Why Lutheran hymns?

Setting down a few principles

C. F. W. Walther, the first president of the Missouri Synod and at whose behest its first hymnal was published, wrote to a pastor who asked about the use of Methodist hymns in a Lutheran Sunday School:

A preacher of our church…has the holy duty to give souls entrusted to his care pure spiritual food, indeed, the very best which he can possibly obtain. In Methodist songs there is much which is false, and which contains spiritual poison for the soul. Therefore, it is soul-murder to set before children such poisonous food. If the preacher claims, that he allows only “correct” hymns to be sung, this does not excuse him. For, first of all, the true Lutheran spirit is found in none of them; second, our hymns are more powerful, more substantive, and more prosaic; third, those hymns which deal with the Holy Sacraments are completely in error; fourth, when these little sectarian hymnbooks come into the hands of our children, they openly read and sing false hymns.¹

Our Lord Jesus Christ bids us become as children, for we cannot enter the kingdom of God otherwise. Shortly thereafter he says, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”² Certainly from the above quote by Walther, we get the impression that he cared very deeply for the souls of the children in the churches over which he served as president. He considered false doctrine to be “spiritual poison” and regarded setting such before children indiscriminately as a very grave sin; it is quite possible that he thought of these very words of Jesus as he penned his reply. A man who leads children into false belief, by any means, is causing them to sin, and it were better for him that he had been drowned first.

This ought to be the first concern of every father, pastor, and hymnal editor. The father is entrusted with the souls of his wife and children, the pastor is entrusted with the souls of his flock, and the hymnal editor is responsible for putting words and melodies into the mouths of whoever uses his book. It is incumbent on each of them to avoid false doctrine at all costs. They will each have to give an account on Judgment Day if they do not.

Doctrine is transmitted through hymns. The Lutheran church, which has a treasury of hymns from able teachers of the faith, must therefore not borrow hymns from sectarians and errorists. One cannot simply adopt a Methodist hymn that at face value “has nothing wrong” with it. A Methodist differs from a Lutheran on foundational assumptions about the Christian faith. They may say the same words, but the meaning behind them is vastly different from one to the other. Besides, as Walther notes, Lutheran hymns are “more powerful, more substantive, and more prosaic” than Methodist hymns. Whatever a Methodist hymn might say, there is a Lutheran hymn that says it better.

But doctrine is not the only thing transmitted through hymns. To say otherwise is a key mistake that many modern Lutherans make. As I said above, it is not enough merely to avoid rank error in a hymn. Walther speaks of a “true Lutheran spirit” that is not found in Methodist hymns. What precisely he means by this he does not spell out in the rest of the letter; indeed, it will be a goal of this publication to attempt to define what it means. For now, suffice it to say that the music is an integral part of a hymn. It is not, as some would claim, a neutral matter. The vigor of the Lutheran chorale differs from the bombast of the Anglican anthem, which differs from the rousing revival song, which differs from Gregorian chant. Stripped of their text, even the music of each alone produces a different effect in the one who sings and the one who listens. The composer of hymn tunes, if he is setting a text already in existence, must write a melody that is of a kindred spirit with the text. A wise and judicious hymnal editor will take pains to select a tune that complements the text (or a text that complements the tune). A delicate task, to be sure, and one all too often taken for granted.

Now the question raised in the title of this essay must be answered. Why should Lutherans sing Lutheran hymns? Because Lutheran hymns, above all others, reflect the nature of the Gospel. As our Lord preached the Gospel, bidding all men everywhere to repent and to believe on Him, so too the Lutheran hymn expresses this need for repentance and the benefits of Christ in clear terms. Only the Lutheran hymn can concisely plumb the depths of man’s fallen nature wrought by his original sin:

Only the Lutheran hymn can fully express the saving merit of Christ. Only the Lutheran hymn can accurately describe the struggle of the Christian at war with the devil, the world, and his own flesh, trying his hardest to increase in sanctification every day. Only the Lutheran hymn can best put into words his blessed hope of eternal life. Only the Lutheran hymn can comfort him on his deathbed with the promises of Christ made to him at his baptism. Such a man will die well with the words of these chorales on his lips, because Lutheran hymns are nothing other than the Word of God set to music.

S. D. G.

1. C. F. W. Walther, letter to an unknown Lutheran pastor, January 23, 1883. https://www.angelfire.com/ny4/djw/lutherantheology.walthermethodist.html

2. Matthew 18:6.