Hymnal Review - Hymns Modern & Ancient

Conservative, Traditional… and New!

Hymns Modern & Ancient is a short collection of hymns and songs (133 in all) in a volume intended to supplement, not replace, more comprehensive hymnals already on the market. The collection is compiled by Fred R. Coleman and includes several of his hymns. Ruth Coleman, his wife, provided most of the arrangements.

Quality over quantity

I’m reviewing this collection as a non-professional musician. Though I play the piano a little, lead singing often and have sung in choirs most my life, my musical sight-reading skills are not sufficient to sit down an play hymns and songs I don’t already know—at least, not in any reasonable length of time. As a result, the large number of unfamiliar songs in HMA are difficult to evaluate musically. If the half dozen or so I’m familiar with are a good indication of the quality of the rest, the music throughout is fresh but—relative to where we are in musical history—conservative.

The collection consists mostly of work from the last few decades, with a smattering of undeservingly-neglected work in the more “ancient” category. The collection manages to avoid the chorus genre almost entirely (“I Worship You, Almighty God” may be the only song in the chorus category). I’m encouraged that it’s even possible to gather more than a hundred conservative, traditional and new hymns and hymn-like songs of good quality. The existence of this collection suggests that something like a revival of serious hymn singing may be in progress.

I use the category “hymn-like” here to describe songs that differ enough from traditional hymn form to make their hymn status debatable. Two examples come to mind, both of them composed by Bob Kauflin. Kauflin’s “The Look” is a remake of the John Newton hymn, “I Saw One Hanging on a Tree.” Though the original is a fine hymn, “The Look” has a far more soloist-oriented melody and rhythm and includes a chorus. Similarly, Kauflin’s “A Debtor to Mercy” restyles Augustus Toplady’s “A Debtor to Mercy Alone.” While Toplady’s work (and the music usually paired with it) was true hymnody, Kauflin’s remake moves substantially into “song” territory.

In my view, both of these songs are still good work and suitable for worship, but I would rather have seen them paired with fresh arrangements that preserve the hymn form and make only minimal adjustments to the original texts. (But this is the opinion of one whose notion of ideal worship singing would be 98% pre-19th century, stately hymns sung passionately in a somewhat small space with lots of hard surfaces and no microphones—and a grand piano, acoustic guitar and violin for background. But how often do we get to have our ideals?)

True hymn form has the additional advantage of avoiding the rhythmic complexity that makes many contemporary songs difficult for congregations to sing together (unified in melody, tempo and rhythm—as with one voice). Of course, this advantage assumes that the congregation actually ought to be heard, and to hear one another, above what’s happening on the platform (or should I say “stage”?).

The majority of songs in the collection are in traditional hymn form or very close to it.

As for themes and lyrics, the quality of the texts of these hymns and songs appears to be unimpeachable.

Authors and composers

The mix of authors and composers represented in Hymns Modern & Ancient is interesting. The collection includes eight titles by the compiler, Fred Coleman. That’s no surprise. But one pair of author-composer statistics highlights the shift that has occurred—and is occurring—in many fundamentalist (and fundamentalist-heritage) ministries. Songs by Ron Hamilton: 1 (“Bow the Knee”). Songs by some combination of Keith and Kristyn Getty or Stuart Townend: 30.

The collection also includes 5 titles by D. A. Carson, 10 by Bob Kauflin and 1 by Steve Green. I was glad to see 4 by Chris Anderson included as well.

The spectrum of authors and composers may be of concern to some ministry leaders. Sadly, a few will see the numerous Getty, Townend and Kauflin contributions as reason to put the collection on the books-to-avoid list. To these, I suggest a project: work through any hymnal of the 20th century and compile short biographies of the hymn authors and composers. You’ll discover that, right or wrong, we’ve been singing songs and hymns from theologically diverse sources for a long, long time. The case can be made that we should only sing hymns and songs from sources virtually identical to us in doctrine and practice. But this would be a new idea, a departure from the long-standing tradition of Christian hymnody (but our hymnals would definitely not be so thick and heavy!).

Musical aesthetic

Hymns Modern & Ancient clearly aims to avoid the musical aesthetic of contemporary pop-culture. Opinions will vary somewhat as to how well it succeeds, but I expect most would characterize the selections as musically conservative and traditional.

In addition to avoiding contemporary pop-culture, the volume appears to be blessedly free of the bouncy-weepy tunes of the Second Great Awakening era and the ball-room inspired tunes of the golden age of movie musicals (1930s-1950s). Whether some of the included melodies and harmonies will sound like 90s or 2000s cliché to future generations remains to be seen. I suspect that a few will become conspicuously dated but that most will age well.

Testing the waters

The preface to the volume explains its relationship to the venerable Anglican collection Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861) and provides interesting history of the divide between hymnody of the “stately stream” and that of the “evangelical stream.” Coleman writes,

Like the compilers of Hymns Ancient and Modern and generations of Christians before them, I affirm congregational singing as both prayer and creed. I am convinced that congregational singing is the best musical venue for accomplishing the purposes of gathered Christian worship. Modern congregations ignore too many great hymns of the past and shun too many great hymns of the present. (preface, p.3)

The preface also expresses hopes that a full-hymnal project may eventually come from Heart Publications in Milwaukee. No doubt, the likelihood of that project reaching completion depends in part on how well-received Hymns Modern & Ancient turns out to be.

For my part, I’m glad to see this collection in print and hope it will prove to be an encouragement to churches looking for fresh, poignant and meaty expressions of our faith paired with music that reflects a sober and thoughtful (rather than popular and sensual) aesthetic.

One of my favorite selections is John Newton’s “Approach My Soul, the Mercy Seat” set to a Fred Coleman modified (and improved, I think) version of the tune MORNING SONG. A few archaisms in the text are modified as well (though I think Newton’s “be Thou my shield” is better than “You are my shield.” The latter merely states; the former seeks).

Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat
John Newton

Approach, my soul, the mercy seat,
Where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly fall before His feet,
For none can perish there.

Your promise is my only plea,
With this I venture nigh;
You call all burdened souls to Thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.

Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without and fears within,
I come to You for rest!

You are my shield and hiding place,
and sheltered near Your side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him You have died.

O wondrous love, to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead Your gracious name.

“Poor soul, now tempest tossed, be still;
My promised grace receive.”
’Tis Jesus speaks—I must, I will,
I can, I do believe.

I look forward to getting to know the hymns in this collection better and hope to introduce many of them to the congregation I serve. (The collection is not available on Amazon, but can be obtained from Heart Publications.)

Aaron Blumer Bio

Aaron Blumer, SharperIron’s second publisher, is a Michigan native and graduate of Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC) and Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Plymouth, MN). He and his family live in a small town in western Wisconsin, not far from where he pastored Grace Baptist Church for thirteen years. He is employed in customer service for UnitedHealth Group and teaches high school rhetoric (and sometimes logic and government) at Baldwin Christian School.

Discussion

[Todd Mitchell] The best we’ve been able to find is Cantus Christi, published by Canon Press. Our church adopted Cantus Christi a year ago and it has already improved our worship, our sensibilities, and our view of God.

I am alarmed that Central has just adopted (for Central Chapel) this hymnal edited by Pettit. This is not A Fundamentalism Worth Saving.
So Todd … have you actually looked at this hymnal or is this just a knee-jerk reaction?

Jeff Straub

www.jeffstraub.net

Todd:

You think that Central has tanked now that a new president is on the scene using a problematic hymnal. I noticed today on Doug Wilson’s website that he is hosting Mark Driscoll. Now here’s the guy to teach us all about serious worship! Yep! Mark Driscoll is the guy I’d bring in to have a conversation on serious worship. See http://www.graceagenda.com/

But then I supposed you have already sent your Canon Press hymn books back to the press b/c of the gross inconsistency of Wilson. I guess that’s not an evangelicalism or presbyterianism worth saving either! I guess we are all in serious trouble. Central is using HMA in chapel and Doug is using Driscoll. No one, it seems, has it right. Todd, there’s only two of us left standing … and I’m worried about you, my friend! Using a Doug Wilson hymnbook. What’s next? Driscoll himself in Granite Falls? :O

Jeff Straub

www.jeffstraub.net

Brent, I was referring to posts #25 and #26

Jeff & Todd… you guys should settle it with a duel. Fifty paces, then whoever can find Ecclesiastes 4:7 first wins.

