I Miss the Depth of the Old Hymns
I confess that in the 1990s I led a church through the change process from traditional hymns and a choir to praise choruses and praise teams.
I now confess that I miss the depth of the old hymns. Yes, some of the modern praise music is improving, led by theologian/songwriters like Keith and Kristyn Getty (In Christ Alone). They’re all too rare, however.
Listen, really listen to most of the praise choruses that we sing in most of our Evangelical church services. Honestly, they could be to almost any “god.” There’s often little in the lyrics to indicate we are praising the Trinitarian, holy-loving, Creator-Redeemer who offers salvation in Christ alone by faith alone through grace alone.
And listen to what you don’t hear much anymore in our praise choruses: Christology, hamartiology, and soteriology.
You say, “What in the world is ‘Christology,’ ‘hamartiology,’ and ‘soteriology’!?”
Proves my point.
Christology: The doctrine of Christ–Who He is and what He has done.
Hamartiology: The doctrine of sin–human sinfulness and our inability to save ourselves.
Soteriology: The doctrine of salvation–cleansing from our guilt and sin by faith alone through grace alone.
I picked up an old hymnal just now and randomly thumbed through it. Consider the lyrics about salvation for guilty sinners in Christ alone.
The Solid Rock: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.”
My Faith Has Found a Resting Place: “My faith has found a resting place, not in device nor creed; I trust the Ever-living One, His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument, I need no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me.”
Nothing but the Blood: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Grace Greater Than Our Sin: “Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, there where the blood of the lamb was spilt. Grace, grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within, grace, grace, God’s grace, grace that is greater than all my sin.”
There Is a Fountain: “There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.”
We don’t sing about blood, about guilt, about sin and sinners much anymore. We don’t sing about Christ and salvation by faith through grace much anymore.
We sing about an anonymous, nameless God who is wonderful and loves us. And that makes us feel good. But does it glorify the Trinitarian God of the Bible who in holy love sent His sinless Son to die for our sins and to be raised for our justification?
I miss the depth of the old hymns.
My feelings echo yours, Dr. Kellemen. Not only do I miss the depth of the old hymns I am saddened by the shallowness of the body of Christ. We have neglected important doctrines in our worship as well as in the delivering of the Word. As a result we have many confused people, some who are not even saved but don’t know it, within the ranks of the church.
It is my prayer that we will embrace the essential doctrines of Christology, hamartiology, and soteriology again. The Gospel cost Christ everthing. I hate to see it cheapened repeatedly and embraced as the whole Word rightly divided when in reality we are not even coming close.
Modern styles and praise teams are not incompatible with the theological content of old hymns, or even the words themselves. If you review your old hymnbook you will (usually) see every hymn has its meter written at the top, e.g. I have here “Lovest thou me?” with a meter of 77.77. Now, find a modern praise song which matches that meter; ideally it should be four lines per verse, seven ‘stresses’ per line, preferably suited to two couplets. Just hum the tune of the modern praise song and count the ‘stresses’ per line. Perhaps then make a record on your blog for everyone else to refer to! Hymnals usually have a Metrical Index, at least in the music edition – once you find one modern tune that matches a defined meter, you can then find a listing of older hymns that share it. I see 22 hymns in my hymnal that share 77.77.
The words and the tunes of hymns have often been interchanged; and I see no reason why this should not continue today with modern praise music. I will try to do a worked example for you once I can find a modern praise song to refer to!
Example: “Our God is an Awesome God” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH3OEfapLnc&feature=related
Go to 2:10 in and pick up the praise chorus; it has approximately a 66.66 meter. This fits perfectly with old hymns such as:
“Thy kingdom come,
O God, thy rule, O Christ, begin;
break with thine iron rod
the tyrannies of sin.”
