“We Three Kings” is a festive carol that both tells the story of the magi visiting baby Jesus, and also explores the deeper significance of their gifts.
Hymn Guide: Good King Wenceslas
“Good King Wenceslas” is a Christmas Carol that celebrates generosity, sacrifice, and the power of holy imitation.
Hymn Guide: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
The majestic Christmas carol, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing,” celebrates both the birth of Christ and the saving work he came to do. First written by Charles Wesley, with small but significant modifications by George Whitefield, it reflects the confidence of the Great Awakening in the glorious grace of God.
Singing the Faith with Mrs. Alexander
On the surface, there is precious little widely available on the life of Cecil Frances Alexander, a โHymn-writer and Teacher of the Faith,โ as sheโs called in the 2019 Prayer Book. I was able to find precisely one biography available online, which, in turn, led me to a smaller one that her husband wrote after…
Hymn Guide: All Things Bright And Beautiful
While “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is childlike, it is not childish. It contains much more than first meets the eye.
Hymn Guide: Morning Has Broken
“Morning Has Broken” is both an international pop classic and a hymn of uncommon theological depth. It begins the day with praise to God for the beauty of his creation and the sustaining power of his Word. The story of the hymn begins with Anglican priest Percy Dearmer, who wanted a text set to the…
Hymn Guide: Lift High the Cross
“Lift High the Cross” is a hymn of missionary encouragement and spiritual victory. It sets forth the paradox of the cross: that an instrument of torture and death has become a symbol of triumph and life.
Hymn Guide: Be Thou My Vision
Did you know “Be Thou My Vision” was written by a blind monk? The text is traditionally attributed to Saint Dallรกn, a 6th-century Celtic monk who went blind in the middle of his life. Some modern scholars have argued for a later date in the 10th or 11th century. Either way, the text reflects the…
Hymn Guide: O Sacred Head
“O Sacred Head” is a deeply moving devotional hymn about the Passion of Christ. It explores and celebrates the paradox that Jesus’ suffering is both ugly, in its external form, and also beautiful, in its salvific love. The hymn is most fitting to be sung during Lent, Holy Week, the Stations of the Cross, alongside funerals,…
Hymn Guide: God Be Merciful To Me
“God be merciful to me” is a setting of Psalm 51, David’s great hymn of repentance, forgiveness, and faith. More than most hymns and worship songs, it sets forth the stark reality of human sin and turns to God as our only hope for salvation and spiritual renewal. Composed anonymously for the 1912 Psalter, it…