{"id":4860,"date":"2018-08-04T14:46:35","date_gmt":"2018-08-04T19:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ponderanew\/?p=4860"},"modified":"2018-08-04T15:09:13","modified_gmt":"2018-08-04T20:09:13","slug":"9-hymns-for-those-struggling-with-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/ponderanew\/2018\/08\/04\/9-hymns-for-those-struggling-with-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Hymns For Christians Who Struggle With Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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My name\u2019s Jonathan, and I struggle with depression. So please know that when I wrote a post like this, I do so out of experience and deep empathy.<\/p>\n

These are not just vapid gospel songs that salve the soul but offer little truth. I\u2019m not going to tell you what others have said; that if you just praise God all your troubles will melt away. Those are evil lies. Reliance upon God doesn\u2019t melt away your troubles, and those who say so have either had terribly easy lives or, more likely, are lost in religulous delusion. But what these hymns, and especially worship in Word and Sacrament, can do is to aid us in seeing the world, and ourselves, through a Christ and cross-shaped lens. Then in the midst of the deepest, darkest night of the soul, we can find the tiny morsel of faith within us to keep going.<\/p>\n

These are beautiful hymns of strength and substance that carry enough truth to help you mount a resistance in your heart and mind.<\/p>\n

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us<\/h2>\n

This is one of the finest texts adopted from the Sunday School hymn tradition. Written for children to sing, the childlike quality of the poetry is juxtaposed with the most glorious theological reality: Jesus the Good Shepherd tends and feeds us, and is with us when we\u2019re lost in eerie solitude.<\/p>\n

Savior, like a shepherd lead us,
\nMuch we need thy tender care;
\nIn thy pleasant pastures feed us,
\nFor our use thy folds prepare:
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nThou hast bought us, thine we are;
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nThou has bought us, thine we are.<\/p>\n

We are thine; do thou befriend us,
\nBe the guardian of our way;
\nKeep thy flock, from sin defend us,
\nSeek us when we go astray:
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nHear, O hear us when we pray;
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nHear, O hear us when we pray.<\/p>\n

Thou has promised to receive us,
\nPoor and sinful though we be;
\nThou has mercy to relieve us,
\nGrace to cleanse, and pow\u2019r to free:
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nEarly let us turn to thee;
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nEarly let us turn to thee.<\/p>\n

Early let us seek thy favor;
\nEarly let us do thy will;
\nBlessed Lord and only Savior,
\nWith thy love our bosoms fill:
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nThou hast loved us, love us still;
\nBlessed Jesus, blessed Jesus,
\nThou has love us, love us still.<\/p>\n