This is a show dedicated to renewing love for the great hymns of the Christian faith. In this episode I tell the story behind the hymn “Jesus Shall Reign”, which was written in 1719 by Isaac Watts, with the music being written by John Hatton.
The version of the song played in this episode is performed by Scott Wesley Brown.
Jesus Shall Reign
Isaac Watts
John Hatton
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Behold the islands with their kings,
And Europe her best tribute brings;
From north to south the princes meet,
To pay their homage at His feet.
There Persia, glorious to behold,
There India shines in eastern gold;
And barb’rous nations at His word
Submit, and bow, and own their Lord.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!
Great God, whose universal sway
The known and unknown worlds obey,
Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,
Extend His power, exalt His throne.
The scepter well becomes His hands;
All Heav’n submits to His commands;
His justice shall avenge the poor,
And pride and rage prevail no more.
With power He vindicates the just,
And treads th’oppressor in the dust:
His worship and His fear shall last
Till hours, and years, and time be past.
As rain on meadows newly mown,
So shall He send his influence down:
His grace on fainting souls distills,
Like heav’nly dew on thirsty hills.
The heathen lands, that lie beneath
The shades of overspreading death,
Revive at His first dawning light;
And deserts blossom at the sight.
The saints shall flourish in His days,
Dressed in the robes of joy and praise;
Peace, like a river, from His throne
Shall flow to nations yet unknown.
Carl Boberg, a 26-year-old Swedish minister, wrote a poem in 1885 which he called “O Store Gud” (“O Mighty God”). The words, literally translated to English, said:
When I the world consider
Which Thou has made by Thine almighty Word
And how the web of life Thou wisdom guideth
And all creation feedeth at Thy board.
Then doth my soul burst forth in song of praise
Oh, great God,
Oh, great God!
His poem was published and “forgotten”, or so he thought….
Carl Boberg, a 26-year-old Swedish minister, wrote a poem in 1885 which he called “O Store Gud” (“O Mighty God”). The words, literally translated to English, said:
When I the world consider
Which Thou has made by Thine almighty Word
And how the web of life Thou wisdom guideth
And all creation feedeth at Thy board.
Then doth my soul burst forth in song of praise
Oh, great God,
Oh, great God!
His poem was published and “forgotten”, or so he thought….
Revisiting the story behind “Jesus Loves Me”, perhaps the best known children’s hymn of all time. The reason we’re doing this is that, when I did it in HymnStories #2, I didn’t have a version of the music with the lyrics that was cleared for play in a podcast. Now that more music is available, I felt it was time to bring it back.
Jesus Loves Me
Lyrics: Anna B. Warner
Music: William B. Bradbury
Verse 1
Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Chorus
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
Verse 2
Jesus loves me! He who died,
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Verse 3
Jesus take this heart of mine,
Make it pure and wholly Thine;
Thou has bled and died for me,
I will hence-forth live for Thee.
Verse 4
Jesus loves me! He will stay,
Close beside me all the way;
He’s prepared a home for me,
And someday His face I’ll see.
Revisiting the story behind “Jesus Loves Me”, perhaps the best known children’s hymn of all time. The reason we’re doing this is that, when I did it in HymnStories #2, I didn’t have a version of the music with the lyrics that was cleared for play in a podcast. Now that more music is available, I felt it was time to bring it back.
Jesus Loves Me
Lyrics: Anna B. Warner
Music: William B. Bradbury
Verse 1
Jesus loves me! this I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Chorus
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
Verse 2
Jesus loves me! He who died,
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Verse 3
Jesus take this heart of mine,
Make it pure and wholly Thine;
Thou has bled and died for me,
I will hence-forth live for Thee.
Verse 4
Jesus loves me! He will stay,
Close beside me all the way;
He’s prepared a home for me,
And someday His face I’ll see.
Away In A Manger Was written in 1887, and is commonly known as “Luther’s Cradle Hymn.” But did the great German Reformer, Martin Luther, really write the words? Did he sing them by the cradle of his little son, Hans?
Listen to the show for a possible answer.
This hymn is beautifully performed by David Phelps, from his wonderful Christmas CD/DVD set “O Holy Night.”
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Away In A Manger
Lyrics: Anonymous
Music: James R. Murray
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle til morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And take us to heaven, to live with Thee there.
Bouncing back- that’s a quality to be cultivated, because life is full of struggles. How do we become resilient? Unsinkable? Joyful amid the blows and burdens of life? This hymn tells us:
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved, He giveth me strength as my day.
This hymn by Fanny Crosby explains the author’s life, for Fanny faced three incredible hardships durning her ninety-five years. The first was her…
Listen to the show for the rest of the story, and to hear the stirring rendition by Scott Wesley Brown.
HE HIDETH MY SOUL
Lyrics: Fanny J. Crosby
Music: William J. Kirkpatrick
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.
Refrain
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.
Refrain
With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God
For such a Redeemer as mine!
Refrain
When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love
I’ll shout with the millions on high.
One of the best histories of the gospel song era is George Stebbins’ autobiography, Reminiscences and Gospel Hymn Stories. Stebbins was born in ht e mid-1880s in New York and showed early musical prowess. At age twenty-three, he moved to Chicago where he worked in churches and became acquainted with some of the “greats” of gospel music, such as Sankey and Bliss. In the late 1870s, D. L. Moody got hold of him, sending him into a lifetime of music evangelism.
Listen to the show for Stebbins’ account of the first time he and D. L. Moody ministered together, and how “Jesus, I Come” came to be written.
Lyrics: William T. Sleeper
Music: George C. Stebbins
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of my sickness, into Thy health,
Out of my want and into Thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into Thyself,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of Thy cross,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm,
Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into Thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of myself to dwell in Thy love,
Out of despair, into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of Thy home,
Jesus, I come to Thee;
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold,
Ever Thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to Thee.
Jesus must have been a bird watcher, because we see Him refer to birds many times in scripture. Listen to the show for the story of how this encouraging hymn was inspired.
His Eye Is On The Sparrow
Lyrics: Civilla D. Martin
Music: Charles H. Gabriel
Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
“How Great Thou Art/Be Exalted”
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and is commonly known as “Luther’s Cradle Hymn.” But did the great German Reformer, Martin Luther, really write the words? Did he sing them by the cradle of his little son, Hans?
