Videos And Stories Behind Hymns

I Vow To Thee My Country is a hymn that emphasizes the fact that Christians are citizens of two kingdoms, the earthly one and the heavenly one.  This has created all sorts of tensions in the minds of Christians especially on how they are to relate to civil authorities.  This hymn, I Vow To Thee My Country is a patriotic song that tries to show how these two loyalties operate.  This hymn came from a patriotic poem written by Sir Cecil Spring Rice. It was set to music by Gustav Holst in 1921. Sir Cecil Spring-Rice was a British diplomat who later became the UK Ambassador to the United States of America. He used his influence to persuade Woodrow Wilson to join Britain in the war against Germany during the First World War.  It was while in America that he rewrote this hymn in 1918 to concentrate on love and sacrifice rather than "noise of battle" and "the thunder of her guns". Sir Cecil Spring Rice This song was originally known as Urbs Dei

To God Be the Glory History There is something majestic about this hymn, To God Be The Glory. Every time I sing it I feel like I am in the very presence of the Lord. I can almost visualize the throne of God.  Fanny Crosby To God Be The Glory I assume that the composer of this hymn Fanny Crosby must have felt the same way when she composed this hymn. This blind composer has blessed the Christian church very much with her hymns such as Blessed Assurance . Fanny Crosby provided the lyrics while the tune came from William Howard Doane. Scholars believe that this hymn was written in 1872 even though it was first published in 1875. In its early days, it was Ira Sankey who popularised it by singing it during Dwight Moody's evangelistic campaigns.  It, however, faded in public memory Cliff Barrows was handed a copy in 1954 with an intention to include in the songbook for Billy Graham crusades in London.  Because of the popularity resulting from this Cliff contin

"Be Still, My Soul" is originally a German hymn which reads in German, Stille meine Wille, dein Jesus hilft siegen . The author was Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel (1697-1768). The English version that we have now is the fruit of the work of Jane Laurie Borthwick (1813-1897) who translated it in 1855. It is a prayer to patiently put our trust in the LORD even in the day of adversity. It shows us that no matter what we go through ultimately there is a joyful end to our sufferings. May this be the prayer of everyone else, be still, my soul, the LORD is on thy side. That ought to give us a blessed assurance that no matter what God is on our side. He always has been and He always will be. Below are the lyrics of this hymn. 1 Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide, who through all changes faithful will remain. Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend throu

My Hope Is Built On Nothing Else / On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand History My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less or On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand is the best-known hymn of Edward Mote who wrote it in 1834. The original title of this hymn was, "The Immutable Basis for a Sinner's Hope". Edward Mote was the pastor of Rehoboth Baptist Church in Horsham West Sussex in the United Kingdom. It looks as if the inspiration for this hymn came from Christ parable of the wise and foolish builders. In the parable, Christ speaks of the foolish builder who built his house on sinking sand while the wise builder built his on solid rock. As you would imagine a storm easily swept away the one built on sand. Edward Mote - On Christ the Solid Rock Christ is the solid rock upon which we can build our house of faith. Any other foundation is like one on sand and will ultimately fail. On the authorship of this song Mr. Mote's explanation, communicated to the Gospel Herald, is

In Christ Alone Hymn Story In Christ Alone, is probably the most popular Christian hymn at the moment in both the US and the UK. There are actually surveys that have it on position 1 among popular hymns. This hymn is the result of a collaboration between Keith Getty of Northern Ireland and Stuart Townend of England in 2001. Both are hugely popular songwriters of Christian hymns and contemporary worship music. In this collaboration, the music was by Keith Getty and the original lyrics by Stuart Townend. According to Stuart Townend, both he and Keith Getty were at a conference and a mutual friend suggested they get together. The friend said Keith was good at creating melody while Stuart was good at lyrics.  The two met and as a result of that meeting Keith sent Stuart a CD with a melody for Stuart to add some lyrics. After listening to the melody Stuart thought the best would be to compose lyrics on the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. He called Keith wh

Who Wrote How Deep The Father's Love For Us How Deep The Father's Love For Us is a composition by an English Christian worship leader, Stuart Townend (born 1963). Stuart says he decided to write these hymns to try to shift the attention that modern worship style that focuses more on our emotions rather on God. He says that the focus should be on our Lord more than on ourselves.  Emotions are important as they are a part of us but the problem comes in when they became the center of our worship. Emotions can come and go and are easily influenced but only faith in God abides. We need to have a firm foundation in our Christian experience. Stuart Townend Christ should be the center of our worship no matter the situation. Whether we are happy, excited or sad let us make Christ the center and we will never be disappointed. Stuart Townend gave the following reason for composing this hymn:  "The danger now is that we are so focused on the experience ou

