Why I Still Sing and Listen to Hymns

Some friends of ours suffered a heartbreaking loss a couple of months ago. As we were praying for them and feeling a little shaken, I kept thinking about the words of the second verse of “The Solid Rock:”

“When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In ev’ry high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.”

I picked up the hymnal that I keep in our living room and I read through this song a few times. Along with prayer and the assurances of Scripture, this song was a balm to my heart.

Just days before this incident, my husband and I had been engaged in a discussion about the differences between hymns and modern worship songs (you can read about these differences in this post that I shared last week). Though I love many modern worship songs, I frequently find myself singing and listening to hymns. Perhaps this is simply because I grew up singing many of these hymns so they are familiar and comforting to me. I think there is a little more to it, though. Consider these three reasons why hymns deserve our focus.

Why I still love hymns

Hymns are great music

Hymns are comprised of two parts: The hymn itself (the words) and the hymn tune (the music to which the words are sung). The structure of hymns is derived from classical music. Thus, their patterns of melody, harmony, and rhythm enable the music to strengthen and enhance the words. When I listen to hymns, I can’t help but notice how beautiful they sound. Even if their sound differs from what is trending in popular culture, they still sound amazing. There’s a reason the strong musical form of hymns has been used for hundreds of years and is still being used today!

Hymns have theological depth

As I noted last week, modern worship songs generally lack theological depth. This doesn’t mean they all contain bad theology; however, they contain few words, so they simply can’t explore theological concepts in great depth. Hymns do this. The words in most hymns pronounce and exegete biblical truths. Given the songs we use in worship and listen to in our recreation influence our views of God, these are the sort of lyrics I want to hear and sing.

Hymns are timeless

Hymns, both old and new, have a timeless quality. This is because their structure is derived from classical music and they have theological depth (I discussed both of these above). The sounds and messages of these hymns are as good today as they were when the songs were written and they will be just as good in a century. In contrast, modern worship music mimics the sound and styles of popular music. These styles change quickly, so worship songs that are popular today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Not only do hymns have a timeless quality, but many have stood the test of time—they have been popular for generations. Their enduring popularity indicates that Christians have long found value in their words and tunes. When I sing these time-honored hymns, I feel inspired because I know that these same songs challenged and encouraged many of the Christians who’ve gone before me.

Final thoughts

Though I enjoy and have been touched by a number of modern worship songs, it’s hard to imagine a time when one of these will replace “Amazing Grace” as the ubiquitous song we sing when mourning the loss of loved ones. Likewise, it’s hard to imagine a modern worship song that could provide more comfort and inspiration in the midst of struggles than the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.”

How do you feel about hymns?  Do you sing and listen to them? Why or why not?

Shared at the following:

Encouraging Hearts and Home, Over the Moon, and Grace and Truth.