My Heart is Black and Wicked

October 31st is Reformation Day and usually the Sunday before many churches will celebrate Reformation Sunday. At our church we mainly celebrate this day through song. After all, it was because of the Reformation that we have such a rich history of congregational singing.

If we don't sing a song that was sung during the Reformation, such as "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" or "All People that on Earth Do Dwell", we will sing songs that reflect the spirit of the Reformation, such as "How Firm a Foundation".

Another song we will be singing this Sunday is a song I wrote a few years ago that I always thought appropriate for Reformation Sunday, but until now I have never really been happy with any melody I've put to it. Over the last week or so I've been able to work with this song again and am happy to be able to sing it with the church as we gather together this Sunday. I'm also happy to be able to share it with you as well! Hope you are blessed by it and have a great Reformation Sunday!

My Heart is Black and Wicked by Rich Tuttle

My Heart is Black and Wicked

My heart is black and wicked Lord, it never will obey
Your Holy wrath for me is stored, eternal - day by day
Against Infinite Perfectness we offer perfect sin
Our punishment, eternally, is death and death again

Upon the tree of sin and death, a curse for all to see
"Tis finished!" is His dying breath; His blood has ransomed me
Atonement made for those He chose; God's wrath is satisfied
His punishment becomes our peace and we are justified

By grace alone through faith alone, His gospel we believe
This faith which rests in Christ alone, He gives and we receive
And by the Word of God alone this gospel we proclaim
All glory be to God alone! O praise His Holy Name!

Wanted: Hymn Writers

The church is always in need of more hymns. Good hymns. Hymns that last the test of time. Hymns busting at the seams with biblical truth matched with mind blowing beauty. Hymns full of sound doxology. A robust collection of hymns that give voice to every occasion.

One thing the church does not need more of is bad hymns. Shallow hymns. Ugly hymns. Meaningless hymns. Unfortunately it is much easier to write wretchedly than it is to write wonderfully.

So what the church needs (and always needs) is an army of hymn writers. Hymn writers who value truth and beauty. Hymn writers that venture into the depths of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God and come back with treasures and tales of their adventures in that marvelous, perilous realm. What a noble task it is for the church to equip their poet-warriors with the necessary tools and training for such a calling.

Unfortunately, the church in America has done a pretty pitiful job at raising up hymn writers. I mean, if the church struggles to raise up pastors, how on earth will they be able to raise up hymn writers? I'm not talking about training and equipping musicians, though I believe that is a worthy goal I also believe that the church has more musicians than she knows what to do with. Heaven knows we could certainly deal with one less rock star wannabe. Then again, Heaven knows we could certainly benefit from fresh new melodies packed with submissive beauty.

But hymn writers need to be more than musicians. I would even say it is possible that one does not necessarily even need to be musically talented to be a good hymn writer. Though musicality is beneficial, I would argue that hymn writers need to be poetical rather than musical (though some would argue they are one in the same to some degree). But the point is that a hymn writer doesn't need to play piano or guitar or even sing well to write a good hymn.

Not only does one need to be poetical, but also vastly knowledgeable about God. This means that an understanding of sound theology and doctrine is crucial for the hymn writer. It is no surprise to me to see that almost every master hymn writer in the past was a pastor. Wesley, Watts, Newton, Doddridge, etc. Their main business was mining the depths of the gospel each week. To do so they had to be intimate with the Scriptures. As a result, not only were these men pastors worthy of emulation, they became the greatest hymn writers of the English language. Where are our pastor-hymn writers of today? There are exceptions to this however, in that there are many great hymn writers who were laymen. Anne Steele and William Cowper, for example. But only skim through their hymns and you will find that they are dripping with theology like honey from the comb.

The key is that a hymn writer needs to strive to become masterful in joining together truth with beauty. (A love for the people of God, I believe is quite necessary as well.) I like how Kevin Twit describes this melding of truth and beauty in hymns: "theology on fire". And it's in the church's best intrest to invest time, energy, and resources into developing and assisting her hymn writers.

Most of these thoughts were fueled by the following three articles. I happened to read them all within about a day of each other and I became greatly encouraged how each one seeks to support the hymn writer.

• First, Fernado Ortega recently wrote an excellent piece for the Rabbit Room called Avoiding Convenience: A Word to Hymn Writers.

Here’s a portion of what he says:

"Let this be an encouragement to modern hymn writers—a cause for inspiration to those who are suffering from writer’s block. There are so many Biblical scenes to choose from that would make for beautiful songs: the transfiguration of Christ, the feeding of the five thousand, the woman at the well, the stoning of Stephen, water baptism, washing of the disciple’s feet, the betrayal of Judas. If just a few good modern hymn writers tackled some of these subjects, the anguish that untold thousands of music ministers suffer weekly could be greatly diminished.

