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
Religious Affections Ministries is pleased to announce the new Church Pew Edition of our new hymnal, Hymns to the Living God. This hymnal is the fruition of nearly five years of planning and work. Although other “print on demand” editions of this hymnal are available on Amazon.com (Navy, Gray, Burgundy, and Navy Cloth — click… Continue Reading
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
I received this letter from Isaac Watts a couple years ago, and published it on my blog. Watts gave me permission to publish it so I have done so here at RA again, with an additional postscript at the end.* ___________ Abney Park in Stoke Newington, September 30, 2008 To Mr. Ryan Martin Dear Sir,… Continue Reading
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
I recently listened to a message delivered by a music pastor at a pastor’s conference on the subject of song selection. He touched on issues related both to text and musical style, but it was an illustration given on the former that I found the most astonishing of the several things he said with which… Continue Reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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