Psalter Hymnal (Gray) ‎#251

251. Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather

Text Information

• First Line: Here, O Lord, your servants gather
• Title: Here, O Lord, Your Servants Gather
• Author: Tokuo Yamaguchi (1958)
• Translator: Everett M. Stowe (1958, 1972)
• Meter: 75 75 D
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 1987
• Topic: Opening of Worship
• Copyright: Trans. © Everett M. Stowe
• CCLI Number: 7030256

Tune Information

• Name: TOKYO
• Arranger: Isao Koizumi (1958)
• Meter: 75 75 D
• Key: a minor
• Copyright: Used by permission of JASRAC

Text Information:

Scripture References:
All st. = John 14:6
st.2 = Rom. 10:12-13

This hymn expresses Christian unity in diversity, especially cultural or ethnic diversity. As servants of the Lord, believers sing of hope amid change and turmoil. They find rest in the Lord's peace and proclaim their purpose by living the way of Christ. Based on Jesus' words in John 14:6 and on Christ-centered teachings such as those in Romans 10:12-13 and Ephesians 1:7-14, "Here, O Lord" states that Jesus, our Savior, is the Way (st. 1); Jesus, our Teacher, is the Truth (st. 2); and Jesus, our Healer, is the Life (st. 3). The song closes with a prayer asking Jesus, our Master, for continued help and guidance (st. 4).

While serving as a pastor of the United Church of Christ in Toyohashi, Japan, Tokuo Yamaguchi (b. Tomie-cho, Fukue Island, Nagasaki-Pref., Japan, 1900; d. Aichi-Pref., Japan, 1995) wrote the text for the fourteenth International Christian Education Conference held in Tokyo in 1958, just one year after the launching of Sputnik and the resulting new emphasis on education. The theme of that conference was "Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Everett M. Stowe (b. 1897) translated the Japanese text into English. The hymn was sung in both Japanese and English at the conference. No other information is available on Stowe.

Yamaguchi was a Methodist pastor in Sawara, Tanimura, Fujieda, and Asahikawa, following his graduation with a theology degree from Aoyama Gakuin University in 1924. His longest term of service was as pastor of the United Church of Christ in Toyohashi in the Aichi Prefecture (1937-1979). He translated The Journal of John Wesley into Japanese in 1961 and was honored by the Christian Literature Society of Japan in 1983 for his translation work.

Liturgical Use:
Beginning of worship; Worldwide Communion Sunday; All Nations Heritage celebrations; mission emphasis; similar worship services that stress the "communion of the saints."

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

Tune Information:

The tune TOKYO is based on the ancient Japanese Gagaku mode of musical composition. Gagaku is the name for all traditional Japanese court music, much of it dating back to the eighth century, with previous roots in Chinese music. Composed by Isao Koizumi (b. 1907; d. Tokyo, Japan, 1992) for Yamaguchi's text, TOKYO was first published in the English-language Japanese hymnal Hymns of the Church (1963).

Koizumi graduated from the Osaka University of Commerce in 1932. For the next ten years he taught at that school, was an organist in Tokyo, and then went on to work in the import-export business. He has served as the conductor of the Tokyo Choral Society and edited various hymnals, including The Hymnal 1954 for the United Church of Christ in Japan, The Sunday School Hymnal (1954), and Hymns of Praise (1967 edition). A writer and translator of books and articles on church music, Koizumi has also composed and arranged hymn tunes. He is considered a leading figure in modern Japanese hymnody.

Like much Asian music, TOKYO consists of only five pitches and is meant for unison singing. I-to-Loh, editor of Hymns from the Four Winds (1983), a collection of Asian American hymns, suggests that "ethnic instruments may be employed to double the melody or to accompany the piece." For this hymn he suggests an oboe, plucked lute, or zither, commenting that "an experienced accompanist may be able to simplify or improvise the accompaniment within the appropriate style after the congregation feels comfortable in singing the hymn." In any case, a keyboard accompaniment should be light, with no filling in of (Western) thirds in this open-fifth style.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook