The Singing Church: The Hymns It Wrote and Sang

by Edmund S. Lorenz

THE
SINGING CHURCH

THE HYMNS IT WROTE AND SANG

By
Edmund S. Lorenz, LL.D., Mus. Doc.

AUTHOR OF
MUSIC IN WORK AND WORSHIP
PRACTICAL HYMN STUDIES
PRACTICAL CHURCH MUSIC
CHURCH MUSIC

COKESBURY PRESS
NASHVILLE

THE SINGING CHURCH
Copyright, MCMXXXVIII
By WHITMORE & SMITH

All rights in this book are reserved. No part of the text may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publishers, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in a magazine or newspaper.

Set up, electrotyped, printed, and bound by the Parthenon Press at Nashville Tennessee, United States of America

“Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” (Eph. 5: 18, 19.)

PREFACE

In preparing this discussion of the Christian hymn, it has been my ambition, not to be pre-eminently scholarly, but rather to be pre-eminently helpful. The current treatment of this phase of church worship is quite sufficiently thorough in its literary analysis and historical research; there is nothing but praise for this aspect of the study of the hymn in the many excellent treatises in America as well as in England.

The fathers of American hymnology, Professors Austin Phelps and Edwards A. Parks and Rev. Daniel L. Furber, set a good example to later hymnologists in their Hymns and Choirs in laying stress on the thought and sentiment of the hymns and in devoting nearly one-third of their study to “The Dignity and the Methods of Worship in Song,” discussing choirs, congregational singing, organs, and many other practical phases in the use of hymns. They gave little consideration to the historicity of individual hymns; that viewpoint had not risen above the horizon.

Later works have given more attention to the historical background. The work of Dr. Louis F. Benson, the greatest hymnologist America has produced, cannot be too highly commended for its scholarly thoroughness and indefatigable research. His The English Hymn and The Hymnody of the Christian Church should be found in the library of every minister. Other valuable American treatises on hymns are Ninde’s Story of the American Hymn, Gilman’s Evolution of the English Hymn, Reeves’ The Hymn as Literature, Marks’ Rise and Growth of English Hymnody, and Tillett’s Our Hymns and Their Authors, all of which are most helpful and illuminating discussions bearing on the literary and historical aspects of Christian hymns. On the other side of the sea are other most valuable studies of the hymn. Horder’s The Hymn Lover is particularly fresh and inspiring. Others are instructive regarding the individual hymns, such as Josiah Miller’s Singers and Songs of the Church, John Telford’s The Methodist Hymn-Book Illustrated and Evenings with the Sacred Poets, and W. T. Stead’s Hymns That Have Helped. Supreme above them all is Julian’s Dictionary of Hymnology, which is a stupendous work of vast comprehensiveness and indefatigable industry, the last word in the history and critical study of Christian hymns of all lands and all Christian ages.

The justification of another survey of the field lies in the fact that all these admirable books confine themselves to the purely literary and historical data regarding each hymn, with side glances in only a few cases at the practical values involved. While the fundamental urge of expressing religious emotions back of Christian hymns is not denied or even deprecated, the emotional values are not developed or stressed.

In order to assure this lacking element of practical helpfulness, this discussion includes four chapters on the purposeful use of hymns in the work of the Church.

It is proper that I should recognize the sympathetic and cordial helpfulness in an advisory way of Professor Herman von Berge, my editorial associate in the musical work to which I have devoted the larger part of my life. His scholarship and wide practical experience, both as pastor and theological seminary professor, have helped me solve some problems that rather daunted me. Acknowledgment is also due to my son, Rev. Edward H. Lorenz, and to Mrs. F. C. Goodlin, my private secretary, in typing and proofreading my longhand manuscript. Last but not least, the co-operation of my brother, Dr. D. E. Lorenz, organizer of the church of the Good Shepherd in New York City and its pastor for thirty-four years, in the indexing and proofreading, calls for grateful recognition. Only an experienced author can fully measure the value of such efficient helpers.

E. S. L.

Dayton Ohio.

