The Battle Hymn of the Republic

[maharba]

Abraham Lincoln's Favorite Hymns

Whatever Lincoln's religion (or absence of), he seemed to appreciate a sense of man moving in his life by a pre-ordained fate, a teleological point of view. Many of Lincoln's favorite hymns show that affinity, while some others tend to be even pessimistic. There used to be Lincoln Days and Lincoln Breakfasts and recitals that supposedly showcased Abraham Lincoln's most beloved hymns. Some of those were set to music. I think the closer those were to the War, the more likely they were to have been true favorite hymns of Abraham Lincoln,

Father, whate'er of earthly bliss
Thy sovereign will denies,
Accepted at Thy throne, let this
My humble prayer, arise:

A weaver sat at his loom,
Flinging his shuttle fast,
And a thread that should wear
till the hour of doom,
was added at every cast.

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.