What is your favorite hymn?

Jim Peet · #41 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 11:30 PM

Great to see the favorite hymns of others

Here are my top three

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

This Is My Father's World

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

kvanlaan · #42 (**permalink**) 10-24-2009, 08:14 AM

Another one I dearly love,

Oh Lord of Hosts, How Lovely

O Lord of hosts, how lovely Thy tabernacles are;
For them my heart is yearning in banishment afar
My soul is longing, fainting, Thy sacred courts to see;
My heart and flesh are crying, O living God for Thee.

Behold the sparrow finds place for peaceful rest,
To keep her young in safety the swallow finds a nest;
Then, Lord, my King Almighty, Thy love will shelter me;
Beside Thy holy altar my dwelling-place shall be.

Blest they who dwell in Zion, whose joy and strength Thou art;
Forever they will praise Thee, Thy ways are in their heart.
Though tried, their tears like showers shall fill the springs of peace,
And all the way to Zion their strength shall still increase.

So they from strength unwearied go forward unto strength,
Till they appear in Zion, before the Lord at length.
O hear, Lord God of Jacob, to me an answer yield;
The face of Thine anointed, behold, O God, our Shield.

One day excels a thousand, if spent Thy courts within;
I’ll chose Thy threshold rather than dwell in tents of sin.
Our Sun and Shield Jehovah, will grace and glory give;
No good will He deny them that uprightly do live.

**DMcFadden** · #43 (**permalink**) 10-24-2009, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Megan Mozart

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMcFadden

A Mighty Fortress
And Can it Be (minus the heretical verse 2)
In Christ Alone

BTW - Megan, the Horatio Spafford hymn story is great . . . until you get to the part where he ended up insane and bumbling around Israel thinking that he was the Messiah!

Quote:

Moved by a series of profound tragic losses, Chicago natives Anna and Horatio Spafford led a small American contingent in 1881 to Jerusalem to form a Christian utopian society known as the "American Colony". Colony members, later joined by Swedish Christians, engaged in philanthropic work amongst the people of Jerusalem regardless of their religious affiliation and without proselytizing motives--thereby gaining the trust of the local Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities. During and immediately after World War I, the American Colony played a critical role in supporting these communities through the great suffering and deprivations of the eastern front by running soup kitchens, hospitals, orphanages and other charitable ventures.

Quote:

Other stories say that near the end of his life, Horatio began to suffer strange delusions, believing himself to be the second Messiah. He died in 1888 at the age of 60. The cult practices of the American Colony continued after his death, taking decades to undo the damage.

WHOA!....

My pastor mentioned the story behind the hymn in his sermon last week... I'm going to notify him of this!

Did you get that from the wiki article I posted? If so, that just taught me to make sure that I read my references before I post them...

Megan,

Before you tell your pastor, realize that the Spafford story is filled with contradictions and differences among the sources. Yes, my first quote was your Wiki article which praised his work in establishing the American Colony. Sources from American Colony tend to be hagiographic regarding Spafford as their founder. Other stories have circulated since his death with the false Messiah claim. I honestly don't know what "unbiased" historians make of the contradictions. However, it seemed likely to me that there is truth to the idea that he ended up a little daffy.

Actually, with respect to the story, I don't mind the negative ending. He bore witness to the truth of God's providence and provision in the midst of unspeakable tragedy. That, in time, even Spafford suffered personal mental problems does not take away from the truth of his hymn; God is greater than our obedience, weakness, or reactions to pain.

I analogize it to the final suffering of people dying. Sometimes, saints pass into eternity in an almost poetic way. Other times, the clear witness of their faith is mingled with the seeming contradictory elements of "the dementia" talking. When you witness a person with Alzheimer's telling you that her husband is angry at her for not doing the dishes when he passed away 10 years ago and she lives in skilled nursing where she has no dishes to "do," you realize that we have this treasure in clay vessels. Typically, however, the believers are greatly comforted by being reminded of what they truly believe about God and his provision in the midst of it.

If Mr. Spafford became demented at the end it is sad, but does not efface the truth of his great hymn proclaiming God's sufficiency in the midst of suffering.

shelly · #44 (**permalink**) 10-24-2009, 12:53 PM

I'm not sure what exactly defines a hymn but this one ties me to the Rock of my salvation.

Before the Throne of God

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me

Behold Him there the risen Lamb
My perfect spotless righteousness
The great unchangeable I am
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

One with Himself I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God!
With Christ my Savior and my God!

jfschultz · #45 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuritanCovenanter

Here is the older translation that the Lutherans of an older America sang.

Quote:

A mighty fortress is our God, a trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from every need that hath us now overtaken.
The old evil foe now means deadly woe; deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight; on Earth is not his equal.

