While doing chores around the house recently, a tune kept playing in my head. I donât know how it got there, but it wouldnât leave:
This little light of mine.
Iâm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
If you attended church as a child, this melody was likely heard at some point or another. I learned this song in pre-school, and I can still sing all the verses and iterations; I even remember the dramatic hand motions.
Music affects us, and the lyrics stick with us. In music, the lyrics do not go in one ear and out of the other, but they make an impression, and many of the lyrics permeate deep in our hearts.
This is why the music selected for a worship service should not be chosen flippantly or without careful consideration. When we incorporate music into corporate worship, the goal is to exalt God; the benefit is that it simultaneously blesses us. It forms us, it teaches is, and we often remember what we regularly sing.
Some argue that for these reasons, we should sing only the old hymns of the faith. I agree that there are considerable reasons to keep these old hymns alive and use them regularly in worship. But there are equally important reasons to incorporate some of the new hymns that are being introduced to churches today. Like the old anthems, many of these new hymns provide rich theological ways to express the truths in the Bible.
The Significance of Old Hymns
There are several reasons why the old hymns have endured. Many of the most familiar hymns that we sing were written centuries ago. There are worship songs written today that may reach the âtop ten listâ one year, only to be forgotten five years down the road.
Part of the reason for the steadfastness of these old hymns is because the writers penned the words and wrote the melodies with purpose. Many were spiritual leaders, and they wrote hymns to strengthen the faith of the people in their midst. Others wrote because of great turmoil or a spiritual awakening, and their lyrics provide encouragement amid hardship. These hymns werenât always written for monetary reasons or to gain popularity, but they were written for theological sake of the body of Christ and to reflect on Biblical truth.
Itâs important that we teach these hymns even at an early age so we can pass on to the next generation the great themes of our faith that have been staunchly heralded through the years.
Music directors should do what they can to keep these hymns fresh and alive, and parents and Sunday School leaders should teach children what the lyrics mean, perhaps reading the stories of why they were written.
Style is subservient to substance when it comes to the songs we sing in worship. Style is certainly important, but the lyrics we sing are equally significant. When we sing many of these old hymns, we are verbally and melodically affirming theological truths while simultaneously encouraging one another in the Lord.
The Reason for New Hymns
These old hymns of the faith are not great simply because theyâre old. Thank the Lord there were church leaders from long ago who incorporated into their congregational singing what were new hymns for their day.
The churches that were around after 1779 when Oliver Holden wrote, âAll Hail the Power of Jesusâ Name,â welcomed in new hymns such as, âIt is Wellâ (1873) and âJoy to the World (1836). Had they dismissed these hymns simply because they were newly written, we would not have the benefit of them today.
There are many new hymns that will not stand the test of time. But there are many old hymns that havenât either. Very few know every page of their hymnal. There are about seven-hundred pages in the Trinity hymnbook, for example, but when most people refer to the âgreat hymns of the faith,â they are referring to about one hundred of these.
I’ve heard worship leaders talk about the importance of congregational singing being hospitable. I agree that the music in a worship service should be welcoming and singable. Many of these older hymns are not as “hospitable” as others, so groups like Indelible Grace are reviving the lesser-known hymns and thank the Lord for their incredible gift to the church.
But we canât dismiss new hymns simply because they have not found a cozy place in our older church hymnals. Many of these new hymns reinforce deep, Biblical truths with distinctly beautiful and catchy melodies. There is no doubt that several of them will be passed on to generations who have been impacted by their richness.
As a music director I occasionally hear comments from congregants who are touched by a certain song or hymn sung in the worship service. Not long ago, I received a note from a dear member who expressed how much she loved singing âHow Great Thou Artâ (written in 1885). She conveyed that while sheâs sung the hymn for years, one of the stanzas particularly struck her as she sang it out one Sunday morning. Tears filled her eyes when she considered the glory of what is to come:
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration
And then proclaim, My God, how great Thou art
And then just a few weeks ago, I received an email from a church member who gave thanks for introducing the new hymn, âChrist the Sure and Steady Anchorâ (written in 2015). During a very tumultuous time, one of the verses provided great comfort to this person, and when he sang it in church, he was deeply moved by the surety of His Savior in the midst of so much uncertainty:
Christ the sure and steady Anchor
Through the floods of unbelief
I will hold fast to the Anchor
It shall never be removed
No matter the year or the century in which these lyrics were penned, when they are gospel-infused and informed by the Scriptures, they bring God glory, and they fill us with comfort and joy and trust in our Savior. Sing the old and the new, Believer! And give praise to our God.
