28 July 2008

Mein Nein to Nine

When I posted "An Ecumenical and Catholic Core of Hymns in the Lutheran Service Book" (23 May), I noted the following nine LSB hymns, which appeared on the lists of Protestant and Roman Catholic hymns that I had discovered in my research, but which I would not willingly have sung in my congregation:

Come, we that love the Lord (LSB 669)
I heard the voice of Jesus say (LSB 699)
In Christ there is no east or west (LSB 653)
O worship the King (LSB 804)
Stand up, stand up for Jesus (LSB 660)
Were you there? (LSB 456)
When morning gilds the skies (LSB 807)
When peace like a river (LSB 763)
You satisfy the hungry heart (LSB 641)

In response, half a dozen people asked me to indicate my rationale for not wanting to use these particular hymns. I promised that I would not forget that request, and I've had good intentions ever since of answering it. So, here goes:

Come, we that love the Lord (LSB 669)

This song is grating and inane. The emphasis is on the singer's attitudes and actions, with only inferrential reference to the future promises of God. The mention of "Emmanuel" in stanza 4 is the closest thing to any explicit confession of the particular "God" in question. Otherwise, the entire song is utterly vague and whispy; which isn't helped by the pointless repetition of phrases that don't say much to begin with (nor the second time).

I heard the voice of Jesus say (LSB 699)

Sorry, but I don't appreciate hymns that emphasize "my" choices and decisions and obedient responses. Despite the promises of Jesus that are set forth in the first two lines of each stanza, everything hinges on "my" acceptance of these things, in a way that turns attention away from the external Gospel and into my own subjective heart. This is all the more troubling in that the hymn describes these promises and transactions as being in the past, in contrast to an emphasis on the daily and lifelong return to Holy Baptism through ongoing contrition and repentance.

In Christ there is no east or west (LSB 653)

I'm not as averse to this hymn as to some others, but it rubs me the wrong way; maybe because it strikes me as more sociologically than ecclesiologically driven. In any case, there is no mention of the Church per se, but of individual "Christian souls" united by their personal faith. Emphasizing such unity apart from the tangible life and corporate fellowship of the Church can be quite misleading. I'm also not a fan of hymns that speak of differences in "race," since there are rather only differences of tribe and tongue, culture and clan within one human race.

O worship the King (LSB 804)

Who is "the King" in question? Of course, a Christian will hopefully presume Him to be the Holy Triune God, but the hymn makes no such mention of His Name. There is no mention of Christ, nor His Cross, nor His work of redemption (despite a passing reference to our "redeemer" in stanza 5); nor is there any indication of the Gospel. The word "grace" is used in stanza 2, and "mercies" in stanza 5, but without any hint of what the "grace" and "mercies" of God might be. Nothing is anywhere said or even intimated concerning the forgiveness of sins. Instead, "the King" is praised for His power and might and the impressiveness of His creation. "His love" (stanza 1) is never spelled out or specified. There are other hymns that share similar weaknesses, but this one seems particularly weak, with less to commend it.

Stand up, stand up for Jesus (LSB 660)

There's a time and place for militaristic images, such as the Scriptures also use; though in the present day and age, those images ought to be used with great care. Too many non-Christians perceive "conservative Christians" to be as aggressively and outwardly militant in the same way and sense as fundamentalist Muslims. This hymn lends itself to that sort of misunderstanding, in my opinion. What is worse, the hymn implies that we must come to the rescue of Jesus and His Cross, instead of understanding His Cross and Crucifixion as the victory already won for us.

Were you there? (LSB 456)

Aside from the sentimentality associated with this song (which overpowers an already thin text), its entire thrust turns one's attention away from the Gospel and the means of grace to a nostalgic intellectual reminiscing. Thinking about the "once upon a time" of the Cross and Resurrection is a far cry from hearing the voice of Christ and receiving His gifts in the "today" of the Gospel as it is preached and administered in the Word and Sacraments. My concern is not nit-pickyness. When the means of grace are set aside or ignored, a vacuum is created that is invariably filled with man's own works and efforts, whether of the hand, the head or the heart. Trying to reach back to Jesus then and there turns us away from His laying hold of us in the here and now.

When morning gilds the skies (LSB 807)

The repetition of this hymn becomes tedious and old, especially since it focuses on our response of praise instead of that for which Christ Jesus surely should be praised. Over and over we are admonished to praise Him, yet the hymn never gets around to doing it. For Christ is praised, not by telling Him (or each other) that we are praising Him, but by confessing what He has done, and by praying for what He has promised. Here, though, notwithstanding the repeated mention of Jesus Christ, all the reveling is in our work of praise, when our praise should rather revel entirely in Him and His work. Instead of talking about Him, we should give heed to His talking.

When peace like a river (LSB 763)

The text of this hymn, though thin, is better than many others. What it says, so far as it goes, is Christocentric, good and right. My objection in this case is almost entirely to the sentimentality attached to it (especially with its echoing refrain), and the schmaltziness of the tune. The big trouble with such things is that they overpower and distract from the text.

You satisfy the hungry heart (LSB 641)

This sort of post-Vatican II music grates on my nerves. That's a subjective reaction on my part, which may not be true for everyone. The text could be better, could be worse. As far as hymns on the Lord's Supper are concerned, this one seems to put the emphasis in a secondary place; it majors in the minors, so to speak. The focus is on our response, and on our love for one another, with very little stress upon the love of Christ and His gracious gifts to us in the Supper. There is a confession of His blood in verse 3, but no explicit mention of His body. The "mystery of [His] presence" (verse 4) is located not in the elements given with His Word, but "in our hearts." I'm not suggesting there's anything false in this hymn, but it leaves me wanting more Gospel.

There are perhaps another 80 or 90 LSB hymns that I would not choose to have sung in my congregation, but I'm not going to attempt an explanation for all of those. The above nine were singled out because they have gained some prominence among Protestants and/or Roman Catholics. We would have done better, in such cases, to retain more of our own Lutheran heritage of hymnody, including Gerhardt's "I Will Sing My Maker's Praises" (inexplicably relegated to the LSB electronic edition).

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