Perhaps you have listened to and sung hymns your entire life. They may even evoke some very pleasant memories of your childhood or days gone by. But do you have any idea the story behind the authors and composers of those hymns?
In the last of a series of three volumes, Robert Morgan shares with the reader the lives of those who wrote the songs that, for centuries, have graced our worship services and served to lift up and admonish worshipers of the living God. Along with the story behind the song, a printing of the music is included. Unlike the previous volumes, book 3 opens with a roughly fifty page history of hymnody including Biblical, ancient, medieval, German, English, and American hymns as well as more current contemporary praise and worship music. I must admit, even having been in church my entire life, there were a number of songs I had never heard of. Mr. Morgan closes this book with suggesting ways to use hymns in your own life and worship such as memorizing, praying, quoting, meditating, and starting each day with a hymn. He challenges each of us to embrace some of the new songs and yet not allow the old hymns of our faith "fade away".
If you are a lover of church music, there is nothing not to love about this book. I already owned book one and jumped at the opportunity to own this volume. Even the pages are rugged at the edge which make it seem old and well-loved. I have not doubt that, after you read this book, the words of your best-loved hymns such as Victory in Jesus, Grace Greater Than All Our Sin, Shout to the Lord, He Touched Me, and In Christ Alone will mean more than ever before. You may want to consider using this book as a devotional and uncover the treasure of one hymn a day.
I did receive this book from Thomas Nelson publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review.
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