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Hymn #19: Crown Him WIth Many Crowns

Sep29

Lyrics: Matthew Bridges, stanzas 1, 5, 6, and 9, 1851.
Godfrey Thring, stanzas 2-4, 7-8.

Music: DIADEMATA, Geroge Elvey, 1868.

Theme: His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. Revelation 19:12.

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heav’nly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the virgin’s Son, the God incarnate born,
Whose arm those crimson trophies won which now His brow adorn;
Fruit of the mystic rose, as of that rose the stem;
The root whence mercy ever flows, the Babe of Bethlehem.

Crown Him the Son of God, before the worlds began,
And ye who tread where He hath trod, crown Him the Son of Man;
Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast,
And takes and bears them for His own, that all in Him may rest.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o’er the grave,
And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we sing, who died, and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of peace, whose power a scepter sways
From pole to pole, that wars may cease, and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end, and round His piercèd feet
Fair flowers of paradise extend their fragrance ever sweet.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side,
Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends his burning eye at mysteries so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of Heav’n, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to whom is giv’n the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

Crown Him the Lord of lords, who over all doth reign,
Who once on earth, the incarnate Word, for ransomed sinners slain,
Now lives in realms of light, where saints with angels sing
Their songs before Him day and night, their God, Redeemer, King.

Crown Him the Lord of years, the Potentate of time,
Creator of the rolling spheres, ineffably sublime.
All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou has died for me;
Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity.

In my church, we sang verses one, four, five and six combined with the last. I remember the last two lines of that final verse, but not the first two because we sang the first two lines of verse six with the last two lines of the ending stanza. ‘Cause that’s the way the Baptist hymnal had it.

Ros’ Haruo thinks four crowns aren’t enough, and we should probably sing all nine verses. I tend to agree.

Hymn #20: There Is a Fountain

Sep28

Original Title: Praise for the Fountain Opened

Lyrics: William Cowper

Music: CLEANSING FOUNTAIN attributed to Lowell Mason.

I prefer Mason’s tune, maybe because of its familiarity, but here’s an alternate tune from Red Mountain Church:

Theme: In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. Zechariah 13:1.

More about William Cowper and his other hymn on this list: God Moves in a Mysterious Way.

Cowper wrote There Is a Fountain after his first major depressive episode in which he tried three times to commit suicide. As you can see from the portrait (attributed to George Romney and borrowed from Wikipedia), Cowper was a handsome man.

Jawan McGInnis: “I am a evil wretched person who deserves hell and eternal damnation….yet, the Lord has washed away all those guilty stains through the death of his son. Redeeming love is amazing. I like this version (Red Mountain) in particular because it’s a bit slower and the melody is so beautiful.”

This hymn is at the top of Eldest Daughter’s list.

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

Hymn #21: Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

Sep27

Lyrics: Henry van Dyke, 1907.

Music: ODE TO JOY, from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony #9.

Theme: “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” I Corinthians :10

Dr. Van Dyke was a professor of English literature at Princeton University, a lecturer at the University of Paris, Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg appointed by President Wilson, and a Presbyterian clergyman. He wrote the verses to Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee intentionally to be set to Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.

Henry van Dyke: “These verses are simple expressions of common Christian feelings and desires in this present time—hymns of today that may be sung together by people who know the thought of the age, and are not afraid that any truth of science will destroy religion, or any revolution on earth over throw the kingdom of heaven. Therefore this is a hymn of trust and joy and hope.”

Brenda: “I had this played at my wedding. It makes me happy as it seems a preview of the Heavenly Host singing.”

Secret Notebooks: “When I was a child in Rhode Island, attending Catholic services with my family every Sunday, we often filed out of our pews to this hymn, following the priest and altar boys in a slow, crowded shuffle to the double doors which had been thrown open to the sun and air. It remains one of my clearest childhood memories, and I can hear the voices of both my mother and my father singing when I recall it.”

Chris: “Beethoven’s 9th owns all other melodies ever composed or ever to be composed.”

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed,
Wellspring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the happy chorus, which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning o’er us, brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife,
Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life.

