LANCASHIRE
LANCASHIRE is a suitably rousing march tune to accompany this text. Henry T. Smart composed the tune in 1835 for use at a missions festival at Blackbum, Lancashire, England. For that festival, which celebrated the three-hundredth anniver sary of the Reformation in England, the tune was set to Reginald Heber’s “From Greenland’s Icy Mountains.” First printed in leaflets, LANCASHIRE was published in Smart’s Psalms and Hymns for Divine Worship (1867). It was set to Shurdeff s text in the 1905 Methodist Hymnal. In some hymnals this tune is associated with “The Day of Resurrection” (390). Initially cast over a static bass, LANCASHIRE becomes quite animated in its third phrase. Sing and accompany with much energy and rhythmic vitality. Liturgical Use: A fine recessional hymn; appropriate many other times of worship, including ordina tion/ commissioning, church education graduations, and occasions that mark the beginning of a church program.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Christological call to discipleship: Christ as conquering King leads believers through spiritual warfare toward final victory and eternal reward