Hymns for Sunday Lent V
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    I'm organising music for a student retreat. I often substitute a suitable hymn for the Introit. I would like to know if you think that the Hymn "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" (Paraphrase of Psalm 90(91)) is a good substitute for the Introit, Psalm 43.

    Hymn: O God, Our Help in Ages Past - Paraphrase Psalm 90 (91)

    1 O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,
    Our shelter from the stormy blast, And our eternal home.

    2 Under the shadow of Thy throne still may we dwell secure;
    Sufficient is Thine arm alone, And our defense is sure.

    3 A thousand ages in Thy sight are like an evening gone;
    Short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun.

    4 Time, like an ever rolling stream, bears all its sons away;
    They fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.

    5 O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
    Be Thou our guard while life shall last, and our eternal home.

    Psalm 43: (Text for Introit Sunday Lent V)

    1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people;
    from deceitful and unjust men deliver me!

    2 For thou art the God in whom I take refuge; why hast thou cast me off?
    Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

    3 Oh send out thy light and thy truth;
    let them lead me, let them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling!

    4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy;
    and I will praise thee with the lyre, O God, my God.

    5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me?
    Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
  • rob
    Posts: 148
    I guess I'm not following: why substitute a paraphase of Psalm 90 for Psalm 43, when you could just use some variation like "Judge and defend my cause, O Lord" or, more loosely, "Lead Kindly Light"?
  • Earl_GreyEarl_Grey
    Posts: 890
    Or at least choose a hymn that ties into the readings of the day.
  • Chrism
    Posts: 868
    Or something seasonal.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    I thought it might work since both talk about God being our help and refuge.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,500
    I think I understand what you are doing, and I think it's a good idea. Choosing hymns based on the readings should become passe, now that we know that propers are rarely based on readings. Introits in particular.

    Although it's not an exact match, it seems to me that this way of choosing hymns is a big step forward.
    Thanked by 1jpal
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Chanting last week's Communio gave me chills, it was so apropos.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    In the end I went with a seasonal hymn - "Lord who throughout these forty days".

    I had to make do with some hurriedly-rehearsed inexperienced (but very dedicated) singers and a roland stage piano with a moderately good organ sound (flutes at 8, 4 & 2 ft pitches).

    They made quite an impression on the college retreat group with "Sub tuum praesidium" (commonly attributed as "slavonic"), a seasonal responsorial psalm with alternating chant and faux-bourdon, SEP chants and singing "glory be to Jesus".

    I try to base my choice of hymns on the Propers as much as possible. After that, I consider seasonal hymns which bear some relation to the readings.
  • Cailín Ceol Naofa
    Posts: 38
    "I try to base my choice of hymns on the Propers as much as possible. After that, I consider seasonal hymns which bear some relation to the readings."

    I would like to learn how to do that.
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    It isn't hard. Just look up the English text such as found in the SEP/FEP and see if you have anything similar in the way of hymns.

    Otherwise, look to hymns relevant to the liturgical action or season. Eg communion hymns at communion or lenten hymns during lent.

    Feel rather spoiled for lenten hymns because I have about 6 real good ones and I rarely get to use them all during the season.
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