Expert Hymn Recommendations

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear  -  The word-pictures in this traditional Christmas hymn describe what the angels saw the night Christ was born: “angels bending” near the “weary earth,” “o’er its Babel sounds” and “two thousand years of wrong.” Yet they came singing of peace.

Lying Lips  -  Though Babel is not mentioned in Psalm 12, this setting speaks of boastful tongues that connect Babel surely part of the building of Babel. The 4 short stanzas ask God to stop the “lying lips that falsely flatter” and “with Babel sounds oppressing” devise “schemes that fuel the greedy.

By the Waters of Babylon  -  The first verse of Psalm 137 is set to a profoundly simple and evocative Jewish lament that can be sung as a three-part round, or canon.

By the Babylonian Rivers  -  A heartrending lament set to a Latvian folk tune. Stanzas 1-3 are balanced with the hope of stanza 4, and together form a prayer for all refugees, prisoners, and oppressed people.

By All Your Saints Still Striving  -  A “catalog” hymn in which the first and final stanzas could frame one or more of the 21 inner stanzas devoted to giving thanks for particular leaders in the New Testament, including Barnabas.

By All Your Saints Still Striving  -  A “catalog” hymn in which the first and final stanzas could frame one or more of the 21 inner stanzas devoted to giving thanks for particular leaders in the New Testament, including Bartholomew.

In Matthew's Gospel There Are Five  -  In this “catalog” hymn, the first and final stanzas frame inner verses each based on one of the women included in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-16), including Tamar (Gen. 38), Rahab (Joshua 2), Ruth (Ruth), Bathsheeba (2 Sam. 11:1-13:24), as well as Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matt. 1:1-15, Luke 2:26-56). Each stanza ends with the refrain: “If God could find a use for them, their faithfulness ignite, then surely God can use us too, as bearers of the light.”

Let God Arise, and by His Might  -  Psalm 68 draws a picture of the people of God throughout history entering in procession into God’s sanctuary. Looking back as well as forward, David lists the “little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,” as well as “the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali.” A full setting of Psalm 68, including these references, is found in the 1987 Psalter Hymnal, set to the famous Genevan tune for Psalm 68 that became known as the Huguenot Marseillaise, the battle song of the Calvinist Reformation throughout Europe.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing  -  The town of Bethlehem is named in many Christmas hymns, including this one

Blest Are the Innocents  -  For a lament of the killing of the innocents in Bethlehem, and so many children yet today

Surely He Died on Calvary  -  Every verse of this lament ends with the refrain “Surely he died on Calvary.”

Go to Dark Gethsemane  -  An invitation to follow Christ during his journey to the cross, including “Calvary’s mournful mountain climb” (st. 3).