This is a great hymn. I know you have heard me say such things before. And, truth be told, there are a lot of great hymns in The Hymnal 1982. It is a treasure. It is part of the Holy Trinity of books for those of us in the Anglican tradition: Bible, Prayer Book, and Hymnal.
The hymn writer, John Ellerton (1826-1893), an Anglican priest, wrote and translated 86 hymns. He was a great believer in the power and importance of church music. I feel a great kinship with him because he was such a champion of church choirs. He organized an association of church choirs in his area, and he wrote this as the closing hymn for a church choir festival. The closing hymn has a long history with the people of God. Indeed, we know that Jesus and his apostles sang a closing hymn at the end of the Last Supper. Matthew 26:30 (And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives.)
We are particularly indebted to Ellerton. In fact, we could hardly do church without him. At Christ Church, the Easter Day prelude begins with everyone singing Ellerton’s Welcome! Happy Morning (H1982 No. 179), which is his translation of the Latin hymn Salve, festa dies. It is hard to imagine Easter Day without Welcome! Happy Morning. [Our opening hymn on Pentecost, Hail Thee, Festival Day! (H1982 No. 225), is another translation of the same Latin hymn.] Further, we almost always close our Evensong services with Ellerton’s The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended (H1982 No. 24).
Peace is the central theme of this hymn, and scripture references abound. The first line gives voice to our praise to God. Thereafter, the entire hymn is a prayer. First, we ask God to keep our lips from sin and our hearts from shame, reminding us of Psalm 141:3 (Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch at the door of my lips.). Then we ask for peace in every facet of our lives, and ultimately for eternal peace.
Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22. Sharing the “peace” is an ancient Christian tradition. Paul begins his letters by saying, “Grace to you, and peace.” This seems to be the way Christians greeted one another in the early Church. Fr. Seth uses that same greeting.
As Jesus has shared his peace with us, we share the peace with each other. We always pass the peace in our worship, after the Liturgy of the Word and before we begin the Eucharistic Prayer. With this closing hymn, we come full circle, seeking peace from the source of all peace as we leave church.
Stanza 2 relies on Christ’s promises to give us peace. At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and greeted them, saying, “Peace be with you.” John 20:19, 26. Stanza 2 also mirrors several Psalms, e.g., Psalm 4:6,8 (In peace will I lay me down and sleep; For thou, Lord, alone makest me to dwell in safety.); Psalm 55:17 (Evening, and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice.); Psalm 139: 12 (the darkness and light are both alike to thee).
Stanzas 3 and 4 make us mindful of how much the word “peace” covers, as we spell out several different kinds of peace we seek. Such a small word – five letters, one syllable; and yet, such a large load it carries.
Stanza 4 relies on Revelation 14:13 (Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labor.); I Thessalonians 4:17 (the dead in Christ shall rise). This stanza was sung during communion at Ellerton’s funeral.
The tune, ELLERS, was composed by Edward John Hopkins (1818-1901), an organist who began his career singing in the choir of the Chapel Royal. He also sang in the choir at Saint Paul’s Cathedral. In addition, he studied organ building and wrote a book about organ history and construction. For over 50 years, he was the music director at the Temple Church in London, which had a historic organ that was built in 1683. He wrote ELLERS specifically for this hymn, so it is not surprising that it fits this text so beautifully.
Hopkins said that “the tune should be the offspring of particular words, and should be consecrated to them.” He certainly followed his own advice with this tune. It is no small feat to get a melody that fits each stanza of a hymn so beautifully. The tune begins on the lowest pitch, and moves upward for the first two lines, pausing on the highest note of the melody. The third line gracefully hovers around the upper range of the melody, and the fourth line gently descends to the starting note. This melodic pattern brings to life the words of each stanza. In stanza 1, the melody rises to the word “raise,” then moves on up to its highest point on “parting hymn of praise.” In stanza 2, the melody carries us forward on our homeward way. We go from the lowest pitch as we begin, to the highest pitch as we end, the day with God. In stanza 3, the melody moves us forward throughout our earthly life, and the pitch rises (just like we raise our voices!!) as we sing of error and strife. In Stanza 4, the melody ascends to its highest point on “hope to rise again.” The fourth line of each stanza describes a place of equilibrium and peace, and the fourth line melody, gently descending, takes us there – home.
— Carolyn Parmenter, Music Director
