Hymns as Instruction for Children

Posted on by
Reply

In Spring 2026, Dr. Laura Carroll’s ENGL 325: Advanced Composition students were challenged to engage Special Collections broadly, and, more specifically, with the hymnal collection. Each student wrote a research paper on a topic inspired by the hymnal collection. Their research included databases, interviews, library print resources, and data collection. Today we welcome ACU student June Skelly to the blog. Read on to learn more about her research. 

This paper explores how hymns have historically been used for instruction for children. It begins with some of the history of Isaac Watts, as well as the development of children’s literature as a genre. It compares the work of Fanny J. Crosby and Isaac Watts, looking at similar themes in their work, such as labor and telling the truth. Specifically, it takes a few hymns from Watts’ Divine and Moral Songs for Children, published in 1715, as well as Crosby’s hymns “O My Savior, Hear Me, Draw Me Close,” from 1875, and her “Hymn for the Working Children,” from 1913. Drawing from Beverly Howard’s “Fanny Crosby: Songs of Salvation, Consecration, Service, and Heaven,” it also delves into Crosby’s connection to Watts’ hymns, from how she was raised reading them, to the impact hearing them had on her career, and even the decision to become a hymn writer herself.

The paper uses a statement from The American Academy of Pediatrics to define what language is appropriate to use in educating children. Additionally, it looks at how Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development can be used to inform and expand upon what hymns are beneficial for children to learn with assistance of another. Using these, it states that Crosby’s hymns are generally applicable and understandable for children, while some of the harder themes and language used by Watts make his hymns less appropriate for their original purpose of instructing children. Finally, the paper concludes by recognizing how each hymn writer was a product of the time they were in and the style of literature that was popular.

Thank you, June, for sharing your research with us. We’ll be back soon to highlight more student research inspired by our hymnal holdings. 

ACU Chapel Hymns

Posted on by
Reply

In Spring 2026, Dr. Laura Carroll’s ENGL 325: Advanced Composition students were challenged to engage Special Collections broadly, and, more specifically, with the hymnal collection. Each student wrote a research paper on a topic inspired by the hymnal collection. Their research included databases, interviews, library print resources, and data collection. Today we welcome ACU student Brenna Barbarick to the blog. Read on to learn more about her research.

Abilene Christian University holds two worship services each week during chapel in Moody Coliseum. On Mondays, students join in a 10-minute instrumental worship session before the speaker for the week begins, and on Fridays, students participate in Praise Day, which lasts the entire 30-minute chapel period and can be with acapella or instrumental. As a freshman at ACU, I have to attend the majority of Moody chapel services in order to meet the requirements for chapel credit. I began to wonder what kind of an impact the songs we sing, and how we sing them, might be impacting myself and the rest of the students in attendance each week. After reading Carl Bear’s article covering the importance of a balanced congregational song repertoire, I realized that it was both possible and necessary to analyze ACU’s chapel repertoire. I contacted the Office of Spiritual Life, and they were able to provide me with a song usage report, which detailed which songs were planned for chapel and how many times each one has been used since January of 2025. Then, using suggestions from Bear’s essay, I analyzed a selection of the worship songs according to a rubric found in Constance Cherry’s book entitled The Music Architect: Blueprints for Engaging Worshipers in Song. I also repeatedly referenced Worship Seeking Understanding, a novel by John D. Witvliet, throughout the course of my research in order to deepen my understanding of the influence of worship on those within a congregation.

With the previously mentioned sources as my foundation, I was able to identify the existence of noteworthy gaps within ACU’s chapel repertoire. For example, all of the songs I examined were meant to be comforting to the worshiper. This result may not appear to call for a solution at first. However, when all the songs are meant to be comforting, there is no room left for songs that are going to unsettle the worshiper from their day-to-day routine and call them to a more challenging, but more rewarding, purpose. Additionally, I discovered that students are frequently singing songs that describe a Christian’s response to the Lord’s character and the work He has done in their life. These kinds of songs are beneficial to the singer, but in the context of ACU’s chapel repertoire, they were out of balance with songs that tell the stories of the bible and reveal God’s character through scripture. The next possible steps of this research would be to reach out to others with experience in song analysis to instill even more confidence in my results. Then, I will be able to communicate with the Office of Spiritual Life about ways to create changes that would benefit the students of ACU.

Thank you, Brenna, for sharing your research with us. We’ll be back soon to highlight more student research inspired by our hymnal holdings. 

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”

Posted on by
Reply

In Spring 2026, Dr. Laura Carroll’s ENGL 325: Advanced Composition students were challenged to engage Special Collections broadly, and, more specifically, with the hymnal collection. Each student wrote a research paper on a topic inspired by the hymnal collection. Their research included databases, interviews, library print resources, and data collection. Today we welcome ACU student Mikhail Fortner to the blog. Read on to learn more about his research. 

“Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”

This research paper is centered on the proposition “How does the historical context of 18th century hymn writing contribute to the composition of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing?” There was a scarcity of online material directly regarding the writer of the hymn, Robert Robinson. Baptist church history journals proved the most useful for the biography of Robinson. However, there were quite a few journals regarding how Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts shaped hymn composition during that time, one from a church history journal and a couple from theological and philosophical journals.

The paper originally was centered around Robinson’s biography, life, and any supplementary material directly regarding the hymn. However, most of the research focused on the theological significance in the wording of the hymn’s lyrics. The English Renaissance particularly shaped the literary and theological scene, as Calvinistic and Arminian themes abounded within this hymn. Research shows that Watt’s emphasis on transcendence reflects the emphasis of the Holy Spirit in the hymn. Additionally, Wesley’s influence is prominent in the emphasis of atonement and the theme of invitation. The title of the hymn itself could be inspired by his sermons.

The division of the Stoneyard church at which Robinson was preaching served as motivation for the composition of his hymn, highlighting the united power of the Holy Spirit and the need for grace. His hymn was composed to the tune “Nettleton” by John Wyeth; a possible original title to the song could have been “Hallelujah” or “Good Shepherd” (Hymnary.org). “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is rooted in Scripture, containing references to 1 Samuel, Jeremiah, and Acts. The latter lines of the hymn provide a compelling commentary on free will and determination. The reference to fetters particularly highlights the idea that grace shackles one to the will of God, however, the hymn also hints at the idea that one allows this grace to overwhelm. The parallel to Milton was a fascinating discovery regarding man’s choice to follow the righteous path or to stray.

The significance of this hymn’s composition mandates an examination of the process of song writing for worship. While hymns can allude to current and past literature, art, and culture, its foundation must be the Scriptures. Often, the simplest lyrics, directly paralleling or quoting Scripture, are the most impactful for the believer. Attention should be given to reexamining past hymns across denominations to seek context and meaning. The full significance of a hymn often lies beyond what is explicitly stated in the lyrics, as historical and theological contexts provide a wider scope of understanding.

Sources

Berg, Daniel N. “The Theological Context of American Wesleyanism.” Wesleyan Theological Journal, vol. 20, no. 1, Dec. 1985, pp. 45–60. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=fbfa2a56-ac82-393a-934c-c561a738d62a.

“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Hymnary.org, hymnary.org/text/come_thou_fount_of_every_blessing.

ESV Study Bible : English Standard Version. 2001. Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Foundation, Poetry. “Paradise Lost: Book 3 (1674 Version) by John Milton.” Poetry Foundation, 21 Sept. 2021, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45739/paradise-lost-book-3-1674-version.

Greenwood, John. George Whitefield. 1769, mezzotint on paper. National Portrait Gallery, https://npg.si.edu/object/npg_NPG.75.77.

Harlan, Lowell B. “Theology of Eighteenth Century English Hymns.” Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, vol. 48, no. 2, June 1979, pp. 167–93. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=1c6cf69d-a403-318f-8a16-6ec3b373631c.

Haykin, Michael A. G. “‘Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing’: Robert Robinson and His Hymnic Celebration of Sovereign Grace.” Semănătorul, vol. 5, no. 1, Dec. 2024, pp. 138–55. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.58892/ts.swr5160

Knapp, John. “Isaac Watts’s Unfixed Hymn Genre.” Modern Philology, vol. 109, no. 4, May 2012, pp. 463–82. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1086/665976.

McKibbens, Thomas R. “Robert Robinson: Baptist Historian with a Passion for Preaching.” Baptist History and Heritage, vol. 15, no. 4, Dec. 1980, pp. 12–18. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=73448717-c964-3e63-8bed-2ace4c6c08c0.

Robinson, Robert. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing. A Collection of Hymns Used by the Church of Christ, 1758, hymnary.org/text/come_thou_fount_of_every_blessing. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.

Rushford, Jerry. “Hymns of the Season: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Pepperdine.edu, Caruso School of Law – Pepperdine University, 2020, library.pepperdine.edu/news/posts/hymns-of-the-season-come-thou-fount-of-every-blessing.htm.

“The Wesley Center Online: Wesley Hymn Collection.” Nnu.edu, 2026, wesley.nnu.edu/charles-wesley/wesley-hymn-collection/#c5840. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.

Tice, Adam M. L. “‘Come, Thou Font of Ev’Ry Blessing.’” The Hymn, vol. 65, no. 2, Dec. 2014, pp. 34–35. EBSCOhost, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=ee037502-0fd3-3320-929b-9a7fa8b73636.

Thank you, Mikhail, for sharing your research with us. We’ll be back soon to highlight more student research inspired by our hymnal holdings.