(Todd, I think he might have a point, though)

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

Sorry to be unclear. By “it” I meant which issues, not so much which posts.

Things That Matter

As the quantity of communication increases, so does its quality decline; and the most important sign of this is that it is no longer acceptable to say so.--RScruton

By “it” I meant Central’s decision to use the hymnal and the relationship between that and students learning how to worship. By overthinking, I meant the idea that they were claiming a hymnal alone could teach how to worship or that using a hymnal means they could only be learning one man’s musical sensibilities.

Looks to me like a simple decision to use a good tool and a brief (and manifestly sensible) rationale for why they expect it to be helpful.

….but now I’m not sure… are we talking about my “it” or your “it”? I should go to bed I think! Long day.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

Aaron, did you note which ancient hymns were included? Who were they by? St. Ambrose, John of Damascus, Gregory the Great?

My Blog: http://dearreaderblog.com

Cor meum tibi offero Domine prompte et sincere. ~ John Calvin

[Jeff Straub] So Todd … have you actually looked at this hymnal or is this just a knee-jerk reaction?
I’ve seen the preface and the index.
[Jeff Straub] Todd:

You think that Central has tanked now that a new president is on the scene using a problematic hymnal. I noticed today on Doug Wilson’s website that he is hosting Mark Driscoll. Now here’s the guy to teach us all about serious worship! Yep! Mark Driscoll is the guy I’d bring in to have a conversation on serious worship. See http://www.graceagenda.com/

But then I supposed you have already sent your Canon Press hymn books back to the press b/c of the gross inconsistency of Wilson. I guess that’s not an evangelicalism or presbyterianism worth saving either! I guess we are all in serious trouble. Central is using HMA in chapel and Doug is using Driscoll. No one, it seems, has it right. Todd, there’s only two of us left standing … and I’m worried about you, my friend! Using a Doug Wilson hymnbook. What’s next? Driscoll himself in Granite Falls? :O
Hi Jeff,

I’m not sure what you mean by “tanked,” but as I said earlier I still think Central offers the best theological education of any seminary I know. I’ve heard good things about Dr. Horn’s approach to academics, too.

Wilson is extremely inconsistent ( http://www.canonwired.com/resources/tv-ad-logos/ take a look at this !). But Wilson maintains a distinction between sacred and secular music, and as bad as his sensibilities are in the latter, even so are his sensibilities excellent in the former. At least they were when he edited Cantus Christi.

By adopting a hymnal, you are not adopting all of what the editor believes and values. All you are adopting is a subset of his sensibilities represented by the songs he chooses to include. In the case of Wilson, that subset is excellent. In the case of Pettit, that subset is not.

But by adopting this hymnal Central isn’t doing anything unusual at all in the world of Fundamentalism. It just seems to mark the end of an unusual era at Central — a return to business as usual.

[Todd Mitchell] But by adopting this hymnal Central isn’t doing anything unusual at all in the world of Fundamentalism. It just seems to mark the end of an unusual era at Central — a return to business as usual.
Todd:

What does this mean? “Business as usual.” […] Who else is using this hymnal? [W] hat qualifies you to pontificate? […] Using a certain hymnal means we are not a fundamentalism worth saving? Get serious. Maybe if we used the Veggie Tales Hymnal. But simply using “new” music. Is some of it weak? Sure. What hymnal doesn’t have weak music? I haven’t looked at Wilson’s but given his theological sensibilities, I wonder. But I am not going to write you off as a presbyterian or something else simply because you choose to use his hymnal!

Don’t be knee-jerk here. By the way, someone wrote me off-line suggesting that bringing Driscoll into the conversation was a red herring. I think not. I think it was on point. Simply because Driscoll is associated with Wilson does not mean that Wilson’s hymnal is defective, any more than thinking that because Peteit is associated with HMA, it is somehow defective. I don’t remember seeing ant hymns written by Steve … but even if he did …

JS

Edit: Edited for compliance with SI posting standards. Any typos left as originally written.