CONTENTS

[INTRODUCTION] 17 THE PLACE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE HYMN. [The Impulse to Sing Is Constitutional in Man.] [Biblical Authority for the Singing of Hymns.] [The Use of Hymns in the Development of the Christian Church.] [Cultural Value of Hymns.] [Spiritual Value of Hymns.] [The Value of Singing Hymns Too Often Overlooked.] [The Need of Emphasis on Efficient Use of Hymns.] PART I
THE CHARACTER OF THE HYMN CHAPTER I [WHAT IS A HYMN?] 25 I DEFINITION OF THE HYMN. [Importance of Accurate Definition.] [Inadequate Definition.] [Definition Must Be Based on Practical Considerations.] [Types of Hymns.] [Definition of the Congregational Hymn.] II THE HYMN MUST BE POETRY. [To Be Poetry, It Must Be Emotional.] [It Must Have Poetical Form.] [It Must Be Poetic in Spirit.] [The Hymn Must Have Unity.] [The Poetical Element Is Contributory Only.] III THE CHRISTIAN HYMN MUST BE DISTINCTLY RELIGIOUS. [Poems of Semi-religious Fancy Are No Hymns.] [Mere Moralizing Will Not Serve.] [Special Propaganda Is Not Admissible.] [Christian Hymns Should Be Genuinely Christocentric.] IV SCRIPTURAL ELEMENTS OF THE HYMN. [Hymns Based on the Scriptures.] [Use of Scriptural Forms Desirable.] V THE HYMN MUST BE FITTED FOR MASS SINGING. [Congregational Singing Is a Pronouncedly Christian Exercise.] [Meter Essential to Mass Singing.] VI PRACTICABILITY FOR ACTUAL USE. [Ideas Must Be Plainly Evident.] [Hymns May Not Be Extremely Individualistic.] [Distracting Figures and Forms of Expression.] [Verses Must Be Complete in Themselves.] [Musical Limitations.] [Outworn Hymns.] [Mistaken Objections to Some Hymns.] CHAPTER II [THE PURPOSE AND VALUE OF HYMNS] 40 I THE IMPULSE TO WRITE HYMNS. II PURPOSE IN WRITING HYMNS. [The Influence of Purpose.] [The Purpose Must Affect Only the Practical Aspects.] III PURPOSE OF THE USER OF HYMNS. IV PURPOSES SERVED BY SINGING HYMNS. [Hymns Unite Christians in Worship and Christian Activities.] [Hymns Concentrate Interest and Attention.] [Hymns Afford a Means of Expression for the Congregation.] [Hymns Provide Help and Comfort in Dark Hours.] [Hymns Afford Clear Expression of Christian Truth.] [Hymns Give Opportunity for Active Participation by All.] [Hymns Provide Variety.] [Hymns Create a Religious Atmosphere.] [Hymns in the Home.] [Hymns in Personal Work.] V REASONS FOR THE MINISTER’S APPRECIATION OF HYMNS. [Hymns Are Evidence of the Effect of the Bible.] [Hymns and Psalms Affected the Life of Church.] [Hymns in Personal Christian Experience.] [Hymns as Stimulating the Spiritual Life of the Minister.] [Hymns Approved by Paul.] [Hymns in the Early Church.] [Hymns Prepared the Church for Periods of Marked Progress.] VI STRANGE INDIFFERENCE TO HYMNS. [The Minister’s Indifference.] [Indifference of the Congregation.] CHAPTER III [THE LITERARY ASPECT OF HYMNS] 53 I WHAT MAKES THE HYMN LITERATURE? [Its Character as a Transcript of Life.] [Its Wide Distribution.] [Its Acceptance Through Many Generations.] [Its Profound Influence.] II OBJECTIONS TO RECOGNIZING ITS LITERARY CHARACTER. [Due to Narrow Definition of Literature.] [Due to Failure to Realize Limitations of Hymns.] [Some Critics and Their Criticisms.] III THE WRITING OF HYMNS. [The Handicap of Thought and Diction.] [The Handicap of Meter.] IV LITERARY QUALITY NOT TO BE OVERESTIMATED. [Literary Quality Not the Supreme Consideration.] [Literary