It’s easy to write a chorus that says:

God, you are a Holy God
I need your grace to see me through
I need your mercy to make me new
Let me live each day for you.

I just made that up in two minutes and there’s nothing wrong with it. It might fit easily and competitively among the hundreds of worship songs that are available to choose from. But compare those lines to the third stanza from the above hymn:

Let holy charity mine outward vesture be,
And lowliness become mine inner clothing;
True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part,
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

It took some real thought to craft those lines. They’re timeless. They set a standard for all of us who write music for the church. I didn’t set out to write a didactic piece. I’m reminding myself, too. Be specific when you write songs about God. Avoid cliché. Avoid convenience. Avoid an obsession with the consumer. Avoid the temptation to make commercial success your central goal. Write with intelligence, employing all the craft, skill, and experience with which God has endowed you."

I absolutely love what he has to say. Though this kind of thing has been said before, it can never be said enough. Encouragement and advice like this needs to become as strong and steady as a pounding drum.

• The second article that caught my eye is over at Cardiphonia. Bruce Benedict has been kind enough to share what he's been learning in his "Songwriting and Theology" class at Duke. I hope he takes good notes because I'm stealing them...

Songwriting and Theology
Songwriting and Theology Week 2 Paradoxes 

These posts are great in and of themselves and Bruce links to some great thought provoking articles, but what really grabbed my attention was something his teacher said:

"The Church has no theological expectations of her musicians."

This such a sad statement that at first I had a hard time agreeing with it. But after thinking about it and pondering the putrid wasteland of music that has been produced (and peddled, and packaged, and sold)  by the American Church, I have to agree for the most part. It is certainly true that this is an accurate reflection of the status quo.

I would also take that expression and turn it on it's head a bit and say that, "The Church has no poetical or musical expectations of her pastors and theologians."

• Third, I came across this new blog by Sojourn Music songwriters Bobby and Kristen Gilles called My Song in the Night. It looks as if this entire blog will be highly beneficial the hymn writer.

The 'mission statement' of the blog says this:

"Helping you express words of worship and testimony through songs and stories."

The article I specifically want to direct your attention to is one in their Songwriting section called Modern Hymns. They do an excellent job at laying out a very basic outline of the ins and outs of hymn writing. Just reading through this made me want to stop and find a pen and paper.

• Lastly, though I didn't just run across this, I do want to direct your attention to a post I put up a few years back called Towards a Better Hymnody. I link to a pamphlet that I think will continue to help us think soundly about our hymnody and our hymn writers. Also, as it was written more than 50 years ago, it lends to the idea that the church is always looking for better hymns and hymn writers.

I hope that these articles have motivated you like they have me. Let's keep the drum pounding. Let's keep spreading the word that the church is in great need of hymn writers.

The Fall

Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a project writing songs to assist in family worship. The songs are meant to aid in teaching theology to children without watering down truth or compromising the gospel through legalistic moralism. I hope to discuss this project in a bit more detail in the future but that being said, I want to share with you one of the songs I've written for the project.

This song is intended to teach about the Fall. The themes are sin, original sin, our response to sin, and God's response to sin through judgment and salvation all wrapped in the story we find in Genesis 2 and 3. Enjoy!

The Fall by Rich Tuttle

The Fall

When God made the world He had a plan, made a man and a woman, named Adam and Eve
He gave them a job, “Glorify, multiply, but don’t eat from that middle tree
The Tree of Knowledge of Wrong and Right, if you eat it you will surely die.”

The serpent walked right up to Eve and said, “Do you really believe
that God meant what He said that you would die?”
Then Eve saw that the fruit looked good. The serpent said, “You really should
just eat the fruit and open up your eyes!”
And she listened to the snake, she took the fruit and then she ate,
and turned to Adam and said, “Take a bite.”
Then they felt the shame
and God called their name

He said, “What have you done?
You disobeyed and now you’ve laid the foundation for a painful life,
full of anguish and toil and strife.

“Now every child that’s born to you will pass this curse and bear it too;
a wicked nature, born to sin and die.”
Now every nation, tribe, and tongue will be afraid and be on the run
‘cause God is watching with His holy eye.
And He made for them some skins, to show what happens when you sin.
Blood must be shed from an innocent life.
But not all hope was lost, ‘cause God had planned the cross.

To the serpent God had news for him; Good news for us but his news was grim
A promise made and this is what God said,
“Though the woman took your crooked deal, her seed will come and you’ll bruise his heel,
but that’s ‘cause with it He will bust your head!”
And on His promise He made good, Jesus came to our neighborhood and for our sin
His perfect blood was shed!
And He removed our shame
then God called our name.

Giving New Life to Old Hymns: Part II

In Part I we discussed 3 ways in which we can revive hymns in our local congregations. We briefly touched on the most prevalent way which is to Re-tune, that is, taking an old and often unfamiliar hymn text and writing an original tune for it. We went into a bit more detail for the other two; Rearrange and Rewrite. Today we will look at the last two ways in which we can serve our congregations by reviving hymns: Replace and Redeem.

