When the COVID-19 pandemic moved worship out of sanctuaries, I drew on some of my favorite hymns and gospel songs, sharing a video performance of a hymn each Sunday morning. The videos are collected here, beginning with the most recent. I hope you enjoy these recordings that draw on a few of my favorite pages in the hymnal.
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Blessed Assurance
During a visit with her friend Fanny Crosby, Phoebe Knapp played the now familiar melody to this hymn. Knapp asked Crosby, “What do you think the tune says?” Crosby replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.” Crosby then recited the entire first stanza. The hymn focuses on heaven and calls us to experience the foretaste of glory divine in our praise and worship. The text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Abide With Me
Henry Francis Lyte found inspiration for Abide With Me in the Emmaus story of Luke 24, in which the disciples implore Jesus to “abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is well spent.” Lyte developed tuberculosis, and as he felt his end approaching, he wished to preach once more to his people. He preached a sermon on Holy Communion and assisted in the Eucharist. That evening, he gave the hymn to his daughter Anna. Lyte died just a few weeks later, and the hymn was first sung at his funeral. The text is included here so you can add your voice and sing along. -
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Drawn from the text of Deuteronomy 33:27, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms gives the First Testament text a distinct Christian character, describing Jesus as the friend on whom one can lean. The hymn is an iconic gospel song, using repetition that makes the hymn easy to memorize and creates call and response. I unintentionally switched the second and third stanzas, but the text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Hold to God's Unchanging Hand
A native of Indiana, Mary Jane “Jennie” Wilson was known as the Fanny Crosby of the West, publishing hundreds of Christian hymns. She had typhoid fever as a little girl. The infection damaged her spine, and she used a wheelchair from her childhood. Emphasizing the steadfast nature of God, ‘Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand’ gained popularity in the early 20th century. Wilson’s text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
I once heard a Lutheran pastor refer to this hymn as “the Lutheran fight song.” Heinrich Heine called it the Marseillaise of the Reformation. It is probably the best known hymn of the Lutheran tradition, and it is certainly one of the most loved. The translation into English by Frederick Hedge is less literal than other translations but is more popular among non-Lutheran denominations. The text of Hedge’s translation is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Fairest Lord Jesus
Little is known about the author and origins of this hymn, although the text may have been written by German Jesuits. The hymn is set to the tune CRUSADER’S HYMN; however, it is unlikely that the hymn itself is associated with the Crusades. The tune is a Silesian folk tune. The German text first appears in 1842 with this tune. Even though the author is unknown, the text is included, so please add your voice and sing along.
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I Stand Amazed in the Presence
In the church where I grew up, at Sunday evening services we sang gospel songs from “the red hymnal” (Tabernacle Hymns, Volume Five), including ‘I Stand Amazed in the Presence.’ In those services my brother and I learned this and other gospel songs, which we often sang together as adults. Charles Gabriel grew up in Iowa playing, writing, and teaching music. He became one of the most prolific writers of gospel songs, being credited with writing between 7,000 and 8,000 songs. This song expresses gratitude and praise, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
Originally written in Welsh, the native language of William Williams, 'Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah' has been sung around the world. It was chosen as a hymn for the funeral of Princess Diana of Wales and for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. Williams’ text has provided comfort over many generations with its sense of God’s guidance through strife. The text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me
It is thought that Augustus Toplady found the inspiration for this hymn when traveling in the gorge of Burrington Combe. Caught in a storm, he found shelter in a gap in the rock face of the gorge. Whether or not the story is accurate, the rock is marked as the “Rock of Ages.” Toplady’s text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Just As I Am
The heart of Charlotte Elliott, in the words of her brother, “always tended to express its depth in verse.” Following a night of spiritual conflict, she wrote this beloved hymn in response, finding comfort as she recalled the Gospel of pardon and peace. Just As I Am is well known as an altar call hymn used at Billy Graham crusades in the latter half of the 20th century. Graham was converted to Christianity in 1934 when hearing the hymn as an altar call. The text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Break Thou the Bread of Life
Mary Lathbury’s two best known hymns are Break Thou the Bread of Life and Day Is Dying in the West. She wrote both at the request of Bishop John Vincent for use in the services of the Chautauqua Assembly. Her work as a hymn writer and editor of children’s books earned her the title “Poet Laureate of Chautauqua.” Lathbury’s two stanzas were published in Chautauqua Carols in 1877. Alexander Groves added stanzas 3 and 4 in 1913. The text for all four stanzas is included so please add your voice and sing along. -
When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder
Growing up, during Sunday evening services the church my family attended would sometimes have folks in the congregation call out the number of a hymn they wanted to sing. When I had a chance, I would ask for 353, When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder. I was too young to understand words like “eschatology,” but I did like the idea of going to be with Jesus someday. James Milton Black was a Sunday school teacher as well as a musician and hymn writer, and he found the inspiration for this hymn in the absence of a child from his Sunday school class. After visiting the child’s home and calling on a doctor to treat her for pneumonia, Black went home and wrote the hymn. The text is included, so please answer “present” by singing along.