A good hymnal is a tremendous devotional aid. I encourage you to buy one, and begin thumbing through it. As you do, mark the ones you know and start meditating through them. Develop a habit of meditating through the hymns. You might want to start reading through the hymns you don't know in the hymn book. The lack of familiarity may help you to see things you might have normally missed.
Hymns that have been preserved and used widely typically reflect a common commitment. They reflect a shared confession of faith. They remind us that our spiritual ancestors of yesteryear worshiped the same Jesus we worship. As we sing these timeless hymns, we are confessing that God continues to demonstrate his faithfulness.
I'm sure there are many reasons that hymns fell out of favor in many churches, but it is sad that they did. Some people wanted to dismiss with hymns, because they saw them as outdated. It is a mistake to equate old with outdated. The lust for novelty left a generation grasping for something more simple, sleek, and energetic.
Another reason hymns became less popular is because they were usually poorly done. I do not mean that they were poorly written. I have been to church services in which the music seemed more suited for a funeral. I have also known song leaders who wanted every hymn sung as if each note were hung in molasses in the dead of winter. The old songs, sung long and slow, left many people bored.
Hymns need not be outdated or boring. Our familiarity with them should not breed in us contempt. Instead, we should strive to perform these timeless pieces with excellence and energy. When we sing them we are singing with a cloud of witnesses who have gone on before, and who have paved our way with their prayers and obedience.
The next time your at church, and they begin to sing a familiar hymn think about those who have gone on before. Think about their courage, their love, their devotion, their obedience. Think about the Christ of which they sang, and his love and faithfulness, and then think about how Christ is still on the throne, how he is still demonstrating his love and faithfulness to people like you, through people like you. Then allow your voice to raise in worship to your King, for his glory and your joy.
Hymns that have been preserved and used widely typically reflect a common commitment. They reflect a shared confession of faith. They remind us that our spiritual ancestors of yesteryear worshiped the same Jesus we worship. As we sing these timeless hymns, we are confessing that God continues to demonstrate his faithfulness.
I'm sure there are many reasons that hymns fell out of favor in many churches, but it is sad that they did. Some people wanted to dismiss with hymns, because they saw them as outdated. It is a mistake to equate old with outdated. The lust for novelty left a generation grasping for something more simple, sleek, and energetic.
Another reason hymns became less popular is because they were usually poorly done. I do not mean that they were poorly written. I have been to church services in which the music seemed more suited for a funeral. I have also known song leaders who wanted every hymn sung as if each note were hung in molasses in the dead of winter. The old songs, sung long and slow, left many people bored.
Hymns need not be outdated or boring. Our familiarity with them should not breed in us contempt. Instead, we should strive to perform these timeless pieces with excellence and energy. When we sing them we are singing with a cloud of witnesses who have gone on before, and who have paved our way with their prayers and obedience.
The next time your at church, and they begin to sing a familiar hymn think about those who have gone on before. Think about their courage, their love, their devotion, their obedience. Think about the Christ of which they sang, and his love and faithfulness, and then think about how Christ is still on the throne, how he is still demonstrating his love and faithfulness to people like you, through people like you. Then allow your voice to raise in worship to your King, for his glory and your joy.
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