Loosening the Bonds

The Easter worship series titled “Revive Us Again” instantly calls to mind one of our beloved hymns by the same name. “Revive Us Again” was written by William P. Mackay (1839-1885) in 1863. Educated in Scotland, he was a physician for a number of years before answering a call to ministry. He became the pastor at Prospect Street Presbyterian Church in Hull, Scotland. The tune was thought to have been composed by John Jenkins Husband (1760-1825), but later research revealed that Mackay had written the tune we know as REVIVE US AGAIN to go with his text. Click here for more information and history.

Also see this PDF of the hymn from the Cokesbury Hymnal, 1938.

Notice the shape notes present in this version. Click here to learn what the shapes mean.

For a more updated version of this hymn, consider Big Daddy Weave’s version found here.

Click here to view chords for "Revive Us Again."

In Spanish, you will find “Revive Us Again” in Mil Voces Para Celebrar, 16.

Here are some other songs to consider for this series:

• “We’ve Come This Far by Faith,” 192, Songs of Zion. See C. Michael Hawn’s History of Hymns article on “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.”
• “We Walk By Faith,” 2196, The Faith We Sing
• “Without Seeing You,” 2206, The Faith We Sing
• “Jesus Paid It All,” 3100, Worship and Song. Click here to see related article.