Replace
This is perhaps the easiest way to give life to an old hymn. Replace the hymn text that is associated with a familiar tune with an unfamiliar text. With good judgment and common sense you should be able to do this with just about any old hymn text. Most hymns are written in a particular metre so that they might be sung to any number of tunes that are also in the same metre. Many people find it humorous that “Amazing Grace” can be sung to the tune of “Gilligan’s Isle” or “House of the Rising Sun” but the reason for this is because the text and tunes of all of these songs were written in what is known as Common Metre. Common Metre can also be read as 8.6.8.6. This is simply a reference to the amount of syllables which are found on a particular line of the song. Line 1 has eight syllables while Line 2 has six.

There are all types of metres and most modern hymnals contain an index of metres so that you can easily match a text with a tune. I have flipped through my copy of Spurgeon’s “Our Own Hymn-Book” and have found a text in Common Metre at random: Hymn 494, written by Joseph Humphreys in 1743. You can easily sing this text to the tune we commonly use for “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing”:

Come, guilty souls, and flee away
Like doves to Jesus’ wounds;
This is the welcome gospel-day
Wherein free grace abounds
God loved the church, and gave His Son
To drink the cup of wrath:
And Jesus says, He’ll cast out none
That come to Him by faith.

This is immensely simple and there are a million possibilities. Where I serve, we recently sang a song by Isaac Watts to the tune of “Jesus Paid it All”. The tune is known by most but the text is completely new to all. The tune for “Jesus Paid it All” is not exactly easily applicable for many older texts as the metre is a bit irregular, but finding and fitting a text was relatively painless.

The text I used by Watts was originally written in Small Metre, which is 6.6.8.6., however I had to tweak the wording slightly to fit the tune but I am confident that no harm was done to Watts’ original. For the refrain I simply used the last verse which serves as a fitting response for the other verses to revolve around. I have italicized the refrain below.

Sing His Bleeding Love
(to the tune of Jesus Paid it All)

Not all the blood of beasts
On Hebrew altars slain
Gives the guilty conscience peace,
Or wash away the stain

But Christ, the heavenly Lamb,
Takes all our sins away;
Sacrifice of nobler name
And richer blood than they

Believing, we rejoice
To see the curse removed;
O Praise the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And sing His bleeding love

My faith would lay her hand
On that dear head of Thine,
Like a penitent I stand,
And there confess my sin

My soul looks back to see
The burdens Thou didst bear
Hanging on the cursed tree
And hopes her guilt was there

Another aspect of replacement is simply the opposite approach. Instead of replacing a familiar text with an unfamiliar one, try placing a familiar text with an unfamiliar tune. There are tons of tunes, all listed by metre, over at CyberHymnal. Do some clicking around and listen for some tunes that you believe might connect with your people, or find tunes that might capture a certain mood. Make note of those tunes and grab a familiar hymn text and match it with this unfamiliar tune. The result will be that the text is now sung in a different light, hopefully exposing truth in a fresh or greater way to your congregation.

Personally I would love to find an old tune hidden away that would re-energize a hymn like “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood”. Such a great text that has become attached to a decent catchy tune, however to me the tune gives off a ‘1946 Tent Revival-ish’ kind of feeling that has the capability to become sappy and sentimental.

Redeem
In some aspect every hymn that is tailored and tweaked is being redeemed in some form or another. In a previous example I showed how I used Rearranging and Rewriting to give new life to “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”. That hymn has in a sense been redeemed and now serves useful in its new purpose to our congregation. In fact many songs I’ve tried to redeem are songs from the late 19th and early 20th century, mainly because the tunes are often familiar but the content is rather shoddy, or vise versa, the content is solid but the tune is pretty hokey.

But when I speak of Redeeming a hymn I also want our focus to be a little narrower. The way I am thinking of Redeeming is taking a hymn, or a verse from a hymn, and correcting it in such a way that it exposes the truth in a better way. This may be theological or grammatical and may call for removal or replacement or both.

As a side note I should mention that we should first determine if the hymn is worth redeeming at all. If the text is junk and the tune is junk then you should probably put it out of its misery. A song that is not worth redeeming to me is a song like “In the Garden”. Aside from it being a theological monstrosity, the text is sappy and the music is sappier. I am content to junk it.

