‘This volume has been inspired by a desire on the part of the author to create deeper love for the great lyrics of the Christian Church… To know the hymns of the Church is to know something of the spiritual strivings and achievements of the people of God throughout the centuries. Henry Ward Beecher has well said : “Hymns are the jewels which the Church has worn, the pearls, the diamonds, the precious stones, formed into amulets more potent against sorrow and sadness than the most famous charm of the wizard or the magician. And he who knows the way that hymns flowed, knows where the blood of true piety ran, and can trace its veins and arteries to the very heart.”’ — From the Foreword

Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed.

Book Contents

• Titlepage
• Dedication
• Foreword
• Contents
• Part 1. Early Christian Hymnody
  • The Early Christian Chants
  • Greek and Syriac Hymns
  • The Rise of Latin Hymnody
  • An Ancient Singer Who Glorified The Cross
  • The Golden Age of Latin Hymnody
• Part 2. German Hymnody
  • Martin Luther, Father of Evangelical Hymnody
  • The Hymn Writers of the Reformation
  • Hymnody of the Controversial Period
  • The King and Queen of Chorales
  • Hymns of the Thirty Years’ War
  • A Hymn Made Famous on a Battle Field
  • The Lutheran Te Deum
  • Paul Gerhardt, Prince of Lutheran Hymnists
  • Joachim Neander, The Paul Gerhardt of the Calvinists
  • A Roman Mystic and Hymn Writer
  • Hymn Writers of the Pietist School
  • The Württemberg Hymn Writers
  • How a Great Organist Inspired Two Hymnists
  • Gerhard Tersteegen, Hymn Writer and Mystic
  • Zinzendorf and Moravian Hymnody
  • Two Famous Hymns and Some Legends
  • Hymnody in the Age of Rationalism
  • Hymns of the Spiritual Renaissance
• Part 3. Scandinavian Hymnody
  • The Swedish Reformers and Their Hymns
  • A Hymn Book That Failed
  • David’s Harp in the Northland
  • The Golden Age of Swedish Hymnody
  • The Fanny Crosby of Sweden and the Pietists
  • Kingo, The Poet of Easter Tide
  • Brorson, The Poet of Christmas
  • Grundtvig, The Poet of Whitsuntide
  • Landstad, a Bard of the Frozen Fjords
• Part 4. English Hymnody
  • The Dawn of Hymnody in England
  • Isaac Watts, Father of English Hymnody
  • Doddridge: Preacher, Teacher and Hymnist
  • Wesley, the Sweet Bard of Methodism
  • A Great Hymn that Grew Out of a Quarrel
  • The Bird of a Single Song
  • England’s First Woman Hymnist
  • A Slave-Trader Who Wrote Christian Lyrics
  • An Afflicted Poet Who Glorified God
  • An Irish Poet and His Hymns
  • The Hymn Legacy of an English Editor
  • Heber, Missionary Bishop and Hymnist
  • An Invalid Who Blessed the World
  • How Hymns Helped Build a Church
  • A Famous Hymn by a Proselyte of Rome
  • Henry Francis Lyte and His Swan Song
  • Sarah Adams and the Rise of Women Hymn Writers
  • A Hymn Written in a Stage Coach
  • An Archbishop’s Wife who Wrote Hymns
  • Bonar, the Sweet Singer of Scotland
  • Two Famous Translators of Ancient Hymns
  • Baring-Gould and his Noted Hymn
  • Frances Ridley Havergal, the Consecration Poet
  • A Unitarian Who Gloried in the Cross
  • A Model Hymn by a Model Minister
  • Matheson and His Song in the Night
• Part 5. American Hymnody
  • The Beginnings of Hymnody in America
  • America’s First Woman Hymnist
  • Thomas Hastings, Poet and Musician
  • Francis Scott Key, Patriot and Hymnist
  • America’s First Poet and His Hymns
  • The Hymn Writer of the Muhlenbergs
  • The Lyrics of Bishop Doane
  • The Quaker Poet as a Hymn Writer
  • America’s Greatest Hymn and Its Author
  • Samuel Smith, a Patriotic Hymn Writer
  • Two Famous Christmas Hymns and Their Author
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe and Her Hymns
  • A Hymn Written on Two Shores
  • A Hymn That Grew Out of Suffering
  • A Famous Hymn Written for Sailors
  • A Tragedy That Inspired a Great Hymn
  • Anna Warner and Her Beautiful Hymns
  • Phillips Brooks and His Carols
  • Women Who Wrote Hymns for Children
  • Fanny Crosby, America’s Blind Poet
  • One of America’s Earliest Gospel Singers
  • The Lyrist of Chautauqua
  • Gladden’s Hymn of Christian Service
  • A Hymn With a Modern Message
  • A Lutheran Psalmist of Today
  • Survey of American Lutheran Hymnody
• Appendix
  • Index of Notable Hymns
  • Alphabetical Index of Hymns and Sources
  • Authors’ and General Index
  • Bibliography

Publication Information

• Lutheran Library edition first published: 2023
• Copyright: CC BY 4.0