Learn 20 Hymns word-for-word

a song that has lyrics that truly speak to me. I’ve noticed that some people list a goal of picking out a theme song for themself. While that’s not really a goal of mine, this song made me think of that goal, and would probably be the closest thing I’ve found so far to being my own theme song!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

“Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.”

“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and spring-time and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness,
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

“Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

that I would like to learn is one that never fails to make me emotional when I hear it or sing it. I’m usually fine until I get to the thrid verse…and then I can’t stop myself from crying. It is one of my favorite songs of all time:

How Great Thou Art

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

is a song that every American is familiar with. They may or may not know that it is actually a hymn, and sadly, very few of us have heard it all the way through. I was surprised to find that it has 3 verses, and saddened to find that the last verse was omitted in our new hymnals. If the churches don’t even leave it in, where is this nation heading? I’m going to learn this song in its entirety so that I can pass it on to my children, and they can pass it on to theirs.

The Star-Spangled Banner

O say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there
O say does that Star-spangled Banner still wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen thro’ the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
‘Tis the Star-spangled Banner, O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the Star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

A beautiful song that is one of my favorites. I love it not only for the words and what they mean to me because of my love for the nature that God has created, but also because the melody is so beautiful. It reminds me of the music that plays at the end of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’.

This is My Father’s World

This is my Father’s world,
And to my list’ning ears,
All nature sings, and round me rings The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world,
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white, Declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world,
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass, He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world,
Oh! let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world,
The battle is not done,
Jesus who died shall be satisfied, And earth and heav’n be one.

Amen.

I love singing, and I love singing hymns of praise to my God! Really, don’t know why I haven’t done this sooner…