Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#602

602. Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life

1 Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of Man.

2 In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.

3 The cup of water given for you
still holds the freshness of your grace;
yet long these multitudes to see
the true compassion of your face.

4 O Master, from the mountainside
make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
among these restless throngs abide,
and tread the city's streets again

5 till all the world shall learn your love
and follow where your feet have trod,
till glorious from your heaven above
shall come the city of our God.

Text Information

• First Line: Where cross the crowded ways of life
• Title: Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life
• Author: Frank. M. North (1905, alt)
• Meter: LM
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Scripture:
  Matthew 9:36
  ;
  Matthew 10:42
  ;
  Mark 9:41
  ;
  Revelation 21
• Topic: Sickness & Health; Society/Social Concerns; War & Revolution; Missions; Poverty; Walk with God

Tune Information

• Name: GERMANY
• Meter: LM
• Key: A♭ Major
• Source: W. Gardiner's Sacred Melodies, 1815

Text Information:

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Matt. 9:36
st. 2 = Luke 19:41-42
st. 3 = Matt. 10:42, Mark 9:41
st. 5 = Rev. 21:2-4

Caleb T. Winchester, an editor of the 1905 Methodist Hymnal, challenged Frank M. North (b. Lower Manhattan, New York, 1850; d. Madison, NJ, 1935) to write a hymn text on city missions. North had intimate knowledge of urban life because of his work for the Methodist Church in New York City. Inspired by Jesus' words "Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find" (Matt. 22:9), North wrote "Where Cross the Crowded Ways." After making various revisions and adding a title ("A Prayer for the Multitudes"), he published the text in The Christian City (June 1903), a missions journal he edited. The text was also published in the 1905 Methodist Hymnal and in many other twentieth-century hymnbooks. Modern hymnals have changed the original "thous" and "thees" to "yous."

One of the earliest and finest modern "city hymns," this text focuses on the ills of our great urban centers (and ignores their benefits) with the insight and compassion of a Christian worker in the city slums. North's descriptive phrases may have been startling at the turn of the century, but they are even more accurate descriptions of the massive cities in our world today. His prescription to follow in the footsteps of Christ and bring the gospel in word and deed is relevant as long as the Lord delays in bringing the New Jerusalem.

Primarily a churchman, North devoted himself to loyal service in the Methodist denomination and to various ecumenical ventures. He was educated at Wesleyan University, Middleton, Connecticut, and ordained in the Methodist Church in 1872. A minister in several churches in Florida, New York, and Connecticut, he also held administrative positions-secretary of the New York Church Extension and Missionary Society (1892-1912) and secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Church (1912-1924). He was involved with the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America (forerunner of the National Council of Churches) and was the council's president from 1916-1920. Editor of the periodical Christian City, North was active in many organizations that promoted and carried out Christian ministries in urban life. North contributed hymns to Sursum Corda (1898) and the Methodist Hymnal (1905) and was a charter member of the Hymn Society, which republished his eight hymns in a booklet in 1970.

Liturgical Use:
For urban ministries and other occasions that emphasize missions and diaconal work.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

See PHH 111 for a discussion of GERMANY. Sing the first three stanzas in parts but take stanzas 4 and 5 as one textual unit and sing it in unison. Observe two long phrases; sing and accompany in a brisk tempo.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook