How to Write a Hymn

Praying Psalm 135 this morning, I kept being distracted by the lines lifted from elsewhere in Scripture.

• Verse 1 comes from Psalm 113.
• Verse 5 comes from Psalm 95.
• Verse 13 comes from Psalm 72.
• Verse 14 comes from Deut 32.
• Verses 15-18 repeat a section of Psalm 115.
• Verses 19-20 are a slight twist on a section of Psalm 118.

And that list doesn’t even include the other lines that I know show up in other biblical hymns but for which my memory doesn’t have a ready-reference of the citation ... nor does this list include the other places these lines appear.

The most important thing in hymn-writing is not to have some theological acumen plus some writing ability.  The most important thing is to be steeped in God’s word, to have His hymns and His stories and His catechism so deeply entrenched in your soul and your mind that His Word (not yours) spills out whenever your mouth or pen gets to movin’.