Hymnal Ping.
So. What’s your favorite hymnal?
(as if I didn’t know?)
My two favorites are The Old Fashioned Revival Hour Song Book (Winona Lake, Ind.: Rodeheaver, 1950) and The Old Fashioned Revival Hour Song Book No. 2 (Winona Lake, Ind.: Rodeheaver, 1950), both compiled by Charles E. Fuller and H. Leland Green. These are full of good old American protestant hymns and gospel songs, mostly from 1865-1917. Fuller, who founded the Fuller Theological Seminary, ran the Old Fashioned Revival Hour, a religious radio broadcast now available online, and Green directed its chorus choir.
I kind of missed this thread. To busy I guess. I hope I am not repeating things that are already said.
I do love the older hymnals. Songs with great meaning and deep thoughts are important to “teach and admonish” one another. Many of the “new songs” are anemic when it comes to teaching. Also, sadly many new songs begin to sound like vain repetition. For example saying “I exalt You” or “I will praise You” 15 or 20 times does nothing to exalt or praise God. If I am to exalt/praise Him then I must actually do it. Saying I’m going to exalt Him does not exalt Him. It would be like going to a funeral and saying “we bury you” over and over again. At some point you have to dig the hole and put them in it if you are going to bury them.
Don’t get me started on the new songs that sing our praises. As someone said (sorry I don’t know who to give credit to) they might as well be singing, “How great we are”.