But there are many hymns that are well loved and often times their flaws or shortcoming are overlooked. Again, we should always keep our congregational context in mind as we seek to redeem hymns. The word ‘fetter’ may be fine for a particular congregation while another congregation is left wondering what in the world a ‘fetter’ is. Here are a few things I have done:

The carol “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” is loved and sung by millions around Christmas time every year. It also has a great tune. But the problem with this carol is that there is no mention of Christ! There are subtle illusions to Jesus, but the song is essentially about singing angels and peace on earth. The reason for this becomes a bit clearer when we understand that the author, Edmund Sears, was a Unitarian who did not believe in the divinity of Christ. Knowing this, when it comes to selecting carols for worship what do we do with this old, beloved song? Do we scrap it or redeem it? I decided that for my congregation I would seek to redeem it. So I sat down with pen and paper and intentionally put Christ into the song while maintaining the flavor of the song so that this extra verse didn’t feel like it was out of place. Now the congregation sings these lines as either the first or last verse:

He came down from His heavn’ly throne
Into a world of death
And with His perfect sacrifice
the sinner now is blessed
Though as a Child in manger lay,
He still is Christ the King
“All glory be to God on high!”
the saints and angels sing

A simpler example of this might be the changing of a word or two simply for clarification. The gospel song “To God be the Glory” contains amazing lyrics, packed with the language of the atonement. However there are a few words that I have changed for clarification. During the first verse we sing of Jesus:

Who yielded his life, an atonement for sin
And opened the lifegate that all may go in

These words are true, but there remains the possibility that one may be led to believe that when Jesus “opened the lifegate that all may go in” that it includes those who enter in without faith or without belief in Jesus. To some this seems like a very minor issue. To myself, also, this is a fairly minor issue, but I would rather fix a minor, almost unnoticeable, crack before it gets chipped away and becomes a glaring hole in someone’s understanding of the gospel. So I changed the wording to:

And opened the lifegate, by faith enter in

I’ll admit that it doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way but it get’s the point across and there is no confusion as to how one ‘goes in’.


When Charles Spurgeon was compiling a hymnbook for his people he amassed nearly 1000 hymn texts, yet he was compelled to compose a few hymns himself. In the preface to his hymnbook he writes, “The editor [Spurgeon] has inserted with great diffidence a very few of his own composition…and his only apology for so doing is the fact that…he could find no version at all fitted for singing, and was therefore driven to turn them into verse himself.” Spurgeon wrote new texts for his people because he knew his people. The reason given is that, in a few cases, he could find ‘no version at all fitted for singing’. This is a very subjective statement. Perhaps the church down the street would find it rather fitting to sing the very songs Spurgeon chose to substitute. Spurgeon understood his congregation and their context and served them accordingly. When you tailor and tweak these hymns for your congregation you are doing the same thing. You understand your congregation and their context and you serve them accordingly. Always remember that the treasury of hymns can be a toolbox for ministry.

I would love to hear what you have done to Retune, Rearrange, Rewrite, Replace, Redeem, and ultimately Revive hymns in service to your congregation.

Giving New Life to Old Hymns: Part I

I am so grateful for the abundance of hymnody that has been passed down to us throughout the ages. I am also grateful for the resurgence of these hymns through groups and ministries like Indelible Grace and Red Mountain Music. I really feel that one of the reasons this resurgence has some real oomph behind it is that reviving hymns accomplishes two important things at once: On one hand it establishes a real connection with our Christian forefathers and on the other it is immensely authentic.

The connection to the past is obvious, but I say that this reviving of hymns is authentic because it gives our congregation a real voice. We are able to say the same thing that Isaac Watts said but in our own context. The ability to take the texts of these old hymns and give them new life in the midst of our congregations is an amazing gift to the modern church. And again, while I am grateful that there are groups and churches out there doing this, I want to encourage the local church worship leader to begin doing this as well. As talented as Matthew Smith is, he ultimately doesn’t know your congregation like you do. You have your finger on the pulse of your congregation; you know their needs and what they need.

Beyond Re-Tuning
Much of the focus of this resurgence of hymns has been writing brand new tunes to old hymn texts. Though it is hardly a new concept, I’ve heard this idea cleverly called a Re-tune. This is the most obvious way hymns are being used in this resurgence, however the idea of giving life to old hymns doesn’t always have to end with a new tune. For local worship leaders the goal shouldn’t be writing a new tune, the goal should be serving your congregation with this ancient treasury of hymns. There are a variety of ways we can use hymns to serve our congregation aside from writing a brand new tune. I want to offer a few other suggestions beyond Re-tuning that will allow you to tailor hymns to serve your people.

Tailoring and Tweaking our Treasured Hymns
Inspired by the phrase Re-tune I have categorized a few ways we can tweak, tinker with, and tailor this massive treasure of hymnody we have at our disposal. Aside from a complete Re-tune I have come up with four ways in which we can do this: Rearrange, Rewrite, Replace, and Redeem. Some will overlap, but I believe we can utilize each one for the glory of God and the edification of our churches. We’ll look at two of these today and two in a later post.

