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Hymn History: Surely Goodness and Mercy Authors: John W. Peterson and Alfred B. Smith “This song was born … emphasizing God’s goodness and mercy as well as God’s guidance through cold nights and lonesome valleys. It’s such a fun song to sing!” (TheScottSpot) “One day while improvising at the piano in my Montrose, PA studio, Alfred B. Smith, with Read more...
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Hymn History: Surely Goodness and Mercy Authors: John W. Peterson and Alfred B. Smith “This song was born … emphasizing God’s goodness and mercy as well as God’s guidance through cold nights and lonesome valleys. It’s such a fun song to sing!” (TheScottSpot) “One day while improvising at the piano in my Montrose, PA studio, Alfred B. Smith, with Read more...
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Hymn History: Since I Have Been Redeemed Author: Edwin Othello Excell “It must be said of this hymn that it was the outgrowth of many tears, many heart-conflicts, and soul-yearnings, of which the world can know nothing. The history of many battles is behind it.” (William Orcutt Cushing) The Origins of the Hymn “Since I Have Been Redeemed” Read more...
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Hymn History: Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus Composer: William James Kirkpatrick Author: Louisa M. R. Stead The Origins of the Hymn “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” Few hymns express the simple, childlike faith of trusting in Christ as tenderly as “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” For more than a century, it has been Read more...
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Hymn History: America the Beautiful Author: Katherine Lee Bates “Surely martyrs, irrespective of the special phase of the divine idea for which they gladly give up their bodies to torture and to death, are the truest heroes of history.” (Katherine Lee Bates) The Origin of the Hymn “America the Beautiful” Among the patriotic songs that stir the American Read more...
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Hymn History: The Battle Hymn of the Republic Author: Julia Ward Howe “I am confirmed in my division of human energies. Ambitious people climb, but faithful people build.” “The strokes of the pen need deliberation as much as the sword needs swiftness.” (Julia Ward Howe) The Origin of the Hymn “Battle Hymn of the Republic” Few songs hold Read more...
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Hymn History: Break Thou the Bread of Life Author: Mary Artemisia Lathbury Come, O Creator, Spirit blest! And in our souls take up Thy rest; Come, with Thy grace and heavenly aid, To fill the hearts which Thou has made.” (Mary Artemisia Lathbury) The Origins of the Hymn “Break Thou the Bread of Life” Among the many hymns Read more...
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Hymn History: Does Jesus Care? Author: Frank Ellsworth Graeff “Known as the ‘sunshine minister’ of the Methodist denomination in the churches of the Philadelphia Conference, Frank Graeff was widely liked for his cheerful and winsome personality. C. Austin Miles, writer of the hymn ‘In the Garden’, said of him, ‘He is a spiritual optimist, a great friend of children; Read more...
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Hymn History: Face to Face with Christ, My Savior Author: Carrie Elizabeth Ellis Breck “I penciled verse under all sorts of conditions—over a mending basket, with a baby in arms, and sometimes even when sweeping or washing dishes, my mind moved to meter.” (Carrie Elizabeth Ellis Breck) The Origin of Carrie Breck’s Hymn “Face to Face with Christ, Read more...
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Hymn History: He Leadeth Me Author: Joseph Henry Gilmore “I set out to give the people an exposition of the 23rd Psalm, which I had given before on three or four occasions, but this time I did not get further than the words ‘He Leadeth Me.’ Psalm 23:2, ‘he leadeth me beside the still waters,’ became the theme of Read more...
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Hymn History: Hiding in Thee Author: William Orcutt Cushing “It must be said of this hymn [‘Hiding in Thee’] that it was the outgrowth of many tears, many heart-conflicts, and soul-yearnings, of which the world can know nothing. The history of many battles is behind it.” (William O. Cushing) The Origin of the Hymn “Hiding in Thee” Few Read more...
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Hymn History: I Am Resolved Author: Palmer Hartsough “His full life of ministry and continual service are a testament to what he suggests in this very hymn—that he spent his days working for things to come.” (Cameron Frank) The Origin of the Hymn “I Am Resolved” The hymn “I Am Resolved” has long served as a call to commitment Read more...
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Hymn History: I Know Whom I Have Believed Author: Daniel Webster Whittle “Many years have passed since that night in the Richmond Hospital, and I am still trusting and confessing the Lord Jesus Christ, and purpose by God’s grace to continue doing so until He calls me Home.” (Daniel Webster Whittle) The Origins of the Hymn “I Know Read more...
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Hymn History: O, Breath of Life Tune Composer: Norman E. Johnson Author: Bessie Porter Head “Norman Johnson’s genius has shaped some of today’s best church music.” (Christianity Today) Norman E. Johnson (1928–2017) was a devoted Christian musician, educator, and hymn writer whose quiet faith and steady service left a meaningful mark on congregational singing in the United States. Read more...
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Hymn History: I Need Thee Every Hour Author: Annie Sherwood Hawks “Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me – ‘I Need Thee Every Hour Read more...
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Hymn History: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear Author: Edmund Hamilton Sears “How sweeps the song of solemn joy O’er Judah’s sacred hills! “Glory to God!” The sounding skies Loud with their anthems ring; ‘Peace on the earth; good-will to men, From heaven’s eternal King!’” (Edmund Hamilton Sears) The Origin of the Hymn “It Came Upon the Midnight Read more...
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Hymn History: Jesus Paid It All Author: Elvina Mable Hall “Elvina Mable Hall is remembered for one hymn, ‘I Hear the Savior Say.'” (The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology) The Origin of the Hymn “Jesus Paid It All” Few hymns capture the profound simplicity of the gospel as memorably as “Jesus Paid It All.” Its message of atonement and complete Read more...
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Hymn History: More Love to Thee, O Christ Author: Elizabeth Payson Prentiss “There is no wilderness so dreary but that His love can illuminate it, no desolation so desolate but that He can sweeten it. I know what I am saying. It is no delusion. I believe the highest, purest happiness is known only to those who have learned Read more...
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Hymn History: My Faith Looks Up to Thee Author: Ray Palmer “He wrote the lines of verse as what he called his ‘Self-Consecration,’ simply putting down how he felt, ‘with a deep consciousness of my own needs, without the slightest thought of writing for another eye.’” (Robert Cottrill) The Origin of the Hymn “My Faith Looks Up to Read more...
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Hymn History: No, Not One! Author: Johnson Oatman Jr. “’No, Not One’ was written in 1895. Composer George Hugg wrote the music the same year. The hymn was so popular it was published in 35 hymnbooks within a year. The song stresses the preeminence of Jesus: ‘There is not a friend like the lowly Jesus/ No, not one! No, Read more...