Rebel to Redeemed…Sharing HIS Kind of Love
Earth and All Stars was written by Herbert Brokering. He was born in 1926 and a Lutheran pastor, teacher, author of over 40 books, poet and hymn writer. He died in 2009. The tune to Earth and All Stars is the same tune used for Brokering’s other well-known hymns, “Alleluia! Christ Is Risen.” The tune was composed by David […]
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Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness was written by Johann Frank. He hymn is often sung for Holy Thursday. Frank was born in 1618 in Brandenburg, Germany. He practiced law during the Thirty Year’s War and held several positions in civil service. He is described as a “significant poet, only to Paul Gerhardt in his day” and wrote 110 hymns. He […]
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God’s own Child was written by Erdmann Neumeister. in Germany in 1671. He went on to serve as a pastor and assistant superintendent in the Eckartsberg district. In 1704, he went to tutor the daughter of Duke Johann Georg and a year later worked for Count Erdmann II von Promnitz. In 1715, he became pastor of St. James’s Church at […]
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Thy Strong Word did Cleve the Darkness was written by Martin H. Franzmann. Franzmann was born in 1907 Minnesota and died in March 1976 in Cambridge, England. He wrote numerous books and hymns. He was an American Lutheran clergyman, theologian, college professor and poet. The song has a 1969 copyright with Concordia Publishing House.
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The King of Love My Shepherd Is was written by Henry W. Baker. Baker was born in London, England in 1821. He took Holy Orders in 1844 and he wrote many hymns. One of his earliest compositions was the very beautiful hymn, “Oh! what if we are Christ’s”. His hymns are described as “simplicity of language, smoothness of rhythm, and […]
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Thine is the Glory is often performed as an Easter song. The hymn was written by Edmond Budry, a Swiss Protestant minister. The lyrics are set to the tune “See, the Conqu’ring hero comes” from the third section of Handel’s oratorio Judas Maccabaeus. The German Advent hymn Tochter Zion, freue dich uses the same tune. The hymn is also sometimes […]
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Lift High the Cross is a 19th Century English hymn. It was written by George Kitchin and altered by Michael R. Newbolt in 1916. It has been suggested the hymn was inspired by Constantine the Great’s conversion to Christianity and seeing a cross which had the Latin version of “In this sign thou shalt conquer” written on it. Kitchin wrote […]
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Simple Gifts is attributed to Joseph Brackett, a member of the Alfred Shaker Village. It was composed in 1848, and relatively unknown until Aaron Copeland used the melody in the score of Martha Graham’s ballet Appalachian Spring, first performed in 1944. Copeland used the song a second time “in 1950 in his first set of Old American Songs.” Several Shaker […]
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No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet was written by Timothy Dudley-Smith. The hymn was copyrighted in 1984 by Hope Publishing Company. It is set to the tune Kingsfold which is an English folk tune dating back to the Middle Ages.
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We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God was written by Stephen P. Starke. He was born in 1955 and described as “a prolific hymn writer”. In the notes below the song it says “This hymn is a versification of the Te Deum laudamus.” Te Deum laudamus is Latin and means “God, We Praise You.” It is “traditionally sung on […]
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Christ, Be My Leader was written by Timothy Dudley-Smith. He was born in 1926 and served in the Church of England. He also edited the Billy Graham Crusade magazine. In the 1960s, he began writing hymns. He has written over 400 hymns. The tune is called Slane and is an old Irish folk tune.
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Built on the Rock was written by Nicolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig. He was born at Udby, in Seeland, in 1783. Upon leaving university, he took to teaching. During this time, he devoted his attention to poetry, literature, and Northern antiquities. In 1810 he became assistant to his father in a parish in Jutland where he became ordained. After his father’s […]
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My Song is Love Unknown is a hymn by Samuel Crossman. Crossman was a Puritan minister who opposed the Act of Uniformity 1662 and was exiled from the Church of England. He wrote the poem “My Song Is Love Unknown” in 1664. It was not published until he rejoined the Church of England and published in The Young Man’s Meditation […]
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The Day Thou Gavest was written by John Ellerton. The hymn was first published in 1870. Ellerton was born in London, England in 1826. He was ordained to the Church of England in 1851 and served six different churches throughout his career. He also helped to compile several hymn books. He died in England in 1893. Ellerton wrote and translated […]
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More About Jesus was written by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt and John R. Sweney provided the music. More about Jesus was one of the first collaborations of Hewitt and Sweney. The song was first published in 1887 in the hymnal Glad Hallelujahs. During a visit to the Onondaga Reservation, Hewitt was adopted into the tribe. She stated “this relationship has led […]
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The dear old story of a Savior’s love is also referred to as “Sweeter as the Days Go by”. The hymn was written by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt. The hymn was published in 1898 in Songs of Love and Praise No. 5. Following a spinal malady which cut Eliza’s teaching career short, she began to study English literature and write poems […]
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Sweeter as the Days Goes By was written by Genser Smith. The song has a 1984 copyright with LeFevre-Sing Publishing. The sweet hymn is often performed in the Gaither Homecoming videos. I’ve been unable to find any additional information on Genser Smith or the song. However, I love the lyrics and the reminder “The more I trust Him, the more […]
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All People That on Earth Do Dwell was written by William Kethe. Kethe was born in Scotland and fled to the continent during Queen Mary’s persecution in the late 1550s. While living in Geneva he traveled to visit other English refugees. It is believed he was one of the translators of the Geneva Bible–which was favored by the Pilgrim fathers. […]
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And can it be that I should gain was written by Charles Wesley in 1738. He was the eighteenth child born to Samuel and Susanna Wesley on Dec. 18, 1707. It is believed he wrote at least 6500 hymns. He wrote of many personal experiences and feelings through his hymns. And Can It Be is said to have been written […]
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Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed was written by Isaac Watts. Watts was born on July 17, 1674 in Southampton, England. In 1702, he became a pastor and accepted a call to Abney Park, where he would make a home the remainder of his life. He wrote over two thousand hymns along with sermons, treatises and poems. Some of his […]
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