Hymns

The hymns of Christian Worship: Hymnal are formatted on the page to benefit singers. Here, the traditional Advent hymn “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” has a straightforward four-part harmonization. Some worshipers may wish to sing this chorale-type hymn in parts. Including up to five stanzas inside the music staves is intended to benefit the singer.

Christian Worship: Accompaniment for Hymns (not shown) is a separate and different volume. Its pages are formatted for the benefit of the keyboardist. Stanzas between the musical staves are limited to a maximum of three so that the staves stay closer together. The music in the accompaniment edition is also scaled larger than the music in the pew edition so that the accompanist can more easily read the music when it is on a music stand 2 to 3 feet away.

1. Over four hundred hymns from Christian Worship (1993) and Christian Worship: Supplement will be included in the pew edition of the new hymnal.

2. Hymns with up to five stanzas will have the text inside the music staves for the benefit of worshipers who want to follow the melody more closely or who wish to sing in parts.

“A Child Is Born in Bethlehem” is an example of how great Christian hymns are truly timeless. The hymn (both Christmas and Epiphany versions) has a 13th-century Latin text, a 13th-century tune, an early 17th-century harmonization by Lutheran composer Michael Praetorius, and a 21st-century English translation. The singing of the assembly is supported equally well by organ or a lively piano and guitar ensemble.

1. The hymn corpus will include classic and ancient hymns that are new to us.

2. A new approach to numbering starts the hymns at 151 to avoid the confusing overlap of page and psalm numbers.

This early 19th-century text, which appeared in The Lutheran Hymnal and in Christian Worship (1993), appears in our new hymnal with a fresh new tune by a Lutheran composer. The music comes from a choral arrangement, so this hymn will benefit from readily available organ, brass, and choral parts to add to the congregation’s song. Especially useful for personal devotions, Bible passage references will appear at the bottom right corner of every hymn.

1. Clear and attractive typographical hierarchy improves clarity, legibility, and scannability of hymn headers.

2. Bible verses relevant to the hymn are offered for reference and devotional purposes.

Melody-only hymns do more than save space in the printed book. Some hymns are not written for singing in parts. Others are intended by the composer to be sung in unison.

For example, “Triune God, O Be Our Stay” is based on a 14th-century German litany and was originally sung as a 16th-century chorale (fourpart hymn). Today the hymn is often overlooked. Nevertheless, this is a classic Lutheran hymn arranged by Luther’s close colleague Johann Walter and published in 1524, just after the first Lutheran hymnal. An accessible presentation designed to assist singers continues to give this work an important place as a festival hymn to the Holy Trinity—well worth learning, retaining, and singing.

1. Various types of hymns will appear with the melody only—especially when beneficial for the singer.

2. AZMON is the most common tune to carry the text of “Oh, for a Thousand Tongues to Sing.”

Stuart Townend has often teamed up with Keith Getty to present to the Church modern hymns that are very focused on the grace of God and the rescue from our sins that Jesus has gained for us. Christian Worship: Hymnal will have a strong showing of the best modern hymns available. Most modern hymn writers compose for the piano. Simply put, many piano arrangements won’t fit on two pages or include so many notes that the text is almost lost within the music. In such cases, while the hymnal pew edition may present only the melody or a four-part (SATB) version of a hymn (as shown below), Christian Worship: Accompaniment for Hymns will always include the full piano score for hymns that have been written for piano.

1. A modern hymn by Stuart Townend gives beautiful expression to the truth of the gospel.

2. A four-part arrangement allows for various types of keyboard accompaniment.

Charitie Lees de Chenez, a pastor’s daughter, was born in the county of Dublin, Ireland, June 21, 1841. By her early 20s she had already written a number of hymns, and by the time she was 26 her hymns had been gathered and published. During its research years, the Hymnody Committee ranked “Before the Throne of God Above” as one of the strongest texts it had come across. Modern musician Vikki Cook provided a beautiful new tune in 1997. As with many of the modern hymns, arrangements for piano and other instruments will be readily available for this outstanding hymn.

1. This is an example of a superb text wrapped in modern music.

Published in over seven hundred hymnals, this traditional 19th-century American hymn offers a strong, clear text combined with accessible music.

During years of extensive research, hundreds of modern hymns were reviewed. Some of the best will appear in Christian Worship: Hymnal. “His Mercy is More” is one such example.

This is an Indonesian tune (NYANYIKANLAH) and musical arrangement.

1. We include some modern songs that have become popular across English-speaking Christianity.

2. In a handful of instances, some of the verses in verse/refrain songs are challenging to sing. Some congregations may have a soloist or a small choir sing these verses, while other congregations will learn and ultimately sing the entire song in unison.

Lutherans will hear in catechism and Bible information class about the three communions that take place in Holy Communion. This hymn, with a new text and tune, makes use of the verb “join” in each of its three stanzas to give expression to these communions: (1) Christ’s body and blood are joined with bread and wine; (2) Christ the Savior intimately joins with individual communicants, granting them forgiveness in this sacred meal; (3) communicants join in fellowship with one another based on their shared beliefs in the teachings of God’s Word.

1. SUO GAN is a well-crafted tune for which hymn writers have just begun writing texts.

2. Christian Worship relies heavily on Lutheran authors for scripturally accurate texts on the sacraments.

Fresh music and the texts of Luther’s prayers, set as rhymed verse, combine to give Christians of all ages a lovely hymn for morning and evening prayers.

1. Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers are now set to music for devotional singing.

2. This is a dual-purpose hymn perfect for beginning and ending the day, whether in public worship or personal devotion.

In The Lutheran Hymnal, the tune HERR, WIE DU WILLST was tightly connected to a text entitled “Lord, as Thou Wilt, Deal Thou with Me.” That text has been updated under the title “Order My Life, Lord, as You Will” and is still paired with a tune that traces back to Strassburg in 1525.

Lutheran author Jaroslav Vajda wrote a fine text on the topic of Christian training of the young. Lutheran musician and composer Jeremy Bakken has provided a new tune and musical arrangement to bring this new Home and Education hymn to our churches.

The four hymns by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty published in Christian Worship: Supplement were well-received. Christian Worship (2021) will include more strong, scriptural songs written by these gifted hymn writers.

1. Some hymns in the hymnal pew edition will include a piano arrangement.

Hymn writers continue to find that older, tried-and-true texts retain their value over centuries of time. Presenting these older texts with new music is a trend that has been steadily gaining traction over the last two to three decades. In “He Will Hold Me Fast,” Matt Merker has presented new music for 19th-century author Ada Habershon’s fine text on trusting in Christ’s promise to never let go of us.

1. This hymn is an adaptation of a choir anthem. Having a choir sing the anthem several times is a good way to introduce the hymn to the congregation.

2. Melody-only arrangements occasionally appear in the hymnal when the original score is too lengthy. Less than 15 percent of the hymns in the new hymnal will appear as melody-only.

A new hymnal is not all about change. Those charged with producing the new hymnal have sought to be very sensitive to music that people are familiar with, texts that people have memorized, songs that people have long held dear, and hymns from hymnals that have been around longer than most of us have been alive. While a new hymnal will have plenty that is new, two-thirds of the hymns are those that Lutheran worshipers have loved and sung all their lives. We will continue to sing those dear and cherished hymns, and as God allows, we will also pass them down to a generation yet unborn.

1. Familiar text and tune pairings from previous hymnals will appear in the new hymnal.

2. Approximately 40 hymns have been retuned with more familiar or more broadly used melodies.