Rearrange
One very easy way to give a hymn new life is by rearranging it. I find that this has worked best for me with some of the old familiar gospel songs that often have a refrain after each verse. A simple way to rearrange this type of song is to not sing the refrain after every verse. For example, for the song “The Solid Rock” you might begin with the refrain:

On Christ the solid rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Then sing Verse 1 followed by Verse 2. Only after Verse 2 would you sing the refrain once more. This is only a slight change but it will be breath of fresh air to a congregation who has sung it the same way for most of their life. Compare the arrangements side by side:

Normal      Rearranged
Verse 1       Refrain
Refrain        Verse 1
Verse 2       Verse 2
Refrain        Refrain
Verse 3       Verse 3
Refrain        Verse 4
Verse 4       Refrain
Refrain

The trick however in rearranging is to not mess up the logic of the original text, so you likely wouldn’t sing “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” in reverse or in a mixed order. But you can still rearrange a hymn by repeating a verse or portion of a verse at the end of a song. Use it as a tag to reinforce the theme of the hymn or to expose a particular truth that you want to drive home. In this case, at the end of “Come Thou Fount” you might repeat the middle of the last verse:

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it from Thy courts above

Rewrite
Rewriting is the opposite of Re-tuning. This is taking a familiar tune and writing brand new words to it. Perhaps a tragedy has taken place in the church and you cannot find the words to say in any particularly familiar hymn, nor does the congregation have the time to learn a new song during their heartbreak. Penning new lyrics to an old tune can be a powerful tool to serve your congregation well. If you are able to give your congregation new words to sing in a familiar way that meets them where they are, there is likely no better way a worship leader can serve people in a time of grief. This can be done for many different seasons in the life of a local church.

Rewriting can also be used to reinforce a certain theme or a particular truth that the pastor might be preaching on. This is a good way for you and your pastor to team up for the cause of the gospel. Again, familiarity with the context of your local congregation is key.

Rewriting can also be a good starting place for you and for those interested from your congregation to begin re-tuning your own hymns. Instead of worrying about an original tune, begin with a familiar tune. This instantly gives you a way to see if the words you write are singable and at the same time automatically provides a particular mood for your song. Perhaps you will be content to simply sing your new song with the old tune, but don’t be afraid to branch out every now and then and try a new tune. This is a great first step in hymn writing.

Below is an example of a Rewrite I did earlier this year with “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”. I must admit it is only a partial rewrite because I only rewrote the refrain based on the verses. The reason for this rewrite is because I felt like this song had become a one trick pony. The only time we broke it out was after the sermon, and then we only sang the first verse and refrain. I had always felt that the remaining three verses were more powerful than the first, but the refrain always pulled us away from the truths explored in those verses. So I ditched the first verse and rewrote the refrain section based on its preceding verse. Instead of a constant refrain pleading to Jesus “Do not pass me by” there is now a logical progression that runs through the song from unbelief and sorrow, to salvation and grace, to eternal joy through Jesus. The tune remained the same, but now the song has been set free and we’re able to use this song in a more meaningful and purposeful way in our service. The verses are original and the italicized refrains are my additional rewrites.

Let Me at Thy Throne of Mercy
(to the tune of “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”)

Let me at thy throne of mercy
Find a sweet relief
Kneeling there in deep contrition;
Help my unbelief
Jesus, Jesus help my unbelief!
Glorify the Father through my
sorrow, loss and grief

Trusting only in thy merit
Would I seek thy face
Heal my wounded, broken spirit
Save me by thy grace
Jesus, Jesus, save me by thy grace!
Through the cross have mercy on all
sinners in this place

Thou the spring of all my comfort
More than life to me
Whom have I on earth beside Thee?
Whom in heav’n but thee?
Jesus, Jesus; More than life to me!
Endless pleasure! Joy abounding!
All are found in Thee

In my next post I’ll discuss two more ways in which we can use the treasury of hymns to serve our congregation. In the meantime I hope that this post has encouraged you to begin not only selecting hymns, but utilizing them in skillful ways to serve your church.

Matthew Smith, Indelible Grace, and My Hymn Seminar Notes

Yesterday I attended a seminar on Hymns with Matthew Smith from Indelible Grace Music. If you are unfamiliar with Indelible Grace I would encourage you to check them out immediately. Indelible Grace is a group that Matthew Smith has participated in for about 10 years and they are rooted in the college ministry of the PCA called Reformed University Fellowship (RUF). They are doing something the church has done for a long time, which is putting hymn texts to modern music. It sounds simple enough but the practice, for the most part, has fallen by the wayside in our day and age of modern, cutting edge, happy-clappy worship songs. They are a driving force in the resurgence of hymnody today.

