To start this year I asked my social media followers what one line from a hymn offered them singular encouragement heading into 2018. And, well, if you need encouragement here is a mountain of it – 130 different lines, segments, and whole verses from hymns and many of them were shared by multiple people. Many IO knew by heart and was glad to be reminded of and a few I’d never heard and was glad to meet for the first time. I intend to revisit this post throughout the year as I need to and I invite you to do the same. It is a treasure trove.
I copied the lines exactly as they were shared with me because what matters is the uplifting truth not perfect memory or punctuation. Enjoy.
- “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow”
- “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood for my soul”
- “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved”
- “Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
- “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”
- “Above and below me Before and behind me In every eye that sees me Christ be all around me”
- “I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
- “Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall. Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.”
- “Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper! While the tempest still is high, Storms about me, night o’ertakes me, He, my Pilot, hears my cry”
- “I trace the rainbow through the rain And feel the promise is not vain That morn shall tearless be”
- “E’er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme
- “My sin not in part but the whole, is nailed to His Cross and I bear it no more”
- “Bought by him at such a cost, He will hold me fast”
- “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
- “Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless stand before the throne”
- “Lord whatever comes”
- “Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise / Thou mine inheritance, now and always”
- “I need Thee every hour, In joy or pain; Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain.”
- “Oh, how I love Jesus Oh, how I love Jesus Oh, how I love Jesus Because He first loved me.”
- “Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord His children sever”
- “I know not why God’s wondrous grace To me He hath made known, Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love Redeemed me for His own. But “I know Whom I have believed And am persuaded that He is able To keep that which I’ve committed Unto Him against that day.”
- “O, God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,”
- “As by the light of opening day, The stars are all concealed; So earthly pleasures fade away, When Jesus is revealed.”
- “When we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing his praise.”
- “Then rang the bells more loud and deep God is not dead, nor does He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail With peace on earth, good will to men”
- “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand”
- “And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend”
- “The calm will be the better for the storms that we endure.”
- “No guilt in life, no fear in death this is the power of Christ in me.”
- “Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid.”
- “Turn your eyes upon Jesus / Look full in His wonderful face / And the things of earth will grow strangely dim / In the light of His glory and grace.”
- “Alas and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die Would He Devore that sacred head For such a worm as I.”
- “My soul will rest in your embrace.”
- “Lord, make me yours forever, a loyal servant true, and let me never, never outlive my love to you.”
- “When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word what a glory he sheds on our way!”
- “The Lord has promised good to me, His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures.”
- “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s vain and sinners plunged beneath the flood lose all their guilty stains.”
- “Grace hath brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home”
- “Hitherto thy love has blest me Thou has brought me to this place and I know thy hand will bring me safely home by thy good grace.”
- “Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye”
- “I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!”
- “From heaven He came and sought her, to be His holy bride . . . This is still hard to fathom even though I’ve been a believer for nearly 50 years.”
- “Bind my wandering heart to thee.”
- “Bring forth the royal diadem.”
- “The Prince of Darkness grim,— We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! His doom is sure,— One little word shall fell him.”
- “Nothing but the blood of Jesus”
- “Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”
- “Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He”
- “What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled.”
- “Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father”
- “And whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill, We’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless You still”
- “Grace that is greater than all my sin.”
- “Your ways are always higher, Your plans are always good, There’s not a place where I’ll go, You’ve not already stood”
- “Have you not seen how your desires they have been Granted in what He ordaineth?”
- “This my song through endless ages: Jesus led me all the way”
- “Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.”
- “Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word. I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord. Thou my great Father, I Thy true son. Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.”
- “No matter my lot thou has taught me to say it is well it is well with my soul”
- “Come, Thou Fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing Thy grace Streams of mercy, never ceasing Call for songs of loudest praise.”
- “Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side.”
- “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small”
- “His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flow’r”
- “What e’er I do where e’er I be, still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me”
- “His love, not mine, the resting place – His truth, not mine, the tie.”
