Hymn of the Week: May 29, 2023
All Who Love and Serve Your City
Glory to God: 351
Text Eric Routley 1966
Music: The United States Sacred Harmony 1799
All who love and serve your city,
all who bear its daily stress,
all who cry for peace and justice,
all who curse and all who bless:
In your day of loss, of sorrow,
In your day of helpless strife,
Honor, peace, and love retreating,
Seek the Lord who is your life.
In your day of wealth and plenty,
wasted work and wasted play,
call to mind the word of Jesus,
"You must work while it is day."
For all days are days of judgment,
and the Lord is waiting still,
drawing near a world that spurns him,
offering peace from Calvary's hill.
Risen Lord, shall yet the city
be the city of despair?
Come today, our judge, our glory.
Be its name “The Lord is there!"
Todays Devotion
This week, after the wonderful handbell concert from my alma mater Westminster Choir College, I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic for this special place.
Eric Routley
I decided to talk about one of the former faculty members of Westminster, Eric Routley, who served on the faculty there from 1975 to his death in 1982.
A Scholar and Educator
Known mostly as a scholar and educator about hymnody in Britain and the U.S., Dr. Routley has written several texts that have become almost a sacred text in and of themselves for the passion he extends to his research.
He served in ministry in Great Britain at a Congregational Church there from 1943-1974 before moving to Princeton where he joined the faculty of Westminster Choir College.
He has written two comprehensive volumes about hymnody including A Panorama of Christian Hymnody (1979) which surveys the history of hymn texts, and The Music of Christian Hymns (1981) which surveys the history of hymn tunes.
He also explored the theological implications of hymnody in worship through his book The Church and Music (1950) and Church Music and the Christian Faith (1978).
Hymnody During the 1960s
This hymn is practically a lesson in and of itself on what was happening with hymnody during the 1960s.
Keeping in mind that at the time Dr. Routley wrote this lovely hymn, the 2nd Vatican Council had happened in 1965, Vietnam was happening, we were heading into space, taking pictures of our globe showing us the vulnerability of our blue marble from outer space. We were not that far from the 1950s and the aftermath of World War 2 and the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. All of this intense time of change and upheaval led to a kind of Renaissance in hymnody. Hymn writers began creating texts that became more direct in language. The poetry of these hymns turns towards themes of social justice. During this volatile time hymn writers became aware that contemporary and inclusive language needed to become more prevalent in the hymns of this time. Brian Wren notes in his book, What Language Shall We Borrow the growing awareness that “though language does not determine how we think, it shapes and slants thinking and behavior.” Emphasis is now placed on speaking directly in terms of the here and now and not as much about the hereafter of early hymns. With this upheaval there is now a freedom to challenge the social norms of the past and embrace a direct approach that is more true to the Triune God.
Stanzas
Stanza 1 brings us into the cities filled with stress, civil unrest, war, causing us to call on God for aid. In the second stanza, as well as the next, Routley draws attention to the circumstances of those he is addressing and offers a charge in how they should respond. In loss, sorrow, and helpless strife, rather than focusing on things that are on the earth, the individual can find hope in seeking Christ, who is the believer’s life, knowing that when Christ appears, they will also appear with him in glory (Col 3:1–4).
The fourth stanza draws attention to the gospel of Jesus Christ as the solution to provide healing and reconciliation. The peace that is offered from “Calvary’s hill” is well-presented in Ephesians 2:11–22. In Paul’s discourse to the church in Ephesus, he reveals that Christ makes peace between the Jew and Gentile, creating one unified people of God (Eph 2:11–15). Additionally, Christ through the cross reconciles this unified people to God giving them access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph 2:16–18). Finally, Paul points out the implications of Christ’s peace. No longer strangers and aliens, all those who trust in Christ are fellow citizens with the saints, members of the household of God, and the dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Eph 2:19–22).
The second and final biblical quotation in this hymn is cited from the final verse of Ezekiel’s prophecy.
This city’s new name is to be “The Lord is there!” (Ezek 48:35), communicating the character of the city as one in which God’s presence among his people is evident. Understood with an eternal perspective, “no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him” (Rev 22:3). This is the great hope for the modern “city of despair.”
Knowing that reconciliation and peace is offered in Christ, those “who love and serve [their] city” can look forward to a greater city without stress, injustice, loss, sorrow, helpless strife, or wasted work and play.
This moving and straightforward hymn gives the singer time to reflect on their own life and an ability to recognize the redeeming life Christ gave us through his Crucifixion and Resurrection, giving us eternal hope of a perfect city.
