Hymn Stories

IN THIS EPISODE: "There Is a Voice of Sovereign Grace" by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

"I sat all the evening just looking at that hymn. I did not hear your prayer. I did not hear a word of your sermon. I do not know your text. I thought of nothing but that hymn; and I have been thinking of it ever since."

Show Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: Excerpts from Kenya

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" by Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

It is reported that Charles Wesley was sitting in his study one day when a little bird flew into his open window, it was being hunted by a hawk and the predator had almost overtaken his prey when the frightened bird escaped into Wesley’s study. The story goes that Charles watched this scene unfold, let the bird out once it was safe, took his pen, and wrote: “Jesus, lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom fly!”

Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "O Happy Day That Fixed My Choice" by Philip Doddridge (1702-1751)

Jonathan Edwards wrote, “Be always greatly abased for your remaining sin, and never think that you lie low enough for it, but yet don’t be at all discouraged or disheartened by it; for though we are exceedingly sinful, yet we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, the preciousness of whose blood, and the merit of whose righteousness and the greatness of whose love and faithfulness does infinitely overtop the highest mountains of our sin.”

Show Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "Jesus, Where'er Thy People Meet" by William Cowper (1731-1800)

“My time and thoughts much engrossed today by an afflicting and critical dispensation at Orchard Side. I was sent for early this morning, and returned astonished and grieved. How mysterious are the ways of the Lord! How much seems now at stake! But while all is in His hands all is safe. Could hardly attend to anything else.”

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "He Leadeth Me! O Blessed Thought" by Joseph Henry Gilmore (1834-1918)

Joseph set out to give the congregation an exposition of the Twenty-third Psalm. He emphasized the blessedness of being led by God—of the mere fact of His leadership—altogether apart from the way in which He leads us, and what He is leading us to.  After the meeting, he wrote a hymn that landed squarely on the phrase, “He leadeth me beside the still waters.” 

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Abide With Me" by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)

A peek into the production of a Hymns Stories episode. 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "Abide With Me" by Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)

Was there ever a time when you were laboring alongside fellow Christians to fulfill a task that the Lord laid out for you, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, you were left to complete the work alone? Have your spiritual comforts ever been eclipsed by the loss of a helper?

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Abide With Me" by Henry Francis Lyte

Do you ever feel as though you are all alone? Christ has promised to be with his people until the end of the age. The hymn "Abide With Me" is a prayer to sing in times of deep sorrow, distress, or loneliness.   

Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: The hymns that warm your heart to Christ.  

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Jesus Shall Reign Where'er the Sun" by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

As the people remembered how they had been saved from cannibal horrors, one after another broke down in sobs over the bitter past from which the gospel had rescued them.

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" by H. W. Baker (1821-1877)

Of all the hymns that have been crafted from Psalm 23, some say H. W. Baker’s is the most beautiful. It certainly was meaningful to him, especially the third verse. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" by William Cowper (1731-1800)

William Cowper suffered greatly throughout his life and this hymn in particular has been a balm for others who have wrestled with the mysterious providence of God.

Show Notes:

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Now All the Woods Are Sleeping" by Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676)

On the slope of the hill stood a cottage, where a mother sat at the bed of her sick child. From fear of endangering the life of her little one, she would not, in the cold September night, flee with it to the woods, as most of the other inhabitants had done. But now, when the firing and murdering began in the place, and the smoke of the burning houses came down from the hill into the valley, then the poor lone woman was fearful unto death.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "My God, the Spring of All My Joys" by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

John Marrant recorded in his journal: "The next day as I preached to them again, the girl I have already mentioned rose up as I preached the word and cried out and declared to the congregation that her sorrow and sighing had fled away, and she had received that peace from God, which the tongue could not express."

Show Notes:

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IN THIS EPISODE: “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go” by George Matheson (1842-1906)

“It was written in the Manse of Innellan one summer evening of 1882. It was composed with extreme rapidity, and I felt myself rather in the position of one who was being dictated to than of an original artist. I was suffering from extreme mental distress, and the hymn was the fruit of pain.” 

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "He Who Would Valiant Be" by John Bunyan (1628-1688)

"In a word, that man so told the story of Christian and his travels, that my heart fell into a burning haste to be gone after him; nor could father or mother stay me! So I got from them, and am come thus far on my way."

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: Hymns for a Melting Heart

Does your heart ever melt within you? Do you dread what might happen? Is your heart weighed down with cares? One of the ways that we can set our minds on things above is to sing to the Lord. And, there are some hymns that provide special ministry to anxious hearts.</p>

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IN THIS EPISODE: "O Thou From Whom All Goodness Flows" by Thomas Haweis (1734-1820)

On May 11, 1685 a large crowd of spectators gathered on the bank of the tidal river called Bladnoch near Wigtown in Scotland. It was a Friday. The solemn assembly looked upon two women fastened to stakes in the muddy river bed, where the waters of Solway Firth would again make their appearance as low tide turned to high. 

