The Story of Our Hymns recounts the origins and histories of the hymns sung in the Lutheran and broader Protestant tradition. Ernest Edwin Ryden tells how each hymn came to be written, sketching the lives of the authors and composers and the circumstances behind the texts and tunes.
The book serves both devotion and study, deepening worshippers’ appreciation of familiar songs by revealing the human stories behind them. Ryden traces the development of hymnody across centuries and countries, from the chorales of the Reformation onward. As a readable guide to the heritage of Christian song, it remains a valued resource for church members and students of hymnology.