Dictionary of Hymnology
Learn hymn terms, meters, forms, and the history behind Christian worship music — curated for hymn lovers, worship leaders, and students.
A fulness resides in Jesus our Head
History
John Fawcett's 1782 hymn on the sufficiency of Christ, first published in his collected hymns and later popul…
A good High Priest is come
History
John Cennick's 1744 hymn on the priesthood of Christ, compiled by George Whitefield and John Rippon for wides…
A little flock! So calls He thee
Hymn
Horatius Bonar's expansive 1857 poem on the Church, published in Hymns of Faith and Hope and adapted into var…
A little ship was on the sea
Hymn
Dorothy Ann Thrupp’s highly popular nineteenth-century children's hymn illustrating the biblical narrative of…
A mighty mystery we set forth
History
George Rawson's 1857 baptismal hymn exploring the spiritual union of the believer with Christ's death and res…
A pilgrim through this lonely world
Hymn
Sir Edward Denny's solemn 1839 Passiontide hymn detailing Christ's earthly isolation, popular within Plymouth…
A sinful man am I
History
Horatius Bonar's 1867 Short Meter invitation hymn exploring human brokenness and Christ's call, published in …
A solis ortus cardine (Translations and Structural Variants)
History
An index of the nineteenth-century English and German translations of Coelius Sedulius's hymn, detailing the …
A thousand oracles divine
Hymnology
An overview of Charles Wesley's intensely dogmatic Trinitarian hymn, tracing its publication history, denomin…
A time to watch, a time to pray
Hymnology
A historical summary of John Mason Neale's 1842 Good Friday children's hymn, detailing its structural composi…
A voice comes from Ramah
Hymnology
A publication history of William Knox's scriptural hymn on bereavement, tracking its textual origins from Jer…
A. (Ann Gilbert)
History
The signature "A." as used to denote Ann Gilbert (née Taylor) in William Bengo Collyer's Collection of Hymns,…
A. (Joseph Addison)
History
The signature "A." used to denote hymns by Joseph Addison in the Bristol Baptist Collection compiled by John …
A. B. (George Burder)
History
The initials "A. B." as sometimes historically cited, or "A. R." as actually adopted, by George Burder for hi…
A. R. W.
History
The initials "A. R. W." used in the American Baptist Praise Book (1871) to sign the contributions of the Reve…
Abide in me, and I in you
Hymnology
A publication trace of Bishop Edward Henry Bickersteth's devotional hymn on abiding in Christ, covering its i…
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
Hymnology
A comprehensive chronicle of Henry Francis Lyte’s renowned hymn, detailing its poignant composition context i…
Above, below, where'er I gaze
Hymnology
A publication history of an anonymous nineteenth-century hymn celebrating divine omnipresence in creation, de…
Abraham, when severely tried
Hymnology
A publication history of Charles Wesley's epic scriptural paraphrase on faith, detailing its origins in 1740 …
Absent from flesh, O blissful thought
Hymnology
A publication history of Dr. Isaac Watts's funeral hymn on the soul's release from the body, outlining its 17…