CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

I don't believe there has yet been a thread made about one of the oldest forms of music ever made: our much-loved hymns that we sing in church every Sunday morning. What are some of your favorites? List them off!

Some of my favorites are Count Your Blessings (which I think I want to arrange), Great Is Thy Faithfulness, What If It Were Today?, and many more... too many to think of and list here! ^____^

My personal favorites include Safe in the Shadow of the Lord; It Is Well With My Soul; Crown Him With Many Crowns; Arise, My Soul Arise; Approach My Soul the Mercy Seat; Christ the Lord is Risen Today; Holy, Holy, Holy; and O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.

My church has two services, both of which I attend (generally because I must do things in both services). The first is more traditional, and features primarily hymns.

As such, I know I have some favorites. There are some that I enjoy considerably, but they do not come to mind at the moment. Perhaps I will think of them and post here at a later date.

I am a big YWAMer and a big Keith Green fan, so my favorite hymn is definately "Holy, Holy, Holy." Keith sang that one, and his rendition (on record) ushered in the "Anastasis" mercy ship after he died in the plane crash. So that one has a lot of meaning for me. (Keith Green was a forerunner to every Contemperary Christian artist today, and few have since lived up to the standard he set) It is considered a hymn, but that may be a incorrect usage of terms because that song is more "vertical" meaning Hymns usually sing about God, not to God.Modern hymnals tend to have a mix of hymns and psalms, but most people call it a hymn based on the slow tempo and lack of emotion rather than on what the song is about.

I also like "A Mighty Fortress is our God" more as a matter of novelty... I mean, it sounds so solemn (sp?). It's fun to try to sing in a bass voice.

Even though this hymn is disputed because of its connection to war and its connection to American patriotism, I also like "Battlehymn of the Republic" It's just so fun to sing.

I gotta say something about the English and German hymns... A lot of the melodies, with the obvious exception of those that started as symphonies, actually started as drinking songs. I think that's a good thing to consider for people so opposed to rock and "copying" the styles of modern music.

I prefer the more "vertical" psalms, I guess, though the Bible talks about psalms (planned "vertical" songs), Hymns ("horizontal" songs), and spiritual songs (spontaneous songs) so it is good to take part in all of them. I haven't really heard that many "new" hymns, however, while I have heard a lot of rather shallow new psalms ( IMNSHO they really should be rather personal, not just all praise to God, but I'm fine with the ones that are just praise... I just wish they'd do the other kind more often...)

I miss hymns. I grew up in an old-fashioned church where that was most of what we sang. Now churches hardly ever sing hymns. -_-

Hmm...Holy, Holy, Holy is a good song. I also really like How Great Thou Art, In the Garden (not sure if that's a hymn or a really old song...), Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Love Lifted Me, He Lives, and probably about 20 million more that I haven't heard in a long time.

Next to the Bible, my greatest comfort in my life has been found in my Trinity Hymnal. I don't really understand all the chategorizing of "horizontal" and "vertical" and the connotations that come with it, but to those who say that hymns lack emotion and direction to God, I could say that my most emotional experiences in worship have always been singing hymns and not singing praise songs. It seems that there is always a hymn that expresses exactly how I'm feeling, and those that reveal an understanding, a "knowing" of God that I want and aspire to. There are hymns that have helped me understand something previously ungraspable about the nature of God and living for Him. I do love praise songs and some are quite good, but for me, I'd go with hymns any day.

I could give you about fifty names of hymns here, but I doubt you want that. The most recent that have meant a tremendous amount to me are: "Be Still My Soul," "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken," "How Sweet and Awesome is the Place," "All For Jesus," and I think I can stop there.

Yeah, don't take this as heated or anything, because it wasn't meant or written in that mood.

" wrote:I don't really understand all the chategorizing of "horizontal" and "vertical" and the connotations that come with it

I'm curious about that myself...

I enjoy traditional hymns. I like them better than the contemporary songs we sing at church. I can't think of the names of some of the ones I like so I'll get back with you on that.

