SONG STUDIES: BIBLE STUDIES BASED ON HYMNS AND SONGS

SONG STUDY (7) GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS Thomas O Chisholm This hymn was written in the early twentieth century with words by T.O. Chisholm and music by W.M. Runyan. The major passage of Scripture which the author had in mind is Lamentations 3: 19 - 33, where the writer (Jeremiah?) is working through the anguish of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the loss of all that he held dear.  G reat is Thy faithfulness, O God                                  my Father,                T here is no shadow of turning with  Thee;               Thou changest not, Thy compassions                         they fail not,                 As...

Fanny Crosby 1820-1915 Song Study (4) BLESSED ASSURANCE! This great 19th century hymn, written by the blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby, is still sung frequently wherever Christians gather together to proclaim their faith in Christ. Words: Fanny Crosby , 1873: My friend, Mrs. Joseph F. Knapp, composed a melody and played it over to me two or three times on the piano. She then asked what it said. I replied, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!” Music: Phoebe P. Knapp , 1873 This hymn was sung in the 1985 Academy Award winning movie, “Trip to Bountiful.” “During the recent war in the Transvaal,” said a gentleman at my meeting in Exeter Hall, London, in 1900, “when the soldiers going to the front were passing another body of soldiers whom they recognized, their greetings used to be, ‘Four-nine-four, boys; four-nine-four;’ and the salute would invariably be answered with ‘Six further on, boys; six further on.’ The significance of this was that, in ‘Sacred S...

SONG STUDY (1) INTRODUCTION - BIBLE STUDIES BASED ON HYMNS AND SONGS The words in most hymns and Christian songs often contain quotes from the Bible and these are frequently taken from the King James (Authorised) translation. Because of changes in word meanings since the seventeenth century, modern singers frequently have only a vague understanding of what the song writer meant. Even songs being written today use difficult words and ideas. There is a tendency to use what may be called "Christian jargon", which may be meaningful to some and meaningless to others. Stuart Townend (1963 -) It is assumed that the reader has a copy of the Bible on hand. There are many modern translations around; the writer uses the NIV (New International Version). Isaac Watts 1674-1748 The studies in this blog series have been used at the Glen Innes and Lithgow Baptist churches in NSW, Australia. Feel free to copy (and adapt) for your own personal use or for group study. https://johnsblue...