Should we allow our praise and worship to be limited to the hymnbook that is supplied?
Should you be limited to the hymnbook? Well, in the church of which I'm a member, we're not necessarily. If some good brother wants us to sing a hymn that isn't in the hymnbook he says 'Do you know this one?', and if a number of people do, we sing it. It's no good asking us to sing a hymn we don't know, but we don't limit ourselves to the hymnbook. If there's a nice hymn that somebody wants us to sing and some of the rest of us know it, we sing it without the hymnbook. If we're all going to join in as a congregation, most of us will need to know it, or learn it. That is merely a practical point.
Perhaps you mean, 'do we have to use the antiquated language of one hundred years ago?' Well, not necessarily, if you'd like to make up your own. I'm no good at making up hymns, but if you are then let's get on with it. We could do with some good modern hymns that say something; not hymns that just repeat words a hundred times over, or sentimental sloppy things; and if I may say, not hymns and choruses with sexual overtones either. We could do with some really good hymns, born out of people's experience of God, to help the rest of us. Has anybody here got the gift?
There have been some famous Irish hymn writers. The bishop's wife outside Londonderry, who wrote 'There is a green hill far away' (Mrs. C. F. Alexander), and Joseph Scriven's hymn, 'What a friend we have in Jesus'. So it's open to anyone who has the ability to write some more. As to our own personal expressions, so long as you are reverent, use whatever language you find best to express yourself sincerely to God.
You see, we do have to draw a distinction sometimes between our private praise of God and public worship. I heard of a man once who had just got converted. He was so delighted he threw his cap into the air, and said, 'Three cheers for Jesus.' Well, I don't know a hymn to that effect, but I'm sure that when the angels heard it, they rejoiced over that sinner who repented as much as they did over a well-trained choir. It was the expression from the heart of an individual who'd been saved. Doubtless the man progressed in his knowledge of the Lord, and found himself able to see even more lovely things about the Lord. When it comes to a whole congregation singing, then I think we've got to choose words that are suitable for the majority in the congregation.