Oops. I mis-edited the post. Anyway, the gist of what I said before was that the difference between a "vertical" and a "horizontal" song was that a vertical song was a song TO God, since he is 'above' us in many ways (not least of which is his own perfection as compared with our imperfections--speaking of absolutes here, and not of perfection in the sense of fulfilling a set purpose or of completeness, as the NT uses the term), and a horizontal song is a song whose audience is other people or the self (in the case of personal reflections), but whose subject is God.

I also said that classifying hymnody and psalmody is nebulous at best, but that I prefer to think of it more as the difference between praise and prayer, respectively, since the Book of Psalms is commonly referred to as man's response to God in prayer.

Regarding musical preferences: I personally like the style of contemporary music better in general (though some hymns resonate with me), but I often do not feel as though the words in most songs styled "contemporary praise and worship" are often as deep or insightful.

Before this degenerates into a "hymns vs. contemporary music" thread, let's get it back on subject.

Another one of my favorite hymns is Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise. I particularly love the lines, "To all, life Thou givest, to both great and small / In all life Thou livest, the true life of all / We blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree / And wither, and perish, but nought changeth Thee." It's a reminder for me that even our death has a purpose magnifying God, in contrasting God's eternal life with our mortal decay.

"Great is Thy Faithfulness" is one of my most favorite hymns. I used to sing the chorus while walking to and from my dorm last school year. ^_^ I also enjoy: Holy, Holy, Holy; Be Thou My Vision, Come Thou Fount, O the Wondrous Cross (?), Love was When, and I'm sure there are a few others I'm missing.

I'm quite fortunate that my church balances both contemporary songs with hymns.

The Grammarian wrote:Before this degenerates into a "hymns vs. contemporary music" thread, let's get it back on subject.

Quite right; I apologize for being off topic.

Upon reflection, I have discovered that I make no distinction between what source songs stem from. In my mind I generally do not classify them. However, teepanee reminded my that I do very much like Holy, Holy, Holy.

Hymn #449

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No: there's a cross for everyone,
And there's a cross for me.

How happy are the saints above,
Who once went sorrowing here!
But now they taste unmingled love,
And joy without a tear.

The consecrated cross I'll bear,
Till death shall set me free;
And then go home my crown to wear,
For there's a crown for me.

--George Nelson Allen, 1852

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's the hymnal that always comes to my mind. Maybe because it's the only one that I know the words to At our church we sing it in different ways; sometimes we sing it slow, sometimes we sing it fast, etc.

uc pseudonym wrote:Regarding musical preferences: I personally like the style of contemporary music better in general (though some hymns resonate with me), but I often do not feel as though the words in most songs styled "contemporary praise and worship" are often as deep or insightful.

Have you heard Passion's Hymns Ancient and Modern CD? Hymns in contemporary style. I loved that CD.

Amazing Grace. But I hate most hymns. Not the words, just how they're sung and played. Go Christian Metal!

I like Amazin Grace,
Hallelujah,
O, the Blood of Jesus,
and It Is Well with My Soul

I wonder what the chances of this were...

All three of the songs you mentioned are among my favorites. Thank you for bringing them to mind.

So, so true! My fave is "How Great Thou Art". My mom used to sing it to me to make me go to sleep. Good times, good times.

Wow. Some of you actually like hymns. There's hope for the world yet. I don't know think I can read, sing, hear or recite the following without being stirred.

And can it be that I should gain an interest in my saviours blood?
Died he for me - who caused his pain - for me, who him to death persued!
Amazing Love! How can it be that thou - my God - shouldst die for me!

Ah the Wesleys. What a wonderously gifted family. Some of these hyms come out of dire circumstances. Picture this, and tell me you aren't moved:

A 43 year old man loses everything in the great Chigago fire - shortly after his only son's death. Deciding his family (wife and four daughters) needed a vacation, he packed them all up and they headed to England to go see a famous evangelist. He sent his family ahead, prepairing to follow after. Their ship is sunk in a collision with another boat, and all four girls drown - his wife, however, is spared. After all this tradgidy in his life, the man pens these words as the ship taking him to grieve with his wive, sails over the watery graves of his children:

When peace like a river attendeth my way...
When sorrows like sea billows roll...
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, "It is well... It is well with my soul."

When peace like a river attendeth my way...
When sorrows like sea billows roll...
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, "It is well... It is well with my soul."

I LOVE that one!