Hymns

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.

“The purpose of this little book is to present to its readers some brief account of the origin and authorship of some of our more familiar hymns… to select from a very large amount of material which the author has for years past been gathering, a few of the more striking and interesting incidents connected with the composition of some of our best known Songs of Zion.

By request, here is a text only version of the public domain hymns in The Lutheran Hymnal. The hardback version which includes the music is available from Concordia Publishing House. May this ebook be a blessing to you in your personal devotions.

“For nearly [three] hundred years Starck’s Daily Handbook has been a standard book of devotion; and it is not likely to be superseded by anything superior for many years to come.

“…the book is to deepen devotion, but there is one class of people above all others, for whose help it is most adapted. It is ‘an admirable handbook for the parish priest, because written by one who himself labored through the greater part of his ministerial career as a[n Anglican] parish priest.

“Hymns are a most important part of our worship. They mold character and often shape the lives of those who sing them.” “The writing of these pages was an accident and a pleasure.

“If we can add to our mind treasury the twenty-four leading hymns of the Christian church, what a splendid employment it will be! — Rev. Amos Wells Why These 24 Hymns To Memorize?

“Never were pious resignation to God’s will — complete subjection to His sovereignty – perfect patience under disappointment and sorrow more beautifully and impressively uttered… We do not think it possible for human language to express a more thorough acquiescence in the decrees of Providence.