Hymn #22: All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name

Sep26

Lyrics: Edward Perronet, with a final verse added by John Rippon.
Music: Ah, yes, the hymn with (at least) three tunes:
MILES LANE by William Shrubsole. Published 1779.

CORONATION by Oliver Holden. Published 1793.

DIADEM by James Ellor. Published 1838.

So, which tune do you prefer?

Both Shrubside and Ellor were nineteen years old when each published his setting for All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.

Theme: The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:10-11

All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.
Before His face Who tunes their choir, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye morning stars of light, who fixed this floating ball;
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.
Now hail the strength of Israel’s might, and crown Him Lord of all.

Crown Him, ye martyrs of your God, who from His altar call;
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse’s Rod, and crown Him Lord of all.

Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, ye ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
Hail Him Who saves you by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.

Hail Him, ye heirs of David’s line, whom David Lord did call,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all,
The God incarnate, Man divine, and crown Him Lord of all.

Sinners, whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at His feet, and crown Him Lord of all.

Let every tribe and every tongue before Him prostrate fall
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.
And shout in universal song the crownèd Lord of all.

[Baptist John Rippon added this verse in 1787.]

O that, with yonder sacred throng, we at His feet may fall,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all,
Join in the everlasting song, and crown Him Lord of all!

Edward Perronet who wrote most of the lyrics to this famous hymn was an associate of John and Charles Wesley. The hymn was published anonymously in a collection of poems called Occasional Verses, Moral and Sacred. Published for the instruction and amusement of the Candidly Serious and Religious (1785). Perronet later disagreed with the Wesley brothers over doctrine and withdrew from the Methodists, then still later from the Anglican fellowship, and finally became a Congregational pastor in Canterbury.

Though considered a capable preacher, Perronet was uneasy about doing so in front of John Wesley, despite Wesley’s persistent urging. After wearying of his requests, Wesley simply announced one day that Brother Perronet would speak. Edward cleverly managed to escape Wesley’s sly intention by mounting the pulpit, declaring he would deliver the greatest sermon ever preached, and proceeding to read Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount”; after which, he immediately sat down.

Perronet’s last words: “Glory to God in the height of His divinity! Glory to God in the depth of his humanity! Glory to God in His all-sufficiency! Into His hands I commend my spirit.”

Sources:
Selah Pub.
Wikipedia: Edward Perronet.
Glimpses of Christian History: January 2, 1792 Edward Perronet Wrote the “National Anthem of Christendom.”

Hymn #23: All Creatures of our God and King

Sep25

Lyrics: St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun: translated by William Draper.

Music: LASST UNS ERFREUEN (German hymn tune); harmony by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Theme:

Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created.
He set them in place for ever and ever;
he gave a decree that will never pass away.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
young men and maidens,
old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
Psalm 148:3-13

By the way if you’ve never seen the Franco Zeffirelli film biography of St. Francis called Brother Sun, Sister Moon, I recomend it. I saw that movie when I was a teen, and I was so impressed. I taught myself to play Brother Francis’s theme song from the film on my flute.

Such lovely filmography, and a beautiful song. I’m also quite fond of All Creatures.

Brenda: “Spent many an Easter morning singing this one. Reminds me of the Resurrection!”

Jennifer, Snapshot: “In the hymnal that we use in our Bible Study Fellowship’s leadership group, there’s a verse that I don’t often see in hymnals (or online), and I love it. I’d love it to be sung at my funeral. It’s verse 6 of 7 that is listed.”

Roger Mugs: “Moon, sun, fire. All of these things have been worshiped themselves in the past and very very wrongfully. Why worship the creation when you could worship the creator? Not everyone understood the creator I suppose.
But how right it then seemed that Francis of Assisi would then turn and write this song. Saying basically, “Look, even those things you worship give their worship to our God and King.”