Quality Should Be Subconscious.] CHAPTER IV [THE EMENDATION OF HYMNS] 63 I THE CHANGES IN OUR HYMNS. [Early Changes.] [The Abuse of the Editorial Revision.] [The Return to the Originals.] II PRINCIPLES OF EQUITY INVOLVED IN THESE CHANGES. [The Rights of the Original Writer.] [The Limits of the Author’s Rights.] III EFFECT OF CHANGES ON QUALITY. [Loss of Original Writer’s Vision.] [Biblical Precedent.] IV ANALYSIS OF CHANGES MADE. [The Omission of Verses.] [Reconstructing and Rewriting Faulty Hymns.] [Minor Felicitous Changes.] CHAPTER V [THE CONTENT OF THE HYMN] 76 I ITS RELATION TO GOD. [Thanksgiving.] [Prayer for Future Blessing.] [Adoration.] [The Hymn of Communion.] II RELATION TO THE SINGER. [The Hymn of Emotion.] [The Hymn of Inspiration.] [The Hymn of Personal Experience.] [The Hymn of Meditation.] [The Hymn of Exhortation.] [The Didactic Hymn.] [The Doctrinal Hymn.] [The Homiletical Hymn.] [The Hymn of Propaganda.] [Hymns of the Social Gospel.] [Special Hymns.] [The Great Hymnic Themes.] CHAPTER VI [THE GOSPEL HYMN] 89 [Lack of Discrimination.] [Wrong Assumptions of the Opposition.] [Unfairness in Comparisons Made.] [Criteria for Evaluation.] [Gospel Hymns and the Unsaved.] [Gospel Hymns and the Demands of Worship.] [Gospel Hymns in the Preparatory Service.] [Gospel Hymns in the Laboratory.] [The Advantages of Gospel Hymns.] [Discrimination in the Use of Gospel Songs Needed.] PART II
HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN HYMN CHAPTER VII [APOSTOLIC ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT] 103 SACRED SONG IN THE NEW CHRISTIAN CHURCH. [The Rise of Sacred Song in Apostolic Times.] [Apostolic Emphasis of Sacred Song.] [Traces of Hymns in the Epistles.] [The Hymns of the Apocalypse.] [“The Odes of Solomon.”] [The Failure of Apostolic Spiritual Songs to Survive.] CHAPTER VIII [THE POST-APOSTOLIC HYMN] 109 [The Post-Apostolic Church a Singing Church.] [The Earliest Surviving Hymns.] [The Relation of Hymns to Psalms and Canticles.] [The Hymn as Propaganda.] CHAPTER IX [THE GREEK HYMNODY] 114 Introduction. THE SYRIAC HYMN-WRITERS. [I EARLY GREEK HYMNS.] [II THE LATER GREEK HYMNS.] CHAPTER X [THE LATIN HYMNODY] 119 [I THE BEGINNING OF LATIN HYMNODY.] [II EARLY LATIN HYMN-WRITERS.] [III GREAT LATIN HYMNS.] [IV MEDIEVAL DEVOTIONAL POEMS.] [V MEDIEVAL POPULAR HYMNODY.] CHAPTER XI [LUTHER AND THE GERMAN HYMN] 130 [I PRE-REFORMATION VERNACULAR HYMNS.] [II LUTHER’S RELATION TO GERMAN HYMNODY.] CHAPTER XII [THE LATER GERMAN HYMNODY] 137 [I THE RISING STANDARD OF LITERARY VALUES.] [II THE GOLDEN AGE OF GERMAN HYMNODY.] [III THE PIETISTIC HYMN-WRITERS.] [IV GERMAN REFORMED HYMNODY.] [V TRANSITION TO RATIONALISTIC HYMNS.] [VI RATIONALISM IN HYMNODY.] [VII HYMNS OF RENEWED RELIGIOUS LIFE.] [VIII HYMNS OF PIETISTIC TYPE.] CHAPTER XIII [METRICAL PSALMODY] 148 [I CALVIN’S CONCEPTION OF CONGREGATIONAL SINGING.] [II CALVIN’S FOLLOWERS MORE EXTREME.] [III MAROT’S SUCCESSFUL VERSIONS.] [IV DEVELOPMENT OF THE GENEVAN PSALTER.] [V ENGLISH PSALM VERSIONS BEFORE STERNHOLD.] [VI VERSION OF STERNHOLD AND HOPKINS.] [VII THE SCOTCH VERSION.] [VIII ROUS’ VERSION.] [IX TATE AND BRADY’S “NEW VERSION.”] [X AMERICAN PSALMODY.] [XI THE VALUE OF THE PSALM VERSIONS.] CHAPTER XIV [THE ENGLISH HYMN BEFORE WATTS] 158 [I THE EARLIEST ENGLISH HYMN.] [II ENGLISH HYMNODY SUBMERGED BY REFORMED PSALMODY.] [III ENGLISH LITERARY