Favorite Hymn

              For a few years I played the organ before and after funeral services for one of our local funeral homes.  Usually I would choose the music played because the majority of families would request “just old hymns.”   However, occasionally a loved one of the deceased would ask for a specific hymn and tell me it was a favorite of someone in the family.  Invariably, the request would be one, or perhaps all three, of the following hymns: “The Old Rugged Cross,” “In the Garden,” and “Amazing Grace.”  These three old hymns continue to comfort and sustain people today.

              On June 7, 1913, at a small church in Pokagon, Michigan, George Bernard, composer, gave his choir of five members a penciled copy of his hymn and “The Old Rugged Cross” was heard for the first time.  Bernard began his ministry with the Salvation Army, but later the Methodist Episcopal Church ordained him.  During this time, he passed through some trying experiences, causing him to reflect upon the significance of the Cross.  Bernard sold this hymn to the Rodelheaver Music Company for $25.00 in 1913.  Since then this hymn has become the most widely published song, sacred or secular in the U.S.

              The author and composer of “In the Garden,” C. Austin Miles, left these words: “One day in March 1912, I was seated in the dark room where I kept my photographic equipment and organ. I drew my Bible toward me; it opened at my favorite chapter, John 20 . . . That meeting of Jesus and Mary had lost none of its power to charm.  As I read it that day, I seemed to be a part of the scene.  I became a silent witness to that dramatic moment in Mary’s life when she knelt before her Lord and cried, “Rabboni!” , , ,Under the inspiration of this vision, I wrote as quickly as the words could be formed and finished the poem as it has since appeared.  That same evening I wrote the music.”  This hymn has become one of the most popular gospel songs ever written.

              After years of being a hardened slave trader, John Newton met the transforming power of God and became a minister.  Throughout his entire ministry, God’s Amazing Grace remained as the central theme of his preaching.  During that time, he wrote the words of the hymn “Amazing Grace.”  The tune,  named  “Living Lambs,” comes from American folk music, could possibly be a melody the slaves sang as they worked.  The words and music were joined to make the hymn in 1831.  Since then this hymn has inspired millions of lives.

              Why have these three hymns become so popular?  Possibly because they are easy to sing.  The rhythm is not difficult and each hymn is made up basically of just three chords.  But I have a feeling the reason is deeper than that.  I believe many people have experienced life-changing events and they can identify with the words these composers have chosen.  “The Old Rugged Cross” tells the gospel story,  hope and redemption. In our busy, mind-boggling world how often we long for someone who “walks with  me, and talks with me, and tells me I am his own.”  Every one of us has faced the need for forgiveness.  When grade comes, we know what mean to be “lost, and now am found, was blind, but now I see . . . and grace my fears relieved.”

              Sometimes a simple hymn can reach the very depth of our beings.  These three hymn have certainly done that.