Some time ago, wise-and-insightful blogger Michele Morin (at Living Our Days) shared that she was journaling through some of the old hymns. I imagined her digging into the meaning of some of the rich language and theology, personalizing the truths, and/or using them as the basis for prayer.
Putting pen or pencil to paper in such a way slows down our thinking, allowing wonderful blessings to emerge:
- Increased knowledge of God and his Word
- Clarity of understanding
- A record of discoveries
- A record of faith deposits for later encouragement
- Renewal of the mind
- Augmented intimacy with God
If writing a meditation sounds intimidating, adopt the attitude of Isaac Asimov:
“Writing to me is simply thinking through my fingers.”
Isaac Asimov
For Christian journalers, writing can be worshiping through our fingers.
But how do we even begin such a process? Try Anne Sexton’s approach:
When we invite Jesus into our lives, the Spirit of God takes up residence within our spirits (1). We can put our ears down close to our souls and listen hard for him to guide our thoughts and lead us to the insights he would have us discover.
And then, we fill our pages with the breathings of our hearts (2).
The following is an example of a journal entry, based on the first verse of the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”(3). The next four images contain the lyrics.
You, oh God, are the Source of every blessing—every provision, every answered prayer, every wise decision, every creative idea, every moment of joy. All good and perfect gifts come from you (4).
Out of your lavish generosity, blessings flow continually from your hand. May I be quick to praise you for each one as they demonstrate your lovingkindness.
This fount of blessing includes your mercy also. I praise you for your forgiveness, undeserving as I am. Thank you for looking upon me with compassion and tenderness in spite of my weaknesses, failures, and sins.
And I praise you that your mercy never ends! You are faithful to forgive me every time I come to you in repentance. Such grace is beyond comprehension. Yes, I want to sing songs of loudest praise, to honor you rightly for all you’ve done for me and continue to do.
Perhaps if I had the voice of an angel and knew the songs of heaven I could sing the full praise you deserve!
Nevertheless, I celebrate your name(s)—Shepherd, Lord of Peace, God of Grace, Father of Compassion and more. I glory in all the attributes indicated by each one. And I remember: the one trait that is part of them all: your unfailing love.
Thank you for loving me, in spite of my shortcomings; thank you for redeeming me from the consequences of my sins so I might enjoy you forever!
Should you decide to journal through a hymn or praise song, remember: perfection is not the goal, getting to know God better and worship him more passionately are the aims.
An added benefit? Our meditations will positively impact our words and actions (5).
Notes:
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
- based on a quote from William Wordsworth
- by Robert Robinson, text adapted by Margaret Clarkson
- James 1:17
- Joshua 1:8
Photo credits: http://www.pxfuel.com; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pxhere.com; http://www.canva.com (2); http://www.flicker.com; http://www.freebibleimages.org.
From the Inside Out 
What a marvelous exercise for deepening our understanding of God’s love and grace, and worshiping Him with words from our hearts, expressed in our writing. Nancy, I’m going to have to try this discipline, for sure! Now, where did I put my hymnal? 🙂
Blessings!
Yes, our hymnals have been put aside in a lot of churches, what with the advent of projectors and screens. The lyrics of many hymns are available on line though–even some of the old ones I remember from my childhood like “Ivory Palaces.” (The harmony was so pretty on that one!)
Excellent suggestion!
Thank you Loralu (and Michele Morin)!
I love this hymn and the images and thoughts are beautiful. Yes writing does slow our minds down like eating slowly helps us to savor every bite!
Isn’t it a wonderful hymn? So rich with reasons to praise God. I like your analogy too, Pastor Pete, about savoring. Very fitting!
Thank you for this blog. I love the old hymns, and I share them with others through singing them. I call this ministry “Hope From The Hymns.” Many of the hymns I love are over a hundred years old, and yet the truths in them touch many souls. I also download free books of hymns to my Kindle and use them for my devotion time. Many are hymns I never heard of, but the words are beautiful and soothe my soul. This blog reminded me to return to looking at these hymns and singing the familiar ones during this time of caring for my mom who has dementia. Take care and God bless.
