100 Hymns Everyone Should Learn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSmMeZkkdi8

10. O God, our help in ages past – Isaac Watts, 1719

A thousand ages in thy sight,
are like an evening gone;
short as the watch that ends the night,
before the rising sun.

9. O for a thousand tongues to sing – Charles Wesley, 1739

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
that bids our sorrows cease;
’tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’tis life, and health, and peace.

8. O sacred head, now wounded – Anon. Latin; trans. Paul Gerhardt, 1656 and James W. Alexander, 1830

O make me thine forever;
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love to thee.

7. The God of Abraham praise – From The Yigdal of Daniel ben Judah, ca. 1400; para. Thomas Olivers, 1760

Jehovah, great I AM!
by earth and heaven confessed;
I bow and bless the sacred name
forever blest.

6. Love divine, all loves excelling – Charles Wesley, 1747

Finish, then, thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee;
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

5. All hail the power of Jesus’ name – Edward Perronet, 1779

Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball, on this terrestrial ball,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.

4. All creatures of our God and King – Francis of Assisi, ca. 1225; trans. William H. Draper, 1925

Let all things their Creator bless,
and worship him in humbleness,
O praise ye! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
and praise the Spirit, Three in One!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc6QkhChlEg

3. Jesus shall reign – Isaac Watts, 1719

Let every creature rise and bring
honors peculiar to our King;
angels descend with songs again,
and earth repeat the loud amen!

2. A mighty fortress is our God – Martin Luther, ca. 1529; trans. Frederick H. Hedge, 1853

Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

1. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty – Reginald Heber, 1826

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see.

Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn on the night he was betrayed, and we continue the tradition of sung faith today through words ancient and modern, joyous and mournful, uniting and convicting, exalting and confession.

This list contains just a few of the songs sung through the ages by people of faith, and we join in their song and add our own voice, as we press our way to that “more profound alleluia” in our Christian worship. These songs aren’t cool, they aren’t marketable, they aren’t targeted at a specific demographic. They are simply songs of the church

Photo:
Flickr, Charles Clegg, creative commons 2.0