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Just a Closer Walk With Thee

Just a Closer Walk With Thee, one of America’s favorite gospel hymns has a mysterious past.  It is credited in print to “Anonymous”. No one is quite clear where it came from or when it came about, but one thing is clear, Christians love singing it. This song is also one of the most popular […]

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Abide With Me

​Abide With Me, one of the world’s most loved hymns, written by Henry Francis Lyte.  ​According to an edition of the British Weekly, in the late summer of 1847, after preaching his final sermon, knowing his time on earth was drawing to a close, Henry Francis Lyte “walked in the valley garden in front of […]

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Just As I Am

​Just As I Am, without one plea,​ was written in 1832 by Charlotte Elliott.  This hymn of confession​ has been published in over 1600 hymnals.  At the age of 32, ​Charlotte Elliott suffered a serious illness that left her a semi-invalid for the rest of her life. Within a year she went through a spiritual […]

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Be Still My Soul

​The hymn most Americans know as ​​Be Still My Soul​ took multiple contributors and multiple centuries to become what we know today. Katharina​​​​​​ Von Schlegel wrote the text in 1752 in her native language of German. Just over 100 years later in 1855 Jane Borthwick translated the hymn into the English version so well known today. […]

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I Surrender All

​I Surrender All​ is a ​ hymn​ written by American art teacher and musician Judson W. Van DeVenter (1855–1939), who subsequently became a music minister and evangelist. It was put to music by Winfield S. Weeden (1847–1908), and published in 1896. Van DeVenter said of the inspiration for the text:”For some time, I had struggled between […]

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The Old Rugged Cross

​Written by George Bennard in 1912​, The Old Rugged Cross has become one of the most beloved hymns of the 20th century.  It speaks of reverence towards the cross on which Jesus died to save the world.  The ​Old Rugged Cross – Lyrics​On a hill far away,​stood an old rugged CrossThe emblem of suff’ring and […]

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In The Garden

​In the Garden (sometimes rendered by its first line “I Come to the Garden Alone” is a gospel ​hymn written by American songwriter C. Austin Miles (1868–1946), a former pharmacist who served as editor and manager at Hall-Mack publishers for 37 years. According to Miles’ great-granddaughter, the song was written “in a cold, dreary and […]

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Count Your Blessings

​​​Count Your Blessings is a ​favorite Gospel hymn to sing any day of the year as a reminder of the many blessings of God, even during hardships. ​It is a reminder that as a Believer, all things are working for our good and we are always blessed.  Johnson Oatman, Jr. lived between 1856-1922. During his lifetime […]

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Day By Day (and With Each Passing Moment)

​”Day by day and with each passing moment…”  ​begins this favorite hymn written by Lina Sandell. Even though this hymn is lesser known than some of the most loved hymns such as How Great Thou Art or Amazing Grace, the people who know Day By Day consider it to be one of the greatest. It […]

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Victory In Jesus

​Victory in Jesus was the final song E. M. Bartlett wrote. The hymn also became his best known and most embraced song. The song is an optimistic reminder of the hope of heaven. In the second stanza, there are references to the healing ministry of Christ. ​Victory In Jesus – Lyrics​I heard an old, old […]