Introducing: Hymn of the Month

In Colossians, Paul invites the church to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Singing is an ancient formative practice of the church that helps tune our hearts to the glory of the Triune Majesty.  One of our hopes for El Camino is to be a church that sings well. To do that, we’re learning a Hymn of the Month together. We’ll be singing the hymn in our gatherings, sharing parts of the story behind each hymn, and encouraging you to meditate on the lyrics privately or as a household. Our hope is that the growing familiarity with these hymns aids in public worship, gives you language for prayer, and helps draw your heart to the beauty and truth of God. 

Here are five benefits to singing hymns. 

First, hymns teach theology. Because people are doxological creatures, you might say that all singing is theological. Everyone is a theologian - everyone has thoughts about God. The big question is: does our thinking align with God’s speaking about Himself? Good hymnody trains our minds to contemplate the wonder of God. Think of Maltie Babcock’s “This is My Father’s World.” Here we sing: “This is my Father's world/ O let me ne'er forget/ That though the wrong seems oft so strong,/ God is the Ruler yet.” We’re taught the world isn’t a product of an impersonal force, but the handiwork of a personal Father. We need the instructive reminder that even when things are at their worst, God is not only powerful enough to help (He’s the Ruler), but He comes to the rescue (like the Best Father). 

Second, hymns stretch you. One unfortunate byproduct of ignoring the older melodies of the church is it tends to reinforce cultural and unbiblical assumptions about the spiritual life. Anecdotally, I’ve noticed that much of the singing of the American evangelical church is done in the major key. Today’s songs often require you to sing with a smile and uplifted hands. That’s worlds apart from Anne Steele’s “Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul.” There she writes: 

“But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,

I fear to call Thee mine

The springs of comfort seem to fail,

And all my hopes decline

Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?

Thou art my only trust

And still my soul would cleave to Thee

Though prostrate in the dust.”

Gloom. Doubts. Declining hope. Down in the dust. If you aren’t experiencing these things now, just wait. In those moments of despair and sorrow, good hymns provide you with incredible spiritual resources to remind you that you’re not alone; others have trod the hill of difficulty and doubt. You don’t have to stuff those feelings; good hymns let you express them to God. Further, good hymns provide you with the experience of other followers of Jesus. You might not be experiencing sadness, but your neighbor is. Hymns help you walk in their shoes and, at a times, help you sing the words they can’t vocalize. 

Third, hymns show you how to read and apply the Bible. Good hymns are like good Bible teachers; they connect the various stories and doctrines of the Bible in memorable and transformative ways. Look what Charles Wesley does with the story of the angels announcing the birth of Jesus: 

“Mild he lays his glory by,

born that man no more may die,

born to raise the sons of the earth,

born to give them second birth…”

In just 4 lines, Wesley gives you an incredibly rich doctrine of the Incarnation from Luke 2.  The Son of God laid aside his glory. As the Second Adam, he reverses the curse of the First Adam whose disobedience brought death into the world and to all the descendents of Adam and Eve. Jesus’ incarnation is also the assurance of a new birth - a new creation where we live body and soul forever with the newborn King. This is catechesis set to memorable music. It’s doctrine that sets your heart ablaze in doxology.

Fourth, hymns stick and so they stick with you. A few years ago, Christianity Today reported a study that indicated that modern worship songs now have a lifespan of about 3-4 years. It would appear that the trends of cultural consumption strongly affect the church’s worship. With that kind of lifecycle it’s hard to envision the kind of intergenerational discipleship Scripture describes taking place. Instead we jump from fad to fad without letting the generations shape our spirituality. Hymns, on the other hand, have endured the time test. There’s a reason people are still reading Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, and Tolkien. They had something to say, and what they wrote was profoundly true. Old hymns stick because they’ve been tested and tried by generations of believers. There’s a reason people will still be singing Watts and Wesley, Cowper and Newton, Steele and Spafford for years to come. While many songs come and go, there’s a treasure chest of old hymns that stick. 

Fifth, hymns prepare you for the end. Several years ago, our family began memorizing and singing a hymn every month. What I began to notice was how frequently these hymns spoke of realities that have been crowded out by modern life: death and heaven. In southern California, you are almost never confronted with death. It’s rare to pass a cemetery. Funerals or memorial services aren’t typically open-casket. The modern world does a very poor job of preparing people for the great inevitable. But in the old hymns are the reminder that we will all one day die. The hymns prep you for drawing that final fleeting breath, for the moment when your eyelids close in death. But more than that, the hymns point you to gospel realities. The hymns show us the High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art. The hymns remind us of gospel confidence that bold we can approach the eternal throne and claim the crown, through Christ my own. The hymns give us a God that even if hell endeavors to shake us, He’ll never, no never, no never forsake. Henry Francis Lyte captures it well: 

“Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies

Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.”

Hymns teach you, stretch you, stick with you, and prepare you for all of life, death, and heaven itself. Worship forms you for better or worse. What we sing matters. Let’s take up Paul’s invitation to encourage each other and our own hearts with deep and rich hymns. May God be glorified and the church edified through our singing.