Jesus My Lord, My God, My All

Here is another hymn! This one is dedicated to a good friend of mind, Allison! May God Bless you in all of your adventures on this Campus and where ever the F.O.C.U.S. Organizations feel you will do Gods will the best!

Title: Jesus My Lord, My God, My All

Tune: St. Chrysostom (1871)

Meter: 8.8.8.8.8.8

Author: Henry Collins (1827-1919)

Composer: Sir Joseph Barnby (1838-1896)

                Henry Collins was born in Barningham, Yorkshire, England, to Thomas Collins, who was a Minister in the Church of England. Following in his father’s path, Henry Collins became a Minister in the Anglican Church as well in 1853. Just a short year after, Collins finished his studies at Oxford University, where he graduated with his Masters Degree in 1854. In the same year, Collins published his collection Hymns for School and Missions which included this work and one other of Collins’ hymns (the other hymn being “Jesu, Meek and Lowly”). Though there were only two hymns actually written by Collins in the collection, there were 37 other hymns selected to be published as well. Three short years later, he entered into communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and eventually, in 1860, he joined the Cistercian Order and in 1861, he entered into the Mount St. Bernard Abbey, Coalville, North Leicester. Collins remained at the Abbey until 1882, when he was appointed Chaplain to the Cistercian Nuns at Holy Cross Abbey, Stapehill, Dorsetshire. He remained at this post for over 30 years, when he finally removed himself from the position of Chaplain and returned to Mount St. Bernard Abbey; Collins remained at the Abbey until his death in 1919. Some of Collins’ other works include Life of the Rev. Father Gentili (published in 1861) and The Spirit and Mission of the Cistercian Order.

                Publishing nearly 250 different hymn tunes, the life of Sir Joseph Barnby was nothing but ordinary. Born in 1838 in York, England to Thomas Barnby, and accomplished organist, it was clear the Joseph was going to have a very musical life ahead of him. At the age of seven, J. Barnby became the Chorister at York Minster and eventually began his studies of music at the Royal Academy of Music, which eventually led to his appointment as the Organist of St. Andrew’s Church, Wells Street, London in 1862. In 1864, Barnby created a new choir which was entitled “Barnby’s Choir.” He was eventually appointed to be a successor to Charles Gounod as the Choir Master of the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society in 1871, a post which he would hold until his death in 1896. During his time with the Royal Albert Hall Choral Society, he had many other positions of great stature. In 1875 Barnby was appointed the Precentor and Director of music at Eton College, and later in 1892, he became the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music, and eventually received Knighthood in July of that same year. Barnby was known for many different compositions, both Orchestral and Vocal, as well as a few short pieces for the Pipe Organ. Many of Barnby’s tunes are still used throughout the world today, and they remain very popular.

The Text:

(1) Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all!
How can I love Thee as I ought?
And how revere this wondrous gift,
So far surpassing hope or thought?

Refrain:
Sweet Sacrament, we Thee adore!
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.
Oh, make us love Thee more and more.

(2) Had I but Mary's sinless heart
With which to love Thee, dearest King,
Oh, with what ever fervent praise,
Thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing!
Refrain

(3) Thy Body, Soul and Godhead, all!
O mystery of love divine!
I cannot compass all I have,
For all Thou hast and art is mine!
Refrain

(4) Sound, then, His praises higher still,
And come, ye angels, to our aid;
For this is God, the very God
Who hath both men and angels made!
Refrain

My Take on the Hymn:

                This hymn is one to show how humble we should be as children of God. As Christians, we all know God’s love and want to return all the love that have back to Christ, but how can we possibly do that? This hymn seems to be asking God to give us the ways to show him our unending love for Him. Christ deserves our greatest love, but we are sinners, so how can we love him as much as he deserves? This is a question that has a very simple answer, we must ask God to forgive us our sins, and with the asking of forgiveness, we must turn and give our whole self to Christ! The last stanza is my favorite, because it says that we will honor and praise Christ with all that we have, but not only will we do this with our voices, but we will ask the help of all of God’s creations. We as a congregation can be heard in a physical sense of the word, but if we ask the multitude of Heavenly Hosts to join us in the singing of God’s praises, there will be no end to the resounding echo that comes from the Holy collection of voices singing his praise for all of eternity!

The Hymn:

If you cannot read music, just start the Youtube video and follow along!

Bibliography:

"Hymn Studies." - "Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All" Hymn Studies, 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. http://homeschoolblogger.com/hymnstudies/743831/.

Julian, John. "Henry Collins." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hymnary.org/person/Collins_H>.

Wikipedia. "Joseph Barnby." - Hymnary.org. Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hymnary.org/person/Barnby_J>.