The God of Abraham Praise
arranged by Sandy Willard Rogers
The Yigdal of Daniel ben Judah is a Hebrew Confession of Faith from the early 1400s. It is often sung on Friday evening in preparation for the sabbath. Yigdal is a powerful hymn that reminds the Jewish people of God's power.arranged by Sandy Willard Rogers
Thomas Olivers, a contemporary of John Wesley, after hearing Yigdal sung at one of the great synagogues in London wrote the Hymn "The God of Abraham Praise". This hymn uses the traditional Hebrew melody with a "Christianized" paraphrase of the words of the ancient Hebrew prayer.
The God of Abraham Praise first appeared in John Wesley’s Pocket Hymnbook for the use of Christians of all Denominations, 1785, and became extremely popular in Methodist circles. It still appears in the Methodist Hymnal today (116).
Olivers produced scripture references for virtually every line of the text, beginning with Exodus 3:6: where God says to Moses, from the burning bush, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob."
Information about "The God of Abraham Praise" and the Yigdal of Daniel Ben Judah:
Cyberhymnal
HymnSite.com
Hymnary.org
Jewish virtual Library
"The God of Abraham Praise" wonderfully arranged for Choir by Sandy Willard Rogers
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I appreciate the wisdom of your opening paragraph and the admonition to choose our hymns of worship thoughtfully, with an understanding of their meaning. I would add that it is helpful to focus them on a particular theme--usually the theme of the sermon.
ReplyDeleteI do take issue with you slightly when you characterize Thomas Olivers great hymn as "christianized." (That's just as inadequate as it would be to call the New Testament a christianized version of the Old!) Though he clearly understood the continuity between the Old and New Testaments, Olivers' is definitely a post Calvary perspective, and he exalts the Lord Jesus Christ in several stanzas.