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I Am the Holy Vine

Scripture References

Thematically related:

Further Reflections on Scripture References

Based on John 15: 1-5, "I Am the Holy Vine" versifies Jesus' teaching about leading fruitful lives. Using the common Old Testament symbol of a vineyard (Ps. 80; Isa. 5; Jer. 2:21), Jesus points out that love can be produced only by being rooted in the source of true love, Christ, in the Father's vineyard. Whereas the

 

Old Testament vineyard is sometimes pictured as unfruitful, Jesus casts himself as "the true vine" that produces good fruit.

 

Bert Polman, Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

In baptism, our identity is established and we are “set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may wholly belong to [Christ] whose mark and sign we bear” (Belgic Confession, Article 34). Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 26, Question and Answer 70 assures us that “to be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed and sanctified us to be members of Christ…” We therefore are called “to join and unite with it [the church of Christ]” (Belgic Confession, Article 28). This union with Christ shapes our personal identity for all time.

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I Am the Holy Vine

Additional Prayers

A Petitionary Prayer (adapted from Irenaeus, Against Heresies, ca. 180 AD)
 
O Lord Jesus Christ, you are the vine and we are the branches. In our local churches, let there be ten thousand branches, and in each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each twig ten thousand shoots, and in each one of the shoots ten thousand clusters of grapes. And let each grape, when pressed, give twenty five liters of juice—all to remind us of the abundance of your blood, poured out for us sinners. Amen.
— Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
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I Am the Holy Vine

Tune Information

Name
LOVE UNKNOWN
Key
D Major
Meter
6.6.6.6.8.8

Recordings

851

I Am the Holy Vine

Hymn Story/Background

Based on John 15:1-5, "I Am the Holy Vine" versifies Jesus' teaching about leading fruitful lives. Using the common Old Testament symbol of a vineyard (Psalm 80; Isaiah 5; Jeremiah 2:21), Jesus points out that love can be produced only by being rooted in the source of true love, Christ, in the Father's vineyard. Whereas the Old Testament vineyard is sometimes pictured as unfruitful, Jesus casts himself as "the true vine" that produces good fruit.
 
John Ireland composed LOVE UNKNOWN in 1918 for the text "My song is love unknown"; the tune was first published in The Public School Hymn Book of 1919. A letter in the London Daily Telegraph of April 5, 1950, claims that Ireland wrote LOVE UNKNOWN within fifteen minutes on a scrap of paper upon receiving the request to compose it from Geoffrey Shaw, one of the editors of that 1919 hymnal. LOVE UNKNOWN has since appeared in many hymnals as a setting for a number of different texts.
— Bert Polman

Author Information

James Quinn (b. Glasgow, Scotland, 1919; d. 2010) wrote this unrhymed versification and published it in his New Hymns for All Seasons (1969). Quinn was a respected Scottish hymn authors; was frequently paraphrased or quoted Scripture in his hymns. Educated at St. Aloysius College, the University of Glasgow, and Beythrop College, Oxfordshire, Quinn became a member of the Jesuit Order in 1939 and was ordained in 1950. He served in various academic positions, two of which were classics master at Wimbledon College and spiritual advisor at Beda College, Rome (1976-1980).
 
In the Roman Catholic Church, Quinn was involved in ecumenical relationships—he was an observer at the 1964 assembly of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Frankfurt and a consultant to the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order conference at Louvain in 1972. A member of the Scottish Religious Advisory Committee of the BBC (1973-1976) and participant in various ecumenical dialogues for the British Council of Churches, he was also an advisor for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (1972-1976). Quinn has written a wide variety of theological issues.
 
His writings include The Theology of the Eucharist (1973) and numerous articles for encyclopedias. Many of his hymn texts are collected in his New Hymns far All Seasons (1969) and Praise for All Seasons (1994).
— Bert Polman

Composer Information

Trained at the Royal College of Music, John Ireland (b. Bowdon, Cheshire, England, 1879; d. Rock Mill, Washington, Sussex, England, 1962) served as organist at St. Luke's, Chelsea (1904-1926), and taught at the Royal College of Music from 1923 to 1939. He became known as one of the best composers and teachers of his era, but his personal life was often troubled. Although his piano works, chamber music, and smaller orches­tral works remain popular, Ireland is mainly remembered for his song cycles of poetry by Shakespeare, Blake, Hardy, and other English poets. His songs often have carefully wrought accompaniments—as is certainly the case for LOVE UNKNOWN. Sing this fine tune in unison with firm legato organ support, or in harmony, possibly even unaccom­panied on a stanza, if resources permit.
— Bert Polman

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