How Hymns Influence Us -- Dog in the Manger Forum

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Date Posted: 15:15:31 11/17/01 Sat
Author: Joanne
Subject: How Hymns Influence Us

Mike Sanders put an article on the Chofjclist which I found very interesting. I also had thought many of these things myself, but hadn't heard it expressed by anyone else�until now.

Mike uses quotes from Michael Hicks and John MacArthur. It is quite a long article, but I will post some excerpts from it.

"The hymns we sing speak of what we are and of what we believe."

"A history of a people will reveal what they speak of out of their hearts in song."

"Cheville discusses the importance of song and revival. He also notes that "hymn singing speaks what is in the heart of the people...These song revivals are of the people and by the people."

"Music is a very powerful medium for both good and evil. It preaches into our souls and stays in our minds."

"The 1956 hymnal had a section called Historical Hymns which Roger Revell describes as "a way for the 1956 committee to include hymns about which they felt musically or theologically uncertain. Most of the hymns in that section got there because their music did not meet the committee's standards; they hoped these hymns would be seen as something apart from the main body of hymnody."3 The committee for the new hymnal decided, however, that each hymn would have to be either in or out; if a hymn qualified for the hymnal, it would have to do so without apology or special tags. For this reason, the new hymnal omits all but one of the hymns previously consigned to the Historical Hymns section. The one remaining hymn--and Mr. Revell claims he voted against its inclusion with both hands raised--has as its tune "Aloha Oe" (no. 472)."

Hymns used to be wonderful didactic tools, filled with Scripture and sound doctrine, a medium for teaching and admonishing one another, as we are commanded to do in Colossians 3:16.

"Songs emphasized personal experience and the feelings of the worshiper."

"The biblically mandated didactic role of music is all but forgotten."

"The modern church, fed on insipid lyrics, has little appetite for Scripture and sound doctrine. We are also in danger of losing a rich heritage of hymnody as some of the best hymns of our faith fall into neglect, being replaced with banal lyrics set to catchy tunes."

"We all can readily see that much music that passes itself off as Christian today is simply carnal music aimed to appeal to a worldly disposition found in the hearts and minds of many professing Christians."

"...if the Book of Mormon, the Joseph Smith story and so forth are downplayed--and there are very few references to such matters in the hymns--then the gain in universality and acceptance means that a certain price has been paid in terms of historical and doctrinal uniqueness. On the one hand it is admirable, as a gesture toward universality and ecumenism, that a Methodist or a Presbyterian would be comfortable with almost all of the Hymns of the Saints. But on the other hand, it is irresistible to ponder what might have happened if authors and editors had decided as one of their explicit goals to exemplify distinctive RLDS history, doctrine, scriptures, and institutions in their new hymnal."

This article shows quite conclusively how important the hymn life of the church really is. Some people that I know, while never reading scripture, regularly sing the hymns that are contained in the hymnal. If the restoration hymns are omitted, how can these people become acquainted with the these beliefs. Right! They can't! It is sometimes hard to realize the steering power that a hymn can have.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Colossians 3:16

Joanne

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Replies:

Re: How Hymns Influence Us -- George Williams, 21:53:23 12/18/05 Sun
- Re: How Hymns Influence Us -- Mamusz, 18:40:03 02/10/06 Fri