Notes on Lift High the Cross LyricsFor over 2,000 years the cross has been a powerful symbol in western culture. Many nations feature the cross in their national flag; a red cross signifies medical or humanitarian relief. Examples from literature and the arts include the stories of Count Dracula and Faust. In these stories the […]
Continue readingNotes on O Sacred Head Now Wounded Lyrics12-century, French cleric and saint, Bernard of Clairvaux is the author of “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.” The original poem consisted of seven sections of verse. Each was a meditation on a particular part of Christ’s body–feet, knees, hands, sides, breast, heart and face. American Presbyterian teacher and […]
Continue readingNotes on the HymnHoratio G. Spafford (1828-1888) Source: Wikipedia.orgThe early 1870s were difficult for Horatio G. Spafford, successful Chicago lawyer and businessman. First, his only son died in 1870. Then he suffered significant real estate losses in the great Chicago fire of 1871. Refusing to despair, he threw himself with renewed vigor into his legal […]
Continue readingNotes on the Hymn”Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” lyrics first appeared in a 1747, London collection of hymns for congregational singing. The title was “Hymns for Those that Seek and Those that Have Redemption in the Blood of Jesus Christ.” Charles Wesley wrote these hymns in support of the idea of God as love, a […]
Continue readingNotes on the Hymn”All People that on Earth Do Dwell” is one of 25 metrical Psalm settings William Kethe wrote for publication in 1561. A metrical setting of Psalm 100, it appeared that year in Geneva in an expanded edition of the “Anglo-Genevan Psalter.” Many English religious exiles took refuge in Geneva, where Psalm settings […]
Continue readingNotes on the HymnThe “Come, We that Love the Lord” lyrics results from a collaboration of authors living about 150 years apart. Isaac Watts, known as the “Father of English Hymnody,” wrote the ten verses. Robert Lowry, perhaps, best known for “Shall We Gather at the River,” https://faithmusicconnection.com/shall-we-gather-at-the-river-lyrics/ wrote the refrain. Lowry also composed a […]
Continue readingJoyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee Lyricsby Henry van Dyke (1852-1933)Notes on the HymnHenry van Dyke https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_van_Dyke_Jr. wrote the Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee lyrics in 1907. At the time, he was serving as guest preacher at Williams College in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts. Inspired by the beautiful scenery of the Berkshires, he presented the […]
Continue readingAll the Way my Savior Leads Me Lyrics By Fanny J. Crosby (1820 – 1915)Notes on the Hymn Lyrics”All the Way my Savior Leads Me” lyrics is a beautiful text and has an appealing tune composed just for it. The author, Fanny J. Crosby, wrote over 8,000 hymns, certainly the all-time greatest output of any […]
Continue readingAmerica the Beautifulby Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929)O beautiful for spacious skies,For amber waves of grain;For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhood,From sea to shining sea.O beautiful for pilgrim feet,Whose stern, impassioned stressA thoroughfare for freedom beatAcross the wilderness!America! America!God mend thine every flaw,Confirm thy […]
Continue readingFrom Greenland’s Icy Mountainsby Reginald Heber (1783-1826)(stanzas 1 & 2)From Greenland’s icy mountains, from India’s coral strand;Where Afric’s sunny fountains roll down their golden sand:From many an ancient river, from many a palmy plain,They call us to deliver their land from error’s chain!What though the spicy breezes blow soft o’er Java’s isle;Though every prospect pleases, […]
Continue reading