What are your three favorite hymns and why?

[Rayado]

Three favorites: hmm.

In no particular order, I Feel the Winds of God Today:

I feel the winds of God today; today my sail I lift,
Though heavy, oft with drenching spray, and torn with many a rift;
If hope but light the water’s crest, and Christ my bark will use,
I’ll seek the seas at His behest, and brave another cruise.

It is the wind of God that dries my vain regretful tears,
Until with braver thoughts shall rise the purer, brighter years;
If cast on shores of selfish ease or pleasure I should be;
Lord, let me feel Thy freshening breeze, and I’ll put back to sea.

If ever I forget Thy love and how that love was shown,
Lift high the blood red flag above; it bears Thy Name alone.
Great Pilot of my onward way, Thou wilt not let me drift;
I feel the winds of God today, today my sail I lift.

and Praise to the Lord, the Almighty ranks pretty high up there.

How Firm a Foundation is also one that stirs my soul.

And because it really deserved a mention, Let us love and sing and wonder is quite eloquent:

Let us love and sing and wonder,
Let us praise the Savior’s Name!
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder,
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame.
He has washed us with His blood,
He has brought us nigh to God.

[DanMario]

"God of Grace and God of Glory" I love it! and also "all is well with my soul" and "Jesus Christ is Risen Today" (Easter)

Easy enough question.....what are your three favorite hymns and why?

[The Laughing Man]

Amazing Grace, definitely.

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, because I love Beethoven's 9th.

But most favorite is It Is Well With My Soul. The story behind the hymn is absolutely moving:

http://www.insideworship.com/library..._Spafford.aspx

Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.

Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: "Saved alone."

On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.

The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.

His worship does not solely depend on how he feels. "Whatever my lot", he says, come rain or shine, pleasure or pain, success or failure, "Thou hast taught me to say / It is well, it is well with my soul".

Nor does his worship centre on himself He focuses on what God has already done (0 the bliss of this glorious thought / My sin ... is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more) and what God will do in the future ("Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight / The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend").

In fact, Spafford's worship brings us back to the bottom line: at the end of the day, come hell or high-water, it is "this blessed assurance" that holds us fast.

[Kenite]

I'm not sure what comes second and third, but this hymn, for me, 'says it all'. (If you want to copy it, and you might, the second, fourth and last lines of each verse should be indented two spaces.)

The Grace of God

Oh,how the grace of God
Amazes me!
It loosed me from my bonds
And set me free!
What made it happen so?
T'was His will, this much I know,
Set me, as now I show,
At liberty.

My God has chosen me,
Though one of nought,
To sit beside my King
In heaven's court.
Hear what my Lord hath done;
Oh, the love that made Him run
To meet His erring son!
This hath God wrought.

Not for my righteousness,
For I have none,
But for His mercy's sake,
Jesus, God's Son,
Suffered on Calvary's Tree-
Crucified with thieves was He-
Great was His grace to me
His wayward one.

And when I think of how,
At Calvary,
He bore sin's penalty
Instead of me,
Amazed, I wonder why
He the sinless One, should die,
For one so vile as I;
My Saviour He!

Now all my heart's desire,
Is to abide
In Him, my Saviour dear,
In Him to hide.
My shield and buckler He,
Cov'ring and protecting me;
From Satan's darts I'll be
Safe at His side.

Come now, the whole of me,
Eyes, ears and voice,
Join me, Creation all,
With joyful noise.
Praise Him who broke the chain
Holding me in sin's domain,
And set me free again!
Sing and rejoice!

[Iris]

How Great Thou Art
Oh Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

When Christ shall come
With shout of acclamation
To take me home
What joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow in humble adoration
And there proclaim my God how great Thou art

Then sings my soul my savior God to Thee
How great Thou art
How great Thou art
Then sings my soul my savior God to Thee
How great Thou art how great Thou art.

I'll Fly Away

Some glad morning when this life is o'er,
I'll fly away.

To a home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O Glory, I'll fly away.

When I die, Hallelujah, bye and bye,
I'll fly away.



When the shadows of this life have flown,
I'll fly away.

Like a bird thrown, driven by the storm,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O Glory, I'll fly away.
When I die, Hallelujah, bye and bye,
I'll fly away.



Just a few more weary days and then,
I'll fly away.

To a land where joy shall never end,
I'll fly away.

I'll fly away, O Glory,
I'll fly away.

