"What is a hymn? People have
been wrestling with this question for centuries, as far back as St. Augustine's
commentaries on the Psalms,"
There are records of hymns dating from the 4th and 5th centuries that are still sung in Catholic churches today. In the 6th century, Benedict of Nursia (480-547), founder of the Catholic Benedictine Order of Monks translated many of the existing hymns into Latin and formatted them into Gregorian Chants. With few exceptions, these hymns sung primarily by monks, remained the acceptable Christian church music for many years.
Writing hymns is like putting words
in a congregation's mouth. "Hymns are intended for a corporate body. They
must be of use to many people and build up a sense of shared identity and
shared purpose, just as working songs, marching songs, and protest songs do.
The Role of Hymn (s) to Christians
- Hymn-singing provides a natural vehicle for the primary activity of most
worshipping communities: the expression of praise and adoration
through the offering of song to God. Our hymns are both our gift
and our statement of gratitude to the One we worship.
- Hymn-singing strongly teaches and reinforces the faith and practice of
the singing Christian community. What we sing we remember and
internalise far beyond what we see or read or hear.
- And since a hymn is usually an original text set to an original
composition the very act of hymn-singing helps to endorse and express the
creativity and openness to change of members of the community (church), in turn
symbolising the creativity and unlimited life of God in us all.
And of course, while the placing of hymns in the liturgy and even the
number of hymns used may be set, there is always an element of free
choice in the selection of the hymns to be sung on any particular day or
occasion.
- Hymn-singing helps us to consolidate and memorise the faith of the
community.
- It expresses the universality of Christianity, symbolised by the
fact that in most churches musical artefacts (hymns) from any
culture and any historic period may be drawn on to contribute to the
discourse of contemporary worship.
- Hymn-singing provides an outlet for both the rational and emotional
capacities of our spiritual nature. The hymns we sing are made
to work on our minds or our feelings, and frequently both together.
- Although, at worst, hymn-singing may be managed in such a
way as to hypnotise some praise communities into desirable attitudes and
states of feeling, at best hymn-singing may act as a mantra,
drawing us beyond thought and emotion into a deeper contemplation and
experience of God.
- Finally, we sing hymns to give us something we enjoy doing.
"A few songs with Him might change the way you sing FOEVER.”
― Max Lucado,
― Max Lucado,
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