A hymn that you hear on a lot of Christian hymn compilations is “Softly and Tenderly”. It is one of those hymns that people think of when they hear the words “altar call” and a number of famous Christians including Martin Luther King Jr. had it sung at their funerals.

A story from the Net Hymnal page for it: When the world-re?nowned lay preach?er, Dwight Ly?man Moody, lay on his death bed in his North?field, Mass?a?chu?setts, home, Will Thomp?son [the hymn’s composer] made a spe?cial vi?sit to in?quire as to his con?di?tion. The at?tend?ing phy?si?cian re?fused to ad?mit him to the sick?room, and Moody heard them talk?ing just out?side the bed?room door. Re?cog?niz?ing Thomp?son??s voice, he called for him to come to his bed?side. Tak?ing the Ohio po?et-com?pos?er by the hand, the dy?ing evan?gel?ist said, ??Will, I would ra?ther have writ?ten ??Soft?ly and Ten?der?ly Je?sus is Call?ing?? than an?y?thing I have been able to do in my whole life.??

The words (with the refrain bolded):

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He??s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
Mercies for you and for me?

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

O for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

The first two lines of the refrain are probably some of the best sentiments put to music in Christianity — “come home, come home, you who are weary, come home.” How awesome and wonderful is it that our God is calling us to come home to his presence when we are so weary and beaten bloody by the world? The last two lines aren’t so bad either — “earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!”

As always, here’s a YouTube video of the song. It’s a duet with Selah and Cynthia Clawson. The tune is what is sung at the beginning. Selah comes in doing harmony toward the middle. I chose this one not because I like the harmony but because it was almost impossible to find any other ones where it was sung in a non-twangy country way.

We continue our foray into Lenten hymns (or at least hymns I like that are cool) with “Jesus Lover of My Soul” which has another lovely Welsh hymn tune called Aberystwyth. (The Welsh do cool things with hymnody.) It is in a minor key and flows well as long as the organist/pianist takes it at a good clip. (It becomes positively dirge-like otherwise.)

The words (with a third verse I have never heard sung):

Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall??Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.
(HT: Cyberhymnal)

Both Michael Card and Fernando Ortega cover it but I prefer the recording by Michael Card from his album Starkindler because he takes it at a decent clip and pairs it with some Celtic jig music.

For comparison, here is Fernando Ortega’s recording from BEGINNINGS which takes it at a more normal speed and is more contemplative. (The YouTube video refuses to appear.)

One musician who continues to have a profound affect on me to this day is the late Rich Mullins. His life was amazing and he had a great musical career but I think the greatest thing he did was move to a Navajo reservation to teach music to the children. He didn’t live in a fancy house — he lived in a hogan. After his death, his family started Kid Brothers of St. Frank to provide art, music, and drama camps for Native American youth as well as create a traveling music school to go to the farthest reaches of the reservations.

His songs “Awesome God” and “Sometimes by Step” (“O God You Are My God”) are a worship standard in pretty much every Protestant church/camp/ministry as well as a number of Catholic ones. His faith bridged the divide and he had a devotion to St. Francis of Assisi although he never converted to Catholicism. (He did go through RCIA.)

There are several of his songs that I post every so often because they reflect my feelings. The one that really reflects my faith on a daily basis is “If I Stand”. The chorus (the bolded portion which is repeated twice at the end) is as capable of reducing me to tears today as it was when I heard it 13 years ago:

There’s more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It’s more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger
Than this room

And there’s a loyalty that’s deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

There’s more that dances on the prairies
Than the wind
More that pulses in the ocean
Than the tide
There’s a love that is fiercer
Than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother’s
When her baby’s at her side

And there’s a loyalty that’s deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegence
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

Here’s the recording that I have:

I also found a video of him performing it live at Wheaton College:

This hymn is one that I love and that is truly an American one as it rose out of shape note singing. Chanticleer released a CD of international music which had this for its title piece. I think I’ve sung it in every church I’ve been part of — it’s a wonderful hymn for Lent because it is in a minor key and it talks about Christ’s death on the Cross.

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.

When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God??s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.

To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb Who is the great ??I Am??;
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I??m free, I??ll sing on, I??ll sing on;
And when from death I??m free, I??ll sing on.
And when from death I??m free, I??ll sing and joyful be;
And through eternity, I??ll sing on, I??ll sing on;
And through eternity, I??ll sing on.

(HT: Net Hymnal for the lyrics)

So that people can hear the wonderfulness of the hymn, I have the Chanticleer arrangement from YouTube. It includes a verse that I haven’t found in any hymnals and omits the last verse listed here. I’m a huge fan of Chanticleer to begin with so of course I love this arrangement. Another beautiful one is done by Fernando Ortega.