10 Great Ash Wednesday Hymns and Worship Songs

Wednesday Hymn: Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy

A beautiful hymn opening with a call to repentance, “Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy,” was included with a collection of hymns by Joseph Hart in 1759. The first lines read:

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,

weak and wounded, sick and sore;

Jesus ready stands to save you,

full of pity, love, and power.

Raised in a Christian home, Hart battled sin as a young man and, feeling unable to conquer it, determined to indulge his desires. He later wrote, “For having (as I imagined) obtained by Christ a liberty of sinning, I was resolved to make use of it.”

Decades of self-indulgence ended when, at the age of forty, Hart embraced his faith. A couple of years later, the confusion lifted upon hearing a sermon at Whitefield’s Tabernacle in London. His life was transformed. The prodigal stepped behind the pulpit and employed the pen to give glory to God. 

This hymn will add to worship any day of the year, including Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday Hymn: Be Thou My Vision

'Be Thou My Vision' - Camille Nelson Plays Irish Hymn from camillenelson on GodTube.

Originally titled “Rop tú mo Baile” in Gaelic, “Be Thou My Vision” is a traditional lorica—or prayer that petitions God for protection. Like other loricas, which means “armor,” the song presents the biblical idea of God as one’s Shelter during challenging times, as reflected in the following stanza.

Be Thou my Breastplate, my Sword for the fight;

Be Thou my whole Armor, be Thou my true Might;

Be Thou my soul’s Shelter, be Thou my strong Tow’r,

O raise Thou me heav’nward, great Pow’r of my pow’r

Written during the Middle Ages in Ireland, the original author is unknown, though some scholars link it to sixth-century poet Dallan Forgaill. Mary Byrne discovered an original copy and translated the poem into modern English in 1905. Eleanor Hull adapted the song into rhyming couplets to the medieval tune “Slane” a little over ten years later. First published in 1912, this Ash Wednesday hymn has echoed throughout churches on Ash Wednesday and beyond.

Ash Wednesday Hymn: Alas! And Did My Saviour Bleed?

“Alas! And Did My Saviour Bleed?” resounds of reconciliation. Authored by a young Isaac Watts, who wearied of the traditional music in church, the hymn was one of around eight hundred drafted by the prolific writer, theologian, and educator. 

Known as a Dissenter—someone who believed the Anglican church needed further to distance itself from the doctrines of the Catholic church—and the Father of English Hymnody, Watts wrote:

Alas! And did my Savior bleed

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For such a worm as I?

While the stanza above seems to reference Psalm 22:6, the second addresses sin and the gift of God’s matchless love.

Was it for crimes that I had done

He groaned upon the tree?

Amazing pity! Grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!

Though not a common Ash Wednesday song, another of Watt’s theologically rich hymns includes the famous Joy to the World.

Ash Wednesday Hymn: Take Up Your Cross (Thy Saviour Said)

Published as a poem in 1833 as part of Visions of Death, and Other Poems, “Take Up Your Cross” was first added to a hymnal in 1835. Penned by American preacher Charles William Everest (1814–1877), “Take Up Your Cross” echoes the words of Christ in Mark 8:34.

Take up your cross, the Savior said, 

If you would my disciple be;

Deny yourself, the world forsake,

And humbly follow after me.

While “Take Up Your Cross” varies from the original version due to the addition of a fourth verse and some variance from Everest’s wording, its encouraging slant will instill hope in the heart of today’s believer as much as did almost two hundred years ago.

Ash Wednesday Hymn: Kneeling, Pleading, Waiting

A pharmacist turned songwriter, composer, and publisher, Charles Austin Miles left a promising career to pursue his passion in gospel music. Born in 1868, Miles edited and published multiple songbooks throughout his thirty-seven-year career in the music industry. 

Only one of more than four hundred songs that the artist wrote or composed, “Kneeling, Pleading, Waiting,” serves as a wonderful plea as well as a reminder of our position of salvation in the Lord. 

The lyrics below provide a taste of this beautiful Ash Wednesday hymn.

Have mercy, Lord, on us, 

For you are ever kind;

Though we have sinned before you, Lord,

Your mercy let us find.

Several modern worship songs are particularly relevant on this solemn day, with a range of hymns available to augment our Ash Wednesday celebrations. 

Ash Wednesday Modern Worship Song: Son of Suffering

Stirring and worshipful, Son of Suffering speaks to Christ’s pain and suffering, all leading to the repentant follower’s freedom. Referencing Isaiah 53:3, “He is despised and rejected by men, “A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” some lyrics mirror scripture.

Matt Redman, one of the song’s writers, hails from England. He has planted three churches and is a prolific industry artist and worship leader. Co-writers include Aaron Moses, David Funk, and Nate Moore—talented men whose skills, professions, and titles range from lyricist to pastor and husband.

Ash Wednesday Modern Worship Song: I Will Wait for You

If you sing or listen to Shane and Shane’s reverential “I Will Wait for You,” the familiar lament of Psalm 130 may filter through your mind.

Like the Psalmist, the singers invite those who engage with the words of their song to worship God with expectancy.

Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord

Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

to my cry for mercy.

Ash Wednesday Modern Worship Song: Who Am I

Who Am I Casting Crowns from holyghostdrama on GodTube.

Receiving the 36^th GMA Dove Award and the Song of the Year Award, “Who Am I” was released in 2004 as the second of Casting Crown’s songs from their debut album. Based in Georgia and led by former youth pastor and worship leader John Mark Hall, Casting Crowns initially performed as a student worship band.

Those battling doubt and personal worth will discover hope and encouragement through the uplifting words of “Who Am I” on Ash Wednesday and any time of the year.

Ash Wednesday Modern Worship Song: O Come to the Altar

Does the weight of sin leave you feeling overwhelmed? If you know Christ as Savior, He has removed the burden. “O Come to the Altar” expresses this incredible truth. It also addresses immortality, new life, and Christ’s incomparable love within a series of verses composed by Elevation Worship—a well-known worship band that launched their group in 2007.

Based in North Carolina, the group has toured with Christian artists like Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, and Casting Crowns. Other top hits you may recognize are “The Blessing,” “Jireh,” and “Do It Again.”

Ash Wednesday Modern Worship Song: You Run

An unexpected and lesser-known artist from the 1980s, Michael Been never quite fit the roles of either a contemporary Christian artist or rock musician. Been was a skilled musician influenced by and collaborated with people like Peter Gabriel and Bono. Been’s work differed from most faith-based musicians of the day, with lyrics using spiritual language but rarely exploring spiritual victories. He was unafraid to broach more challenging topics like doubt or heartache

Unlike most of his songs, “You Run” is contemplative and almost hymn-like. The message that pierces one’s heart? Christ’s love for us is eternal.

While Been passed away in 2010, his son Robert Levon continues to perform with his band, The Call. The following version featuring Robert Levon Been further brings out its contemplative sound.