Sunday, October 21, 2012

Old Fashioned Sunday Hymn Sing #2

I miss the old hymns that I remember from my childhood - there were no drums, no electric guitar and no mind numbing beat. It was just voices and maybe a piano or an organ. The choir led the congregation in singing - and the words of these hymns are poetic. I realize that there is a need for the modern "seeker oriented" worship music - but it is also necessary to have deeper songs (no offense intended to anyone who prefers the newer church songs).

I decided to have an "Old Fashion Sunday Hymn Sing" once a month on this blog.
I personally do NOT have a great singing voice - I used to play the guitar & piano but my voice is NOT an instrument. That's the great thing about this digital hymn sing you can warble along without being embarrassed or without offending anyone else.

The hymns that we will be studying are taken from an old hymnal from a Baptist church that is no longer in existence - "The North American Hymnal" published in 1956 by "THE ROGER WILLIAMS PRESS"

I will also try to find a version of the featured hymn on "YouTube" to share with you each month.
Today's feature song is "It Is Well With My Soul" by hymnist Horatio G. Spafford 1828-1888 and composed by Philip P. Bliss 1838-1876. The history of this song is very tragic - Mr. Spafford wrote this hymn after his only son died at the age of 4.  Also, just after losing his son the "Great Chicago Fire" occurred and financially ruined Mr. Spafford.  This isn't the end of his trials - it gets much worse - after the fire the "Spaffords" decided to go to Europe but Mr. Spafford was delayed & sent his wife & 4 daughters ahead of him - the ship sank!! - I'm seriously not making this up.  All 4 daughters died but his wife was saved.  Horatio Spafford wrote these lyrics after all of those horrendous events.
Please listen to the "YouTube" video below - the words in this video for the second verse are different from the version in my hymnal.  The chorus is supposed to be in a 2 part harmony - the part that is in all caps is supposed to be the male voices and the top line is supposed to be for the female voices.


Turn with me to number 408 in your hymnals and let's sing:

It Is Well With My Soul
by Horatio G. Spafford (1828-1888)
1.  When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll;  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.
CHORUS
2.  My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious thought - My sin - not in part, but the whole, Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
CHORUS
3.  And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll, The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend, "Even so" - it is well with my soul.
CHORUS
Chorus
It is well................with my soul.................
                 IT IS WELL                     WITH MY SOUL,

It is well, it is well with my soul.
IT IS WELL, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.


Special thanks to "BigSmallVillage" for posting this hymn on "youTube" 
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Other Hymns on this blog:



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8 comments:

  1. The church I went to growing up had no piano or organ and no choir. Just the music director and the congregation singing the hymns. I am not a religious person, but I did always love the old hymns.

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  2. One of my favorite. We still sing from a hymnal. I love the the info about the song you provided. It's always interesting to hear the reason behind the song. Can't wait to see the next hymn.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! That's good to know that there still are some churches that sing from a hymnal.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. I love the old hymns. My new Church is fairly progressive, and the hymns are what I miss most.

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  4. Great post! I love hymns.
    I am a new follower, please feel free to visit and follow my blog:
    http://www.azlifeandstyle.com

    Thank you,

    Ali :)

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  5. This is a beautiful hymn. Thank you! Our music minister does a wonderful job mixing hymns with contemporary songs on Sunday mornings. We generally begin with contemporary, but end with hymns. -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  6. Interesting idea. We have a good mix of hymns and God-honoring Praise music on Sundays. It's good to not throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. Glad you found a way to relish these treasures.

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Please feel free to leave comments or questions (no question is ever stupid) - They will show up on the blog once I have read through them.
Thank You.

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