Hymns That Move Me: Favorites are Personal

A few weeks ago I shared a post on Facebook of hymns that the author felt we should get away from singing. Some of it was due to emotionality, some to bad theology. Some of you (and you know who you are!) responded quite strongly. Well, here are my Top 10 favorite hymns. Yes some were on that other list. But, and NOT including several that are unique to my Moravian tradition, these are my favorites.

1. Amazing Grace – John Newton, England (1779)
2. Praise To the Lord The Almighty – Joachim Neander, Germany (1665)
3. Be Thou My Vision – Dallán Forgaill, Ireland (6th Century)
4. It is Well With My Soul– Horacio Spafford, written in the Atlantic Ocean (1873)
5. How Great Thou Art – Carl Gustav Boberg, Sweden (1885)
6. What Wondrous Love- American folk hymn, anonymous (1811)
7. When I Survey The Wondrous Cross – Isaac Watts, England (1707)
8. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing – Robert Robison, England (1757)
9. Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand- Henry Alford (1867)
10. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling- Charles Wesley (1747)

Limiting to ten is hard after 40+ years in the ministry! So, I started a couple other lists. The second is my list of Moravian-based hymns and the third is Gospel-type hymns. (You knew I couldn't stick with just 10!) I will post them next week.

Well, that got me thinking about a series of posts, probably weekly, looking at my favorites, perhaps one from each list each week. Hymns are so essential to my expressions of faith and spirit that I just get inspired thinking about hymns, let alone singing. So, probably in two weeks I will begin the hymn posts. It will probably be on Sundays. Of course.

Watch for them.