Oh, Elaine, God bless you for taking on the responsibility of care for your mother. May you sense his presence, strength, and JOY as you serve him in this capacity. (I have a feeling you already do, since you’re still singing in spite of the challenges you face!)
I love that thought Nancy- “For Christian journalers, writing can be worshiping through our fingers.” What a great idea to journal through hymns. I will often add a verse of a song to a journal entry or written prayer but never thought to journal through the hymn or praise song itself. Thanks for sharing your journal entry on Come Thou Fount.
Thank you, Beth. The idea had never occurred to me either until Michele mentioned it. I’m so glad she did! There’s much inspiration for praise and prayer in the old hymns.
Journaling is also a way to share our faith journey with future generations.
I’ve thought of that too. You may have read elsewhere about my “God Is Faithful” journal, begun in 1983 as a record of God’s faithfulness to our family–his provision, protection, and blessings beyond our hopes. There are now more than 1400 entries, and we’re still counting! I trust it WILL be an encouragement to future generations.
What a treasure for your family in the years to come!
Thank you, CG!
Journaling is an essential spiritual practice for me and love this quote you shared:
“Writing to me is simply thinking through my fingers.”
Isaac Asimov
so true!! Haven’t done much though with hymns. that is a great idea!
You’ve been a great encourager to me about journaling, Jean. Glad you enjoyed the Asimov quote!
Thanks Nancy, for this blog about the hymns. Such beautiful harmony. I have not sung Ivory Palaces for decades, but it came back like it was yesterday. When I survey the Wondrous Cross is another great one. So many, I could stay up to the wee hours of the morning listening to them.
Another favorite: Wonderful Grace of Jesus. My dad loved to sing the bass harmony on that one. Indeed, we could sing for hours the hymns we learned years ago!
What a wonderful idea this is! I love the old hymns and how rich they are in theology and worship. I need to fine tune my devotional time, and this would be a great way to do that. I just realized I said, “fine tune.” Pun not intended but it sure does fit. 🙂 Thank you, Nancy!
Love your pun, Patty, especially since it happened by accident! I’m so glad this journaling idea appealed to you.
Hymns are, indeed, a wonderful way to celebrate Christ’s sacrifice and love for us. I praise Him for the many hymnists who heeded the call to write such meaningful and helpful verses and the composers of equally brilliant melodies. Many times I have gleaned strength and encouragement from a hymn that has touched my heart and brought me to tears of gratitude. Thank you for this wonderful entry.
Music does seem to touch our hearts in ways that words alone don’t often do. I’m so thankful God gave us the gift of music!
So many of the “old” hymns are cemented in my mind from childhood forward, so it fascinates me when new worshippers don’t recognize one. What a wonderful exercise, Nancy (and a perfect example in “Come, Thou Fount…”). As much as I enjoy the singing, I don’t often delve thoughtfully into the lyrics. As you say, taking them one stanza and one verse at a time, reading/writing slowly brings out their deeper meanings. I also find it interesting to learn “new” verses to these hymns, meaning the ones often skipped for the sake of brevity. Music is such a blessing!
Music has been a blessing in my life since I was very young, listening to records and learning songs in Sunday School. But you are right, sometimes the full meaning of the lyrics are lost on us because we’re singing through them so quickly. AND, when we meditate on them on our own, the verses often skipped receive their due attention!
Great idea, I’ve never heard of this but definitely inspirational!❤️…your post caused me to Google search old hymns, our church doesn’t sing too many of them these days but I remember them from my childhood church.
‘It is well with my soul’…one of my faves.
Oh, yes, that’s a wonderful hymn, Alicia! Many thought-provoking lines, sure to inspire MUCH reflection. It’s on p. 705 in my hymnal–it’ll be awhile before I’m journaling about that one!
❤️❤️❤️