With might of ours can naught be done, soon were our loss effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One, whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, who is this? Jesus Christ it is.
Of Sabbath Lord, and there’s none other God;
He holds the field forever.

Though devils all the world should fill, all eager to devour us.
We tremble not, we fear no ill, they shall not overpower us.
This world’s prince may still scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none, he’s judged; the deed is done;
One little word can fell him.

The Word they still shall let remain nor any thanks have for it;
He’s by our side upon the plain with His good gifts and Spirit.
And take they our life, goods, fame, child and wife,
Let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won;
The Kingdom ours remaineth.

I had been wondering about the different words used at the end of the 1953 Martin Luther movie.

Hamalas · #46 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 09:44 PM

My favorite is "Not What My Hands Have Done" by Horatius Bonar:

Not what my hands have done can save my guilty soul;
Not what my toiling flesh has borne can make my spirit whole.
Not what I feel or do can give me peace with God;
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears can bear my awful load.

Your voice alone, O Lord, can speak to me of grace;
Your power alone, O Son of God, can all my sin erase.
No other work but Yours, no other blood will do;
No strength but that which is divine can bear me safely through.

Thy work alone, O Christ, can ease this weight of sin;
Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God, can give me peace within.
Thy love to me, O God, not mine, O Lord, to Thee,
Can rid me of this dark unrest, And set my spirit free.

I bless the Christ of God; I rest on love divine;
And with unfaltering lip and heart I call this Savior mine.
His cross dispels each doubt; I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear, each lingering shade of gloom.

I praise the God of grace; I trust His truth and might;
He calls me His, I call Him mine, My God, my joy and light.
’Tis He Who saveth me, and freely pardon gives;
I love because He loveth me, I live because He lives.

HokieAirman · #47 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 10:12 PM

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty comforted my wife and I when our son was in the hospital 2 years ago just after his birth; especially the 4th verse as in the red Trinity Hymnal:

Praise to the Lord, who with marvelous wisdom hath made thee,
Decked thee with health, and loving hand guided and stayed thee
How oft in grief, hath He not brought thee relief
Spreading His wings to o'ershade thee.

A close second is Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted. The harmony in that song is excellent. I think it's a fantastic Communion song.

Michael Turner · #48 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 10:23 PM

*If you haven't heard this one folks, I highly recommend it (I'm not sure where to find it online). Simply breathtaking....

He Was Wounded For Our Transgressions
#244 Red Trinity Hymnal
Hymn lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm,
Music by Merrill Dunlop,
Copyright Status unknown

Verse 1
He was wounded for our transgressions,
He bore our sins in His body on the tree;
For our guilt He gave us peace,
From our bondage gave release,
And with His stripes,
And with His stripes,
And with His stripes our souls are healed.

Verse 2
He was numbered among transgressors,
We did esteem Him forsaken by His God;
As our sacrifice He died,
That the law be satisfied,
And all our sin,
And all our sin,
And all our sin was laid on Him.

Verse 3
We had wandered, we all had wandered
Far from the fold of the Shepherd of the sheep;
But He sought us where we were,
On the mountains bleak and bare,
And brought us home,
And brought us home,
And brought us safely home to God.

Verse 4
Who can number His generation?
Who shall declare all the triumphs of His Cross?
Millions, dead, now live again,
Myriads follow in His train!
Victorious Lord,
Victorious Lord,
Victorious Lord and coming King!

Theogenes · #49 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvanlaan

Not What My Hands Have Done:

Not what my hands have done
Can save my guilty soul
Not what my toiling flesh has borne
Can make my spirit whole
Not what I feel or do
Can give me peace with God
Not all my prayers and sighs and tears
Can bear my awful load

Thy work alone, Oh Christ
Can ease this weight of sin
Thy blood alone, Oh Lamb of God
Can give me peace within
Thy love to me, Oh God
Not mine, Oh Lord, to Thee
Can rid me of my dark unrest
And set my spirit free

And I bless the Christ of God
I rest on love divine
And with unfaltering lip and heart
I call this Savior mine
His cross dispels each doubt
I bury in His tomb
Each thought of unbelief and fear
Each lingering shade of gloom

And I praise the God of grace
I trust His truth and light
He calls me His, I call Him mine
My God, my joy, my life
Tis He Who saveth me
And freely pardon gives
I love because He loveth me
I live because He lives

This is my favorite hymn as well!!! It is by Horatius Bonar. His book, The Everlasting Righteousness is one of my favorite books as well.
Jim

charliejunfan · #50 (**permalink**) 10-31-2009, 10:41 PM

A Mighty Fortress is Our God