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Thursday Hymn Reflection: “There Is a Habitation”
[Each Thursday, we give a brief “reflection” on a hymn. If you would like to add your favorites–up to three–to our list, please leave the names of those songs in the comments and we’ll reflect on them in the future.] One of the grandest songs about heaven, “There is a Habitation” combines powerful music with more powerful words. This is a song that is nearly always sung as singings, because you can’t sing it softly. As we excitedly sing about heaven, the song builds and builds. Written by J.H. Rosecrans, the song seems to be the writer’s feelings of longing for heaven, but it also contains some deeply impactful statements.…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: "In Christ Alone"
[On Thursdays, we “reflect” on a hymn suggested by our readers. To add your favorites (no more than 3, please) to the list, simply leave a comment.] What a fantastic new hymn! “In Christ Alone,” in my opinion, will stand the test of time because it is a simple melody in the usual construction of four verses. The beauty of this song is that it builds together (1) the sacrifice of Jesus and (2) our response to it. The song begins with a verse of praise to Jesus. With that verse, we sing that our full faith is in Him, then we move to the reason why. Verse one uses…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: "I Need Thee Every Hour"
[On Thursdays, we “reflect” on hymns submitted by our readers. If you would like to add your favorites–no more than 3, please–to our upcoming list, leave the names of the songs in the comments.] Written by a housewife in 1872, the simple words of “I Need Thee Every Hour” continue to bring comfort to many folks each time they are sung. In his book Then Sings My Soul, Robert Morgan gives the Annie Hawks’ own words as to where the poem came from (from page 179): One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. Suddenly, I became…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: "Ancient Words"
[Each Thursday, we give “reflections” on songs suggested by our readers. To add a song to our upcoming posts, leave no more than three suggestions in the comments.] A fairly new song, “Ancient Words” has found its way into more popular usage in the last couple of years. As older songs have done, “Ancient Words” celebrates God’s Word, but it also has a unique trait in that it celebrates the history of the Bible. The history of the Bible is a fascinating study. Most of us respect God’s Word and hold it as inspired, but many fail to see the connection between our day and when the Bible was actually…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: "Love for All"
[On Thursdays, we are “reflecting” on hymns suggested by our readers. If you would like to add your favorites, please list no more than 3 in the comments, and we’ll add them to our list.] Written by the younger brother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Love for All” is an amazing hymn that speaks to God’s unconditional love for us. The song is based so deeply on the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), that it was originally named “The Prodigal Son.” The poem has five stanzas, and is a song that needs to have all five to be sung properly. It is a song that moves more deeply in thought as it…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: This is My Father's World
[NOTE: Today’s post continues our Thursday hymn reflections, which are simple thoughts on songs suggested by our readers. If you would like to add your favorites–no more than three–to our list, please leave a comment. We’ll get to it eventually!] This hymn, usually containing three verses, is part of a longer poem by Maltie Babcock. The original poem contained 16 stanzas and each began with the title phrase. Cyber Hymnal gives this brief introduction to the song: While a pastor in Lockport, New York, Babcock liked to hike in an area called “the escarpment,” an ancient upthrust ledge near Lockport. It has a marvelous view of farms, orchards, and Lake…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: "My Jesus, I Love Thee"
[NOTE: This post continues our Thursday Hymn Reflections. If you would like to suggest a song for this series, please leave a comment. We still have over 30 songs lined up for this series at this time, but we will try to do them all!] My first reflection on this hymn has always been its simplicity. There are very few songs we sing that are easier to “pick up” and sing. The melody is easy to follow and the harmonies are very straightforward. That is so fitting for this song! In a song that simply praises the Son of God in simple language, it is only fitting that the music…
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Thursday Hymn Reflection: "Let the Lower Lights be Burning"
[Note: If you would like to add your favorite songs (up to 3) to the list of those to be done in our Thursday reflections, add a comment. As of this writing, there are about 35 on the list, but we are doing them in random order.] “Let the Lower Lights be Burning” was written by Philip Bliss in 1871 and uses much imagery that, sadly, most do not fully understand anymore. D.L. Moody wrote this brief description of where the idea for the lyrics came from: On a dark, stormy, night, when the waves rolled like mountains, and not a star was to be seen, a boat, rocking and plunging, neared the…
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Thursday Hymn Reflections: "Jesus Is Lord"
[NOTE: If you would like to add your song ideas for these “reflections” series, leave a comment with no more than 3 songs. There are almost 40 in the line-up now!] The first verse of this song is very old, while additional verses have been added in the last 40 years. As the verses, especially the final one, have been added, the song has been much more used. It is a song that usually is accepted first by young people, but that adults love to. I love this song for its simple message. It doesn’t get simpler than “Jesus is Lord, my Redeemer; how He loves me, how I love…
