Give Me that Old Time Religion
My husband and I have an ongoing debate.
He firmly believes that a church without an organ—preferably a pipe organ—is like a Broadway show without the music. He feels something is missing. And, the drums and guitars don’t make up for this loss. In fact, in his eyes, they only point out what is missing.
While I don’t share his need for a pipe organ, I do believe that there are hymns that all Christians should know. It is part of our heritage. It is a uniting force.
Also, while many of the newer hymns do address our personal relationship with Christ, many of the older hymns do a good job of reminding us who Christ is. And, through this, they cause us to unite in worship over who He is and what He has done—not the individual experience of our personal feelings and relationship with Him.
In my mind, both are important. There is value in those old hymns and value in praise and worship bands. It would be great to find a church that offers both—but those seem rare these days.
Given all of this background, I was particularly intrigued this year when I came across a listing, put together by get.tithe.ly. The list is detailed in an article entitled 13 Old Hymns Every Christian Should Know by Heart, published June 10, 2020—right in the middle of the pandemic, when we were all missing church—and those great old-time hymns.
Here is their list – let me know if there are others you would add or change:
1. Amazing Grace // John Newton, England (1779).
2. How Great Thou Art // Gustav Boberg, Sweden (1885)
3. It is Well // Horacio Spafford, written on the Atlantic Ocean (1873)
4. Be Thou My Vision // Dallan Forgaill, Ireland (6th Century)
5. All Creatures of Our God and King // St. Francis of Assisi, Italy (1225)
6. Doxology // Thomas Ken, England (1674)
7. Blessed Assurance // Fanny Cosby, New York City USA (1873)
8. When I Survey the Wonderous Cross // Isaac Watts, England (1707)
9. Jesus Paid It All // Elvina Hall, Maryland, USA (1865)
10. A Mighty Fortress is Our God // Martin Luther, Germany (1527)
11. How Firm a Foundation // John Rippon, England (1787)
12. Crown Him With Many Crowns // Matthew Bridges, England (1852)
13. What a Friend We Have in Jesus // Joseph M. Scriven, Canada (1868)
I was pleased to realize I knew each of these hymns, from 30 years of serving churches with my husband. There are some, perhaps, I wouldn’t have on the Top 13 Hymns list, but I do agree that all Christians should know these hymns. Here are a few I would add to the list:
1. Once to Every Man and Nation, James Russel Lowell (1845)
2. Open My Eyes That I May See, Clara H. Scott (1895)
3. God Be With You Till We Meet Again (Benediction), James Earl Rankin (1880)
4. Holy, Holy, Holy, Reginald Heber, England, (1861)
5. Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Joachim Neander, Germany, (1665)
My husband would add these two to the list:
1. Now Thank We All Our God, Martin Rinkart, Germany (1636)
2. Abide With Me, Henry Francis Lyte (1820)
What are your favorite old-time hymns?
If some of these aren’t familiar to you, go online and listen to them.
Blessed Be the Tie that Binds! And hymns help do just that!