What's Your Favorite?

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?  Maybe it's something you heard on the radio or TV, or it's just one stuck in your memory.  I'm having that experience this morning.  My mind is replaying over and over again one of the worship songs we sang on Sunday morning......"Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, worship His holy name.  Sing like never before, O my soul, I worship Your holy name......"  I love that song!  Thanks to Matt Redman for giving us that tune and those wonderful lyrics.  It's one of my favorites!  One of many, I might add.

Has anybody ever asked you what your favorite hymn or worship song is?  That's a hard question to answer.  At least it is for me.  It's sort of like being asked to pick your favorite child.  Impossible.

I have lots of favorites.  LOTS!

On my list would be some of the titles you might expect to see.  Great Is Thy Faithfulness.  Amazing Grace.  How Great Thou Art.  Holy, Holy, Holy. I Stand Amazed in the Presence.

And there might be some titles you might not expect to see.

Like Worthy of Worship (York/Blankenship).  That's a hymn written way back in the 1990s!  "Worthy of worship, worthy of praise, worthy of honor and glory; worthy of all the glad songs we can sing, worthy of all of the offerings we bring, You are worthy......."   And on it goes.  Our Lord is worthy of our honor and our praise, and I love how this hymn expresses that.  How it puts to music what the Psalmist expressed in Psalm 145. "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised."  (Psalm 145:3 KJV)

Another of the "modern" hymns that would make the list is also from the 1990s:  Knowing You by Graham Kendrick.  I love the words of this hymn......."Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You.  There is no greater thing.  You're my all, You're the best, You're my joy, my righteousness, and I love You, Lord, love You, Lord."

There's an even newer hymn that would make my list, The Power of the Cross (Getty/Townend). I love the music, and I especially love the text.  "This the power of the cross:  Christ became sin for us.  Took the blame, bore the wrath; we stand forgiven at the cross."

Some hymns are my favorites because of the text.  And some are favorites because of the music.  And there are the glorious times when words and text come together in a way that causes my spirit to soar!

Like When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (Words by Lowell Mason, music by Isaac Watts). Especially the last verse.  "Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;  Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all!"

And Man of Sorrows, What a Name!  (words and music by Philip P. Bliss).  Again, it's the last verse that really grabs me.  "When He comes, our glorious King, All His ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we'll sing:  Hallelujah, what a Savior!"

If you were to ask me what is by absolute all-time favorite hymn, you would almost always get the same answer.  Crown Him with Many Crowms (Bridges/Elvey).  The text.  The music.  They thrill my soul!

"Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne;

Hark! How the heav'nly anthem drowns all music but its own.

Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,

And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

 

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o'er the grave,

And rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save;

His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high,

Who died eternal life to bring, and lives that death may die.

 

Crown Him the Lord of love; behold His hands and side.

Those wounds, yet visible above, in beauty glorified.

All hail, Redeemer, hail! For Thou hast died for me.

Thy praise and glory shall not fail throughout eternity."

 

 

There you have it. There are lots of songs I love.  Lots.  But this is my favorite. My all-time absolute favorite of favorites!  The song of my heart.  The reason I sing.  Because Jesus died for me.  Because He triumphed over the grave.  Because He lives.  Because His praise and His glory "shall not fail throughout eternity"!

 

What's your favorite?


"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."  (Colossians 3:16 ESV)

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!"  (Psalm 150:6 ESV)