When I die, Hallelujah, bye and bye,
I'll fly away

Come Christians, join to sing
Come, Christians, join to sing
Alleluia! Amen!
Loud praise to Christ our King;
Alleluia! Amen!
Let all, with heart and voice,
Before His throne rejoice;
Praise is His gracious choice.
Alleluia! Amen!

Come, lift your hearts on high,
Alleluia! Amen!
Let praises fill the sky;
Alleluia! Amen!
He is our Guide and Friend;
To us He’ll condescend;
His love shall never end.
Alleluia! Amen!

Praise yet our Christ again,
Alleluia! Amen!
Life shall not end the strain;
Alleluia! Amen!
On heaven’s blissful shore,
His goodness we’ll adore,
Singing forevermore,
“Alleluia! Amen!”

these are a few of my favorites, i absolutely love "how great thou art"

[Pilgrim]

Easy enough question.....what are your three favorite hymns and why?

Let me start with the favorite, it's Holy, Holy, Holy because it is the earliest hymn I can remember knowing and every where I go and hear it I immediately feel like I am home. Plus, it is the way I feel about God and it is the reality of paradise I look forward to.

[weighman]

I like most all hyms. How Great Thou Art and Alls Well With my Soul rate high with me because they do something to me . Hymns To Jesus make me raise my arms to worship Him.

[kyrie]

Redeemed by the Blood of the lamb
Blessed assurance
The King is Coming
Rise Again

[Brown Cat]

I thought about starting a new thread about favorite hymns but a quick search found this inactive one that I would like to "resurrect", so to speak But this is about one hymn today.

Real worship is all about God; and only in a secondary sense is it for us. IMO, we do it to praise and honor Him first; and then, when we worship from the heart in song, whether to ourselves or in corporate worship it can lift us to a new level of appreciation for the Lord. It's something a believer in Christ will want and is encouraged to do (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16)

With that in mind, a hymn that has recently been dear to me is "Be Thou My Vision", that came from Ireland a long time ago. I was thinking that the first thing I should do in the morning is think of Jesus first thing when I wake up and to think of Him just before I go to sleep. Of course I think of Him a lot all during the day. The first and third stanzas really stand out to me, although I do like the whole hymn.


Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy Presence my Light

Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance
Now and always
Thou and Thou only
First in my heart
High King of Heaven my treasure Thou art

[justgin]

Awww, just three? Can't do it.

1. Be Thou My Vision - I sang this one when i tried out for Varsity Singers in high school. I wasn't even a Christian then. I've always loved this hymn. Partly because it's in the key Eb (i LOVE that key), but mainly because the words speak of the total devotion which reminds me of my first days a a brand new Christian.

2. Holy Holy Holy - The words are so totally focused on God and Who He is. Overwhelming.

3. Jesus Paid It All - as sung by Fernando Ortega on his Storm album. Just listen to it. Simple, yet so powerful!

4. Untitled Hymn - by Chris Rice. Simple, powerful. Makes me cry.

5. Revelation Song - as sung by Kari Jobe at her church (Gateway in Texas?) Again, this focuses entirely on God, not us.

[Teluog]

And Can It Be That I Should Gain is probably my favourite. And I guess my second favourite would be What Wondrous Love is This:

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free
I’ll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on.

Not sure about the third one yet.

[justgin]

Dang, Tel! I was going to include What Wondrous Love but i forgot! I LOVE that one too, gives me cold chills. I heard a beautiful version of it on the radio done by the Kansas City Chorale.

[Teluog]

Dang, Tel! I was going to include What Wondrous Love but i forgot! I LOVE that one too, gives me cold chills. I heard a beautiful version of it on the radio done by the Kansas City Chorale.

It's so deeeeep!

[justgin]

Here you go, Tel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgwGY...eature=related

[Brown Cat]

Thanks, Justgin for sharing that link. It's very nice.
Since this thread is about three favorite hymns, here are a couple more of mine, though I could think of many others:

1. All The Way My Savior Leads Me
2. My Savior First of All

both of them, Fanny Crosby hymns. I seem to gravitate toward the old songs.

My mom, who died a little over a year ago requested that "My Savior First of All" be sung at her funeral and I made sure that her request was granted. Her faith in Jesus gave her an inner glow and a Christlike spirit that was obvious to all she knew. Her life after she trusted Christ as her Lord and Savior was always a quiet and gentle witness for God. For that reason, I'll always include this hymn as one of my top three.