Use a Hymnal in Your Devotions

I have made it a practice for the past few years to have a hymnal near during my prayer/Bible reading hour in the morning. It has proven to be a gloriously helpful resource in calling my groggy, stagnant heart to worship.

There are many wonderful collections of hymnody that can greatly aid in devotion and doxology each day, but I am currently using Spurgeon’s Own Hymn Book from Christian Focus Publications.

I am currently on hymn #238, a gem from Isaac Watts (1709):

1 LORD, we confess our num’rous faults;

How great our guilt has been!

Foolish and vain were all our thoughts,

And all our lives were sin.

2 But O my soul! forever praise,

Forever love His name,

Who turns thy feet from dang’rous ways

Of folly, sin, and shame.

3 "Tis not by works of righteousness

Which our own hands have done,

But we are sav'd by sovereign grace

Abounding through His Son.

4 'Tis from the mercy of our God

That all our hopes begin;

"Tis by the water and the blood

Our souls are wash'd from sin.

5 "Tis through the purchase of His death

Who hung upon the tree,

The Spirit is sent down to breathe

On such dry bones as we.

6 Raised from the dead, we live anew,

And justified by grace,

We shall appear in glory too

And see our Father's face.

What a way to start the day! Integrate hymnody into your devotional practice; begin your day singing!