All creatures of our God and King,
lift up your voices, let us sing:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
thou silver moon with softer gleam,
Refrain:
O praise him, O praise him,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
ye clouds that sail in heaven along,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Thou rising morn, in praise rejoice,
ye lights of evening, find a voice,
Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
make music for thy Lord to hear,
Alleluia, alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
that givest man both warmth and light,
Refrain

Dear mother earth, who day by day
unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise him, Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
let them his glory also show:
Refrain

And all ye men of tender heart,
forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
praise God and on him cast your care:
Refrain

And thou, most kind and gentle death,
waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
and Christ our Lord the way hath trod:
Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
O praise him, Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One:
O praise ye! O praise ye!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Congregations can add the Doxology to All Creatures, same tune, thus:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!
O praise him, Alleluia!
Praise Him above ye heavenly host!
Praise Father, SOn, and Holy Ghost!
O praise ye! O praise ye!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

David Crowder Band:

Hymn #24: In the Garden

Sep24

Lyrics: C. Austin Miles, 1912.

Music: C. Austin Miles, 1912.

Theme: When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
John 20:14-16.

The story of the writing of this hymn.

Jennifer, Snapshot: “I help with our church’s nursing home service and the oldtimers love this one, so it’s become one of my favorites too.”

John MacArthur: “Those lyrics say nothing of any real substance, and what they do say is not particularly Christian. It’s a mawkish little rhyme about someone’s personal experience and feelings. Whereas the classic hymns sought to glorify God, gospel songs like “In the Garden” were glorifying raw sentimentality.”

Brenda: “I love the vision this hymn brings to my mind, a little glimpse of Heaven as well as bringing peace to troubled souls.”

Joseph Holbrook, Jr.: “America’s all-time religious favorite, ‘In the Garden,’ has done the worst in fostering the I-me-myself version of Protestantism in our country.”

Cecelia: “This was one of my beloved Grammy’s favorite hyms and I love knowing that God will walk and talk with me, calling me His own!”

Nothing like a little controversy to liven up this hymn countdown. I won’t say which side I lean toward, but I will say that a little sentimentality never hurt anyone.

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear,
Falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody
That He gave to me,
Within my heart is ringing.

I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Tho’ night around me be falling,
But He bids me go;
Thro’ the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

Hymn #25: Blessed Assurance

Sep23

Lyrics: Fanny Crosby, 1873.

Music: Phoebe Knapp, 1873. Mrs. Knapp was the wife of Joseph Knapp, founder of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Theme: Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22.

Crosby was visiting her friend Phoebe Knapp as the Knapp home was having a large pipe organ installed. The organ was incomplete so, using the piano, Mrs. Knapp played a new melody she had just composed called “Assurance”. “What do you think the tune says?” asked Knapp.
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine”, answered Fanny Crosby.

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 Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight!
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest!
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with his goodness, lost in His love.

This hymn marks Ms. Crosby’s fifth and final appearance on this list. Other Top 100 Hymns by Fanny Crosby are:

To God Be the Glory
Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It
All the Way My Saviour Leads Me
Tell Me the Story of Jesus

More about Fanny Crosby.
More about Phoebe Knapp.
Lifespring Hymn Stories: Blessed Assurance.

Hymn #27: Rock of Ages

Sep20

Original Title: A Living and Dying Prayer for the Holiest Believer in the World.

Lyrics: Augustus Toplady

Music: TOPLADY by Thomas Hastings.

Theme:

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
Isaiah 26:3-4

George Grant on Augustus Toplady and his most famous hymn.

I wrote here about Mr. Toplady and his antipathy for the Wesleys, and what Augustus saw as their heretical Arminian theology. Of the eight survey responders that had Rock of Ages on their top ten list, six also had at least one hymn by Charles Wesley. It seems that the two hymn writers are predestined to dueling, or reconciling, hymns throughout Christian history.

The lyrics for Rock of Ages first appeared in the British publication, A Gospel Magazine, in 1776. The hymn text served as the ending salvo in an article that was written to refute the Wesleyan teachings on free will and to affirm the Calvinist teachings of predestination and total depravity.

1. Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

2. Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law’s commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

3. Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

4. While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

As I have said before, and am not ashamed to repeat, I am a proud Arminocalvinist or Calvinoarminian. I can sit on that fence with the best of them, and God Himself will, in His mercy, rescue me as I come to Him in faith. And I’ll be singing a medley of Rock of Ages, A Debtor to Mercy Alone, Arise My Soul Arise, and O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing.

Hymn #29: Be Still, My Soul

Sep19

Original title: Stille, meine Wille, dein Jesus hilft siegen

Lyrics: Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel, 1752. Translated from German to English by Jane Borthwick, 1855.

Music: FINLANDIA by John SIbelius, 1899.

Theme: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. I Peter 5:10.

From this sermon at the website An Infant in a Cradle:

Be Still, My Soul, (this text and tune) was the favorite hymn of Eric Liddell. He is perhaps most best known for refusing to run on Sunday in the 1924 Olympics (a story made famous in the film, Chariots of Fire). But, later in life, Liddell would become a missionary to China. During World War II, he was captured and imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp, where he would eventually die of a brain tumor.

It was this hymn that he taught to the other prisoners in the camp to provide comfort and hope, to strengthen their faith. In the midst of change and tears, disappointment, grief and fear, Liddell remembered and taught others that the day was coming when all that would be gone, and Jesus Christ would remain forever.

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;
in every change – he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul – thy best thy heavenly Friend
through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice
Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still my soul – when dearest friends depart,
and all is darkened in the vale of tears,
then shalt thou better know his love – his heart,
who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul – the waves and winds still know
his voice who ruled them – while he dwelt below.

Be still my soul the hour is hastening on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment – grief and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot – love’s purest joys restored,.
Be still my soul – when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed – we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy works and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well-pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Hymn #30: Arise, My Soul, Arise

Sep18

Lyrics: Charles Wesley (again)

Music: LENOX by Lewis Edson.
Towner by Daniel Brink Towner.

This tune performed by the acapella group, Glad, isn’t either of the ones above. I don’t know the name of it, but I do like it.

Indelible Grace version, music by Kevin Twit.

However, my preferred tune to these words is none of the above. I first learned this song at our church, Trinity Fellowship, and the music leaders there are great fans of Twila Paris. Arise, My Soul, Arise is the lead song on Twila’s album Sanctuary. You can listen to a snippet of it by going to her website and clicking on the album cover under “albums”.

Theme: But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me,
the Lord has forgotten me.”

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.”

Hannah: “a joyful liberation from guilt and sin, into joy and righteousness.”

Hymn Studies: “A song which mentions the fact that we can be born of God is “Arise, My Soul, Arise.” The text was written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788). It first appeared under the title ‘Behold The Man’ in his 1742 Hymns and Sacred Poems.”

Philip Bishop: “I have many favorite hymns, but this Wesley hymn has to be in the ‘Top 10.’ I love the imagery and the progression of thought it expresses.”

1. Arise, my soul, arise,
Shake off thy guilty fears:
The bleeding Sacrifice
In my behalf appears:
Before the Throne my Surety stands,
Before the Throne my Surety stands,
My name is written on his hands.

2. He ever lives above,
For me to intercede,
His all-redeeming love,
His precious blood to plead;
His blood atoned for ev’ry race,
His blood atoned for ev’ry race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

3. Five bleeding wounds he bears,
Received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers,
They strongly plead for me;
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,
“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

4. The Father hears Him pray,
His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away,
The presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

5. My God is reconciled;
His pard’ning voice I hear;
He owns me for his child,
I can no longer fear;
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father!” cry.

Dictionary:
Surety = a person who is legally responsible for the debt, default, or delinquency of another.

Abba = Aramaic for “father”; indicates intimacy; literally “Daddy” or “Papa.”

Effectual= successful in producing a desired or intended result; effective.

Intercede= to intervene on behalf of another.

I think my children’s vocabularies have been expanded because of all the hymns we sing. Do have any examples of words you’ve learned from hymns?

I’m submitting to the Poetry Friday round-up at Becky’s Book Reviews because it’s quite poetic. I love the idea, taken from the verses in Isaiah, that my name is written on His hands.