New Lewis-Town

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=110 BGCOLOR="#666699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04900840erlcjm.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Christian Arts Foundation"><FONT COLOR="#FFFF33"><I><B>Christian Arts Foundation</B></I></FONT></A></div> <div> <A HREF="purpose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Purpose"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Our Purpose</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="music.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Music"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Music</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Events"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Events</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="sponsors.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sponsors"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Sponsors</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="team.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Team"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">The Team</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="donations.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Donations"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Donations</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="contact.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Contact Us</FONT></A>   |   <A HREF="copyrights.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Copyrights"><FONT COLOR="#FFFFCC">Copyrights</FONT></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04311c00egdysm.png"> <div> <A HREF="compassion.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Compassion"><B>Compassion</B></A></div> <div> Lent</div> <div> <A HREF="venit_e_coelo.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Venit e coelo"><B>Venit e coelo</B></A></div> <div> Holy Week</div> <div> <A HREF="entreaties.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Entreaties of the Passion"><B>Entreaties of the Passion</B></A></div> <div> Good Friday</div> <div> <B>New Lewis-Town</B></div> <div> Eastertide, communion</div> <div> <A HREF="peace_to_soothe.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Peace to Soothe"><B>Peace to Soothe</B></A></div> <div> Eastertide, memorial</div> <div> <A HREF="lucis_creator_optime.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lucis Creator optime"><B>Lucis Creator optime</B></A></div> <div> Creation, light, vespers</div> <div> <A HREF="stewardship.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gods Stewards"><B>God's Stewards</B></A></div> <div> Stewardship</div> <bR> <div> © You are encouraged to download this hymn for your congregation or choir.  You are permitted to make copies for distribution to the choir, or insert in the bulletin for your congregation, or post the music and lyrics on a projection screen. For other uses <A HREF="copyrights.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Copyrights">click here</A>.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>New Lewis-Town</B></div> <div> <B>"From ages past the Psalmists sing"</B></div> <bR> <div> Eastertide, communion</div> <bR> <div> This is a reworking of the tune Lewis-Town by William Billings, 1794, hence the name "New Lewis-Town". Billing's tune is changed to major mode and has simplified melodic patterns making it easier and more fun to sing. The verses were composed specifically for this reworking.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div>  <a href="http://www.caf.org.hk/music/chorales/new_lewis_town_g.pdf" target="_self" csb-linktype="URL"><img src="HTMLobj-692/o.jpg" alt="PDF in G" border="0" align="bottom" csb-maintain-proportions="0" width="100" height="22" csb-button="Plain-Red" csb-font="" csb-font-bold="True" csb-font-italic="False" csb-font-strikethrough="False" csb-font-underline="False" csb-font-size="10" csb-font-color-o="16777215" csb-font-color-h="16777215" csb-font-color-p="16777215" csb-font-horiz="Center" csb-font-verti="Center" csb-font-left="0" csb-font-top="0" csb-img-hover="1" csb-img-press="1" csb-img-preload="0" csb-img-backcolor="16777215" onmouseout="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-692/o.jpg'" onmouseover="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-692/h.jpg'" onmouseup="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-692/h.jpg'" onmousedown="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-692/p.jpg'"></a>            <a href="http://www.caf.org.hk/music/chorales/new_lewis_town_f.pdf" target="_self" csb-linktype="URL"><img src="HTMLobj-693/o.jpg" alt="PDF in F" border="0" align="bottom" csb-maintain-proportions="0" width="100" height="22" csb-button="Plain-Red" csb-font="" csb-font-bold="True" csb-font-italic="False" csb-font-strikethrough="False" csb-font-underline="False" csb-font-size="10" csb-font-color-o="16777215" csb-font-color-h="16777215" csb-font-color-p="16777215" csb-font-horiz="Center" csb-font-verti="Center" csb-font-left="0" csb-font-top="0" csb-img-hover="1" csb-img-press="1" csb-img-preload="0" csb-img-backcolor="16777215" onmouseout="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-693/o.jpg'" onmouseover="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-693/h.jpg'" onmouseup="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-693/h.jpg'" onmousedown="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-693/p.jpg'"></a>  </div> <div> 1.  From ages past the Psalmists sing</div> <div>      Of love unfailing, true and sure,</div> <div>      Where flows our soul’s life-giving spring,</div> <div>      Rejoicing in our Lord.