hymns...

I absolutely LOVE hymns. Maybe its because I grew up singing them every Sunday (and still do), maybe its because I love their deep histories and rich meanings or maybe its because I really can feel the authors deep desire and love for God . I got the new David Crowder CD today and yes, I absolutely love David Crowder but the whole praise music thing is starting to get to me. They have “O For a Thousand Tongues To Sing” on the CD-one of my many favorite hymns. Every time I buy a "praise-type" CD (which is very few and far between these days) the only songs I end up liking are the “re-done” hymns- which brings me to WHY do we have to keep making up all these new praise songs? To me the old hymns hold so much more and are not just a chorus being repeated gazillions of times over and over. I feel so enriched and filled when I sing all the old hymns….

O for a thousand tongues to sing
my dear Redeemer's praise,
the glories of my God and King,
the triumphs of his grace!

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name
On Christ the solid rock I stand

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Knowing the stories behind these hymns gives them even more of a richness to me. The authors have been through a series of great trials or joys and have written the words from these experiences. For awhile I was into the trend of praise music but I guess I never really felt the presence and love for God that I always feel when I sing one of these old hymns. I feel like our world today always wants the next, newest best thing and the next best way to “Praise God” and I don’t like to conform to that. Whatever happened to singing with only the piano and songleader-now it’s a huge band with whatever instrument will make it louder and bring more “praise to God”-you can’t even hear your own voice. Why do we have to project all of our words on a huge screen with a babbling brook and mountains in the background when we can simply hold the rich words before us and actually know how the hymn goes because we can read the notes and choruses? This is one of the many reasons why I love my church…hymns and the simplicity that goes along with them.