In March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic moved worship out of traditional sacred spaces, I recorded and shared a video of Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. I included the text as an encouragement for folks to sing along. The following week, I shared another video. Each week brought a new hymn recording, and now two years later the collection contains more than 100 hymns. 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.
Dean’s latest album release, How Can I Keep from Singing, contains 14 selections from the Sunday Morning Hymns collection. The album is available on CD or as a download for your digital music player. You can also listen on your preferred streaming service.
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How Firm a Foundation
“How Firm a Foundation” was first published in 1787 in a hymnbook edited by John Rippon titled “A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors.” The name of the author behind this classic hymn is a mystery, though. In Rippon’s hymnbook, it was attributed only to “K—.” The hymn has been sung at the funerals of U.S. presidents and was sung by American troops engaged in the Spanish-American war on Christmas morning 1898. The text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. (Recorded July 2020) -
Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun
“Jesus Shall Reign” is sometimes considered one of the earliest missionary hymns. Isaac Watts wrote the text as a paraphrase of Psalm 72. He did not attempt to compose a literal metrical interpretation of the Psalm. Rather he sought to interpret the Psalms in a way the reflected Christian experience. The text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Holy Holy Holy
“Holy, Holy, Holy” encourages the singer to join an endless song, inspired by texts in Isaiah and Revelation. The author, Reginald Heber, carefully describes the Trinity while preserving its mystery. The text is included, so please join the endless song! (Recorded June 2020) -
Be Still, My Soul
Little is known of the author of the original German text, other than that she was connected to a small court at Köthen in Germany. Jane Borthwick translated the hymn into English, one of many included in the collection, “Hymns from the Land of Luther.” David Evans, a Welch organist and choirmaster, paired Borthwick’s translation with the Jean Sibelius melody, FINLANDIA. The English text is included, so please add your voice and sing along. -
Send the Light
Charles Gabriel was a prolific hymn writer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His gospel songs were widely circulated through the evangelistic crusades of Billy Sunday. Gabriel wrote “Send the Light” while serving in music at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The hymn was his response to the pastor’s request for a missionary hymn. The text is included here, so please add your voice and sing along. -
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go
A mystical experience inspired George Matheson to write “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go.” The hymn came, in the author’s words, “Like a dayspring from on high.” By Matheson’s account, the entire work was completed in five minutes with no retouching or correction. The tune came as quickly to Albert Peace: “The ink of the first note was hardly dry when I had finished the tune.” The text is included, so please add your voice and sing along.
How Can I Keep from Singing
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