Music has the wonderful ability to speak to our spirits and move us into a deeper worship of God. Especially the great truths of faith that are expressed in hymns. Now some of your most beloved authors share with you the scriptures and stories behind twelve favorite hymns, as well as the daily encouragement and rich spiritual application that you can find in each of them. Through this inspiring work the words that have spoken to your heart in the past will now have even greater meaning each time you sing them.
A fully orchestrated CD featuring these glorious hymns is included. Together the book and CD give you a special keepsake and a fresh way to inspire your worship again and again. Listen to 30-second excerpts from the CD A Mighty Fortress is Our God It Is Well with My Soul O Worship the King O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus I Know Whom I Have Believed Man of Sorrows What a Name O Sacred Head, Now Wounded Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise Breathe on Me, Breath of God O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go Be Thou My Vision (full song) My Faith Has Found a Resting Place
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Joni Eareckson Tada is an American evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community".
Generally, older hymns tend to exude a more fervent dependency on the Lord. The greater part of the hymns presented in O Worship the King are written in response to a great calamity - persecution, tribulation, or the loss of a loved one. While some modern worship music follows this pattern, there is a tendency for contemporary song-writers to focus on lighter subject matter, perhaps due to a lack of understanding of hardship and trial. Worship music should be to this end: To give glory to the one, indivisible, God, regardless of the opinion of the world. As Christians, we should take delight in worship and praise the Lord with great joy.
Being somewhat familiar with the writing of these authors before [1], I found this particular book and its companion volume to be of great interest when I happened to see them beside my bed. Given my interest in music history and my general familiarity with Christian hymns specifically [2], this book seemed like an obvious one to read. Having read it, I must comment that if you have an interest in music history specifically as far as it relates to sacred music, then there is a great deal that you will appreciate about this particular short volume. The extent to which the book will be enjoyable to you depends both on your fondness for the songs chosen, and your tolerance or fondness for the personal musings about the trials and tribulations of co-author Joni Eareckson Tada, who feels it necessary to remind us several times about her being paralyzed from the neck down and about her efforts to cheer up others who suffer from trials. Those who are interested in knowing a bit about the lives of the people who wrote the hymns included here will find much to enjoy, though, apart from the writing skill of the book's authors.
The contents of this book take up less than 150 pages, and consist of a well-organized set of material. The three co-authors of the book, Joni Eareckson Tada, John MacArthur, and Robert Wolgemuth divide up the (up to) three sections for each song respectively: "At The Heart Of The Hymn," "In The Light Of The Word," and "From Out Of The Past," although sometimes the second part is missing and there is some variation in who writes which section. The following songs are discussed after a brief foreword and introduction: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, It Is Well With My Soul, O Worship The King, I Know Whom I Have Believed, O The Deep, Deep Love Of Jesus, Man Of Sorrows! What A Name, O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, Breathe On Me, Breath Of God, O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go, Be Thou My Vision, and My Faith Has Found A Resting Place. After the various discussions of the hymns and their personal meanings to the authors, as well as a discussion of the biography of some of the songwriters, an alarming number of which had immensely difficult lives or tragically early deaths, the hymns are included so that musically literate readers can sing along with the hymns in whatever part they know best.
There were a few odd patterns that are worth discussing here that, if they do not detract from the worth of the book, point out some of the elements that connect these hymns together in the mind of the author. Many of these particular people intersect with others in odd ways--they knew the same preachers or were involved in the same congregations of others, showing just how small the world of hymns is given how many hymns were made by the same people who interacted with others in somewhat narrow social circles. Additionally, the authors make several comments in this book that can be judged as being somewhat anti-intellectual in praising the solid faith and lack of education of some of the hymnwriters. It should also be noted that the writing of this book had surprisingly dodgy demonology, such as one of the book's authors quoting a missionary that claimed that Satan could not bear the sound of music, which, if you listen to the sort of music that is popular nowadays, clearly is not the case at all. Despite some flaws, this is a worthwhile book that manages to provide a thoughtful reflection on and examination of the context of a dozen well-regarded hymns.