The Power of Hymns

Some of the great hymns we sing in church bring out a lot of emotion in me. Many of them I can sing by heart and every time I hear them I join right in automatically. Hymns have evoked that kind of power for a very long time. It was that way in the days of Jesus too.

For the Jews then and today what we cal the book of Psalms was the hymn book. Harps and symbols played and people sang with gusto. Psalm 22 was just such a hymn even though it began with a feeling of depression and loss it ended with power and victory. Our hymn “How Great Thou Art” reminds of that type of psalm. Psalm 22 was quoted by Jesus in the New Testament when he spoke the first line from the cross. “My God My God why have you forsaken me.”  I think he was telling his followers below that this would end in victory and it did.

Think about how hymns move your spirit.