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946

Go, My Children, with My Blessing

Scripture References

Confessions and Statements of Faith References

Further Reflections on Confessions and Statements of Faith References

To leave the security of worship and enter the world for service requires firm confidence in the faithful promises of God to be with us, to care for us and bless us. Our deepest assurance comes from the comfort we have that “I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ” (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 1, Question and Answer 1). Because I belong to him, “he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends upon me in this sad world. God is able to do this because he is almighty God and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father” (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 9, Question and Answer 26). We have the assurance that “our Lord speaks to us now through the inspired Scriptures. Christ is with us day by day” (Our Song of Hope, Stanza 1). How rich it is to carry such assurance of his blessing with us as we leave the service of worship!

946

Go, My Children, with My Blessing

Blessing/Benediction

May God go before you to lead you;
May God go behind you to guard you;
May God go beneath you to support you;
May God go beside you to befriend you.
Do not be afraid.
Let the blessing of God come upon you today.
Do not be afraid.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
— Lift Up Your Hearts (http://www.liftupyourheartshymnal.org)

Additional Prayers

A Prayer of Thanksgiving and Acclamation
 
Generous God,
we give you thanks that you are never further than the reach of our need.
You are never further than the reach of our prayer.
You surround, support, and befriend us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
— Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
946

Go, My Children, with My Blessing

Tune Information

Name
AR HYD Y NOS
Key
F Major
Meter
8.4.8.4.8.8.8.4

Recordings

Musical Suggestion

"Go, My Children, with My Blessing" provides a sung benediction. These words are surely from the heart of a pastor who often spoke God's words of blessing at the end of a service. In this text he provides God's words of blessing for worshipers to sing to each other. This hymn would be most appropriate at the close of a baptism service ("in my love's baptismal river") as well as for a Lord's Supper service. And since the line "fed and nourished" could apply to the Word as well as to the Table, the hymn would be appropriate anytime.
(from Reformed Worship, Issue 48)
— Emily Brink
946

Go, My Children, with My Blessing

Hymn Story/Background

A Lutheran pastor in English and Slovak-speaking congregations in the United States, Jaroslav J. Vajda wrote this text for the traditional Welsh tune. The text is an expansion of the Aaronic Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), but is unusual because it is God’s voice that is sung by the congregation to each other.
Bert Polman
 
AR HYD Y NOS, which means “all through the night,” is an old Welsh tune, originally sung as a bedtime blessing for children.
— Sing! A New Creation

Author Information

Born of Czechoslovakian parents, Jaroslav J. Vajda (b. Lorain, OH, 1919; d. 2008) was educated at Concordia College in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Concordia Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. Ordained as a Lutheran pastor in 1944, he served congregations in Pennsylvania and Indiana until 1963. He was editor of the periodicals The Lutheran Beacon (1959-1963) and This Day (1963-1971) and book editor and developer for Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis from 1971 until his retirement in 1986. Working mainly with hymn texts, Vajda served on several Lutheran commissions of worship. A writer of original poetry since his teens, he authored They Followed the King (1965) and Follow the King (1977). His translations from Slovak include Bloody Sonnets (1950), Slovak Christmas (1960), An Anthology of Slovak Literature (1977), and contributions to the Lutheran Worship Supplement (1969) and the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978). A collection of his hymn texts, carols, and hymn translations was issued as Now the Joyful Celebration (1987); its sequel is So Much to Sing About (1991). Vajda's hymns are included in many modern hymnals, and he was honored as a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada in 1988.
— Bert Polman

Composer Information

Hal H. Hopson (b. 1933) is a prolific composer, arranger, clinician, teacher and promoter of congregational song, with more than 1300 published works, especially of hymn and psalm arrangements, choir anthems, and creative ideas for choral and organ music in worship. Born in Texas, with degrees from Baylor University (BA, 1954), and Southern Baptist Seminary (MSM, 1956), he served churches in Nashville, TN, and most recently at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas. He has served on national boards of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Choristers Guild, and taught numerous workshops at various national conferences. In 2009, a collection of sixty four of his hymn tunes were published in Hymns for Our Time: The Collected Tunes of Hal H. Hopson.
— Emily Brink

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