Show Notes:

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IN THIS EPISODE: "O Thou From Whom All Goodness Flows" by Thomas Haweis (1734-1820)

O Thou, from whom all goodness flows,
I raise my soul to Thee;
In all my sorrows, conflicts, woes,
Dear Lord, remember me!

When in the solemn hour of death
I wait Thy just decree,
Be this the prayer of my last breath,
Dear Lord, remember me!

And when before Thy throne I stand,
And lift my soul to Thee,
Then, with the saints at Thy right hand,
Dear Lord, remember me!

Show Notes:

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IN THIS EPISODE: "I Gave My Life for Thee" by Francis Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)

I was following very far off, always doubting and fearing. I think I had come to Jesus with a trembling, hem-touching faith, but it was a coming the press, and behind, never seeing His face, or feeling sure that He loved me, though I was clear that I could not do without Him, and wanted to serve and follow Him. 

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy" by Joseph Hart (1712-1768)

Joseph Hart described his life as an uneasy restless round of sinning and repenting, working and dreading. He languished in a deep conviction of the evil of his nature, the hardness of his heart, and the wickedness of his life. This all changed on Whitsunday 1757 when he attended a service at the Moravian Chapel in Fetterlane.

Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Show Pity, Lord; O Lord, Forgive" by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

It was a time in England when laws against nonconformity to the state religion were enforced with bitterness. Young Watts was often carried in his mother’s arms to the town jail, where she visited his father, imprisoned for conscience’s sake.

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Here O'er the Earth as a Stranger I Roam" by C. W. Ainsworth (1817-1851)

Many years ago there lived a coal miner in Staffordshire, England. He and his wife had a dear little girl, the last of their five children. This daughter was the light of the coal miner’s eyes. Each night, after traipsing from the pit, she would meet him at the door of their little cottage and welcome him home.

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Commit Thou All That Grieves Thee" by Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676)

Suddenly, there was a noise at the window. All eyes turned toward the sound, and they were shocked to see a black bird at the window sill, pecking the pane. Dobry knew exactly what it was, for this was an old friend. Several years before, Dobry’s grandfather had taken a raven out of the nest. The old man had tamed it, and then set it at liberty. Now it had returned.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Nearer My God to Thee" by Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848)

A dread crept into Ethel’s heart. “That’s not for me….It means the old-time martyrs." She tried to shake off the feeling. How could the dark path bring her nearer to God?

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Arise, My Soul, Arise" by Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

In the year 1742, Charles Wesley wrote the hymn “Arise, My Soul, Arise.” This hymn has been an aid to souls since its publication. Christians will never tire of singing songs that remind us of our soul’s redemption by the Lamb that was slain. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: A hymn is a little sermon that you carry with you. 

It is a weapon of war in our daily battle against the schemes of the devil, the condemnings of our hearts, and the allurements of the world. John Snyder and Ryan Bush discuss the ways in which faithful hymns serve the believer as he seeks to walk in obedience to the King.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" by Ray Palmer (1808-1887)

The battle on the morrow went hard with the regiment to which these eight soldiers of the Cross and the Union belonged. Seven of them fell before the blazing discharge of shot and shell of the enemy. One survived to tell their story and deliver their final words their families. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "My Faith Looks Up to Thee" by Ray Palmer (1808-1887)

I remember well that when I wrote the last line, “Oh, bear me safe above, A ransomed soul!” the thought that the whole work of redemption and salvation was involved in those words, and suggested the theme of eternal praises, and this brought me to a degree of emotion that brought abundant tears.

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "O Little Town of Bethlehem" by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

Before dark, we rode out of town to the field where they say the shepherds saw the star. It is a fenced piece of ground with a cave in it (all the Holy Places are caves here), in which, strangely enough, they put the shepherds. The story is absurd, but somewhere in those fields we rode through the shepherds must have been.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Before the Throne of God Above" by Charitie Lees Smith (1841-1923)

It appears that Charitie Lees Smith’s hymn “Before the Throne of God” was especially meaningful to Spurgeon. He had an extraordinary ability to memorize hymns, and “Before the Throne of God” was one that he knew by heart.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood" by William Cowper (1731-1800) & "The Man on the Middle Cross" by Alistair Begg 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood" by William Cowper (1731-1800) 

