Holding a Hymnal by K. Denise Holmberg

Standing beside my husband at The Cliff’s Glassy Mountain Chapel Sunday morning, I did something I had not done in a very long time. I held a hymnal in my hands.

Chapel at Cliff's Glassy Mountain

It's the "old fashioned" or "traditional" way of singing praise in church.

We even shared the song book. He took one side. I gripped the other.

It was great.

As we sang “It Is Well With My Soul” (the Baptist way -- all four verses), I thought about other wonderful hymns that have gone by and by.

Like The Sweet By and By:

There’s a land that is fairer than day,

And by faith we can see it afar;

For the Father waits over the way

To prepare us a dwelling place there.

Refrain:

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore;

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

(Sanford Bennett)

I LOVE contemporary praise songs. Having the words on the screen is convient.  But the nostalgia of

opening a hymnal made me think about how much I miss the hymns of my youth.

The tactile feel of the hymnal in my hands was like switching from ebook to hardcover.

There's nothing wrong with ebooks. But sometimes there is something pleasing about turning a paper page.

Above all it made me wonder if the kids today are getting exposed to the great hymns.

Do they know the words to: How Great Thou Art, To God Be The Glory, and Holy, Holy, Holy? 

I think it is something to consider. Something to make sure we pass down.

The truth-filled songs teach us theology. There is so much richness of the gospel behind the powerful words. They minister to our hearts and give us hope.

The beloved lyrics also seem to bind us to Christians of past centuries. They secure in us the Faith Of Our Fathers. 

Faith of our fathers, living still

In spite of dungeon, fire and sword,

O how our hearts beat high with joy

Whene’er we hear that glorious word!

Faith of our fathers! holy faith!

We will be true to thee till death!

(Frederick Faber & Henri Hemy)

Some of my other favorites are:

The Old Rugged Cross

(George Bennard)

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, 

the emblem of suffering and shame; 

and I love that old cross where the dearest and best 

for a world of lost sinners was slain. 

Refrain: 

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross, 

till my trophies at last I lay down; 

I will cling to the old rugged cross, 

and exchange it some day for a crown. 

In The Garden

(C. Austin Miles)

I come to the garden alone 

while the dew is still on the roses, 

and the voice I hear falling on my ear, 

the Son of God discloses. 

Refrain: 

And he walks with me, and he talks with me, 

and he tells me I am his own; 

and the joy we share as we tarry there, 

none other has ever known. 

The view from Glassy Mountain Chapel on May 29

When did you last hold a hymnal? What are some of your favorite hymns? Share them with us!

Blessings,

Denise