the grave of Lazarus where Jesus weeps: verse 35 in the chapter, verse 4 in the hymn. That is significant, but will probably not make you stop singing it, any more than 'no crying he makes' (a more serious error) will disqualify 'Away in a manger'; or 'Angels and archangels may have gathered there' will block out 'In the bleak mid-winter'. Such evangelical favourites have other problems too, but Luke tells us that it was when the angels had gone away into heaven that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see...' The rest is history.

Christian charity

And more than history. To become seasonal again, I once went on Sunday December 24 to a certain tabernacle where the word 'Christmas' did not occur anywhere in the service. But someone was considerate enough to the weaker brethren to include 'Angels from the realms of glory' among the hymns. There's Christian charity for you! And we sang the proper tune; not Iris with its silly repetitions, but Lewisham which enables us to sing what James Montgomery wrote. Will this get me into repeat trouble? Happy celebrations, and may God bless our singing to his glory!

Sing them over again

A song for all seasons

Christian charity

Christopher Idle

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