July 4th, 2021
On this fourth of July service, we have three exemplary instances of the blending of numerous, differing sources into distinctively American hymns.
Today’s service begins with the song God bless our native land. Like many American songs, and indeed like America itself, this song is composed from a veritable melting pot of sources. The text is a translation, complied from translations of several authors and first published in Boston in 1845, of a German text by Siegfried Augustus Mahlmann. This poem also inspired Samuel Francis Smith to write My country, tis of thee on similar lines.
The tune is one of the most famous pieces of music in the world, the British national anthem. This tune most likely originated in the 1680s and became popular in its present form through the 1745 version by the great composer Thomas Arne (1710-1778). As with many songs of British origin, the tune was coopted for use in this country and is now known by the tune name America.
Our sequence hymn is perhaps the best-known American hymn: Amazing grace! How sweet the sound. The text was written in the 1770s by Englishman John Newton (1725-1807), an abolitionist who, before his conversion, was the captain of a slave ship. His use of the term “wretch” in the second line becomes particularly poignant when seen in this light. The tune that this text is sung to, New Britain, is an American folk tune. First appearing in print in the 1820s, the tune accompanied several other hymn texts and was first paired to this text in 1835. Since then, Amazing grace has been translated into many other languages and has appeared in hymnals all over the world.
Today’s recessional is another outstanding example of American hymnody: How Firm a Foundation. The text originally appeared anonymously in a London hymn collection in 1787, and immediately became popular on both sides of the Atlantic. The folk tune associated with it first appeared in a hymnal printed in Winchester, Virginia in 1832 and quickly became the standard tune for this text in American hymnals.