</div> <bR> <div> 2.  Today we know the love God shows</div> <div>      Through Christ, His Son who died for us;</div> <div>      From tomb* to Glory He arose, </div> <div>      Rejoicing in our Lord.</div> <bR> <div> 3.<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >†</FONT>Until this earth we must depart</div> <div>      Our loved ones, friends and family,</div> <div>      To join in Heav’n with joyful heart</div> <div>      Rejoicing in our Lord,</div> <bR> <div> 4.  Is clear the way our Savior made</div> <div>      For us to follow ev’ry day</div> <div>      To join the Lamb, our ransom paid,</div> <div>      Rejoicing in our Lord.</div> <bR> <div> *<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >may replace "tomb" with "hell"; see last paragraph below</FONT></div> <div> †3rd verse may be omitted; see third paragraph below</div> <bR> <div> <B>Thoughts behind the hymn:</B></div> <bR> <div> The meaning of these verses are communicated in pairs. The first two verses express the continuity of God's love through the Old and New Testaments: the "compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness" <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >(Exodus 34)</FONT>, the God of love praised no more fervently and eloquently than in the Psalms, this same God of love Jesus teaches us about throughout the Gospels, a supreme love that Jesus shows us knows no bounds.</div> <bR> <div> The 3rd and 4th verses are actually one sentence. The 3rd verse is inspired by Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians (4:13-18).  The 4th verse is inspired by Matthew 7, 20, Mark 10, John 14, I Timothy 2 and Revelation 6-22. Someone asked if I meant in the 4th verse that we earn our way to the Lamb by good behavior, but that's forcing a meaning on it. Jesus makes "clear the way" exactly as he teaches and lives by example, no more, no less. "Every day" is written to express the commitment to love and forgiveness Jesus expects from us all and the sacrifice He demands of His disciples. Pastors of every church that sing this hymn will make clear to their congregations how this applies to them.</div> <bR> <div> Despite the 3rd and 4th verses being one sentence, the 4th verse can stand alone as a grammatically complete sentence. The 3rd verse is especially appropriate for a memorial service but may be optionally omitted when sung during communion.</div> <bR> <div> Someone told me they were a little thrown by the plural use of "Psalmists" in the first line of the first verse. They think of David as <I>the</I> Psalmist. I hope this doesn't put off too many people because among the Psalms attributions are made to six different authors, and many Psalms are unattributed. I use "the Psalmists" in a general way, as we might say "the prophets" or "today's politicians": We don't mean any specific person nor do we mean a unanimity of the classification; we mean to point out something that is generally true for most of the classification. Plural or singular would work equally well, plural being selected for the rhyme scheme and to minimize the number of "s"es that get aspirated during singing.</div> <bR> <div> The characterization of love "unfailing", first verse, second line, is taken from the NIV and NLT translations of the Psalms. God being "true" and "sure" is written throughout the many translations of the Psalms.</div> <bR> <div> "Rejoicing in the Lord" is in one way or another recorded dozens of times throughout the Bible. Rejoicing in "<I>our </I>Lord", repeated the last line of each verse, is more personal and is found most often in the Psalms and Epistles.</div> <bR> <div> Second verse, third line, originally I wrote "From hell to glory He arose" in accordance with the Apostles' and Athanasian creeds <FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >(see Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:8-10 in reference to Psalm 68:18; I Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6)</FONT> but I added the option of changing "hell" to "tomb" to reduce potential objections without compromising truth or aesthetic impact.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="252be542egerdp.gif"> <div> <B> <a href="http://www.caf.org.hk/music/chorales/new_lewis_town.mid" target="_self" csb-linktype="URL"><img src="HTMLobj-694/o.jpg" alt="MIDI" border="0" align="bottom" csb-maintain-proportions="0" width="120" height="22" csb-button="Cap-Red" csb-font="" csb-font-bold="True" csb-font-italic="False" csb-font-strikethrough="False" csb-font-underline="False" csb-font-size="10" csb-font-color-o="0" csb-font-color-h="0" csb-font-color-p="0" csb-font-horiz="Center" csb-font-verti="Center" csb-font-left="0" csb-font-top="0" csb-img-hover="1" csb-img-press="1" csb-img-preload="0" csb-img-backcolor="16777215" onmouseout="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-694/o.jpg'" onmouseover="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-694/h.jpg'" onmouseup="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-694/h.jpg'" onmousedown="javascript:this.src='HTMLobj-694/p.jpg'"></a>  </B></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="5" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="162" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#996699 HEIGHT= 45 ><NOBR><div> <I><B>Verses, David P. Werner</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Tune, William Billings</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>alt. David P. Werner</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>