History of Hymns: 'Praise God for This Holy Ground'

By Bryan Page

Schmit contends that “the sending is the fulcrum where worship turns from its interior focus to its outward thrust” (Schmit, 2009, p. 16). Bell affirms this assertion in his indication that the hymn can be sung either for gathering or sending. That we may see ourselves as either sent people being gathered, or as gathered people being sent, aptly tracks with Bell’s missional work (Hawn, 2013b, p. 319–324).

Each stanza ends with the refrain, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! / God’s goodness is eternal”—a reaffirmation of the anaphora “Praise God” in the first four stanzas as well as the double occurrence of the word “praise” in the final stanza. Throughout the hymn, Bell simultaneously offers thanksgiving for the physical space, the presence of a community gathered for worship, and the metaphysical space where the community experiences Christ’s presence and strength, whether gathered or scattered.

Music associated with the Iona Community is often directly quoted or adapted from Irish, Scottish, or British folk songs (Hawn, 2013a, n.p.). However, Bell composed the tune Heymonystraat specifically for “Praise God for This Holy Ground,” indicating that “the text is intended for unison singing with organ accompaniment” (Bell, 2002, p. 21). Worship and Song and Glory to God include chord symbols, inviting the use of other accompanying instruments. Since the refrain is brief and repetitive, the stanzas may be sung by a soloist or small group and the refrain sung by the gathered community in the absence of printed music.

The tune Heymonystraat is named for Hemony Street in Amsterdam. François and Pierre Hemony were seventeenth-century bell founders who, with collaboration from Jacob van Eyck, developed the first tuned carillon in 1644. Bell spent many summers in the 1970s with friends who lived on Hemony Street while he preached in the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam. The correct spelling of the tune should be Hemonystraat, however somewhere along the way an extra “y” was added (Daw, 2013, p. 412).

Throughout “Praise God for This Holy Ground,” Bell’s reliance on scripture is evident with allusions that connect past and present. For the singing congregant, these allusions might be ephemeral; however, the essence of scripture is apparent. In giving thanks for the “holy ground, place and people, sight and sound,” Bell could be referring to the Iona Community in Scotland, Hemony Street in Amsterdam, or virtually anywhere where two or more are gathered in Christ’s name. Whether sung at the beginning or end of worship, Bell’s litany of praise affirms that “God’s goodness is eternal.”

SOURCES

John Bell, One Is the Body: Songs of Unity and Diversity (Chicago: Wild Goose Publications, 2002).

Carl P. Daw Jr., Glory to God: A Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016).

C. Michael Hawn, “The Summons,” History of Hymns, Discipleship Ministries, 2013a, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-the-summons (accessed January 25, 2021).

_____, New Songs of Celebration Render: Congregational Song in the Twenty-First Century (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2013b).

“Praise God for This Holy Ground,” Hymnary.org. https://hymnary.org/text/praise_god_for_this_holy_ground (accessed January 25, 2021).

Erik Routley and Paul Richardson, A Panorama of Christian Hymnody (Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2003).

Clayton J. Schmit, Sent and Gathered: A Worship Manual for the Missional Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009).

Bryan Page is Music Director at Northridge Presbyterian Church, Dallas, Texas. He received his education at the University of Montevallo (Alabama) and Westminster Choir College (New Jersey). A composer, his choral music is published by Paraclete Press and his instrumental compositions by Triplo Press. Bryan is a candidate in the doctor of pastoral music degree program, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, where he studied hymnology with C. Michael Hawn.