Hymns

“Young people today (I include myself in this group) aren’t looking for something new. They aren’t looking for something relevant. We’re looking for something true. Something ancient.” - C. Leaders

“Třanovský knew something about suffering. He lived during the devastating Thirty-Year War, was imprisoned once, exiled twice, and forced to move several times. Three of his children died, and both he and the people under his care suffered the consequences of wars, pillaging, and pestilence. He was bedridden and in pain for eight months before going to meet his Savior.” - Ref21

“Users of the online database [hymnary.org] doubled as the novel coronavirus closed many church buildings this spring, and the website now is nearing 40 million page views for 2020, its highest ever.” - RNS

Most commonly sung congregational songs in the U.S. 2000–2015 vs. 1737–1960: “Among many similarities, one difference was striking: the topic of heaven, which once was frequently and richly sung about, has now all but disappeared.” - C.Leaders

“Comparing Watts’ hymn with the Psalm on which it is based raises several important clues as to which advent Watts had in view. The Psalm itself does not necessarily give indication as to which advent it presents. Both salvation and judgement did come with Christ’s incarnation, although they will certainly come with finality when He comes again.” - BPNews

“What you’ll hear in this episode: What it means to read the great hymns as devotional poems. Why should Christians read hymns as poems in addition to singing them. How Dr. Ryken envisions readers using this anthology of hymnic poems.” - Servants of Grace

“Then again, I’m cool with singing ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing’ instead of ‘Hark How All the Welkin Rings’ this Christmas Eve, so…” - Aigner

“Now Thank We All Our God… rose to popularity at a strange time in European history, when it seemed there was little for which to be grateful. As the Thirty Years’ War raged through the interior of the continent, plague spread rapidly through communities in ways that now feel eerily familiar.” - TGC

“Our hymns typically have stanzas. The hymn in Philippians 2 does as well. The stanzas are easy to spot, because the phrasing is parallel, and the content progresses from ‘down’ to ‘up’ ” - Olinger

“Robinson is not suggesting in his hymn that we all go out and build monuments to God. Rather, as he observes in the next stanza, our hearts are prone to wander and we need touchstones in our lives to remind us what God has done for us individually and, by extension, all God’s people ‘thus far.’” - TIFWE