At the seminar Matthew Smith gave a brief history of his life as a worshipper and how he got involved with Indelible Grace. I was struck by how similar our stories are. He grew up in a Christian home, led worship for the youth group, and felt like a failed worshipper. Much of his guilt and feelings of failure were a direct result of the songs they sang and what he falsely thought worship should be. Matthew said he had a hard time explaining this feeling but I knew exactly what he was talking about. In some ways he felt as if worship meant that he had to ‘disconnect’ in some since and ‘attain’ a certain ‘level’ of worship for worship to actually occur. The songs they sung (as did I) were songs that said, “I want to” and “I will do” and he felt the weight of failure on his shoulders. Then he discovered RUF in college and was intrigued by two things; the acoustic guitar folk rock music caught his eye first, but what really kept him and drew him in were the hymns they were singing. The hymns placed all the emphasis on Jesus rather than on himself. Matthew had found that which released him of his feelings of guilt and failure in worship; instead of the world becoming a fuzzy disconnect that he always thought it should be, the world actually became more real, it became clearer and sharper in focus. I don’t know if this resonates with you but I completely understand where he is coming from, and so I found much encouragement and confirmation in my own story after hearing his.

After this Matthew gave a brief, but loaded presentation about why we need hymns and why he and Indelible Grace love the hymns so much. Before he began he made clear that when he talks about Hymns he uses the word ‘hymn’ as being distinguished from what many people consider as hymns, such as the Gospel Songs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Gather Music, etc.

I’ve listed the notes I took below. I summarized a bit but all of it is derived from what Matthew said.

Hymns engage our:

Imagination – Hymns paint a picture and they can be both personal and universal at the same time

Intellect – Hymns make you think about what you are singing – they help people engage or participate in worship more fully – the over all theme of a hymn should be understood after singing it once, but it needs to be sung over and over to better understand it.

Will – Hymns make you want to live differently rather than telling you to live differently – they have a shaping quality that assists the singer to change certain beliefs – Hymns say things you don’t want to say

Emotions – Hymns effect our emotions without being emotionalism and without manipulation – When you cry to a country song, it’s because the songwriter wanted/intended for you to cry. When you cry to a hymn it is because the hymn writer is crying with you. We share the emotion with the writer. (Matthew used the country song example because he knows of artists in Nashville that do it.)

Hymns are:

True – Hymns tell the truth about who we are and who God is

Good Theology – Hymns contain good (sound) theology – Kevin Twit says “Hymns are theology on fire” which means that hymns convey theology not in a stoic or stagnant kind of way, but it gives theology life and it spreads and is efficacious

Beautiful – Hymns are not just a tool to be used for practical purposes, ie. Just to teach, or for evangelism, etc (I tend to be guilty of this) – Art that is only practical is propaganda – ‘beauty’ does not equal ‘pretty’, beauty can be ugly – bad art lies and at it’s worst lies about the human condition

(As a side note I would add on my own that Hymns are also authentic. In that they were written most often for the hymn writer’s local congregation to aid in worship rather than written to be sold as a product to consume. I wish I would have thought of this during the discussion time to hear Matthew’s thoughts…anyway, back to the notes.)

Good Writing and Bad Writing

CS Lewis – he referred us to what Lewis had to say about the difference between good and bad writing. Although he didn't quote it, this is the quote he was referring to:

'In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us the thing is “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers “Please, will you do my job for me.”'

Bad Writing tells you how to feel (ie. That woman is beautiful)

Good Writing describes and displays the woman in such a way that the reader can only come away with the conclusion that the woman is a knockout.

According to this criterion, hymns would be considered “Good Writing” whereas most modern day praise songs would likely be considered “Bad Writing”. Where a modern praise song might say, “Jesus is amazing” a hymn would take three or four lines (or maybe the whole song!) describing and displaying Jesus in such a way that the singer can only come away with the conclusion that Jesus is amazing.

Then we moved into a Q&A/Discussion time that produced some great food for thought:

When asked what makes a hymn a hymn (as in distinction to modern songs) Smith said it has much to do with the form of the hymn. The secret weapon/advantage of the hymn is that it is Verse, Verse, Verse, Verse and develops a thought without interruption (the interruption typically being a chorus). But he was quick to point out that the chorus in many songs are not bad, but the verses of these songs tend to point only to the chorus so the development of thought isn’t always as strong as a hymn.

When discussing archaic language Matthew was not against changing language so that modern readers might understand, but he also felt it was perfectly fine to leave archaic language as it was written just the same. In doing so the singer will have to think and learn. He said he doesn’t have a rule about it because a hard and fast rule such as this destroys art.

The best part of the discussion was when the topic became sadness or darkness (in a sad since) in hymns as opposed to happy, peppy, chipper songs. Before I attended this it was a strong conviction of mine that the church must sing songs that prepare people for suffering, and sing them every week, and after listening to this discussion I am even more encouraged and fully strengthened that my conviction is valid. Here are four quotes that I wrote down during that discussion:

- When planning a service or when selecting songs: “Never aim for happy—always aim for joy.”

- “Mournfulness in songs doesn’t equal Mopey-ness.”

- “Jesus was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. If your songs don’t reflect that you’re picking the wrong songs.”

