We plough the fields and scatter

I've been intending to write this post for a few weeks now, and it's a bit late for Harvest, but having had it on my mind, I thought I'd write it up anyway.  Actually, in some parts of the British Isles, the harvest won't be completed gathered in until the end of this week.  I always remember my grandmother, who lived in rural Suffolk, saying that it was strange to be holding a harvest festival in late September or early October, singing "all is safely gathered in" (from Come, ye thankful people, come), when the harvest of the main local crop, sugar beet, didn't start until the beginning of October, and lasted until the end of the month!

I've been singing this hymn since I was a child, but it's only now that I've learned that this favourite of British harvest festivals was originally a German poem called Im Anfang war's auf Erden, which was published in 1782.  The poem was written seven years previously, by Matthias Claudius (1740-1815), a journalist who also wrote and published poems.  Claudius' father was a pastor, and he was brought up in the  Lutheran church.  As a young man, he rejected his faith, but in 1777, he suffered a severe illness, and realised that his life was spiritually empty.  John Julian writes that "he once more became in faith as a little child."  While he was ill, he occupied himself by writing some poems.  In 1782, he was invited to a party, and asked to bring one of his poems to read aloud.  Im Anfang war's auf Erden, based on Psalm 144, was the poem he chose.  His poems were popular, because they were written in simple German, which appealed to ordinary people.

Claudius' original poem was in stanzas of four lines, with a chorus between each.  It was published in volume 4 of Claudius' collected works, Asmus omnia sua secum portans; oder sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen (Asmus was Claudius' penname).  It appears as part of a 'sketch' called Paul Erdmanns Fest, which describes a rural harvest festival attended by both gentlemen and farm workers.  The poem Im Anfang war's auf Erden is a peasants' song, sung by the farm workers in the sketch, with the verses sung by a soloist, and all the farm workers joining in the chorus.  These are the original words.  After the first 13 verses, there's a bit of dialogue (in square brackets), which basically says, "My Lord, we've added something for today.  May we sing that as, well?" with the reply, "Why not?"  The last few verses are then praising God for his goodness to their host, Paul Erdmann.  

The hymn as we know it in English has three verses of eight lines, as does the German hymn as it is sung today.  In both English and German, the hymn is usually set to a tune written especially for it: Wir pflügen by Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (1747-1800).  The first verse of the German hymn consists of verse 3 of Claudius' poem (Wir pflügen . . .), followed by verse 5 (Der sendet . . .); the second verse is verse 7 (Was nah ist . . ) followed by verse 8 (Von ihm sind . . .); with the third verse continuing with verses 9 and 10 of the original.  Words have been slightly altered in places.

Wir pflügen und wir streuen was translated into English as We plough the fields and scatter by Jane Montgomery Campbell (1817-1878).  Miss Campbell was a gifted linguist and a German scholar.  She did not attempt to translate the hymn literally, but she did keep the theme of thanksgiving for the harvest.  Her first verse is quite close in meaning to the first verse of the German hymn, although the lines aren't in exactly the same order.  The beginning of her second verse is very similar in meaning to the beginning of verse 2 of the German hymn, but the translation becomes freer, and the final line is close in meaning to the final line of verse 3 in the German.  Miss Campbell's final verse bears very little direct relation in meaning to any of the German verses.  According to The Conservative Woman, she taught the English version of the hymn to children at the Church of England parish school where her father was the Rector, before it was first published in 1861 in A Garland of Songs; or an English Liederkranz by Revd Charles Sandford Bere.

When I was at secondary school, our school did a big production of the musical Godspell, which includes a version of this hymn, set to a tune written for the musical, and omitting the second verse.  You can hear that version here.

There's a Songs of Praise recording of the hymn sung to the traditional tune here.

We plough the fields, and scatter
the good seed on the land,
but it is fed and watered
by God's almighty hand:
he sends the snow in winter,
the warmth to swell the grain,
the breezes, and the sunshine,
and soft, refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us
are sent from heaven above;
then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord,
for all his love.

He only is the maker
of all things near and far;
he paints the wayside flower,
he lights the evening star;
the winds and waves obey him,
by him the birds are fed;
much more to us, his children,
he gives our daily bread.

We thank thee then, O Father,
for all things bright and good,
the seed-time and the harvest,
our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer
for all thy love imparts,
and, what thou most desirest,
our humble, thankful hearts.

References
St Martin's Methodist Church, Woolston  
Griggs 
John Julian 
Wikipedia entries: Matthias Claudius, We plough the fields and scatter, and Wir pflügen und wir streuen 
The LiederNet Archive for the original German words
The Conservative Woman

Jesus, lover of my soul (It's all about you)

Jesus, lover of my soul was a favourite song at St Stephen's Gateacre when I was a curate there in the late 1990s.  It was first published in 1995, and must have made it into the Spring Harvest songbook for at least one of the following couple of years.  In those pre-internet days, Spring Harvest was one of the main avenues for new songs to gain popularity and enter local church repertoires.  This song has remained popular, and is probably Oakley's best known song.  

For a long time, Paul Oakley was one of the worship leaders at the New Frontiers Church in Brighton.  Currently known as Emmanuel Church, it began life in the late 1970s as Brighton and Hove Christian Fellowship, and has been known at times as Clarendon Church, and the Church of Christ the King.  Oakley worked alongside a host of singer-songwriters there, among them Lou and Nathan Fellingham, and Stuart Townend.  Until 2011, the church was led by Terry Virgo, who has written about Oakley as follows (see riveroflifecbs.com):

As a man in touch with the Holy Spirit, Paul Oakley is wonderfully gifted to draw people into the presence of God.  His love for the Lord is expressed through the great songs that he has written.  I, for one, love singing them, not only at big events but also when I am alone with the Lord.

Oakley himself says (following on from the above in the same article):

The main focus of my writing comes from my walk with God.  I’ve seen God and I don’t want to write about anything else.  Like Isaiah I felt like I’ve had a radical encounter with God and "I’m ruined, I’m undone!"  When you’ve seen God what else is there to write about?  He is everything!  He’s awesome and He’s jealous for His glory in every aspect of our lives.  So whatever I go through, I walk through it with Him and I hope that comes out in the songs.  Music, as well as being a precious gift from God, is for Him as well.  There’s almost a sense in which music itself is more complete when it’s to Him and for Him.  That’s not to say there isn’t a place for entertainment or performance songs because it all points to a Creator and brings glory to God.  I want God at the centre of what I’m saying and writing because He’s totally changed my life.

The opening phrase of this song was first used by Charles Wesley in his hymn, Jesu, lover of my soul.  According to John Julian, many have found difficulty in the use of:

. . . the term 'lover' as applied our Lord.  From an early date this tender expression was felt by many to be beneath the solemn dignity of a hymn addressed to the Divine Being.  Attempts have been made to increase the reverence of the opening line by the sacrifice of its pathos and poetry. 

Julian points to the Wisdom of Solomon 11:26 in defence of Wesley's turn of phrase - a source which, being found in the Apocrypha, will not satisfy some!

Be that as it may, Oakley has borrowed the phrase for the first line of his song.  It's a song which reminds us that our lives as Christians are not about ourselves: they're all about glorifying the Lord Jesus.

You can hear a powerful version of this song, sung by Stuart Townend, here.