…or…
“Lord, be thy word my rule,
in it may I rejoice;
thy glory be my aim,
thy holy will my choice”
I agree … I grieve that I lost my old Baptist Hymnal and my kids are not exposed to these songs like I was!! They are ingrained, not only in my mind, but their truth is ingrained in my spirit!! When I am facing hard times, it is those old hymns that I can so easily recall after 10+ years away from them, that get me through! There are some modern praise and worship songs that reach that depth of theology … but not many! BUT on the flip side of the coin – there is NOTHING like singing Amazing Grace, It is Well with My Soul, Holy Holy Holy, I Come to the Garden Alone … in the heartfelt freedom and abandon that we have found at our church!! There is something amazing and living and powerful in the words pouring from a family of Spirit-filled Christians being led by a Worship Pastor who believes it is more than words on a page, but that ANYTHING we sing should be to God and put us on our faces before His Holiness and Glory!So much more connected than “sing stanza 1-3, and 5 and sit down” … I blend the best of both worlds … the real-ness and freedom of “modern worship” with the power and message of the old hymns! 🙂
I completely agree ! Old traditional hymns are sermons in themselves . I praise God but it is the hymns I learned from childhood on up that I find myself singing or humming . It’s terribly sad we have generations that can’t lean on the old hymns. Also, look up the background of your favorite hymn and you will learn who wrote it, what the circumstances behind the words and more. So much more meaningful than repeating the same four lines over and over in “dumbed” down Christian music .
My thoughts exactly…I actually wrote a book on this “Worship in Spirit and in Truth” …you can order through my blog http://recessionproofchristianlife.com/ or read the entire book for free on http://books.google.com/books/p/pub-9132860595461394?id=qd-bMXwiFkwC&dq=worship+in+spirit+and++in+truth&source=gbs_navlinks_s
( its quite long …simply copy URL)
What passes for worship these days do not contain enough meat to strengthen the saints to withstand the storms we are taught must come to all. And the greatest storm is subtle deception. There is also an antichrist agenda with music…no doubt. My favourite hymn is …My faith has found a resting place…
God bless you..for this post.
Vincent, Thank you for that example. I have often thought the same thing–that we could and should take some of the great hymns and use them in our praise worship today. I’ve seen it done with several songs and would like it done with 100s more.
Bode, Thank you for the link. I hope my blog readers will take a look at your resources for worship with theological depth.
Kim, I like your thinking of blending the best of both worlds. I, too, enjoy the spirit (and the Spirit) of praise and worship that is frequently associated with the praise choruses we sing. If/when we blend that with the theological depth of the “old hymns” we do enjoy the best of both worlds: heaven and earth!
Hi; thanks for the reply. Happy to help with guessing the meter for a few worship songs if you would find it useful; give me a youtube link (preferred) and I will give you a suggested meter, and if you would like, a list of a few matching hymns (these would be from Hymns Ancient Modern & Revised though).
The transformation in our congregations is heartbreaking. Hymns are foreign to most teens, children and new believers. We’ve sold our rich sacred music for a contemporary bowl of beans. Thankfully, we’ve found some excellent online radio stations (fbcradioDOTorg) that play classic Christian sacred music. Oh yes, Moms & Dads, Cedarmont Kids has an excellent CD of Hymns for your little ones–great car music that you will also enjoy. Our family loves the traditional Songs of Zion!
Never been impressed with praise music. It’s shallow lyrically and musically, and often sounds like some eastern mantra in the way it drones repetitively. My other thought, is if you are the Pastor, change the music! Don’t help people to be dumbed down… set higher expectations in your music!
I miss these old hymns and their beautiful, meaningful words so much. When i read some of these examples i got a lump in my throat and felt a wave of homesickness for my old church in England where i went as a child and found so much comfort. I emigrated to the Netherlands and ended up becoming Catholic. I’m at a church now with a wonderful choir and lots of chanting, very occasionally we have a hymn at the end of the service, thanks to an English music director. But somehow i don’t like religion in Dutch. So i struggle a bit. My sister’s church in England has gone happy clappy, though they do have an early service for people who prefer something more traditional.
Some of my favourites: Immortal Invisible God only wise, O worship the king all glorious above, All people that on earth do dwell, Alleluia sing to Jesus, Thine be the glory, He who would valiant be, Praise to the Lord the almighty the king of creation. Oh Lord and father of mankind forgive ou foolish ways. I could name many more.