Hyfrydol has been a favorite of mine ever since Sunday school. There are several sets of English lyrics written for it, but here it is in its original Welsh, sung by the Black Mountain Choir. I don’t understand a single word of it–but I don’t think I have to. The hymn speaks to me anyway! Turn up the volume, and imagine yourself standing somewhere on the mountain in the picture…
Phoebe, you asked for a rousing version of this hymn, and this is it: Your Grace and Mercy Brought Me Through, sung by the Mississippi Mass Choir. The soloist is the late Frank Williams. I noticed this video has over 4 million views.
Your hymn request came along just in time. I haven’t written up any news today, yet. Maybe I’ll just let the hymn deliver Good News.
Matt Boswell, singing O Church of Christ Invincible–Susan and I thought it would be a good way to start the day. It would be a good lesson for me to get through my thick skull: invincibility has seemed hard to come by, lately. But as St. Paul said, we really are invincible: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8: 31)
Thy Strong Word, requested by “thewhiterabbit,” is a hymn about God as our Creator and our source of life and righteousness. It’s sung by “The Lutheran Warbler,” and I wish I could give her due credit, but I couldn’t find her name anywhere. Lots of Lutherans in my family.
Would you believe this beautiful hymn is controversial? It’s true: flatline churches don’t like that line, “The wrath of God was satisfied.” It’s a bit too grown-up for their sensibilities.
Requested by Linda, In Christ Alone–written by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, rejected for the PCUSA hymnal for the sake of that one line, here performed by Getty and his wife, Krystyn.
I love this hymn, the first hymn I ever learned to play on my harmonica. It can be traced back to the 1500’s, and the melody as we know it first appeared in 1708. This rendition, in 18th-century style, is by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band: O Worship the King.
I know I tend to repeat myself in my selection of hymns; so if there’s a hymn you’d like to see posted here, just let us know.
No one has requested a hymn today, so I thought I’d go with Nathan and Lyle, family and friends, singing He Hideth My Soul–one of the many classic hymns written by Fanny Crosby.
How many? Well, if she’d written a new one every day, without missing a day, it would have taken her 20 years to write all the hymns she published. One stands in awe.
Linda asked for this last night, but we decided to save it for this morning: Up From the Grave He Arose, sung by the Voice of Eden. It’s a Christian youth choir in southern India by Mt. St. Thomas–and can they sing! Turn up the volume on this one. Easter will be here before you know it.
It’s a cold, grey, damp, and dreary-looking day today. But when I hear this hymn, I think of the outdoor chapel at Y Camp so many years ago, with a view of the rolling hills, fields, and woods of northern New Jersey, and the counselors’ choir robustly belting it out–All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name. A good memory! And a glorious hymn.
A lot of you are new here, so let me invite you to make hymn requests. We like to start every blogging day with a hymn, and I like to post your favorite hymns and worship songs. Just “Leave a Reply,” and we’ll do the rest.
Commenting upon the, er, “transgender preacher” two years ago, Laura requested this hymn–Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun, written by Isaac Watts and published in 1719. Mr. Transgender can keep his Dylan and Beyonce.
Video courtesy of The Hymn Club.