hymnology

In planning the worship songs for next Sunday's service, I've decided to use 2 of my most favorite hymns. One of them I intentionally wanted to use, the other, was a suggestion from the pastor. Over the last week or so, I've been researching the history and backstory of both of these hymns. One, was written in 1757 by a man who was only 22. What great words came from his pen at such a young age. This is a snippet of what he wrote in Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

The other hymn is slightly older with the words being penned as an Irish poem in the 6th century. It was later translated into English (Mary Byrne) and versified (Eleanor Hull) in 1912. It's set to the music of the Irish folk song, Slane. Here is a portion of Be Thou My Vision.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,
naught be all else to me, save that thou art;
Thou my best thought by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

I can't wait to sing these songs in a few weeks! It's so amazing to think that the congregation and I will be singing words that are older than me, my church, and even most of the people I know! It's a song that's been sung by many generations of Christians and another one will sing it on Sunday, November 14th.