#hymnwriter

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Today in Christian History

Today is Monday, March 6th, the 65th day of 2023. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

1830: The New York Evangelist is founded with the assistance of Charles G. Finney for the express purpose of representing revival interests and will soon command a large circulation.

1883: Death in Oslo of Norwegian editor and hymnwriter, Elevine Heede. Altogether she had written or translated more than two hundred hymns.

1901: Amy Carmichael, serving as a missionary in India, shelters her first temple runaway, a young girl dedicated to the Hindu gods and forced into prostitution to earn money for the priests.

1916: Russians slaughter the Turkish 3rd Army, giving no quarter to the men held responsible for the recent massacre of Armenian Christians.

1919: Death in Peoria, Illinois, of hymnwriter Julia Harriette Johnston who had directed a Presbyterian Sunday school for forty years and written a book of missionary lives. Her best-known hymn was the popular “Grace Greater than Our Sin.”

1933: Death in Massachusetts of Christian educator and hymnwriter Amos R. Wells, editor of Peloubet’s Notes for the International Sunday School Lessons and editorial secretary for the United Society of Christian Endeavor.

1984: Death of Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller, a founder of Germany’s Confessing Church and an opponent of the Nazis, who imprisoned him for many years.

2015: Opening day of The Oromo Theologians’ Forum is held in Oslo, Norway, and seeks ways for displaced Ethiopians to effectively share the gospel in Europe.

[confetti-cat]

*nabs the open tag* *promptly forgets every movie I have ever seen*

Also not including Lord of the Rings so not to skew results. (But lowkey curious to see how far it would skew a match? 👀)

*I have been searching for fifteen minutes and haven't found information on this one, but it was free on YouTube a few years back. It followed a family with young kids during wartime, with the kids trying to help their dad compose a hymn that would give them enough money to pay their bills. Very sweet movie—the kids were delightful and had such funny character moments—and it explored the history of the The Love of God/"Were the skies of parchment made..." poem. I am so certain it was titled Amazing Grace. Where did it go, internet -

edit: Aha! I had the title wrong—the movie I was thinking of is Indescribable (2013), and it is still on YouTube! A big thanks to @isfjmel-phleg for pointing that out.

No-pressure tagging @shaylalaloohoo, @littleskycharm, @awesomebutunpractical, and @isfjmel-phleg!

Pick one of my five favorite movies!

I was tagged by @friendrat, but the original chain was getting kinda long, so we're doing a fresh post. Not including The Lord of the Rings even though it's my actual favorite because that's going to skew the results waaaaaaay too much.

Tagging @as-dreamers-do, @cat-dragoness, and @o-lei-o-lai-o-lord (and anyone who wants to do this but hasn't been tagged).

[camisoledadparis]

George Sheridan Knowles (British artist) 1863 - 1931 "Page and Monarch forth they went, Forth they went together, Through the rude wind's wild lament, and the bitter weather", 1898 oil on canvas private collection

Taken from "Good King Wenceslas", a popular Christmas carol that tells a story of a king braving harsh winter weather to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the day after Christmas). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step, through the deep snow. The legend is based on the life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia or Svatý Václav in Czech (907–935). In 1853, English hymnwriter John Mason Neale wrote the "Wenceslas" lyrics, in collaboration with his music editor Thomas Helmore, and the carol first appeared in Carols for Christmas-Tide, 1853.

* * *

[tmarshconnors]

*A pastor who fails to deal with sin is like a doctor who fails to deal with illness. You better find another one."

Martin Luther OSA was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western and Christian history. 

Nailed the 95 Theses: Martin Luther is best known for his 95 Theses, which he is said to have nailed to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. This act is commonly considered the starting point of the Protestant Reformation, challenging the Catholic Church's practices, particularly the sale of indulgences.

Excommunicated and Outlawed: In 1521, Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X and declared an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms. Despite this, he continued to promote his reforms and translated the Bible into German, making it more accessible to the common people.

Translation of the Bible: Luther translated the Bible into German, starting with the New Testament in 1522 and completing the Old Testament in 1534. His translation played a significant role in shaping the German language and making the Scriptures accessible to a broader audience.

Theological Contributions: Luther's theology emphasized key doctrines such as justification by faith alone (sola fide), the authority of Scripture alone (sola scriptura), and the priesthood of all believers. These ideas were foundational to the development of Protestantism.

Lutheranism: Martin Luther’s teachings and reforms led to the establishment of the Lutheran Church, one of the major branches of Protestantism. His followers, known as Lutherans, continued to develop his theological insights and build upon his reforming work, influencing the course of Christian history.

