Simple truth requires us to state that A. B. Simpson does not rate high as a writer of hymns. The effort on the part of some of his admirers to place him along with Watts and Wesley is simply absurd. A hymn, to be great—to be a hymn at all—must meet certain simple requirements. 1.… Continue Reading
In the poetical works of Frederick Faber I have found a hymn to the Holy Spirit which I would rank among the finest ever written, but so far as I know it has not been set to music, or if it has, it is not sung today in any church with which I am acquainted.… Continue Reading
Compare the Christian reading matter and you’ll know that we’re in pretty much the same situation. The Germans, the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh, the English, the Americans and the Canadians all have a common Protestant heritage. And what did they read, these Protestant forebears of yours and mine? Well, they read Doddridge’s The Rise… Continue Reading
Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us” (Revelation 5:9)—that’s the theme of the new song. The theme of the new song isn’t “I am”; it’s “Thou art.” Notice the difference! When you look at the old hymnody of Wesley, Montgomery and… Continue Reading
In order to express myself more freely on a matter that lies very near to my heart, I shall waive the rather stilted editorial we and speak in the first person. The matter I have in mind is the place of the hymnbook in the devotional life of the Christian. For purposes of inward devotion,… Continue Reading
We can come and sing hymns in this church and only enjoy the dignity of the music as a relief from rock’n’roll. (Sermon, “Doctrine of the Remnant,” Chicago, 1957) —Tozer on Worship and Entertainment Just as the book of Psalms is a lyric commentary on the Old Testament, set to the music of warm personal… Continue Reading
Over the last few years the world has gone on to woo the Church (about like water woos a duck!) and has won her heart and hand in what seems to be a case of true love. The honeymoon is still on and the church is now the pampered bride of the world. And what… Continue Reading
MUSIC. There is about music a subtle charm that no normal person can resist. It works to condition the mind and prepare it for the reception of ideas, moral and immoral, which in turn prepare the will to act either in righteousness or in sin. The notion that music and song are merely for amusement… Continue Reading
A.W. Tozer is found in places where he probably wouldn’t have been invited to preach. His books will be found on the shelves of the charismatic church and the conservative, the Reformed and the Wesleyan, the fundamentalist and the seeker-sensitive. Tozer’s writings were of such penetrating clarity that they resonate with people of very different… Continue Reading
Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “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… Continue Reading
Leviticus 14:21-22 But if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil, 22 “and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he… Continue Reading
The Passion Since blood is fittest, Lord, to write Thy sorrows in, and bloody fight; My heart hath store; write there, where in One box doth lie both ink and sin: That when sin spies so many foes, Thy whips, thy nails, thy wounds, thy woes, All come to lodge there, sin may say, No… Continue Reading
I think we all agree that the hill marked “The Battle of the Hymnal vs. the Projector” ought to have no man’s grave on it. This question is not a fundamental of the faith, and answers to the problem do not even fall out along the same lines of the broader worship debate, which is… Continue Reading
Visitors that attend my church are often introduced to the seemingly obscure practice of fumbling for a hymnal, finding a page, and according to some, mumbling the words into the book they are peering into. In an era of affordable projectors, Powerpoint and similar software, surely insisting upon hymnals is like insisting on horse-drawn buggies… Continue Reading
Paul Gerhardt (1606-1676) is regarded by some as Germany’s greatest hymn writer. His near-absence from many modern hymnals surely stands as testimony to our chronological snobbery. Nevertheless, a mostly untouched (by modern hands, at least) treasure-trove of Gerhardt hymns still exists for the hungry seeker. “Immanuel, to Thee We Sing” is one of his Christmas… Continue Reading
Some of us deeply appreciate A.W. Tozer’s writings on, well, just about anything. Tozer also wrote some poetry, which while not masterful, is a good attempt at meaningful hymnody, and that by a busy pastor. It ought to encourage those of us who have tried our clumsy hands at the task to keep at it.… Continue Reading
A while back I stumbled across Charles Wesley’s Christmas hymn, “Glory Be to God on High.” This is a superb text on the incarnation of Christ, and I thought this would be a good time to recommend it here. We’ve sung it to the 18th century tune Amsterdam. The hymns is a meditation on the… Continue Reading
It is irresponsible to claim that Luther used tunes from secular loves songs for his hymns and compare it to today’s situation. If there is one argument in defense of bringing secular musical forms into the church that I’ve heard more than any other, it is certainly one that insists that Luther used tunes from… Continue Reading
If Timothy Dudley-Smith is known to Protestants in the United States, it is more likely as the biographer of theologian John Stott than as a poet. In nations more greatly influenced by Anglicanism, however, he is renowned as a hymnist who has written many excellent texts. Dudley-Smith has stated in various that, although he had… Continue Reading
An interesting online discussion has emerged in the past few weeks about the issue of not singing a particular song in a service when that song expresses sentiments you do not believe to be true. The discussion began with Roger Olson, who argued that we should not sing a song when the doctrine does not… Continue Reading