In my first call as a pastor, my congregations used to laugh at me affectionately (I think) because I often spoke of my “favorite hymn.” That in itself is not funny. What was humorous was the fact that my “favorite hymn” would change from week to week.
There are so many hymns from the broad Christian tradition that have spoken to me and have fed my soul in my life thus far. Hence, I decided to make an official list of my favorite hymns. The numbered list below is not in order of significance or preference. It is, rather, arranged roughly according to the unfolding of the church calendar, beginning with Advent and culminating with the last Sunday of the church year, often called “Christ the King.”
A hymn’s exclusion from this list should not be taken to mean that I do not like it; in creating this list, I was required to make many difficult decisions, and there simply was not enough space to include all the hymns that are especially meaningful for me. In the end, however, this list of fifty-two hymns can be said to be my list of favorites, at least for the time being. Hymns have been a great strength for me personally, and they continue to give voice to my own prayers.
Some hymns on the list below are better known than others. I am confident that many on this list will be mostly unfamiliar. I am equally confident, however, that these unfamiliar hymns have much to give us, and I hope that by highlighting them they will be a blessing to those who hear and sing them and that they will become more widely known.
There are many factors involved in making a hymn “good,” but most of all what matters is the ability of a hymn to take the content of our Christian faith and express it with grace and beauty. The authors of these hymns come from various times and places in the Christian world. Many of the authors of these hymns were Lutheran, but many were not. Christian hymnody is in many ways an ecumenical exercise, uniting Christians of different backgrounds. I hope that the reflections on these hymns will not only serve as a window into the time and circumstances in which they were written, but also encourage you to add your voice to these words of faith from God’s people of former times.
- Prepare the Royal Highway
- Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
- My Heart Is Filled with Wonder
- I’ve Found Now the Fairest of Roses
- Of the Father’s Love Begotten
- The Only Son from Heaven
- I Walk in Danger
- Come to Calvary’s Holy Mountain
- Glory Be to Jesus
- Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
- Ah, Holy Jesus
- O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
- Christ Jesus Lay in Death’s Strong Bands
- Awake, My Heart, with Gladness
- Beautiful Savior
- My God, How Wonderful Thou Art
- The Lord’s My Shepherd
- Jesus, Priceless Treasure
- To God the Holy Spirit Let Us Pray
- Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord
- Sunshine and Rain
- Forth in Thy Name, O Lord, I Go
- This Is My Father’s World
- The Numberless Gifts of God’s Mercies
- Evening and Morning
- Now All the Woods Are Sleeping
- Rise Up, All Things that God Has Made
- Baptized into Your Name Most Holy
- Go Forth, My Heart, This Summer Day
- Day by Day
- Is It True?
- Jesus, Lover of My Soul
- Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
- The Lord Protects and Holds Me
- As the Sunflower Turns in the Morning
- Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord
- Thy Holy Wings
- He Leadeth Me, O Blessed Thought
- I’m a Pilgrim, and I’m a Stranger
- The Church’s One Foundation
- Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
- Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice
- Rise, O Children of Salvation
- God Moves in a Mysterious Way
- How Fair the Church of Christ Shall Stand
- Great Is Thy Faithfulness
- What Wondrous Love Is This
- Sorrow and Gladness
- Like Noah’s Weary Dove
- My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
- Children of the Heavenly Father
- The Head that Once Was Crowned