I grew up in two small, Baptist churches in a little southwest Alabama town. All my life, I grew up hearing the old time hymns and when I got older, that is all I wanted to sing. These ten hymns are my all time favorites. They're so deeply ingrained in me that if you listen hard enough, you will probably catch me humming them around campus.
1. "Amazing Grace, How Sweet The Sound"
This was the first song I ever sang by myself and to this day it remains my favorite. Over the years this is easily the song most requested when I sing. It's origins are very interesting in that it had no set tune until 1835, over sixty years after the lyrics were written by John Newton.
2. "Victory In Jesus"
This song was written by Eugene Monroe Bartlett, a well known gospel singer and writer in 1939. It was the last hymn he ever wrote. My favorite lyrics from this song are simply "O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever".
3. "I Come To The Garden"
My mom would to sing me to sleep with this song when I was young. I still find myself randomly humming the tune on any given day.
4. "Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus"
This song was written between 1857-1858 by a young man named George Duffield, Jr. He wrote the song after witnessing the death of his pastor and friend, Dudley Tyng.
5. "Blessed Assurance"
This hymn was written by Fanny Crosby after composer Phoebe Knapp played a tune she had written and asked Fanny what the song said to her. She then proceeded to write the entire first stanza of the song.
6. "Gloryland Way"
This song was written by James S. Torbett, born in Alabama in 1868. Torbett wrote many other hymns before he passed away in 1940.
7. "Just A Closer Walk With Thee"
The exact origins of this beautiful, old hymn are unknown but there has been evidence that it dates back all the way to southern African-American churches of the 19th century.
8. "The Servant Song"
I only learned about the existence of this hymn when I first came to Judson College in 2013. As a student leader, we learn to be servant leaders by serving our fellow Judson girls while also being in a leadership role. This song was written in 1977 by Richard Gillard of Auckland, New Zealand.
9. "When We All Get To Heaven"
This hymn was written by Eliza Hewitt, a Sunday school teacher from Pennsylvania. This hymn was dedicated to her Sunday school class. My favorite line from the song is "Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving everyday."
10. "The Old Rugged Cross"
George Bennard wrote this hymn in 1913 after suffering through personal problems in 1912. These problems drove him to reflect on Christ's suffering on the cross at Calvary. This hymn has always been one of my favorites and I have listened to the choir sing this song many times over the years.