Jeff Straub

www.jeffstraub.net

[Charlie] Aaron, did you note which ancient hymns were included? Who were they by? St. Ambrose, John of Damascus, Gregory the Great?
At the moment, don’t have my copy with me. I’m not sure there is anything in there older than reformation era. “Ancient” is probably being used pretty loosely. The reasoning is probably that the best work of the truly ancient sort is already in lots of hymnals. But I really think—based on my limited experience—that we could really use some work on taking some of this truly ancient stuff and offering some fresh arrangements. I would be glad to see that.

Edit: found a snapshot I had taken of the authors & composers list.

There are several Psalms. That would be pretty ancient, no? :)

Other than that, I see a Bernard of Cluny (12th cent.) and Synesius of Cyrene (5th century?) It could stand to have more in the Ancient category.

(There are 4 by Steve Pettit… one fewer than those by D. A. Carson)

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

[Todd Mitchell] Wilson is extremely inconsistent ( http://www.canonwired.com/resources/tv-ad-logos/ take a look at this !). But Wilson maintains a distinction between sacred and secular music, and as bad as his sensibilities are in the latter, even so are his sensibilities excellent in the former.
Oy. That’s something I didn’t think I’d ever see coming from Doug Wilson.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells

There is at least one http://heartpublications.com/uploads/hymnal/precious-blood.pdf] Pettit song in the hymnal.

I don’t think the concern over conservatism voiced here has to do with there not being enough old old songs in here, or even that there is new stuff, but that some of the newer stuff while being “what we think of as conservative” in style does not maintain a continuity between the ancient and modern in expression (in which I would include quality and character of the music, as well as the ways in which the truths expressed are imagined in the text.)

The oldest song I recognize in that list is “Lord Jesus, Think on Me,” (one of my favorites) which is from the 4th or 5th century.

This classic finds as its companions in this hymnal both Hamilton’s “Bow the Knee” and Townend’s “How Deep the Father’s Love.” Which of those maintains a greater continuity with the ancient songs?

Interesting that of those two, the one generally considered less conservative by “fundamentalist standards” is, in my opinion, more truly conservative.

I think Todd M’s point is that Wilson’s hymnal (with which I have no personal experience) maintains a greater unity between older and newer.

Without passing judgment on or making any comment specifically about this collection of songs itself, it boggles my mind that Sovereign Grace and other publishers made Fred Coleman pay for their hymns. I feel bad for him, actually.

Can you imagine Isaac Watts… “Sorry, I’ll only let you put my hymns in your hymnal if you pay for them.”

That in itself illustrates the problem with what the “modern hymn movement” is doing today: regardless of their relative worth and improvement over other sacred songs that have been written in the last 100 years, what they are doing is a commercial endeavor. These songs were not meant to be put in hymnals; they were meant to be projected on screens after someone has paid for them through CCLI.

I respect Fred Coleman’s goals in this collection, but the price and quality (I had the same reaction as http://sharperiron.org/comment/34655#comment-34655] the first commenter in this thread when I bought a copy) reveals the problem when you try to combine the commercial practice of copyrighting hymns with the conservative practice of a hymnal.

They don’t go together.

Scott Aniol
Executive Director Religious Affections Ministries
Instructor of Worship, Southwestern Baptist

Scott,

I agree with your concern. It bothers me when hymnwriters charge for hymns and it bothers me when preachers charge for their sermons. Is this just a problem with Getty though? Don’t most of the fundamental music companies charge for their stuff?

Here is what boggles my mind: the idea that musicians and composers should not be compensated for their work. Why shouldn’t SG and others get paid for their songs when they are published in a hymnal? In an era where 95% of all music downloads are illegal and churches regularly rip off publishers by photocopying choir music, exactly how do we expect writers/musicians to be compensated? And if they aren’t, why should we complain about the quality of their music?

I have heard that Chris Tomlin earns more than $1 million/year on CCLI licensing fees. That may be true, but he is a very rare exception. I know numerous professional Christian writers/musicians and only a few generate more than a very modest living through music.

We do not live in the same era that previous musicians lived. No kings are sponsoring musicians to generate Christian music anymore.

Scott,

I find your objection to making money off of hymns odd when your own website sells materials that you have produced. Granted, book writing isn’t the same as hymn writing, but I don’t really see that much of a philosophical difference.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells