From time to time I’m asked why
we only sing modernised versions of older hymns at Woodgreen. That is: hymns
where ‘thee’, ‘thy’ and ‘thine’ have been replaced with ‘you’, ‘your’ and ‘yours’.
I’m an English Literature graduate
and my final year dissertation was on Charles Wesley’s hymns, so I do understand
the struggle some have with using modernised hymns. For those of us who grew up belting
out ‘And can it be’ and ‘When peace like a river’, there is something familiar
and reverential about older hymns and older words. I understand this.
So why muck around with the words
of older hymns? Surely when non-Christians come to church they expect to sing
hymns that use old words? Surely singing modernised hymns or carols is
off-putting, especially at Christmas?
There are a number of reasons why
we sing modernised versions of older hymns and carols at Woodgreen. While some of these reasons
have to do with making them more accessible for unchurched people, it’s a
mistake to think that this is the main reason we choose modern over
traditional.
In no particular order, here are
SIX reasons I believe it’s important to 'go mod':
1. Almost all every ‘traditional’
hymn has already been modernised anyway
‘Love divine’ is a classic
illustration of this. The ‘traditional’ version of the hymn is significantly
different from the ‘original’ version Charles Wesley wrote. For example, in the
last verse Wesley wrote: ‘Pure and
sinless let us be’, rather than ‘Pure and spotless let us be’ - as in the
‘traditional’ version. Ironically, the ‘modernised’ version of ‘Love Divine’ we
sing at Woodgreen (taken from Praise!
hymnbook) actually brings it back into line with the 'traditional' version!
Other well known hymns that have
been revised from their author’s ‘original’ versions include: ‘And can it be’ (which had an extra version
in Wesley’s ‘original’),‘When I survey’,
‘Hark the herald angels sing’, ‘Lo he come with clouds descending’, ‘Soldiers
of Christ arise’ (the ‘original’ had 16 verses!) and ‘O for a thousand tongues’,
to name just a few.
The point is this: many of the ‘traditional’
versions of hymns we love are actually altered versions. They are not the ‘original’
versions. They were adapted to suit the religious context and theological
convictions of those who sung them. This is exactly what modern ‘modernised’
hymns do.
The issue is therefore not one of
‘mucking about with the original words’. The question is ‘which words best aid the
worship of those singing them today?’
The editors of Praise! hymnbook, from
which most of our modernised versions of hymns are taken from, wrote this in
their introduction:
‘Some have suggested that we
should not touch the results of the great hymn writers of the past; but these
writers frequently revised their own work, and their contemporaries also made
changes. John Wesley might have forbidden anyone to revise his work, but that
did not stop him revising the works of Isaac Watts. In fact, many of our hymns
have been subjected to the insights of later editors, and today we do not often
sing from a complete and unaltered text. All our hymn books contain both
acknowledged and unacknowledged changes. Verses have been moved, many have been
lost, and subtle revisions are commonplace. Sometimes we found it impossible to
trace the original and wondered just whose hymn we were looking at! The
argument that we should never touch our heritage was lost more than two hundred
years ago. Hymns are not intended to be monuments to the literary genius of
past poets. They must be judged by their ability to express great Christian
truth and experience in a clear and contemporary way.’
2. Modernisation is essential if
we are to be a 'reformed' church
One of the great triumphs of the
Reformation was the creation of an English hymnbook. Previously hymns had been
sung by the priests in Latin and were therefore incomprehensible to the person in the pew. However with the Reformation, came songs written in the
language of the people.
That is what ‘genuine’ worship
looks like: worship in the language of today, not yesterday. Modernisation is essential
if we are to worship God in ‘spirit and in truth’. I don't speak to God using archaic language, so why sing to him using it? For me, archaic words are a barrier to worship, they add a note of unreality to praise.
3. Modernisation removes an
unnecessary cultural barrier
Many older hymns such as ‘O for a
thousand tongues’ are packed full of great theology.
Modernisation does little
to make these complex concepts accessible to new or younger Christians.
However,
why add linguistic complexity to theological complexity? Helping a new Christian
to understand the deep truths in some hymns is challenge enough without adding the
extra barrier of archaic language. I'd rather they spent their time puzzling over the truths in the hymn than missing the truth because of they are puzzling over the language!
4. We apply the principle of
modernisation to more important areas of our worship
I have never heard anyone at
Woodgreen pray using ‘thees’ or ‘thous’ and few would argue for a return to the
King James version of the Bible. In modernising hymns we are simply extending the
same principle.
If it’s right that we use a contemporary
version of the Word of God, why not when it comes to the words of men and women?
Some argue that modernising the words of hymns detracts from their power, but the
power is in the truth that is sung rather than the actual words. Modernisation
is a debate that has been had and won in more important areas of church life
because we recognise that it is important for people to understand the truth.
The same principle is surely applicable when it comes to what we sing.
In his
book ‘Sing a New Song’ David Montgomery puts it like this:
‘Churches which readily accept
contemporary translations of the Word of God, have no reason to object to the
updating of the poetry of men and women.’
5. The motivation behind modernising
hymns is to preserve our rich heritage of hymnology
The fact is that unless we
modernise, the great older hymns of previous generations will not be picked or
sung by newer generations of Christians. It is precisely because we want to
preserve some of the great hymns of the past that we use modernised versions at Woodgreen.
I understand that it’s more
difficult for those who have grown up singing older hymns to appreciate this, particularly
those who were brought up on the King James version of the Bible where older
language was part and parcel of the way their relationship with God was
expressed. For such older saints the older language used in hymns is not an
issue. They grew up with it and made their most significant growth as
Christians singing them. However a younger generation of Christians do not find
them as accessible.
Modernisation strikes the right
balance between the needs of the older generation who love and want to sing
older hymns and the younger generation of Christians (who still struggle with
them even when they’re modernised!)
6. First and foremost we are called
to be worshippers not curators
I recognise that certain well
known lines in some older hymns are very precious to some Christians. It was
always going to be controversial to change ‘My chains fell off, my heart was
free’ in ‘And Can it Be’ – to ‘My chains fell off, my heart was new’.
However... both lines are true and both are worth praising God for at the top of your
voice... so what’s the big deal? Be gracious and sing up!
We need to remember that hymns
and Christian songs are not inspired. They are merely vehicles for expressing God’s
truth in a way that engages the hearts and minds of those who sing them. They
exist to serve us as we worship. It is not our calling to preserve them for
posterity. We won’t be singing Wesley or Townend in heaven!
One of the great advantages of modernising
hymns is that it adds thoughtfulness and freshness to our praise. We can easily
sing the familiar lines of older hymns on autopilot. If we're prepared to respond with grace, changes like the one in ‘And
can it be’ can be helpful in bringing us up short and making us think more
about what we’re singing.
The great hymn writer Isaac Watts
said that hymns should be both ‘intelligible and delightful’.
That must surely be our aim whatever we sing. It is certainly what we strive to achieve in the repertoire of hymns and contemporary
songs we sing at Woodgreen.
So this Sunday - sing up!