- In discussing how people at an A.A. meeting can often times be more honest than at church and how the church is a place for broken people: “The church should be a place where if you boast in yourself you should look stupid. Go play golf stupid.”

Following the seminar was a concert with Matthew and the Indelible Grace band. These guys not only love hymns and make a great case for them, they make excellent music for us to sing them to. I praise God for Indelible Grace and others who continue to put great music to great hymn texts.

Towards a Better Hymnody

I recently ran across this little digitized pamphlet written in 1959 by an Austrailian teacher named Frank J. Funston. You can read it for yourself here.

The pamphlet is titled "Towards a Better Hymnody" and has some great insights about music in the church that would be our loss if we were not to consider them today. I've gone ahead and picked out some wonderful quotes that I'm sure will be beneficial to anyone interested. As the title suggests, Funston is basically putting forth suggestions and criteria that are recognizable in good songs and looking to apply this to modern hymnody. I should say that Funston's use of the word hymn is basically synonomous with 'worship song' as in 1959 all church music was recognized as 'hymns' rather than 'hymns vs praise chorus' for example.

I'll start you off with Funston's imagery of the whole of Christian hymnody as a stream. I love this illustration and will definately use it in the future.

"It would be an attractive project to chart the whole stream of hymnody. Some little knowledge of it is, in fact, desirable if our hymns are to make the maximum contribution of enrichment to our worship. We could seek the springs from which the stream rises, what are its main tributaries--sombre or sparkling, restful or tumultuous, clouded or clear as they may be, but each bringing its distinctive contribution. We could inspect the shallows, the deeps and the occasional whirlpools along its course. Power plants there are in places, and unfortunately, too, commercial interests are here and there to corrupt what should be a pure stream. Nevertheless, legitimate commerce of prayer, devotion, praise and doctrine are borne along on its waters."

Hymns and Good Music

"We need tunes which are not just catchy or temporary; instead, let us seek and use those that are robust and dignified without being stodgy or highbrow or difficult."

"Nobody who knows anything of the history of religious revivals from the days of Moody and Sankey down to Billy Graham could possibly query that there is a place for the lighter music of the gospel song with its catchy phrase, its resounding refrain and its sometimes disconnected lines of thought, but it is not on such foundations that a worthy and lasting all-purpose hymnody is built."

Hymns and Sound Theology

"The theology of the creeds has often been a bone of contention, but the theology of hymns may often fulfil a very different function, and be quite constructive in the direction of binding together different groups of Christians. Thus very perfunctory search of an Anglican and a Methodist hymnal could show that, while each had hymns from their own and the other body, both also had large numbers of hymns from Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Quaker and other sources."

"There are two elements of danger--one inherent in the writer of the hymn, the other in the user. Firstly, because hymn-writing talent it neither confined to one branch of the Christian church, nor indeed flourishes more markedly in one branch than another, there must be a certain amount of "screening" rather than indiscriminate use of hymns...Secondly, it is futile to look for "a full gospel" in every hymn. No hymn need be suspect because its writer is not theologically precisely in step with those who use it. As we have all heard sermons with which we would agree--but only up to a point--so some of our best hymns are pruned of verses theologically unacceptable, and other excellent hymns have very little of theology in them. No sermon, no passage of Scripture, and no hymn contains a full gospel, nor can they be expected to do so."

Hymns and High Literary Standards

"We forbear to mention some of "the horrors of hymnody"--whole verses which defy analysis either grammatically or as to their spiritual content, and others so utterly muddled or absurd in their figures of speech that it would become difficult to use them once one came to give some clear thought, to the expressions used."

"Instead, of attempting any major general task regarding literary excellences, we will here limit ourselves to two minor manifestations in this field. (1) Those involving structure include progression or development in thought...(2) Minor elegances often very effectively used by poets who are "masters of sound" include alliteration and assonance."

Trends In Modern Hymnody

[Remember 'modern' to him is 50 years ago...but this is still applicable.]

"Perhaps [some] lines of improvement may be suggested:(1) We could surely make better use of our present hymnody...(2) The intelligent use of hymns written in a special form would deepen their meaning...(3) As a brotherhood, we must be alive to the possibilities of using new hymns." [some examples he gives:] "new hymns through missions, new hymn tunes, new hymn texts through unstudied languages, new lyrics written by youth"

Some Helpful Advice
"Let us be under no illusions about the habit of "cutting out verses." Surely those who edit hymnals are not the only ones with the right to exercise this prerogative!...[B]ut whatever the occasion for limiting the number of verses to be sung, let it be done intelligently and only after a careful examination so that there is no marked break in the continuity of thought."

"At the very least, we can sing on, still hoping! If we cannot achieve it all, we would still be unwise not to make the attempt."

