My former professor Gracia Grindal, who is a world renowned translator of Christian hymns from German and the Scandinavian languages, calls to mind a quote that she learned from her years of research in Scandinavia. It is said that “Hymnody is the experienced Bible.” When Christians are pressed hard against the difficulties of life or exalted by the true joy that comes from a life in Christ, they find in the writing and singing of hymns a powerful way to express their experience of the Christian life.
But for me, hymns are not only a way for me to express my faith; they are also a way that God uses to communicate with me. I credit church music and hymns with being one of the means by which God spoke his Word into my life. Growing up in the Lutheran church of my hometown, hearing and singing those many hymns, I believe the Holy Spirit was at work in my life to create faith in Jesus, the Son of God, even though I didn’t realize it at the time.
There are a number of hymn writers throughout history that I could focus on in this post, but one in particular stands out in my mind. Her name is Carolina (Lina) Sandell-Berg (1832-1903), the daughter of a Swedish Lutheran pastor. While accompanying her father on a journey across Sweden, which required the use of a ferry on a deep Swedish lake, her father was swept overboard and drowned. The loss of her father as well as her faith in God’s continuing care for all of his people is said to have produced two hymns that are known widely throughout the Christian world: “Children of the Heavenly Father” and “Day by Day.”
In reality, Lina Sandell always had a knack for hymn writing, and it isn’t known for sure if “Children of the Heavenly Father” preceded or followed her father’s death. Regardless, the words began to flow from her pen. Sandell wrote roughly 600 hymns throughout her life, and, accompanied by the music of a man named Oskar Ahnfeldt, these hymns spread widely across Scandinavia. Immigrants from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway brought her hymns with them as they came here to North America.
Sadly, most of her hymns have been forgotten in North America, and no one has bothered to translate these warm expressions of Christian faith for English speakers to enjoy until recently. The Swedish Augustana Synod in America included over a hundred of her hymns in their "Hemlandsanger" hymnal, but in 1925, their English hymnal all but abandoned her hymns in favor of English and American hymns. Gracia Grindal has translated a few more of these treasures with titles such as “The Numberless Gifts of God’s Mercies,” “Is It True that Jesus is My Brother?” “O Jesus, Let My Eyes Be Opened,” and “Thy Holy Wings.” The Swedish pop singer Carola Haggkvist has actually produced an album of her hymns entitled “Blott en dag.” Her hymns are known for their sweet sound and ability to comfort. As such, they work well as lullabies.
Rarely can I get through any of Sandell’s hymns with a dry eye. How grateful I am for people like Lina Sandell and Oskar Ahnfeldt for giving me and all of us such a beautiful way to glorify God. Concluding with the words of her hymn that was sung at my son’s baptism, “Thy Holy Wings”:
Thy holy wings, O Savior, spread gently over me, and let me rest securely through good and ill in Thee. Oh be my strength and portion, my rock and hiding place, and let my ev’ry moment be lived within thy grace.
O wash me in the waters of Noah’s cleansing flood! Give me a willing spirit, a heart both clean and good. O take into Thy keeping, Thy children great and small. And while we sweetly slumber, enfold us one and all.
Carolina Sandell-Berg, 1823-1903; trans. Gracia Grindal, 1943-
Tune: Swedish folk song, BRED DINA VIDA VINGAR
ReClaim: Lutheran Hymnal for Church and Home, 76
But for me, hymns are not only a way for me to express my faith; they are also a way that God uses to communicate with me. I credit church music and hymns with being one of the means by which God spoke his Word into my life. Growing up in the Lutheran church of my hometown, hearing and singing those many hymns, I believe the Holy Spirit was at work in my life to create faith in Jesus, the Son of God, even though I didn’t realize it at the time.
There are a number of hymn writers throughout history that I could focus on in this post, but one in particular stands out in my mind. Her name is Carolina (Lina) Sandell-Berg (1832-1903), the daughter of a Swedish Lutheran pastor. While accompanying her father on a journey across Sweden, which required the use of a ferry on a deep Swedish lake, her father was swept overboard and drowned. The loss of her father as well as her faith in God’s continuing care for all of his people is said to have produced two hymns that are known widely throughout the Christian world: “Children of the Heavenly Father” and “Day by Day.”
In reality, Lina Sandell always had a knack for hymn writing, and it isn’t known for sure if “Children of the Heavenly Father” preceded or followed her father’s death. Regardless, the words began to flow from her pen. Sandell wrote roughly 600 hymns throughout her life, and, accompanied by the music of a man named Oskar Ahnfeldt, these hymns spread widely across Scandinavia. Immigrants from Sweden, Denmark, and Norway brought her hymns with them as they came here to North America.
Sadly, most of her hymns have been forgotten in North America, and no one has bothered to translate these warm expressions of Christian faith for English speakers to enjoy until recently. The Swedish Augustana Synod in America included over a hundred of her hymns in their "Hemlandsanger" hymnal, but in 1925, their English hymnal all but abandoned her hymns in favor of English and American hymns. Gracia Grindal has translated a few more of these treasures with titles such as “The Numberless Gifts of God’s Mercies,” “Is It True that Jesus is My Brother?” “O Jesus, Let My Eyes Be Opened,” and “Thy Holy Wings.” The Swedish pop singer Carola Haggkvist has actually produced an album of her hymns entitled “Blott en dag.” Her hymns are known for their sweet sound and ability to comfort. As such, they work well as lullabies.
Rarely can I get through any of Sandell’s hymns with a dry eye. How grateful I am for people like Lina Sandell and Oskar Ahnfeldt for giving me and all of us such a beautiful way to glorify God. Concluding with the words of her hymn that was sung at my son’s baptism, “Thy Holy Wings”:
Thy holy wings, O Savior, spread gently over me, and let me rest securely through good and ill in Thee. Oh be my strength and portion, my rock and hiding place, and let my ev’ry moment be lived within thy grace.
O wash me in the waters of Noah’s cleansing flood! Give me a willing spirit, a heart both clean and good. O take into Thy keeping, Thy children great and small. And while we sweetly slumber, enfold us one and all.
Carolina Sandell-Berg, 1823-1903; trans. Gracia Grindal, 1943-
Tune: Swedish folk song, BRED DINA VIDA VINGAR
ReClaim: Lutheran Hymnal for Church and Home, 76