A nationwide survey in the United Kingdom by the British Broadcasting Corporation found Be Thou My Vision to be no. 15 on people's favorite list. The survey was called UK's Top 100 Hymns . I would not be surprised if it also among the top twenty hymns in the United States and other parts of the world. It is certainly one of the beloved hymns at least in my church. This hymn was originally a traditional Irish hymn. It was known as Rop tú mo baile or Rob tú mo bhoile in old Irish. Tradition states that the song was composed by the sixth-century Irish Christian poet Saint Dallan. The English version is the result of the work of Eleanor Hull who translated it in 1912. It was however in 1919 that the lyrics were set to the tune of the Irish folk tune, "Slane". The tune has stuck to this very day in both English and Irish. The Irish have contributed many popular hymns to the Christian church. Some of those songs include Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Who Wrote Mary Did You Know? The first time I heard this Christmas carol, I thought it was one of those classic old hymns. I was surprised that it was actually written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene in the 1990s. Judging from the response it has received this is now truly a modern Christmas carol classic and has been recorded by many artists all over the world. Famous artists who have recorded this Christmas song include  Kenny Rogers , Mary J Blige, Don Moen, Clay Aiken, Cee Lo Green, and Pentatonix. The first recording was done by Michael English in 1991 and reached no. 6 on the CCM Magazine AC chart. Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene are regular features on the Bill and Gloria Gaither music concerts. Mark Lowry is also a member of the Gaither Vocal Band and so was Michael English when he recorded his version of this song. Mary Did You Know Lyrics Here are the lyrics of this Christmas carol, Mary Did You Know. "Mary Did You Know" (originally by Mark L

History of Blessed Assurance Hymn  Blessed Assurance is at the top of millions of Christians's top ten hymns of all time. It is such a powerful Fanny Crosby expression of our love for the LORD. The words of this hymn were written by the blind singer Fanny Crosby after listening to a melody composed by Phoebe in 1873. It is based on Hebrews 10:22 " Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." (KJV) How else can we respond to this assurance but by saying Here I Am Lord Blessed Assurance Lyrics. Below are the lyrics of this beautiful hymn. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. Refrain: This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savio

Great Is Thy Faithfulness Hymn History Great Is Thy Faithfulness is a favorite hymn of millions of Christians all over the world. It reminds us that God is always faithful. There is indeed no shadow of turning with him. This song came into being after William Runyan decided to compose a musical score to a friend's poem. The author of that poem was Thomas Obadiah Chisolm (1866-1960). Thomas Obadiah Chisolm who had all sorts of bouts of illnesses in his adult life had found solace in reading the scriptures and especially found strength in the fact that God was faithful to him. His favorite biblical passage was Lamentations 3:22-23, "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness." It was during these challenging times that Thomas exchanged letters with his friend, William Runyan, a musician. In their communication, they exchanged several poems and one of th

History of How Great Thou Art Hymn Sweden is not well known as a source of most of the hymns in the English speaking world but it is from Sweden that this much-loved hymn, How Great Thou Art came from. This much-loved hymn is based on a poem sung to a Swedish traditional melody. Carl Gustav Boberg (1859-1940) is the author of the original poem that ended up as this hymn. Boberg was a Swedish pastor, editor, and member of the Swedish parliament. He wrote it while living in Mönsterås in Sweden. This poem came about after a sudden storm when Boberg was walking home one day. On that day Carl Boberg and friends were returning home from Kronobäck where they had attended a church service. Out of nowhere, a thundercloud appeared and soon lightning flashed across the sky. A severe storm began to blow and rain came in cool fresh showers. A little later the storm stopped. When Boberg reached home he opened his window and looked out over the clear bay of Mönsterås. While

Just A Closer Walk with Thee History It is difficult to know the real author of this song that has blessed millions all over the world. There appears to be no consensus as to the author. There is however circumstantial evidence that seems to point to an African American origin. Those who say that this song has an African American origin think that it may have been composed in the African American congregations of the nineteenth century. It is said that black slaves were heard singing a song about walking by the Lord's side while working in the fields. Some have credited African American vocalist, Rev. Elijah Cluke (1907-1974) for the current version of this song. Just A Closer Walk With Thee Lyrics Below are the lyrics and video of this beautiful hymn . I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong, I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus is my plea, Dai

History and Writer of Here I am Lord Hymn Here I Am, Lord is probably one of the most well-known hymns that has crossed the divide between Catholics and Protestants. Many Protestants feature this song in their worship services which is remarkable when you consider the differences that exist between Catholics and Protestants. Having said this it should be noted that this hymn has a powerful message of surrender to the will of God.  Dan Schutte Dan Schutte wrote this song in 1981. It is based on the message found in Isaiah 6:8 and 1 Samuel 3. In Isaiah we see the Lord God Almighty asking whom He shall send and Isaiah responding positively to God's call. In his response, Isaiah says, "Here I am, send me". Regardless of whether we are Protestants or Catholics Jesus is calling us and we need to respond to God's call. It is a call for service. A call for spreading the word and love of God to the people around us.  No wonder this is a song that young

Jesus is Coming Again Hymn History Jesus Is Coming Again (Lift Up The Trumpet is a hymn that has blessed millions all over the world. It is one of the favorite hymns in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to which I belong. It is almost the anthem of our church. Lift Up The Trumpet is a song that vividly brings the hope of Jesus' second coming to many. It is this hope that has helped many going through hardship to endure. It has soothed the aching hearts of those that have lost loved ones as they know that they will meet them again during the second coming of Jesus. The words of this popular hymn were penned by Rev Jerusha E. "Jessie" Strout Jordan (Jessie E Strout) an Advent Christian Minister, in 1872. Little is known about this pastor other than that he was a poet and minister.  Jessie E Strout will, however, be remembered for this simple but beautiful hymn that continues to bless millions.  Below is the tomb of Jessie Strout. Tomb of Author of J