Matt Redman and Songs for Blokey Blokes

God has used Matt Redman in a variety of ways in my life to encourage and inspire me both in leading God's people in worship as well as writing songs for the church. I'm happy to say that I've had the pleasure of meeting him and I was able to express that to him. He and Chris Tomlin and Louis Giglio came to town a few years back on the Indescribable tour. At the end of the show it was announced that Chris Tomlin and his band would be signing autographs up front. I figured Matt would be up there but he never showed. I had a couple books I wanted him to sign and wanted to let him know how God had used him in my life, so I did what any respectable, upstanding, Christian would do; I snuck backstage. He was packing up his gear and looked pretty busy but he was nice enough to stop and sign my books and we even chatted for a couple minutes.

After meeting him I can honestly say that Matt Redman has a true and authentic passion for writing songs for the church to use in worship. I really appreciate that because of how much success he has had. He could very easily take his worship leader rock star status and peddle out tunes for cash and get more Christian radio airtime.

I ran across this video clip which only reinforces in my mind his concern for the church when it comes to songwriting. The interviewer asks him about romantic imagery in today's worship music and Redman provides and exquisite answer. The best part is that his answer reveals the importance of placing language on the lips of people in the church.

I also found that his answer revealed humility when he reflects back on one of his own songs and how he should have been more aware of the language he used.

The main reason for linking this video, however, isn't to go on and on about how great Matt Redman is, but I trust that his answer provides great information that applies to how leaders and songwriters in the church should examine our music lyrically. To sum it up Redman is rock solid when he says "Songs need to be watertight scripturally and culturally they [need to] mean what we think they mean."

So check out this video clip: Matt Redman on Songs for Blokey Blokes

Music is a Servant to Words

As I was flipping through my new copy of Gadsby's Hymns the other day I kept thinking about a statement made by Bob Kauflin, "In congregational worship, music is a servant to words." This simple statement has almost become a philosophy for me. Not only does it direct our attention to the most important aspect of congregational singing (the words/lyrics and the truth contained in them) but it gives the music, which accompanies the lyrics, a higher purpose than just being a "catchy" tune.

What I'm getting at here is basically this; a song, no matter how theologically rich and wonderful the words may be, must have an appropriate tune to carry it. I like to think of it this way; music is the vessel, or cup, that carries the lyrics, which is the liquid contained. Now you can drink wine from a styrofoam cup, but a more appropriate vessel is a wine glass. The glass was specifically made to complement the wine. I feel like a lot of the older hymns have suffered because of this. So many great lyrics have been paired with trivial, boring, or just plain wretched melodies it is no wonder why many people cringe when they hear the word 'hymn'. Wine in any old cup is still wine, but it cannot be fully appreciated and fully enjoyed if not contained in the proper vessel, namely a wine glass.

The flip side of this idea is no matter how beautiful, majestic, catchy, or pleasing the music may be, it means nothing if the lyrics are simply weak theology and mindless dribble. To continue the analogy, if you owned a beautiful ornate goblet, fit for a king, would you drink chocolate milk, or kool-aid out of it? If you are 10 then yes, you would. But for anyone else it doesn't make since to do so. The reason is because kool-aid, though sweet and tasty, is not complemented by such a cup. The reason I don't drink kool-aid from a wine glass is the same reason I don't drink wine from my child's sippy cup.

Here are a few practical examples. Let's look at the most well loved English hymn, Amazing Grace. The words were written by John Newton in the 1700's but the tune, NEW BRITAIN, was written in the mid-1800's. Before the tune was composed Amazing Grace was just another ordinary song in the hymnal. Nothing special really, other than good poetry. Now, take the words to Amazing Grace and sing them to the tune of Gilligan's Isle or House of the Rising Sun. Some people would say that is sacrilege! That is because the tune falls short of the lyrics. They do not complement each other. It is wine in the sippy cup.

Here's another, albeit a bit silly. The tune and lyrics of A Mighty Fortress is Our God written by Martin Luther evoke majesty and triumph. Let's use that wonderful tune to sing the following lyrics:

There was this man from Galilee/His love is like a river/He died one day upon a tree/He is the perfect giver/I raise my holy hands/and bow and kneel and stand/Just gotta worship Him/And singing without end/La la la la la la la la la. (with hand motions?)

Ok, first I must say that I feel dumb just writing that off the top of my head. I need to apologize to Martin Luther when I get to heaven. Second, these lyrics (unfortunately) evoke much of today's modern "worship" music, however I digress, that is for another post... But it serves to make my point clear. This is kool-aid in the wine glass.

This may not seem like a very important topic to some people but for the singing congregation I believe it is vital. Trivial music paired with truth-laden lyrics will cause us to trivialize the truth. Wonderful, beautiful music paired with weak, senseless lyrics will cause us to believe that what we are singing is the core of the gospel, when in fact we may be happily singing heresy!

So let us be cautious in what we sing by understanding the submissive role music takes to the lyrics.