Tag Archives: hymnody

Two Views on Christ’s Invitation

Two Views on Christ’s Invitation

Below are two works of Christian imagination. Both attempt to depict what it means for Christ to invite sinners to Himself, and how sinners should understand themselves. On closer examination, however, they are nearly opposite in meaning. We do not see the same Christ, the same Gospel and the same dilemma of the sinner in… Continue Reading

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Crown Him With Many Crowns

The principal figure of the book of Revelation is the Lamb. He is introduced in Revelation 5, where the seven-sealed scroll represents the outpouring of God’s retribution upon human sin in preparation for the kingdom. The Lamb is the one who has earned the right to break the seals and to impose God’s wrath upon… Continue Reading

Hymnody of Quiet Trust in Trials

Hymnody of Quiet Trust in Trials

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

The Judeo-Christian Worship Tradition

The Judeo-Christian Worship Tradition

This entry is part 6 of 8 in the series Preserving the Truth in our Worship You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

I argued in the last essay that if we intend to preserve the truth handed down to us, we must never reject tradition outright. Instead, if we are intent upon preserving the truth handed down to us from Scripture, both its doctrinal content and the way the truth is imagined, we must continue to preserve and cultivate what… Continue Reading

Hymns on Pardon

Hymns on Pardon

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"

Samuel Rodigast, "Whate'er My God Ordains Is Right"

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

Tobias Clausnitzer, "Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word"

Tobias Clausnitzer, "Blessed Jesus, at Thy Word"

“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

Teach children hymns

Teach children hymns

We believe that the great Christian tradition of hymnody should be perpetuated. We treasure the invaluable contributions of the saints to our corporate and private worship in the great texts and tunes. Artistically, we admire the great hymns’ beauty and profundity. Intellectually, we appreciate their imaginative but careful communication of great Christian theology. Experientially, these… Continue Reading

Wesley on prayer in "Soldiers of Christ, Arise"

Wesley on prayer in "Soldiers of Christ, Arise"

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

O Lord, How Shall I Meet Thee (More "Incarnational Hymnody")

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Incarnation Hymnody You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

A friend of mine once mused that  it was at Christmas that Christians finally sing good hymns. Selah.1 And Chuck Bumgardner (here and here and here) has been providing some excellent commending great hymns of the season. I thought I would take my weekly post here to suggest to you an advent hymn myself. I… Continue Reading

Incarnation Hymnody: "Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth" and “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"

Incarnation Hymnody: "Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth" and “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Incarnation Hymnody You can read more posts from the series by using the Contents in the right sidebar.

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

Hymn Highlights: "Jesus Lives, and So Shall I"

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