Noteworthy Blog

It would be hard to imagine the world of church hymns without the influence of Isaac Watts. A master poet with some 750 hymns to his credit, Joy to the World is just one of the many Watts hymns we still sing today. Published in 1719, this marks the 305th year of this hymn. It is a beautiful hymn most often associated with and sung during the Christmas season, but it wasn't based on Christ's birth. No, Joy To The World is the Christmas hymn that isn't.  Watts wrote and published the poem in 1719 as a paraphrase of Psalm 98. At that time, it wasn't set to music. An American named Lowell Mason, regarded by many as the father of American church music (and the father of Henry Mason, who founded the Mason & Hamlin piano company - the most amazing sounding American-made pianos) borrowed some lines from George Fredrick Handel's Messiah to complete a tune called Antioch. Lowell published Joy To The World set to Antioch in 1836 at Christmas time, and the Christmas associa...

This beautiful hymn was first published in 1816 in London, England. It was written by James Montgomery, poet and owner of the Sheffield Iris newspaper. You might recognize his name from another of the 400-plus hymns he wrote; Go To Dark Gethsemane. Montgomery was born in 1771 in Scotland to soon-to-be missionary parents. His father was a pastor in the Moravian brethren, and when James was 6, his parents moved to the West Indies to be missionaries. At that time, he went to boarding school, which did not go well for him, and while he was there, his parents died when he was 12. They wanted him to follow in his father's footsteps and become a minister. But he was dismissed from seminary because of his unwavering interest in poetry. James had no shortage of reasons to abandon his faith. After being kicked out of school, he struggled with homelessness and hunger. He sometimes peddled his poems on the street for money to buy food. Eventually, he made his way to Sheffield, where he got a j...

"And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:9-11) This week, we're going to look at the centuries-old Christmas classic, O Come, All Ye Faithful. Tradition dates this hymn back to 1743, possibly at the writing hands of John Francis Wade, although that's not 100% certain. The original lyrics were penned in Latin and over the late 1700s through the 1800s, a couple of different people translated the hymn to the English language, among some 40 other languages. This hymn places us all with the shepherds and all who made the journey to Bethlehem to behold the newborn King.  The first stanza is the most well-known. It serves as, quite possibly, the greatest Call To Worship ever s...

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be Still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?' And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, 'Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'" Mark 4:37-41 That passage comes to mind as I watch the weather news of Hurricane Milton making landfall just south of Tampa, Florida. The power and fury of these storms is crazy to think about. And with just three words, our Lord and Savior can halt the storm dead in its tracks. In 2016, CityAlight released this song on their Only A Holy God album. It addresses the difficult truth of the Christian...

This hymn is known as "The Love Song of the Welsh Revival." It was the central hymn throughout the 12 months of the 1904 revival across Wales. "It was a movement that went uniquely beyond key individuals in one place" (Kristyn Getty). It comprised many people, gathering in little churches all over Wales. There were no advertisements or promotions to draw attention to it. The testimonies of those who witnessed it described it as little fires popping up throughout the landscape with no organization, common spark, or traceable connection. "It was a revival of prayer and song, of repentance, and of confidence in God's Word" (Kristyn Getty). Here Is Love was written, initially in only two verses, by a Welsh independent preacher named William Rees toward the end of his life. Rees was well-known and recognized by his contemporaries for his gift of preaching. But it wasn't until roughly 30 years after his death that his hymn would have an impact still felt...

This is an Isaac Watts hymn from 1719. But, as incredible as Watts was at writing hymns, and many hymns he did, we’re not going to look into Watt’s story or the historical events surrounding the time of its writing. We’re not even going to explore how Psalm 72 is the basis of this hymn. Instead, we’re going to examine a story of impact.   A few weeks ago, the 2024 Summer Olympics closed in Paris, France, completing the anniversary games of those held 100 years ago. Time will reveal what becomes the most memorable athletic achievement of these 2024 summer games, but it's likely to be a particular break-dancing athlete. However,  Eric Liddell was most remembered for his part in the 1924 Summer Games one hundred years ago.   If you've seen the movie Chariots of Fire, you know his story. Eric was best at the 100-meter sprint, but he refused to compete because the Olympic heats would be held on a Sunday. His knowledge of the schedule months ahea...