A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
By Fred G. Zaspel
Singing with the congregation is a wonderful aspect of our church gatherings, but if we do not sing with understanding the blessing will be lost. I have long found it helpful as a specific exercise of devotion to study and meditate on the great hymns of the church. This has proven valuable in itself, and it has proven helpful when singing those hymns with the people of God. And I have tried to develop the habit of thinking carefully through each song as we sing together. Frankly, this practice has developed a bit of a distaste for much of what passes for “worship” today, but it has enormously enhanced the joy of singing the great hymns. If our singing is to be an aspect of corporate “worship,” then it must include our hearts and minds as well as our vocal chords. And I have long sought to develop this taste in our congregation.
Leland Ryken has written another book to help us with just these concerns. I mentioned Ryken’s previous 40 Hymns volume in a post last year, and I was happy to see this sequel arrive from P&R. As with the first volume, this is not your typical “hymn story” book but a guided meditation through the thinking of each selected hymn. In this volume the forty hymns are divided into holiday seasons: New Year, Good Friday, Easter, Reformation Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas (see the Table of Contents below). The chosen hymns are substantive, and Ryken’s expository remarks are perceptive and will serve to enhance an informed singing.
This is a volume I am very happy to commend. As with the previous volume, I have purchased copies for those who lead our congregation in singing. Ryken has provided beneficial reading for all Christians – I plan to give a few as Christmas gifts again this year. Beautifully produced, theologically and devotionally valuable.
Table of Contents
Introduction
New Year
O God, Our Help in Ages Past (Isaac Watts)
Standing at the Portal (Frances Ridley Havergal)
Great God, We Sing That Mighty Hand (Philip Doddridge)
God of Our Life (Hugh Thomson Kerr)
Another Year Is Dawning (Frances Ridley Havergal)
Good Friday
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Isaac Watts)
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (Paul Gerhardt)
Beneath the Cross of Jesus (Elizabeth Clephane)
Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed (Isaac Watts)
My Song Is Love Unknown (Samuel Crossman)
Lead Me to Calvary (Jennie Evelyn Hussey)
Jesus, Keep Me near the Cross (Fanny Crosby)
Easter
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (Charles Wesley)
Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands (Martin Luther)
The Day of Resurrection! (John of Damascus)
The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done (Author Unknown)
Look, Ye Saints, the Sight Is Glorious (Thomas Kelly)
Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain (John of Damascus)
Reformation Day
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Martin Luther)
I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord (Timothy Dwight)
O Word of God Incarnate (William Walsham How)
Not What My Hands Have Done (Horatius Bonar)
How Vast the Benefits Divine (Augustus Toplady)
Thanksgiving
Now Thank We All Our God (Martin Rinkart)
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (Henry Alford)
We Plow the Fields (Matthias Claudius)
We Gather Together (Author Unknown)
For the Beauty of the Earth (Folliott S. Pierpoint)
Christmas
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (Charles Wesley)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Author Unknown)
Joy to the World (Isaac Watts)
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (Charles Wesley)
As with Gladness, Men of Old (William Chatterton Dix)
O Little Town of Bethlehem (Phillips Brooks)
Once in Royal David’s City (Cecil Frances Alexander)
Angels, from the Realms of Glory (James Montgomery)
Brightest and Best of the Sons of the Morning (Reginald Heber)
O Come, All Ye Faithful (John Francis Wade)
It Came upon the Midnight Clear (Edmund Sears)
Silent Night (Joseph Mohr)