Why the Methodist Hymns?

Leave them out of the hymnal!

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The first Lutheran hymnal, produced in 1524 as Etlich Cristlich lider / Lobgesang und Psalm (lit. Some Christian songs / canticle, and psalm) by Martin Luther and Paul Speratus, contained only eight hymns. Four were written by Luther, three by Speratus, and another by Justus Jonas. Though it contained only eight hymns, it was distributed throughout Europe and was highly demanded; Luther’s adversaries lamented the fact that many throughout Europe were singing these Lutheran hymns. Because the collection was so highly demanded, Luther published another compilation of hymns later that same year, called the Erfurt Enchiridion, which contained 26 hymns; 18 of these hymns were written by Luther. 

Luther’s theology of hymnody was based on Scripture: “…so that the Word of God may be among the people also in the form of music,” Luther once remarked of the necessity of hymnody. Luther similarly referred to music as “an endowment and a gift of God.” Thus, Luther’s theology of hymnody and music was based on the Word of God; proper hymnody teaches, confesses, and strengthens the faith of the Church. 

It is therefore no surprise that C.F.W. Walther preserved this urgent sense of spiritual and theological purity concerning the Church’s hymns. Walther once remarked that “[Lutheran] hymns are more powerful, more substantive, and more prosaic,” and that the Lutheran Church has inherited an incredibly faithful tradition of liturgy and hymns. For this reason, Walther desired to guard the infant Lutheran Church in North America from the dangerous influence of Methodist hymns and their theology.

In Walther’s estimation, just as in Luther’s, the hymnals of the Lutheran Church ought to reflect the faith after which they are named and for which they are compiled. Following in the Reformation tradition of hymnody, the first English Lutheran hymnals by and large contained purely Lutheran hymns. That is, these hymns were mostly written by Lutheran theologians and were intended to be sung in Lutheran churches. They steadfastly and fully reflected the theology, doctrine, and Scriptural foundation of the Lutheran Church.

Concerning the use of Methodist hymns in Lutheran settings—though, more broadly, any hymn that does not truly and boldly proclaim the faith of the Lutheran Church—C.F.W. Walther offered these particularly harsh words:

Our church is so rich in hymns that you could justifiably state that if one were to introduce Methodist hymns in a Lutheran school this would be like carrying coals to Newcastle. The singing of such hymns would make the rich Lutheran Church into a beggar which is forced to beg from a miserable sect. Thirty or forty years ago a Lutheran preacher might well have been forgiven this. For at that time the Lutheran Church in our country was as poor as a beggar when it comes to song books for Lutheran children. A preacher scarcely knew where he might obtain such little hymn books. Now, however, since our church itself has everything it needs, it is unpardonable when a preacher of our church causes little ones to suffer the shame of eating a foreign bread.

and later…

A preacher who introduces Methodist hymns, let alone Methodist hymnals, raises the suspicion that he is no true Lutheran at heart, and that he believes one religion is as good as the other, and that he is thus a unionistic-man, a mingler of religion and churches.

—Letter from C.F.W. Walther, responding to a man who asked if it was appropriate to use Methodist hymns in Sunday school.

It is clear that, among the many disputes Walther raises concerning Methodist hymns, his major concern is that Methodist hymns disparage the rich liturgical and hymnic tradition that Lutherans have inherited. It is not particularly clear to which hymns Walther may be referring, but many prominent Methodist hymnwriters in Walther’s day included Fanny Crosby, whose most notable work is “Blessed Assurance,” and Charles Wesley, many of whose hymns reflect the Anglican tradition of which he was a minister. These hymns, and many others, likely circulated in Lutheran churches—much to Walther’s dismay.

The primary issue concerning Methodist hymns is the indisputable fact that they inject poisonous theology into the pure, unadulterated biblical foundation on which Lutheran doctrine rests. These hymns likewise deprive the Lutheran Church of its own beautiful history and the rich traditions that have been handed down for generations. For we have a rich and beautiful tradition—why must objectively poor hymns be included in this tradition? Simply, they cannot be.

Specifically, the broad brush with which Walther was painting in his letter concerning Methodist hymns speaks to the fact that many Methodist hymns are watered down; they are theologically shallow and doctrinally insufficient. They do not speak directly to the Gospel of Christ as revealed in His suffering, death, and Resurrection. Often, they include empty and meaningless platitudes. Worse, many of them are predicated on decision theology, overemphasis on the heart, emotions, and the Spirit, and lack or outright deny emphasis on the Sacraments.

For this reason, Walther’s broad brush also applies not only to Methodist hymns but to any hymn that does not accurately, fully, and faithfully represent the beauty and biblical soundness of Lutheran doctrine. Baptist hymns, Catholic hymns, Reformed hymns—even “Lutheran” hymns that are shallow, insubstantial, and doctrinally inexpressive—ought to have no place in a Lutheran hymnal. For it is an incontrovertible harm when Lutheran hymns are mingled with unsound hymns. 

Conversely, hymns that are not explicitly Lutheran (that is, written or produced by Lutheran hymnwriters) but nevertheless faithfully and clearly express sound biblical teaching ought to be accepted, used, and even taught in Lutheran churches. For instance, beautiful hymns like “Soul, Adorn Thyself with Gladness” were written by Pietistic Lutherans—a Lutheran sect that was condemned by the broader Lutheran Church for its lack of scriptural foundation and faithlessness to the Lutheran Confessions. Some of their hymns nevertheless have rightfully found a place within Lutheran hymnals, for these hymns clearly teach biblical doctrine, contain and confess no identifiable errors, and exemplify the beautiful tradition of Lutheranism.

By this very fact it is important to note that Lutheran hymnody subsumes any hymnic tradition that is, by its very nature, Christian. Even hymns that are written by non-Lutheran hymnwriters which nevertheless faithfully exposit the true Christian faith and proclaim the Gospel of Christ are worthily considered “Lutheran hymns.” This is especially true of pre-Reformation hymnody; Lutheran hymnals have long included Latin hymns written by the Church Fathers and their contemporaries, as well as prominent pre-Reformation theologians whose hymns nevertheless capture the true biblical purity and beauty of the one holy, apostolic Christian faith, a part of which Lutheranism gladly and rightfully claims to be.

The Methodist hymns of which Walther would have spoken—and those to which we might refer today—and any other insufficient and unsound hymns are easily identifiable. It is not difficult to discern from any hymnic text its background, foundational theology, and the doctrines to which it is attached. If it does not clearly confess Christ and Him crucified; if it does not faithfully and biblically confess the Sacraments as God’s means of grace; if it does expressly point to Christ or profess the Holy Trinity; if it brings the focus to the singer and not the One to whom the Church incessantly sings; if it is shallow, insubstantial, or doctrinally lacking; if it cannot be considered a Christian hymn: leave it out of the hymnal! 

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