"Then Sings My Soul: Book 3" by Robert J. Morgan: Book Review

Years ago my husband and I purchased a book of Hymns and their stories.  We loved using it in our home as we raised our five children.  The music of the hymns we loved so dearly and how those hymns came to be written and put to music enthralled us and our children.

Hymns.  How they can thrill and satisfy our soul's deep longing with their melodious message and their wonderful theological truths. 

When my dear mother lay dying in the hospital, my family gathered around her bed.  She was virtually unconscious, yet we still spoke to her telling her we loved her and recounted episodes how she was involved in  her grand children's lives.  I went out for a brief respite  (enforced by my children), and when I returned to the room, my girls (all three were keeping vigil - from North Carolina, Georgia, and West Virginia) were singing beautifully the wonderful old hymns of the faith.  Mom loved the hymns though she was a "timid" singer herself.

I know this musical encounter reached down in the depths of Mom's heart and touched her as she was beginning her final voyage to reach the shores of her heavenly home.

Then Sings My Soul:  Book 3 by Robert J. Morgan is divided into four parts:  I-The History of Hymnody, II-Do You Know These Hymns, III-Six Hymns Stories I Love to Tell, and IV-Hymning in Private and in Public.

I was surprised to learn how ancient "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" actually was.  The words are attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux who was born around 1091.    The harmony is by J.S.Bach.

Near the end of Then Sings My Soul: Book 3, we read that in recent years, President Bush on September 11 after entering the solitude of his President Cabinet aboard Air Force 1 recalled the words of one of his favorite hymns - "God of Grace and God of Glory" and especially the line..... "Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, for the facing of this hour."

The wonderful history of how our hymns and worship songs developed is beautifully presented in part 1.  And don't you love having at your hands a book so  you can find that special hymn you want to sing but just can't quite remember the words to? 

I definitely recommend this book for the home library, the church musician, minister of music, pastor, or church library.  It is a good resource.

Another blogger wrote....

" The music of our past can sometimes reach the spiritual deserts of our hearts in a way that preaching and prayers cannot...."

When BookSneeze.com offered "Then Sings My Soul: Book 3" by Robert J. Morgan, I was delighted to be able to render a review of such a valuable asset for an individual or a home.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com http://BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.