- “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Sweetest Name I know Fills my ev’ry longing Keeps me singing as I go”
- “Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”
- “need no other argument, I need no other plea, It is enough that Jesus died, And that He died for me.”
- “We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender! We go not forth alone against the foe; Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender, We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.”
- “I stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene And wonder how He could love me A sinner, condemned, unclean”
- “When Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end to all my sin”
- “What God ordains is always good…so to my God I yield me.”
- “Risen with healing in his wings”
- “Nothing in my hands I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling.”
- “No still the ear of sovereign grace, Attends the mourner’s prayer Oh may I ever find access, To breathe my sorrows there”
- “Forever running but losing the race Were it not for grace.”
- “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above.”
- “Look full in His wonderful face and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of His Glory and Grace”
- “And Though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”
- “The promise is not vain that morn shall tearless be.”
- “Could we with ink the ocean fill And were the skies of parchment made Were every stalk on earth a quill And every man a scribe by trade To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched from sky to sky.”
- “He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what he deems best.”
- “Thou my best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light”
- “Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, if with His love He befriend Thee.”
- “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.”
- “O God our help in ages past”
- “O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be.”
- “Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.”
- “Christ the great and sure fulfillment of the law; in Him we stand.”
- “A great High Priest whose name is love, Who ever lives and pleads for me.”
- “Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever, I am.”
- “Oh come all ye faithful, joyful & triumphant.”
- “Who every grief hath known that wrings the human breast and takes and bares them for his own that all in him may rest.”
- “All I have needed Thy hand hath provided.”
- “Safe and secure from all alarms”
- “When peace like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll… Thou has taught me to say, It Is Well with my Soul.”
- “The King of Love my Shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never.”
- “Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake to guide the future, as He has the past. Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake; All now mysterious shall be bright at last.”
- “I know who I have believed, and am persuaded, that he is able.. to keep that which I’ve committed, unto him, until that day”
- “In the hours of pain and sorrow when the world brings no relief, when the eye is dim and heavy and the heart oppressed with grief, while blessings flee, Savior Lord we trust in thee.”
- “Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and power.”
- “Breathe on me breath of God; Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do.”
“Ye fearful Saints, fresh courage take; The clouds ye so much dread, Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head.” - “Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O Ruler of all”
- “Thou mine Inheritance, now and always”
- “A thrill of Hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!”
- “Savior, like a Shepherd lead us. Much we need Thy tender care”
- “Change my heart O God make it ever new Change my heart O God I want to be like you.”
- “Til he appeared and the soul felt its worth.”
- “When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see, ’Twill be my joy through the ages To sing of His love for me.”
- “I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world’s delights, things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight.”
- “For all the saints who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confess, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest, Alleluia! Alleluia!”
- “What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to beat the dreadful curse for my soul”
- “He sends us his love on the wings of a dove.”
- “Here I raise my Ebenezer hither by thy help I’ve come”
- “If you tarry till you’re better, you will never come at all.”
- “’The Lion of Judah will break every chain and give us the victory again and again”
- “Oh to grace, how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be”
- “When I fear my faith will fail Christ will hold me fast.”
- “Morning by morning new mercies I see”
- “High King of Heaven, my victory won May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’n’s Sun Heart of my own heart, whate’er befall Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all”
- “I hear the Savior say, ‘Thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and pray; find in me thine all in all.'”
- “And he will raise you up on eagles wings”
- “Beneath a frowning providence he hides a smiling face.”
- “I need Thee every hour”
- “Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer! That calls me from a world of care”
- “Amazing love, how can it be, that though my God shouldst die for me.”
- “Weak is the effort of our heart, and cold our warmest thought; but when we see Thee as Thou art, we’ll praise Thee as we ought.”
- “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”
- “God is not dead, nor does he sleep. The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men.”
- “That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”
- “Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not. As thou has been, thou forever will be.”