WOW Hymns
03-27-2007
by Brenten Gilbert

I love hymns. That may sound odd coming from a guy who is often immersed in the latest rock, hip-hop, pop, or modern worship albums, but the simple truth of the matter is that there's something mystifying about most hymns. Something that simply draws me into a secret, sacred place and envelopes me in a peace that transcends the stresses and frustrations of everyday life. It's as if the curtain that I've unfortunately managed to draw between my God and my self has been cracked open and I'm granted access to the Holy of Holies if for but a brief moment in time.

Now, I didn't grow up singing hymns in church every week - we tended to find ourselves in churches with worship services shaped by the latest trendy choruses and popular sounds. It wasn't until I got to college and began attending a more traditional church that I became accustomed to reading the numbers off of the front board and cracking open the hymnal in search of the corresponding song. It's not that hadn't heard any hymns previously, but I hadn't regularly sung or even listened to them up until that point.

It's by no small coincidence in my mind that my years in college, years enriched by singing and learning hymns, were also what I would consider to be the most formative years of my faith. Again, it's not that I wasn't already a Christian, but it was a time when my eyes were actually opened to some of the truths that had been previously escaping me, the "mystery" of the Gospel message to borrow some words from the Apostle Paul. Hymns also awakened within me the natural desire and necessity of being part of a community (I'm sure that part of this realization came from recognizing that it's difficult to sound good singing a hymn as-written by yourself; you need a communion of voices to cancel out the individual inadequacies of melodious capabilities).

In most cases, hymns also have such a rich and rewarding depth in their lyrics. The verses and choruses tend to reflect a much more well-balanced range of human emotion than many of the more contemporary songs used for worship. Many times, they display a greater understanding of depravity and our need, that's right need, for redemption and rescue. Unconcerned with always presenting a happy exterior or generating a positive reaction from a congregation, the writers of many hymns chose words and phrases that honestly represented their personal state of mind as well as the human condition as a whole. And it should be no surprise that these songs have stood the test of time.

It does my heart good to know that I'm not alone in my love for hymns. In fact, releasing an album full of hymns (reworked and arranged) seemed to be one of last year's trends among CCM artists. So much so, that this year, there are enough recently recorded hymns for hymns to earn a place in the WOW series. On March 6th, Word Records compiled and released WOW Hymns, a 2-disc collection of current artists recording their versions of some classic hymns.

Here's what some of the participating artists had to say about their contributions:

BarlowGirl ("For the Beauty of the Earth"):
- "Little Women has been our favorite 'sister's movie' for as long as we can remember. The sisters sang "For the Beauty of the Earth" and we loved it. We have said for years if we ever had a chance, we would record this song. The lyrics are very powerful and moving, telling of how great our God is."

Brian Littrell ("I Surrender All"):
- "1 Peter 5:6-7: 'Humble yourselves therfore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for You.' In our world today, the word surrender means to give in, forfeit, lay doen, or simply settle for the fact that even at our best, it's just not good enough. When we humble ourselves, or surrender to God, He will begin His work in and through us. Fixing our eyes on God's eternal plan for our life, that's what I call surrendering! 'All to thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.'"

Selah ("There Is a Fountain"):
- "William Cowper, who wrote these strong words of God's love and mercy, was never able to rest in that security in his own troubled life. Cowper was plagued throughout his life with the feeling that God would someday turn his back on him, a feeling that we have all shared at one time or another. It is said that on his deathbed, Cowper looked upward with amazement on his face and said, 'I am not shut out of Heaven after all.'"

Amy Grant ("This is My Father's World"):
- "I cannot remember a time when I was so profoundly affected by the making of a record. I really see it as identifying for myself a long overdue musical expression of my roots. The more life you live, you realize how precious it is to be moved. I just thought how much I would like to be moved again by these songs that really fashioned the framework of my faith as a child. And "This is My Father's World" was and is one of my favorites.

Mark Schultz ("Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing"):
- "I fell in love with this song when I heard a recording of my girlfriend (now my wife) singing it for a Commencement Ceremony for her medical school class. So I can say with confidence that the version I recorded is the second best version of this song that is floating around our house. The third and final chorus really resonates with me: 'Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart. O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.' I think a good hymn is like advice from an old wise mentor reminding us what we already know to be true and helping us focus on what is important. My mentor (and youth pastor!) had more good advice... 'You need to marry that girl!'"

Building 429 ("Grace That Is Greater"):
- "My good friend Matt and I (Jason Roy) wrote new verses to this old hymn and it was such an awesome time of worship. The band certainly shared our same heart of getting back to how we grew up singing hymns and remembering that God's grace has covered every single one our sins."

These testimonials and others - there's one for each of the 30 songs on the compilation - can be found in the liner notes. Below is the entire track listing for WOW Hymns and in case you missed it on the front page, a special flash player to preview each of the songs:

Since WOW Hymns might whet your appetite for more hymns-based albums, here's a few others worth checking out: