Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful A Christmas Hymn #102 in The Lutheran Hymnal As familiar and well-loved as this hymn has become, there is surprisingly little known of its origin. The Latin poem “Adeste, Fideles” and its melody first appeared on the scene through the hands of John Francis Wade, an exiled Englishman who spent…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Judges Chapters Two Through Seven Victorious Against Impossible Odds After the death of Joshua, the Israelites failed to get rid of all the heathen people in the Promised Land as God had commanded them to do. Instead they intermarried with them and worshiped their idols. These acts of…  Read More

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross A Good Friday Hymn #175 in The Lutheran Hymnal “Give us something better, young man!” That stern rebuke launched Isaac Watts, then only 18 years old, into the work of hymn-writing. He had voiced his displeasure with the psalm-singing in the English Reformed church of his day. It was…  Read More

He is Arisen! Glorious Word! An Easter Hymn #189 in The Lutheran Hymnal You’ve heard it said: “Pressure makes diamonds.” The Lord speaks in similar fashion through Peter’s pen: “You are kept by the power of God . . . In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Samuel, Chapters One Through Seven Samuel, Prophet and Judge of Israel Three names in these opening chapters of 1 Samuel serve as a skeleton upon which to hang the body of the account: Ichabod, Samuel, and Ebenezer. Ichabod (“the glory has departed from Israel”) — a memorable…  Read More

Oh, that I Had a Thousand Voices Hymn of Praise to the Trinity #243 in The Lutheran Hymnal Our annual pilgrimage from Clarkston, Wash. to Eau Claire, Wis. takes us over Lolo Pass on the Idaho/Montana border. Lolo is a continental divide; to the west, rivers flow to the Pacific; to the east, they flow…  Read More

Through the Day Thy Love Hath Spared Us An Evening Hymn #553 in The Lutheran Hymnal From the human perspective King David had every reason to suffer from insomnia. His beloved albeit traitorous son Absalom had deposed him from being king of Israel and was reigning in his stead in Jerusalem. David himself had been…  Read More

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God A Hymn for Reformation #262 in The Lutheran Hymnal Both under King Saul and as king himself, David experienced some amazingly great military feats, many of them against extremely great odds. He had single-handedly slain the great Philistine giant Goliath (see article elsewhere in this issue). He and his…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Samuel Chapter Seventeen David And Goliath Everyone is familiar with the Bible account found in 1 Samuel 17. It is the narrative of David and Goliath. We love to hear the words of that great victory. David, a young man, a shepherd, son of Jesse of Bethlehem,…  Read More

Now Are the Days Fulfilled A Christmas Hymn #99 in The Lutheran Hymnal The author of this month’s hymn is unknown, but the words of Scripture his hymn call to mind are familiar: “But when the fulness of time had come, God sent forth His son . . . ” (Gal. 4:4). That first Christmas…  Read More

Jesus, Grant that Balm and Healing A Lenten Hymn #144 in The Lutheran Hymnal About the writer of this month’s hymn The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal says: “He was indeed well grounded in the school of affliction.” The sole survivor of five children, Johann Heermann lived through a childhood illness during which his mother…  Read More

Hallelujah! Jesus Lives! An Easter Hymn #188 in the Lutheran Hymnal In Acts chapter 19 we find the apostle Paul on his third missionary journey, spending a good deal of time in the city of Ephesus. The Spirit converted many through the Gospel that Paul preached, and this caused no small stir. Demetrius and other…  Read More

“That We Might have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) Second Samuel Chapters One Through Nine David Becomes King Finally! David’s nemesis, King Saul, lay dead on the battlefield! All those years of hiding and running for his life were over! You’d almost expect a spirit of relief and celebration in David’s camp at that news brought by…  Read More

God Bless Our Native Land A Prayer for the Nation #577 in The Lutheran Hymnal It’s an election year! As you know, that means during the whole year (and more!) leading up to November the airwaves and various media will be filled with debates, politicking, arm-twisting, and not a little dirt-digging, mud-slinging, and name-calling. The…  Read More

The Lord hath Helped Me Hitherto A Hymn of Worship and Praise #33 in The Lutheran Hymnal It is not surprising that The Handbook to the Lutheran Hymnal speaks of this month’s hymn as “one of our most popular hymns of praise from the German.” The sentiments expressed by Amilie Juliane are universal among Christians.…  Read More

Now Thank We All our God A Hymn of Worship and Praise #36 in The Lutheran Hymnal My parents used to have a couple of record albums of a comedy act called “The Bickersons.” It was an early “sitcom” of a husband (John) and his wife (Blanche) “bickering” in various scenes of married life. One…  Read More

O Happy Home A Hymn for the Family #626 in The Lutheran Hymnal How is it possible to achieve a continuing harmony and happiness in our Christian homes? At times it may seem to be an impossibility because of all the obstacles that there are to that goal in our everyday lives. There are the…  Read More

“That We Might Have Hope” (Rom. 15:4) First Kings, Chapters Five through Eight The Building of the Temple and Solomon’s Later Years It might come as quite a surprise to read what is written in 1 Kings 11:4: “When Solomon was old . . . his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God,…  Read More

Jesus, I Will Ponder Now A Hymn For Lent #140 in The Lutheran Hymnal Although his life didn’t go as his father had wanted, the perspective that Sigismund von Birken gained through his study has proved to be good for us today. Born in 1626 and raised in a pastor’s family, he was forced to…  Read More

Holy Spirit, God of Love A Hymn for Pentecost #230 in The Lutheran Hymnal In a broad 2,000 feet valley, where we have made our home for the past five years, the Clearwater River flows into the Snake River as it makes its way westward to the still greater Columbia. Here in Clarkston, Washington we…  Read More