Hymn Story Were You There? Hymn lists by book of Bible This is an African-American spiritual—author known only to God.  These spirituals were popular among American slaves quite early—how early we can't say.  They started becoming known in the wider church (white congregations) after the Civil War, which ended in 1865. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, [...]

Hymn Story We Three Kings Hymn lists by book of Bible The giving of gifts is one of the most enduring traditions of Christmas.  It has its origins in the story of the Wise Men who followed a star to the place where the baby Jesus lay in his manger.  They presented him with gifts—gold [...]

Hymn Story We Plow the Fields and Scatter Hymn lists by book of Bible We Plow (or Plough) the Fields, and Scatter Matthias Claudius (1740-1815) was a newspaper man in Germany.  The son of a Lutheran pastor, he found his faith slipping away after rubbing elbows with some of the leading philosophers of the [...]

Hymn Story We Give Thee But Thine Own Hymn lists by book of Bible We Give Thee but Thine Own From beginning to end, the scriptures tell the story of God's providence—God's concern for our needs. • In the creation story, God first created everything that humans would need to sustain life—to include the creation [...]

Hymn Story The God of Abraham Praise Hymn Lists by book of Bible Thomas Olivers was orphaned as a young child and grew up as what we would know today as a juvenile delinquent -- a boy headed for major trouble.  Then one day he heard George Whitefield preach.  How Olivers happened to be [...]

Hymn Story The Glory of These Forty Days Hymn Lists by book of Bible We don't know who wrote this hymn, but we know that it is very old — at least as early as the tenth century, and probably much older.  When this hymn was first sung, few people could read.  They learned these [...]

Hymn Story We Gather Together Hymn lists by book of Bible I have always thought of "We Gather Together" as a Thanksgiving Day hymn—a harvest festival hymn.  However, when I learned its history, I wondered if I had misread it—perhaps I was the only person who thought of it that way.  So I Googled [...]

Hymn Story Watchman, Tell Us of the Night Hymn lists by book of Bible John Bowring wrote the words of this hymn.  Bowring was a brilliant man who had a special gift for languages.  He is reputed to have learned a hundred different languages during his lifetime, and translated poetry into English from a number [...]