Growing up as the child of two worship leaders, in a predominately traditional church setting, I can honestly say that “Then Sings My Soul” gives me a greater appreciation for hymns. Robert J. Morgan has studied and documented the historical background of each hymn, as if he were living with the very creator. He tells the individual’s life story and how each song came into fruition. Not only does he document the artist’s story, but he also includes a copy of each hymn.
“Then Sings My Soul” is a treasure for any worship leader, or historical buff. I personally found most of the stories within the pages interesting and even inspiring at times. Morgan takes the author’s life stories…the good, the bad, and the challenging occurrences…and sheds an understanding on them. It is almost as if he takes you through the person’s life through God’s eyes, knowing full well that the end result is going to be an endless masterpiece. He documents the trial and error that any artist goes through, and how God oftentimes uses our difficulties to create something or someone beautiful.
It took me a while to read through this book because it honestly was a bit difficult to get tied down to. Every page is about a different artist and hymn, so it was easy to set down and forget about. Some of the stories were a bit dry at times, documenting a bland lifeline of facts with no real attention grabber. However, not everyone experiences a monumental event in their life. With that in mind, Morgan is overall successful at turning something that could be boring, such as hymns and historical facts, into a fascinating collection of 150 mini-biographies. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing the background behind those holiday classics.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
