40 Favorite Hymns for the Christian Year: A Closer Look at Their Spiritual and Poetic Meaning

40 Favorite Hymns

by Leland Ryken

For generations, Christians have celebrated holidays and seasons with special songs. We all have favorite Christmas carols or Easter hymns, and some of us associate certain hymns with events like Thanksgiving or the New Year. But often we overlook the fact that these familiar songs are also powerful works of devotional poetry. This anthology of great hymns associated with the calendar year invites us to experience these works as poems—to slow down and savor their well-turned phrases, their surprising metaphors, and their evocative language. English professor Leland Ryken provides historical background and literary analysis for each hymn, finishing each with a Scripture reading to accompany it. The result is a wonderfully devotional and poetic study for the Christian’s year, drawing on hymns for the New Year, Good Friday, Easter, Christmas, and more.

Genres: Music, Poetry, Christian

172 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2020

About the author

Dr. Ryken has served on the faculty of Wheaton College since 1968. He has published over thirty books and more than one hundred articles and essays, devoting much of his scholarship to Bible translations and the study of the Bible as literature. He served as Literary Chairman for the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible and in 2003 received the distinguished Gutenberg Award for his contributions to education, writing, and the understanding of the Bible.

He is the father of Philip Graham Ryken

Reviews

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leland Ryken has done it again! This is a companion book to 40 Favorite Hymns on the Christian Life. He looks at the poetry of hymns associated with six different seasons/events: New Year, Good Friday, Easter, Reformation Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Ryken looks more at the literary details than biographical. While most of the selections were familiar, some were new to me. It was fun to look them up on YouTube. Oh, how I love hymns!

The best tidbit: Charles Wesley wrote Hark, the Herald Angels Sing but his friend George Whitefield (please say it so it rhymes with quit, not quite. Thank you.) added some lyrical tweaking.

Wesley's original: Hark, how all the welkin rings. !!???!! (Welkin = archaic for sky)
If that doesn't make you smile, you need to work on your facial muscle exercises.

Whitefield also gave us the phrase "newborn King." ♥

[Lori Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has helpful information on historical context and literary structure but also sets a tone for worship, both public and private.