When Cowper was 7-years-old, he was singled out as the target of the cruel and relentless designs of a 15-year-old boy at his school. It caused such dread in William’s heart that he was afraid to even lift his eyes upon his persecutor higher than his knees, and he knew him better by his shoe buckles than by any other part of his dress. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "More Love to Thee, O Christ" by Elizabeth Prentiss (1818-1878)

Once in 1873, while she was in Dorset, Elizabeth wrote to a friend, saying, “To love Christ more - this is the deepest need, the constant cry of my soul. Down in the bowling alley, and out in the woods, and on my bed, and out driving, when I am happy and busy, and when I am sad and idle, the whisper keeps going up for more love, more love, more love!” 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Be Thou My Vision"

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Be Thou My Vision"

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IN THIS EPISODE: Encouragement for Singing in the Local Assembly 

As it's good to prepare your heart for the sermon, it's good to prepare your heart to sing on Sunday!  Learn the songs we are going to be singing, study the truth behind them, sing them with your family and friends, come to church excited to sing and proclaim these truths to your brothers and sisters in the faith. 

Show Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org

Hymns Stories Podcast is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast network. 

IN THIS EPISODE: "Amazing Grace (How Sweet the Sound)" by John Newton (1725-1807)

At the age of 82, John Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner — and that Christ is a great Savior!"

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IN THIS EPISODE: "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" by John Newton (1725-1807)

When her doctors told Francis Ridley Havergal that she shouldn't expect to live much longer, she said, "Beautiful! If I am really going, it is too good to be true!"

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Take My Life and Let It Be" by Francis Ridely Havergal (1836-1879)

In one of her last journal entries, Francis Ridley Havergal wrote, "The worst part of me is that I don’t in practice prove my love to Him. I don’t delight in much and long communion with Him. My hands and my head seem so full of other things, that my heart seems not free to serve him in fresh and vivid love.”

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Take My Life and Let It Be" by Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879)

From her early childhood, Frances Ridley Havergal lived in dread that she would not be among God’s elect. Her fear continued until the year 1873.

Show Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae podcast network. 

IN THIS EPISODE: "Thou Art Gone to the Grave" by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

“I am myself more cut down than I thought I should be, but I hope not impatient. I do not forget that to have possessed her at all, and to have enjoyed the pleasure of looking at her, and caressing her, for six months, was God’s free gift, and still less do I forget that He who has taken her will at length, I hope, restore her to us.”

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Let Party Names No More" by Benjamin Beddome (1717-1795)

"Apply what you will, besides the blood of Christ, and it will poison the sore. You will find that you can’t mortify sin truly if you have never seen Christ bleeding for you on the cross. Nothing can kill it but the beholding of Christ’s righteousness." —THOMAS WILCOX

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness" by Nicolaus L. von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), trans. by John Wesley (1703-1791)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Jesus, Cast a Look on Me!" by John Berridge (1716-1793)

"Being then under great doubts, I cried unto the Lord very earnestly. The constant language of my heart was this: 'Lord, if I am right, keep me so; if I am not right, make me so. Lead me to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.'"

Show Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "Weary of Wandering from My God" by Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

For nearly 50 years Charles Wesley wrote hymns on the way from preaching point to preaching point all over England and Ireland offering to all “salvation through the blood of the Lamb.” 

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "The Lord Jehova Reigns" by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Show Notes: 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "All People That on Earth Do Dwell" by William Kethe (d. 1594)

The story of Old Hundredth begins in the Swiss city of Geneva, where many of the residents have spoken French instead of German over the centuries. In 1536 John Calvin arrived there to help with the Reformation. He knew that one of the best ways to waken the hearts of the people was to get them singing songs of faith. But Calvin’s severity and zeal quickly gained the attention and disapproval of the rulers and the people. And before he could implement any of his plans, he was banished.

Show Notes: 

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: Help from Hymnals

At the beginning of creation the angels sang unto the Lord, at the new creation the angels and saints will sing unto the Lord in heaven, and saved souls are exhorted to sing unto the Lord from new birth to the grave. (Job 38:7; Revelation 5, 14; Psalm 149:1) So, sing! Pour out your heart before the Lord in melody and meter.

Show Notes:

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A brief recording of my 4th-5th grade Bible class singing the modern version of "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" by John Newton. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder" by John Newton (1725-1807)

In this hymn, Newton explains why we ought to praise Christ. The undergirding motivation is that Christ has washed us with his blood that we might come to God. Each stanza ends with some expression of that unfathomable glorious truth. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Pleading His Gracious Name" by John Newton (1725-1807)

A reflection and song from the Church and Family Life Conference held at Ridgecrest in Black Mountain, NC. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "From Greenland's Icy Mountains" by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

This hymn, while very popular for some time, has vanished from many modern hymnals. It is now considered a period piece by many. Not only are some of the geographical references outdated, but some see in it imperialism and racial overtones. I don’t. I see a burning heart for the glory of God among the nations. 

