Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#281

281. Thanks to God Whose Word Was Spoken

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Text Information

• First Line: Thanks to God whose word was spoken
• Title: Thanks to God Whose Word Was Spoken
• Author: Reginald Thomas Brooks (1954)
• Meter: 87 87 447
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Topic: Word of God; Atonement; Christmas; Holy Spirit; Missions; Witness
• Copyright: © 1954, 1982, Hope Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Used by permission
• ONE LICENSE: 00071

Tune Information

• Name: ERIN
• Composer: Paul Langston (1974)
• Meter: 87 87 447
• Key: c minor
• Copyright: © 1975, Broadman Press. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.

Text Information:

Scripture References:
all st. = Hebrews 1:1-2
st. 1 = Zech. 13:9
st. 2 = John 1:14
st. 3 = Rom. 16:25-26

Reginald T. Brooks (b. Wandsworth, London, England, 1918; d. London, 1985) wrote this hymn in 1954 for the 150th anniversary of the British and Foreign Bible Society; it was first published in the 1964 Methodist Hymnal. The text has been altered for publication in the Psalter Hymnal. More comprehensive than the similar text at 277, Brooks's hymn helps us offer thanks to God for the various ways in which the Word comes to us: through creation (st. 1); through Christ, the incarnate Word (st. 2); through the Bible, God's written Word, published in many languages (st. 3-4); and through the Holy Spirit, who speaks to us within (st. 5).

Brooks was an ordained minister in the United Reformed Church in England and served as a radio and television producer for the Religious Broadcasting Department of the BBC. Always known as R. T. Brooks, he was educated at the London School of Economics and studied theology at Mansfield College, Oxford, England.

Liturgical Use:
The entire song is suitable for festive use at high points in the church year and for special events such as ordination, profession of faith, missions, Reformation, and more. Stanzas 1 through 3 (and perhaps 4) are suitable before the sermon, and stanza 5 is a fitting post-sermon response.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

Paul T. Langston (b. Marianna, FL, 1928) composed ERIN on request in 1974 for the 1975 Baptist Hymnal, in which it was published as a setting for W. Nantlais Williams' urban hymn “Jesus, Friend of Thronging Pilgrims." Langston named the tune after his daughter. Brooks originally wrote his text in 87 87 47, without the textual repeat in the final line, but the addition of that repeat to accommodate ERIN fits very well with the tune's closing sequence. Composed in bar form (AAB), ERIN is a tune in minor that shifts to melodic minor (almost major) in its final line for a brilliant ending. Stanzas 2 and 3 may be sung by alternating groups (men and women, or two sides of the congregation) with everyone joining in each time on "God has spoken. . . ." For festive use, add trumpets or a full brass choir. Bright, full organ music is also helpful.

Langston is a music educator and a composer of both organ and choral works. He studied composition with Nadia Boulanger and received his education from the University of Florida, Gainesville, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. In 1963 he earned a doctorate at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. An organist and choirmaster at several churches, Langston has also been a professor at Davidson College in North Carolina and Stetson University in Florida.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook