Come, Christians, Join to Sing
I like a lot of modern worship songs, especially ones produced by Sovereign Grace. I also enjoy songs from Hillsong and Passion, among others. Many songs written over the past few decades are rich with meaning, both in their words and in my own experience.
But I have to say that most modern worship songs don’t even compare with so many classic hymns of the faith that I learned growing up. Let me just treat you to a sampling of some of of their eloquent lyrics:
Jesus, Lover of My Soul:
Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind
Just and holy is Thy name, I am all unrighteousness
False and full of sin I am, Thou art full of truth and grace
And Can It Be That I Should Gain?:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should’st die for me?
Come Ye Sinners:
Lo! Th’ incarnate God ascended pleads the merits of His blood
Venture on Him, venture wholly, let no other trust intrude
I will arise and go to Jesus, He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior, oh there are ten thousand charms
Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted:
Stricken, smitten, and afflicted, see Him dying on the tree
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected, yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He
‘Tis the long-expected prophet, David’s son yet David’s Lord
By His Son God now has spoken, ’tis the true and faithful Word
I could go on for a long time! I don’t know where my hymnal is and it doesn’t include some of my favorite hymns, so I collected a list of those I want to remember, and I’ve been looking up the lyrics online and putting them all in one place. I have a lot of the hymns either partially or completely memorized, but I want to go over them so I remember them all and I can sing them during my devotions, to my child(ren), and whenever I please!
What are some of your favorite hymns?
Two of my favorites are “Day by Day” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”
Hmmm…some of my favorites are “A Mighty Fortress,” “Rock of Ages,”(heard beautiful version the other day by The David Crowder Band) and “The Church Is One Foundation.” I’m with you…modern worship songs can be great but have none of the substance older hymns have!!
Oh, I love “And Can It Be That I Should Gain”! I’m a big fan of hymns because I grew up going to a small country church that sang only hymns. I also love “I’d Rather Have Jesus”, “When I Survey The Wonderous Cross” “My Jesus, I Love Thee”, and “A Christian Home”. Along with many others!
Thanks for the compliment on my blog – it means alot coming from you! I’ve always seen you as kind of like a super-blogger, and your blog is always so thought-provoking, so to get a compliment like that from you is really flattering!
A good teaching hymn is “Trust and Obey” I started singing it to Hannah over the past few months to encourage obeying etc. Now if Hannah wants me to sing the song she calls it, “Obey Spanking!” ha.
I couldn’t agree more with your statement:
“But I have to say that most modern worship songs don’t even compare with so many classic hymns of the faith that I learned growing up.”
Most of today’s contemporary worship songs begin with man and his need rather than God and His glory. Those hymns from yesteryear (and some from more recently) possess the theological depth that point the arrows away from us and toward our Redeemer Christ.
Keep up the insightful posts!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Couldn’t agree with you more. There are some lovely contemporary Christian songs, but the richness of insight and the depth of teaching in our older hymns and gospel songs is rarely matched. Glad to hear you’re continuing to explore the latter. I’ve been doing so for over 40 years, and am still learning more every day.
If you enjoy reading about the background of our hymns and their authors, I invite you to check out my daily blog on the subject, Wordwise Hymns. And if your looking for information on Christmas music, take a look at my book, Discovering the Songs of Christmas. It includes background and meditations on more than 60 Christmas hymns and carols.
You’re likely familiar with the Cyber Hymnal. A friend of mine has posted information on over 7,900 hymns there. Check it out at…
http://www.hymntime.com/tch/
Come Ye Sinners – one of my favorites as well!
In the fall for some reason I listend to “For the Beauty of the Earth” a lot:
“For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.”
“Come Thou Fount” is one of my favorites:
“O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”
I just bought some of the more recent Sovereign Grace…really like them as well!