[transgenderer]

During the 19th century, the valley was called Neanderhöhle (Neander's Valley) and, after 1850, Neanderthal. It was named after Joachim Neander, a 17th-century German pastor and hymnwriter. Neumann lived in nearby Düsseldorf and loved the valley for giving him the inspiration for his compositions

Denisova Cave is in south-central Siberia, Russia, in the Altai Mountains near the border with Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. It is named after Denis (Dyonisiy), a Russian hermit who lived there in the 18th century

the two areas from which the non-human hominids that contributed to human genetics are both named after a particular guy who spent a lot of time there. not a common naming scheme for locations. weird coincidence

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 7.17

Beer Birthdays

James Pawley Dawes (1843)

Anthony Straub (1882)

Joshua Bernstein (1978)

Five Favorite Birthdays

James Cagney; actor (1899)

Erle Stanley Gardner; writer (1889)

Vince Guaraldi; jazz pianist (1928)

Peter Schickele; music comedian, composer (1935)

Donald Sutherland; actor (1934)

Famous Birthdays

Berenice Abbott; photographer (1898)

Shmuel Yosef Agnon; Ukrainian-Israeli writer (1888)

Ron Asheton; guitarist and songwriter (1948)

John Jacob Astor; zillionaire (1763)

Lou Barlow; guitarist and songwriter (1966)

George Barnes; guitarist and songwriter (1921)

Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten; German philosopher (1714)

Luc Bondy; Swiss film director (1948)

Tim Brooke-Taylor; English comedian (1940)

Mark Burnett; television producer (1960)

Geezer Butler; English bass player (1949)

Diahann Carroll; actor (1935)

Niccolò Castiglioni; Italian composer (1932)

Elizabeth Cook; singer and guitarist (1972)

John Cooper; English car designer (1923)

Chris Crutcher; writer (1946)

Spencer Davis; rock musician (1942)

Paul Delaroche; French painter (1797)

Phyllis Diller; comedian (1917)

Cory Doctorow, Canadian author (1971)

Lyonel Feininger;, German-American painter (1871)

Lionel Ferbos; trumpeter (1911)

Wolfgang Flür; German musician (1947)

Wendy Freedman; Canadian-American cosmologist and astronomer (1957)

Elbridge Gerry; politician (1744)

Sergei K. Godunov; Russian mathematician (1929)

Gordon Gould; laser inventor (1920)

David Hasselhoff; actor (1952)

Hermann Huppen; Belgian author and illustrator (1938)

Bruno Jasieński; Polish poet and author (1901)

Scott Johnson; cartoonist (1969)

Darryl Lamonica; Oakland Raiders QB (1941)

Nicolette Larson; singer-songwriter (1952)

Thé Lau; Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (1952)

Georges Lemaître; Belgian priest, astronomer, and cosmologist (1894)

Art Linkletter; humorist (1912)

Pierre Louis Maupertuis; French mathematician and philosopher (1698)

Robert R. McCammon; author (1952)

Angela Merkel; German chemist and politician (1954)

Craig Morgan; singer-songwriter and guitarist (1965)

Luis Munoz-Rivera; Puerto Rican patriot, poet (1859)

Frank Olson; chemist and microbiologist (1910)

Barbara O'Neil; actor (1910)

Mary Osborne; guitarist (1921)

Quino Spanish-Argentinian cartoonist (1932)

Christiane Rochefort; French author (1917)

Jason Rullo; rock drummer (1972)

Jimmy Scott; jazz singer (1925)

Ephraim Shay, American engineer (1839)

Phoebe Snow; singer (1952)

P.J. Soles; actor (1950)

Red Sovine; country singer (1917)

Christina Stead; Australian author (1902)

J. Michael Straczynski; writer (1954)

Mick Tucker; English rock drummer (1947)

Isaac Watts; English hymnwriter (1674)

Alex Winter; actor (1965)

[remoteteach]

erasmus laid the egg and Luther hatched it

Martin LutherOSA (/ˈluːθər/LOO-thər;[1] German: [ˈmaʁtiːn ˈlʊtɐ]ⓘ; 10 November 1483[2] – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar.[3] Luther was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation, and his theological beliefs form the basis of Lutheranism. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Western and Christian history.[4]

[isaiah4031kjv]

How to Handle Burdens (Psalm 55:22)

This slideshow requires JavaScript. God does not exempt His children from difficulty. Job experienced great sorrow and pain when the Lord permitted Satan to attack him. Abraham, Paul, and others were also severely tested. Yet, as poet William Cowper observed, “Behind a frowning providence God hides a smiling face.” The hymnwriter Georg Neumark was a dedicated Christian who was afflicted with…

[k-she-rambles]

this morning's rabbit hole: advent hymnology & which hymnwriters/translators seem to be allergic to the word "sublime"

[dianaleaghmatthews]

Hymn Story: All My Hope On God is Founded

“All My Hope on God is Founded” began as the German hymn. The original words “Meine Hoffnung stehet feste”. Joachim Neander wrote the hymn around 1680. Neander was born in 1650 in Bremen (modern day Germany). He served as a German theologian and hymnwriter. He wrote over sixty hymns and is best known for the hymn Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation. He died in 1680. In 1899,…

[rw7771]

Hymnwriter - Wikipedia

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

It Happened Today in Christian History

May 25, 1825: Death in Bristol, England, of Baptist hymnwriter John Ryland after saying “no more pain.” He had helped William Carey organize the first Baptist mission and had written the hymn “Lord, teach a little child to pray.”

[jonathanandrewkurz]

For anyone interested: I have updated my hymn that focuses on God’s aseity (self-existence). You can view/print at this link. 

It’s my prayer that this song encourages as it educates. Colossians 3:16 tells us that one purpose of our singing is to be ‘teaching and admonishing’ each other. I hope this hymn enables us to do so with awe, wonder, and thankfulness in our hearts to God.

The major update is a refrain of praise at the end of each verse. A dear friend pointed out that the whole song was listing attributes of God, but didn’t give the congregation an opportunity to celebrate and praise the God about Whom they are singing. Also, I tried to be less ‘reckless’ in my use of terms and ideas. I realized I was using a word in a different manner than it is defined. There is no place for the unclear, confusing, or haphazard in Christian worship. 

I have a new song or two in the works right now! Very excited to polish them up as best I can and share them with you shortly.

Soli Deo Gloria!

[shadowfromthestarlight]

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) Appreciation Post

I read up on the brilliant hymnwriter whose songs we still sing today, even though we usually don’t know who wrote them!

The Wikipedia description of his background:

Watts was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, in 1674 and was brought up in the home of a committed religious nonconformist; his father, also Isaac Watts, had been incarcerated twice for his views. Watts had a classical education at King Edward VI School, Southampton, learning Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

Watts displayed a propensity for rhyme from an early age. He was once asked why he had his eyes open during prayers, to which he responded:

A little mouse for want of stairs ran up a rope to say its prayers.

He received corporal punishment for this, to which he cried:

O father, father, pity take And I will no more verses make.

Watts could not attend Oxford or Cambridge because he was a nonconformist and these universities were restricted to Anglicans—as were government positions at the time. He went to the Dissenting Academy at Stoke Newington in 1690. Much of the remainder of his life centred on that village, which is now part of Inner London.

Following his education, Watts was called as pastor of a large independent chapel in London, Mark Lane Congregational Chapel, where he helped train preachers, despite his poor health. He held religious opinions that were more nondenominational or ecumenical than was common for a nonconformist Congregationalist. He had a greater interest in promoting education and scholarship than preaching for any particular sect.

Watts took work as a private tutor and lived with the nonconformist Hartopp family at Fleetwood House on Church Street in Stoke Newington. Through them, he became acquainted with their immediate neighbours Sir Thomas Abney and Lady Mary. He eventually lived for a total of 36 years in the Abney household, most of the time at Abney House, their second residence. (Lady Mary had inherited the manor of Stoke Newington in 1701 from her late brother Thomas Gunston.)

On the death of Sir Thomas Abney in 1722, his widow Lady Mary and her unmarried daughter Elizabeth moved all her household to Abney House from Hertfordshire, and she invited Watts to continue with them. He particularly enjoyed the grounds at Abney Park, which Lady Mary planted with two elm walks leading down to an island heronry in the Hackney Brook, and he often sought inspiration there for the many books and hymns that he wrote.

Watts lived at Abney Hall in Stoke Newington until his death in 1748; he was buried in Bunhill Fields. He left an extensive legacy of hymns, treatises, educational works, and essays. His work was influential amongst nonconformist independents and religious revivalists of the 18th century, such as Philip Doddridge, who dedicated his best-known work to Watts.

The title page of Isaac Watts' "Guide to Prayer", fourth edition, 1725

Sacred music scholars Stephen Marini, Denny Prutow and Michael LeFebvre describe the ways in which Watts contributed to English hymnody and the previous tradition of the Church. Watts led the change in practice by including new poetry for "original songs of Christian experience" to be used in worship, according to Marini.The older tradition was based on the poetry of the Bible: the Psalms. According to LeFebvre, Psalms had been sung by God's people from the time of King David, who with a large staff over many years assembled the complete book of Psalms in a form appropriate for singing (by the Levites, during Temple sacrifices at the time). The practice of singing Psalms in worship was continued by Biblical command in the New Testament Church from its beginnings in Acts through the time of Watts, as documented by Prutow. The teachings of 16th-century Reformation leaders such as John Calvin, who translated the Psalms in the vernacular for congregational singing, followed this historic worship practice. Watts was not the first Protestant to promote the singing of hymns; however, his prolific hymn writing helped usher in a new era of English worship as many other poets followed in his path.

Watts also introduced a new way of rendering the Psalms in verse for church services, proposing that they be adapted for hymns with a specifically Christian perspective. As Watts put it in the title of his 1719 metrical Psalter, the Psalms should be "imitated in the language of the New Testament." Besides writing hymns, Isaac Watts was also a theologian and logician, writing books and essays on these subjects.

From the Christianity Today article:

Young Isaac showed genius early. He was learning Latin by age 4, Greek at 9, French (which he took up to converse with his refugee neighbors) at 11, and Hebrew at 13. Several wealthy townspeople offered to pay for his university education at Oxford or Cambridge, which would have led him into Anglican ministry. Isaac refused and at 16 went to London to study at a leading Nonconformist academy. Upon graduation, he spent five years as a private tutor.

In 1702 he became pastor of London's Mark Lane Independent (i.e. Congregational) Chapel, then one of the city's most influential independent churches. But the following year, he began suffering from psychiatric illness that would plague him for the rest of his life. He had to pass off more and more of his work to his assistant and eventually resigned in 1712.

Though German Lutherans had been singing hymns for 100 years, John Calvin had urged his followers to sing only metrical psalms; English Protestants had followed Calvin's lead.

Watts's 1707 publication of Hymns and Spiritual Songs technically wasn't a collection of hymns or metrical psalms, but it was a collection of consequence. In fact, it contained what would become some of the most popular English hymns of all time, such as "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross."

Watts didn't reject metrical psalms; he simply wanted to see them more impassioned. "They ought to be translated in such a manner as we have reason to believe David would have composed them if he had lived in our day," he wrote. Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament followed in 1719.

Many of his English colleagues couldn't recognize these translations. How could "Joy to the World" really be Psalm 98? Or "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun" be Psalm 72>, or "O God Our Help in Ages Past" be Psalm 90?

Watts was unapologetic, arguing that he deliberately omitted several psalms and large parts of others, keeping portions "as might easily and naturally be accommodated to the various occasions of Christian life, or at least might afford us some beautiful allusions to Christian affairs." Furthermore, where the psalmist fought with personal enemies, Watts turned the biblical invective against spiritual adversaries: sin, Satan, and temptation. Finally, he said, "Where the flights of his faith and love are sublime, I have often sunk the expressions within the reach of an ordinary Christian."

Such looseness brought criticism. "Christian congregations have shut out divinely inspired psalms and taken in Watts's flights of fancy," protested one detractor. Others dubbed the new songs "Watts's whims."

But after church splits, pastor firings, and other arguments, Watts's paraphrases won out. "He was the first who taught the Dissenters to write and speak like other men, by showing them that elegance might consist with piety," wrote the famed lexicographer (and Watts's contemporary) Samuel Johnson.

More than a poet, however, Watts was also a scholar of wide reputation, especially in his later years. He wrote nearly 30 theological treatises; essays on psychology, astronomy, and philosophy; three volumes of sermons; the first children's hymnal; and a textbook on logic that served as a standard work on the subject for generations.

But his poetry remains his lasting legacy and earned him acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Benjamin Franklin published his hymnal, Cotton Mather maintained a long correspondence, and John Wesley acknowledged him as a genius.

Songs he’s known for:

Joy to the World O God Our Help in Ages Past I Sing the Mighty Power of God When I Can Read My Title Clear O God Beyond All Praising

And a lot more can be found here.

[tmarshconnors]

"Be careful not to measure your holiness by other peoples sins."

Martin Luther was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and Augustinian friar. He was the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation.

Cloistered Monk to Reformer: Before becoming a key figure in the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther was a devout Augustinian monk. He entered the monastery in Erfurt, Germany, against his father's wishes, seeking spiritual fulfillment. It was during this time that he struggled with questions of salvation and the nature of God's grace, ultimately leading to his theological breakthroughs.

Tower Experience: Legend has it that Martin Luther had a pivotal moment in his life known as the "Tower Experience." In 1517, while in a tower at Wittenberg, Luther is said to have had a profound spiritual revelation that sparked his theological insights, eventually leading to the posting of his famous "95 Theses" on the door of the Castle Church.

Translation of the Bible: Martin Luther played a significant role in translating the Bible into German, making it more accessible to the common people. Completed in 1534, Luther's translation of the New Testament and later the Old Testament into German greatly contributed to the standardization and development of the German language.

Marriage to Katharina von Bora: In 1525, Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, a former nun. This marriage was considered scandalous at the time, as it challenged the celibacy vows associated with monastic life. Luther and Katharina had a happy and supportive marriage, and they had six children together.

Advocacy for Education: Martin Luther was a strong advocate for education. He believed in the importance of educating the masses and worked to establish schools. His commitment to education laid the foundation for the development of a literate and educated society, and his ideas influenced the later establishment of compulsory education in some regions.

[fierysword]

Hymnwriter Brian Wren