IDEALS UNFAVORABLE TO HYMN-WRITING.] [IV THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TECHNIC OF WRITING SINGING HYMNS.] [V THE IDEAL OF THE SINGING HYMN REALIZED.] CHAPTER XV [ISAAC WATTS AND HIS PERIOD] 168 [I THE HYMNIC NEED OF THE TIME.] [II THE LIFE OF WATTS.] [III WATTS AS A HYMN-WRITER.] [IV WATTS’ ARGUMENT FOR THE HYMN.] [V WATTS’ INSISTENCE ON PRACTICABILITY.] [VI THE INESTIMABLE VALUE OF WATTS’ HYMNS.] [VII CONTEMPORARIES OF WATTS.] CHAPTER XVI [THE WESLEYS AND THEIR ERA] 180 [I THE INFLUENCE OF WATTS ON THE WESLEYS.] [II THE HOME OF THE WESLEYS.] [III THE MORAVIAN INFLUENCE.] [IV JOHN WESLEY.] [V CHARLES WESLEY.] [VI CHARLES WESLEY’S HYMNS QUITE SUBJECTIVE.] [VII WATTS AND CHARLES WESLEY.] [VIII ISSUES OF THE WESLEYAN HYMNS.] [IX THE METHODIST TUNES.] [X INFLUENCES OPPOSING THE WESLEYAN HYMNS.] [XI OTHER METHODIST HYMN-WRITERS.] [XII CALVINISTIC-METHODIST HYMN-WRITERS.] [XIII BAPTIST HYMN-WRITERS.] CHAPTER XVII [HYMNS IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND] 193 [I RISE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE IN THE ENGLISH CHURCH.] [II EARLY COLLECTIONS OF EVANGELICAL HYMNS.] [III EVANGELICAL HYMN-WRITERS.] [IV HYMN-WRITERS OF THE ROMANTIC SCHOOL.] [V CONTEMPORARY HYMN-WRITERS.] [VI MINOR HYMN-WRITERS.] [VII THE HYMNS OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT.] CHAPTER XVIII [AMERICAN HYMNODY] 209 [I THE TRANSITION FROM PSALMODY TO HYMNODY.] [II THE INTRODUCTION OF WATTS’ HYMNS.] [III THE BEGINNINGS OF AMERICAN HYMNODY.] [IV COLLECTIONS OF AMERICAN HYMNS.] [V EPISCOPAL HYMN-WRITERS.] [VI UNITARIAN HYMNODY.] [VII LATER ORTHODOX HYMN-WRITERS.] PART III
PRACTICAL HYMNOLOGY CHAPTER XIX [THE STUDY OF HYMNS] 229 [I IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF HYMNS.] [II PERSONAL ADVANTAGES OF SUCH STUDY OF HYMNS.] [Literary Pleasure.] [Literary Culture.] [Development of Emotional Nature.] [III THE PRACTICAL VALUES OF INDIVIDUAL HYMNS.] [Classifying Hymns by Their Nature.] [Classifying Hymns by Their Fitness for Definite Purposes.] [IV THE MINUTE STUDY OF HYMNS.] [Analysis of the Hymn.] [The Background of the Hymn.] [Making a Hymnal of His Own.] [Memorizing Hymns.] [V A STUDY OF METHODS OF USE.] [Using Hymns in Sermons.] [Studying Responsiveness of the Congregation.] [Studying Methods of Announcement and Securing Participation.] [Studying Use of Hymnal for Specific Purposes.] [VI A STUDY OF THE TUNES.] CHAPTER XX [THE PRACTICAL USE OF HYMNS] 248 [I THE HYMN AS A MEANS TO AN END.] [II ANALYSIS OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF HYMNS.] [III THE USE OF HYMNS FOR CREATING RELIGIOUS INTEREST.] [IV THE HYMN AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TEACHING TRUTH.] [V HYMN SERMONS AND HYMN SERVICES.] [VI THE USE OF HYMNS IN EMERGENCIES.] CHAPTER XXI [THE SELECTION OF HYMNS] 256 [I SELECTION SHOULD SECURE UNITY OF SERVICE.] [Narrow Conception of Unity.] [Broader Conception of Unity.] [Unity Based on Purpose.] [II SUGGESTIVE SELECTIONS OF HYMNS.] [Hymns for Service on God’s Omnipotence.] [Hymns for Service on God’s Love.] [Hymns for a Missionary Service.] [III IMPORTANCE OF THE TUNES.] CHAPTER XXII [THE ANNOUNCEMENT AND TREATMENT OF HYMNS] 266 [I THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF HYMNS.] [II THE TREATMENT OF HYMNS.] [EPILOGUE] 274 [REFERENCES AND NOTES] 277 [GENERAL INDEX] 285 [INDEX OF HYMNS] 291