We sang several songs in our Sunday morning service which emphasized the believer’s quiet and confident trust in God in the midst of the trying circumstances which he puts into our lives. “Now Thank We All Our God” was written by Martin Rinkart (and translated from the German by the incomparable Catherine Winkworth). Rinkart was… Continue Reading
As a general rule, each month I teach one new or more unfamiliar hymn (or occasionally two) to our congregation. (In March, it was a newly written hymn, “Come to the Waters,” by James Montgomery Boice and Paul Jones.) Looking toward Easter, I wanted to suggest a number of hymns that might be unfamiliar… Continue Reading
A few Sundays back, I structured our congregational singing around the theme of God’s pardon of guilty sinners on the basis of Christ’s death. There is a wonderful section in John Bunyan’s work The Holy War which relates how the rebellious city of Mansoul was conquered by Prince Emmanuel, and recognizing their hopeless state, had… Continue Reading
Samuel Rodigast, “Whate’er My God Ordains Is Right” This outstanding hymn was introduced to our church back in 2009, and after singing it for a month of Sundays in order to learn it, we hadn’t sung it since because it is not in our hymnal. Definitely a situation which needed rectifying, so I re-introduced it… Continue Reading
“Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word” makes an outstanding musical call to worship. The text is superb, and the tune LIEBSTER JESU is a good fit. As well, it is translated from the German by the incomparable Catherine Winkworth. What more could one ask? It can be found in the Trinity Hymnal. Online, you can find… Continue Reading
Recently, I came across an article entitled “Art, Nakedness, and Redemption” by William VanDoodewaard, a church history professor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. In this thought-provoking treatment, he inquires how the believer ought to treat visual media which portray human nakedness — whether in classical and Renaissance art, or in modern cinema. Somehow, I suspect… Continue Reading
This month, our pastor preached through the Ephesians 6 passage on spiritual warfare. We used Wesley’s “Soldiers of Christ, Arise” (to the usual tune DIADEMATA), but over the course of the series, I introduced a number of the lesser-known stanzas (out of the 12 original ones). I was pleased beyond measure to find a number… Continue Reading
In relation to critiquing other cultures in an age of cultural relativism, Titus 1:12-13 caught my eye a couple of years ago as I was working through this passage, in particular, Paul’s quotation in 1:12, and his estimation of it in 1:13. The quotation which Paul gave is from a Cretan poet, Epimenides: “Cretans are… Continue Reading
Over the years, I’ve become hesitant to sing “O Holy Night,” a Christmas song widely used as a solo because of its dramatic nature and vocal difficulty. Our common English translation is by John S. Dwight, a rather loose translation (so I understand) of the French Cantique de Noel . Dwight was at various times in his life… Continue Reading
Continuing our series on incarnation hymnody, we take a look today at “Angels, from the Realms of Glory.” ___________________________ “Angels, from the Realms of Glory” is nearing its bicentennial, having been first published in 1816 by James Montgomery. Hymnals nearly universally include the first four stanzas, but omit the fifth: Angels from the realms of… Continue Reading
Here is a spectrum of theological observations on the incarnation ranging over the past 1800 years. Helpful in the light of C. S. Lewis’s admonition regarding old texts, both for your own meditation, and for use in the congregation. Irenaeus ( – c. 202) on the Incarnation Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 220) on… Continue Reading
We here continue our series on Incarnation Hymnody. Today: the ancient “Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth” and the not-quite-as-ancient-but-still-very-old “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”. Incorporating hymnody such as these two pieces from years past helps, I think, to emphasize our connection to the church’s past, and can perhaps fulfill C. S. Lewis’s sage… Continue Reading
Today’s post continues our series on “incarnation hymnody.” Today: the ancient “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” and Charles Wesley’s “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.” ____________________ “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” is an ancient song and an interesting example of singing texts with a different understanding than the text’s author intended. Because the hymn is… Continue Reading
God’s people, and especially those who would stand before the Christian assembly and lead in singing praise, ought always to be thoughtful about what they are singing. This is often a challenge with familiar songs, and perhaps especially in the weeks leading up to Christmas. During the last month of the year, those who are… Continue Reading
I am always thrilled when someone introduces me to a hymn that is well-written and theologically rich, and for some reason or another has been neglected by the editors of popular hymnals. Today, let me introduce you to one of my old friends! “Jesus Lives, and So Shall I” by Christian Gellert (original German title:… Continue Reading
This month, our pastor used Sunday evenings to preach a series covering the broad, overarching metanarrative of Scripture. Titled “The Epic Story,” he moved in four services through Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation (listen). For congregational hymns prior to the last message, I chose “Come, We that Love the Lord” (speaking of our present experience… Continue Reading
At least nine times, Scripture directly refers to a “new song,” via both psalmist (Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1) and prophet (Isa 42:10; Rev 5:9; 14:3). In some instances, the reference takes the form of an injunction: “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” (Ps… Continue Reading