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"And Must I Part with All I Have" by Benjamin Beddome (1717-1795)

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IN THIS EPISODE: "And Must I Part With All I Have" by Benjamin Beddome (1717-1795) and the Story of William Carey (1761-1834)

At a meeting of ministers held at Northhampton, Carey suggested as a topic for discussion, the duty of Christians to attempt the spread of the Gospel among the heathen. All of a sudden Mr. Ryland Senior sprang to his feet and exclaimed, “Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine!” 

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IN THIS EPISODE: The Martyrdom of John Huss

“Into thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit. Thou hast redeemed me. Assist me that with a firm mind, by the most powerful grace, I may undergo this most awful death, to which I am condemned for preaching Thy most holy gospel. Amen.”

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"When Once I Mourned a Load of Sin" Written by Charles Spurgeon; Arranged and Performed by Heath Walton

Find it on SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/3MyKUhi

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IN THIS EPISODE: "When Once I Mourned a Load of Sin" by Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)

He noticed the strange young man, and fastening his eyes on him, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable and you will always be miserable, in life, in death and in eternity, if you don’t obey the text.” Lifting his hands, raising his voice in true Primitive Methodist fervor, he shouted, “Young man, look to Jesus. Look and He will save you this moment. You have nothing to do but to look and live.” 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "We Rest on Thee, Our Shield and Our Defender" by Edith G. Cherry (1872-1897)

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." —Jim Elliot

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IN THIS EPISODE: Excerpts from my interview with John Snyder, Pastor of Christ Church New Albany and Director of Media Gratiae. 

Watch the full interview here: https://youtu.be/59wKlnL0k1Y

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Just As I Am" by Charlotte Elliott (1789-1871)

When I first read it to her, I had no sooner finished than she said very earnestly: ‘That is the very thing for me.’ At least ten times that day she asked me to repeat it, and every morning from that day until her death.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Just As I Am" by Charlotte Eliott (1789-1871)

Has the Lord ever used a hymn to bring you comfort in times of suffering, affliction, or tragedy? I found this moving account of how the hymn "Just As I Am" was a balm for affliction in the life of a humble, nameless family. 

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Just As I Am" by Charlotte Elliott (1854-1871)

The next day the troubles of the night came back upon her with such force that she felt they must be met and conquered in the grace of God. She gathered up in her soul the grand certainties, not of her emotions, but of her salvation: her Lord, His power, His promise.

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IN THIS EPISODE: "Dark Was the Night and Cold the Ground" by Thomas Haweis (1734-1820)

When the session came to examine the candidates, one of the elders asked a little girl of twelve years, whose name was Maggie, this question: ‘Maggie, what first interested your heart in the Savior?’

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Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "O God Our Help in Ages Past" by Isaac Watts (1674-1748)

Watts’ rendition of Psalm 90 continues to be a help to souls today as they sing unto the Lord. Many hymnals still include this song. It is in the common meter and has traditionally been sung to the tune ST ANNE. It was originally made up of nine stanzas. The BBC played this hymn across the radio waves of England World War II was officially declared. Later, it was sung at the funeral service of Winston Churchill. 

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Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae podcast network. 

IN THIS EPISODE: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" by Helen Howarth Lemmel (1863-1961)

Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him… For “He is worthy” to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win.

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Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "Lord, I Am Thine!" by Samuel Davies (1723-1761)

The captain knew time was of the essence and ordered the crew to cast anchor. They did so, but it immediately broke. He ordered them to cast the second anchor. They obeyed the command, but it dragged. There was one more anchor left, and the captain ordered it cast.

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Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" by Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929)

The village chief grew angry at this sudden turn of events. He felt that the foreigner’s religion had no place among his people and he aimed to put a stop to it. So, he summoned all the families to the center of the village. Then, he singled out the family that first accepted Christ and told them to step forward. He said, “You have two choices: renounce Christianity or die.”  

Show Notes: 

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

Show Notes: 

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae podcast network. 

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: "Depth of Mercy! Can There Be" by Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

The tune was sweet and simple, but that’s not what drew her in. The words riveted her attention, and she stood motionless. After a moment, a woman in the group noticed her and invited her to come in. 

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Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

IN THIS EPISODE: The circumstances surrounding my conversion to hymns and the podcast that followed. 

Show Notes: 

Find more helps at www.ryanbush.org.

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.

For more helps, visit www.ryanbush.org. 

Hymn Stories is a part of the Media Gratiae Podcast Network.