Firmly on this ground have stood;
See their banner waving o’er us,
Conquerors through the Saviour’s Blood!
Ground we hold, whereon of old
Fought the faithful and the bold.
The American Lutheran Church cannot as yet point to an American Lutheran hymnist like Paul Gerhardt or John Olof Wallin. The English Lutheran hymn books in America contain translations of German, Scandinavian, old Greek, and old Latin hymns, also a large number of carefully selected English (Reformed) hymns. The matter of translating great German and Scandinavian Lutheran hymns into English is a very difficult task. But there are Lutherans in America who write hymns worthy of more general acceptance. They would find it if it were, first of all, accorded to them by their fellow-Lutherans of other synods. So long as the hymn writers of another synod are largely ignored in American Lutheran synodical hymnals, it is not to be expected that what they write will find its way into the hymnals of other denominations. Among the most successful translators and hymn writers within the American Lutheran Church the following may be mentioned: Rev. H. Brueckner, Rev. Dr. Matthias Loy, Rev. Dr. Charles Poterfield Krauth, Rev. John Casper Mattes, Rev. Dr. Alfred Ramsey, Rev. Dr. Charles William Schaeffer, Rev. Dr. Joseph Augustus Seiss, Mrs. Harriett Reynolds Spaeth, Rev. Dr. C. H. L. Schuette, Miss Anna Hoppe, and Rev. Dr. Paul E. Kretzmann. Miss Catherine Winkworth, Anglican, has produced a large number of excellent translations of German Lutheran hymns.
Several excellent English Lutheran hymn books have been published within the American Lutheran Church. Perhaps the foremost work is the Common Service Book, authorized by the General Synod, the General Council, and the United Synod in the South. The Evangelical Lutheran Hymnal, published by order of the First English District of the Joint Synod of Ohio and Other States, is a worthy American Lutheran hymn book. The Wartburg Hymnal, edited by Professor O. Hardwig and published by Wartburg Publishing House, is noteworthy. The Scandinavian Lutherans have also published commendable hymn books. The new Hymnal of the Augustana Synod (1925) is excellent. Hymn book committees are at work on the compilation of better and more serviceable English Lutheran hymnals.
The history of hymnody in the American Lutheran Church is in many respects discouraging. A prominent American Lutheran theologian recently made the following statement: “Few of our ministers have ever had an appreciation of the treasures of Lutheran church song” The training of the clergy in hymnology and church music is not what it ought to be. The education of the church organist and choir director is woefully deficient. More serious study in liturgics, hymnology and church music is needed. Yet some very good work has been done by American Lutheran hymnists, hymnologists and church musicians. The Memoirs of the Lutheran Liturgical Association contain much valuable information concerning American Lutheran church song; so also the Essays on Church Music, volumes which contain papers read at Lutheran church music conventions held chiefly in Pennsylvania. Other sources of information are: “The English Hymn” by Dr. Louis F. Benson, pages 410-420 and 560-563. “The Lutheran Cyclopedia” by Jacobs and Haas, pages 235-238 and 96-97. “A History of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States” by Henry Eyster Jacobs, the references to hymn books and hymns. History of the Liturgical Development of the Ministerium of Pennsylvania, vol. XVII, page 93, Lutheran Church Review. The Common Service Book and Hymnal, vol. XXXVII, page 289, Lutheran Church Review.
CONCLUSION
How old is Lutheran church song? Four hundred years—the historical age of the most vigorous production in the realm of sacred song. We must not forget that one thousand popular evangelical Lutheran church hymns are a selection from perhaps one hundred thousand church hymns. What a great vital power! Is there any reason to believe that this vitality is about to cease? Is Lutheran hymn writing a thing of the past? The power to create is not yet extinct. The hymnody of the Church is steadily conquering new ground. In the Episcopal Church the church hymn has taken on greater and greater significance. Wherever evangelical missionary work is gaining ground, the church hymns find favor. So long as the Lutheran Church lives, Lutheran church song will flourish.