Hymn Story: Praise to the Lord the Almighty

“Praise to the Lord! the Almighty, the King of Creation!” was written by Joachim Neander in 1680.  He was the first important hymn-writer of the German Reformed Church. He primarily wrote after he went to Düsseldorf, where he’d taken a vow of silence to anything except official work. He died in 1680 at the age of thirty. Catherine Winkworth translated […]

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Behind the Hymn: Count Your Blessings

When searching for a Thanksgiving hymn, I was surprised we have not discussed this hymn yet. Count Your Blessings is a hymn written in 1897 by Johnson Oatman, Jr.    Oatman was born on April 21, 1856 in Lumberton, NJ to Johnson and Rachel Oatman. His merchant father was considered to be the “best singer in town” although the young […]

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Behind the Hymn: For the Beauty of the Earth

Folliott Sandford Pierpoint was born in Bath, England in 1835.  After being educated at Queens College in Cambridge, he taught at Somersetshire College.  He contributed hymns to various publications and published at least two song books. He wrote numerous poems, but For the Beauty of the Earth is the only one he is remembered for today.  The hymn was originally […]

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