"Oh, yes, the current one has been around for nearly forty years." That's the answer I got from an individual, who, while I was working on this editorial, asked me what I was writing. Maybe we do need a new hymnal! At least, this is a conclusion one could draw if he paid attention to numerous remarks on the subject.
According to the revised Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, James White edited five hymnals and four supplements for fellow believers, prior to church organization in 1863. His sister, Anna White, compiled Hymns for Youth and Children, in 1854. During this early era Adventists themselves wrote about 5 percent of the hymns they published. The first Sabbathkeeping Adventist hymnal to contain music was published in 1855, titled Hymns for Those Who Keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus. Since 1886, three volumes have dominated Adventist hymnody: Hymns and Tunes (officially titled The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book for Use in Divine Worship); Christ in Song, published at the turn of the century; and our current Church Hymnal, published in 1941.
My brief musical training, limited to a year or two of piano during grade school, and another brief stint on the saxophone during high school and college, does not qualify me as a music expert. But I have one strong conviction about our present hymnal. Some months ago, my good wife, Marie, and I started singing the hymnal through, beginning with No. 1, "Before Jehovah's Awful Throne." We have sung more than one hundred thus far, and I am amazed at the number of beautiful hymns that I never hear in our church, and some hymns that I honestly cannot remember ever hearing before!
Admittedly, after forty years it might seem feasible to produce a new hymnal. But until we get a new one, may I suggest that we begin teaching our people to sing some of the hymns in our current book that are rarely, if ever, used. For instance, when have you used Hymn No. 26, "Again We Meet," for an opening worship hymn? Both the music and the words bring a blessing to my soul. Listen to the third stanza:
"Alas! unworthy of Thy boundless love.
Too oft with careless feet from Thee we rove;
But now, encouraged by Thy voice, we come,
Returning sinners, to a Father's home."
Exquisitely beautiful! Or take No. 54, "The Shadows of the Evening Hours." Use this at a vesper service or prayer meeting. Another evening hymn, No. 59, "The Sun Rolls Down," is especially suited for welcoming the Sabbath of the Lord on Friday evening. The second verse combines the Sabbath with salvation so beautifully:
"This holy day let us begin
With songs of praise to God,
Who pardons all our guilt and sin,
Through Jesus' precious blood."
Hymn No. 61, "The Sabbath Day Has Reached Its Close," is excellent for closing the Sabbath. On the love of God, few hymns equal or surpass No. 62, "Eternal Depth of Love Divine." I can not remember when I have ever heard this hymn sung in one of our church services. The words, written by Moravian Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, are filled with love and adoration for God.
"Eternal depth of love divine,
In Jesus, God with us, displayed,
How bright Thy beaming glories shine!
How wide Thy healing streams are spread,
How wide Thy healing streams are spread!"
Even if you don't sing these hymns, at least use some of these mighty verses to persuade men and women of God's love and salvation.
Another hymn I cannot remember hearing is No. 67, "O Love of God." The words, by Horatius Bonar, inform the worshiper that God is read best "in Him who came To bear for us the cross of shame." This hymn can be used in connection with a sermon on the cross of Christ.
These are just a few samples that have meant much to my wife and me in our family worship.
During my eighteen years on the General Conference Ministerial Association staff, I have had the privilege of visiting countries such as Australia and England, where music seems to play a far more important part in the church service than it does in America. Members there own their church hymnals. Of course, there are hymnals available for visitors, but the members themselves have their hymnals with their Bibles when they come to church. During my visits in these areas, I heard hymns that are rarely, if ever, used in America. We can learn much from our brethren in these areas where every verse is important. If music is a branch of the worship of God and can elevate minds toward heaven, imparting strength and courage to the discouraged soul, surely we as ministers should consider carefully in our worship planning the inclusion of a greater variety of hymns in our worship services. The fact is that a large number of the 703 hymns in our present church hymnal are virtually unknown.
Probably the best evidence available on just how important our church considers worship in song will be found (actually, not found) in the first edition (1966) of the SDA Encyclopedia. If you look under Music, Church Hymnal, Hymnody, Musical Instruments, Singing, et cetera, you will find nothing! Hydrotherapy, Hypnotism, Muscat and Oman, and Musofu Station are there, but nothing on music! Fortunately, in the revised edition (1976) one column is dedicated to Hymnody.
This emphasizes the need of starting something on the General Conference level to foster, organize, recommend, train, guide, and educate the church in the realm of music and its use in worship and evangelistic services. Repeated appeals from various organizations, including the Ministerial Association, have been made to leadership for budgetary provisions that would make possible the hiring of a competent, balanced musician, who could devote his or her full time to emphasize the need and importance of proper music in our churches. Some may wonder what one person can do. This measure could be the beginning of a Music Department. The creation of such a group would not add to the already over-sized church structure if reductions were made in areas less important to the work of the church. This department could organize Adventist summer music camps, develop talent within our ranks to write more hymns and gospel songs, conduct seminars in the conferences, and bring together local church musicians. As I visit churches, especially small ones, I find a tremendous need for someone to learn to play the piano properly. It is difficult to find words to describe the importance of proper, well-performed music in our churches.
Above all, there needs to be some semblance of unity among us of what constitutes good music. As things stand now, one is liable to hear anything from rock to Bach pouring forth from loud speakers at our camp meetings and in our churches. I have been tempted more than once to walk off the platform during the special music. But since I was the speaker for the hour, I bravely tried to carry on, breathing a prayer for the Lord to bring back the angels who had just fled during the interlude of confusion, called music, that preceded my message. Maybe it was music, but I didn't recognize it as such. Of course, I could be in need of education along these lines.
This short editorial is intended to bring a response. One response we ask for is the recommendation of hymns in our present hymnal that are not being used. If you have found certain little-known hymns that have appealed to you or your congregation, let us know which ones they are and what they have meant to you.
Another response we need is your ideas of what the church can do, and should do, to bring about a strong music-education program for our local congregation —J.R.S.
