28/09/2025
From the earliest days of the faith, God’s people have responded to His goodness with song. After the Red Sea crossing, “Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord” (Exodus 15:1). The Book of Psalms stands as the Church’s first hymnbook, calling us to “sing to the Lord a new song” (Psalm 96:1). In the New Testament, believers are urged to “speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19; cf. Colossians 3:16).
The tradition of the Christian hymn took recognizable form in the early centuries of the Church, when Greek and Latin texts carried Scripture’s message in poetic praise. During the Reformation, Martin Luther’s chorales invited congregations to proclaim the gospel in their own tongue. Later, English hymn writers like Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley joined rich theology to memorable melody, while the 19th-century gospel hymns of writers such as F***y Crosby brought heartfelt devotion to gatherings large and small.
Sacred music is more than art; it is an offering set apart for the glory of God. Hymns teach doctrine (Deuteronomy 31:19), unite believers in worship (Romans 15:6), and foreshadow the worship of heaven where “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth” sings to the Lamb (Revelation 5:13). Whether sung in a great cathedral or a simple village chapel, they remind us that our praise joins the eternal song of the redeemed.
As we celebrate Hymn Sunday, we stand within a great cloud of witnesses who have lifted their voices before us (Hebrews 12:1). May the hymns we sing today renew our faith, strengthen our fellowship, and draw us nearer to the God who is worthy of every note of praise.
Engr Adeola Ogundele
Music Director
