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Explanations and commentary on the texts found in The Sacred Harp.
13 comments:
Hey David,
I found a text in a mid-19th century Baptist hymnal that besides having the words "chaplet" and "foretaste" begins with the phrase "Do this." What's your take on this opening command?
Your fan,
Greg
1 “DO this” and remember the blood that was shed
Ere Calvary's Victim to slaughter was led
When sad and forsaken the garden alone
Gave ear to his sorrow and echoed his moan
2 Remember the conflict with insult and scorn
The robe of derision the chaplet of thorn
The sin cleansing fountain that streamed from his side
When “Father forgive them” he uttered and died
3 Remember that Victor o er death and the grave
He liveth forever his people to save
O take with thanksgiving this pledge of his love
The foretaste of rapture eternal above
Greg, this is great. "Do this" is a reference by partial quotation of the words of institution of the eucharist (Baptists I guess would say communion).
They appear in slightly different forms, but the words we are told Jesus spoke at the last supper include roughly: "whenever you eat this bread and drink of this cup, do this in remembrance of me."
ddz
Thank you, David! That was very helpful.
I wonder how that meaning would translate while singing a text. There's sort of an implied double meaning...made all the richer from the clear reference to the eucharist. Anyway, this had make that text much more interesting to me.
So now I have another question for you:
There are several texts which reference the "I am" ala: "The great I am," or "I am what I am said Christ the deal lamb" and there's even "Christ I glory."
What's the biblical root of all the first person subjects. Are these all the same "I am?" It seems like a metaphysical concept describing an infinite subject - a subject that cannot be limited as an object - but I would love to know what you know.
Eager for your response,
Greg M.
Good question. I AM likely to get to it next week (currently occupying free time wrasslin' with a utility trailer rebuild)
ddz
Grego,
Can you be a little more specific about the "implied double meaning" of the text you posted? Sorry ... I jut don't see beyond the clear Last Supper reference. Are you saying that "this" is also about singing the song? If so, what is it about the text that leads you to that interpretation?
Well, sure, I was thinking that it'd be hard to actually sing the words "DO THIS and remember the blood that was shed," without thinking about the story of the crucifixion, etc. while singing. Especially when a leader would look at the class and say "Do This" the "This" becomes the singing. And this speaks to the more expressly religious side of the Sacred Harp tradition.
Thanks, Greg. I see; it isn't the text itself that led you to that second meaning ... it was the idiom of the Hollow Square that did it. I see where you're coming from ... although I don't know the hymn writer and so can't say whether s/he would have been a participant in the Hollow Square him/herself and therefore actually did mean for the text to be experienced in that second way. Also, while singing together is in fact an expression of a certain kind of community/communion, it is far different from actually taking the Eucharist, as Christ commanded at the Last Supper, and what is quoted in the hymn.
"while singing together is in fact an expression of a certain kind of community/communion, it is far different from actually taking the Eucharist"
hmmm... just how "far different" -- and how much the same fundamental reality -- is open to a wide range of theological interpretation and affirmation.
I'm enjoying following this exchange. My thanks to you both.
Good evening all,
Early christian expressions of faith began more as expressions of community. The Eucharist celebration, pre-dating the establishment of the Roman-Catholic church, was a way to solidify a regionally defined and largely persecuted and/or misunderstood community from the over-arching communities in which they inhabited. . . A way for believers to separate themselves from other beliefs and express their Christianity. In this way the re-enactment of the last supper began as something that would much more closely resemble dinner on the grounds.
Much as sacred harp singers had been shunned for being backwoods and un-scientific, the survival of the sacred harp is similar to this re-enactment as a way to maintain the commonalities of a community.
The action often times becomes more important when it feels the strain of persecution. The relationship of the action to the identity precipitates the actions survival. In this way the Sacred Harp has survived because of it's own 'rituals' and the way's in which they establish a singing community, as Early Christianity was able to survive persecution through community, of which the celebration of what became the Eucharist, was a defining factor.
Note the second verse in this regard.
@David - Sure. On a "fundamental" level, any kind of communal worship, whether it be sharing bread or singing--from The Sacred Harp or otherwise--can be understood to have a similar theological significance. Fundamentally, taking a walk in the woods or having a good conversation with a friend can do the same, especially if you believe that we live in God's presence through all of creation. I was simply referring to the fact that (a) in the corporeal existence, our bodies and minds perform and respond to these activities in different ways and (b) Jesus admonished the disciples to eat/drink in remembrance, but--as far as we know--not necessarily to sing. The decision to remember and worship through song comes from a different need we have as faithful/reverent humans -- not a lesser or weaker one, just different.
In a quick search, I don't actually see any reference to singing praises in the gospels. This exists in other places of the NT, of course, but not those four books. David, is this true?
@Anthropologue - I understand that shared rituals, in general, build and strengthen community ... especially when those communities are marginalized. The specific manifestation of the rituals to which a particular community adheres might not be significant from an anthropoligical perspective (I wouldn't know, not being an anthropologist), but they *can* have deep-reaching religious/spiritual/theological significance.
Matthew 26.30; Mark 14:26:
When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
"The decision to remember and worship through song comes from a different need we have as faithful/reverent humans...."
I think this is really interesting. You certain can sing for remembrance and worship but rituals like the modern, formal Eucharist lead people to remember and worship in a different way.
Not having ever committed to a particular sect myself, it would be interesting to hear how people's religious experience following formal ritual might differ from the experience of singers singing.
@David - Thanks! If you know of any others, I'd love to hear about them, too.
@grego' - Indeed, that would be interesting. I imagine there are as many perspectives on it as there are singers singing!
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